GB2255894A

GB2255894A - Watch strap

Info

Publication number: GB2255894A
Application number: GB9209964A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Hermann Painsith
Original assignee: Hirsch Armbander GmbH
Current assignee: Hirsch Armbander GmbH
Priority date: 1991-05-23
Filing date: 1992-05-08
Publication date: 1992-11-25
Also published as: GB9209964D0; ITMI920996A0; IT1257866B; ITMI920996A1; DE4211104A1; FR2676625A1; JPH05137608A

Description

1 -5, 22_) ')4 WATCH STRAP The present invention relates to a watch strap

made of at least one layer of carrier material and comprising a buckle part and a perforation part each of which has a coupling element for a coupling device for connecting the part to a housing of a watch, the buckle part having a coupling part for a connection device for connecting a buckle thereto.

In accordance with EP-A-0 199 708, a watch strap the carrier material of which has at least one layer, consists of a buckle part and a perforation part. The buckle part and the perforation part each have a coupling element of a coupling device, by means of which the respective part is attached to a housing of a watch. A coupling part of a connecting device is provided between the buckle part and a buckle. A component part made of plastics, for example, a continuous layer of plastics, is connected to the carrier material by a forming-on process. A continuous coating of the carrier material is required in order to enable manufacture of the watch strap.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a watch strap in which the characteristics of the carrier material can be compatible with secure connection between the watch strap and the housing of the watch.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a watch strap made of a carrier material of at least one layer, and comprising a buckle part and a perforation part and coupling elements for a coupling device between the buckle part or the perforation part and a housing of a watch, and a coupling part for a connection device between the buckle part and a buckle, wherein a component part of plastics is connected with the carrier material by a forming on process, an embracing lateral edge of the buckle and/or the perforation part at least partially connected to an anchoring element, formed thereon and consisting of plastics, which is connected in a form-locking manner with the coupling element of the buckle and/or perforation part and/or with the coupling part.

Advantages of the carrier material, such as, for example, ventilation, compatibility with the skin, and the appearance of natural leather, can accordingly be combined with higher strength of a coupling part of the coupling element. By forming on of anchoring elements, extending over at least a portion of the length of the buckle part and of the perforation part, retainers or tie rods can be provided for more secure anchoring of the coupling part or respectively coupling elements on the carrier material, which retainers or the rods have a higher tearing strength than simple cross-section of the carrier material. Hence carrier materials which have very high inherent expansions or have a low notch or bearing strength, may be used as the carrier material. Thus, for example, a layer of simulated leather of attractive appearance may be used as a supporting body, despite its lack of strength.

The anchoring elements and the coupling elements may be of the same material and may be formed integrally with each other, in one operating process, in which manipulation time and machine assignment time are reduced, thereby reducing manufacturing costs. By virtue of such a single forming process, the carrier material is exposed at the common connection sites to a uniform thermal stress, whereby one-sided distortion or shrinkage of the carrier material is avoided. Also stable cohesion of the individual formed-on elements with each other is achieved, whereby the occurrence of separation sites, which would occur in the case of successive forming processes, are likewise avoided.

By connecting anchoring elements in the form of tie rods, extending along the edges of the carrier material by means of cross pieces, stable cohesion of the carrier material is achieved along its lateral edges, as well as increased protection from damage. By virtue of the crosspieces, which connect the tie rods with each other, high tearing strength is achieved transversely of the longitudinal axis of the buckle part or the perforation part.

The carrier material, reinforced by the tie rods, may be additionally reinforced in the middle of the watch strap in the region of the perforations, which when penetrated by the spike of the buckle are exposed to increased bearing stress.

A reinforcing element may extend through the carrier material this being multi-layered. Stable cohesion of the individual layers in the region of the perforations for the spike of the buckle, is thereby ensured.

A stable bearing arrangement may be provided for the coupling or the connecting device, which has substantially higher strength than the carrier material.

Each of the coupling elements and the coupling part may be made in one piece with a transverse bore extending therethrough, thereby providing a prefabricated bearing arrangement for further coupling elements or coupling parts.

The coupling elements may have formed in the bores reinforcing members for protecting the material of the coupling elements from wearing and frictional stress.

Anchoring elements, connected to the reinforcing members in their regions of connection to the carrier material may be provided for receiving tensile stress.

The tie rods may project over the carrier material so that cut edges of the carrier material in their visible regions are cleanly finished. The cutting of the carrier material need not, therefore, be done precisely accurately and the carrier material may be of a cheap and simple kind.

The carrier material may be a sandwich element having several layers of different materials. The buckle or perforation part may have a plane surface, and the lateral edges arising from the subsequent cutting process do not need to be covered by means of a complicated and expensive coating process.

