EP1582945A2 - Timepiece with push-buttons - Google Patents

Abstract

The clock piece has push buttons (9), and a control unit actuated by the button. A rotating bezel (10) that locks the buttons is arranged for permitting the buttons to occupy an axial unlocked position in which the buttons are pushed for actuating the unit, and an axial locked position in which the unit is not actuated. The locked position is closer to the interior of the piece than the unlocked position.

Description

The present invention relates to a timepiece comprising one or several push buttons, more particularly a timepiece comprising a device for locking the pushbuttons in a position of rest in particular to avoid unwanted actuations thereof.

Document CH 567 300 describes such a timepiece, in which the locking device is in the form of a rotating bezel comprising on a part of its circumference a range provided with an arched vertical wall circle can be put next to the pushers to hide them. In this timepiece, the vertical wall in an arc must have a large radius, that is to say, be sufficiently distant from the wall of the middle part of which the pushbuttons emerge, so that when they are unlocked, the pushbuttons are sufficiently visible and can thus easily be manipulated by the user. This increases the overall clutter and the aesthetics of the timepiece.

The present invention aims to remedy this drawback and proposes that end a timepiece according to claim 1 attached, forms particular embodiments being defined in the dependent claims.

• les figures 1 et 2 sont des vues en perspective montrant une pièce d'horlogerie à boutons-poussoirs selon une première forme d'exécution de l'invention, respectivement dans un état où les deux boutons- poussoirs sont déverrouillés et dans un état où l'un des boutons- poussoirs est verrouillé ;
• les figures 3 à 5 sont des vues partielles en coupe radiale montrant l'un des boutons-poussoirs respectivement en position de repos déverrouillée, en position verrouillée et en train d'actionner un organe de commande ;
• la figure 6 est une vue en coupe de l'un des boutons-poussoirs prise depuis le dessus ;
• les figures 7 à 10 sont des vues partielles en coupe radiale d'une pièce d'horlogerie à boutons-poussoirs selon une seconde forme d'exécution de l'invention, montrant plusieurs positions d'un bouton-poussoir et d'un dispositif de verrouillage : à la figure 7 le bouton-poussoir est en position déverrouillée ; aux figures 8 et 9 le dispositif de verrouillage est en train de verrouiller le bouton-poussoir ; à la figure 10 le bouton-poussoir est en position verrouillée ;
• les figures 11 et 12 sont des vues de dessus de la pièce d'horlogerie selon la seconde forme d'exécution de l'invention, respectivement dans un état où les boutons-poussoirs sont déverrouillés et dans un état où les boutons-poussoirs sont verrouillés ; et
• les figures 13 à 15 sont des vues partielles de dessus de la pièce d'horlogerie selon la seconde forme d'exécution de l'invention, montrant l'un des boutons-poussoirs et le dispositif de verrouillage dans les mêmes positions, respectivement, qu'aux figures 7 à 9.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will appear on reading the following detailed description given with reference to the appended diagrammatic drawings in which:

• FIGS. 1 and 2 are perspective views showing a push-button timepiece according to a first embodiment of the invention, respectively in a state where the two pushbuttons are unlocked and in a state where the one of the pushbuttons is locked;
• Figures 3 to 5 are partial views in radial section showing one of the push buttons respectively unlocked in the unlocked position, in the locked position and actuating a control member;
• Figure 6 is a sectional view of one of the push buttons taken from above;
• FIGS. 7 to 10 are partial views in radial section of a push-button timepiece according to a second embodiment of the invention, showing several positions of a push-button and a push-button device. lock: in Figure 7 the push button is in the unlocked position; Figures 8 and 9 the locking device is locking the push button; in Figure 10 the push button is in the locked position;
• Figures 11 and 12 are top views of the timepiece according to the second embodiment of the invention, respectively in a state where the pushbuttons are unlocked and in a state where the pushbuttons are locked ; and
• Figures 13 to 15 are partial top views of the timepiece according to the second embodiment of the invention, showing one of the pushbuttons and the locking device in the same positions, respectively, that in Figures 7 to 9.

With reference to FIGS. 1 to 6, a timepiece according to a first embodiment of the invention, of the wristwatch type, includes a box of watch 1 comprising a bottom 2, a middle part 3 and a bezel 4 carrying an ice cream 5. Inside the box 1 is housed a movement 6 supporting a dial 7. A winding crown and time setting 8 and push buttons 9 make protruding radially on the edge of the box 1. The push buttons 9 are located on either side of the crown 8 and serve to activate functions of the shows, such as starting and stopping a chronograph hand.

