WO2006072187A2

WO2006072187A2 - Analog watch provided with a transponder which is at least partially integrated into a hand or is carried by the hand axis thereof

Info

Publication number: WO2006072187A2
Application number: PCT/CH2005/000738
Authority: WO
Inventors: Alex Kalbermatten; Léo Kalbermatten
Original assignee: Winwatch S.A.
Priority date: 2005-01-06
Filing date: 2005-12-09
Publication date: 2006-07-13
Also published as: WO2006072187A3

Abstract

The inventive analog watch (1) comprises a watchcase (2) provided with control means (3), a glass (10), a dial (4), a wristband (5) and a clock movement which is arranged inside the watchcase (2) and coupled to hour display means formed by hands. A minute (6), hour (8) or a seconds (7) hand or a hand axis (11) comprises a transponder (9) which consists of an integrated circuit chip (9.1) connected to an antenna (9.2) and is placed in a position which enables it to communicate with at least one external RFID reader by radio frequency signals.

Description

Analog watch comprising a transponder at least partially integrated in a needle, or whose axis of a needle carries a transponder.

The present invention relates to a watch, in particular an analog wristwatch which comprises a transponder at least partially integrated in a display needle minutes, hours or seconds, or whose axis of a needle carries said transponder. The transponder consists of an antenna and an integrated circuit chip (chip) and is placed in the needle or carried by the axis of a needle in a position allowing identification by at least one reading device and / or external writing using RFID identification technology.

The objective of the present invention is to use advances obtained in the field of radio frequency identification systems (RFID), in order to improve the protection of the watch and its components against imitations, counterfeits, the gray market or fraud, or allowing the tracking and / or traceability of the watch throughout its life from manufacture to sale, or to use the data for quality control, service after-sales, repair or warranty, inventory management or advertising and marketing, or offering non-watch developments and applications, such as access control or identity control of the carrier of the watch, electronic key, electronic payment card, credit card, etc.

Numerous examples of watches equipped with RFID technology are already known and it is well known to equip watches, generally transponder wristwatches for storing information which includes a chip connected to an antenna and which can communicate by radio signals broadcast with an external reading device. Transponders, also commonly called electronic tags, are often of the passive type, the energy being supplied to them by the radio frequencies emitted by the external reader. According to the prior art and the numerous disclosures published to date, such as for example patents or patent applications CH692069A5, CH689360A5, CH694111A5, US6484947B1, CH690525A5, CH691094A5, DE19613491A1, EP1113346A1 EP1420477, JP2004325315, JP2001006007, JP2001042068, EP1378805A1, EP1398676A1, EP1318437A1, EP0741433A1, EP1213629A1, EP0884662A2, the transponder is integrated in the housing, in the telescope, in the caseband, under the dial, in the case of movement, on or in the cover of the bottom of the case of the watch, in the organ of control like the crown, in the bracelet of the watch, or integrated on, in or under the watch ice, etc. However, none of the disclosures nor the state of the art known to date, has the idea of using a display needle minutes, hours or seconds, or the axis of a needle, as support to attach an RFID transponder that carries data that can be picked up by one or more external readers. The present invention fills this gap as defined in the claims. According to the multiple possible embodiments, it is possible to imagine that the display needle of minutes, hours or seconds, or the axis of the needles comprises a transponder. The object of the present invention is not only to make the needle or the axis of a needle integral with a transponder, but the invention is also intended to solve the problem that arises for the integration of a transponder. very small size in the wristwatch and which is able to be detected at a short distance only by an external reader.

Many disclosures published to date seek to solve the problem of reflection and / or absorption of radio signals caused by the metal components of a watch or the human body, and offer integration solutions of a transponder with an antenna, which is often very bulky, for receiving and / or transmitting the radio frequencies through the metal components of a watch. In particular, prior art watches include transponders consisting of integrated circuits coupled to a bulky antenna which necessarily requires integration inside the case of the watch. Therefore, an additional space for housing the antenna in the mechanical part is to be expected, which requires an adaptation in the architectural structure of the watch and an additional process to add in the production line. It also makes any change difficult once the watch is finished. As for the fact of an integration of the transponder in the wristband of a watch, as proposed in other known solutions, it can pose on the one hand the problem of the absorption of radio frequencies by the human body in general and perspiration, and on the other hand the bracelet is subject to wear if it is made of soft material such as leather or rubber. On the other hand the transponder can be easily damaged or destroyed, because the flexibility of the bracelet that makes it too easy to twist or fold the transponder and thus break it; if the bracelet is made of metal, the problem of transmission of radio frequencies through the metal persists. In addition to these disadvantages, the bracelet is not an integral part of the watch case and can be too easily replaced by unauthorized or malicious people, so that the transponder in the bracelet is not a sufficient guarantee to ensure the protection. of the watch and its components against imitations, counterfeits, the gray market or fraud, for example. However, the major disadvantage of the prior art is that radio frequencies are particularly sensitive to the reflection effects of the metal parts of the watch or to absorption by the human body, which explains the necessarily large size of the antenna, It is essential to overcome these kinds of problems and consequently leads to heavy equipment and significant production costs. The solutions proposed by the prior art can then give only partially satisfactory results, because the large size of the antenna attached to the integrated circuit constituting the transponder, the high price and the problematic integration of the transponder in the watch case or the bracelet are annoying aesthetic, economic and technical barriers. The object of the present invention is also to solve these aforementioned problems as defined in the claims.

