EP2706417B1 - Wristwatch - Google Patents

Description

Technical area

The present invention relates to a wristwatch, in particular a wristwatch in which at least some indications are displayed by means of a fluid.

State of the art

In watches and mechanical clocks, time indications are usually displayed by means of needles or rings rotated behind the counter.

However, there is a permanent need for alternative forms of display, to improve the legibility of certain indications or to break with conventional aesthetic codes. For example, clocks and clepsydres are known in which certain indications are displayed by means of a moving colored fluid or which alternately fills containers or graduated pipes.

US4034554 describes for example a table clock with liquid display.

These solutions allow to realize elegant or original clocks but are however difficult to transpose in a wristwatch. One of the difficulties comes from the lack of pumps with dimensions adapted to a wristwatch.

Another difficulty comes from shocks and accelerations to which a wristwatch is subjected, and which agitate the liquid. The The operation of most water clocks and other liquid clocks depends on gravity, and these devices can generally function only if they are stationary on a strictly horizontal surface; a liquid spills or flows in an undesired direction as soon as the inclination is changed or the clock is shocked or accelerated.

WO 2005/069087 concerns a watch with an hourglass. It includes a transparent inner case with two symmetrical containers containing sand, which are connected to each other through an opening. Marks are provided at predetermined intervals on the surface of the inner case so that a user can deduce the expired time based on the amount of moving sand. The inner case is connected to an outer casing with respect to which it can rotate. The watch may include two analog or digital time displays, one for each sand container, so that at least one display is visible as the sand passes from one container to another. There are no fluids or fluid pumps in this document. The use of sand imposes a minimum dimension to all containers and channels in which the sand circulates, due to the granularity of the material.

A number of documents also describe watch mechanisms based on liquids and adapted to wristwatches.

So EP1947530 (Audemars Piguet Renaud and Papi SA ) describes a mechanical wristwatch movement whose reassembly is ensured by the displacement of a liquid mass. The liquid here serves a very specific function (winding), but not to display temporal indications.

EP1862873 and EP1862874 disclose a display device for a watch having a transparent plate provided with a cavity connected by a channel to a colored fluid reservoir. The cavity can be filled or emptied with a micropump to display information. These plates define the watch dial which can thus display variable information according to the filling state of the cavities. In these devices, the liquid circulates in recessed pipes or cavities behind the ice and the dial. Reflections on the ice or stones that cover the dial diminish the contrast and prevent the sight of the liquid. It is therefore necessary to use liquids of bright color, which harms the aesthetic freedom of the designer. As the cavities filled with liquid are very recessed, it is also necessary to fill cavities of relatively large size so that the liquid can be seen. These cavities occupy an important place on or behind the dial, and also require a powerful pump to fill them in a given time.

WO2009010568 discloses a wristwatch in which a hydraulic system is used to transmit forces or torques from one point of the movement to the other, for example to replace the gear train. In one embodiment, the fluid is colored and used for animations on the dial, in the movement or through the box or dial. In another embodiment, a fluid this time transparent flows between two windows in order to transmit movements invisibly between two points.

GB2125991 relates to a watch comprising two transparent windows, one lower and the other upper, forming a sealed space in which a liquid and objects can move, to produce a decorative effect. The liquid may be opaque. It is not used for displaying a time indication.

WO 2006/065976 relates to a time display system, wherein the passage of time is represented by the level of a fluid column. The visualization of the time indication is performed with a conductive fluid which is pumped from a reservoir to a space between two tubes, of which one comprises a conductive layer. The capacity between this layer and the liquid, which can be controlled, is proportional to the height of the fluid. Scales are planned to read the time through the height of the liquid. This system is not intended for a wristwatch and requires additional external means to drive the pump.

Brief summary of the invention

An object of the present invention is to provide a wristwatch for displaying indications in a new and unexpected manner with respect to claims 1 and 13. The variants are described in the dependent claims.

