Patent Application
20220163926
The invention relates to a watch having a variable dial, and more specifically a watch that provides the wearer with the possibility of partially changing the appearance of the dial.
According to document EP 61519, watches have long been known already whose front face can be changed, by removing, turning over, or interchanging rings surrounding the hands and bearing different numbers.
The goal of the invention is to propose a watch whose appearance can be changed by partially modifying the color, the material, and/or the relief of the dial of this watch.
According to the invention, this goal is achieved by a watch in accordance with the following point 1:
1. A watch whose dial has at least one opening occupied by a removable bezel, this watch having a plurality of carrying arms disposed radially on a carousel, each arm end situated on the circumference carrying a bezel and the carousel being able to rotate about an axis perpendicular to the plane of the dial and passing through the center thereof.
Advantageous characteristics of the watch in point 1 above are indicated in the following points 2 to 11:
2. A watch according to point 1, in which the bezels can be inserted in turn into the opening, when one of the bezels is in the opening, the other or the others is/are behind the dial.
3. A watch according to point 1 or 2, in which each carrying arm can pivot from a lowered position to a raised position.
4. A watch according to point 3, comprising rotation means for rotating the carousel and pivoting means for pivoting said carrying arms between their lowered and raised positions.
5. A watch according to point 4, in which the rotation means are capable of engaging with the crown of the watch.
6. A watch according to point 5, in which the rotation means comprise a sliding pinion, a gear train, a toothed wheel, and a finger-piece for engaging with the latter.
7. A watch according to point 5 or 6, in which the pivoting means comprise a spring, a frustoconical part, and a holding ring, pinching arms, a fixing part for the pinching arms, a lever connected to the pinching arms and to the winding stem and a pin connecting the two pinching arms to each other and to the lever.
8. A watch according to point 7, in which the frustoconical part has, on its upper face turned towards the dial, at its center, a bore designed to house the spring.
9. A watch according to point 3 or one of points 4 to 6 dependent on point 4, in which the dial is provided with pins capable of engaging with the carrying arms in order to cause the latter to pivot to their lowered position to a fully raised position.
10. A watch according to point 9, in which the pins are arranged so that the projection of their longitudinal axis on the plane of the dial is on a straight line connecting the openings to the center of the dial.
11. A watch according to point 7 or one of points 8 to 10 dependent on point 7, in which the dial has on its rear face a bore and the frustoconical part, on its upper face, a locking pin designed to fit into this bore.
Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will now be described in detail in the following description which is given with reference to the appended figured, which schematically show:
An embodiment of the watch having a variable dial according to the invention is shown in
The watch according to the invention comprises a dial 1 provided with at least one bezel, in the individual case, four bezels 2, 3, 4, and 5 seen in
The bezels can all have the same color or have different colors and/or surface states (reliefs, textures) that are identical or different. Their precise shape does not matter, provided that their upper face can occupy an opening in its entirety, with the exception of a functional clearance necessary to allow the entry and exit of the bezel in this opening.
The bezels are generally parallelepipedic. But they could also have a circular, oval, triangular, or other shape. Their thickness does not matter. They may project relative to the plane of the dial 1, but in a limited manner, so as not to prevent the hands of the watch from passing through. Of course, the shape of the opening corresponds to the shape of the bezel.
Due to their removable nature, the bezels can be removed from the openings they occupy to be replaced by other bezels that are invisible to the wearer of the watch from the front side of the dial. These other bezels normally have different colors and/or surface states.
Preferably, the watch has a plurality of carrying arms disposed radially, each carrying arm end situated on the circumference carrying a bezel. For example, bezels 3 and 5 of
All the carrying arms can pivot from a lowered position, where they are masked by the dial, to a raised position. Similarly, all the bezels can pass from a lowered position to a raised position.
For such a pivoting to be possible, the free ends 12, 13 of the carrying arms 9, 10, seen in
For the bezels 3, 5 to be able to pass from the lowered position in
In order for the pivoting of the carrying arms 9, 10 to be possible, it is necessary for the pins 17, 18 to be able at times to come into contact, or at times to be away from the free ends 12, 13 of the carrying arms 9, 10. Such an alternation is made possible by the displacement of the carousel 8, and therefore of the frustoconical part 11, along the main axis of the watch, i.e., the axis passing through the center of the dial 1 and perpendicular to the latter.
The frustoconical part 11 has a bore at its center allowing it to house a spring 19 seen in particular in
When the spring 19 is relaxed, as can be seen in
The axial displacement of the frustoconical part 11 takes place due to the action of the spring 19, but it is controlled by two pinching arms 20, 21 seen in
The free ends of the pinching arms 20, 21 are fixed to a fixing part 22 joined together with the frame of the watch. The straight parts of the pinching arms 20, 21 intersect approximately at their middle and, at their intersection, they each have an oblong hole traversed by a pin 24 joined together with one end of a lever 25, the other end of this lever 25 being mounted so as to pivot on the fixing part 22. Between these two ends of the lever 25, the winding stem 26 of the watch is connected. As such, when the winding stem 26 is pulled, the lever 25 is also pulled and the end of the latter carrying the pin 24 displaces the latter inside the oblong holes of the arms 20, 21. Such a displacement causes the curved ends of the arms 20, 21 to move away from each other, which causes a release of the pinching exerted on the frustoconical part 11. The latter can then move under the pressure of the spring 19 and move axially away from the dial 1, thus disengaging the bezels 3, 5 from the latter, as explained previously.
In this pulled-out position, the winding stem 26 can also rotate about its longitudinal axis. When the wearer of the watch then rotates the crown of the watch, this crown jointly rotates the winding stem 26.
The end of the winding stem 26 opposite the end where the crown is driven is provided with a sliding pinion (not shown) capable of meshing with a gear train 27 seen in
The rotation of the toothed wheel 28 obstructed by the jumper 31, causes that of the entire carousel 8 comprising, in addition to this toothed wheel 28, the frustoconical part 11, the carrying arms 9, 10 carrying the bezels 3, 5, the other arms/bezels, and the holding ring 16.
It is therefore possible in this way to install new arms/bezels under the openings in dial 1. Once the new arms/bezels have been chosen by rotating the carousel 8, the wearer of the watch can (see
The jumper 31 preferably has a sufficient thickness to allow it to remain in contact with the toothed wheel 28 when the latter rises and falls jointly with the frustoconical part 11. The jumper 31 allows the toothed wheel 28 to be in a correct angular position to engage with the finger-piece which is provided to cause it to rotate.
Preferably, a locking pin 32 seen in
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1902619 | Mar 2019 | FR | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/IB2020/052257 | 3/12/2020 | WO | 00 |