Specifically in the case of multilayered carrier material, which may consist of material which does not have a very high tensile strength the tie rods and/or the coupling elements and/or the coupling part may overlap the carrier material towards the center, whereby the tensile stress is taken over by these formed-on parts, and at the same time stable connection between said formed-on parts and the surface layers of the carrier material, is achieved.

Specifically, in the case of stronger carrier materials, the carrier material may have a projection which extends into the anchoring elements or tie rods so that an additional connection between these parts and the carrier material is provided which improves stability and at the same time reduces the material needed for said formed-on parts.

A wave-shaped transition region may be provided between each coupling element and the carrier mate'rial to which it is connected, whereby on stressing the watch strap in its longitudinal direction,the forces which thereby occur do not need to be taken up by the carrier material or the anchoring elements, so that no excess stressing of these components occurs.

The transition region may comprise arcuate elements, arranged in series, or shanks, arranged to produce a damping effect in the case of tensile stress on the watch strap and so reduce such stress by elastic deformation.

An extension of the transition region projecting towards the carrier material may have areas thereof embraced by the carrier material, thereby providing a connection region, which is stable and has high tensile strength, between the carrier material and the coupling element.

The invention will now be described by way of examples with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Figure 1, is a diagrammatic plan view of a watch strap according to a first embodiment of the invention connected to a watch; Figure 2, is a diagrammatic isometric view of part of the watch strap, Figures 3 to 5 are cross sectional views illustrating further embodiments of the watch strap; Figure 6 is a diagrammatic plan view of a perforation part of the watch strap, according to another embodiment of the invention; Figure 7 is a diagrammatic plan view of a further embodiment of said perforation part; Figures 8 and 9 are cross sectional views taken on the lines VIII and IX of Figures 6 and 7, respectively; Figure 10 is a cross sectional view of an embodiment of a buckle part of the watch strap; Figure 11 is a cross sectional view taken.on the lines XI-XI of Figure 1; Figure 12 is a longitudinal sectional view of the forward end portion of a buckle part of the watch strap, according to an embodiment of the invention; Figure 13 is a fragmentary side view of illustrating an embodiment of a coupling element of the watch strap; Figure 14 is a plan view of Figure 13; and Figure 15 is a diagrammatic sectional side view of a device for use in the production of a watch strap according to the invention.

Referring now to the Figures, Figure 1 shows a band forming holding element 1 comprising a buckle part 2 and a perforation part 3, which together provide a watch strap 4 according to the first embodiment of the invention. The buckle part 2 and the perforation part 3 of the watch strap 4 are connected, preferably in an articulated manner, by way of a coupling device 5, with the housing 6 of a watch 7. The front end regions 8 and 9 of the buckle part 2 and the perforation part 3 respectively have coupling elements 10 in the region of the coupling device 5, through which coupling elements 10 extends a pin 11 of a bearing arrangement 12. Whereas in the front end region 13 of the buckle part 2, facing away from the watch 7, a buckle 14 having an associated spike 15 are mounted by way of a connecting device 16 in a coupling part 17; the perforation part 3, has in its front end region 18, facing away from the watch 7, through openings 19 for the spike 15.

The buckle part 2 and/or the perforation part 3 consist of a carrier material 20, which is surrounded along its lateral edges 21 to 24 by anchoring elements 25,26, which may be constructed as tie rods 27 to 30. The anchoring elements 25,26 or tie rods 27 to 30 are preferably formed integrally with the coupling elements 10 and with the coupling part 17 in the case of the buckle part 2. Nevertheless, the anchoring elements 25,26 or tie rods 27 to 30 may be provided only in desired partial regions along the lateral edges 21 to 24 of the holding element 1, depending upon the strength required. In order to provide partial regions having different tensile strengths or resistance to bending the cross-section of the tie rods 27 to 30 in the longitudinal direction of the holding el. ement 1 may be varied, whilst still, however, achieving protection of the lateral edges 21 to 24 on all sides.

A fixed loop 31 and a slidable loop 32 are provided on the buckle part 2.

The openings 19 for the spike 15, in the perforation part 3, are provided in a reinforcement element 35, overlaying the carrier material 20 and preferably opposite surfaces 33 and 34.