One of the advantages sought of the present invention is the possibility of adding or replacing said transponder easily, while being able to give the guarantee of a high authentication of the watch, because the watch case must first be opened to access the needles, respectively to the axis of a needle for an addition or replacement of the transponder. The watch described in the present invention may be equipped with a transponder at any time during its life, during its serial production, optionally and on command, or subsequently by a skilled person such as the watchmaker. The exchange then takes place by extracting the needle, integrating the new watch hand equipped with a transponder into the existing watches, or by adding a watch hand equipped with a transponder in the watch. during its manufacture. Other variants are imaginable. Another advantage sought is that of the arrangement of the transponder in the watch itself, a problem that can be subtly solved, thanks to the location of the transponder outside the housing containing the transponder. movement. As a result, the watch retains its original mechanical, architectural and aesthetic integrity, as there will be no foreign electronic bodies inside the watch case. An advantage that is very important for luxury watches called mechanical or luxury. In addition, a very important advantage of the present invention is that offered by the possibility of using transponders of very small size, able to be detected at short distance only. Already already, there are transponders available on the market, which have a size equal to or less than 2.5mm x 2.5mm and which soon will already be smaller than 0.5mm x 0.5mm, and will be more or very difficult to see. naked eye, but still needs to find a strategic location and a propitious environment in the watch, allowing it to act with attenuation of the reduced waves to a minimum and a reading distance between the transponder and the nearest external reader possible. The present invention also solves this problem because the transponder can be discreetly attached to the minute, hour, or second display needle, or carried by the axis of a needle, and thus is very near imminent with the external reader and the problem of reflection or absorption of radio signals by the metal parts of the watch or the human body is practically solved, because the radio frequencies pass through the ice (which is the only obstacle between the external drive and transponder), almost without attenuation. Another advantage of the invention is finally able to be machined using simple conventional machines and tools, intended for mass production. To achieve this objective the present invention uses the minute, hour or seconds display needle, or the axis of a needle as a support for integrating or affixing a transponder, thus providing an ideal solution for solving any problem. the aforementioned problems and also offering the advantage of an aesthetic, functional and economical integration of the transponder in the wristwatch. For the sake of clarity, we decided that the term 'transponder' was sufficient to understand our invention, and not to use the term 'micro-transponder', although its current small size and potential for miniaturization future would designate it with the prefix 'micro-'.

The invention will now be understood from the description which follows and from the drawing which illustrates it, given by way of non-limiting example and in which: - fig. 1 is a simplified top view of the analog type wristwatch according to the invention.

- fig. 2 is a simplified enlarged section in the wristwatch according to one embodiment of the invention and two possible integration variants of the transponder.

- fig. 3.1 is a simplified top view of a minute, hour or seconds display needle comprising the transponder according to a first embodiment of the invention.

- fig. 3.2 shows in a very schematic form a top view of an axis of a needle carrying a transponder on its central axis, with or without a cover for fixing an axis of a needle, according to a second preferred embodiment of FIG. embodiment of the invention.

- figs. 4.1 and 4.2 schematically represent a transponder seen from the front and from the section, composed of an integrated circuit chip and an antenna.

For reasons of clarity, we decided to define in advance the terminology used in the present description of an embodiment with the following numbering:

1 = analog wristwatch

2 = watch case

3 = control means / crown

4 = dial

5 = bracelet

6 = minute hand

7 = seconds hand

8 = hour hand

9 = transponder / micro-transponder / electronic tag

9.1 = integrated circuit chip

9.2 = antenna

10 = ice

11 = axis of a needle

12 = cover for fixing a pin of a needle / hat

Although the invention is obviously not limited to the embodiment shown below, the following description is made in the case where the transponder 9 whose minute display needle 6, hours 8, or seconds 7, or the axis of a needle 11 can be equipped, is provided for storing information concerning the watch itself or that are intended for other applications that are not related to the watch for to be placed at a low distance (from a few millimeters to several centimeters) of the transmitting and receiving antenna of an external reading and / or writing device, not shown in the drawing with which it is brought to communicate. Said data transmission technology on which the present invention is based, commonly uses the radio frequency identification (RFID) which will not be described here, because it is part of the state of the art and is known for a long time already and widely used in industry. However, for the sake of precision, the minute display hand 6, hours 8 or seconds 7, or the axis of a needle 11 which is shown diagrammatically in FIG. 3.1 and FIG. finished product a transponder 9 which consists of an integrated circuit chip 9.1 connected to an antenna 9.2, as shown schematically in Figure 4.1 and Figure 4.2. Figures 1 and 2 show in a simplified form an analog wristwatch according to the invention, represented here by the general reference 1. The wristwatch 1 comprises in addition to the conventional components of a watch, a watch case 2 with control means 3 such as the crown, an ice cream 10, a dial 4 and a bracelet 5. The wristwatch 1 also comprises a watch movement not shown in the drawing, which is housed inside the case 2 and which is coupled to means for displaying the time respectively formed by a second hand 7, a minute hand 6 and a hour hand 8. According to a first possible variant of the present invention, the second hand 7, the minute hand 6, or the hour hand 8 contains a transponder 9, consisting of an integrated circuit chip 9.1 connected to an antenna 9.2. Said transponder 9 is positioned in a position enabling it to communicate by broadcast radio signals with at least one external reading and / or writing device not shown in the drawing. Said transponder 9 can be placed, placed, glued, fixed, integrated, or incorporated by any known bonding or fixing means on the outer surface of the watch hand. For example, the transponder 9 can be glued directly on the outer surface of the needle 6, 7, 8 or in a recess in the needle intended to receive the transponder, by means of an adhesive or an epoxy-based resin, mixed with a hardener or accelerator and photo-initiator chemicals sensitive to light radiation to effect polymerization, and then exposed to light radiation, especially ultraviolet radiation, to seal the transponder 9 in the recess; hardening the resin, rendering the surface thus treated, quickly hard and smooth, comparable to that of the watch hand. Other fixing solutions or integration means of the transponder 9 are obviously possible. According to a second possible variant which is also a preferred embodiment of the present invention and according to FIG. 1, the transponder 9 can be carried by the axis of a needle 11 by incrustation or by attachment or by any other means of gluing or known fixation. But one can also imagine that the transponder 9 is housed on or in a cover for fixing an axis of a needle 12 provided for this purpose, which is fixed on the central axis of the axis of a needle 11 such a hat or as an element of decoration or finishing. This solution offers the advantage of interchangeability and removability which makes it possible to remove the fixing cover from an axis of a needle 12 comprising the transponder 9 as required, for example to remove the watch hands from their axis for repair, replacement or service etc. The transponder 9 can have different shapes, characteristics and dimensions and can be housed in or on said cover for attaching an axis of a needle 12 in a visible or concealed manner. But of course, one can also imagine other forms of attachment, bonding, or integration of said transponder 9 on the axis of a needle 11. The second hand 7, the minute hand 6, the the hour hand 8, the needle axis 11, or the cover for attaching an axis of a needle 12, should preferably be non-metallic and made of an electrically insulating material to avoid creating a magnetic shield around the antenna 9.2 of the transponder 9, such as plastic or synthetic material to facilitate the transmission of radio frequencies between the transponder 9 and the external reader. However, it is possible to manufacture them in any material, even metal and not to disturb the operation of the antenna 9.2 of the transponder 9 just cover the imminent part or which is surrounding or in direct contact with the transponder 9 an electrically insulating material, or a protective film for example. In another case and for aesthetic reasons for example, or to reduce the size of the transponder 9 fixed on the hand of a watch, or simply to make invisible said transponder 9, one can also imagine that the needle 6, 7 or 8 has a recess or a cavity ready to receive the transponder 9 by gluing or by any other known fastening means. In addition, for aesthetic reasons, the needle containing the transponder 9 may simply be covered with a decorative pattern which may be a layer of film or any other two-dimensional decorative pattern and which for example trompe-l'oeil, imitates the design or the original pattern representing a classic needle. Other solutions are obviously possible and the methods and products used for gluing or fixing the transponder 9 on the watch hand 6, 7, 8, on the axis of a watch hand 11, or on or in the cover for fixing an axis of a needle 12, as well as the processes for grinding, polishing, etching, ultrasonic machining, drilling or laser abrasion of the recess which receives the transponder 9 no more than the appropriate machines or instruments to implement these products and processes will be described because they are processes and products well known and also used for a long time in the industry, especially for the mass production of rooms. It is understood that the watch hand 6, 7, 8 or the axis of a needle 11 which has just been described according to the embodiment and its various variants, can still undergo other modifications for integration. optimal transponder 9 in said needle or axis of a needle and thereby be in other variants, obvious to those skilled in the art, without departing from the scope of the present invention. As regards the transponder 9, it consists of an integrated circuit chip 9.1 connected to an antenna 9.2, as shown schematically in FIG. 4.1 and FIG. 4.2. It can present for example the appearance of a wafer with a size of 2.5mm x 2.5mm or even 0.5mm x 0.5mm only. A rigid substrate carries a sensor segment that acts as an antenna and a programmable segment that represents the storage medium of data. This data carrier is in fact an integrated circuit 9.2 which includes a ROM, or EEPROM. When the transponder 9 is placed in the field of an external radio frequency transmitter not shown in the drawing, the latter can identify the data stored on the transponder 9. It has been found that micro-transponders able to be detected at a short distance, could be made in smaller and smaller dimensions. Under these conditions the implementation of a transponder 9 in a needle or on the axis of a watch hand suddenly becomes possible according to the present invention. On the other hand it can be seen that the ice 10 allows radio frequencies emitted by the transmitter to pass almost without attenuation and as the only obstacle between the reader external and the transponder 9 and significantly increases the possible reading field of the transponder 9. This is why the slot provided according to the invention, allows a transponder 9 can be very small in a wristwatch. Finally, other developments and applications are also conceivable with respect to the transponder technology 9 that is used in the present invention. It may finally be noted that the structure and the conventional functionalities of the watch, in particular of the wristwatch 1, the minute hand 6, the hours 8 or the seconds 7, of the axis of a needle 11, and the transponder 9 have not been discussed in detail, since these concepts are well known to those skilled in the art and do not relate directly to the subject of the present invention.

