EP0507097B1 - Watch - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a watch displaying the time by means of concentric annular discs containing markers for hours (4) and for minutes (5), the discs being arranged inside a case (1) provided with a central opening (10) passing right through the case as well as the discs. The case furthermore comprises a projecting portion forming a compartment (15) inside which is arranged a conventional analogue timepiece movement, and a gear train intended to transmit the rotation of the minute shaft, or cannon, from the movement to the discs in order to indicate the time. The movement's time setting mechanism, controlled by a crown (19), is used, without modification, to set the time on the display of the watch. <IMAGE>

Description

The present invention relates to a timepiece of small volume and unconventional shape displaying the time analogically. It relates more specifically to a watch comprising a case, a mechanical or electronic movement, and concentric annular discs displaying the time, the case having the particularity of comprising a central opening passing right through the watch, perpendicular to the bottom and to the glass thereof, as well as the annular discs.

The principle of such a timepiece was disclosed by patent application GB-A-2162663. This document describes various embodiments in which the housing, of round or square shape and delimited by a lateral face and two opposite main faces, has a central opening joining the two main faces. The case is therefore in the form of a circular or square ring which may further comprise on its lateral face, in the case of a watch, conventional horns for fixing a bracelet. The time is displayed analogically or digitally by means of light-emitting diodes, liquid crystals or rotating annular discs, these members being arranged facing one of the main faces formed, at least partially, by transparent glass. The useful volume inside the case of such a timepiece is obviously much smaller than in that of a conventional timepiece. However, the space available for the elements necessary for the operation of a timepiece without a central opening is already measured. The presence of such an opening only makes its execution even more difficult and costly under these conditions, especially when this timepiece is a wristwatch. In the cited application there is no construction showing in detail how the main elements of the mechanisms of the parts described are arranged. In particular in the watch which displays the time by means of annular discs rotating around the central opening, the motor setting these discs in motion, by means of a set of gears, is neither shown nor cited. , while the motor constitutes precisely one of the most voluminous elements of the mechanism, and consequently particularly difficult to accommodate. The cited document does not therefore only to disclose the principle of an original timepiece, without describing the means making it possible.

A transparent pocket watch, said to be mysterious, in which the hands displaying the time seem to have no connection with the watch movement, has been described in patent CH-A-151. To this end, the watch includes a transparent disc on which the minute hand is drawn, and which pivots on an axis integral with one of the windows. This disc drives the hour hand around the same axis by means of a small cog arranged around the axis is hidden by an opaque central cover. The disc is rotated by a clockwork movement arranged, outside the perimeter of the disc, in a housing formed in a part of the housing projecting at 12 o'clock. The presence in the center of the watch of the axis and the gear train prohibits to practice at this place an opening joining the two windows, and the unusual arrangement of the organs of the movement shows that it was designed according to the particular shape of the housing .

An analog electronic watch, similar in design to the previous one, has been disclosed in document GB-A-2062909. The two hands, without any apparent link to the movement, are traced on two transparent discs pivoting on an axis fixed on the glass. The elements of the movement, circuit, quartz, motor, cogs, are arranged outside the perimeter of the discs in a rectangular case which still contains a liquid crystal calendar.

The object of the present invention is to provide a watch comprising a central opening and which can be produced industrially at a low cost price.

• un boîtier, délimité par deux faces principales opposées, l'une de ces faces constituant la face de dessus de la montre, et une face latérale, comportant une ouverture centrale traversant le boîtier de part en part en joignant les faces principales, et un compartiment latéral à l'intérieur duquel est ménagé un logement;
• un dispositif d'affichage horaire comportant des disques annulaires concentriques et mobiles en rotation autour de leur centre commun, les disques étant disposés à l'intérieur du boîtier parallèlement à la face de dessus, face depuis laquelle les informations horaires sont visibles, de manière à entourer cette ouverture centrale;
• un mouvement d'horlogerie analogique comportant un axe moteur;
• des moyens d'entraînement disposés dans le logement et destinés à transmettre le mouvement de rotation de l'axe moteur aux disques; et
• un organe de commande accessible de l'extérieur du compartiment latéral,

