Analog display element and timepiece

Abstract

To provide a display element intended to be mounted to a timepiece.SOLUTION: A body 2 in which one portion 4 including an assembly area 5 configured so as to receive an insert 3 by embedding is included, a shaft hole 13 configured so as to adjust a display element 1 to a drive shaft is provided in an embeddable insert, the body includes one portion made of a material having softening characteristics in which the insert is embedded by melting, the insert includes a peripheral wall having a patterned outer surface connected to one portion of the body of the display element, an outer surface is configured so as to guarantee that the insert is mechanically fixed to the one portion, and the peripheral wall section projects in both directions from an opposite face of one portion of the body.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of watchmaking, and in particular to the field of analog display elements such as watch hands or display discs.

[0002] The invention further relates to a timepiece including such a display element. [Background technology]

[0003] The manufacture of display elements such as hands that are intended for use as display indicators on a watch is particularly complex and, especially if the hands are intended for high-end watches, the hands need to have a particularly elaborate surface appearance, optionally with facets.

[0004] The needles are usually made from brass, steel, gold, aluminum or special alloys. They may be galvanized, painted, oxidized, varnished, PVD coated, bluing / anodized or roughened if the material used is gold. They are typically manufactured by machining or stamping and may have a surface treatment such as polishing, sandblasting, satin finishing etc.

[0005] One drawback of these indicator hands is that their decoration possibilities are limited, for example if one were to make a hand with a transparent or translucent body. Furthermore, the materials used for such hands are dense, which means that the moment of inertia is large and the unbalance forces are large, which leads to floating of the hand and slipping of the hand, respectively, during impacts.

[0006] One solution proposed in the prior art is to manufacture the needles using synthetic materials, however, the problem is that when such needles are assembled into the drive shaft, they remain attached to their pipes as a result of plastic deformation due to creep. Summary of the Invention

[0007] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT EMBODIMENT It is an object of the present invention to overcome various drawbacks of the prior art.

[0008] Another object of the invention is to improve the retention of display elements, such as hands, with a non-metallic plate on the drive shaft of a timepiece's display mechanism.

[0009] Another object of the present invention is to provide a display element of reduced weight and of any desired shape.

[0010] Another object of the invention is to provide a display element which is robust over time and has reduced manufacturing costs.

[0011] To this end, one aspect of the invention relates to a display element intended to be fitted to a watch, comprising a body provided with a portion including an assembly area adapted to receive an insert by embedding, said embeddable insert being provided with a shaft hole adapted to adjust the display element to a drive shaft, the body comprising a portion made of a material having softening properties in which said insert is embedded by melting, said insert comprising a peripheral wall provided with a patterned outer surface connected to said portion of said body of the display element, the outer surface adapted to ensure that the insert is mechanically fixed to said portion, said peripheral wall protruding in both directions respectively from opposite faces of said portion of said body.

[0012] In another embodiment, the peripheral wall is provided with a connecting outer surface, a portion of the connecting outer surface corresponding to a thickness of the assembly area being generally patterned by including a plurality of relief patterns; The insert includes a first portion and a second portion protruding on opposite sides from the opposing surfaces of the portion of the body, The insert includes a first portion and a second portion protruding on opposite sides from the opposing surfaces of the portion of the body, the first and second portions of the insert have similar thicknesses; a free end of each of the first and second parts includes an insertion area configured to allow passage of material of the portion of the body into which the insert is to be embedded by melting; The material having softening properties comprises a plastic material, which has softening properties in whole or in part; the embeddable insert is made of a material having a softening point higher than the softening point of the material of which the part is made; the part comprises the insert embedded by melting / integrating / associating with the material constituting the insert and the part, respectively, in particular by ultrasonic melting / integrating / associating, the display element is symmetrical with respect to a longitudinal plane of symmetry P1 and / or a transverse plane of symmetry P2 of this element, The display element is a display hand, the body of which comprises a plate, which is provided with an assembly area comprising a pipe formed by an embeddable insert.