The scope of the invention is not limited to the embodiment described. It also extends to any other performance and other developments are imaginable.

Claims

claims

An analog watch (1) having a watch movement which is housed inside the watch case (2) and which is coupled to a time display means formed by needles (6,7,8) in rotation about a needle axis (11), characterized in that at least one of the watch hands (6,7,8) or the axis of a needle (11) contains a transponder (9) constituted an integrated circuit chip (9.1) and an antenna (9.2) and said transponder (9) is placed on or in the watch hand (6,7,8) or the axis of a needle (11) in a position for identification and reading and / or writing by at least one external reader.

2. Analog watch (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that at least one second hand (7), a minute hand (6), an hour hand (8), or other display needle is equipped a transponder (9).

3. analog watch (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the needle axis (11), respectively the axis of a needle (11) comprises a cover for fixing an axis of a needle (12) which contains a transponder (9).

4. Analog watch (1) according to one of claims 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that said transponder (9) is fixed, affixed or integrated on or in a second hand (7), a minute hand ( 6), an hour hand (8), or other display needle, an axis of a needle (11) or a cover for attaching an axis of a needle (12) by gluing or by any other means fixing or joining known.

5. Analog watch (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that said transponder (9) is affixed, glued, fixed, integrated or incorporated by a known bonding or fixing means on the outer surface of the watch hand. (6,7,8).

6. Analog watch (1) according to one of claims 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that said transponder (9) is sealed in a recess located in the watch hand (6,7,8), in the needle axis (11) or in the cover for attaching an axis of a needle (12), intended to receive the transpohdeur (9), by means of an adhesive, a resin or a epoxy resin.

7. Analog watch (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the needle (6,7,8), the axis of a needle (11), or the fixing cover of an axis a needle (12) containing the transponder (9) is made in one non-magnetic or electrically insulating material to avoid creating a magnetic shield around the antenna (9.2) of the transponder (9).

8. Analog watch (1) according to one of claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6, characterized in that the watch hand (6,7,8), the axis of a needle (11 ), or the cover for attaching a shaft of a needle (12), containing the transponder (9) is covered with an electrically insulating and / or non-magnetic material, such as a protective film, or a layer or an insulating coating, or any other insulating support, so as not to disturb the operation of the antenna (9.2) of the transponder (9).

9. Analog watch (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said transponder (9) is of technology using radio frequency identification RFID.

10. Analog watch (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the transponder (9) is a small micro-transponder consisting of an antenna segment (9.2) and an integrated circuit segment ( 9.1), the two segments being carried by the same substrate.

11. analog watch (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said transponder (9) is covered with a film, a support or a two-dimensional decorative pattern.

Analogical watch (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said transponder (9) is a micro-transponder which uses a photovoltaic cell for receiving the data and an antenna coupled to a radio circuit for sending a radio signal.

13. Analog watch (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said transponder (9) is a 'Light-Powered Micro-transponder' using reading means by light and / or laser in combination with radiofrequency transmission means RFID.

14. Second hand (7) or minute hand (6) or hour hand (8) or other display needle or needle axis (11) or needle axis attachment cover ( 12) for analogue watch, characterized in that it contains a transponder (9) consisting of an integrated circuit chip (9.1) and an antenna (9.2) at least.