• un boîtier;
• un mouvement logé dans ledit boîtier ;
• une glace de montre par-dessus le boîtier ;
• une pompe à fluide entraînée par ledit mouvement afin de pomper un fluide ;
• au moins un canal, agencé de manière à ce que le fluide mis en mouvement par ladite pompe atteigne ledit canal, de manière à remplir ledit canal (60) afin d'afficher des indications.

According to the invention, these aims are achieved in particular by means of a wristwatch comprising:

• a housing;
• a movement housed in said housing;
• a watch glass over the case;
• a fluid pump driven by said movement for pumping a fluid;
• at least one channel, arranged so that the fluid set in motion by said pump reaches said channel, so as to fill said channel (60) to display indications.

This solution thus makes it possible to display temporal indications, or other information, directly in the channel. As the fluid circulates in the channel itself a little colored fluid, or circulating in a pipe or a small diameter cavity, will be very visible. It is thus possible to display new very fine details by making opaque or by changing the color portions of ice by pumping a colored fluid in one or channels provided for this purpose.

This solution makes it possible to display indications directly in the channel instead of displaying them in or over the dial as in the prior art. The vision of the colored fluid is thus not hindered or diminished by reflections under the watch glass or by needles or other elements likely to move over the dial. On the other hand, the surface of the ice larger than that of the dial (at least in the case of a curved glass) makes it possible to display more information, or the same number of information in larger and closer to the eye of the user.

The colored portions may correspond to large areas, to finer details, or advantageously to one or more drops whose position along a circuit corresponds to a temporal indication.

• un mouvement de montre ;
• une pompe à fluide entraînée par ledit mouvement afin de pomper un fluide ;
• au moins un canal rempli par un premier fluide avec une première couleur et par un deuxième fluide avec une autre couleur, le premier fluide et le deuxième fluide étant non miscibles,
• ladite pompe à fluide et ledit canal étant agencés de manière à mettre en mouvement lesdits fluides dans ledit canal, de façon à ce que la position du deuxième fluide corresponde à une indication temporelle.

According to another aspect of the invention, these objects are achieved in particular by means of a wristwatch comprising:

• a watch movement;
• a fluid pump driven by said movement for pumping a fluid;
• at least one channel filled with a first fluid with a first color and with a second fluid with another color, the first fluid and the second fluid being immiscible,
• said fluid pump and said channel being arranged to move said fluids in said channel, so that the position of the second fluid corresponds to a time indication.

This other aspect of the invention is preferably combined with the first aspect, and in this case the channel is arranged at least partly through the ice. This other aspect of the invention may however also be independent of the first aspect, and it is possible to make a channel which is not arranged through the ice, for example a channel in the dial, between the ice and the dial, and / or in motion, filled with two fluids of different color, one of which indicates a time indication.

The first fluid may for example be transparent and the second fluid colored to distinguish them very clearly. In one embodiment, only one drop of the second fluid is present, whose position along the channel makes it possible to indicate a temporal indication.

In one embodiment, the watch movement is a mechanical movement. The pump may advantageously be constituted by a gear pump driven by the mechanical movement. The use of a mechanical gear pump makes it possible to miniaturize the pump while ensuring sufficient efficiency. The casing of the pump is advantageously transparent; it is thus possible to see the mechanism and the gears of the pump.

The watch movement may be constituted by a conventional basic module and an auxiliary module superimposed and / or juxtaposed over the base movement, and driven / regulated by the latter. The entire hydraulic circuit is mounted in or controlled by this auxiliary module, including the part of the channels that leaves this module to cross the ice.

The minimum diameter of the channels is limited only by the machining possibilities; even very fine channels, for example having a diameter in places less than a millimeter, or of the order of a few tenths of a millimeter, will be visible when they are filled with colored fluid. Much larger channels and cavities, including channels / cavities occupying an area of a few millimeters or even square centimeters, can also be employed. The diameter of the canal can vary on its course.

Fluid circulation (which may be a mixture of two fluids, for example two liquids or a liquid and a gas) in one or more channels through the ice may be used to indicate the seconds; this allows a particularly interesting animation, by animating the watch ice which is usually passive with a fast movement of colored fluid. This also makes it possible to represent in a particularly direct way the flow of time.

