MXPA99005665A - Article comprising at least a mobile decorative element - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention concerns an article comprising at least a mobile decorative element contained inside a housing (15) delimited by two walls (5, 10) the internal faces (5a, 10a) of which are mutually parallel, one of these walls (5), visible from outside, being transparent. Said housing (15) contains mobile decorative elements (13, 14) each comprising a revolving axis and two guideways (14a, 14b), one (14a) of which is convex, adjacent respectively to said internal faces and enabling the decorative elements (13, 14) to move freely in translation and in rotation about their revolving axes inside the housing (15). The internal faces (5a, 10a) of the housing (15) are convex along at least one bending radius by increasing the scintillating effect of the rotation of the mobile decorative object, such as a diamond. The article may, for example, be a watch, a piece of jewellery, a spectacle frame or a fancy leather good.

Description

ARTICLE THAT HAS AT LEAST ONE MOVABLE DECORATIVE ELEMENT FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to articles embellished with movable decorative elements, these articles including purely decorative pieces of jewelry such as rings or earrings, as well as utilitarian objects adorned with movable decorative elements, in particular watches, show canopies, or leather products of the luxury.

The invention in particular relates to an article, notably a piece of jewelry, comprising a house defined between two walls whose internal faces are parallel with one another. At least one of these walls, which is externally visible, is transparent. This house encloses at least one movable decorative element having an imaginary center line of revolution and two guide surfaces respectively adjacent said internal walls and arranged to allow said movable decorative element to move freely in translation and in rotation with respect to said imaginary center of revolution inside the booth. Ref .: 30515 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A watch of this type has been previously described in the Swiss patent CH-G-609 517. The movable decorative elements, in particular diamonds, are mounted on supports in the form of cylindrical shells having an external face convex to the center. This convex silhouette is chosen to reduce the forces of friction, thus increasing the mobility of the support and for this reason the movable decorative element.

This type of decorative element has been very satisfactory for watches, as well as for other jewelry products such as rings and earrings, and for shows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The convex silhouette of the center of the support of the movable decorative element produces an effect in the movements imparted to the support, for example as a result of inclining the strictly flat parallel surfaces between which this support is guided so that it moves with a translational movement. Due to the convexing of the outer face of the center of the support cooperating with the flat surfaces of the walls of the stand, it has been found that the transalational movement of the support is in effect associated with a degree of rotation of the support in relation to itself.

This rotational movement has a very interesting decorative effect. Taking into account that the casual translational movement confers a definite ocular effect, the rotation of the decorative element that is movable in relation to itself, produces - particularly with diamonds - an extremely pronounced glow effect because it increases the radiance produced by the multiple facets of the diamond .

The main object of the present invention is to substantially increase the glare effect of for example diamonds as movable decorative elements, by increasing the rotation of these movable decorative elements in relation to themselves.

To achieve this, the present invention has to do with an article of the type mentioned above, notably an article of jewelery, characterized in that said internal faces of said booth are molded with a curvature along the length of minus a radius of curvature.

In a totally unexpected and surprising way, it has been observed that subtly molding the inner faces of the shed between which the movable decorative element is guided leads to a dramatic increase in the speed of rotation of these movable decorative elements in relation to themselves.

It can be explained, of course, why the small convex shells at the center of the decorative elements rotate when they move in translation. To allow movement, a given start must be allowed between the guide surface of the movable decorative elements and the parallel walls of the house. While the convex center of the sheath carries the movable decorative element it remains in contact with the adjacent convex side of the shed, this touches this face only in its center. On the opposite side, its guiding surface cooperating with the upper face of the case consists of the annular edge of the sheath carrying the movable decorative element, so that only a portion of its periphery is in contact with the adjacent wall of the cassette. As a result, the contact points of the two guide surfaces are out of alignment with the imaginary center of revolution of the sheath.

In any case, it is more surprising to observe that only a subtle molding of the surfaces of the house containing the decorative elements leads to such a great increase in the rotational effect of these elements.

Another advantage of this invention is that it allows a reduction in the overall height of the jewelry article, in particular by allowing the thickness of the glass to be reduced, as well as a possible reduction in the height of the cover.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING More elements and advantages of the present invention will be appreciated with the following description, as well as with the only figure of the accompanying drawings which, schematically and by way of example, illustrate one embodiment of the article with a movable decorative element according to the invention, here shown as a clock in the axial cross section.

The clock illustrated in this figure comprises a movement (1) accommodated with a sphere (2) stored in a box comprising a half (3) which is closed on one side by a center (4) and on the other side by a glass (5). A first seal (6) is arranged between the center (4) and the middle (4) and another seal (7) is arranged between the glass (5) and the middle (3). A curved end and to set the time (8) (which, for a quartz watch, will serve only to set the time) extends in half (3) and carries a crown (9) secured to its inner end.

A second glass (10) is arranged between the glass (5) and the sphere (2). A spacer (11) maintains a space selected between this second glass (10) and the sphere (2) to allow rotation of the indicator hands (12).

As can be seen in the figure, the respective internal faces (5a and 10-) of the glasses (5 and 10) are each applied against one shoulder (3 a, 3b) respectively on the inner side of the half (3 ), providing therein in the middle a housing (15) of predetermined height. The respective internal faces of these glasses have a subtle molding formed by one or several radii of curvature about one or several imaginary centers or centers of curvature, notably about different planes of cross section. The respective curvatures of these two internal faces (5 a, 10 a) relative to one another are strictly identical so that the height of the housing (15) formed therein remains constant.

