EP1785785A2

EP1785785A2 - External watch case with lens made of artificial crystal glass and manufacturing method for the same

Info

Publication number: EP1785785A2
Application number: EP06001729A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Hoi San Loby Ng; Hoi Keung Ng
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2005-11-11
Filing date: 2006-01-27
Publication date: 2007-05-16
Also published as: CN1963697A; HK1083430A2; EP1785785A3; WO2007054028A1

Abstract

External watch case with lens made of artificial crystal glass for forming a case for a timepiece portion (4,5,7) including at least a time display device (4), a movement (7), an adjusting device (5). Such external case includes an outer case portion (2) and an outer lens portion (1) integrated together, the outer lens portion (1) being disposed on the outer case portion (2) and the timepiece portion (4,5,7) being accommodated in the outer case portion (2). Methods for making the external watch case are also disclosed.

Description

The present invention relates to an external watch case with lens and a method of making the same, and in particular to an external watch case with lens made of artificial crystal glass and a method of making the same.
The conventional watches have a watch body and a watch strap or band, the watch body usually comprising watch lens, watch case, back cover, and inside dial, time display device, watch movement and watch adjusting mechanism. The lens is engaged tightly with the watch case through a seal ring. However, such design can not endure overwhelming external force, and the shape and size of the lens and the watch case are also restricted: Moreover, the visibility of the internal components is affected by the existence of the seal ring and the corresponding mechanism on the watch case.
In order to enhance the ornamentality of external watch case, some external watch cases made of plastic are on the market, which however has poor practicability and ornamentality because plastic is neither glittery nor transparent. In addition, a kind of decorative ring or decorative housing also comes forth, which mates with the watch case, providing the function of decoration but without any functional structure. Due to the limit area on the watch case or lens, such kind of decorative ring or decorative housing still lacks sufficient ornamentality.
The CN2429852Y also discloses an external case of watch or pocket watch, comprising a ring case having a movement chamber, a watch lens over the movement chamber, and a back cover, the ring case being integrated with the watch lens. Such case is made of such natural transparent materials as jade and carnelian after machining, which has a high cost. Furthermore, the result of being clear and transparent is hard to achieve due to the texture of the natural materials.
In order to improve the ornamentality and practicality of the watch case, and to solve the problems existing in the prior art, the object of the present invention is to provide an external watch case with lens made of artificial crystal glass.
In order to achieve the above object, an external watch case with lens of the present invention is used to form a case for a timepiece portion including at least a time display device, a watch movement and a watch adjusting mechanism, wherein said external watch case with lens is made of artificial crystal glass and comprises an outer lens portion and an outer case portion integrated together, the outer lens portion being disposed on the outer case portion and the whole timepiece portion being accommodated within the outer case portion.
Compared with the existing products, the external watch case with lens made of artificial crystal glass has a clear and transparent appearance and can be processed to have tangent surfaces, be plated or engraved. Alternatively, colored crystal glass material can be used, together with design of three-dimensional contouring, thereby resulting in more gorgeous and colorful ornamentality.
The present invention is described in detail with reference to the following drawings.

