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
  • G04B47/00—Time-pieces combined with other articles which do not interfere with the running or the time-keeping of the time-piece
• • 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
  • G04B19/00—Indicating the time by visual means
  • G04B19/06—Dials
  • G04B19/12—Selection of materials for dials or graduations markings
• • 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
  • G04B19/00—Indicating the time by visual means
  • G04B19/30—Illumination of dials or hands
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G04—HOROLOGY
  • G04C—ELECTROMECHANICAL CLOCKS OR WATCHES
  • G04C10/00—Arrangements of electric power supplies in time pieces
  • G04C10/02—Arrangements of electric power supplies in time pieces the power supply being a radioactive or photovoltaic source
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G04—HOROLOGY
  • G04G—ELECTRONIC TIME-PIECES
  • G04G17/00—Structural details; Housings
  • G04G17/02—Component assemblies

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a trim element for a wristwatch having at least one electronic function. More specifically, the present invention relates to a dressing element for a wristwatch having at least one electronic function totally autonomous with respect to the movement of the watch.
• the present invention relates particularly but not exclusively to mechanical movement wristwatches.
• the users' attachment to purely mechanical watches is well known. Nevertheless, the mechanical watch wearers deprive themselves of the advantages that the electronic functions can bring them.
• the present invention aims to overcome this problem by providing a wristwatch with at least one electronic function whose operation is completely independent from that of the movement of the watch.
• the present invention relates to a dial for a wristwatch, characterized in that at least one light source and a photovoltaic cell for supplying the light source with electrical energy are housed in the thickness of the dial so as to to form an autonomous electronic module totally independent of the movement of the wristwatch.
• the photovoltaic cell supplies the electronic device via a rechargeable battery which stores the energy produced by the photovoltaic cell and restores it. when the electronic device is activated.
• the present invention provides a wristwatch comprising one or more electronic devices whose operation is completely independent from that of the watch. This is particularly advantageous in the case of a mechanical wristwatch. Indeed, the watch retains the emotional aspect that gives it its purely mechanical operation while being joined one or more electronic devices that enrich the range of functions it can offer to its wearer.
• the present invention may equally well apply to an electromechanical or purely electronic watch provided that the electronic device or devices integrated in the trim element are independent of the movement of the watch.
• the invention also relates to a wristwatch bezel, characterized in that the bezel defines an interior volume in which are housed one or more photovoltaic cells mounted in series and at least one rechargeable battery as well as the least an electronic device.
• FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of a watch case comprising a dial which forms with a photovoltaic cell, a rechargeable battery and a light source an electronic module according to the invention completely independent of the movement of the watch;
• - Figure 2 is a view similar to that of Figure 1, an electronic compass function being housed in the dial in addition to the lighting function;
• - Figure 3 is a schematic sectional view of a watch case comprising a dial held by a flange in which are integrated a photovoltaic cell and a light source;
• Figure 4 is a view similar to that of Figure 3, the light source being integrated in the dial, in the vicinity of the foot of the flange;
• FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional view of a watch case according to the invention comprising a dial formed by a solar cell structured on a printed circuit and in which is integrated a light source;
• FIGS. 6A and 6B are respectively sectional and top views of a telescope in which a photovoltaic cell, supercapacitors and a liquid crystal display cell are integrated in order to form a complete and completely autonomous electronic module. movement of the watch;
• FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 are diagrammatic perspective views illustrating three different control means of an electronic module according to the invention.
• FIG. 10 is a plan view of another embodiment of a watch dial according to the invention.
• the present invention proceeds from the general inventive idea of integrating into a wristwatch dial a light source as well as its power supply and control means.
• the integration of the light source must be done in such a way that the light source is completely autonomous with respect to the movement of the watch. It is thus possible to associate with a purely mechanical watch one or more electronic functions that expand the range of functions offered by the watch without harming the emotional nature of a mechanical watch. If the dial of the wristwatch is mounted removably, it is also possible to vary the functions offered by the watch. Of course, it is also possible to mount the dial according to the invention on an electromechanical watch, or even purely electronic. The only condition to be respected is that the dial forms an electronic module completely autonomous with respect to the movement of the watch. Different types of electronic devices such as one or more sources of ultraviolet radiation, a compass, an accelerometer or the like can be envisaged.
• FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of a watch case according to the invention.
• the watch case according to the invention comprises a basic mechanical movement 2 above which is disposed a dial 4 covered by a lens 6.
• the movement 2 conventionally causes a switch 8 comprising an hour hand 10, a minute hand 12 and a seconds hand 14.
• the dial 4 has in its center a through hole 1 6 for the passage of the hour cannon 17.
