JPS61213001A - Joint connecting link arm brace - Google Patents

Abstract

1. Articulated bracelet with links, composed of a set of inner elements articulated to one another and a set of outer elements each of which encloses an inner element, the width of the outer element corresponding, with a slight clearance, to the distance between the axes of articulation of the inner element, characterized in that the outer element (10, 12) consists of two parts, namely a part in the shape of a bridge (26) and an ornamental flat part (30), in that the part in the form of a bridge (26) is welded to the latter in order to form the outer element in the form of a tunnel, and in that the inner element (14) is joined by pins (20) to the adjacent inner elements, the part in the form of a bridge (26) of the outer element having a horizontal interior surface which is slightly arched and intended to be accommodated in a corresponding recess (24) of the inner element, or vice versa.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION FIELD OF INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION The present invention relates to bracelets consisting of articulated links, and in particular to articulated and connected straps for wristwatches.

The invention further relates to an extension link adapted for use in the bracelet of the invention.

The bangle of the present invention comprises a first set of articulated and connected elements and a second set of elements each surrounding an element of said first set. It belongs to the banding department.

[Conventional technology]

The above-mentioned articulated bangles - typically made of metal - are therefore pivoted relative to each other and form the inner elements of a set of straps and are further referred to as a 6-link "or 6-wagon". It comprises a first set of elements and a second set of elements forming the outer elements of a set of straps and called "hanging elements" or, depending on their shape, "frame" or "tunnel". . The two sets of elements have substantially the same size in the longitudinal direction of the bracelet, with the outer element surrounding or housing the inner element.

Some such bangles have already been proposed and British Patent No. 1,495,853 discloses several embodiments of articulated bangles.

These connecting links comprise two main elements: a first element, called the ornament, and a second element, which serves to connect said first elements together. The purpose of this bracelet is to provide a series of elements that are second elements and in which the pin holes are freely visible or obtainable. Inside this series of decorative elements, one type of ``one chain'' formed by the connected links is connected to the second
form a set of elements.

The bracelet described in Swiss Patent No. 630.789 has a substantially parallelepiped shape and is provided with a groove of circular cross-section that opens on one of the lateral sides of each element. and a first set of elements having circularly shaped protrusions on opposite surfaces thereof. This articulation is formed by inserting a protrusion of one element into a groove of an adjacent element. The bangle further comprises a second set of elements, in particular the outer elements having the shape of stirrups, these elements being spaced apart from each other and covering the inner elements so that these inner elements They are held together to prevent them from escaping laterally. Both sets of elements are sloped on their lateral sides so as to limit movement around the axis of the projection. The articulating bracelet disclosed in Publication No. 0030705 is formed by a connecting chain of inner elements, each of which has two transverse projections of straight L-shaped cross section, these projections having a The elements are located oppositely on adjacent opposite sides of the two elements, and the elements are interconnected by the mutual engagement of their protrusions. The bangle comprises a second set of elements in the form of a frame, which elements are placed side by side and each engages one of the inner elements, so that the inner elements are kept assembled and This prevents the protrusions from coming off.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

The description of two known bangles of this type shows that they have significant drawbacks.

First, although its structure is sufficiently solid and robust, its manufacture is difficult, complex, and expensive. In fact, it is complicated to produce the inner element of the bracelet of Swiss Patent No. 630,789 by machining to form its length and slope, and furthermore, its outer element must be clamped and fixed to the corresponding inner element. In practice, it is impossible to disassemble the bracelet to shorten or lengthen it, or it must be milled to form a dovetail shape inside it (this fact (This would result in a clamping fixation with the inner element, which is undesirable in use). The fact that the outer element or its frame according to Swiss Patent No. 633.170 and British Patent No. 1,495,853 is difficult and expensive to mill, is a further fact. This also applies to the 7-rice processing of rectangular openings or voids.

Furthermore, there is another problem with this type of bracelet where the inner element is not fixed to the outer element. First, when the first part is fixed to the next part, it is no longer possible to shorten or lengthen the bracelet by the seller to fit different wrists; When the bracelet according to Swiss Patent No. 630,789 was reviewed,
This has already been said. On the other hand, if the outer element were not fixed to the inner element, as in GB 1,495,853;
The play between the outer element is accumulated over the length k of the bracelet when it is placed down and held straight, and the articulation between the two inner elements becomes visible with the part of the accumulated play Departments begin to separate.

This play between the two outer elements is, on the one hand, unavoidable due to manufacturing tolerances, and on the other hand, the play between the two adjacent elements is at a small angle, typically 5° to 10' 2 and 3 of the cited patent, thereby forming an angle of the order of .
It is necessary that the bracelet be able to adapt to the shape of the wrist by bending.

