TWM669076U - Crown and wearable device - Google Patents

Abstract

A crown includes a crown head, a crown shaft, and a sleeve. The crown head includes a head portion and a rod portion. The crown shaft includes a fixing portion and a tapered surface portion, where the cross-sectional area of the tapered surface portion gradually increases in a direction away from the fixing portion. The crown shaft is connected to the crown head in a recessed space of the rod portion via the fixing portion. The sleeve has a first space and a second space having a tapered surface corresponding to the tapered surface on the inner wall. The first space accommodates the rod portion. The second space accommodates the part of the tapered surface portion for contacting the sleeve. Compared with the prior art, the tapered surface portion can match the tapered surface of the sleeve to form a self-centering function of the invention, thereby enhancing operational accuracy and user experience.

Description

Crown and wearable device

This creation is about a watch crown, and in particular, a watch crown with a self-centering function and a wearing device.

With the advancement of technology and the popularity of smart wearable devices, smart watches have gradually become an indispensable product in people's daily lives. In addition to the time display function provided by traditional watches, smart watches have also expanded their applications to many modern needs, such as receiving messages, answering calls, and health monitoring. The versatility of smart watches has greatly improved the user experience and has also changed the operating functions of the watch interface. The crown structure of traditional mechanical watches is relatively simple, and usually only needs to be pulled out to adjust the time or wind the watch. However, the design logic of smart watches is different. Currently, smart watches on the market usually do not require pulling out the crown to adjust the function, but instead can be controlled by rotating, pressing or squeezing the crown. This change in operation method also enhances the diversity of smart watch operations.

In the current conventional technology, the crown structure of smart watches mostly adopts a design in which the crown and the crown shaft are integrally formed, and the axis is positioned by an internal O-ring. The conventional positioning method can provide stability in general operation scenarios, but there is usually still an assembly gap between the crown and the sleeve. When the user rotates the crown with one finger, it is easy to cause the crown to be eccentric. Once the crown is eccentric, the accuracy of the watch operation is affected, and the user may feel unstable when rotating the crown, which in turn affects the user's operating feel. In addition, the eccentricity will also affect the accuracy of the sensor inside the watch, further leading to function selection or setting errors.

In addition, the problems caused by the eccentricity phenomenon not only affect the operational stability of the watch, but also cause the quality stability of smart watches to decrease during the production process. For example, each smart watch may have different degrees of eccentricity during the manufacturing process, making it difficult to ensure the quality stability of each watch during mass production, and the production yield will also be greatly affected.

Therefore, it is necessary to provide a crown with a self-centering function to further reduce the eccentricity phenomenon, so as to improve the overall positioning accuracy and stability, thereby meeting the needs of consumers and the market for high-quality smart wearable devices.

In view of this, the present invention provides a crown for use in a wearable device, wherein the crown includes a crown head, a crown shaft, and a sleeve. The crown head includes a head portion and a rod portion connected to each other. The rod portion has a recessed space. The crown shaft includes a fixing portion and a conical portion connected to the fixing portion. The cross-sectional area of the conical portion gradually increases in a direction away from the fixing portion. The fixing portion is used to be fixed in the recessed space to connect the crown shaft to the crown head. The sleeve includes a first space and a second space that are interconnected. The sleeve forms a conical surface corresponding to the conical portion on the inner wall of the second space. The first space of the sleeve is used to accommodate the rod so that the rod can move in the first space; the second space is used to accommodate part of the conical surface so that the conical surface can contact the sleeve.

The crown head has an inner thread portion formed in the recessed space, and the fixing portion of the crown shaft has an outer thread corresponding to the inner thread, and the crown shaft is fixed in the crown head through the outer thread and the inner thread.

The crown further includes a plurality of sealing rings sleeved on the rod, so that when the rod is in the first space of the sleeve, the sealing rings press against the inner wall of the rod and the sleeve.

When the crown head is pushed toward the inside of a watch body of the wearable device, the rod pushes the crown shaft to separate the conical surface of the crown shaft from the conical surface of the sleeve.

The crown shaft is pushed by a spring inside the wearable device, causing the conical surface of the crown shaft to contact the conical surface of the sleeve.

There is a tilt angle between the conical surface of the crown shaft and the fixed portion, and the tilt angle is less than 45 degrees.

Among them, the crown head has a first annular groove for accommodating part of the sleeve therein.

