US2547090A - Waterproof watchcase - Google Patents

Description

A ril 3, 1951 H. J. ONEILL 2,547,090 WATERPROOF WATCHCASE Filed Sept. 10, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet '3.

p 1951 H. J. O'NEILL 2,547,090

WATERPROOF WATCHCASE Filed Sept. 10, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 JNVENTQR. ACT Mi .[4/7955 OWE/LL Affo/ /vv g.

Patented Apr. 3, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WATERPROOF WATCHCASE Henry James ONeill, Waterbury, Conn., assignor to Benrus Watch Company, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application September 10, 1949, Serial No. 115,083

1 Claim. 1

The present invention relates to a watch case construction and in particular to one in which a waterproof and moistureproof sealing relationship is achieved between the various assembled parts thereof. 7

Various constructions have in the past been devised for achieving a waterproof or moistureproof watch case. In general it may be stated that two problems are presented in the fabrication of such watch cases: obtaining a sealing effect where the winding stem enters the case and obtaining a sealing effect over the case proper. The present invention relates to a novel means for achieving a sealing effect over the case proper, any suitable stem sealing construction being adaptable for use with the present invention.

Watches of this general type are customarily made of a number of parts such as external ring, mounting lugs, bezel, crystal, watch movement, and movement-supporting structure, which parts are interfittable in various ways depending upon the particular construction employed in order to achieve, when interfitted, a snug and watertight sealing relationship therebetween so that water or moisture is not permitted to reach the watch movement. The construction must be such that the various parts can, when necessary, be disassembled, in order that repair of the watch can be efiected. The present invention relates to a novel arrangement of parts by means of which a snug sealing engagement between the interfitted parts can be achieved in a simple and extremely inexpensive manner, and in which the parts are retained positively in their assembled and sea ing condition until it is desired that they be disassembled.

The watch movement is normally adapted to be supported either directly or indirectly in a structural element generally termed a box, that box having the structural strength to rigidly support the movement and to cooperate with several of the other parts of the watch case to define a waterproof seal. It is most common to have the box snugly received within a second structural element in the form of an external ring, the box itself usually being press-fitted or threadedly received within the ring so as to define a seal therebetween. Since the bottom of the box is the part of the watch normally held against the wrist or other body portion of the wearer, it must, from a practical point of view, be of a corrosionresistant material such as stainless steel. It must at the same time be very precisely dimensioned in order that it can cooperate with the interior 2 of the external ring so as to define a moistureproof seal. These two factors have been a source of much trouble in the art, since stainless steel is relatively expensive and relatively difiicult to machine.

Applicant has discovered that a superior seal can be achieved with the use of considerably less stainless steel, without having to machine that stainless at all, and without sacrificing any of the structural requisites of the watch case, by utilizing a back adapted to receive and support the watch movement either directly or indirectly, which back is freely or loosely receivable into a ring, a shell of appropriately shaped stainless sheet stock, hereinafter termed a back, surrounding the exterior of the box and being interposed and pressed between the exterior of the box and the interior of the external ring. In this way the box can be made of aluminum or other light inexpensive and easily shaped material, yet contact with the body of the wearer is still achieved by means of stain ess steel only a minimal amount of which need be employed in each watch case.

Applicant has further discovered that when an external ring, preferably a one-piece ring including a bezel and mounting lugs, is emploved, screws may be passed throu h that ring, preferably from beneath the mounting lugs so that the screws are invisible from above and hence do not mar the appearance of the watch case, the screws engaging the exterior of the movement-supporting structure, so as to positively retain that structure in sealing position in the ring until it is desired that the parts be disassembled.

A further feature of the present invention is to uti ize, with an external ring having a bezel integral therewith, a suitably shaped crystal which cooperates with the movement supporting structure and with a sealing washer compressed therebetween so as to ensure that an exceptionally effective seal is achieved over the entire watch case.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing objects and such other objects as may hereinafter appear, the present invention relates to the construction of a waterproof watch case as defined in the appended claim and as described in thisspecification, taken together with the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. l is a top view of a watch case of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a front end view thereof;

Fig. 3 is an exploded view thereof showing the various component parts;

3 Fig. 4 is a side cross-sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of Fig. 1 showing the parts in assembled position;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary side cross-sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 but showing another embodiment of the present invention.

Although the watch case is here shown as circular in shape and such terms as ring are employed, it will be apparent that the shape of the watch case may be varied within wide limits and that the term ring is not to be limited to a circular ring.

Viewed broadly, the watch case of the present comprises an external ring generally designated A which is adapted to support the remainder of the watch. A movement-supporting structure generally designated B is adapted to be received within the external ring A in sealing relationship therewith, and screws ,0 are adapted to pass through the ring A and to engage the exterior of the movement-supporting structure B so as to positively retain that structure in position with respect to the external ring A until it is desired that the watch case be disassembled.