The watch according to the invention further comprises a locking device operable by the user to lock the pushbuttons 9 in a determined axial position to prevent their actuation and the unlock when the user wants to use them. This locking device is preferably in the form of a rotating bezel 10 having a wall vertical cylindrical 11 extending around the outer lateral face of the middle part 3 and having an opening 12. Locking / unlocking the pushbuttons 9 is done by turning the telescope 10. The push buttons 9 are said "Locked" when hidden by the vertical cylindrical wall 11 and "Unlocked" when they are facing the opening 12 of this wall 11 and therefore accessible to the user who can then operate them. In accordance with the the present invention, and unlike in particular the document CH 567 300, the pushbuttons 9 have a different axial position depending on whether they are locked or unlocked. In their unlocked axial position, the push buttons 9 emerge from the outer lateral face of the caseband 3 over a distance of sufficient to be easily visible and easily accessible to the user (see Figure 3). In their locked axial position on the other hand, the push buttons 9 are retracted in the wall of the caseband 3 (Figure 4), so that the internal diameter of the wall vertical cylindrical 11 of the rotating bezel 10 which covers them can be relatively small.

As can be seen in FIGS. 3 to 5, the pushbuttons 9 are each intended to cooperate with a respective control push member 13 to the inside of the watch case 1. Each push button 9 has a head 14 (see FIG. 6) whose face 15 intended to receive the user's finger is tilted and, driven into an inner housing of this head 14, a tube 16 having an axial internal projection 17 in which is screwed one end threaded with an axial rod 18. Each pushbutton 9 is supported and guided by a tube 19 driven into a bore through the middle part 3 and open to both ends. The rod 18 extends inside the fixed tube 19 and its free end 20 is located opposite the push member 13. A return spring 21 is arranged around the projection 17 and the rod 18 between the bottom of the tube 16 and a ring 22 bearing against an inner annular shoulder of the fixed tube 19.

In the unlocked axial position of the push-buttons 9, the free end 20 of the rod 18 is at a distance D from the control member 13 (FIG. 3). From this unlocked position, the pushbutton 9 can be pushed axially against the action exerted by its return spring 21 for actuate the control member 13 and thereby control a function of the watch (Figure 5). The movement then made by the pushbutton 9 breaks down in two successive races, a dead race to fill the distance D which the separates from the control member 13 and a useful thrust stroke of the organ order 13.

To lock the pushbuttons 9, the user turns the telescope 10 in the direction corresponding to the direction of positive inclination of the face 15 of the pushbuttons 9, that is to say in the illustrated example the direction of the hands of the watch, so that the vertical cylindrical wall 11 of the telescope 10 cooperates with this inclined face 15 to push the push buttons 9 against the action exerted by the return spring 21. The internal diameter of the cylindrical wall vertical 11 of the rotating bezel 10 and the inclination of the face 15 of the push buttons 9 are chosen so that the stroke of the push buttons 9 generated by the rotation of the telescope 10 is less than or equal to the distance D. Thus, the locking the pushbuttons 9 leads to bring them closer to respective control members 13, possibly until the push buttons 9 come into contact with the control members 13 as shown in FIG. 4, but without causing any actuation of the control members 13. The push buttons 9 are held in their locked position by the wall vertical cylindrical 11 which, at the same time, hides and protects them. For unlock the pushbuttons 9, simply turn the bezel 10 in the other meaning. As soon as they are next to the opening 12, the push buttons 9 will be pushed out of the box 1 by their spring 21.

With reference to FIGS. 7 to 15, a timepiece according to a second embodiment of the invention comprises a watch case 23 comprising a bottom 24, a middle part 25 and a bezel 26 carrying a mirror 27. Inside the box 23 is housed a movement 28 and a dial 29. A winding crown and setting time (not shown) and push buttons 30 protrude radially on the edge of the box 23.

The timepiece according to this second embodiment comprises in in addition to a rotating bezel 31 having on part of its circumference a vertical wall arc 32 able to come next to the push buttons 30, to hide and protect them when they are in the locked position. A groove 33 in an arc (see FIGS. 11, 12) coaxial with the rotating bezel 31 and the box 23 and having an angular extent corresponding to that of the wall vertical 32 is formed in the upper face of a portion of the annular wall horizontal of the rotating bezel 31 located under the fixed bezel 26. This groove 33 receives a pin 34 integral with the fixed bezel 26 to limit the displacement angle of the rotating bezel 31. Ball pawls may be provided for ends of the groove 33 to, in cooperation with the pin 34, lock the rotating bezel 31 in one or the other of its two extreme positions.