Figure 1 is a schematic view of resolution of the watch body in one embodiment of the external watch case with lens of the present invention, and Figure 2 is a bottom view of the same;
Figure 3 is a schematic view of resolution of the watch body in another embodiment of the external watch case with lens of the present invention, and Figure 4 is a bottom view of the same;
Figure 5 is a schematic view of the outer case portion in one embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 6 and Figure 7 are schematic views of the outer lens portion in different embodiments of the present invention;
Figure 8 is a partial schematic view of the inner aperture engaging with the spring bar end in one embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 9 is a partial schematic view of the inner aperture engaging with the spring bar end in another embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in the Figure 1 and Figure 2, the external watch case with lens of the present invention comprises an outer lens portion 1 and an outer case portion 2 integrated with each other. The outer lens portion 1 is disposed on the outer case portion 2. The structure of the timepiece portion is similar to the conventional structure in the prior arts, and comprises a lens 3, a dial 9, a time display device 4 for displaying time or assisting to display time, a watch adjusting mechanism 5, a watch movement 7, a watch case 6 and a back cover 8. The timepiece portion is accommodated within the outer case portion 2. The outer lens portion is designed corresponding to the lens 3. When the watch adjusting mechanism 5 is a watch crown or push button extending transversely out of the watch, an opening 10 is formed in the corresponding position on the outer case portion so as to expose the watch adjusting mechanism 5. Said opening 10 may be an aperture formed on the side wall of the outer case portion 2 so as to allow the watch adjusting mechanism 5 to go through. Of course, it shall be understood by those skilled in the art that the embodiments here are for illustrative purpose. The practical timepiece portion has various structures and may have or not have any one of the aforementioned lens, dial, watch case and back cover. The external watch case with lens of the present invention may also be applicable to such situations.
As shown in the bottom view in Figure 2, the external watch case with lens of the present invention has pairs of lug portions16, 16' and 17, 17' on the opposite side surfaces, which respectively has inner apertures 26, 26' and 27, 27' for mounting a spring bar 11 so as to be connected with the watch strap 12 or other accessories.
In the embodiment shown in Figures 3 and 4, the watch adjusting mechanism 5 is positioned at the center of the back cover 8. The embodiment differs from the embodiment shown in Figures 1 and 2 in that there is no opening on the side surface of the outer case portion 2.
Since the external watch case with lens of the present invention is made of artificial crystal glass, if tension is applied to the spring bar when the inner aperture of the lug engages with the spring bar end, stress concentration will be formed at the edges of the aperture with the spring bar end abutting against the inner aperture, thereby easily snapping or breaking the artificial crystal glass of this part. In order to solve said problem of stress concentration, the embodiment of the present invention shown in Figure 8 illustrates that the diameter of the inner aperture 27 is processed to be a little bit larger than the diameter of the spring bar end 14 and the edges of the inner aperture is rounded so as to distribute the stress uniformly. Figure 9 shows another embodiment solving the problem of stress concentration, in which the inner aperture 27 is sleeved with a bush 15 before the spring bar end 14 engaging with the inner aperture 27. In this way, the probable stress will be received by the bush 15 and will not destroy the inner aperture 27 and the lug 17 and even the whole external watch case with lens. Said bush 15 may have a shape of ring or flange and is made of metal or abrasion resistant plastic.
The external watch case with lens of the present invention may be manufactured by processing the two component parts as shown in Figures 5 and 6 or Figures 5 and 7 before combining them together or processing them integrally. The difference between the outer lens portions of Figure 6 and Figure 7 lies in that: seen from the top downwardly, the outer lens portion of Figure 6 and the outer case portion of Figure 5 form an external watch case with lens without exposing the lug portions, while the outer lens portion of Figure 7 and the outer case portion of Figure 5 form an external watch case with lens with the lug portions being exposed.
In an embodiment of manufacturing the external watch case with lens made of artificial crystal glass according to the present invention, the artificial crystal glass is processed to form individual outer case portion 2 and outer lens portion 1, which are then bonded together nicely using an adhesive (e.g. ultraviolet glue) to be transparent after solidification, ensuring that no bubbles are generated in the adhesive. The external watch case and external lens with adhesive coated therebetween are placed in a box having reflective materials on the four sides and at the bottom, and the adhesive is irradiated and heated by ultraviolet lights so as to be solidified, whereby the external watch case with lens is formed. Of course, the requirement of the present invention can be satisfied by using other appropriate methods to solidify the adhesive.
In an embodiment of manufacturing the external watch case with lens made of artificial crystal glass according to the present invention, a mold for the integral external watch case with lens is prepared before the melted artificial crystal glass materials are poured into the mold, which forms a rough body of the external watch case with lens after solidification. Afterwards, the rough body is further processed to form the desired body of the external watch case with lens.
Coating may be applied on the surface of the external watch case with lens during the manufacturing process in order to enhance the hardness of the surface, to improve the abrasion resistance and to reduce the possibility of break. The methods of applying the coating include (without limitation) plating, spraying or depositing.
The external watch case with lens of the present invention can be designed as various three dimensional shapes and processed to have a plurality of reflective tangent surfaces, or can use colored artificial crystal glass materials. The external watch cases can be engraved or gilt to have various patterns. Said external watch cases with lens made of artificial crystal glass will be more gorgeous and colorful, having both practicability and improved ornamentality, providing the watch itself with more added value.
Although the invention has been described with reference to the accompanying drawings, the present invention is not limited to this. It is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

An external watch case with lens, for forming a case for a timepiece portion including at least a time display device, a movement and a watch adjusting mechanism, characterized in that said external watch case with lens is made of artificial crystal glass and includes an outer lens portion and an outer case portion integrated together, the outer lens portion being disposed on the outer case portion and the timepiece portion being accommodated within the outer case portion.
The external watch case with lens according to the claim 1, characterized in that the watch adjusting mechanism of said timepiece portion is disposed on the side surface, and the outer case portion has an opening for accommodating the watch adjusting mechanism on the corresponding side.
The external watch case with lens according to the claim 1, characterized in that further comprising opposite lug portions, having inner apertures for accommodating the spring bar end of watch strap or band at corresponding positions.
The external watch case with lens according to the claim 3, characterized in that said inner apertures have larger diameter than the spring bar end and are rounded so as to reduce the stress concentration generated by engaging with the spring bar end.
The external watch case with lens according to the claim 3, characterized in that said inner apertures are provided with bushes so as to reduce the stress concentration generated by engaging with the spring bar end.
The external watch case with lens according to the claim 1, characterized in that coating is applied on the surface of the external watch case with lens in order to enhance the hardness of the surface, to improve the abrasion resistance and to reduce the possibility of break.
The method for manufacturing the external watch case with lens according to the claim 1, characterized in comprising the following steps: preparing the outer case portion and the outer lens portion respectively using artificial crystal glass; bonding the outer case portion and the outer lens portion together accurately by adhesive to be transparent after solidification, with no bubbles in the adhesive; solidifying the adhesive to form the external watch case with lens.
The method for manufacturing the external watch case with lens according to the claim 7, characterized in that said step of solidifying the adhesive comprises placing the external watch case and external lens with adhesive coated therebetween in a box having reflective materials on the four sides and at the bottom, and irradiating the adhesive by ultraviolet lights so as to solidify the adhesive.
The method for manufacturing the external watch case with lens according to the claim 1, characterized in comprising the following steps: preparing a mold for the integral external watch case with lens; pouring melted artificial crystal glass materials into the mold, forming a rough body of external watch case with lens after solidification; processing the rough body of external watch case with lens to form the body of external watch case with lens.
The method for manufacturing the external watch case with lens according to the claim 7 or 9, characterized in that said external watch case with lens further comprises opposite lug portions, having inner apertures for accommodating the spring bar end of watch strap or band at corresponding positions.
The method for manufacturing the external watch case with lens according to the claim 10, characterized in that said inner apertures are processed to have larger diameter than the spring bar end and are rounded so as to reduce the stress concentration generated by engaging with the spring bar end.
The method for manufacturing the external watch case with lens according to the claim 10, characterized in disposing bushes on the inner apertures so as to reduce the stress concentration generated by engaging with the spring bar end.
The method for manufacturing the external watch case with lens according to the claim 7 or 9, characterized in further comprising the step of applying coating on the surface of the external watch case, in order to enhance the hardness of the surface, to improve the abrasion resistance and to reduce the possibility of break.