Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G04—HOROLOGY
  • G04B—MECHANICALLY-DRIVEN CLOCKS OR WATCHES; MECHANICAL PARTS OF CLOCKS OR WATCHES IN GENERAL; TIME PIECES USING THE POSITION OF THE SUN, MOON OR STARS
  • G04B37/00—Cases
  • G04B37/04—Mounting the clockwork in the case; Shock absorbing mountings
  • G04B37/05—Fixed mountings for pocket or wrist watches
  • G04B37/052—Fixed mountings for pocket or wrist watches with shock damping means not related to the winding stem
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G04—HOROLOGY
  • G04B—MECHANICALLY-DRIVEN CLOCKS OR WATCHES; MECHANICAL PARTS OF CLOCKS OR WATCHES IN GENERAL; TIME PIECES USING THE POSITION OF THE SUN, MOON OR STARS
  • G04B37/00—Cases
  • G04B37/08—Hermetic sealing of openings, joints, passages or slits
  • G04B37/11—Hermetic sealing of openings, joints, passages or slits of the back cover of pocket or wrist watches
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G04—HOROLOGY
  • G04B—MECHANICALLY-DRIVEN CLOCKS OR WATCHES; MECHANICAL PARTS OF CLOCKS OR WATCHES IN GENERAL; TIME PIECES USING THE POSITION OF THE SUN, MOON OR STARS
  • G04B39/00—Watch crystals; Fastening or sealing of crystals; Clock glasses
  • G04B39/02—Sealing crystals or glasses
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G04—HOROLOGY
  • G04B—MECHANICALLY-DRIVEN CLOCKS OR WATCHES; MECHANICAL PARTS OF CLOCKS OR WATCHES IN GENERAL; TIME PIECES USING THE POSITION OF THE SUN, MOON OR STARS
  • G04B43/00—Protecting clockworks by shields or other means against external influences, e.g. magnetic fields
  • G04B43/002—Component shock protection arrangements
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G04—HOROLOGY
  • G04G—ELECTRONIC TIME-PIECES
  • G04G17/00—Structural details; Housings
  • G04G17/08—Housings

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a watch case comprising a case whose at least one opening is closed by a telescope and / or an ice, or by a bottom, and in which at least one of the closing elements of the opening is connected at the middle part by an elastic metal member in the form of a ring or endless frame and of recessed straight section defined by the contour of a non-rectilinear wall of controlled thickness, the ends of which are integral with the periphery of said closure element, respectively of the middle part.
• Documents CH630220 and CH686600 describe means for moving ice at varying frequencies by means of an electromagnet or a piezoresistive element. There is mention of a thin annular ring which makes it possible to elastically suspend the ice. The mobility of the ice relative to the middle part is very limited both in the plane of the ice and in the plane perpendicular to the ice, and the watertightness is not guaranteed by the construction.
• the object of the present invention is to give a controlled freedom of movement in direction and amplitude to the closure element mounted on the caseband, bezel and / or ice or bottom, depending on the role that one wishes to give to this closure element.
• the subject of the present invention is a watch case according to claim 1.
• the profile of said wall includes a 'plurality of alternate annular folds whose number is between 1 and 10.
• the thickness e of said wall is constant and between 10 ⁇ m and 200 ⁇ m, the width of the annular fold is between 0.2mm and 4mm, the pitch p of the annular fold being between> 40 ⁇ m and 2.5mm, to give said closure element freedom of movement, stiffness and orientation controlled with respect to the plane of the opening.
• the ends of the profile of said wall are sealingly connected to the periphery of said closure element, respectively of the middle part.
• seals are mounted between the respective cylindrical ends of said wall adjacent to cylindrical seats of said closure member, respectively of said middle and compression rings or frames in view of to seal the box.
• Figure 1 is a partial sectional view of a first embodiment
• Figure 2 is a sectional view of a variant of Figure 1
• Figure 3 is a sectional view of the schematic diagram of another embodiment
• Figure 4 is a sectional view of an embodiment relative to a square or rectangular watch case
• Figure 4a is an exploded perspective view of Figure 4
• Figure 5 is a sectional view of a particular use of the watch case according to the invention
• Figure 6 is a sectional view of another embodiment of the invention
• Figure 7 is a diagram of a bellows on which are indicated the different parameters of this bellows.