As shown in FIGS. 7 to 10, the push buttons 30 are housed in a cavity 35 of the middle part 25 and have a recess 36 in their face Inside the inside of the box 23. The push buttons 30 also have in their upper wall a vertical through bore, opening into the recess 36 and in which is driven a guide tube 37. This guide tube 37 is traversed over its entire length by a cylindrical finger vertical 38, free axially and in rotation relative to the tube 37 and subjected to the action of a compression spring 39 disposed between an annular shoulder lower internal part of the tube 37 and a substantially central annular rib finger 38. The lower end 40 of the finger 38 protrudes out of the tube 37 to to open into the recess 36 of the push-button 30. The upper end 41 the finger 38 protrudes out of the tube 37 to cooperate with a groove 42 formed in the lower face of the horizontal annular wall of the rotating bezel 31. This upper end 41 is permanently maintained in the groove 42 by the pressure exerted on the finger 38 by the spring 39.

The grooves 42 associated respectively with the fingers 38 of the push buttons 30 are illustrated in FIGS. 11 and 12. These two grooves 42 comprise successively, in a clockwise direction, a long portion of arc of circle 43 coaxial with the rotating bezel 31 and the box 23, a portion intermediate 44 going away from the axis of the box 23 since long portion in an arc 42, a short portion in a circular arc 45 coaxial with the rotating bezel 31 and the box 23 and a short end portion 46 oriented radially towards the axis of the box 23 and defining an elbow with the short portion in an arc 45. The long arcuate portions 43 of the two grooves 42 meet at the transition between the long arc portion 43 and the intermediate portion 44 of the groove 42 located upstream in the direction of the needles of the watch. The depth of each furrow 42 is constant over the entire length of the long portion in an arc 43 and the intermediate portion 44. This depth is also constant over the entire length of the portion radial 46 but is smaller on this radial portion 46 than on the portions 43, 44. The depth of groove 42 on the short arc portion 45, as to it decreases progressively from the intermediate portion 44 to the portion radial 46 so as to make continuous the variation in depth of the groove 42 between these portions 44, 46.

Referring again to FIGS. 7 to 10, it will be seen that each push button 30 is opposite a horizontal control push member 47 engaged in a horizontal guide tube 48 whose first end is chased in a through bore of the middle 25 and the second end is received in the recess 36 of the pushbutton 30. This control member 47 is subjected to the action of a compression spring 49 in the tube 48 and, in rest position, is retained in this tube 48 by a first of its ends, 50, opposed to the push button 30, butting against the outer face of the first end of the tube 48, the second end 51 of the control member 47 being, as that of the tube 48, located in the recess 36. The tube 48 has, on the its second end, a notch 52 in the form of a square extending in part horizontally, in an upper portion of the cylindrical wall of the tube 48, and partly vertically, in the plane wall of the tube 48 defining the second end of the latter. This notch 52 receives the end lower 40 of the finger 38.

The rotating bezel 31 and the fingers 38 with their compression spring 39 together form a locking device of the pushbuttons 30, operating in the following manner.

When the vertical wall 32 of the rotating bezel 31 is not facing pushbuttons 30 (FIGS. 7, 11 and 13), the lower end 40 of the finger 38 is opposite the vertical planar face 51 defining the second end mentioned above of the control member 47, and more particularly in contact or almost in contact with this vertical plane face 51, in the vertical part of the notch 52 of the tube 48, and the upper end 41 of the finger 38 is in the radial portion 46 of the groove 42. From this unlocked position, where the push buttons 30 are clearly visible and easily accessible, each push button 30 can be pushed by the user to actuate the control member 47 corresponding. The actuation of the control member 47 will then be carried out by the finger 38 pushing the face 51 of the control member 47, this finger 38 being axially secured to the pushbutton 30. During this movement of the pushbutton assembly 30 - finger 38 - control member 47, the end upper 41 finger 38 will be guided in the radial portion 46 of the groove 42. The FIG. 7 shows at the level of marker 53 and in dotted line the position of this finger 38 at the end of the thrust of the control member 47. As soon as the effort of push on the push button 30 will have stopped, the compression spring 49 will bring the aforementioned assembly 30, 38, 47 into its initial axial position.