The displacement of the drop or colored portion displaying the seconds may be continuous. Advantageously, however, the fluid moves in a pulsed manner in one or more channels through the ice; the frequency of pulsations is for example one second. The use of pulsed or jerky movements makes the movement of the fluid more visible than if it flows continuously. Even in the case of pulsed or discontinuous circulation, however, a predominantly laminar flow will be favored to reduce energy losses.

The pump that drives the fluid is advantageously driven by the seconds wheel of the watch movement. The device can thus be adapted or developed from an existing movement.

The wristwatch may comprise a flexible membrane in the ice, on the dial or in the movement; this membrane can be moved or vibrated by the fluid.

The fluid (for example the second fluid droplet) can successively occupy several positions or cavities predefined in the ice, in order to display consecutive time indications. For example, it is possible to simulate the movement of a pointer or pointer in the ice, for example by moving a colored drop continuously or jerky in a channel.

It is also possible to progressively fill one or more cavities in the ice with a colored fluid; the filling state then makes it possible to display a time indication.

Surprising animations can also be obtained by modifying the shape and / or the visible surface of the second fluid drop according to the location it occupies in the channel. It is for example possible to have a drop which is reduced in some places to a barely visible surface, and which widens in other places where the channel is less deep. The speed of movement of the drop may also vary along its course.

The channels and cavities can be machined in a monolithic ice, for example in Pyrex. In another embodiment, the ice has several superimposed layers, and the fluid circulates at least partly in grooves provided on the surface of two windows in contact Advantageously, an inner ice is made of a material less hard than the outer ice which is for example in sapphire; in this case, the channels are advantageously provided in the least hard ice. The different parts of the ice can be sealed together, by gluing or heat sealing for example.

An antireflection treatment may be applied inside a cavity through said ice, for example on the surface of one of the windows bearing against another ice. This makes the channel particularly invisible, especially when empty. The coating of the channel may also be chosen to make the surface less wetting, that is to say to modify the surface tension of the liquid so as to prevent it from adhering to the walls of the channels or separates into droplets. A sufficient capillarity so that the liquid remains in the channels even when the watch is shaken is however necessary. It is therefore preferable to apply a surface treatment or a coating to the inner surface of the channels adapted to these two contradictory requirements. It is also necessary that the inner surface remains perfectly transparent, and devoid of glare as indicated.

The channels can be produced for example by chemical treatment of ice (for example by photochemical treatment), by electrochemical treatment, etc.

At least one fluid that circulates in the channels is advantageously constituted by a colored liquid; the coefficient of Expansion is preferably small in order to limit the risk of erroneous indications in case of large temperature variations.

The fluid may also be two-phase and have two or more immiscible components, for example two immiscible liquids or an immiscible liquid and gas. The different components advantageously have a different color. For example, one can have two colored liquids, or a colored liquid and a transparent liquid, or an emulsion. In a variant, which does not form part of the invention, a void is created in the part of the channels not filled with liquids.

Brief description of the figures

• La figure 1 illustre une vue en coupe d'une boîte de montre selon un mode de réalisation de l'invention.
• La figure 2 est un schéma bloc d'une montre-bracelet selon un mode de réalisation de l'invention.
• La figure 3 est une vue en coupe d'un détail de la glace de montre selon l'invention.
• La figure 4 est un schéma bloc d'une montre-bracelet selon un autre mode de réalisation de l'invention.
• La figure 5 est une vue en coupe d'un organe d'affichage comportant une membrane souple actionnée par un fluide.
• La figure 6 est une vue de dessus d'une montre comportant une micropompe et une seconde hydraulique.

Examples of implementation of the invention are indicated in the description illustrated by the appended figures in which:

• The figure 1 illustrates a sectional view of a watch case according to one embodiment of the invention.
• The figure 2 is a block diagram of a wristwatch according to one embodiment of the invention.
• The figure 3 is a sectional view of a detail of the watch crystal according to the invention.
• The figure 4 is a block diagram of a wristwatch according to another embodiment of the invention.
• The figure 5 is a sectional view of a display member comprising a flexible membrane actuated by a fluid.
• The figure 6 is a top view of a watch comprising a micropump and a hydraulic second.