est particulièrement remarquable en ce que,

• le mouvement d'horlogerie constitue une unité constructivement et fonctionnellement indépendante et autonome, comportant une source d'énergie et des moyens de mise à l'heure; et en ce que
• le logement débouche à l'extérieur par une ouverture faite pour être obstruée par un couvercle, cette ouverture permettant d'introduire et de fixer de manière amovible le mouvement dans le logement, l'axe moteur venant alors coopérer avec les moyens d'entraînement, et l'organe de commande avec les moyens de mise à l'heure.

To achieve this objective, the watch according to the invention, comprising:

• a case, delimited by two opposite main faces, one of these faces constituting the top face of the watch, and a lateral face, comprising a central opening passing through the case right through, joining the main faces, and a side compartment inside which is provided a housing;
• a time display device comprising concentric and movable annular disks rotating around their common center, the disks being arranged inside the case parallel to the top face, face from which the time information is visible, so as to surround this central opening;
• an analog clockwork movement comprising a motor axis;
• drive means arranged in the housing and intended to transmit the rotational movement of the motor axis to the discs; and
• a control member accessible from outside the lateral compartment,

is particularly remarkable in that,

• the watch movement constitutes a constructively and functionally independent and autonomous unit, comprising a source of energy and means of setting the time; and in that
• the housing opens to the outside through an opening made to be obstructed by a cover, this opening making it possible to introduce and removably fix the movement in the housing, the motor axis then coming to cooperate with the drive means, and the control member with the time setting means.

An advantage of the invention results from the fact that the housing can be arranged so as to receive an already existing movement, produced in large series and therefore inexpensive.

Another advantage of the invention is that the device for setting the time of the movement, as well as for example the calendar, can be used without modification to set the watch to the time and indicate the date.

• la fig. 1 est une vue en plan d'une forme de réalisation d'une montre-bracelet selon l'invention;
• la fig. 2 est une vue en plan agrandie de la montre représentée sur la fig. 1, montrant le rouage de transmission qui entraîne les disques annulaires indiquant les heures et les minutes au moyen d'index;
• les fig. 3a et 3b sont des vues de profil de deux formes d'exécution de la montre selon l'invention;
• la fig. 4 est une vue en coupe éclatée, montrant de quelle manière le mouvement est introduit dans le boîtier de la montre;
• la fig. 5 représente, dans une vue en coupe par un plan passant par l'axe des minutes et la tige de remontoir du mouvement de la montre, la disposition du rouage de transmission entraînant les disques annulaires des heures et des minutes;
• la fig. 6 est une vue en coupe de la montre par un plan passant par son centre et l'axe des minutes du mouvement; et
• les fig. 7 sont des vues partielles en coupe et en plan de la montre représentant un moyen d'indiquer les secondes en a) et b), et la date en c) et d).

Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention will emerge from the description which follows, given with reference to the appended drawing and giving, by way of explanatory but in no way limiting example, an advantageous embodiment of a watch comprising a central opening . In this drawing, where the same references relate to similar elements:

• fig. 1 is a plan view of an embodiment of a wristwatch according to the invention;
• fig. 2 is an enlarged plan view of the watch shown in FIG. 1, showing the gear train that drives the annular discs indicating hours and minutes by means of indexes;
• fig. 3a and 3b are side views of two embodiments of the watch according to the invention;
• fig. 4 is an exploded sectional view showing how the movement is introduced into the watch case;
• fig. 5 shows, in a sectional view through a plane passing through the minute axis and the winding stem of the watch movement, the arrangement of the gear train driving the annular hour and minute discs;
• fig. 6 is a sectional view of the watch through a plane passing through its center and the axis of the minutes of movement; and
• fig. 7 are partial sectional and plan views of the watch representing a means of indicating the seconds in a) and b), and the date in c) and d).