• Metal bellows are thin metal wall elements with a carefully chosen profile to provide flexibility, stiffness and resistance data to the set. There are several types of metal bellows: rolled, hydro-formed, chemically deposited, electro-formed, this list being non-exhaustive.
• Electro-formed bellows are particularly interesting. Their manufacturing technique is more than 150 years old, but it is only in recent years that components with complex geometries of low thickness
• the challenge in thickness control is to play with deposition parameters (eg interelectrode distances, nature of electrodes, agitation and bath chemistry, etc.) so as to minimize variations in thickness due to variations. of current density along a geometry with strong changes of curvature.
• deposition parameters eg interelectrode distances, nature of electrodes, agitation and bath chemistry, etc.
• the precise control of the geometry and the thickness makes it possible to develop bellows with adequate stiffness and able to give the closing element of the opening of the middle part a freedom of movement with respect to the plane of this opening.
• the companies Servometer or Nicoform are examples of suppliers of miniature electro-shaped bellows. These bellows are described for example in US 3 '187' 639 and US 5 '932' 360.
• the sites www. servometer. corn or www. nicoform. also give a lot of information about the technique and the materials used.
• bellows can be assembled to other rigid parts to facilitate their integration. It must be ensured that the chosen methods of assembly and the materials used are adapted to the stresses that will undergo the assembly without the associated function being pejorated.
• the assemblies can be made by bonding, brazing or welding by electron bombardment or by laser, or by a combination of at least two of these methods. If, for example, it is desired to guarantee a seal, the bonding or a solder with tin may prove to be insufficient. In addition, depending on the materials used, too high a temperature in the process can degrade their properties. If the stresses require good corrosion resistance, care must be taken to use suitable materials or pairs of materials.
• the material used for the bellows is typically nickel or different nickel-based alloys with specific properties.
• Other materials such as gold, bronze, silver, titanium, tin, zinc or copper are possible alternatives, in massive form or as a finishing coating by nickel plating.
• a nickel with a lower sulfur content (not more than 0.02%, satin aspect) withstands better than the previous one and can be welded.
• the latter has the advantage of better resisting corrosion than ordinary nickel.
• the same is true for nickel with a higher cobalt content (3-10%), which has a higher hardness.
• a thin layer of copper of the order of 3 microns deposited between two equal thicknesses of nickel ensures a seal of the bellows under ultra-high vacuum.
• the gold plating of nickel as well as the realization of the solid gold bellows allow welding without flux at higher temperatures.
• Such a system is particularly advantageous when assembling a bellows with a rigid titanium part.
• the surfaces are resistant to corrosion, and provide good electrical conductivity and are useful in microwave connection applications.
• Zinc plating is an attractive alternative to gold for corrosion protection applications (lost anode protection). • Silver plating is useful in microwave connection applications.
• a coating of a poly-p-xylylene polymer film, commonly known as parylene, of low dielectric permittivity, has excellent stability (solvent resistance and thermal endurance). It is also biocompatible and biostable. These properties make it particularly interesting as a barrier to the environment (corrosion) and insulating layer.
• the embodiment illustrated in Figure 1 relates to the attachment of a watch glass 1 to close the upper opening of a middle part 2 of a watch case.
• the watch glass 1 is connected to the middle part 2 by an elastic metal member 3 in the form of a section ring straight recessed defined by the profile of a non-rectilinear wall of constant thickness, constituting a metal bellows whose ends 3a, 3b are integral with the periphery of the glass 1, respectively of the middle part 2.
• An annular seal 4 surrounds the periphery of the ice and the end 3a of the metal bellows 3.
• the other end 3b of the bellows 3 is fixed in the same manner against a cylindrical portion of the middle part 2 by an annular seal 6 compressed by a titanium ring 7.
• a bezel 8 is fixed on the middle part by a ring 9 fixed against a carried on the external lateral face of the titanium ring 7.
• the ice 1 is held only by one end of the bellows 3, so that it is resiliently suspended on the middle part 2.