[0013] Another aspect of the invention relates to a timepiece including at least one such display element. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0014] Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention will be better understood on reading the given following description of specific non-limiting embodiments of the invention, given by way of illustration and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0015] [Figure 1] 1 is a top view of an indicating element, in this case an indicating hand, according to one embodiment of the invention, which includes a plate provided with a portion including a pipe formed by an embeddable insert; [Diagram 2] FIG. 13 is a top view of a portion of a needle plate including a pipe, according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the portion of the needle plate shown in FIG. 2 along line AA in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4]FIG. 2 is a side view of an implantable insert forming a needle pipe according to the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0016] With reference to figures 1 to 4, the present invention relates to a display element 1, preferably equipped on a timepiece such as a wristwatch. Such an element 1 may be, but is not limited to, a hand or a display disc.

[0017] The display element 1, also called "display indicator", comprises a body 2. The body 2 is provided with an assembly area 5 contained in a part 4 of said body 2, said assembly area 5 being adapted to receive an insert 3 by embedding or insertion. In other words, said part 4 and thus said area 5 are made of a material having softening properties such that the insert 3 can be embedded (or inserted) by melting. Under these conditions, said assembly area 5 is then formed by this embeddable insert 3. Such an insert 3 comprises a shaft hole 13 adapted to adjust said display element 1 to the drive shaft of the display mechanism of the timepiece.

[0018] For the purpose of a better understanding of the invention, the display element 1 described herein is designated as a display hand 1. In this context, the body 2 of this hand 1 comprises a plate 2. A portion 4 of this plate 2 comprises an assembly area 5 including a pipe 5 formed by an embeddable insert 3. Such an insert 3, also called a "socket", is configured to be embedded in the portion 4 of the plate 2 by melting / associating / integrating. The invention is described for the specific, but non-limiting case of a rotating hand 1. It should nevertheless be noted that the principles of the invention are also applicable to hands 1 with non-circular movement trajectories, such as a linear cursor. This hand 1 can be included in a display mechanism, for example by being an hour hand, and has a variable length or a variable radial extension.

[0019] With reference to figure 1, this display hand 1 comprises a first end including a counterweight and a second opposite end forming a tip 10 indicating information such as the time if the display mechanism is a watch. As we have seen, the plate 2 of this hand 1 comprises a portion 4 in which a pipe 5 is provided. The pipe 5 comprises a shaft hole 13, also called "adjustment diameter", intended to be driven by the pivoting of a drive shaft of the display mechanism. Such a drive shaft is included in the drive members of the display mechanism, including the gear train. It should be noted that the invention is equally applicable to analog display mechanisms of mechanical, electronic or hybrid watches.

[0020] According to the embodiment shown, the plate 2 has a circular head 9, in which the pipe 5 is received and which allows the hand 1 to be assembled on the drive shaft of the watch. The shaft hole 13 of the insert 3 which forms the pipe 5 is intended to be adjusted to the drive shaft, for example by a driving action.

[0021] The pipe 5, and thus the insert 3, is able to exert a clamping force on the drive shaft, thereby axially and rotationally holding the needle 1 to the drive shaft.

[0022] As already mentioned, the plate 2 further comprises a tip 10, which tip 10 is connected to the head 9 via a body 12. Such tip 10 in this case has a triangular shape, but may also have any other suitable shape so as to indicate a particular angular position on the dial of the watch.

[0023] The plate 2 of the needle 1 may further include a rectangular counterweight 11 connected to the head 9 as an extension of the body 12. Likewise, the counterweight 11 may present any other shape, for example it is conceivable that the counterweight 11 presents the shape of a logo.

[0024] As mentioned above, the part 4 including the assembly area 5 is made from a specific material. Typically, the plate 2 is made, in whole or in part, from a material having softening properties, such as a plastic material, in particular a thermoplastic material. Preferably, such a material is a hard material having softening properties. Under such conditions, the material is heated sufficiently to soften and becomes hard / rigid again when cooled. The plastic material consists of linear or branched polymers that can be deformed and shaped under the effect of heat. The plastic material includes, for example, thermoplastic polymers.

[0025] It will therefore be understood that the plate 2 can be made only from the material having the softening properties or completely from the material, or alternatively, such a plate 2 can be made partially from the material, at least the part 4 including the insert 3 being made from the material.