The first object of the present invention is to find a solution to and overcome the problems outlined above.

Another object of the invention is to provide for the coupling of a set of inner elements constituted by 6 links and tunnels, i.e. articulated with each other, and the device in giving it the desired final shape and 2 The object of the present invention is to develop a novel structure for a bracelet comprising a set of outer elements that limit the bending angle between two adjacent inner elements.

Yet another object of the invention is to develop a new construction of a special embodiment of the bangle, which makes it look particularly pleasant and the shape of its decoration makes it appear non-articulating, making it suitable for rounded wrists. It seeks to astound the public with an appearance that reveals a mechanical contradiction that seems impossible to adapt. In particular, it is important to the assignee that one thing that is protected by industrial invention is
This is a question about bracelets.

It is furthermore a particular object of the invention to construct an extension link such that the bracelet link can be easily and problem-free adapted without the risk of disassembling the bracelet into multiple parts when the bracelet is opened.

[Means for solving the problems and their effects] The above and other objects are the comprehensive features of which are defined in the independent patent claims 1 and 6, and the specific embodiments are disclosed in other claims. This is fully satisfied by the invention, which is the subject matter of the dependent claims.

In this specification, each element described or shown in the drawings and each combination of elements that is not technically impossible constitutes an invention or has inventive characteristics;
All this therefore forms the basis of the additional claims.

If the outer element consists of two parts each, namely a lower part with the shape of an inverted bridge and an upper decorative almost flat part, complicated and laborious milling can be avoided. and, surprisingly, additional supplemental benefits were found. In fact, the upper part can be made from pure precious metals or thickly plated or laminated with such metals, and the lower part can be made, for example, from stainless steel, which ensures the solderability of the component. can.

Both parts of the outer element described above are the special features developed by eighteen of these inventors and described and claimed in Swiss Patent Application No. 5234/82 filed on September 3, 1982. The soldering method is 1 tunnel”
are combined to form. This means that a solid, long-lasting, robust, and relatively corrosion-resistant connection is obtained.
A second important feature of the bracelet of the invention is that the inner element specifically
It is specially shaped to allow the insertion of pins and these pins to be used for connecting and interlocking elements. - In view of the above, pin-free articulations, such as those of the two Swiss patents mentioned above, appear to be even more advantageous. However, although the absence of these pins is stated to be an advantage in the two patents mentioned above, it has been found that this is sadly not the case. In practice, bangles usually have to be shortened or lengthened when applied to a particular wrist. Any links that must be removed or added should be provided in the center of the bracelet. Only in the bracelet of the present invention, the pin in the center link was replaced with a screw nail, so it fell apart.
It is possible to carry out this operation without running the risk of the entire bracelet disintegrating as in the case of the subsequent pearls. When these links are manufactured, a special advantage of this bracelet is that there is no need to provide different links, since these screws have the same diameter as the pins.

Third K, the problem of the outer element being able to slide freely over the inner element and allowing freedom in the arrangement of the pivot axis due to the play of the articulation is solved according to the invention. The problem is solved by a means that prevents free sliding and does not prevent the removal of individual elements from making sushi by unskilled people.

This measure consists in providing a partial frictional resistance between the inner and outer elements. In this way, each element is held in position and a limited longitudinal movement of each outer element relative to the inner element is still ensured, but this resisting force must be overcome during assembly and disassembly of the bracelet. No.

However, this extension link has another different construction. [Example] Other advantages and features of the present invention will be apparent from the description of the preferred embodiment of this bracelet, which description is attached herewith. Made with reference to the drawings. This description is to be considered as illustrative only and not as limiting.

Only the left half of the bracelet shown in Figure 1 is shown; the other halves are symmetrically identical, and these two halves are interconnected by a special central member (not shown). . Another member serving to connect the bracelet to the wristwatch is envisaged on the other side of each half, but is not shown.

The central member (not shown) serves as a enclosure, which is not shown but does not belong to the invention and is known to a person skilled in the art.

6 When the words "length" and "width" are used with respect to the bangle and its elements, they are usually referring to the links and not the bangles.Thus, for example, one length of one element or link usually refers to the bangle. along the transverse direction.

In FIG. 1, a plurality of outer elements 10 are shown, each providing a "wave" 30 as a decoration, the waves having lengths decreasing from left to right, and outer elements of equal length. Element 1
It has 2. If the technical section 30 were transparent, the link 14 (also seen in Figure 3) would be visible, but
All links have the same shape and the same dimensions, and the second
The outer elements or “
These links all have exactly the same width, measured along the length of the bracelet as a tunnel.