The present invention will be described by taking a wristwatch as an example, but, of course, the invention also applies to other timepieces of small volume, such as pendant watches.

In the embodiment of the wristwatch according to the invention which is shown in the figures, the reference 1 designates a case to which a bracelet is attached 2. Inside the case is arranged an analog clockwork movement 3 (Fig. 4, 5, 6) can be of the mechanical or electronic type, that is to say pendulum or quartz. The movement involves two movable indexes 4 and 5 (fig. 1, 2) in front of an hourly scale, the first index indicating the hours and the second the minutes. The housing 1, the general shape of which is circular in the example described, is delimited by an external lateral face 6, and by two opposite main faces, one being the upper face and the other the lower face, referenced respectively 7 and 8 (fig. 1, 2). The face 7 is the top face of the watch, the face from which the time is read, while the face 8 constitutes the back and comes into contact with the wrist.

The housing 1 has in its center a circular opening 10 of axis xx 'joining the opposite faces 7 and 8 (fig. 1, 2, 6). This opening, the diameter of which in the present case is substantially equal to the radius of the housing, is delimited by a circular inner face 11, at least partially concentric with the face 6. The opening 10 may remain empty, or may contain an object not -represented, such as for example a decorative motif, a compass or a medicine box.

The housing 1 has on its periphery a substantially circular projecting part which forms a compartment 15. This compartment is arranged at 6 o'clock along the axis 6-12 o'clock of the watch and in the extension of its top face 7 (fig. 1, 2, 3, 6). Inside the compartment 15 is provided a housing 16 intended to be closed by a removable bottom 17 (fig. 4).

In the housing 16 is arranged the analog movement 3 already mentioned (fig. 4, 5, 6). The housing 16 is arranged so that the time setting member, in this case the crown 19 of the time setting rod 18 (fig. 2, 4, 5), is accessible from the outside so that the watch wearer can access it. If the movement also includes a calendar or an eccentric second, compartment 15 may advantageously include a window 20 on its top face (fig. 2) to allow the date or seconds to be read. Figs. 7 show in more detail, respectively in a), b) and in c), d), the arrangement of the second hand 21 and the date disc 22 in the housing 16.

The compartment 15, while fulfilling its function of supporting the movement 3, can of course be presented externally in very varied forms, capable of further accentuating the unconventional and original character of the watch, or on the contrary being integrated into the bracelet reproducing its external shape.

The index 4 of the hours is part of an annular disc of the hours 25 arranged in the housing 1 concentrically with the axis xx 'and around the opening 10. Similarly the index 5 of the minutes is on a similar disc 26 minutes placed under the disc 25 (fig. 6). The two discs, of the same outside diameter, are produced in a known manner, being similar to the date discs of conventional watches, made of metal or of molded synthetic material. In the present embodiment, the annular disc 25 is at least partially transparent in order to reveal, from the top face of the watch, the index 5 which it covers.

The discs 25 and 26 are introduced into the housing 1 through its top face 7, the housing comprising for this purpose a removable lens 27 provided with a transparent annular crystal 28 (fig. 6). Once the telescope 27 has been moved away, the disc 26 is disposed in the housing 1 so as to bear on a boss 29 and against an inner guide wall 30, this wall, of circular shape and the outer face of which corresponds to the face 11 of the housing, being intended to center the disc 26. The disc 25, for its part, is placed and guided in a similar manner in the bezel 27 facing the glass 28. The bezel 27 is then force-fitted onto the housing 1, after a ring 31 has been placed between the discs 25 and 26 in order to provide a space between these discs and reduce friction. The two annular discs 25 and 26 thus mounted are therefore free to pivot independently of one another around the axis xx 'and the opening 10.