Example (s) of embodiment of the invention

The figure 1 is a simplified sectional view of a wristwatch according to the invention. Another embodiment of a wristwatch according to the invention is also illustrated in plan view on the figure 6 . The watch advantageously comprises in a box 1 a fluid distributor 2 with a reservoir 4 and a pump 5. The pump 5 is advantageously a gear pump provided with two wheels 50 with external toothing, or an internal gear pump which requires a less space. The gear pump is driven by the watch movement 8-9-10 which also determines its rotational speed. The casing 52 of the pump 5 is preferably transparent, and may be made of synthetic material or glass, in order to show the rotation of the gears and the entrainment of the liquid. In one embodiment, the housing is made from several plates of glass or transparent material superimposed on one another. The plates are preferably welded to one another and to the channels by high temperature melting. The gears 50 are held in this housing 52 by pins 500 passing through the housing and / or held in pivots or blind holes. One of the axes 500 can be driven directly by a pinion or a wheel of a conventional watch movement.

Other types of pumps, for example centrifugal, peristaltic or membrane pumps, may also be employed depending on the time indications to be displayed, the fluid used, and the path of the fluid. A gear pump, however, allows the use of gears which are usual components in watchmaking, and easier to integrate visually into a movement and to manufacture industrially.

The pump and dispenser can be visible from above or below the watch, or from the sides, thus allowing to visualize the operation and the path of the circulation of liquid in the watch. In an advantageous embodiment, the pump, the reservoir and the entire hydraulic circuit are mounted in an auxiliary module intended to be superimposed or juxtaposed with a conventional clockwork base movement, which drives and regulates it; it is thus possible to add a hydraulic or pneumatic display function to a conventional watch movement, by superimposing the new hydraulic display module on the basic movement. For example, on the figure 6 , the pump is constituted by a transparent glass module superimposed over an existing watch movement, and meshing with one of the axes 500 of this movement, for example by the axis of the second wheel which drives directly or via a return one of the two gears of the pump. The pump 5 is then between the movement and the ice; it is driven from below by an axis 500, and connected on top to the channels 60 to carry one or more drops of liquid in the channels.

The watch movement comprises a power source 8, for example a barrel or a battery, a regulating member 10, for example a balance / hairspring assembly or a quartz oscillator, as well as transmission members 9, including for example a train of wheels and gables. Other elements, including complications etc can be provided. The energy source 8 also makes it possible to actuate the pump 5.

The pump 5 draws the liquid from the tank 4 into one or more channels 60 passing through the watch window 6, so as to display time indications or other indications directly in the ice. The channels typically have display portions parallel to the surface of the ice, as well as holes 64 perpendicular to this surface and to connect them to the pump and the distributor in the movement.

The geometry and dimensions of the channels in the ice and in the rest of the watch are chosen so as to allow filling without bubbles when the bubbles are undesirable. For this purpose, the minimum sections of the channels are of the order of one square millimeter, for example between 0.1 and 10 square millimeters, which makes it possible to evacuate the bubbles with overpressures acceptable by the system, for example overpressures of a few millibars. only. Steep changes in direction, for example right angles, and complex or too small geometries which can cause bubble blockages in the narrow passages and block the flow of fluid, are also preferably avoided.

As indicated, it is also possible to make channels that do not cross the ice and are filled with two immiscible fluids, one of which indicates by its position a temporal information.

The liquid (or other fluid) is preferably colored to better see it in the channels; however, transparent liquids can also be used if they modify the refraction on the inner surface of the channels so as to make them visible when they are full. The circulation of the liquid through these channels thus makes it possible to modify the opacity and / or the color of the ice at the places where the channels pass, depending on the position of the liquid in these channels. It is also possible to use phosphorescent liquids visible in the night, for example fluids containing phosphorescent or luminescent particles.

