EP1318437A1 - Watch with transponder that is, at least partially, located in a control member - Google Patents

Abstract

The watch includes an adjuster (8) and unit (15) for reception and transmission of radio signals. This unit is mounted in the aperture (14) which also accommodates the adjuster shaft. The adjuster aperture (14) may be lined with a non-conducting material. <??>The watch (1) includes a casing (2) within which the watch movement (10) is accommodated. The hands (5,6,7) are mounted above the movement in the space enclosed by the watch glass (3). The adjuster aperture (14) may be lined with a non-conducting material offering a suitable environment for the radio unit.

Description

The present invention relates to a timepiece comprising a middle part in which a movement is arranged, display means coupled to said movement and a receiving and / or transmitting device comprising at least one element providing an antenna function, said middle part comprising at least one opening through which is arranged a control member for said movement of substantially elongated shape defining a longitudinal axis.

We already know many examples of timepieces of this type, often produced in the form of wristwatches with various applications, such as pager watches, radio watches or telephone watches.

More specifically, the present invention relates in a preferred mode to a timepiece whose receiving and / or transmitting device is a transponder. In this case, such a timepiece is intended to communicate remotely with a device, for example, in the context of an object identification system. In such a system, each wristwatch comprises a transponder comprising a memory device containing its own identification code, a circuit for reception and emission of radio broadcast signals and an antenna connected thereto.

Such a system further includes a central transceiver arranged to transmit an interrogation signal. The detection of this signal generates the transmission of an identification signal by the wristwatch in question, this signal being representative of the identification code stored in its memory device. So, by identifying the wristwatch that belongs to each identification signal, the central transceiver can control the identity of the wearer of the wristwatch.

Additional information may still be stored in the transponder memory device for exchanging information other than identification with the central transmission and reception system.

Various solutions have already been proposed for housing the transponder in the watch case, in particular to house the antenna of the transponder which can present a multitude of shapes such as a metal plate, one or more metal loops or a coil wound around a ferromagnetic bar. We finds in particular, in wristwatches known from the prior art, examples of embodiments in which the antenna was housed in the watch case, in a bezel covering the middle or in the strap attachments.

However, these solutions generally have a main drawback related to the size of the antenna in the watch case, as well as risks occasional slight disturbances in antenna operation due to the proximity to certain electronic components.

The present invention therefore aims to improve timepieces mentioned above, in particular thanks to a simple construction which can be carried out on the basis of conventional type watches.

To this end, the invention relates to a timepiece of the type indicated more top, characterized in that said control member is made in one non-magnetic material, that it comprises a housing and, by the fact that said element ensuring an antenna function is arranged at least partially inside said housing.

Thanks to this construction, the space required for the antenna layout in the watch case is removed as well as the risk of disruption reception and / or transmission qualities of the antenna linked to the proximity of electronic components, in the case of an electronic watch.

According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the technical solution above can advantageously be applied to a watch whose middle is made of a material with magnetic properties. In this case of figure, it is however necessary to provide for the creation of a slot in the middle extending substantially over its entire thickness, from the opening of the organ control to an outer surface of the middle, in a direction substantially included in a plane containing the longitudinal axis of the ordered.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the control member described above is a crown stem, the stem of which is hollow so as to define said housing in which the transponder is at least partially housed. In addition, the transponder preferably includes a printed circuit on which are arranged an antenna, comprising a coil wound around a core of material ferromagnetic, as well as an integrated circuit.

• la figure 1 est une vue de dessus d'un mode de réalisation de la pièce d'horlogerie selon la présente invention;
• la figure 2 est une coupe simplifiée agrandie d'une partie de la pièce d'horlogerie représentée sur la figure 1, suivant la ligne Il-Il de la figure 1, selon un mode de réalisation préféré de l'invention;
• la figure 3 est une coupe simplifiée agrandie, dans le plan médian de la carrure, d'une partie d'une pièce d'horlogerie incorporant le dispositif de l'invention selon une variante du mode de réalisation représenté sur la figure 2;
• la figure 4 est une coupe simplifiée agrandie d'une partie d'une pièce d'horlogerie incorporant le dispositif de l'invention selon un second mode de réalisation, suivant la ligne C de la figure 1, et
• la figure 5 est une coupe simplifiée agrandie, dans le plan médian de la carrure, d'une partie d'une pièce d'horlogerie incorporant le dispositif de l'invention selon une variante du mode de réalisation représenté sur la figure 4.

Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention will appear on reading the detailed description which follows, given with reference to the appended drawings, given by way of examples and in which:

• Figure 1 is a top view of an embodiment of the timepiece according to the present invention;
• Figure 2 is an enlarged simplified section of part of the timepiece shown in Figure 1, along the line II-II of Figure 1, according to a preferred embodiment of the invention;
• Figure 3 is an enlarged simplified section, in the middle plane of the middle part, of a part of a timepiece incorporating the device of the invention according to a variant of the embodiment shown in Figure 2;
• FIG. 4 is a simplified enlarged section of part of a timepiece incorporating the device of the invention according to a second embodiment, along line C of FIG. 1, and
• FIG. 5 is a simplified enlarged section, in the middle plane of the middle part, of a part of a timepiece incorporating the device of the invention according to a variant of the embodiment shown in FIG. 4.

Figure 1 shows a wristwatch according to the invention, shown here by the general reference 1. The wristwatch 1 conventionally comprises a case which comprises a middle part 2 and a crystal 3 whose periphery is capped by a bezel 4. The middle part 2 is made, according to a preferred embodiment, of a metallic material by a well known injection technique. The wristwatch 1 further comprises a watch movement (shown diagrammatically in Figures 2 to 5) which is housed inside the middle 2 and which is coupled here to time display means 5, 6 and 7 formed respectively by a second hand, a minute hand and a hand hours.

Control members, here a crown stem 8 and a push button 9 are provided on one side of the middle part 2 and are coupled to the watch movement. So, the crown rod 8, which is shown here in its rest position, can ensure the classic time setting function when pulled in a second axial position, set back from the middle part 2. The push button 9 can, for example, used to activate lighting (not shown) provided for the illumination of time display means. We can obviously plan multiple variants with regard in particular to the function of the second hand 5 as well as the function fulfilled by the push button 9. One can, for example, provide that needle 5 can indicate the state of charge of the battery supplying the movement watchmaker (not shown) in response to pressing the push button 9.

We can see in Figure 2 a section of the crown stem 8 along its axis longitudinal, this being coupled to the watch movement 10 through an opening cylindrical 11 formed in the middle part 2. A gasket 12, for example of the gasket type lip, is arranged at the entrance of the opening 11 around the rod so conventional for sealing the watch 1 according to the invention. The watch movement 10 is simply shown diagrammatically under dial 13 since it does not constitutes here only a secondary aspect of the invention, insofar as any type of conventional movement can be used.

As shown in Figure 2, the crown rod 8 has a housing 14 in the rod so that a transponder 15 can be placed there. The transponder 15 includes an antenna 16 and a signal transmission and / or reception circuit 17 radio-broadcast, these elements being well known to those skilled in the art. The antenna 16 is preferably of the coil type 18 wound around a ferromagnetic core 19. In the preferred embodiment shown in Figure 2, it can be seen that the antenna 16 and the circuit 17 are arranged on the same printed circuit 20, one at the following the other, so as to reduce their bulk. Of course, the crown stem 8 is made of an electrically insulating material to avoid creating a magnetic shielding around the antenna 16 of the transponder 15.

In addition, in this embodiment, the middle part 2 being made of metal, a slot 21 (visible in FIG. 1) has been formed therein so as not to disturb the operation of the antenna 16 of the transponder. Indeed, without the presence of this slot 21, the passage of a magnetic flux through the antenna 16 would have consequence, in this case, of inducing the appearance of eddy currents in the middle, around opening 11. These eddy currents would in turn induce the appearance of a magnetic field opposing the field having induced them, and therefore reception by antenna 16 of radio-broadcast information communicated by a central system.

