EP0041481A1 - Watch case - Google Patents

Abstract

The watchcase has the upper face of its caseband wholly covered by the glass composed of: an outer plate of transparent material; a smaller transparent plate centrally glued to the inner face of the outer plate for securing the glass to the caseband by its insertion in the caseband opening, and an ornamental opaque fitting in the form of a frame also glued to the outer plate, radially some distance apart from the smaller transparent plate. This fitting may consist either wholly of a transparent body opacified by a vaporized layer or partly of a transparent body, under which a precious or semi-precious stone is glued, or of a metallic or ceramic body. Like a bezel, it determines the aspect of the visible watchcase face while the watch is worn. Every piece of a series of identical watchcases can be given an original appearance simply by gluing a particular fitting to the glass.

Description

In known boxes of the type defined by the preamble of claim 1, the appearance of a bezel is imparted to the glass by a metallization layer deposited on a rim of the glass or on the walls of a recess formed under this rim ( CH-B-336'334).

While the metallized layer, deposited on the outer face of the glass, is hardly durable, that deposited in a recess, under the rim of the glass, opens only a very limited range of possibilities. First of all, this solution does not provide a truly watertight seal between the glass and the middle of the case. In addition, it is only applicable to round glasses, due to the method of fixing the glass. It is also limited to glasses of relatively soft material, because of the shape to be given to the glass. A hard glass, such as a sapphire or a tempered mineral glass, as is generally used nowadays in quality watches, cannot, in fact, be machined in this form. Finally, the metallization provided for in this known solution can only produce surfaces of uniform color, with metallic reflections.

It thus appears that this known solution can only be suitable for boxes of very ordinary quality, mass produced from identical parts. Now, in watches quality, - the same model is rarely ordered in large series. The manufacturer of the cases for these watches is therefore reduced to an artisanal production, which is therefore expensive. If it is called upon to supply different models of cases for the same watch caliber, it must have a large specialized workforce and significant equipment to be able to execute at the same time the operations of termination of the different models that 'we ask him and deliver the orders he receives within reasonable deadlines, as a whole and not drop by drop.

However, it is known to display decorative patterns on the periphery of a glass which break the monotony of plain surfaces, in particular by forming reflective facets on the back of the glass (CH-B-435'123). This solution does not however give the periphery of the glass the appearance of a frame replacing. the bezel of conventional boxes. It aims, on the contrary, to create the illusion of a dial extending up to near the edge of the box, where there remains a metallic part of the latter, necessary for the protection of the glass and which, although very narrow , nevertheless appears as a telescope, which must be ended as such, but with a very limited variety of possible effects. Furthermore, this solution is, like the first mentioned above, limited to glasses of relatively soft material for the same reasons.

Boxes are also known, the bezel of which, in two pieces, is constituted by an element independent of the glass and the middle part and includes a ring made of transparent material, on the reverse of which time signs are molded in hollow and are filled with clear material. phosphorescent, so as to appear in contrast with a dark protective varnish, applied to the reverse of said ring, which thus constitutes the annular dial of the watch (CH-A-323 '978).

Compared to the two known boxes, mentioned above, it is not the glass itself, in this third known box, which has an opaque part at its periphery, but a part which is independent of it and which is mounted for itself. on the box. In addition, glass can only be made from relatively soft material.

The state of the art also contains watch cases in which the glass and the middle part, made of hard materials, having the same coefficient of thermal expansion, form a body for the operations of casing the movement (FR-A-2'397 ' 668).

The manufacture of the entire middle of the case from a material whose hardness is of the same order as that of a sapphire crystal, is however a delicate and laborious operation and, consequently, slow and extremely expensive.

The box defined by the characteristic of claim 1 avoids the aforementioned drawbacks, while considerably widening the range of appearances which it is possible to give to the box. Apart from the functional elements of a watch (dial, time signs, counters, hands, calendar rings), it is, in fact, mainly the part of the box usually occupied by independent, conventional glasses, which determines the appearance of '' a wrist watch to wear. To make it a piece of jewelry, as it should be for a quality watch, it is therefore on this part of the box that it is necessary to operate, and this, by providing for ornamental elements other than a dial.

In the box defined by claim 1, the support for these ornamental elements is the opaque frame fixed to the transparent plate of the glass. This means that for a box of determined dimensions and shape, intended to receive a given type of movement, the middle, the bottom and the transparent plate of the glass can be produced in series, as large as the number of terminals. different sounds requested for the visible side of the box. It is, in fact, the opaque frame, fixed to the transparent plate of the glass, which constitutes the visible face of the box and gives it its appearance. In addition, given its simple geometric shape, the frame in question is easy to manufacture.

