EP3347771B1 - Bezel with integrated communication circuit - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a bezel for a timepiece made of a first material.

TECHNOLOGICAL BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to a bezel for a timepiece.

Systems for rotating or not rotating glasses are known. A rotating bezel system includes an annular bezel having an upper face and a lower face, the upper face being the face visible to the user. This bezel includes a toothing cooperating with a spring element for rotating spectacle systems. This cooperation between the spring element and the toothing of the bezel makes it possible to have a rotary bezel which is not

Examples of glasses for timepieces are presented in JP H9-119986 , WO2005 / 065404 A2 and US 2,252,647 .

With the advent of more or less advanced communication functions, it was necessary to find spaces for communication circuits. One solution was to integrate these communication circuits into the telescope. For this, it is known a telescope provided with a recess forming a housing in which the communication circuit and the antenna are placed. The whole is then closed with a cover.

To limit the movement of the communication circuit and the antenna in the housing, it can be filled with a resin.

However, this construction has the drawback of being complex since it requires a cover to close the housing and means of communication in two parts: circuit on one side and antenna on the other. Furthermore, it is an easy-to-disassemble construction for a person intended to recover the communication circuit and the information stored there.

The document US 5,798,984 discloses a bezel for a timepiece comprising a groove in which a communication circuit is arranged.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention aims to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art by proposing to provide a telescope system provided with a communication circuit which is simple, waterproof and safe.

To this end, the invention relates to a bezel for a timepiece made of a first material, comprising a groove in which a communication circuit is arranged. According to the invention, said communication circuit is overmolded with a polymer material filling said groove, said bezel further comprising a timer element allowing indication of the minutes, this timer element comprising a strip made of a second material, this strip comprising extra thicknesses forming indices, the communication circuit being covered with a first overmolding on which the timer element is placed, a second overmolding being arranged on the timer element, the first and second overmolding being arranged so that the extra thicknesses are flush with the surface of the second overmolding.

In a second advantageous embodiment, the second material forming the strip is a transparent material, the timer element further comprising a second strip made of a luminescent material.

In a third advantageous embodiment, the timer element is placed between the communication circuit and the overmolding in polymer material and is arranged so that the extra thicknesses are flush with the surface of the overmolding.

In a fourth advantageous embodiment, the timer element is made of a material chosen from the following list: metal, ceramic, wood, rock.

In a fifth advantageous embodiment, the timer element is made of a material comprising a polymer in which a luminescent pigment is mixed.

In a sixth advantageous embodiment, the polymeric material forming the overmolding is overmolded so as to form hollows, said hollows being filled with a luminescent material.

The invention further relates to a timepiece comprising a case comprising a middle part closed by a base and a crystal and provided with a bezel, characterized in that the bezel is according to one of the preceding embodiments.

In a first advantageous embodiment, the bezel and the middle part form a single piece.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

• la figure 1 représente une vue générale de la présente invention ;
• les figures 2 et 3 représentent une vue détaillées de la lunette faisant office d'élément d'habillage selon la présente invention ;
• les figures 4 et 5 représentent une première alternative d'un premier mode de réalisation de l'invention selon la présente invention ;
• la figure 6 représente une seconde alternative d'un premier mode de réalisation de l'invention selon la présente invention ;
• la figures 7 représente une variante du premier mode de réalisation de l'invention selon la présente invention ;
• les figures 8 et 9 représentent un second mode de réalisation selon la présente invention ; et
• la figures 10 représente l'invention lorsque la carrure te la lunette ne forment qu'une seule pièce.

The aims, advantages and characteristics of the telescope system according to the present invention will appear more clearly in the following detailed description of at least one embodiment of the invention given solely by way of nonlimiting example and illustrated by the drawings appended to which :

• the figure 1 shows a general view of the present invention;
• the figures 2 and 3 represent a detailed view of the bezel serving as a covering element according to the present invention;
• the figures 4 and 5 represent a first alternative of a first embodiment of the invention according to the present invention;
• the figure 6 represents a second alternative of a first embodiment of the invention according to the present invention;
• the figures 7 shows a variant of the first embodiment of the invention according to the present invention;
• the figures 8 and 9 represent a second embodiment according to the present invention; and
• the figures 10 represents the invention when the middle part and the bezel form a single piece.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention proceeds from the general inventive idea which consists in providing a rotating bezel system which is simpler to assemble.