In FIG. 2 it can be seen that an element 40 is provided extending from the right end of the continuous element 12 towards the center of the bracelet, and the screw head of the screwed screw pin 13 can be seen. These bracelet elements 40 are therefore attached to the screw pin 1
3t - It can easily become non-functional by loosening it.
When one element is removed, another element is added which serves to make the bracelet easier and faster to adapt its length to a particular wrist, and which can be used with a screwdriver. Any person can do it. element 40
1C will be described in detail later.

FIG. 3 shows one link in detail in an enlarged perspective view. The main body of the link 14 has four cut-offs or cut-outs 16, nine cut-outs 16.
It is offset on the link body and is adapted to receive the remaining tongue 18 of an adjacent link (not shown) in precise hinge fashion. The connection between these two adjacent links 14 is ensured by sliding links 20. This pin 20 is
Diameter such that friction occurs in the link 140 hole 22, or 1
These holes can be of such a diameter as to leave a small play, since the "tunnels" (described below) will in any case prevent the bottle from escaping laterally. This latter embodiment is currently preferred. Instead of four cutout portions 16, there may be six, eight, etc., depending on the length of the link (this length is the transverse dimension of the bracelet).These modifications are not shown. .

The lower surface of the link 14 has an inwardly curved portion 24, the purpose of which will be explained below.

FIG. 4 shows the two components of the tunnel 120 in an enlarged perspective view, and the outer element 10 of FIG. 1 is constructed in the same manner.

The reverse bridge 26 is first made by machining and internal milling. The lower portion is sloped at an angle ranging from 5° to 10', typically about 8°. This angle determines the degree of radial flexibility of the bracelet. 10
An angle that is too large (5°) will also avoid creating unesthetic play between the two elements when the bracelet is bent.
An angle smaller than ° is insufficient to perfectly adapt the bracelet to a particular wrist shape.

The upper side 28 of the bridge, which is preferably the surface part, is soldered to a covering element designated as 1 wave 30 with a flat underside by the method described in Swiss Patent Application No. 5234/82. The parts are made from stainless steel.Due to the nature of the metal and where precious metals are used, there may be legal restrictions imposed by the laws of the particular country. The interior of the tunnel formed as described above is interrupted by a convex curved surface 32 reflecting the shape of the cutter head of the milling cutter when the bridge 26 is made by milling on its lower part. However, this convex shape can also be obtained by suitably deforming the lower part of the bridge, which is presently preferred.Dimensions of the tunnel and link 14 (see Figure 3) and The cross-section is selected such that when the link 14 is inserted into the tunnel 12 or lO, a certain resistance appears when the corresponding horizontal surfaces come into contact with each other. When pushed in, the curved surface 32 of the tunnel engages the inner curved portion 24 of the link, allowing the link free but limited movement relative to the tunnel; This limited movement is provided by the inner curvature 240 width.

FIG. 5 shows a starting member 36 for making the link 14 in a perspective view. This member 36 is obtained by forming a crescent-shaped flat member 34 onto a flat cartridge 36 by pressing or by soldering or bonding the flat member onto the cartridge 36. Milling according to arrow 38 is immediately applied to link 14.

Figures 4 and 5 are provided to demonstrate the great simplicity of manufacturing the components of the bracelet of the invention compared to the manufacture of similar known bangles.

For the manufacture of this bracelet, sliding pins 20 (FIG. 3) are inserted into two adjacent slots 14. These pins are
It could be pushed in or soldered, but this is not necessary since the pin 20 cannot be separated from its housing due to the presence of the tunnel 12. As can be seen in FIGS. 2 and 4, these links have a rotational movement with the tunnel around the axis of the pin, along the slope AK of the tunnel. When this angle of inclination A has a value of 8°,
The maximum rotation angle between two elements is therefore 166.

FIG. 6 shows the extension link 40 in a perspective view.

Of course, the last element in Figure 4 and the first extension link 40
There is one more connecting link between.

This connecting link is not shown because its structure is obvious to one skilled in the art when considering the teachings of the present invention.

This extension link 40 is connected to element 12 except at the point of articulation.
(Fig. 4) ◎Similar to Fig. 4, the corrugated member 30 is connected to the upper plane 2 of the bridge 26A.
The surface 32 soldered to the link is flat on this link, ie, not curved. bridge 2
The upper part of 6A has two projections 42 and 42A, which are symmetrical about a vertical midplane. A hole 44 crosses the projection 42, whereas a blind hole 4 crosses the projection 42A.
It has 4A.

A recess 46 is provided on the rear surface of the bridge 26A and is predetermined to receive the projections 42 and 42A of the next extension link 40, respectively.

