WO2023001875A1

WO2023001875A1 - Wristwatch comprising a watch unit detachably supported in a case

Info

Publication number: WO2023001875A1
Application number: PCT/EP2022/070313
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ola Stray
Original assignee: Ola Stray
Priority date: 2021-07-23
Filing date: 2022-07-20
Publication date: 2023-01-26
Also published as: SE545059C2; SE2150969A1

Abstract

A wristwatch comprising a case (10) attachable to a watchstrap or bracelet and having a socket portion (16) for detachably supporting a watch unit (11), wherein a latch device (20) is arranged between the case (10) and the watch unit (11) and shiftable between a locking position and release position, and a manually operable activation mechanism comprising a lock element (22) and an activating mechanism (21) is arranged to accomplish shifting of said latch device (20) between said locking position and said release position for enabling mounting and detaching, respectively, of the watch unit (11) relative to the case (10). The activating mechanism (21) comprises an actuating spindle (25) extending laterally out of the case (10) and a gear wheel (26) in cooperation with teeth (23) on the lock element (22).

Description

WRISTWATCH COMPRISING A WATCH UNIT DETACHABLY SUPPORTED IN A CASE

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to a wristwatch having a case attachable to a wristband or the like, and a watch unit detachably supported in the case.

In particular, the invention concerns a wristwatch that may be adapted as regards its outer design and appearance to what is suitable or desired by the owner at different occasions. Instead of having a plurality of watches with different designs and looks to choose from the invention provides a novel type of wristwatch of which the outer design may easily be adapted to what is suitable at different occasions or to comply with the actual fashion trends and/or to harmonize with the clothes or outfits worn by the owner.

BACKGROUND

A wristwatch is in many ways an accessory worn as an ornament. Further though, the clock work may be expensive, and it may hence not be feasible from an economic point of view to have a plurality of watches to choose from.

A conventional way of providing a new look to a watch is to swap the accompanying watchstrap. However, it may be rather complicated to change the watchstrap and further, the change of watchstrap may not result in a sufficient change of appearance of the watch. Further, a specific type of watchstrap may not match the specific case of the wristwatch.

There is hence a need of a watch arrangement that provides an increased possibility to achieve a change of appearance for a watch, preferably a watch of superior quality.

SHORT DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention is based on the object to provide an increased possibility to achieve a change of appearance for a watch, preferably a watch of superior quality.

This object is achieved by means of a wristwatch comprising a case attachable to a bracelet, and a watch unit detachably supported in the case, wherein the case is formed with a socket portion for receiving the watch unit.

In the wristwatch

- a latch device is arranged between the case and the watch unit and is shiftable between a locking position and release position,

- a manually operable activation mechanism is arranged to accomplish shifting of said latch device between said locking position and said release position for enabling mounting and detaching, respectively, of the watch unit relative to the case

The inventive wristwatch enables the wearer to remove the watch unit from a first case so as to be able to reposition it into another case of a different character and appearance than the first case, thereby presenting more possibilities of use for one specific watch unit, preferably a watch unit with a watch work of superior quality.

In embodiments of the inventive wristwatch the latch device comprises a lock element displaceable between said locking position and said release position wherein latch dogs are arranged to engage a groove in the case in said locking position, wherein said lock element is coupled to said activation mechanism for selective displacement between said locking position and said release position at manoeuvring of said activation mechanism.

In embodiments of the inventive wristwatch the lock element is provided with a plurality of teeth, wherein the activation mechanism comprises a rotatable actuating spindle with a gear wheel arranged to cooperate with said teeth to accomplish displacement of said lock element at rotation of said actuating spindle.

In embodiments of the inventive wristwatch the activation mechanism comprises an actuating piece arranged on the outside of the case to be actuated by hand, which actuation piece is connected to the gear wheel via the rotatable actuating spindle to accomplish shifting of the latch device between said locking position and said release position by actuation of the actuating piece.

In embodiments of the inventive wristwatch the actuating piece is comprised of a ring-shaped element with a grooved outer surface.

In alternative embodiments of the inventive wristwatch the actuating piece is instead comprised of lever which is repositionable between an open position in which the lock element is in the release position and a closed position in which the lock element is in the locking position.

In embodiments of the inventive wristwatch the lock element is ring-shaped and wherein the latch dogs extend laterally from the outer periphery of the lock element.