The Figures 1 and 2 show a covering element 10 such as a bezel 100 according to the invention, this bezel 100 being mounted on a timepiece 1 comprises a case 2 closed by a base 3 and a crystal 4. This bezel 100 is a shaped part annular which includes an upper face 100a visible to the user and a lower face 100b. This bezel 100 may be made of a plastic or ceramic material or any other non-electrically conductive material.

This bezel 100 can be mounted rotating or not at the middle. In the case of a rotating bezel 100, a spring-notch assembly or latching system (not shown) is arranged. This spring-notch assembly comprises spring means and a toothed element. One of the elements of the spring-notch assembly will be angularly secured to the middle part while the other will be angularly secured to the bezel 100 so as to allow the angular indexing of the bezel relative to the middle.

For mounting the bezel 100, the timepiece comprises a middle part 20 in which a shoulder 21 is arranged, this shoulder 21 being defined by a side wall 22 and a base 23. This shoulder serves as a housing for the bezel. In general, the lateral wall 22 comprises a protrusion 24 extending over the entire perimeter of the lateral wall 22. This protrusion 24 makes it possible to define, in cooperation with the base 23 and the wall 22, a retaining groove 25. This retaining groove 25 allows, during the forced assembly of the telescope, that the latter is inserted therein and is maintained.

Advantageously according to the invention, the telescope 100 is provided with a communication circuit 102 as visible to figures 2 and 3 . For this, the bezel is produced so as to be provided with a groove 104 at the level of the upper face 100a, this groove 104 also being annular, that is to say extending along the upper face 100a. A communication circuit 102 comprises a support, that is to say a printed circuit, the shape of which is similar to that of the groove 104 arranged on the bezel, that is to say a shape of a ring. In this case, the printed circuit serves as a substrate for a spiral antenna and the various electronic components enabling the system to operate are arranged there.

The whole is then placed in the groove 104 of the bezel 100 serving as a housing.

To close it all, a rubber-type polymer material is overmolded directly into the groove 104 forming an overmold 106 as visible on the surface. figure 3 . This conventional overmolding operation is intended to completely cover the communication circuit 102 having a ring shape. This total covering makes it possible, on the one hand, to ensure good sealing of the system since the polymer material is inserted throughout the groove 104, thus preventing liquids from being inserted.

A second advantage of this embodiment is that it makes it possible to improve the security of this telescope. Indeed, the communication circuits 102 for this telescope 100 can use contactless communication protocols of the NFC type or other wireless telecommunication means. This system can also be used as a 'Tag' or electronic label for product recognition (or tracking). This protocol is mainly used for payment functions which implies that these circuits contain sensitive data. Therefore, it is necessary to protect them. Since contactless communication protocols have extremely close ranges, the recovery of sensitive data is done directly on the circuit. Therefore, the fact of overmolding a polymer on the communication circuit 102 makes it more difficult to recover information because it becomes necessary to dissolve this polymer before having access to the communication circuits 102.

Furthermore, the presence of an overmolding operation makes it possible to have an adaptive telescope, that is to say it is conceivable not to simply have a communication circuit. Indeed, it is conceivable to add timer indications and / or other technical or decorative indications at the level of the bezel.

According to an advantageous embodiment, the bezel 100 according to the invention further comprises a timer element 108. This timer element 108 is in the form of a strip 109 whose dimensions allow it to be placed in the groove 104 of the telescope 100 as visible on the figure 4 . In the case of telescope 100, the strip 109 is of annular shape. This strip 109 is in the form of a ring made of a plastic or metallic or organic material such as wood or in a crystalline material such as sapphire or ruby or ceramic or in a polymer material incorporating a luminescent element: phosphorescent or fluorescent . Timer indices 110 are then produced in relief, that is to say in excess thickness. This ring 109 is then cleverly placed in the groove.