Figure 2, shows the front end region 9 of the perforation part 3 with the carrier material 20, which has a width 36 and a thickness 37 and is overlapped at the lateral edges 23,24, by the tie rods 29 and 30 and is also overlapped by the coupling element 10. The carrier material 20 in the present embodiment is additionally provided on the surfaces 33 and 34 with design layers 38 and 3-9. The tie rods 29 and 30 overlap by an overlapping width 40, the width 36 of the carrier material 20 in the direction of center 41, and thus effectively protect the lateral edges 23 and 24 from damage. Each opening 19 in the perforation part 3 is additionally reinforced by a reinforcement element 42, which projects over the surfaces of the design layers 38,39. The coupling element 10 is integral with the tie rods 29 and 30 in the front end region 9 of the perforation part 3. A pin receiving bore 43 in the coupling element 10 penetrates the perforation part 3 in a direction at right angles to its longitudinal central axis 44 and serves to receive the pin 11 for the bearing arrangement 12.

A width 45 of the coupling element 10 may consequently be matched, in a simple manner, to the companion dimensions of the coupling device 5 in the housing 6 of the watch 7. The carrier material 20 may be of differing width in order to enhance the appearance of the watch strap.

For example, parts 2 and 3 may be of smaller width than the coupling device 5 or the width 45 of the coupling element 10.

Figures 3 to 5 show various embodiments of the buckle part 2 and the perforation part 3. In these embodiments the carrier material has the width 36 transversely of its longitudinal axis, and the thickness 37. The openings 19 f or the spike 15 of the buckle. 14 are arranged at the center 41. The tie rods 29 and 30 are formed on the lateral edges 23 and 24 of the carrier material 20. The tie rods 29 and 30 are, as shown in Figure 3, of approximately circular cross-section and have a diameter 46, so that the tie rods project over the thickness 37 of the carrier material 20 on both sides, but do not project over the carrier material 20 in the direction of the center 41.

As shown in Figure 4, the tie rods 29 and 30 have plane upper and lower surfaces which are coplanar with the respective surfaces 33 and 34 of the carrier material 20 which has the thickness 37 along the lateral edges 23 and 24. The cross-section of the anchoring elements 25 and 26 may be of various shapes, such as, for example, circular, elliptical, triangular or polygonal, depending upon the purpose of use, the conditions of use and also upon aesthetic considerations.

As shown in Figure 5 the perforation part 3 has a reinforcement element 42, arranged at the center 41 and enclosing an opening 19 for the spike 15. The perforation part 3 consists of a multi-layered sandwich element 47, comprising the carrier material 20 and the layers 48 and 49 preferably arranged on opposite sides of the material 20. The layers 4& and 49 may also be of multi-layered construction and may consist of various materials such as, for example, plastics, textiles or the like, and may be connected to the carrier material 20 by means of an adhesive layer 50, indicated in broken lines. For cohesion of the sandwich element 47 there is provided in the region of the opening 19, a perforation 51 having a diameter 52, which is greater than that of the opening 19. The perforation 51 receives the reinforcement element 42 and preferably has horizontally projecting extensions 53 and 54 at both ends of the perforation 51. The reinforcement element 42 may in this embodiment be produced, for example, by an injection, or a foaming process. In contrast to the embodiment of Figure 1, each opening 19 has its'own reinforcement element 42.

Figures 6 and 7, show further embodiments comprising a reinforcement element 55 connecting the tie rods 29 and 30 transversely of the longitudinal axis of the perforation part 3. Said element 55 may also be provided on the buckle part 2. The perforation part 3 comprises the carrier material 20, the anchoring element 26 and the coupling element 10 on said front end region 9. The reinforcement element 55 connecting the tie rods 29 and 30 and the reinforcement elements 42 at the center 41, may be of various geometric shapes. The element 55 may, for example, consist of ribs extending obliquely (Figure 6), or forming a lattice network (Figure 7).

Figures 8 and 9 are cross-sectional views of the perforation part 3, shown in Figures 6 and 7, respectively. The opening 19 is provided in the reinforcement element 42 extending through the carrier material 20 and the reinforcement element 42 is connected by way of the reinforce- me.tit element 55 to the tie rods 29 and 30. As shown, the reinforcement elements 42 and 55 are provided only on the surface 33 of the carrier material 20. However, as indicated in broken lines, the reinforcement elements 42 and 55 may be provided on the surface 34 of the carrier material 20.

As shown in Figure 9, the carrier material 20 has, on the lateral edges 23 and 24, projections 56 and 57 for connection to the tie rods 29 and 30. These projections extend by a distance 58 over the width 36 of the carrier material 20. The thickness 59 of the projections 56 and 57 is smaller than the thickness 37 of the carrier material 20. This embodiment, especially in the case of thicker carrier materials serves to create a better connection between the carrier material 20 and the tie rods 39 and 30 on said lateral edges.