The rotation of the discs 25 and 26 by the movement 3 is obtained by means of a transmission train constituted by a gear train disposed between the minute axis 34 of the movement 3, called the carriageway and making 1 revolution per hour , and the discs 25 and 26 which have for this purpose on their outer perimeter, the first a radial toothing 35 and the second a similar toothing 36. On the axis 34, oriented parallel to the axis xx 'and which constitutes the motor axis of the mechanism for indicating the time of the watch, is driven a wheel 37 composed of a toothed wheel 38, located opposite the movement 3, and a pinion 39 which is integral with it (fig. 4) . The upper wall 40 delimiting the housing 16 serves as a support for an axis 41, arranged parallel to the axis xx ', on which pivots a toothed wheel 42 engaging the pinion 39 and the external toothing 35 of the hour disc 25 (fig. 5). The number of teeth of these mobiles is determined so that the disc 25 makes 1 revolution in 12 or 24 hours and thus indicates the hours on the hourly scale of the watch. On the wall 40 is also fixed, parallel to the axis 41, an axis 43 which supports a wheel 44 comprising a pinion 45 and, integral with this pinion, a toothed wheel 46. The pinion 45 engages the toothed wheel 38 , while the toothed wheel 46 engages with the external toothing 36 of the minute disc 26, the number of teeth of these mobiles being chosen so that the disc 26 makes 1 revolution per hour and therefore indicates the minutes (fig. 4 , 5).

So that the gear train which has just been described occupies the least space in height, the end of the pinion 39 comes at the level of the disc 25, while the toothed wheel 38 is placed in the immediate vicinity of the movement 3 (fig. 5). Under these conditions the pinion 39 is outside, but very close to, the outer perimeter of the discs 25 and 26 (fig. 6), while the toothed wheel 38 clearly encroaches on these discs without touching them (fig. 2). The toothed wheel 42 is disposed, for its part, at the same level as the disc 25 and the pinion 39, while the toothed wheel 46 is located at the height of the disc 26, between the pinion 39 and the toothed wheel 38. The axes 41 and 43 are placed outside the discs 25 and 26 so that the diameter of the toothed wheels 42 and 46 is as large as possible, taking account of the dimensions of the housing 16 (fig. 2, 5). In the present embodiment, the straight line joining these axes is substantially parallel to that joining the crown 19 to the axis 34, the latter straight line being oriented perpendicular to the 6-12 o'clock direction of the watch.

Of course the movement 3 could occupy in the housing 16 a different angular position, without the need to modify the gear train. The points of engagement between the pinion 39 and the toothed wheel between the wheel 42 and the disc 25, between the toothed wheel 38 and the pinion 45, and finally between the toothed wheel 46 and the disc 26, are visible in FIG. 2 and bear the references 50, 51, 52 and 53 respectively. It should be noted that in FIG. 5 these meshing points are hidden, and that, to make this figure clearer, only the part of the discs 25 and 26 lying outside the gear train has been shown.

In the embodiment which has just been described, the movement 3 and the annular discs 25 and 26 are in parallel planes. This arrangement gives the watch the form which is shown in FIG. 3a, and which is ill-suited to follow the curvature of the wrist since the compartment 15 projects from the side of the inner face 8 of the housing.

For aesthetic reasons, the movement 3 and the container 15 can advantageously be tilted from an angle a of approximately 5 to 10 degrees around an axis perpendicular to the 6-12 o'clock direction of the watch, as shown. in fig. 3b. With such a small tilt angle, the engagement conditions of the annular discs 25 and 26 remain mechanically acceptable.

If the case 1 did not include the compartment 15, the clockwork mechanism of the watch and its setting device per hour, which should be arranged in the small and not very roomy toric volume delimited by the faces 6, 7, 8, and 11, would be, if not impossible, at least difficult to realize and therefore expensive to produce. The presence of compartment 15 and housing 16 overcomes these difficulties, as is clear from the description. Indeed, it suffices to arrange the housing 16 so that it can receive an existing clockwork movement and comprising the time-setting device. The only transformation to be made to the movement consists in driving the wheel 37 onto the roadway, the rest of the gear train cooperating with the discs forming part of the compartment 15. This ease of assembly of course also simplifies the after-sales service. The movement placed in the housing 16 can also advantageously be a movement of the standard type whose external dimensions are standardized. These movements are produced in large series. They are therefore inexpensive and generally available in several practically interchangeable versions, for example in electronic, manual mechanical or automatic mechanical versions. A whole range of watches according to the invention can thus be produced at an advantageous price by using such standard calibers.

It goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the single embodiment which has been shown, but that the scope of this patent also extends to variants of all or part of the described arrangements remaining within the framework of equivalences, as well than to any application of such provisions.

Claims (8)

1. Watch comprising:

   - a case (1) bounded by two opposite principal faces (7, 8), one of the principal faces (7) constituing the top face of the watch, and a lateral face (6), including a central opening (10) traversing right through the case in joining said principal faces, and a lateral compartment (15) within which a housing (16) is arranged;

   - a time display arrangement including concentric annular discs (25, 26) moveable in rotation around their common center, said discs being arranged within the case (1) parallel to said top face (7) from which face time information is visible in a manner surrounding said central opening (10);

   - an analog horological movement (3) including a motor spindle (34);

   - driving means (38, 39, 42, 45, 46) arranged in said housing (16) and intended to transmit the rotational motion of said motor spindle (34) to said discs (25, 26); and

   - a control element (19) accessible from the exterior of said compartment (15),

   characterized in that:

   - said horological movement (3) constitutes a constructively and functionally independent and autonomous unit, including an energy source and time setting means (18); and in that

   - said housing (16) opens to the exterior by an opening made so as to be obstructed by a cover (17), said opening permitting one to introduce and to secure said movement in the housing in a removable manner, said motor spindle (34) then coming into cooperation with said driving means, and said control element (19) with said time setting means (18).
2. Watch according to claim 1, characterized in that said horological movement (3) is a movement the spatial dimensions of which are standarized, and in that said motor spindle (34) is constituted by the cannon pinion of the movement intended to suppport a minutes hand.
3. Watch according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said compartment (15) is arranged at 6 o'clock.
4. Waech according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that said movement (3) permits the indication of still other information, such as the seconds, the date or the day, and in that said compartment (15) includes means (20) permitting one to read a portion at least of said information.
5. Watch according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that said compartment (15) is arranged in the direction of a plane making a given angle (a) with said principal top face (7) of said case (1).
6. Watch according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that said driving means intended to transmit the motion of rotation from the motor spindle (34) to said annular discs (25, 26) comprise:

   - a first toothed wheel (38) and a first pinion (39) fixed onto said motor spindle (34);

   - a second toothed wheel (42) pivoting around a first arbor (41) and meshing, on the one hand, with said first pinion (39) and, on the other hand, with an exterior toothing (35) of one (25) of said annular discs, the number of teeth of the first pinion, of the second toothed wheel and of the toothing of the disc being determined in a manner such that said disc (25) makes one rotation in 12 or 24 hours in order to indicate the hours;

   - a second pinion (45) pivoting around a second arbor (43) and meshing with said first toothed wheel (38); and

   - a third toothed wheel (46) fixed onto the second pinion (45) concentric with the second arbor (43) and meshing with an exterior toothing (36) of another (26) of said annular discs, the number of teeth of the second pinion, of the first and third toothed wheels and of the toothing of the other disc being determined in a manner such that said other disc (26) makes one rotation in 1 hour in order to indicate the minutes.
7. Watch according to claim 6, characterized in that said first (41) and second (43) arbors are an integral part of said compartment (15) as well as the first toothed wheel (42), the second toothed wheel (46) and the second pinion which these arbors support.
8. Watch according to claims 6 or 7 characterized in that said first (41) and second (43) arbors are arranged on either side of a line joining said motor spindle (34) to the center of rotation of said annular discs (25, 26).

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