Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G04—HOROLOGY
  • G04B—MECHANICALLY-DRIVEN CLOCKS OR WATCHES; MECHANICAL PARTS OF CLOCKS OR WATCHES IN GENERAL; TIME PIECES USING THE POSITION OF THE SUN, MOON OR STARS
  • G04B3/00—Normal winding of clockworks by hand or mechanically; Winding up several mainsprings or driving weights simultaneously
  • G04B3/04—Rigidly-mounted keys, knobs or crowns
  • G04B3/045—Storing the operating element, also bringing it out of storage

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a watch crown, that is to say the button usually present in the middle of the right side of the watch case, this button making it possible to adjust the position of the hands, of the calendar and possibly to wind a movement. mechanical clock.
• this crown In the majority of current watches, it is necessary to pull on this crown to move the longitudinal winding stem integral with this crown in order to achieve the desired function.
• the timepiece mechanism When this crown is pulled out of its initial position against the case, the timepiece mechanism is normally stopped to facilitate the adjustment operation.
• this crown can also be pulled accidentally out of this initial position, in particular by rubbing against the wearer's wrist. This phenomenon appears more frequently when the crown is installed in the lower part of the case or when the thickness of this case is particularly reduced, the diameter of the crown being unable for practical reasons to decrease below a certain value. .
• This untimely exit from the crown is all the more regrettable as the watch movement stops, leaving the wearer perplexed and the winding stem can be weakened or even twisted by subsequent movements of the wrist.
• the invention solves this difficulty by proposing a watch crown located at the end of the winding stem capable of being moved in translation. longitudinal to access the different adjustment or winding functions of the watch movement because this winding stem is movable in the middle of the crown locked in translation by a cage of the watch case, the stem being engaged in rotation with the crown by a bearing whose cylindrical periphery of non-circular section corresponds to the periphery of the central bore of the crown, this rod being provided at its end with a gripping head.
• the bearing surface of the rod and the central bore of the crown have a cylindrical shape of substantially circular cross section except for two opposite dishes. This shape lends itself to a particularly easy industrial embodiment while ensuring excellent transmission of the torque between the crown and the rod.
• the apprehension head has a surface of revolution around the central axis, this surface being completed by a transverse groove. Then, the wearer can thus very easily act on this winding stem by pinching this apprehension head with his nails at the level of the groove. This characteristic allows the wearer to get rid of any external accessory.
• the winding stem crosses the " watch case through a tube terminating in the case by an annular housing for a seal against the stem. This tube itself being driven out tightly in the 'orifice of the case, thus preserving the general waterproofness of the watch against dust and humidity.
• FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of the various elements of the crown during assembly
• FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the crown in the normal position
• FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the crown on the occasion of an adjustment.
• a cage 10 intended to be attached substantially in the middle of the right side of a watch case.
• This cage essentially consists of several arms four in this case, holding an openwork disc in front e its center.
• the shape and number of the arms can depend to a large extent on aesthetic considerations as long as the defined interior space is sufficient for receiving a crown 30, that a lower passage is provided for the insertion of this crown and that, if present, the front disc is located at a distance from the rear bottom substantially equivalent to the thickness of this crown.
• This device is completed by a winding stem 20 having at its end a head 24 provided with a transverse groove 26 and, a little behind, a bearing 22 intended to cooperate with the internal bore 32 of the crown 30.
• This winding stem 20 has at its inner end a threaded tubular part for screwing with the initial winding stem of the watch movement installed in the watch case.
• the bearing surface 2 has an essentially cylindrical shape in order to be able to slide inside the bore 32 of the crown 30.
• the periphery of this cylindrical volume has a shape, seen in cross section, initially circular in which one has fresh two opposite plates, around which we find identically in a dimension slightly higher in the bore 32.
• other shapes could have been given to this cylindrical bearing, in particular square or oval. It is also possible to envisage a fairly thick longitudinal single tooth acting as a key or a plurality of longitudinal parallel teeth meshing with teeth cut in correspondence in the bore 32.
• the head 24 is represented in FIG. 1 in a schematic manner by a cylinder, one can also envisage, according to aesthetic considerations, a plurality of other volumes, in particular volumes defined by a revolution of a curve around the 'central axis. In all cases, it is desirable to complete this shape given to the head 24 by a transverse groove 26 to facilitate its grasping by pinching with the fingers in particular between the thumbnail and the index finger or middle finger.
• the mode of assembly of this crown is carried out by prior disassembly of the initial winding stem of the movement in order to screw the complementary winding stem 20 to it, then by the positioning (1) of the crown 30 to the inside the cage 10, then by inserting (2) the winding stem 20 successively through the front disc of the cage 10 and the bore 32 of the crown 30, and finally by fixing the end internal of the initial winding stem in the movement.
• Figure 2 illustrates this fully assembled crown.
• the sealing against dust and humidity is achieved from the rear by driving a tube 40 into the orifice of the case, which therefore passes over the winding stem 20.
• This tube 40 has its rear part an annular housing 42 for a seal 44 acting against this winding stem 20.

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• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Electric Clocks (AREA)

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Publications (1)

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ID=9428416

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Citations (4)

• 1992
  • 1992-03-30 FR FR9204042A patent/FR2689256B1/fr not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 1993
  • 1993-03-25 WO PCT/FR1993/000299 patent/WO1993020485A1/fr active IP Right Grant
  • 1993-03-25 EP EP93906665A patent/EP0646256B1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime

Patent Citations (4)

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