The special embodiments defined by claim 2 have the advantage that the boxes of a given series all have the same height, whatever the frame fixed to the transparent plate of the glass. In these boxes, the free space between the dial and the glass always has the same height available for the hands. In addition, the opaque heel thus formed around the transparent part of the glass, like the independent bezel of conventional boxes, offers ample volume for massive ornamental elements.

Claims 3 and 4 define two equally advantageous methods of fixing the opaque frame to the transparent plate of the glass. The adhesives offered on the market produce long-lasting adhesions, more than sufficient in this case. In addition, they are perfectly transparent and, under certain conditions, easy to make, they dry very quickly.

The protective effect, such as that exerted by glass, in the special embodiments defined by claim 5, has already been used extensively in watch cases. In this case, it allows you to decorate the visible face of the box using ornamental elements, even very delicate, without the risk of deteriorating the latter, since they are under the protection of a particularly hard element. .

The ornamental elements of the glass can also consist of thin layers applied by vacuum spraying, but the frame fixed to the transparent plate of the glass allows them to be made massive, as defined by the re vendication '6. They can even constitute the entire peripheral part of the glass (claim 4). When the latter is made of synthetic corundum, the ornamental elements will preferably also be made of sapphire, but colored and not transparent.

The special embodiments defined by claim 7 have the advantage of allowing conventional fixing of the glass to the middle of the case by relatively simple means.

Thanks to its periphery well pressed against the box, the glass defined by claim 8 has the advantage of being suitably protected against impact and the risk of catching on foreign bodies.

• la Fig. 1 est une coupe radiale partielle d'une première forme d'exécution de la boîte selon l'invention;
• la Fig. 2 est une vue en perspective explosée d'une ébauche du verre de la Fig. 1;
• la Fig. 3 est, dans sa moitié supérieure, une vue en plan de la Fig. 1, et, dans sa moitié inférieure, une vue en plan d'une autre forme d'exécution;
• la Fig. 4 est une coupe partielle du verre encore d'une autre forme d'exécution, et
• la Fig. 5 est une vue en plan partielle d'une dernière forme d'exécution.

Some embodiments are described below by way of example, with reference to the drawing, in which:

• Fig. 1 is a partial radial section of a first embodiment of the box according to the invention;
• Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a blank of the glass of FIG. 1;
• Fig. 3 is, in its upper half, a plan view of FIG. 1, and, in its lower half, a plan view of another embodiment;
• Fig. 4 is a partial section of the glass in yet another embodiment, and
• Fig. 5 is a partial plan view of a last embodiment.

The box shown in Figs. 1, 2 and in the upper half of FIG. 3 has a generally rectangular shape. It comprises a bottom cap 1, of the same shape, which has a circular cylindrical recess 2 for the movement 3 of the watch. Dial 4 also has a rectangular shape, but its corners are rounded. The case back 1, fitted with the movement 3 and the dial 4, is fitted into a middle part 5 to which it is fixed by screws 6, as seen in the drawdown in phantom in FIG. 1. The seal between the two parts of the box is ensured by a gasket 7. Next to "6 h" and "12 h", clearances 8 (Fig. 3) are dug in the middle part 5 of so as to form horns 9 under a veil 10, to which a bracelet can be hung in the usual way, by means of bars. The middle 5 has a flat upper face 11 and, along the edge of its central opening 12, a projection 13. The shape of the opening 12 corresponds to that of the case and the dial, as shown in FIG. 3.

The glass 14 of this box is composed of three pieces made of transparent synthetic corundum, commonly called sapphire and the faces of which are polished. Fig. 2 shows a blank, which includes a rectangular upper plate 15, a central plate 16, smaller, whose shape corresponds exactly to that of the opening 12 of the middle part 5, and a frame 17, of the same thickness as the plate central 16, the external dimensions of which can be equal to or greater than those of the upper plate 15 and the opening of which is larger than the central plate 16. This central plate 16 and the frame 17 are each glued to each other under the upper plate 15, using an adhesive which does not alter the transparency of the corundum.