For assembly, one connecting link 14 (see Figure 3)
is inserted into the lumen of the connecting link 40 of the nine bases just described, and the threaded pin 13 is inserted first into the hole 44 and then into the hole 22 of the connecting link and then into the next adjacent element. is inserted into the hole 22 of the connecting link, and finally the screw pin 13 is screwed into the blind hole 44A. This embodiment therefore provides simultaneous fastening means for the outer and inner elements, which makes it very easy for even an unskilled person to adapt the bracelet to a particular wrist.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that numerous modifications and variations of the bracelet of the present invention may be made without departing from its scope. For example, there are virtually no restrictions on the choice of materials. Decorative member 30 can have other shapes. The angle A can be continuous, ie the sides of the bridge 26 forming this angle can be rounded. All parts can have treated, chrome-plated or thinly laminated surfaces. Department
/ lak J darkness 11ILの面lord perpendicular OI訃 ゝ會 111 When the tsuk 14 is composed of a corresponding outwardly curved lower surface, a convex surface that gives the same effect as the restricted movement on the tunnel. It can be concave instead.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 is a top view of one half of the bracelet of the invention; FIG. 2 is a side view of the same portion of the same upper bracelet; FIG. 3 is a perspective view of one link of the bracelet of the invention; FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the outer element, referred to as the "6-tunnel" of the bracelet of the present invention; FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the pioneer link; and FIG. 6 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 4, showing the extension link. 10...Outer element, 12...Outer element (tunnel)
, 13... screw pin, 14... link, 20...
Sliding pin, 22...hole, 26...bridge, 30.
... Wave-shaped member, 32 ... Curved surface, 36 ... Cartridge, 40 ... Extension link, 42, 42A ... Projection. The following is a margin procedural amendment June 2, 1985 Michibe Uga, Commissioner of the Patent Office1, Indication of the case, 1988 Patent Application No. 538612, Name of the invention Articulating link bracelet 3, Person making the amendment Case and Relationship between patent applicant name Fauplique Ebel Société γ Nononym 4, agent 5, "Detailed Description of the Invention" column 6 of the specification subject to amendment, content of amendment (1) "External element" on page W x 8 lines of specification IELS 12
J is corrected to r inner element 14J.

Claims (1)

Claims: 1. A set of mutually articulated inner elements and a set of outer elements, each of which surrounds an inner element, the width of the outer element being a fraction of the width of the outer element. In an articulated link bracelet, the distance within the range of play is equal to the axis of articulation of one inner element, the outer element having two parts, namely a first member in the form of an inverted bridge; and a second flat decorative member, said bridge-shaped outer element being soldered to said second member to form a tunnel-shaped outer element, and further said inner element being connected to an adjacent inner side by means of a sliding pin. said first bridge-shaped member of the outer element connected to the element has a slightly curved inner horizontal surface that fits into a corresponding recess of the inner element and vice versa; An articulated link bracelet characterized by: 2. The bracelet according to claim 1, wherein the decorative member has a wave shape. 3. the inner element has at least two bearings;
2. A bracelet according to claim 1, having the shape of one hinge on each side thereof. 4. The lateral surface of the outer element extending transversely to the longitudinal axis of the bangle forms an angle of about 5° to about 10° with the vertical portion of the side surface in its lower portion. The bracelet according to claim 1, which is tilted so as to be tilted. 5. The bracelet of claim 4, wherein said angle is approximately 8 degrees. 6. comprising a set of mutually articulated inner elements and a set of outer elements each surrounding an inner element;
The width of one outer element is equal to the distance between the axes of articulation of one inner element within a small play, and said outer element has two parts, namely a first member with an opposite bridge shape and a second flat decorative element, said bridge-shaped outer element being soldered to said second element to form a tunnel-shaped outer element, said inner element being connected to an adjacent inner element by a sliding pin; an articulation joint having a slightly curved inner horizontal surface in which said first bridge-shaped member of the outer element fits into a corresponding recess of the inner element and vice versa; An extension link for use in link bangles, comprising: (i) a flat inner element in the form of a hinge with at least two bearings on each side adapted to receive a threaded connecting pin; ii) an outer element consisting of an upper flat decorative element soldered to a bridge-shaped lower element, said lower element having two lateral protrusions on its vertical front side; One of these projections is traversed by a hole and the other has a threaded blind hole coaxial with said hole, a threaded pin is inserted into said hole and screwed into said threaded blind hole, and said screw a pin further traverses said bearings of two adjacent hinge-type inner elements, said bridge-shaped member being provided on its vertical rear side with two grooves whose shape and size match said projections; An extension link characterized in that it consists of an external element and an external element.