The slot 21 is produced by recess of a part of the middle part 2 and extends vertically over its entire thickness, from the opening 11 forming a passage for the stem-crown 8 to the upper surface of the middle part. Preferably, such as shown in Figure 2, a small block 22 of electrically insulating material, by example a plastic material, is housed in the slot 21 to remove any discontinuity of the middle part 2 and thus improve the aesthetics of the watch 1 according to the present invention. It may further be noted that in the embodiments described here, the watch according to the invention comprises a bezel 4 covering at least partially the upper periphery of the middle part 2 thus making the change of material existing between the middle part 2 and the block 22. Of course, the bezel 4 is here preferably made of an electrically insulating material. We may however plan to make it out of metal, provided that its base 23 which is in contact with the upper surface of the middle is covered with a material electrically insulating.

In the case of a middle part made of plastic, the space saving in the watch case resulting from the structure shown in Figure 2 is obvious. A major advantage is therefore obtained in the case of a metal case, which is the being able to house the antenna in the interior space of a type watch case conventional, that is to say without having to add a non-magnetic compartment on the periphery of the housing resulting in a degradation of the aesthetics overall.

FIG. 3 shows a variant of the embodiment of the invention which has just been described, in which the transponder 15 is not housed in integrally in the housing 14 of the crown rod 8. In fact, only the antenna 16 is disposed in the housing 14 of the rod, which allows either to use an antenna whose the dimensions are greater than that used in the first variant previously described, that is to reduce the dimensions of the housing 14 and therefore the size of the rod in the watch case for a given antenna.

In return, the integrated circuit 17 of the transponder 15 is arranged in the timepiece movement 10, preferably near the crown stem 8 on the printed circuit 24 of the movement 10, for example, if the watch is of the electronic type.
Electrical connection means are also provided in this case for connecting the two terminals of the antenna 16 to the integrated circuit 17. These connection means are shown here by elastic metal blades 25, 26 secured to the printed circuit 24 and connected by metallization tracks 27, 28 to the integrated circuit 17. These metal blades 25, 26 are in permanent contact with respective zones 29, 30 of the rod, formed by metallizations isolated from one another and produced over the entire circumference of the stem, in places spaced along its longitudinal direction. These respective metallization zones 29, 30 are then connected inside the rod, for example by means of copper wires 31, 32, respectively to one and the other terminal of the antenna.

As mentioned above, although this variant has a greater structural complexity than the previous one, it allows flexibility upper in the dimensioning of the crown stem 8.

FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment of the present invention, in which the transponder 15 is arranged entirely in a housing 14 provided inside the push button 9, which is shown schematically by the lines dashed lines bearing the reference C in FIG. 1. The first variant of this mode of visible in this figure has a structure similar to that of the crown stem 8 shown in FIG. 2, and will therefore not be discussed in detail, the numerical references being identical for the common elements. We can specify in particular that the rod of the push button 9 must be made in one electrically insulating material, so as not to create a magnetic shielding inhibiting the antenna operation 16.

The pushbuttons generally present in the field of watchmaking has a greater diversity of forms than crown stems. this allows advantageously to a manufacturer of the watch according to the present invention to choose in a wider range of choices, than in the first embodiment previously described, the geometry of the button he wishes to use. This one can therefore more easily adapt the geometry of the push button rod to the structure of the transponder it has at its disposal.

FIG. 5 schematically represents a second variant of this embodiment similar to that of FIG. 3, in which the transponder 15 is only partially disposed in the housing 14 of the rod of the push button 9. The numerical references are the same for the elements already described. We finds in particular the connection means electrically connecting the antenna 16 to the integrated circuit 17 of the transponder. However, the push button 9 does not have necessarily a symmetry of axial revolution as is the case for a crown stem 8, but above all, the button and its rod are not caused to rotate during use. Consequently, the metallized electrical contact zones 29, 30 described for the stem-crown can be limited here to one face of the stem, opposite elastic metal connection blades 25, 26, instead of covering the entire periphery.