In the embodiment of Figure 10, the buckle part 2 comprises a multilayered carrier material 20 in the form of the sandwich element 47. The sandwich element 47 is overlapped at the lateral edges 21 and 22 by the tie rods 27 and 28, in the direction of the center 41. Thereby, despite the multi-layered construction of the sandwich element 47 it is reliably protected from damage or fraying and a tension-proof connection between the coupling element 10 and the front end region 18 and/or the front end region 13, is also achieved.

Figure 11 shows the reinforcement element 35, which is received in a perforation 60 extending along th.e openings 19 in the carrier material 20, which are arranged in a row in the longitudinal direction of the perforation part 3. The reinforcement element 35 has a length 61 (Figure 1) which is greater than a distance 62 between the first and last opening 19 of said row. The lateral edges 23 and 24 are in turn reinforced by the tie rods 29 and 30. The perforation 60 has a width 63 transversely of the longitudinal axis of the carrier material 20, which is smaller than a width 64 of projections 65 and 66, on the surfaces 33 and 34. The reinforcement element 35, therefore, has a stable transition to the carrier material 20.

As shown in Figure 12 the front end region 8 of the buckle part 2 has a reinforcement part 67 in the coupling element 10. The reinforcement part 67 is tubular and has the pin receiving bore 43 having an internal diameter 68, for receiving the pin 11 of the bearing arrangement 12 of the coupling-device 5. Anchor elements G9 and 70 are formed on the reinforcement part 67. These anchor elements extend from the front end region 8 in the direction of the front end region 13 of the buckle part 2 and are embedded in the tie rods 27 and 28 which are formed on the carrier material 20. By virtue of this construction of the reinforced coupling element 10, there is achieved increased tearing strength in the transition regions 71 and 72 to the tie rods 27 and 28. The anchor elements 69 and 70 must be produced from a material which is tension- proof, but which is not resistant to bending. It is thereby ensured that the buckle part 2 and/or the perforation part 3 well fits the arm of the user, from the housing 6 of the watch 7 in the direction of the two front end regions 13 and 18.

Figures 13 and 14 show a further embodiment of the coupling element 10 in the front end region 9 of the perforation part 3, like reference numerals being used to denote like parts. The same construction may be applied analogously to the front end region 8 of the buckle part 2. The lateral edges 23 and 24 of the carrier material 20 of the perforation part 3 are surrounded by the tie rods 29 and 30. The construction of the tie rods 29 and 30 may be according to any one of the embodiments thereof described above. A transition region 73 between a front edge 74 of the carrier material, facing the front end region 9, and the coupling element 10 which serves to connect thq perforation part 3 to the housing 6 of the watch 7, is wave shaped. In the preseiit embodiment, the production of the tie rods 29 and 30 of the transition region 73, and also of the coupling element 10 is performed in one operating step. This saves costs and also ensures that the carrier material 20 is surrounded in the front end region 9 on all sides, whereby the stability of the watch strap 4 is enhanced.

The transition region 73 in the present embodiment is provided by a tension element 75 having a wall thickness 76 and being wave shaped. Shanks 77 and 78 of the tension element 75, which adjoin each other, are connected to each other by way of an arcuate element 79 having a radius of curvature 80 of between 1 mm and 10 mm.

If, when the coupling element 10 has been secured to the housing 6 of the watch 7 by inserting the pin in the receiving bore 43, stressing of the perforation part 3 occurs in the direction of arrow 81 from the front end region 9 to the front end region 18, then by virtue of the inherent elasticity of the tension element 75, expansion of the arcuate element 79 occurs between the shanks 77and 78, whereby there is no overloading of the tie rods 29 and 30. Return of the tension element 75 to its initial shape, after stressing, takes place automatically by virtue of the material, f or example plastics, which is used, because the deformation of the element 75 only occurs in the elastic region of said material.

As shown in Figure 13 in broken lines, a reinforcement element 82 may be provided in the tension element 75, in order to augment the tensile strength thereof. The reinforcement element 82 may be produced from a mat, mesh, knitted fabric or netting of textile, teflon, kevlar, glass, metal or plastics and carbon fibers, for example.

As shown in Figure 14, an extension 83, indicated by dot-and-dash lines, may be formed on the transition region 73, the extension 83 being surrounded by the.carrier material 20 or being stuck between the latter.

