US2557273A - Pendant watchcase - Google Patents

Description

June 19, 1951 A. GATES I 2,557,273

PENDANT WATCHCASE Filed Aug. 10, 1948 INVENTOR. ANDREW 674 TES.

fl TTORNEK Patented June 19, 1951 UNITED STATES iATENT OFFICE PENDANT WATCHCASE Andrew Gates, Ridgefield, N. J.

Application August 10, 1948, Serial No. 46,354

2 Claims.

This invention relates to a pendant in which a watch is mounted and the invention relates especially to the mounting for said watch.

The combination of a watch in a pendant is well known to the art but the specific mounting herein disclosed constitutes a very substantial improvement over corresponding watch mountings heretofore devised. The principal object of this invention, therefore, is the provision of a pendam in which a watch is mounted and in which the mounting for said watch is structurally simple, yet fully adapted to properly support the watch in its normally concealed and normally revealed positions, said mounting being also fully adapted to change the position of the watch relative to the pendant from the position which it occupies when it is concealed to the position which it occupies when it is revealed. This is not a case of a watch having a cover which may be opened to expose the watch and closed to conceal the watch, the watch remaining in precisely the same position in its mounting, irrespective of whether the cover is open or closed. In the present case, the watch has two normal positions: it

lies supine in its mounting when the cover is in closed position, and it springs upwardly about a given pivot when the cover is opened, to better expose its face to the view of the person wearing the pendant.

The pendant herein described and claimed is provided with a cover having a spring-urged latch. The watch mounting also includes a spring which normally urges the watch into its'raised, revealed position. The latch spring and the mounting spring happen to constitute precisely the same spring and hence it is another object of this invention to provide a pendant of the character described having a spring-urged watch mounting and a spring-urged cover latch wherein the latch spring and the mounting spring constitute one and the same spring.

A preferred form or" this invention is shown in the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. l is a plan view of the pendant herein claimed, showing it in closed position.

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the cover of the pendant in open position.

Fig. 3 is a side edge view of the pendant, also showing the cover in open position.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view in plan elevation of said pendant with its cover removed therefrom.

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the casing of said pendant, showing the inside thereof and the spring mounted therein.

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the latch which holds the cover in normally closed position.

Fig. 7 is a side View thereof.

Fig. 8 is a bottom or inside view of the cover of the pendant showing the spring which normally urges it into open position relative to the pendant casing.

Fig. 9 is a plan view of the bezel and of the watch mounted therein.

Fig. 10 is a bottom view of said bezel and of the watch mounted therein.

Fig. 11 is an enlarged view similar to that of Fig. 3, partly in section to show the watch mountmg.

Fig. 12 is a fragmentary section through said pendant, the cover being shown in closed position.

Fig. 13 is an enlarged, fragmentary, plan view of the pendant, the cover being in open position or entirely removed therefrom, and the bezel being broken away to expose the spring action which normally urges the watch into raised position.

Fig. 14 is a top view of the pendant, viewing it from the position of the person wearing it, the cover of said pendant being shown in process of being swung from open to closed position.

The pendant herein claimed includes a casing 26 which may be of any desirable shape or size and which may or may not be decorated with decorative material 25, a bail 22 through which a ring 23 extends (said ring being normally attaohed to a neck chain or necklace or watch fob) a cover 24 which is hingedly connected to said casing 20, a bezel 25 afiixed to said casing and a watch 255 mounted in said bezel and in said casing for pivotal movement relative thereto. Cover 21% may or may not have a decorative piece 2? affixed thereto. A latch 28 is provided on casing as to engage the cover and hold it in closed position. A coil spring 29 is mounted on said casing for engagement with said cover to urge the cover into open position. A second spring 38 is mounted in the casing for engagement with the watch to urge the watch to swing pivotally into raised position, such as is shown in Figs. 3 and 11. Spring 30 also engages the latch for the purpose of urging the latch into looking or latchin position relative to the cover 24.

Casing 2G is best shown in Fig. 5. It will be noted that two bosses 4B and il, respectively, are formed on the inside of the casing, substantially diametrically opposite each other. Each boss is provided with a tapped hole 42 and it will be seen in Fig. 4 that these tapped holes are adapted to receive screws 43 which extend through regisand receiving parts of the spring. The spring is provided with a loop which partly encircles boss 40. This engagement of loop 5|, which is formed intermediate the ends of the spring, with boss 30, prevents longitudinal displacement of the spring within the casing. It will be apparent, therefore, that the engagement of spring with casing groove 50 and with one of the casing bosses adequately holds the spring in place in the casing. One end of the spring is provided with a loop 52 which extends outwardly from groove so that it may have relative freedom of movement in a plane which is perpendicular to the plane in which groove is is formed. The opposite end 53 of spring 35 is held in the plane of groove 50 by means of inwardly extending flanges 5i: formed on casing 20. The tension of the spring is such that looped end 52 normally extends downwardly below groove 5E! and in the direction of the back of the casing. Bezel 25 has a pair of downwardly extending pins or prongs Gil formed thereon. These pins extend downwardly into engagement or near engagement with the floor or bottom wall of the casing. It will be seen in Fig. 13 that when the bezel is mounted on the casing and held in place thereon by means of screws 43, pins 66 are situated on both sides of looped spring end 52, equi-distant therefrom.