In embodiments of the inventive wristwatch the case is one of at least two interchangeable cases having identically formed socket portions for receiving the watch unit.

Further features and advantages of the invention will appear from the following detailed description wherein reference is made to the accompanying drawings.

SHORT DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Fig. 1 shows a perspective top view of a wristwatch according to an embodiment of the invention,

Fig. 2 shows a perspective bottom view of the wristwatch in Fig. 1 with the watch unit detached from the case,

Fig. 3 shows an exploded perspective view of the wristwatch in Fig. 1,

Fig. 4 shows a perspective view of a horizontal cross section of the wristwatch in Fig. 1,

Fig. 5 is a perspective front view of an alternative embodiment of the wristwatch according to the invention, and

Fig. 6 is a perspective back view of the embodiment shown in Fig. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE SHOWN EMBODIMENTS

In the drawing figures there is illustrated a wristwatch comprising a case 10 attachable to a watchband, watchstrap or bracelet (not shown) via lugs 12a-d and supporting internally a watch unit 11, which may include a non-illustrated dial and hand. The watch unit 11 has a circular shape and is detachably supported in a cylindrical socket portion 16 in the case 10. The watch unit 11 has a laterally extending adjustment spindle 18 carrying an external crown 19 for manual rotation of the spindle 18 and setting of different functions of the watch unit 11. In Fig. 3 the spindle 18 is illustrated by a shortened section only. As is illustrated in Fig. 3, a latch device 20 is arranged to permit the watch unit 11 to be detached from the case 10 and to be locked relative to the case 10 when mounted therein. The latch device 20 comprises a ring-shaped lock element 22 which is rotatable in the case 10 between a locking position and a release position. The lock element 22 is rotated by means of an activation mechanism 21 which comprises a segment of teeth 23 on the lock element 22, a laterally extending actuating spindle 25 with a gear wheel 26 at its inner end, and an actuating piece 28 at its outer end.

The gear wheel 26 is arranged to drivingly cooperate with the teeth 23 on the lock element 22 to accomplish rotation of the lock element 22 between the locking position and the release position as the actuating piece 28 and spindle 25 are rotated. In the shown embodiment, the actuating spindle 25 is tubular and extends coaxially outside the adjustment spindle 18. See Fig. 4. Further, in the embodiment shown in Figs. 1-4, the actuating piece 28 is comprised of a ring-shaped element with a grooved outer surface for increasing friction against one or more fingers used to rotate the same.

In an alternative embodiment illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6, the actuating piece 28' is instead comprised of a lever which is repositionable between an open position in which the lock element 22 is in the release position and a closed position in which the lock element 22 is in the locking position. In the embodiment shown in Figs. 5 and 6 the actuating piece 28' is in the closed position in which the lock element 22 is in the locking position and the watch unit 11 is locked inside the case 10, which is illustrated without lugs but of course may be provided with lugs or other means for attachment to a watchstrap or bracelet.

Preferably, the open position and the closed position of the lever are positioned 180° apart, such that when the lever points upwards, as in the illustrated drawings, it is in the closed position and when it points downwards it is in the open position, or vice versa. As is illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6, seats 39a and 39b may be arranged in the case 10 to receive the lever in each of its positions, a first seat 39a for the open position and a second seat 39b for the closed position. In the figures, the lever is positioned in the second seat 39b corresponding to the closed position such the watch unit 11 is locked inside the case 10.

In another not shown embodiment the open position and the closed position of the lever are positioned less than 180° apart, such that when the lever points upwards (or downwards), it is in the closed position and when it points at a specific angle of e.g. 90°, it is in the open position. With such an embodiment, the lever position will hinder wearing of the watch when in the open position, which may be beneficial to encourage correct wearing of the watch and prevent wearing of the watch when the watch unit is not correctly locked.

As is best shown in Fig. 2, a back plate 31 is attached to the watch unit 11 by means of a plurality of screws 32. In the shown embodiment six screws are used, but it may be fewer or more, and as an alternative the attachment of the back plate 31 may also be achieved by means of a bayonet coupling or the like at the periphery of the back plate 31.

As is illustrated in the exploded view of Fig. 3, the back plate 31 encloses in a free rotating manner the lock element 22. The watch unit 11 is rotationally locked relative to the case 10 in that the actuating spindle 25 is received into the watch unit 11 through an aperture 34 in the case 10, preventing mutual rotation between the watch unit 11 and the case 10.