Viewed somewhat more specifically, and with particular reference to another aspect of the present invention, the movement-supporting structure B is preferably in two parts, comprising a box generally designated D and. a back generally designated E, the box being received within the back and the back being pressed-between the exterior of the box and the interior of the external ring A so as to define a seal. The box D is preferably made of any suitable inexpensive and easily formed material, the external dimensions of which are not exceedingly critical, while the back E is formed of some anti-corrosive substance such as stainless steel and is preferably shaped into shell form from sheet stock, as by .a series of drawing operations, so that it need not undergo any machining operations.

Viewed more specifically, the external ring A, which is formed of any suitable structural material, includes a ring portion 2 open .at the bottom to define a recess 4, the top of the ring portion 2 being provided with an integral inward ledge 6 defining a bezel. Four mounting lugs 3 are preferably integrally formed with the ring portion 2 and may be provided with transverse apertures l through which pins may be passed to secure the watch case to a bracelet or the like. As here disclosed, the ring portion 2 is circular in shape (although that is not essential to the present invention) and it is provided atone position with a flattened area l2 and a cut-out notch M for a purpose hereinafter to be set forth.

The watch crystal it may be formed of glass or of a suitable transparent plastic material and has a dome portion I8, a peripheral depending rim 20 and a peripheral flange 22 depending from the rim, the exterior of the crystal [8 defining a substantially horizontal shoulder 24 adapted to engage with the underside of the bezel 6.

The box D is made of any suitable structural material such as soft steel or aluminum and need not be corrosion-resistant. It includes a bottom portion 26 and an upstanding peripheral rim 28, thus defining an interior cavity .30 into which the watch movement 32 is adapted to be received. that movement resting on and being supported by the ledge 34 formed on the interior of the box D. Although Figs. 4, -and 6 disclose the Watch movement 32 as being supported directly by the box D, other structural elements could be interposed therebetween if desired without departing from the present invention. The watch movement is disclosed as having a pair of hands 36 and 38 appropriately actuated by the mechanism in the movement 32 and movable over a dial 40 on which suitable characters are afiixed. In Figs. 4 and 5 the edges of the dial 40 are bent downwardly so as to accommodate a reflector 42 interposed between the dial 40 and the crystal 16. .The useofa reflector 42 is optional, Fig. 6 discloses a construction in which there is no reflector 42, and consequently the dial edge is straight and not downwardly bent.

The top. of the box D is provided with an ascending flange d4 adapted to snugly fit inside the depending flange 22 on the crystal it, as may best be seen in Figs. 4, 5 and 6.

The internal diameter of the recess 4 in the bottom of the external ring A is appreciably greater than theexternal diameter of the boxD and hence the box D is freely or loosely movable into the .external ring A from the bottom thereof. Since the box D is not made of corrosion-resistant material, it would notbe practical to have it come into contact with the wrist or other body portion of the wearer, since perspiration is extremely corrosive and, even if it itself would not .be serious- 1y weakened by the corrosion, corrosion products would nevertheless be deposited on the wrist-of the wearer, which products are sometimes harmful and always disfiguring. Accordingly, the back E is employed, it being formed of some corrosion-resistant material such as stainless steel and adapted to surround or cup the exposed exterior of the box D as shown. To this end, .it has proved to be highly economical to form the back E of sheet stock, it being formed into a shell or cup shape having a bottom it and .a peripheral rim t8 by means of one or more drawing operations. This .is considerably more rapid and less expensive on a quantity production scale than machining operations. The internal diameter and shape of the back E corresponds closely to the external diameter and shape of the box D, although extremely precise conformity is not necessary. The thickness of the stock from which the backE is shaped is such that its external diameter, after it has been snugly fitted-over the box D, maybe equal to or very .slightly greater than the interior diameter of the recess 4 in the external ring A. Consequently, when the back E and box D are inserted into the external ring A from the underside, the back B will be snugly pressed between the exterior of the .box D and the interior of the external ring A so as to define an exceedingly efficient seal which will be waterproof and moistureproof.

The box D is apertured at 5!! and the back E is apertured or notched at 52, and these apertures are brought into registration with the notch M in the external ring A so that a tube 54 which, makes a sealing fit with the aperture 59 may be inserted therethrough, the winding stem (not shown), to which a crown 56 (shown in phantom in Figs. 1 and 2), may be secured, being adapted to pass through the tube 54 from the exterior of the case to the watch movement 32. Any suitable means may be employed for effecting a seal between the crown 56 and the tube 54.

In assembling this watch case, everything is inserted from the bottom of the external ring A. First the crystal is inserted until its dome portion l8 extends out through the bezel 6, the

crystal it being retained. Within the ring by engagement between the bezel 6 and the shoulder 24. A sealing washer 58 is next inserted, the watch movement 32 and the reflector 42, if used, are placed into the box D from above, the box D is inserted into the back E, and the back E and box D together, both constituting the movementsupporting structure, are then forced into the recess 4 as far as they will go. The sealing washer 58 is made of some suitable soft packing material, such as rubber or composition material, and it is adapted to be compressed vertically between the top surface 60 of the back E, the peripheral shelf 62 of the box D, and the under surface 64 of the crystal 16. This not only ensures that the crystal I6 is properly seated against the bezel 6, but also causes the sealing washer 58 to expand laterally until it fills the space between the interior of the recess 4 and the outer surface of the ascending flange 44 on the box D. That ascending flange 44 is also adapted to snugly fit inside the depending flange 22 on the crystal l6, thus making for another sealing surface.