The path traveled by the channels in the ice may include bifurcations to selectively fill different channels or cavities in the ice. The displayed indications then depend on the channels / cavities that are filled at every moment. In the preferred example of the figure 6 , the circuit comprises a single channel 60 closed loop, in which circulates one or more drops or fluid bubbles whose position provides a temporal indication. In a preferred embodiment, the position of the drop 65 corresponds to a second slider and is incremented by 6 ° every second; the displacement of the drop can be done regularly and continuously, or by jerks every second.

It is also possible to use several colored liquid segments whose position in the channel makes it possible to display an indication. These two solutions may further be combined to display indications by means of drops, bubbles or colored liquid segments that selectively take one of several possible paths. It is also possible to display indications by means of gas bubbles or light fluid rising through another liquid, the line of demarcation between the gas and the other liquid for displaying an indication.

If the channel in the ice or in the movement has bifurcations, the watch may include microvalves to control the path chosen at each moment by the liquid. These microvalves can also be mounted in the ice. They are, however, difficult to conceal, and also have the disadvantage of easily blocking for example because of bubbles or impurities.

Alternatively, or in addition, it is also possible to use multiple pumps controlled independently of each other to selectively send a liquid in one channel or another. For example, one channel may carry a first drop of liquid displaying the current second, while a second channel may carry another drop displaying another indication, for example the second of the chronograph. Each channel or liquid circuit may have its own pump; according to the indications, a single pump can also cause drops in several circuits.

Passive microvalves, that is to say without moving parts, and / or microdiodes, can also be used, for example Tesla-type microdiodes, convergent-divergent or type-type microdiodes. Vortex, which regulate and control the flow of a fluid in a reliable and repetitive manner over time.

In an advantageous embodiment, the path taken by the fluid depends on the viscosity of the fluid, the internal walls of the channel and the pressure applied by the pump. It is thus possible to control the path traveled by and / or the flow rate of a bubble or a drop in the channel by working on the choice of the surface tensions of the liquids and on the properties of wettability and on the characteristics hydrophilic or hydrophobic surfaces of the channels, and on their shape and surface state. Preferably, no active microvalve is used in the liquid circuit.

In the example of the figure 2 and in that of figure 6 a drop 65 of a second fluid travels an annular path at the periphery of the ice, so as to simulate the movement of a colored second pointer in the ice. The drop of liquid preferably has a high viscosity so as not to split even when the watch is shaken; it is pushed into the annular channel by a first differently colored fluid, for example a gas or a second transparent liquid immiscible with the liquid of the drop, and moved by the micropump. The viscosity and / or color of the two fluids is different, and they are immiscible. Cavities 61 may be provided in this annular path, for example 60 successive cavities spaced apart by 6 ° from each other; the drop passes from one cavity to another every second, under the impulse of the pump which can be pulsed. The diameter and the shape of the cavity may be respectively different from the diameter and / or the shape of the channel between the cavities, so as to force the drop to stop in these cavities. It is also possible to apply on the internal surface of the cavities a microstructuration or other surface treatment different from that applied to the channels, in order to help the drop to progress discreetly and indexed from one cavity to another. As noted above, this second drop display, as described in this paragraph, can also be used with a channel that does not pass through the ice.

The representation of the flow of time can also be achieved by a swirling movement of the fluid in the watch glass, or by a laminar movement in a path whose shape evokes a whirlpool or other decorative figurative or abstract form. Cavities of different shapes and volumes follow each other until a return of the fluid to the distributor. It is also possible to use a circular channel that wraps around itself with a speed of flow that accelerates towards the center of the representation until reaching an evacuation channel near the center of the ice. The acceleration and slowing of the fluid can be made visible by bubbles, drops or non-homogeneous mixtures of fluids.

The choice of an appropriate texture on the internal surface of the channels makes it possible to modify the contact area of a drop with this surface. For example, by applying tips - for example carbon or glass nanotubes - on the internal faces of the channels, wetting can be considerably reduced and an extremely hydrophobic channel can be obtained. Sometimes we speak of "fakir" effect; drops that can not slip between peaks of roughness tend to perch on the tips rather than wet the surface portions between these points. The liquid-channel contact surface is thus considerably reduced, which facilitates flow, reduces friction, and reduces the energy required to advance the liquid. Appropriate choices of structures at different points in the liquid path also make it possible to control the flow velocity and the path of the one or more fluids. It is also possible to exploit these microstructures to create large surface cavities in which the liquid advances very rapidly and with reduced friction, which allows them to be filled and emptied almost instantaneously.