The lock element 22 is, in the shown embodiment, provided with three radially extending latch dogs 35a-c configured to engage a peripherally extending groove 36 in the case 10 to axially lock the watch unit 11 to the case 10 by rotating the lock element 22. The groove 36 may be accessed via tracks 37a- c through which the latch dogs 35a-c may be entered into the groove 36. The tracks 37a-c extend axially along the inside of the case 10 from the back of the case 10 all the way to the groove 36. The latch dogs 35a-c and the groove 36 with the tracks 37a-c form a bayonet clutch for axial locking of the watch unit 11 relative to the case 10.

When the watch unit 11, the lock element 22 and the back plate 31 are put together to an assembly and retained by the screws 32, as illustrated in Fig. 2, the latch dogs 35a-c protrude laterally through openings 38a-c in the base plate 31, and when the assembly constituting the watch unit 11 is introduced into the case 10 the dogs 35a-c will enter the groove 36 in the case 10 via the tracks 37a-c. In this position inside the case 10 the assembly constituting the watch unit 11 may be locked relative to the case 10 via the activating mechanism 21, in that the actuating piece 28 or 28' is rotated causing the spindle 25 and the gear wheel 26 to rotate and, via the teeth 23, accomplish a rotation movement of the lock element 22. The result is that the latch dogs 35a-c are displaced along the groove 36, away from the tracks 37a-c to lock the assembly axially relative to the case 10. This means that the watch unit 11 may be easily mounted in and detached from the case 10 by manoeuvring the latch device 20 via the activating mechanism 21. It is to be noted that the invention is not limited to the shown and described embodiments but may be freely varied within the scope of the claims. For instance, the invention is likewise applicable on wristwatches having other shapes than circular.

Watches having rectangular shapes, for instance, may be provided with detachable watch units locked to a case by means of a releasable latch device as defined in the claims. For a rectangular watch unit, the lock element 22 may be oval, or circular for a quadratic watch, comprising four latch dogs, one at each side to fit in axial tracks arranged in a centre portion of each side of the case. Flence, the lock element 22 and the related parts do not have to be circular in shape but could be adapted to the shape and design of the watch unit and case in question.

Claims

1. A wristwatch comprising a case (10) attachable to a watchstrap or bracelet, and a watch unit (11) detachably supported in the case (10), wherein the case (10) is formed with a socket portion (16) for receiving the watch unit (11), characterised in that a latch device (20) is arranged between the case (10) and the watch unit (11) and is shiftable between a locking position and a release position, a manually operable activation mechanism (21) is arranged to accomplish shifting of the latch device (20) between said locking position and said release position for enabling mounting and detaching, respectively, of the watch unit (11) relative to the case (10, wherein the latch device (20) comprises a lock element (22) displaceable between said locking position and said release position and having latch dogs (35a-c) arranged to engage a groove (36) in the case (10) in said locking position, wherein said lock element (22) is coupled to said activation mechanism (21) for selective displacement between said locking position and said release position at manoeuvring of said activation mechanism (21).

2. Wristwatch according to claim 1, wherein the lock element (22) is provided with a plurality of teeth (23) and wherein the activation mechanism (21) comprises a rotatable actuating spindle (25) with a gear wheel (26) arranged to cooperate with said teeth (23) to accomplish displacement of said lock element (22) at rotation of said actuating spindle (25).

3. Wristwatch according to claim 2, wherein the activation mechanism (21) comprises an actuating piece (28,28') arranged on the outside of the case (10) to be actuated by hand, which actuation piece (28,28') is connected to the gear wheel (26) via the rotatable actuating spindle (25) to accomplish shifting of the latch device (20) between said locking position and said release position by actuation of the actuating piece (28,28').

4. Wristwatch according to claim 3, wherein the actuating piece (28) is comprised of a ring-shaped element with a grooved outer surface.

5. Wristwatch according to claim 3, wherein the actuating piece (28') is comprised of lever which is repositionable between an open position in which the lock element (22) is in the release position and a closed position in which the lock element (22) is in the locking position.

6. Wristwatch according to anyone of the claims 2 - 5, wherein the lock element (22) is ring-shaped and wherein the latch dogs (35a-c) extend laterally from the outer periphery of the lock element (22).

7. Wristwatch according to anyone of the preceding claims, wherein the case (10) is one of at least two interchangeable cases having identically formed socket portions (16) for receiving the watch unit (11).