To lock the pushbuttons 30, the user turns the telescope 31 clockwise until it is in the illustrated position in Figure 12 where the push buttons 30 are hidden and protected by the wall vertical 32 of the telescope 31. During this movement of rotation of the telescope 31, the upper end 41 of the finger 38 is guided by the groove 42 and passes successively in the short arc portion 45, in the portion intermediate 44 and then in the long arcuate portion 43 of the groove 42. The mobility in rotation on itself of the finger 38 facilitates the passage of transitions between these different portions 43-45 of the groove 42.

The passage of the upper end 41 of the finger 38 in the short portion in an arc 45 has the effect of retracting the finger 38, that is to say to move it upward so that its lower end 40 is no longer facing the thrust face 51 of the control member 47 but at the level of the part horizontal of the notch 52 of the tube 48 (Figures 8 and 14). The passage of the upper end 41 in the intermediate portion 44 allows him to move horizontally the finger 38 and therefore the push button 30 towards the inside of the box 23 (Figures 9, 10 and 15). During this passage in the intermediate portion 44, the lower end 40 of the finger 38 is guided in said horizontal portion of the notch 52 and the bottom 54 of the recess 36 of the pushbutton 30 is close to the tube 48 and the control member 47. It will be noted, however, that the depth of this recess 36 is large enough that, in position completely retracted pushbutton 30 (Figure 10), the latter is not in contact with the thrust face 51 of the control member 47 and can not so do not operate it. The passage of the upper end 41 of the finger 38 into the long portion in an arc of circle 43, finally, serves to complete the rotation of the telescope 31 so that the vertical wall 32, which has here only a protective role (the pushbuttons 30 being held in the locked position by cooperating fingers 38 with the grooves 42), completely covers the push-buttons 30 (FIG. and 12). To unlock the push buttons 30, the user will only have to turn the bezel 31 in the opposite direction of the clock so that the fingers 38 and the pushbuttons 30 perform the reverse movements of those described above.

The present invention has been described above by way of example only. It goes without saying that changes could be made without departing from the invention. In particular, the rotating bezel could be replaced by a ring mounted around the outer lateral face of the middle part. Moreover, in the second embodiment, the protective wall 32 could be removed.

Claims (8)

Timepiece comprising at least one push-button (9; 30), at least one actuator (13; 47) actuable by the pushbutton and a device (10; 31, 38) for locking the push-button characterized in that the locking device is arranged to allow the push-button (9; 30) to occupy an unlocked axial position, from which it can be urged to actuate the control member (13; 47). and a locked axial position, closer to the interior of the timepiece than the unlocked axial position and in which the control member (13; 47) is not actuated. Timepiece according to claim 1, characterized in that the locking device comprises a protective wall (11; 32) at least partially covering the pushbutton (9; 30) when the latter is in its locked axial position . Timepiece according to claim 2, characterized in that the locking device is a rotary member (10) having said protective wall (11), this rotary member (10) being arranged so that, when it rotates in a defined direction, the protective wall (11) cooperates with an inclined face (15) of the push-button (9) to bring the push-button (9) from its unlocked axial position to its locked axial position, the protective wall ( 11) also serving to maintain the push button (9) in its locked axial position. Timepiece according to claim 3, characterized in that the rotary member (10) is a telescope. Timepiece according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that in the unlocked axial position, the pushbutton (9) is separated from the control member (13) by a determined distance (D), and that the stroke of the push button (9) for the passage from its unlocked axial position to its locked axial position is less than or equal to this determined distance (D). Timepiece according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the locking device comprises a retractable member (38) integral with the push button (30) in the axial direction of the push button (30) and a member (31). ) of this retractable member (38), the retractable member (38) having a first end (40) which, in the unlocked position of the push button (30), is opposite a thrust face (51). ) of the control member (47) thereby allowing the retractable member (38) to actuate the control member (47) under the action of a pressure exerted on the push-button (30), and which, in the retracted position of the retractable member (38), is no longer opposite the thrust face (51) of the control member (47) thus allowing movement of the retractable member (38) and of the push-button (30) towards the inside of the timepiece by the drive member (31) without actuation of the control member (47) for the e lock of the push button (30). Timepiece according to claim 6, characterized in that the drive member (31) is a rotary member comprising a groove (42) with which cooperates a second end (41) of the retractable member (38), this second end (41) being held in the groove (42) by elastic means (39) acting on the retractable member (38), the groove (42) having a shape for guiding the second end (41) of the retractable member (38) during a rotation of the rotary member (31) in a direction determined to retract the rotary member (31) and then move it towards the inside of the timepiece. Timepiece according to claim 7, characterized in that the rotary member (31) is a telescope.

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