Other animations, including the simulation of rotating needles inside the ice, can be used. It is for example also possible to move drops continuously and gradually, or to advance several drops simultaneously or at different speeds in different channels. Moreover, it is possible to use channels of varying diameter and section along the channel, in order to change the flow rate and / or the surface of the visible drop by the user. For example, it is possible to transform a very concentrated drop by spreading it over a large area, then to make it take a more compact form to create surprising animations in the ice. In another variant, it is possible to combine several drops, for example by pouring each second or at regular intervals a drop in a tank whose filling status indicates the number of seconds of the current minute, and then separating the liquid of this tank in 60 drops at the end of the minute or the next minute. Other flow frequencies may be employed. Microdosers can be used to separate a volume of liquid in smaller amounts.

The figure 3 illustrates a sectional view of a portion of the ice 6 having an outer ice 63 in a hard material, and an inner ice 67 in a material easier to machine or to engrave. A channel or a cavity 61 is etched in this lower layer, and selectively filled with colored liquid by the pumping action of the pump 5. The different parts or layers of the ice can be sealed together, for example by thermal bonding or chemical. Micro-bores in the lower part 67 allow the passage of the liquid to feed the channels.

The distributor 2 makes it possible to ensure the connection between the channels of the ice and the other elements in the movement where the liquid circulates. The dispenser can also be made of several elements assembled hermetically, and include channels and orifices for dispensing the liquid. Flexible or rigid microtubes may also be employed.

• Mécaniques : outil diamant, sablage, jet d'eau avec abrasif, ultrason avec ou sans abrasif
• Chimiques : photogravure, gravure par voie humide, gravure par voie sèche
• Electrothermiques : laser
• Electrochimiques : usinage par étincelage assisté par attaque chimique

Micro-machining of hard and transparent materials can be achieved by methods:

• Mechanical: diamond tool, sandblasting, waterjet with abrasive, ultrasound with or without abrasive
• Chemical: photogravure, wet etching, dry etching
• Electrothermal: laser
• Electrochemical: etching by etching

The method used for the machining of hard, fragile and transparent parts is selected to ensure a good surface condition, that is to say with a low roughness to preserve the transparency of the materials after machining. The use of several technologies in combination for a hole and / or for a part makes it possible to obtain the feasibilities and qualities for carrying out the necessary micro-machining. For the micro-channels and micro-cavities, the chemical machining will advantageously be chosen while for the micro-bores it will be oriented for example towards electrochemistry which makes it possible to obtain a depth-to-diameter ratio of greater than 10, and thus obtain a better quality in the form and repeatability of micro-holes. Where the transparency of the materials is not a necessary condition, as for the dispenser or for other hidden elements, laser machining and postprocessing of the "grinding" or "polishing" type can be used.

As indicated, the channels, cavities and grooves may furthermore benefit from a surface treatment (microstructuring) or a surface coating in order, in particular, to reduce the reflections, to control their wettability with the fluid, to reduce the friction of the fluid on the walls, and / or to guarantee a non-turbulent flow.

The casing of the pump 5 is also advantageously manufactured by chemical or electrochemical machining. The sealing of the drive shaft 500 can be provided by a joint not shown.

The liquid reservoir 4 (optional) can be integrated into the dispenser and / or housed in the crown, in the bezel or in the watch case.

The connections between the various channels and feed holes are preferably made without connections to facilitate assembly and to avoid sealing problems. For example, the connection between the ice channels and the tubes or channels of the movement can be achieved by carefully aligning the ice with the box - preferably by means of a mechanical stop, a pin etc. in order to precisely match the open ends of channels in the ice and in the box or movement. The seal is then obtained by gluing, for example ultraviolet bonding, or by thermal fusion ("fusion bonding") of the two juxtaposed channels.