When the three parts 15, 16 and 17 form a unit, a groove 18 appears on the back of the glass 14, between the central plate 16 and the frame 17, which forms a heel of the glass 14. The upper edge of the glass 14 is then cut in bevels 19, 20, 21 (Fig. 3) extending over the entire height of the upper plate 15 and over part of the heel 17 (Fig. 1). The underside of the plate 16 is then masked and a layer 22 of a few hundred angstroms is deposited on the walls and the bottom of the groove 18 as well as under the heel 17 by vaporization under vacuum, so as to make these parts opaque. of glass 14. Since the faces of glass 14 thus metallized are polished, the deposit 22 appears shiny lant through the glass. In the embodiment described, it is this deposit 22 which will give the part of the face of the box, surrounding the transparent central zone of the glass 14, its final appearance. Indeed, the glass 14 is put in place by engaging its central part 16, furnished with a cuff 23, by force in the opening 12 of the middle part 5, until the bottom of the groove 18 and the heel 17 rest respectively on the projection 13 and the face 11 of the middle part 5. To avoid, on the one hand, that the part of the upper plate 15 of the lens 14, extending between the central plate 16 and the heel 17, does not undergoes a stress after the introduction of the glass 14, and, on the other hand, a fault between the heel 17 of the glass and the middle part 5, the height of the projection 13 is exactly equal to the thickness of the central plate 16 and heel 17. As the glass extends to the outer edge of the middle part 5, the upper face of. the latter is entirely masked by the deposit 22, as is the case in conventional boxes, comprising a bezel fixed to the middle part.

In addition to gold and silver, there are still a number of other materials capable of giving the box an aesthetic appearance, among all those which can be vaporized under vacuum. Chromium, titanium and even carburetted or nitrided compounds are cited by way of example. By a judicious choice of the thickness of the layer 22, it is also possible to obtain original colored reflections. It is also possible to create a contrast between the bottom of the groove 18 and the heel 17, by carrying out a first vaporization of the groove 18 alone, the heel 17 being masked like the central plate 16, then a second vaporization, after having discovered the heel 17. If a layer of titanium carbide has, for example, been deposited under the heel 17, a titanium plate 24, of a shape similar to the visible part of the dial can be glued to the center of the glass 14, in a recess on the external face of the plate su 15, 'for the aesthetic purpose of constituting a reminder of the appearance of the heel 17 while masking the axis of the needles and the crossing of these.

It follows from the preceding description that while manufacturing the two parts 1 and 5 of the box as well as the blank of the glass 14 in series, it is possible to give the box very varied aspects, since these are determined exclusively by the sprays carried out last on the periphery of the glass. Although the metallization layers are applied to flat faces of the glass, they acquire relief thanks to the bevels 19, 20, 21 and to the refractive coefficient of the sapphire. The frame 17 creates a depth effect not devoid of originality. The optical properties of the glass described further reveal the very thin box, when viewed from the edge.

It will be noted that the adhesion of the vaporized layers on the corundum is in no way critical, because under the glass they are protected from contact with foreign bodies. If a chemical attack on these layers was to be feared following infiltration by the edge of the box, it would suffice to deposit a protective layer on them.

In the second embodiment, shown in the lower half of FIG. 3, the central part of the obverse of the glass 25 is not flat. Facets 26 are cut in this part of the glass 25 according to a trunk of a tetragonal pyramid. If a plate 27 is housed in a recess in the center of the glass, as in the first embodiment, the facets 26 may extend to the edge of this plate or even over part of it, the pyramid n 'being then truncated only in the middle of the plate 27, as seen at 28 in FIG. 3.

Fig. 4 shows a third embodiment, which also only affects glass. In this embodiment, it is no longer a transparent frame which constitutes the heel du.verre 29, but opaque elements 30. Two first opaque elements 30 can thus be glued under the upper plate 31 of the glass 29, along the lateral sides of the latter, opposite "3 h" and " 9 h ", and two other opaque elements, of the same material as the first ones or made of a different material, can then be glued between the ends of the first two opaque elements, along the short sides of the glass. These elements 30 can be metallic or ceramic; they can also be made of colored synthetic corundum. A transparent plate 32 is also bonded under the central part of the plate 31 and an opaque layer 33 is vaporized under vacuum in the groove 18 of the glass 29. It can extend under the elements 30 where it does not however have any influence on the appearance of the box, unless the elements 30 still have a certain translucency.

