HK1235111B - Watch casing with a cladding element - Google Patents

Description

Watch case provided with external elements

Technical Field

The invention relates to a watch case comprising an external element which confers a specific aesthetic appearance to the watch.

Background Art

From Swiss patent CH 640690 a watch case is known comprising a case middle provided with a decorative element in the form of a ring, said ring engaging in a groove provided in a visible surface of said case middle and being partially covered by a bridge integral with a bezel mounted on the case middle.

From European patent EP 1 098 233 there is also known a watch case comprising a rotating metal bezel comprising projecting inserts made of synthetic material over all or part of its surface.

The watch case described above has several drawbacks. Firstly, the complex machining and/or manufacturing operations are important, which increases manufacturing costs. Furthermore, the assembly process requires several steps, which increases manufacturing time. Finally, it can be observed that the decorative elements require specific processing depending on the desired aesthetic effect, which means that several reference marks must be stored.

Summary of the Invention

An object of the present invention is to overcome the various deficiencies of these prior art techniques.

More specifically, one object of the present invention is to provide a single external element that allows obtaining a variety of aesthetic designs in combination with a bezel having one or more notches of different sizes and different shapes.

Yet another object of the present invention, at least in one particular embodiment, is to provide an external element that is simple to implement, easy to assemble, and inexpensive.

These objects, together with other objects which will appear more clearly below, are achieved according to the invention by a watch case comprising a case middle part, a bezel and an external element at least partially arranged between the case middle part and the bezel, the case middle part being provided with corners and having two areas for attaching a bracelet to the case middle part, the bezel comprising at least one notch configured to expose the external element.

According to the present invention, the external element includes two covering elements respectively covering each attachment area and is directly attached to the case middle piece independently of the attachment of the bezel to the case middle piece, and the case middle piece includes two vertical ribs located between the corners in each attachment area, and the two vertical ribs are configured to cooperate with two guide grooves formed on the inner surface of the covering element so as to properly hold the external element in place on the case middle piece.

According to other advantageous variants of the invention:

the external element comprising a ring at least partially covering the case middle, the ring being housed between the case middle and the bezel so as to form a decorative surface at the bottom of the at least one notch;

- said ring of said external element and said two covering elements form a one-piece component;

the outer element being snap-mounted to the case middle in an attachment region via the covering element;

- said ring of said external element has a substantially semi-toroidal cross section;

- the ring is arranged substantially flush across all or part of the peripheral surface of the case middle;

- the outer element is made of a plastic material such as polycarbonate, PMMA or MABS;

- the bezel comprises at least two notches symmetrically arranged around the bezel;

- The outer element is made of a transparent or opaque material with a matte surface or a polished surface.

Thus, by virtue of the different functional and structural aspects described above, the object of the present invention is to obtain a watch case susceptible of having different aesthetic appearances.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will appear more clearly on reading the following description of specific embodiments of the invention, given purely as illustrative and non-limiting examples, and the accompanying drawings, in which:

- Figure 1 is an exploded view of a watch case according to the invention.

- Figure 2 is a perspective view of a watch case according to the invention.

- Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the watch case according to the invention, taken along line III-III of Figure 2 .

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A watch case 100 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 , 2 and 3 .

As mentioned above, the general principle of the invention is based on the use of a watch case 100 comprising a case middle 1 , a bezel 6 and an outer element 5 at least partially arranged between said case middle 1 and bezel 6 , the bezel 6 comprising at least one notch 60 exposing said outer element 5 .

According to the invention, external element 5 and bezel 6 are attached directly and independently of each other to case middle 1, bezel 6 having a shape complementary to that of external element 5. External element 5 is thus securely attached to said case middle 1 by means of a snap fit between said case middle 1 and said bezel 6.

2 , the bezel 6 includes at least two notches 60 symmetrically arranged around the bezel 6. The one or more notches 60 may be semicircular, semi-elliptical or polygonal in shape, as the shape of the notch 60 depends on the desired aesthetic appearance.

It should also be noted that, depending on the model of the watch, external element 5 may have different colours.

According to a variant of the invention, bezel 6 and case middle 1 are made of a metal material such as steel or aluminum. Of course, any other material known to those skilled in the art may be used.

As can be seen in the figures, external element 5 comprises a ring 50 configured to cover all or part of the external surface of case middle 1, such that said ring 50 is arranged substantially flush across all or part of the peripheral surface of case middle 1, wherein said ring 50 rests on peripheral edge 18 of case middle 1 and on collar 16 of said case middle 1. Advantageously, external element 5 is guided onto collar 16 of case middle 1 by means of peripheral edge 18.

Ring 50 at least partially covers case middle 1 on peripheral edge 18 , ring 50 being housed between said case middle 1 and said bezel 6 to form a decorative surface at the bottom of said notch 60 .

Watch case 100 also includes two areas 12, 13 for attaching a bracelet to case middle 1. Case middle 1 is delimited downwardly by a back cover 19 integral with it and includes, as in the example shown, a pair of outer corners 10 and a pair of inner corners 11 at 6 o'clock for attaching a bracelet (not shown). Of course, case middle 1 includes the same number of corners at 12 o'clock for attaching a second bracelet (not visible in the drawings).