respectively, in bezel 25,

Watch 26 also has a pair of pins 65 formed thereon or affixed thereto and extending generally outwardly, in opposite directions, in the manner of a pair of horns grown on the head of an animal. These pins 65 are spaced and positioned to engage corresponding sides of bezel pins when the watch is mounted between the bezel and the casing in the, manner shown in Fig. 13. Midway between pins a lug 66 is formed on watch 26. The relationship of lug 66 to pins 65 is the same, therefore, as the relationship of looped spring end 52 to pins 613 of the bezel. When the casing, the bezel and the watch are assembled, lug 66 is inserted under loop 52 and pins 65 are brought to bear against pins 69. Pins 60 and 65 comprise a pair of pivots for the watch which enable the watch to engage in pivotal movement from the position which it is shown to occupy in Fig. 12 to the position which it is shown to occupy in Fig. 11, and back again to its original position of Fig. 12. It has been stated that loop spring end 52 acts downwardly in the direction of the floor or back of the casing. Since lug B6 is positioned below loop 52, the eifect of the spring action of said loop upon said lug and the watch on which said lug is formed is to urge the latter into its pivoted or canted position of Fig. 11.

Cover 24 is pivotally mounted on casing 2% by means of pin '10 on which coil spring 29, previously mentioned is mounted. A pair of lugs 11 is formed on casing 28 to support said pin 10 on a line which intersects the line on which pins 60 are disposed, at right angles thereto. The pivotal axis of the cover is removed therefore, from the pivotal axis of the watch. Spring 29 acts to urge the cover into its open position of Fig. 11. The cover is the means by which the watch is held in its supine position of Fig. 12, and it is also the means by which said watch is returned to said supine position from its pivoted or elevated position of Fig. 11. When cover 24 is held in its closed position by means of latch 28, above-mentioned, it engages watch 26 and prevents it from swinging upwardly to its elevated position. When the cover is swung back manually from its open to its closed position against the action of spring 29, it again engages watch 26 and pushes it back to its retracted or supine position.

Latch 28 is slidably mounted between the two flanges 55 of the casing. It has an upwardly extending lug E5 which projects through notches '15 in flanges 55 where it is engaged by spring end 53 of the main spring 39. The spring urges lug i5 and hence the entire latch of which said lug is a part radially outwardly in the direction opposite the hinge on which the cover pivots. The latch has a finger piece T! by which it may be pushed radially inwardly against the action of spring end 53 and in the direction of the covered hinge. It will be noted that lug '55 has a notch "i8 formed therein. This notch is so situated that it is enabled to engage a flange it] formed on the inner peripheral edge of cover 24. See Fig. 14. When the cover is in its closed position, its said flange Z9 is engaged by notched lug 15 of the latch member, and it is thereby held in closed position against the action of coil spring 29. When the finger piece I! of the latch is pushed radially inwardly, the notched lug disengages the cover flange i9 and frees the cover for pivotal movement to its open position in response to the action of spring 29 thereon. It will be noted in Fig. '7 that the top of the notched lug l5 is beveled. It, therefore, becomes possible by simply swinging the cover to its closed position, to cause the cover flange T9 to reengage the notched lug l5 and thereby to be locked in closed position.

It will be appreciated that the foregoing is descriptive. solely of a preferred form of this invention. Other forms of the invention and modifications in the form herein described may be had within the broad scope and spirit of the invention.

. 'By way of illustration, upwardly extending pins on the casing might be substituted for the downwardiy extending pins on the bezel. It is immaterial whether the pins are carried by the one member or the other, providing that they substantially bridge the gap between the bezel and the casing and serve as bearings for the pins on the watch.

The outer contour or shape may be varied to suit the tastes or desires of the individual and obviously the design and style of ornamentation may likewise be varied without departing from the invention as claimed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is: 7

11 A pendant of the character described comprising a casing, a bezel mounted on said casing, a watch pivotally mounted between said bezel and said casing and a cover pivotally mounted on said casing, a spring in said casing which engages the watch and urges it to pivot upwardly into elevated position, a second spring in said casing which engages the cover and urges it to pivot upwardlyinto open position, and a latch on said casing which is spring-urged by the firstmentioned spring into engagement with the cover when the cover is in closed position to hold it in closed position, the pivotal connection by which the watch is pivotally mounted between the bezel and casing comprising a pair of pins which extend downwardly from the bezel in the direction of the casing and a pair of pins which are connected to the watch for engagement with said first-mentioned pair of pins.

2. A pendant of the character described comprising a casing, a bezel mounted on said casing, a watch pivotally mounted between said bezel and said casing and a cover pivotally mounted on said casing, a lug connected to said watch and a spring in said casing which engages said lug and urges said watch to pivot upwardly into elevated position, the pivotal mounting of said watch comprising a pair of pins which are connected to said watch on both sides of said lug and a pair of pins connected to said bezel for engagement with the watch pins, whereby the bezel pins serve as bearings for the Watch pins 6 which pivot about them, said spring extending along the inner periphery of the casing and being provided with a looped end portion which extends radially inwardly for engagement with the watch lug.

ANDREW GATES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,578,607 Levy Mar. 30, 1925 1,820,926 Vasticar Sept. 1, 1931 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 71,823 Switzerland Feb. 16, 1916 416,538 France Aug. 9, 1910

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