The effectiveness of the seal achieved by this construction is apparent from a consideration of the number of surfaces in sealing relationship one to the other. Moisture from the bottom of the case would have to pass through the seal between the upstanding rim 48 of the back E and the inner surface of the ring A, then through the seal between the upper surfaces 60 and 62 of the back E and box D respectively and the sealing washer 64, then through the seal between the side surface of the sealing washer 64 and the ascending flange 44 of the box D, and then through the seal between said flange 44 and the depending flange 22 of the crystal, before it could reach the watch movement 32. A similar tortuous path, involving many sealing surfaces, is involved when moisture tries to pass from the top of the case to the watch movement 32. In this regard it is to be noted that the contact between the inner surface of the bezel 6 and the substantially vertical surface 66 of the crystal l6 and the contact between the inner surface of the recess 4 and the outer surface of the depending flange 22 of the crystal [6, may also be scaling in nature, particularly when the crystal H5 is made of a plastic material which may be slightly deformed when the crystal is inserted into the watch case.

In order to ensure that the parts of the watch case will remain in their tightly assembled sealing condition, the ring A is provided with a plurality of internally threaded apertures 68 into each of which a screw C is receivable, the screws being adapted to pass completely through the ring A and engage the movement-supporting structure B so as to retain it in position. In order to achieve best results, the apertures 68 are inclined upwardly through the ring A toward the inserted end of the movement-supporting structure B, so that the screws will exert a wedging action on that structure tending to force it upwardly into the ring A, thus enhancing or intensifyin the seal achieved by the structure. In order that the screws should not destroy the decorative appearance of the watch case, it is preferred that, as may best be seen from Fig. 1, the apertures 68 be positioned under the mounting lugs 8 so as to be hidden from view from above.

When the two-piece movement-supporting structure B is employed comprising the box D and the back E, the screws will, of course, contact merely the external surface of the back E. This is advantageous since that back, being made of sheet stock, will exhibit more plastic flow when pressure is applied thereto than would a solid structural piece. Moreover, any slight deformation of the back E by the screw C will, when the watch case is disassembled and then reassembled, have no significant effect on the seal achieved because the compression of the relatively thin back E between the box D and the external ring A would tend to smooth or iron out those deformations.

Fig. 6 discloses a modification in which the movement-supporting structure B is provided with recesses 10 registrable with the screws C and into which the screws are receivable, the recesses 10 being inclined in conformance with the inclination of the apertures 68 so that the screws C have a perpendicular surface upon which they can exert their force. When a twopiece movement-supporting structure B is employed and when the recesses I0 are formed in the box D, as shown in Fig. 6, the sheet material of the back E will be deformed by the screw C and pressed into the recess I0 but, as has already been pointed out, this is not a serious matter. The movement-supporting structure may be provided with individual recesses 10 equal in number to and appropriately positioned with respect to the internally threaded apertures 68, but in order to obviate the necessity of bringing individual recesses into accurate registration, the recesses 10 may be defined by a peripheral groove in the exterior surface of the box D.

By means of the construction above described, a particularly effective and inexpensive waterproof watch case may be made. Use of costly materials such as stainless steel is minimized. Machining operations on hard materials are also minimized. The stainless steel back E need not be machined at all but may be formed by a number of drawing operations. Thus stainless steel is presented next to the skin of the wearer but at a very minimal cost. The various parts of the watch case cooperate and interfit so that an extremely efficient waterproof seal is attained. The use of screws, and particularly upwardly inclined screws positioned beneath the mounting lugs, ensure that the seal will remain until disassembly of the watch case is desired.

It will be apparent that many variations may be made in the details of the watch case of the present invention without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the following claim.

I claim:

A waterproof watch case comprising an external ring adapted to support the remainder of the Watch, a bezel formed integral with, said ring at one end thereof, a one-piece box adapted to support the watch movement, said box being freely passable into said ring from the other end thereof, a crystal retained between said bezel and said ring, said back having an internal ascending flange and said crystal having a depending flange fitting between and smoothly engaging the sides of said ascending flange and said ring respectively, and a back of sheet material surrounding the bottom and sides only of said box and receivable between said box and the inner surface of said ring, the thickness of said back being such, in relation to the external dimensions of said box and the internal dimensions of said ring, as to be sealingly pressed therebetween, the upper edge of said back being substantially 7 7 even with the upper edge of said box, and a sealing washer compressed in the Space between aid box, "back, ascending box flange, crystal and ring and engaging-the upper-edges of both Said box andsaid back. v n V A 5 -HENRY JAMES ONEILL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent: l0

8 v UNITED STATES PATENT Number Number 9 Name 7 Date I Giles 'July 3, I888 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Switzerland ,Ma, y 1,- 1937 Switzerland .& Mar. 2, 1942 Switzerland Mar. 16, 1946

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