The present invention also provides a wearable device, including: a watch body and a crown. The watch body has a crown opening. The crown is arranged on the crown opening, and the crown includes a crown head, a crown shaft and a sleeve. The crown head includes a head portion and a shaft portion connected to each other. The shaft portion has a recessed space. The crown shaft includes a fixing portion and a conical portion connected to the fixing portion, and the cross-sectional area of the conical portion gradually increases in a direction away from the fixing portion. The fixing portion is used to be fixed in the recessed space to connect the crown shaft and the crown head. The sleeve includes a first space and a second space that are connected to each other. The sleeve forms a conical surface corresponding to the conical surface on the inner wall of the second space. The first space of the sleeve is used to accommodate the rod so that the rod can move in the first space, and the second space is used to accommodate part of the conical surface so that the conical surface can contact the sleeve. When the crown head is pushed toward the inside of the watch body, the rod pushes the crown shaft so that the conical surface of the crown shaft is separated from the conical surface of the sleeve. When the crown shaft moves in a direction away from the watch body, the conical surface of the crown shaft contacts the conical surface of the sleeve.

The crown head has an inner thread portion formed in the recessed space, and the fixing portion of the crown shaft has an outer thread corresponding to the inner thread, and the crown shaft is fixed in the crown head through the outer thread and the inner thread.

There is a tilt angle between the conical surface of the crown shaft and the fixed portion, and the tilt angle is less than 45 degrees.

In summary, the invention provides a crown, in which the crown head and the crown shaft are designed as two components, and are coupled by a threaded locking method, so that the overall assembly and disassembly are easier, and the production and maintenance costs can be effectively reduced. In addition, the conical surface of the crown shaft and the conical surface of the sleeve match each other, and the crown shaft can achieve self-centering characteristics by utilizing the characteristics of the conical structure. Once the crown head is loosened, the crown head and the crown shaft can accurately return to the initial position and align the axis, thereby ensuring the accuracy and stability of the operation of the smart watch. Furthermore, since the conical surface of the crown shaft and the conical surface of the sleeve are both designed as conical structures, users only need to rotate the crown head to quickly switch the application list in the smart watch interface, thereby improving the smoothness of the user experience.

1: Crown

10: Crown

101:Head

102: Rod

1021: Sunken space

103: Sealing ring

104: First groove

11: Crown shaft

111:Fixed part

112: Cone face

12: Sleeve

121: First Space

122: Second Space

123: Conical surface

90: Wearable device

901: Watch body

F:Thrust

θ: Tilt angle

FIG1 is an exploded view of a crown according to one specific embodiment of the present invention.

FIG2A is a cross-sectional view of the crown head according to FIG1 .

FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view of the crown shaft according to FIG. 1 .

FIG2C is a cross-sectional view of the sleeve according to FIG1 .

FIG3 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a crown connected to a wearable device according to a specific embodiment of the present invention.

FIG4 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the crown of a specific embodiment of the present invention moving toward the watch body of the wearable device.

In order to make the advantages, spirit and features of this invention easier and clearer to understand, the following will be described and discussed in detail with specific embodiments and with reference to the attached drawings. It is worth noting that these specific embodiments are only representative specific embodiments of this invention, and the specific methods, devices, conditions, materials, etc. cited therein are not used to limit this invention or the corresponding specific embodiments. In addition, the devices in the figure are only used to express their relative positions and are not drawn according to their actual proportions, which should be explained in advance.

In the description of this specification, the reference to the terms "a specific embodiment", "another specific embodiment" or "part of a specific embodiment" means that the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiment are included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. In this specification, the schematic representation of the above terms does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Moreover, the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described can be combined in any one or more embodiments in an appropriate manner.

In the description of this invention, it should be understood that the terms "longitudinal, transverse, up, down, front, back, left, right, top, bottom, inside, outside" and the like indicate positions or positional relationships based on the positions or positional relationships shown in the attached drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing this invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating that the device or element described must have a specific position, be constructed and operated in a specific position, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation on this invention.