• This assembly can then act as a shock absorber; it may be able to switch to enable functions; or else serve as speaker, pressure sensitive system (balance, barometer, etc.) / without this enumeration is limiting.
• Different variants of the assembly mode described in FIG. 1 can be imagined:
• One end or both ends of the bellows 3 are assembled by gluing, welding or soldering to a rigid ring, or directly to the middle part, to facilitate the integration of the system on the box.
• a ring B for example titanium, which holds the ice 1 and its seal 4
• the other end side 2 is clamped with a compression joint J between the bezel and the middle 2. This set is perfectly sealed and withstands the stresses of the external environment.
• the set of ice-glasses suspended at the middle of the bellows 23 can be used to actuate one or more push-buttons P in order to to control the functions of a chronograph, to make a quick change of date or time zone, or to control any other function.
• a bellows S is also shown diagrammatically for sealingly connecting the winding crown and / or time setting C to the box B.
• FIG. 5 illustrates a bellows 23 incorporated between the middle part 24 and the window 21, under the bezel 28, with a stamp or gong 25 and a return element 26 of the patch or gong towards the window 21 and a support element 29 against ice 21.
• the attachment of the ice with a flexible bellows makes it possible to transmit to the outside vibrations generated inside the box (or conversely), while preserving the tightness of the box.
• the ice-shield assembly may advantageously be sized so that its natural frequency is at higher values than the frequency band of the transmitted signal (from 100 to 4000 Hz for example); this one does not find it deteriorated nor modified (distortion).
• the geometry of the bellows does not in any way harm the aesthetics of the room and can be integrated easily.
• the thickness of the bellows wall is of the order of 50 microns, which guarantees sufficient lateral strength. As illustrated in Figure 2, protections are nevertheless provided by the presence of vertical stops bl and b2 or b3 side to prevent damage to the system during very strong external stresses.
• Figure 6 relates to a variant in which an annular bellows 33 is disposed between the bottom 40, to which it is fixed by welding, and the middle part 34.
• the other end of the bellows is clamped between two rings 35, 36 clamped the against one another by a ring 37 fixed to the middle part 34 by screws 38.
• a compression seal J seals the system.
• Stiffness as a function of wall thickness e Stiffness as a function of the width a of a meander Stiffness as a function of the size of the pitch p
• the stiffnesses are defined by k, their index gives the vertical direction v, horizontal h or tilting 6.
• n 0.5
• the thickness e is bounded as follows: •
• the lower limit corresponds to the limit of the manufacturing technique.
• the mechanical stability of the bellows must be guaranteed, which is typically the case from about 10 microns.
• the upper limit corresponds to a reasonable deposit time and a reasonable cost.
• the width a is bounded as follows:
• the lower bound is related to the lower bound of e. In the strictly geometrical sense, it is necessary to guarantee a constant thickness during the deposition.
• the upper limit is also related to the upper limit of e but also in relation to the geometric constraints of a watch. It is not reasonable to envisage a bellows with ⁇ > 4mm on a typical overall diameter of 30 mm.
• the height p is bounded as follows:
• the lower limit is related to mechanical stresses that require a radius of curvature of the meander at least 4 times greater than e.
• n is bounded as follows: • The geometric lower bound is implicit.
• the upper limit must guarantee a homoguide without buckling of the bellows and this for an overall diameter of the bellows of the order of 30mm.
• a mobile ice-telescope system with a vertical displacement amplitude of about ten microns for use as a speaker (Example 2, embodiment shown in Figure 5).

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• 2010
  • 2010-03-08 EP EP14157083.8A patent/EP2738625B1/de active Active
  • 2010-03-08 EP EP10709150.6A patent/EP2409200B1/de active Active
  • 2010-03-08 CN CN201080012503.0A patent/CN102356362B/zh not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2010-03-08 WO PCT/CH2010/000061 patent/WO2010105377A1/fr active Application Filing
  • 2010-03-08 US US13/257,041 patent/US8876371B2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2010-03-08 JP JP2012500024A patent/JP5570584B2/ja not_active Expired - Fee Related

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