Patent Application
20100165799
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a watch winder, and more particularly to a watch winder with a sensing switch.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Normally, a mechanical or automatic watch will stop running when it is not worn for a certain period of time, and a long time of not working will even impair the mechanical performance of the watch. However, these problems can be easily solved by a watch winder.
Referring to
As shown in
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages.
The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a watch winder with a sensing switch which works in a noncontact induction manner so as to prevent the watch winder from abrasion even after a long period of use.
A watch winder with a sensing switch in accordance with the present invention comprises: a housing in which being disposed a mid clapboard for dividing the housing into a display space and an assembly space; a drive member with a rotary shaft being disposed in the assembly space of the housing in such a manner that the rotary shaft is inserted through the mid clapboard and partially into the display space; a rotary watch mount for mounting a watch having a fixing portion formed at a bottom thereof, and a lightproof portion adjacent to the fixing portion, the fixing portion being fixed to the rotary shaft of the drive member; a light sensor disposed on the mid clapboard and serving to sense the lightproof portion of the rotary watch mount; an adjustable counting device disposed on the mid clapboard of the housing and its value being manually adjustable; and a main board disposed in the assembly space of the housing and electrically connected with the drive member, the light sensor and the adjustable counting device.
The present invention will be clearer from the following description when viewed together with the accompanying drawings, which show, for purpose of illustrations only, the preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention.
Referring to
The housing 20 is a hollow box pivotally covered with a cover 21 having a transparent window 211. In the housing 20 is disposed a mid clapboard 22 which defines a display space 23 with respect to the transparent window 211 and an assembly space 24 with respect to the inner surface of the housing 20.
The driving member is a motor 31 which comprises a rotary shaft 311 and is disposed in the assembly space 24 of the housing 20 in such a manner that the rotary shaft 311 is pivotally inserted through the mid clapboard 22 and partially into the display space 23.
The rotary watch mount 40 is provided for mounting the watch and has a fixing portion 41 at the center of the bottom thereof, and adjacent to the fixing portion 41 is a lightproof portion 42. The fixing portion 41 is fixed to the rotary shaft 311 of the motor 31 to enable the rotary watch mount 40 to be located in the display space 23 of the housing 20 and rotated by the motor 31.
The light sensor 50 includes a light emitter 51 and a light receiver 52 that are disposed on the mid clapboard 22 and spaced a distance 53 which allows for the passage of the lightproof portion 42 of the rotary watch mount 40, so that the action of interrupting the light transmission between the light emitter 51 and the light receiver 52 by using the lightproof portion 42 can enable the light sensor 50 to obtain a control signal.
The adjustable counting device 60 is disposed on the mid clapboard 22 of the housing 20 and its count setting (value) can be manually adjusted.
The main board 70 is disposed in the assembly space 24 of the housing 20 and electrically connected with the motor 31, the light sensor 50 and the adjustable counting device 60 and is also connected to a power source which can be a battery type power supply system A or a power socket (not shown) by a power cable 71. The main board 70 is further electrically connected with a rotation speed controller 72 and a switch 73. The rotation speed controller 72 is mounted on the mid clapboard 22 of the housing 20 and serves to control the rotation speed of the rotary shaft 311 of the motor 31 via the main board 70. The switch 73 is disposed on the mid clapboard 22 of the housing 20 and employed to stop or start the motor 31.
The structural arrangement of the first embodiment of the present invention has been explained as above, and for a better understanding of the present invention, its operation and function, reference should be made further to
After the user sets the value of the adjustable counting device 60, the switch 73 will make the motor 31 drive the rotary watch mount 40 to rotate. During rotation, the lightproof portion 42 of the rotary watch mount 40 will move through the distance 53 between the light emitter 51 and the light receiver 52 and interrupt the light transmission therebetween, and accordingly the light sensor 50 will obtain a control signal and transmits it to the main board 70. Once receiving the control signal, the main board 70 will compare it with the value set in the adjustable counting device 60, and if matched, will stop the motor 31, making the mechanical or automatic watch wind up automatically, so that all collected or displayed mechanical or automatic watches on the rotary watch mount 40 can be kept in an optical working condition.
The present invention utilizes the motion of the lightproof portion 42 of the rotary watch mount 40 between the light emitter 51 and the light receiver 52 to make the rotary watch mount 40 stop automatically after rotating a predetermined number of revolutions. During rotation, the lightproof portion 42 of the rotary watch mount 40 doesn't contact the light emitter 51 and the light receiver 52, and this is a noncontact type induction control method. Hence, the watch winder of the present invention can be prevented from abrasion even after a long period of use.
A watch winder of a second embodiment of the present invention is shown in
The drive member includes a reduction mechanism 32 and a motor 33. The reduction mechanism 32 includes a rotary shaft 321 and a driven shaft 322 which are dynamically connected to each other. The motor 33 includes a driving shaft 331. The reduction mechanism 32 is disposed in the assembly space 24 of the housing 20 in such a manner that the rotary shaft 321 is pivotally inserted through the mid clapboard 22 and partially into the display space 23. The part of the rotary shaft 321 located in the display space 23 is jointed to the fixing portion 41 for driving the rotary watch mount 40 to rotate. The driven shaft 322 of the reduction mechanism 32 is dynamically connected to the driving shaft 331 of the motor 33 by a belt 34, enabling the rotary watch mount 40 to rotate at a lower speed and larger torque than the motor 33.
While we have shown and described various embodiments in accordance with the present invention, it is clear to those skilled in the art that further embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.