Please refer to FIG. 1, FIG. 2A, FIG. 2B and FIG. 2C together. FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a crown 1 according to a specific embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view of a crown head 10 according to FIG. 1, FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view of a crown shaft 11 according to FIG. 1, and FIG. 2C is a cross-sectional view of a sleeve 12 according to FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 2A, FIG. 2B and FIG. 2C, the crown 1 of the present specific embodiment is applied to a wearable device 90. The crown 1 includes a crown head 10, a crown shaft 11 and a sleeve 12. The crown head 10 includes a head portion 101 and a stem portion 102 connected to each other. The stem portion 102 has a recessed space 1021. The crown shaft 11 includes a fixing portion 111 and a tapered portion 112 connected to the fixing portion 111. The cross-sectional area of the tapered portion 112 gradually increases in a direction away from the fixing portion 111. The fixing portion 111 is used to be fixed in the recessed space 1021 so that the crown shaft 11 is connected to the crown head 10. The sleeve 12 includes a first space 121 and a second space 122 that are connected to each other. The sleeve 12 forms a tapered surface 123 corresponding to the tapered portion 112 on the inner wall of the second space 122. The first space 121 of the sleeve 12 is used to accommodate the rod 102 so that the rod 102 can move in the first space 121; the second space 122 is used to accommodate part of the conical surface 112 so that the conical surface 112 can contact the sleeve 12. In practice, the wearable device 90 can be a smart watch, smart glasses, earmuffs or any other wearable device with a self-centering function. This embodiment takes a smart watch as an example.

As shown in FIG. 2A , the crown head 10 includes a head 101 and a shaft 102. The head 101 also has a first groove 104 arranged around the outer periphery of the shaft 102, and the crown head 10 includes a plurality of sealing rings 103 sleeved on the shaft 102. The first groove 104 is used to accommodate part of the sleeve, and the sealing ring 103 is used to be arranged in the shaft and the sleeve after the shaft 102 is placed in the first space of the sleeve, thereby improving the overall stability of the crown.

As shown in FIG. 2B , the crown shaft 11 includes a fixing portion 111 and a tapered portion 112. The fixing portion 111 is used to couple with the crown head 10, and the tapered portion 112 is used to contact with the sleeve after being connected. The cross-sectional area of the tapered portion 112 gradually increases in the direction away from the fixing portion. That is, in this specific embodiment, the diameter of the tapered portion 112 is smaller at the connection end with the fixing portion 111, and the cross-sectional diameter gradually increases in the direction away from the fixing portion according to the taper. It is worth noting that, since the conical portion 112 of the crown shaft 11 is designed as a conical structure, there is a tilt angle θ between the conical portion 112 and the fixing portion 111, that is, a tilt angle θ is formed between the conical portion 112 and the axis of the crown shaft 11, and the tilt angle is less than 45 degrees. When the tilt angle of the conical portion 112 is less than 45 degrees, it helps to provide a more stable self-locking effect, thereby achieving a stronger self-centering effect and a precise self-centering function. In addition, the crown of the known technology uses an integrally formed crown shaft to match the hole of the watch body. The crown shaft of the crown of this creation is designed as a conical structure. The complexity of its shape requires lower manufacturing tolerance accuracy, so it is simpler and less costly in the manufacturing process, and is suitable for mass production.

In practice, the fixing portion 111 of the crown shaft 11 has an outer thread corresponding to the inner thread, and the crown head 10 has an inner thread portion formed in the recessed space 1021. The crown shaft 11 is fixed in the crown head 10 by thread locking, further ensuring the connection between the crown head 10 and the crown shaft 11. Please note that for the sake of simplicity, the inner thread and the outer thread are not shown in Figures 2A and 2B. It is worth noting that the thread locking design makes the assembly and disassembly process of the crown head 10 and the crown shaft 11 easier, which not only improves production efficiency, but also effectively reduces the problem of sensitivity in use caused by the tolerance of parts assembly during the production process. Compared to the conventional technology, the traditional crown and crown shaft are an integrated structure. The crown of this invention is changed to two main components, the crown head 10 and the crown shaft 11, and the stability of the overall crown structure is further improved through the threaded locking method. In addition, the threaded locking method allows the crown head 10 and the crown shaft 11 to be quickly disassembled and reassembled, which also helps to reduce maintenance costs.

Please refer to FIG. 1, FIG. 2A, FIG. 2B and FIG. 2C. As shown in FIG. 2C, the sleeve 12 has a first space 121 and a second space 122, and the two spaces are connected to each other. The inner diameter of the first space 121 is slightly larger than the rod 102 of the crown head 10, and is used to accommodate the rod 102 so that the rod 102 can move smoothly in the first space 121. The second space 122 is used to accommodate part of the conical surface 112 structure. It is worth noting that the inner wall of the second space 122 forms a conical surface 123, and the cross section of the conical surface 123 corresponds to the cross section shape of the conical surface 112 of the crown shaft 11. Therefore, when the crown head 10, the crown shaft 11 and the sleeve 12 are engaged with each other, the conical surface 123 surrounds the outer side of the crown shaft 11, which can limit the movement range of the crown shaft, and the cross-sectional shape of the conical surface 123 can fit the crown shaft 11 so that the crown shaft 11 can be stably positioned in the second space 122, thereby improving the overall stability and accuracy of the crown.

