US-12616281-B2 - Bracelet fastening device

US12616281B2US 12616281 B2US12616281 B2US 12616281B2US-12616281-B2

Abstract

A device ( 1 ) for fastening a bracelet ( 2 ) to a watch case ( 3 ), at two pairs of horns ( 4 ), by a female connecting element ( 5 ) secured to the case ( 3 ) of the watch and a male element ( 6 ) secured to one end ( 20, 21 ) of the bracelet, these elements being complementary cooperate by fitting one into the other, while forming removable assembly capable of making the bracelet interchangeable. The male element includes a rod ( 7 ) connected to an end ( 20, 21 ) of the bracelet, and extending on either side of the rod, a ball-pawl ( 8 ) and first ( 70 ) and second ( 80 ) cylindrical shouldered portions arranged concentrically around each ball-pawl, each ball-pawl and each cylindrical shouldered portion being arranged to cooperate respectively with blind housing ( 50 ) and groove ( 51 ) proximate to the blind housing, and forming the female connecting elements on inner areas of the two pairs of horns.

Inventors

François Maire
Philipp Tschumi
Steeve Gerber
Philippe SCHERRER
Alain STRAUTMANN

Assignees

MONTRES JAQUET DROZ SA

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20230817
Priority Date: 20221219

Claims (12)

1 . A device for fastening a bracelet to a watch case along an articulation axis, at two pairs of horns, by means of at least one female connecting element secured to the case of the watch and at least one male element secured to one end of the bracelet, these elements being complementary so as to cooperate by fitting one into the other, while forming removable assembly means capable of making the bracelet interchangeable, wherein each of the male elements includes a rod connected to a corresponding end of the bracelet and extending along the articulation axis, and extending on either side of the rod, a ball-pawl and first and second cylindrical shouldered portions arranged concentrically around each ball-pawl, each ball-pawl and each cylindrical shouldered portion being arranged to cooperate respectively with a blind housing and a groove proximate to the blind housing, and forming the female connecting elements on inner areas of the two pairs of horns.
2 . The fastening device according to claim 1 , wherein each female connecting element comprises a ramp disposed upstream of the blind housing, the ramp being arranged to cooperate with the ball-pawl, the blind housing being at the end of the ramp.
3 . The fastening device according to claim 1 , wherein the groove successively comprises a rectilinear portion and an arcuate portion.
4 . The fastening device according to claim 1 , wherein the groove comprises a first stop element for limiting the rotation of the rod.
5 . The fastening device according to claim 1 , wherein the first shouldered portion has a height (H) larger than the radius (r) of the rod, and the second shouldered portion has a height (h) smaller than the radius (r) of the rod.
6 . The fastening device according to claim 4 , wherein the first shouldered portion locally has a notch at its periphery, the notch corresponding to a length of an angular travel of the rod and being arranged to cooperate with a second stop element.
7 . The fastening device according to claim 6 , wherein the second stop element is superimposed on the first stop element and offset relative to the first stop element.
8 . The fastening device according to claim 1 , wherein each female connecting element is an element attached to the inner areas of the two pairs of horns.
9 . The fastening device according to claim 1 , wherein each female connecting element is made of a metal material or metal alloy.
10 . The fastening device according to claim 1 , wherein the end of the bracelet comprises a passage arranged to receive the rod.
11 . The fastening device according to claim 1 , wherein the bracelet is secured to the rod.
12 . The fastening device according to claim 1 , wherein the rod is rotatable about the articulation axis from a insertion position at which the bracelet can be fastened to the watch case and a locked position at which said bracelet is locked to said watch case.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is claiming priority based on European Patent Application No. 22214599.7 filed on Dec. 19, 2022. TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to the field of watchmaking or jewellery. More specifically, it relates to a device for fastening a bracelet to an object, in particular a watch case. TECHNOLOGICAL BACKGROUND In general, leather or metal bracelets are fastened to the horns of a watch case by means of a bar formed by a tube, in which two pistons are mounted movable in translation, and an elastic member arranged between said pistons and tending to push them outwards from the tube. Said bar is mounted in a housing provided to this end at one end of the bracelet, and the pistons are fitted in opposing blind bores in the horns of the case. To detach a bracelet fastened to a case in this way, a tool designed to push the pistons back into the tube, against the stress exerted by the elastic member, is required, thereby extracting them from the bores. Such a tool is not permanently available to the wearer of the watch, and in addition, its use might turn out to be inconvenient. This is why bracelets fitted with such a fastening device are generally permanently attached to the case. Moreover, there are fastening devices allowing detaching the bracelet from the case without the use of tools. Such devices usually include a bar of the type described before, on which a piston actuation member is mounted through the tube. For example, said actuation member is a radial finger secured to one of the pistons, as described in the patent CH 327 838. The finger is slidably mounted through an axial slot formed in the tube, and its movement along the slot allows pushing one of the pistons into the tube. The patent CH 614 589 describes a watch case with a device for fastening a bracelet to the case. The central horn has a cylindrical passage slit longitudinally over the entire length of the horn, enabling the insertion of a bar for fastening a bracelet. The bar is in the form of a cylinder with a flat surface over its entire length so as to let the bar pass through when it is inserted into the passage and to hold it in place when it occupies a determined angular position. The fastening devices thus described are generally used for interchangeable bracelets, allowing them to be replaced at the wearer's discretion. Nonetheless, they are not with no drawbacks. In particular, it should be noted that they require major structural modifications at the bar, such as the creation of an opening at the tube, or the transformation of the pistons. These changes lead to significant additional manufacturing costs. Moreover, these fastening devices have a protruding element, namely the actuation member, which can snag or injure the wearer of the watch. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In particular, an objective of the invention is to overcome the different drawbacks of bracelet fastening devices of the prior art. To this end, the invention relates to a device for fastening a bracelet to a watch case, at two pairs of horns, by means of at least one female connecting element secured to the case of the watch and at least one male element secured to one end of the bracelet, these elements being complementary so as to cooperate by fitting one into the other, while forming removable assembly means capable of making the bracelet interchangeable. According to the invention, each of the male elements consists of a rod connected to a corresponding end of the bracelet, and extending on either side of the axis, a ball-pawl and first and second cylindrical shouldered portions arranged concentrically around each ball-pawl, each ball-pawl and each cylindrical shouldered portion being arranged to cooperate respectively with a blind housing and a groove proximate to the blind housing, and forming the female connecting elements on inner areas of the two pairs of horns. In accordance with other advantageous variants of the invention: each female connecting element comprises a ramp arranged upstream of the blind housing, the ramp being arranged to cooperate with the ball-pawl, the blind housing being at the end of the ramp;the groove successively comprises a rectilinear portion and an arcuate portion;the groove comprises a first stop element to limit the rotation of the rod;the first shouldered portion has a height larger than the radius of the rod, and the second shouldered portion has a height smaller than the radius of the rod;the first shouldered portion has a local notch at its periphery, the notch defining the length of the angular travel of the rod and being arranged to cooperate with a second stop element;the second stop element is superimposed on the first stop element and offset with respect to the first stop element;each female connecting element is an element attached on the inner areas of the two pairs of horns;each female connecting element is made of a metal material or of a met