The figure 4 illustrates another embodiment in which a cavity in the watch glass or in the movement is filled or emptied of a liquid in a pulsating manner, so as to beat the second. This cavity may be covered with a membrane 10 shown in section on the figure 5 ; the pulsation of the liquid in the channel behind the membrane 10 vibrates or pulses it in a particularly visible manner. The membrane may be colored and / or be provided with a shape and a decorative pattern, for example a heart in the figure 5 . Several membranes vibrating synchronously or out of phase in the same watch can be used.

The liquid can also be used for other representations, for example to display in the mirror complications of dead second type, second lightning, second chronograph etc. The second display is advantageous because the problem of setting the time and placement of the drop of colored liquid at the right place along its path is less. However, it is also possible to use this hydraulic solution to display other indications corresponding to longer durations, for example minutes, hours, calendars of date etc. Time setting means manually moving the drop by manual pumping must then advantageously be implemented; these manual pumping means can simply use the conventional time setting circuit, which operates the pump to move the drop.

The use of liquid is also advantageously suitable for displaying countdown type indications, for example regatta countdown, or for displaying tides, etc.

In an advantageous embodiment, the watch makes it possible to display by means of a drop of liquid a timed duration, for example a chronograph second. It is also possible to make an ink chronograph in which a timed duration is displayed by deposition of a drop of liquid at the beginning of the duration, and a second drop at the end of the timed duration.

It is also possible to have multiple channels overlapping or intersecting at different levels in the ice, to display complex indications or to change the color in the overlay areas.

It is also possible to use ice, or layers in the ice, polarized; the circulating liquid can change the direction of polarization in the channel, in order to obtain significant changes in color or opacity.

The present invention also relates to additional modules to be superposed or combined over a conventional watch movement and to collaborate with such conventional watch movement to display a time indication by means of a fluid moving in a channel through the ice, and / or by means of a drop of a second fluid moving in a channel filled with a first fluid to display a time indication.

Claims (13)

1. A bracelet watch, including
   a case (1);
   a movement (8, 9, 10) housed in said case;
   a glass (6) above the case;
   a fluid pump (5) driven by said movement in order to pump a fluid;
   at least one channel (60), arranged such that the fluid set in motion by said pump (5) reaches said channel, so as to fill said channel (60) in order to display time indications,
   said fluid including two immiscible components, characterized in that the watch includes a flexible membrane (10) arranged to be set in motion by said fluid, and arranged to vibrate or pulse in order to beat the seconds.
2. The watch according to claim 1, wherein said movement (8, 9, 10) is a mechanical movement, said pump (5) being a gear pump arranged to be driven by the movement.
3. The watch according to one of claims 1 to 2, the diameter of said channel (60) being smaller than 1 millimeter in at least one location.
4. The watch according to one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first component is a liquid and at least one drop of this liquid colored differently from the other component in the same channel is intended to be moved in the channel, said drop being immiscible in said other component.
5. The watch according to claim 4, wherein said drop is intended to progress in said channel in an indexed manner.
6. The watch according to one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the inner surface of one of the channels is covered with nanotubes or other protuberances intended to be reduce the contact surface between the liquid and the channel.
7. The watch according to one of claims 1 to 6, including a cavity arranged to be gradually filled by one of said components, the filling state making it possible to display said time indications.
8. The watch according to one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the fluid is intended to flow at visibly different speeds in different locations of the glass.
9. The watch according to one of claims 1 to 8, said glass (6) being in two parts (62, 63), an inner part (62) with a first hardness being provided with said channel, and an outer part (63) with a second hardness greater than the first hardness.
10. The watch according to one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the two said components have a different color or viscosity.
11. The watch according to one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the channel (60) is arranged such that the fluid set in motion by said pump (5) is moved continuously.
12. The watch according to claim 1, wherein the fluid is a phosphorescent liquid.
13. A method for manufacturing a bracelet watch according to one of the preceding claims, including a step for producing a fluid pump driven by a movement in order to pump a fluid including two immiscible components, a step for producing at least one channel (60) above the case, said channel being arranged such that the fluid set in motion by said pump (5) reaches said channel, so as to fill said channel (60) in order to display time indications.

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