Next, please refer to FIG. 2A, FIG. 2B, FIG. 2C and FIG. 3 together. FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a crown 1 according to a specific embodiment of the present invention being coupled to a wearable device 90. In practical applications, the crown 1 of the present invention can be installed in a wearable device 90, such as a crown opening of a watch body 901 of a smart watch. As shown in FIG3 , when the crown 1 of the present invention is installed in the crown opening of the wearable device 90, the sleeve 12 of the crown 1 is disposed in the first groove 104 of the crown head 10, the stem 102 of the crown head 10 is located in the first space 121 of the sleeve 12, and the tapered surface 112 of the crown shaft 11 is located in the first space 121 and the second space 122 (not shown in FIG3 ), and the tapered surface 112 is in contact with the tapered surface 123 in the second space 122, so that the crown head 10 and the crown shaft 11 can be stably disposed in the sleeve 12, thereby effectively realizing the self-centering function. That is, the sleeve 12 is clamped between the crown head 10 and the crown shaft 11, and the crown head 10, the crown shaft 11 and the sleeve 12 are coaxially arranged, wherein the sleeve 12 can also be a partial structure of the watch body 901, and should not be limited to this example.

Next, please refer to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 together. FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the crown 1 according to one specific embodiment of the present invention moving toward the watch body 901 of the wearable device 90. As shown in FIG. 4, when the crown head 10 is subjected to a thrust F (for example, when the user presses the crown head 10 of the crown 1), the crown head 10 moves toward the watch body 901. Since the crown shaft 11 is coupled to the crown head 10 by screw thread locking, the rod portion 102 of the crown head 10 pushes the crown shaft 11 so that the crown head 10 and the crown shaft 11 move synchronously in the sleeve 12 toward the watch body 901. Then, as shown in the partial enlarged view in FIG4 , the conical surface of the crown shaft 11 is separated from the conical surface of the sleeve 12. At this time, the sealing ring 103 of the crown head 10 can be positioned. The sealing ring 103 provides a small but stable centering force to prevent the crown head 10 from deviating from its axial center position during operation.

Then, when the pressing is completed and the crown is released, the crown shaft 11 is pushed by the spring inside the wearable device 90, and the spring pushes the crown shaft 11 to move in the opposite direction of the thrust F, and the crown shaft 11 drives the crown head 10 to rebound to the initial position (i.e., the position shown in FIG. 3 ). Then, the conical surface 112 of the crown shaft 11 contacts the conical surface 123 of the sleeve 12 again to ensure that the crown head 10 and the crown shaft 11 can accurately return to the axial center position, thereby maintaining the accuracy of the operation of the wearable device. Compared with the learned technology, the crown of this creation effectively avoids the positioning deviation problem that may occur after the learned operation, and improves the accuracy and stability of the operation.

The geometry of the conical surface 112 of the crown shaft 11 and the conical surface 123 of the sleeve 12 enables the crown 1 to have a self-centering function. When the conical surface 112 contacts the conical surface 123, the contact force will automatically adjust to align and center the two surfaces even if there is a slight misalignment. This feature makes the conical surface 112 and the conical surface 123 an ideal choice for clamping between components and other applications that require precise alignment.

There is an inclination angle θ between the conical portion 112 and the fixing portion 111, and the inclination angle may be less than 45 degrees, such as 30 degrees, 35 degrees or 40 degrees. When a thrust is pushed against the crown head 10, two forces will be generated, the force component A is parallel to the crown shaft 11 and toward the axis, and the force component B is perpendicular to the crown shaft 11. The force component formula is: thrust × cosθ = force component A, thrust × sinθ = force component B.

When the tilt angle θ tends from 45 degrees to 0 degrees, the thrust × cos θ = A component increases, and the centering ability is stronger. When the tilt angle θ tends from 45 degrees to 90 degrees, the thrust × cos θ = A component decreases, and the centering ability is worse. When the tilt angle θ is less than 45 degrees, this angle usually requires a larger force to separate the two contact surfaces, because the smaller the angle, the stronger the self-locking effect. This design is suitable for applications that require high stability and high load, and can provide a strong self-centering effect and high-precision alignment. This solution is used in this case.

When the cone angle is greater than 45 degrees, this angle requires less force to separate, because the larger the angle, the easier it is to separate. This design is suitable for applications that require quick release and low loads. It can also provide good self-centering effect, but may be slightly less accurate under high load conditions.