Figure 15 shows a device 84 having forming halves 85 and 86 and guides 87, for the production of the anchoring elements 25 and 26 of the coupling element 10, of the coupling part 17, the reinforcement elements 35, 42 and 55 and also the tension element 75. The carrier material 20 or the sandwich element 47 is secured by means of a holding and/or positioning device 88 on the lower forming half 86. The holding and/or positioning device 88 may cooperate for example with a vacuum pump 89, which sucks the carrier material 20 via slits 90. The lower forming half 86 is secured on a base plate 91, on which further units if needed may also be arranged. The upper forming half 85 is closed against the lower forming half 86 by means of a lifting and/or closing drive 92 along the guides 87. If the elements-to be formed are to be produced by means of an injection process, the required material is introduced via an extruder 93 and ducts 94 into the device 84.

Claims

1. A watch strap made of at least one layer of a carrier material and comprising a buckle part and a perforation part each of which has a coupling element for a coupling device for connecting said part to a housing of a watch, the buckle part having a coupling part for a connection device for connecting a buckle thereto, wherein at least one of said buckle part and said perforation part has at least one lateral edge on which is formed an anchoring element made of a plastics material, and which is lockingly formed on the coupling element of said at least one part and/or said coupling part.

2. A watch strap as claimed in claim 1, wherein said anchoring element and said coupling element and/or part are of the same material and are formed integrally with each other and with said at least one part.

3. A watch strap as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein said anchoring element is formed integrally with each of two opposite lateral edges of said at least one part, each anchoring element being a tie rod extending parallel with lateral edges, the tie rods being connected by transverse cross-pieces overlaying the surface of the carrier material.

4. A watch strap as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein said anchoring element is formed integrally with each of two opposite lateral edges of said at least one part, each anchoring element being a tie rod extending longitudinally of said at least one part, a reinforcing element being provided on at least one of two opposite surfaces of said at least one part.

5. A watch strap as claimed in claim 4, where-in said reinforcing element is provided on said perforation part and is formed with at least one through perforation.

6. A watch strap as claimed in claim 4 or 5, wherein said reinforcing element is continuous and extends longitudinally of said at least one part.

7. A watch strap as claimed in claim 5 or 6, wherein said reinforcing element extends through said carrier material and overlies at least one of said opposite surfaces.

8. A watch strap as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said coupling element of the buckle part is provided in a front end region of said buckle part, said coupling part being provided at an opposite end region of said buckle part.

9. A watch strap as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said coupling element of the perforation part is provided in a front end region of said perforation part.

10. A watch strap as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein each coupling element is formed in one piece and defines a bore extending transversely of the length of said at least one part, for receiving a pin.

11. A watch strap as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said coupling part of the buckle part is formed in one piece and defines a bore extending transversely of said buckle part, for receiving a further coupling part.

12. A watch strap as claimed in claim 10, wherein each coupling element is provided with a reinforcing part.

13. A watch strap as claimed in claim 11, wherein the coupling part is provided with a reinforcing part.

14. A watch strap as claimed in claim 12 or 13, wherein said reinforcing part is selected from the group consisting of high strength plastic parts, metal parts, high strength plastic sleeves and metal sleeves.

15. A watch strap as claimed in claim 12,13 or 14, wherein the reinforcing part is provided with anchor members projecting in the direction of said anchoring element and being embedded in the coupling element or part.

16. A watch strap as claimed in claim 3, wherein of the rods, the coupling elements and the coupling part, at least one of these projects over the surface of at least one of the buckle part and the perforation part.

17. A watch strap as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the carrier material is formed from a strap select- ed from the group consisting of single-layered leather straps and textile straps.

18. A watch strap as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein the carrier material is a sandwich element comprising a plurality of layers of materials selected from the group consisting of leather, textiles, plastics and metal.

19. A watch strap as claimed in claim 3, wherein of the tie rods, the coupling elements, and the coupling part at least one of these embrace and overlap the carrier material from at least one edge thereof towards the center of said at least one part.

20. A watch strap as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein a lateral projection of the carrier material which projection is of smaller thickness than said at least one layer of the carrier material extends into the anchoring element and is surrounded thereby.

21. A watch strap as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein a waveshaped transition region extending longitudinally of said at least one part is provided between the coupling element and the layer of carrier material of said at least one part.

22. A watch strap as claimed in claim 21, wherein the wave-shaped transition region comprises shanks connected to each other by arcuate elements.

23. A watch strap as claimed in claim 21, wherein the wave-shaped transition region comprises a series of interconnected arcuate elements extending longitudinally of said at least one part.

24. A watch strap as claimed in claim 21, 22 or 23, wherein an extension of the transition region projects into the carrier material and is surrounded thereby.

25. A watch strap substantially as herein described with reference to Figures 1, 2 and 11 or 3 or 4 or 5 or 6 and 8 or 7 and 9 or 10 or 12 or 13 and 14 of the accompanying drawings.