For this installation of the timer ring 108, two alternatives are possible.

The first alternative consists in dimensioning the groove 104 so that, when the timer element 108 is placed in the groove 104, the reliefs 110 are flush with the plane of the upper surface 100a of the bezel 100. The whole is then molded by the polymer forming the overmolding 106. The outcrop of the indices 110 makes it possible, during the overmolding, to have the reliefs visible by the user as visible at the figure 5 .

A second alternative consists in overmolding a first layer or overmolding 106a of polymer on the communication circuit 102 before placing the timer element 108. A second overmolding operation is then carried out to deposit a second layer of polymer or overmolding 106b to hold the timer element 108 in the groove 104 of the bezel 100. The thickness of the first layer 106a of deposited polymer will be defined so that the reliefs of the timer element 108 are flush with the plane of the upper surface 100a of the bezel 100 as visible on the figure 6 .

In a variant of the two alternatives, the timer element 108 is designed to comprise a first timer strip 109 made of a transparent material and a second strip 111, arranged under the timer strip 109, which will be a luminescent strip. This thus makes it possible to have the luminescent appearance in the case where a mixture between the material of the timer strip 109 and the luminescent pigment is not possible as visible on the surface. figure 7 .

According to another advantageous embodiment visible to figures 8 and 9 , the presence of a timer marking on the bezel 100. For this, the molding of the groove with a polymer is carried out in order to form recesses 107 on its surface. These recesses 107 preferably have the form of timer indices. The purpose of these recesses 107 is to be filled with a layer 112 of a material such as an ink. This again can be deposited by spraying or not screen printing. This ink may or may not be luminescent as required. The recesses can also be filled with a metal of the amorphous metal type.

In another embodiment visible on the figure 10 , it is possible that the bezel is integrated. For this purpose, the middle part is made so that at least one of its faces can serve as a bezel, this middle part is then called the bezel middle. In this embodiment, the face of the middle serving as a bezel is provided with the recess in which the communication circuit is placed.

It will be understood that various modifications and / or improvements and / or combinations obvious to a person skilled in the art can be made to the various embodiments of the invention described above without departing from the scope of the invention defined by the appended claims.

Claims (9)

1. Bezel (100) for a timepiece (1) made from a first material, comprising a groove (104), in which a communication circuit (102) is arranged, characterised in that said communication circuit (102) is over-moulded with a polymer material (106) filling said groove, said bezel (10) further comprising a dial train element (108) enabling indication of the minutes, wherein this dial train element comprises a strip (109) made from a second material, this strip having areas of excess thickness forming index numbers (110), the communication circuit (102) being covered by a first over-moulding (106a), on which the dial train element (108) is positioned, a second over-moulding (106b) being arranged on the dial train element, and the first and second over-mouldings being arranged so that the areas of excess thickness are flush with the surface of the second over-moulding (106b).
2. Bezel according to claim 1, characterised in that the second material forming the strip is a transparent material, wherein the dial train element (108) additionally comprises a second strip (111) made from a luminescent material.
3. Bezel according to claims 1 or 2, characterised in that the dial train element (108) is positioned between the communication circuit (102) and the over-moulding (106) of polymer material and is arranged so that the areas of excess thickness are flush with the surface of the over-moulding.
4. Bezel according to claim 1, characterised in that the dial train element (108) is made from a material chosen from the following list: metal, ceramic, wood, rock.
5. Bezel according to claim 1, characterised in that the dial train element (108) is made from a material comprising a polymer, into which a luminescent pigment is mixed.
6. Bezel according to claim 1, characterised in that the polymer material forming the over-moulding is over-moulded in order to form hollow spaces (107) and said hollow spaces are filled with a luminescent material (112).
7. Bezel according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the first material is an electrically non-conductive material.
8. Timepiece (1) comprising a case (2) comprising a middle part (20) closed by a back (3) and a glass (4) and fitted with a bezel (100) according to one of claims 1 to 7.
9. Timepiece according to claim 8, characterised in that the bezel (100) and the middle part (20) only form one and the same single piece.

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