In summary, the present invention provides a crown, in which the crown head and the crown shaft are designed as two components, and are coupled by a threaded locking method, so that the overall assembly and disassembly are easier, and the production and maintenance costs can be effectively reduced. In addition, the conical surface of the crown shaft and the conical surface of the sleeve match each other, and the crown shaft can achieve self-centering characteristics by utilizing the characteristics of the conical structure. Once the crown head is loosened, the crown head and the crown shaft can accurately return to the initial position and align the axis, thereby ensuring the accuracy and stability of the wearable device operation. Furthermore, since the conical surface of the crown shaft and the conical surface of the sleeve are both designed as conical structures, users only need to rotate the crown head to quickly switch the application list in the wearable device interface, thereby improving the smoothness of the user experience.

The above detailed description of the preferred specific embodiments is intended to more clearly describe the features and spirit of this invention, rather than to limit the scope of this invention by the preferred specific embodiments disclosed above. On the contrary, the purpose is to cover various changes and equivalent arrangements within the scope of the patent application for this invention. Therefore, the scope of the patent application for this invention should be interpreted in the broadest sense based on the above description, so as to cover all possible changes and equivalent arrangements.

1: Crown

10: Crown

102: Rod

104: First groove

11: Crown shaft

112: Cone face

12: Sleeve

121: First Space

123: Conical surface

90: Wearable device

901: Watch body

Claims (10)

A crown, applied to a wearable device, comprising: A crown head, comprising a head portion and a stem portion connected to each other, wherein the stem portion has a recessed space; A crown shaft, comprising a fixing portion and a conical portion connected to the fixing portion, wherein the cross-sectional area of the conical portion gradually increases in a direction away from the fixing portion, and the fixing portion is used to be fixed in the recessed space to connect the crown shaft to the crown head; and A sleeve includes a first space and a second space that are interconnected. The sleeve forms a conical surface corresponding to the conical surface on the inner wall of the second space. The first space of the sleeve is used to accommodate the rod so that the rod can move in the first space, and the second space is used to accommodate part of the conical surface so that the conical surface can contact the sleeve. As described in item 1 of the patent application scope, the crown head has an internal thread portion formed in the recessed space, and the fixing portion of the crown shaft has an external thread corresponding to the internal thread, and the crown shaft is used to be fixed in the crown head through the external thread and the internal thread. As described in item 1 of the patent application scope, the crown head further comprises a plurality of sealing rings sleeved on the rod portion, so that when the rod portion is in the first space of the sleeve, the sealing rings abut against the inner wall of the rod portion and the sleeve. As described in item 1 of the patent application scope, when the crown head is moved toward the inside of a watch body of the wearable device by a thrust, the rod pushes the crown shaft to separate the conical surface of the crown shaft from the conical surface of the sleeve. As described in item 1 of the patent application scope, the crown shaft is pushed by a spring inside the wearable device, so that the conical surface of the crown shaft contacts the conical surface of the sleeve. The crown as described in Item 1 of the patent application, wherein there is a tilt angle between the conical surface of the crown shaft and the fixing portion, and the tilt angle is less than 45 degrees. As described in item 1 of the patent application scope, the crown head has a first annular groove for accommodating part of the sleeve therein. A wearable device, comprising: A watch body having a crown opening; and A crown, disposed on the crown opening, the crown comprising: A crown head, comprising a head portion and a stem portion connected to each other, wherein the stem portion has a recessed space; A crown shaft, comprising a fixing portion and a conical portion connected to the fixing portion, wherein the cross-sectional area of the conical portion gradually increases in a direction away from the fixing portion, and the fixing portion is used to be fixed in the recessed space to connect the crown shaft to the crown head; and A sleeve, comprising a first space and a second space that are interconnected, the sleeve forms a conical surface corresponding to the conical surface on the inner wall of the second space, the first space of the sleeve is used to accommodate the rod so that the rod can move in the first space, and the second space is used to accommodate part of the conical surface so that the conical surface can contact the sleeve; When the crown head is pushed toward the inside of the watch body, the rod pushes the crown shaft to separate the conical surface of the crown shaft from the conical surface of the sleeve; When the crown shaft moves in a direction away from the watch body, the conical surface of the crown shaft contacts the conical surface of the sleeve. The wearable device as described in Item 8 of the patent application scope, wherein the crown head has an inner thread portion formed in the recessed space, and the fixing portion of the crown shaft has an outer thread corresponding to the inner thread, and the crown shaft is used to be fixed in the crown head through the outer thread and the inner thread. As described in Item 8 of the patent application, the wearable device has a tilt angle between the conical surface of the crown shaft and the fixing portion, and the tilt angle is less than 45 degrees.

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