• the electrical energy supplied by the photovoltaic cell 18 through the conversion of the incident natural light serves to supply one or more light sources 20 also housed in the thickness of the dial 4.
• These light sources 20 may For example, they are ultraviolet sources of the light-emitting diode type.
• the ultraviolet light produced by these diodes is reflected by the ice 6 and illuminates the hour hands 10, minutes 12 and seconds 14 which, for this purpose, will advantageously be covered with a layer of fluorescent or phosphorescent pigments.
• the face of the ice 6 turned towards the dial 4 may be covered with one or several thin layers 22 reflecting the ultraviolet light and letting pass the largest amount of visible light spectrum.
• the ultraviolet light produced by the light sources 20 is reflected by the lens 6 and is returned to the needles 10, 12, 14 to illuminate these needles.
• the pigments deposited on the surface of the needles produce a visible light that diffuses through the ice 6 of the watch.
• the light source (s) 20 are fed directly or, preferably, via a rechargeable battery 24 by the photovoltaic cell 18.
• the rechargeable battery 24 may be formed by a button-cell, a film accumulator, super-capacitors or other .
• the rechargeable battery 24 is mounted on the rear face of the dial 4. It accumulates the electrical energy produced by the photovoltaic cell 18 and restores it to the light sources 20 on the user's command as explained in detail below.
• the photovoltaic cell 18 can be replaced by a non-rechargeable battery.
• the dial 4 forms, with its associated components, namely the photovoltaic cell 18, the rechargeable battery 24 and the light sources 20, a complete electronic module ensuring the illumination of the index hours and needles 10, 12 and 14 and which is completely autonomous with respect to the basic mechanical movement 2 of the watch according to the invention.
• the watch according to the invention therefore retains its purely mechanical aspect which confers its emotional character while being added an electronic function that offers its user a possibility of additional use.
• the addition to the watch of an electronic function does not require any modification or adaptation of any kind of mechanical movement.
• FIG. 2 is a view similar to that of Figure 1 on which we see that an additional electronic function for example of the compass type has been added.
• the photovoltaic cell 18 has been pierced with a hole to allow passage to a barrel 26 of a needle 28.
• This needle 28 is driven via its barrel 26 by a micromotor 30 mounted on the rear face of the dial 4
• This micromotor 30 may be a microsystem better known by its Anglo-Saxon Micro Electronic Mechanical System or MEMS. It can also be a Lavet ultra flat motor, a piezoelectric motor or other.
• additional electronic function can be envisaged such as an altimeter, a temperature sensor and more generally a sensor of a physical quantity.
• FIG 3 is a schematic representation of another embodiment of the invention.
• the photovoltaic cell 18 is arranged annularly on the outer periphery of the dial 4 and is hidden from the viewpoint of the user by a semi-transparent flange 32 disposed obliquely, for example at 45.degree. to the normal dial 4. More specifically, the flange 4 lets the ambient light through its front face 32a turned on the side of the user so that the photoelectric effect can take place, but masks the photovoltaic cell 18 that the flare 32 covers by its rear face 32b.
• the light source or sources 20 are integrated in the inclined plane 34 of the flange 32.
• FIG. 4 is a schematic representation of an alternative embodiment of the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG. 3.
• the photovoltaic cell 18 is arranged annularly along the outer periphery of the dial. 4 and is hidden from the viewpoint of the user by a flange 32 of right cross section in the form of a right triangle whose inclined plane 34 covers the photovoltaic cell 18.
• the inclined plane 34 of the flange 32 is arranged obliquely, for example at 45 ° compared to the normal dial 4.
• the flange 32 is semi-transparent: it lets the ambient light pass so that the photovoltaic effect can occur, but mask by diffusion the photovoltaic cell 18 so that it is invisible to the user.
• the light source or sources 20 which emit ultraviolet radiation are housed in the thickness of the dial 4, arranged near the base 36 of the flange 32.
• the ultraviolet light emitted by the light sources 20 is reflected by the ice 6 and is reflected back to the 10, minute 12 and second 14 hour hands.
• the phosphor and fluorine pigments emit light radiation in the wavelength range of the visible light passing through the ice cream 6.
• FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of yet another embodiment of the invention.
• the dial of the watch is constituted by the photovoltaic cell 18 itself which is structured on a printed circuit 38 which can be made of a ceramic or epoxy material for reasons of strength and rigidity.
• the wall sconces and other decorative motifs 40 are transferred to the visible surface of the photovoltaic cell 18 either by means of self-adhesive elements or by screen printing.
• the photovoltaic cell 18 is pierced with a through hole 42 for the passage of the barrel 17 of the hour hand 10.