The movable decorative elements, in this example diamonds (13) secured in cylindrical sheaths (14) are arranged in the accommodation (15). Each cylindrical sheath (14), whose center (14) is curved, contacts the upper face (10a) of the second glass (10) defining the housing (15). The rounded annular edge (14b) of the sheath (14) extends to a level slightly above the upper face of the diamond (13) to prevent contact between the diamond (13) and the glass (5). The height from the curved center (14b9 to the annular edge (14) is smaller by several hundred of a millimeter, for example between 0.05 and 0.1 m, than the distance separating the internal faces (5S, 10a) from the glasses (5 , 10), to allow the movement of the covers (14), in the translation and rotation around their own imaginary centers of revolution, in the housing (fifteen) .

As a variation, taking into account the curvature of the face (10 a) of the housing (15), the center (14 a) of the sheath (14) can be flat or only slightly curved (convex), without canceling the rotating effect although this effect will be reduced. In any case, this file will allow a reduction in the thickness of the sheath (14) and therefore of the housing (15) and of the watch.

To prevent any wear resulting from the movement of the support (14) in the housing (15), the internal faces (5a, 10a) of the glasses (5 and 10), must be smooth and made of a hard material that is not susceptible to be damaged The covers (14) in which the diamonds (13) are supported are preferably made of a precious metal, for example gold, used in the diamond jewelery market. It is in any way possible to use other metals such as tin or steel, for example.

In embodiments where, as in the illustrated example, the two walls of the housing are formed by glasses, these should preferably be made of sapphire. If the inner glass (10), or part thereof, does not cover the sphere (2), but is for example limited to an annular area arranged around the sphere (2), the curved face (10a) needs not to be transparent . In this case, instead of a sapphire glass, the wall (10) can be made of another suitable material, for example a stone or ceramic.

As illustrated, the two faces of the outside glass (5) are parallel and molded, taking into account that only the upper face (10a) of the glass (10) is molded. The fact that the outer glass is molded (on both sides) increases its strength, so that its thickness can be reduced, allowing a corresponding reduction in the thickness of the jewelery items. This is particularly important for watches.

The necessary degree of molding to produce an effect on the rotating speed of the movable decorative elements (13) is very small. Tests have shown that the optimal lift is between 0.5 and 1 mm for glass with a diameter of 20mm, with a much higher elevation, the movement of the diamonds tends to be restricted to the peripheral area of the housing (15).

The invention is of course not limited to circular glasses, It can also be applied to glasses of polygonal silhouette, for example rectangular or square. In this case, the molding can have several different spokes and several focal points. It is also possible to imagine that the glass is formed by a portion of a cylinder, in particular for rectangular glasses. In this case the speed of rotation of the movable decorative elements will be greater when they move transversely than when they move parallel to the generatrix of the cylinder.

The movement of the movable decorative elements (13, 14) in the housing is purely random. At higher rotation speed, lower translational speed, and vice versa. The movable decorative elements (13, 14) can rotate in any direction according to the direction of the rotation pulse that is produced to initiate the movement of these decorative elements. Since this direction is entirely random, when the accommodation contains several movable decorative elements, these elements can rotate at different speeds in different directions, which produces a surprising and spectacular effect.

Of course, instead of the illustrated embodiments, where the housing (15) for the movable elements (13, 14) is superimposed on the sphere (2), this housing can occupy a peripheral ring zone around the sphere as shown in figures (1 and 3) or Swiss patent CH-G-609 517.

As previously mentioned, the invention is not limited to watches, but it is applicable to all types of items, notably jewelry such as rings and earrings, as well as to spectacle awnings, or even feathers. It is also possible to imagine articles with movable decorative elements according to the invention associated with luxury products in leather clothing, such as handbags. Generally speaking, these movable decorative elements can be applied to any utility item in order to give it an original aesthetic appearance.

Claims (15)

1. An article characterized in that it comprises at least one movable decorative element that contains within a housing defined between two walls whose internal faces are parallel to each other, at least one of these walls which is externally visible being transparent, the or each element movable decorative have an imaginary center of revolution and two guide surfaces respectively adjacent said internal walls and being arranged to allow said movable decorative element to move freely in translation and in rotation about said imaginary center of revolution within said housing, characterized by the fact that said internal faces of said housing are molded with a curvature along at least one radius of curvature.

2. Article according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said walls are made of at least one material having a resistance comparable to that of sapphire.

3. Article according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the two faces of at least the wall visible from the outside are parallel to each other.

4. Article according to any of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the elevation of said molded internal faces is between 0.5 and 1 mm for diameter of 20 mm.

5. Article according to any of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that said molded internal faces of said housing are spherical domes.

6. Article according to any of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that said molded internal faces of said housing are defined by convex polygons.

7. Article according to claim 6, characterized in that said molded internal faces of said housing are molded according to several radii and have several focal points.

8. Article according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that said movable decorative element is a precious stone, notably a diamond, mounted in a sheath.

9. Article according to claim 8, characterized in that the center of said sheath has a convex surface.

10. Article according to claims 8 or 9, characterized in that there is a start from 0.05 to 0.1 mm between the height of said sheath and the height of the housing.

11. Article according to claims 8, 9 or 10, characterized in that said sheath is made of precious metal.

12. An article according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is a watch.

13. An item according to any of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that it is a jewelry item.

14. An article according to any of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that it is a spectacle marquee.

15. An article according to any of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that it is a skin product.