There is also shown schematically and by way of example not limiting, a third elastic metal blade 33 which allows the push button 9 to fulfill its classic function when pressed. This third metal blade 33 is also arranged on the printed circuit 24 of the watch movement 10 and connected by a first of its ends to a metallization track 34 of this circuit 24, itself connected for example to a component (not shown) of the movement 10. When the push button is pressed, the third elastic blade 33 deforms to touch an electrical contact 35 located opposite its second end. This contact 35 also being carried by the printed circuit 24 of the watch movement 10 and connected to a metallization track 36, itself connected to any component of the movement, the elastic blade 33 therefore fills the function of a switch in a conventional manner.

The advantages of this variant compared to the previous one are the same than those previously described in relation to the second variant of the mode of realization concerning the stem-crown.

It can be noted that the materials used for the construction of the different elements of the timepiece according to the invention are preferably chosen in such a way so that they have minimum respective magnetic permeabilities, of so as not to shield the antenna.

We can still imagine multiple variants of the room of watchmaking which has just been described without departing from the framework thereof. We can in particular to implement the invention in a watch with mechanical movement. On the other hand, provision can be made not to limit the functions of the integrated circuit of the transponder to identification, but on the contrary, to provide it with functionalities various such as allowing radio synchronization of the movement watchmaker.

It can also be provided that the housing located in the crown stem or in the push button extends respectively into the crown or into the button, so that one end of the ferromagnetic core is located outside the watch case. We can thus improve the qualities of antenna operation. We can also imagine that the nucleus ferromagnetic directly constitutes the rod of the control member, around which is wound the coil. This case is obviously easier conceivable when the control member is a push button.

It can also be noted that the classic structure and functionality of the stem-crown have not been addressed since these concepts are perfectly known to those skilled in the art and do not directly relate to the subject of the present invention.

Claims (9)

Timepiece (1) comprising a middle part (2) in which a movement (10) is arranged, display means (5, 6, 7) coupled to said movement (10) and a receiving device and / or d 'emission (15) comprising at least one element ensuring an antenna function (16), said middle part (2) comprising at least one opening (11) through which is arranged a control member (8, 9) of said movement ( 10) of substantially elongated shape defining a longitudinal axis, characterized in that said control member (8, 9) is made of a non-magnetic material and comprises a housing (14) and in that said element (16) ensuring a function antenna is integral with said control member (8, 9) and disposed at least partially inside said housing (14). Timepiece according to claim 1, characterized in that said middle part (2) is made of a magnetic material and in that it comprises a slot (21) extending substantially over its entire thickness, from said opening (11 ) to an outer surface of said middle part (2), in a direction included substantially in a plane containing said longitudinal axis. Timepiece according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that said receiving and / or transmitting device (15) is a transponder and in that said transponder (15) is integrally disposed inside of said housing (14). Timepiece according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that said element (16) providing an antenna function comprises a coil (18) of metal wire wound around a core (19) of material ferromagnetic forming an antenna with a ferromagnetic core. Timepiece according to claim 4, characterized in that said receiving and / or transmitting device (15) comprises in particular a printed circuit (20) on which said antenna (16) and an integrated circuit (17) are disposed. to which said antenna is connected. Timepiece according to claim 5, characterized in that said integrated circuit (17) and said antenna (16) are arranged one after the other in the direction of said longitudinal axis. Timepiece according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said control member is a crown-stem (8). Timepiece according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said control member is a push button (9). Timepiece according to one of claims 7 or 8, characterized in that said receiving and / or transmitting device (15) is arranged in said housing (14) in such a way that one of the ends of said element (16) ensuring antenna function is located outside of said middle (2) regardless of the position of said control member (8, 9) relative to said middle (2).

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