• the photovoltaic cell 18 also has one or more cavities 44 in number corresponding to the number of light sources 20. The sources 20 are housed in these cavities 44.
• the dial formed by the photovoltaic cell 18 is held in place by an ordinary flange 46 which does not need to be semi-transparent.
• the flange 46 has a rectangle-shaped cross section and its inclined plane 48 forms with the normal to the surface of the photovoltaic cell 18 an angle of 45 °.
• the invention has been described in connection with a watch dial which forms with a photovoltaic cell, a rechargeable battery, one or more light sources and, if appropriate, a related function such as an electronic compass, an autonomous electronic module completely independent of the movement of the watch.
• a dial can equip any type of watch and, in particular, a mechanical watch, without any need to change the movement of the watch, so that the mechanical watch retains its intact emotional character while providing additional functions to his user.
• the dial according to the invention is not the only covering element to which the present invention can be applied and that other covering elements such as a telescope can also be transformed into a module. independent electronics according to the teachings of the present invention.
• FIGS. 6A and 6B are respectively sectional and top views of a bezel according to the invention generally designated by the general reference numeral 50.
• the bezel 50 defines an interior volume in which are housed at less a photovoltaic cell 18 and a plurality of rechargeable batteries 52.
• the photovoltaic cells 18 are preferably but not limited to three in number. Connected in series, the three photovoltaic cells 18 are mounted on a substrate 54 which is supported on an inner shoulder 56 of the telescope 50.
• the photovoltaic cells 18 are mounted close to the upper face 58 of the telescope 50, below this upper face 58.
• the upper face 58 of the telescope 50 is transparent or semi-transparent at least in the region where the three photovoltaic cells 18 are arranged.
• the rechargeable batteries 52 may for example be super-capacitors 52 which are components of the type mounted on the surface, better known under the name Anglo-Saxon Surface Mounted Device or SMD.
• the super-capacitors 52 of a ring are connected in parallel and the two rings of super-capacitors 52 are mounted in parallel.
• These two rings of super-capacitors 52 serve to store the electrical energy produced by the photovoltaic cells 18 and to restore it at the request of the user to power the electronic device or devices housed in the bezel 50.
• other types of rechargeable batteries such as shaped or film accumulators, superimposed or not, can be envisaged.
• the electronic device is a digital display device 59 such as a liquid crystal cell or a bistable cell which can, for example, be used to time an activity.
• the telescope 50 can be mounted fixed or rotating. It can also be removably mounted so as to be replaced by a bezel enclosing another electronic function.
• the covering element according to the present invention comprises only a source of energy and an electronic device powered by this energy source.
• an electronic device such as a compass operates continuously being powered by one or more photovoltaic cells.
• the electronic device or devices housed in a dial or bezel according to the invention are activated at the request of the user.
• control means for the electronic function can take different forms, three of which are shown in the drawing.
• the control means comprise a magnet 62 housed in the rotating bezel 50 and a reed contact 64 housed in the flange 46 of the dial 4.
• a magnet 62 housed in the rotating bezel 50
• a reed contact 64 housed in the flange 46 of the dial 4.
• the reed switch 64 detects the magnet 62 and generates a signal that is used to control the electronic device.
• an electrode 66 forming a tactile control key is structured in the flange 46.
• a switch 68 of the SMD type is mounted under the dial of the watch and is actuated by the user from outside the watch case by means of a push button 70 which passes through the middle part (not shown) of the watch case.
• control means may be of the automatic type such as an accelerometer which, when it detects an acceleration caused by a movement of the arm of the user, will control the engagement of the electronic function.
• FIG 10 is a perspective view of another embodiment of a watch face according to the invention.
• the hour indexes of the dial 72 are formed by solar cells 74 arranged flush with the surface of the dial 72 and which supply light emitting diodes 76 arranged in the extension of said solar cells. These light-emitting diodes 76 are intended to illuminate by reflection on the ice 6 the hours, minutes and seconds hands.

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• 2009
  • 2009-09-01 EP EP09169173A patent/EP2290478A1/de not_active Withdrawn
• 2010
  • 2010-08-02 CN CN2010800387885A patent/CN102483608A/zh active Pending
  • 2010-08-02 EP EP10747015.5A patent/EP2473884B1/de active Active
  • 2010-08-02 JP JP2012525963A patent/JP5486087B2/ja active Active
  • 2010-08-02 WO PCT/EP2010/061209 patent/WO2011026700A1/fr active Application Filing
  • 2010-08-02 US US13/386,863 patent/US8787120B2/en active Active
• 2014
  • 2014-06-20 US US14/310,535 patent/US8964512B2/en active Active

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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