In another embodiment (not shown), the transparent part of the glass could extend only above the groove formed on the back of the glass. Opaque, metallic, ceramic or colored corundum elements would no longer be glued under this transparent part, but against its edge. The bevels, such as 19, 20, 21, cut along the edge of the glass, would then preferably start from the joint between the transparent and opaque parts of the glass. Thus, this joint would no longer appear in the middle of a facet of the glass, as in the first embodiment, but along an edge, where it would be less apparent, due to the contrast existing between the vaporization of the throat and opaque elements glued against the transparent part of the glass. Compared to the embodiments described above, with glass composed of elements glued one on the other, this has the advantage of ensuring a constant, well-determined bonding surface, between the opaque elements and the transparent part of the glass, whatever inclination the bevels at the edge of the glass then feels to have. *

Fig. 5 shows an embodiment which differs from the previous ones only in the shape of the obverse of the glass. Instead of being cut into a pyramid trunk, the part of the external face of the glass 34, comprised between the bevels 19, 20, 21, has facets 35 parallel to the direction "6 o'clock" - "12 o'clock" of the box. In this case, the two bevels 19 on the short sides of the box extend at 19a in a part of the central zone of the glass.

In other embodiments (not shown), the ornamental elements, carried by the frame fixed to the transparent plate of the glass, are fine or semi-precious stones, such as, for example, lapis lazuli, cat's eye or tiger's eye, opal, coral, malachite, etc. For this purpose, the transparent frame 17 of the first embodiment (Fig. 1) is made thinner than the central plate 16 of the glass 14 and a fine stone frame is glued under this heel, so as to arrive at flower of the central part of the glass intended to engage in the opening 12 of the middle part 5 of the box.

In this latter embodiment, the central part of the fine stone, cut to form the opening of the frame, is not lost; it can in particular decorate the dial of the watch. The dial and the box then have the same veins and the same colors, since the decorations of the dial and the box both come from the same plate of fine stone. In addition, the fine stone, glued under the heel of the glass, is not only protected, but its visible side has more shine, is more shiny, than those of bare stones. For this reason, a fine stone plaque that we would like to see in the center of the glass, to hide the axis of the needles and their crossing, would be buried in a recess arranged not on the obverse, but on the back of the glass.

Note that the pieces of the box and the glass have exactly the same shapes and dimensions in all the examples described. As a result, the parts of the box and the glass blanks can be mass produced. Only the vaporization of the throat of the glass and the nature of the decorations of the heel of the glass change from one model to another in the same series. For sprays, simply expose the glasses for the required time. As for the massive ornamental elements, they can be prepared in parallel with the manufacture of the other parts of the box. Their final bonding to the transparent part of the glass, which is carried out as a last resort, is an easy operation, which does not risk unexpectedly extending the delivery times.

Although a glass of synthetic corundum has the advantage of constituting a shield making the visible face of the box practically unalterable, it is clear that the invention is not limited to such glasses. These could be made in whole or in part from other materials, for example tempered mineral glass or even synthetic resin or organic material.

The list of examples described is obviously not exhaustive. It is easy to understand that the same series of boxes and blanks of identical glasses can give rise to a multitude of different models. Starting with a rough corundum glass, each of the decorations imagined, even the most delicate, can be made unalterable. The creator of models is therefore very free to match sets of dial / box decorations according to his imagination.

Claims (8)

1. Watch case, in which the periphery of the glass, which completely covers the upper face of the case middle, has the appearance of a bezel, characterized
in that this appearance is imparted to the glass (14, 32) by an opaque frame (17, 30) in one or more pieces, which is fixed permanently to a plate of transparent material (15, 31). 2. Box according to claim 1,
characterized
in that said frame (17, 30) forms a heel of determined height below the periphery of said plate (15, 31). 3. Box according to claim 2, characterized
in that said frame (17, 30) is glued under the periphery of said plate (15, 31). 4. Box according to claim 1 or 2, characterized
in that said frame is glued against the edge of said plate. 5. Box according to either of the preceding claims,
characterized
in that the glass (14) is made of synthetic corundum and constitutes a protective shield for the box. 6. Box according to either of claims 1 to 4,
characterized
in that said frame is composed, at least in part, by one or more elements (30), metallic, ceramic or semi-precious stone. 7. Box according to claim 2 and one or other of claims 3 to 6,
characterized - in that its middle part (5) has a flat upper face (11) and, along the edge of its central opening (12), a projection (13) extending above said flat face, - in that on the reverse of said plate (15, 31), inside said frame (17, 30), a transparent plate (16) is stuck, so as to form, between it and said frame , a groove (18, 26) which receives said projection (13) of the middle part (5) - And in that the fixing of the glass (14, 32) to the middle part (5) is ensured by engagement of the said transparent plate (16) in the said central opening (12). 8. Box according to claim 7,
characterized
in that the bottom of said groove (18, 26) and said frame (17, 30) are pressed respectively on said projection (13) and said flat face (11) of the middle part (5).

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