As can be seen in Figures 1 and 2, ring 50 includes two covering elements 51, 52, which cover one of the two attachment areas 12, 13 located on case middle 1 at 6 o'clock and 12 o'clock, respectively. These covering elements 51, 52 are arranged to cover attachment areas 12, 13, while the shape of the bracelet attached to case middle 1 is designed to prevent external elements from being pried out. These covering elements 51, 52 also have the function of improving the aesthetic appearance of the watch by concealing attachment areas 12, 13 between case middle 1 and bracelet.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the ring 50 of the outer element 5 and the two cover elements 51, 52 form a single-piece component. According to this embodiment, the outer element 5 is made of a plastic material such as polycarbonate, PMMA, or MABS, for example, by injection molding. It will be understood that other materials that can be envisioned by a person skilled in the art are also within the scope of the present invention.

Depending on the end result desired for the watch, external element 5 may have a matte or polished appearance, or may be transparent or opaque. Combinations of these different appearances are also possible.

As can be seen in FIG1 , case middle 1 comprises, in each attachment area 12, 13, two vertical ribs 14, 15 for correctly holding said external element 5 in place between corners 10 at covering elements 51, 52, which have on their inner surface two guide grooves 53, 54 configured to cooperate with vertical ribs 14, 15. Of course, a single rib and a single groove could be sufficient for holding external element 5.

The outer element 5 comprises in each cover element 51, 52 two snap-fitting grooves 55, 56 formed below said cover elements 51, 52 and adapted to cooperate with the inner corners 11. Thus, the outer element 5 is snap-fitted to the case middle in said attachment areas 12, 13 by means of said cover elements 51, 52.

As shown in the figures, ring 50 has a flat outer surface, ie it has no protruding portion housed in said at least one notch 60 of bezel 6. External element 5 thus has a simple geometry that allows quick, easy and cost-effective manufacture.

According to a variant of the invention (not shown in the drawings), external element 5 has a portion that projects at notch 60 of bezel 6 .

The external element 5 /bezel 6 pairing makes it possible to obtain various aesthetic effects, depending on the colour and/or appearance of the external element 5 , and on the number of indentations 60 provided in the bezel 6 , as well as their size and shape.

The assembly of the watch is achieved as follows:

The operator snap-fits exterior element 5 onto case middle 1 in attachment areas 12, 13. Next, the operator places movement 2/dial 3 assembly onto back cover 19 of case middle 1 and then inserts the stem with its crown into case middle 1 and movement 2. Finally, crystal 4 is press-fitted into case middle 1 and bezel 6 is attached, obtaining the desired positioning of notch 60.

As a result of these various aspects of the invention, there is provided an easy-to-assemble watch case which allows various model versions to be realized, depending on the color of external element 5 and the shape of bezel 6 .

Of course, the present invention is not limited to the examples shown, and various variations and modifications are possible that will occur to a person skilled in the art.

Glossary

100 watch cases

1 Case middle piece

10 outer corner

11 inner corner

12, 13 Attachment area

14, 15 guide ribs

16 Snap ring

18 Edge

19 Back cover

2 Movement

3 dials

4. Watch mirror

5 External components

50 rings

51, 52 Covering elements

53, 54 guide slots

55, 56 snap-on mounting slots

6 Bezel

60 Gap

Claims (10)

1. A watch case (100) comprising a case center (1), a bezel (6), and an external element (5) at least partially fastened between the case center (1) and the bezel (6), the case center having corner portions (10) and having two regions (12, 13) for attachment of a bracelet to the case center (1), the bezel (6) including at least one notch (60) configured to expose the external element (5). The external element (5) is characterized in that it comprises two covering elements (51, 52) covering each attachment area (12, 13) respectively, and is directly attached to the case intermediate (1) independently of the attachment of the bezel to the case intermediate; the case intermediate (1) includes two vertical ribs (14, 15) located between the corners (10) in each attachment area (12, 13), the two vertical ribs being configured to cooperate with two guide grooves (52, 54) formed on the inner surface of the covering elements (51, 52) so as to properly hold the external element (5) in place on the case intermediate (1). 2. The watch case (100) according to claim 1, wherein the external element (5) includes a ring (50) that at least partially covers the intermediate part of the case (1), the ring being received between the intermediate part of the case and the bezel to form a decorative surface at the bottom of the at least one notch. 3. The watch case (100) according to claim 2, wherein the ring (50) of the external element (5) and the two covering elements (51, 52) form an integral component. 4. The watch case (100) according to claim 1, wherein the external element (5) is snapped onto the intermediate part of the watch case (1) in the attachment area (12, 13) by means of the cover element (51, 52). 5. The watch case (100) according to claim 2, wherein the ring (50) of the external element (5) has a substantially semi-circular cross-section. 6. The watch case (100) according to claim 2, wherein the ring (50) is disposed substantially flush with all or part of the peripheral surface of the intermediate member (1) of the watch case. 7. The watch case (100) according to claim 1, wherein the external element (5) is made of plastic material. 8. The watch case (100) according to claim 1, wherein the bezel (6) includes at least two notches (60) arranged symmetrically around the bezel (6). 9. The watch case (100) according to claim 1, wherein the external element (5) is made of a transparent or opaque material having a non-smooth or polished surface. 10. The watch case (100) according to claim 7, wherein the plastic material is polycarbonate, PMMA or MABS.