[0026] The pipe 5 is formed by an embeddable insert 3, which takes the form of a cylinder provided with a shaft hole 13 for adjusting the indicator hand 1 to a drive shaft, also called the "rotating shaft". It should be noted that such an insert 3 may also take other forms, for example that of a polygon. This insert 3 may be made of a material that has a softening point higher than that of the material constituting the part 4 in which it is embedded. Such a material is preferably a metal such as aluminium, brass, steel or titanium. Alternatively, this material may be a thermosetting material.

[0027] Such an insert 3 forming this pipe 5 is intended to be pressed against a drive shaft having a diameter slightly larger than the inner diameter of the shaft hole 13 of this insert 3, and the elastic and plastic properties of the material make it possible to drive the plate 2 of the indicator hand 1 to press the pipe 5 against this drive shaft without modifying it.

[0028] According to the invention, such an insert 3 comprises a peripheral wall 6 provided with an inner surface 7 suitable for cooperating with a drive shaft when assembled in the indicator mechanism. This peripheral wall 6 further comprises an outer surface 7a, in particular a patterned connecting outer surface 7a, connected to said portion 4 of the plate 2 of the indicator hand 1. This peripheral wall 6 further comprises an upper side 7c and a lower side 7d interconnected to the outer surface 7a and to the inner surface 7b.

[0029] The patterned outer surface 7a includes a plurality of raised patterns 8. The plurality of patterns 8 preferably extend across the entirety of the outer surface 7a of the peripheral wall 6. Alternatively, the plurality of patterns 8 may be distributed in specific areas of the outer surface 7a, which are configured to cooperate with the material that constitutes the portion 4 of the plate 2 of the needle 1. It should be noted that the patterns 8 may be identical, i.e., have a similar shape, as can be seen in Figures 2 and 4.

[0030] Such a patterned outer surface 7a serves to increase the contact surface of the insert 3 with the material used in that portion 4 of the plate 5 containing the pipe 5. Furthermore, in this configuration, material can be inserted on and between the raised patterns 8 of the surface 7a so as to ensure that the plate 2 is securely held in the insert 3. It can thus be seen that the retention of the insert 3 in the portion 4 is improved in this case, thus helping to ensure an optimal mechanical fixation thereof in the portion 4.

[0031] It should be noted that the peripheral wall 6 of the insert 3 is preferably provided with an outer connecting surface 7a, a portion of which, corresponding to the thickness E2 of the portion 4 including the assembly area 5, is entirely patterned by including a plurality of raised patterns 8. In other words, the peripheral wall 6 includes a plurality of raised patterns 8, which extend over a portion of the patterned outer connecting surface 7a.

[0032] In an alternative embodiment, the peripheral wall 6 of the insert 3 is provided with a completely patterned outer surface 7a. In other words, the peripheral wall 6 includes a plurality of raised patterns 8 that extend across all of its patterned connecting outer surface 7a.

[0033] As can be seen in FIG. 3, the insert 3 has an inner diameter D1 configured to help push and drive the needle 1 into the drive shaft, and an outer diameter D2 that is larger than D1 and configured to receive and retain the plate 2 of the needle 1.

[0034] As already mentioned, this insert 3 is embedded in a portion 4 of the plate 2 by melting / integrating / associating in order to form the pipe 5 of the needle 1. In particular, this insert 3 is embedded in this portion 4 as a result of an operation of melting / integrating / associating the materials constituting the insert 3 and said portion 4, respectively, which operation softens the material constituting said portion 4 by the supply of energy that ensures that the insert 3 is inserted in said portion 4. This energy may be supplied, in a non-limiting and non-exhaustive manner, by ultrasound or a heating element, a laser or a steam jet.

[0035] In the case of using ultrasound, such an operation may be an ultrasonic melting / merging / associating operation, which consists in softening the material of said part 4 by applying mechanical vibrations to said part 4, said mechanical vibrations being due to ultrasound. In this context, these mechanical vibrations generate frictional heat in said part 4 of material that has in this case softening properties, exciting its molecules, which then start to move. That is to say, as the material of said part 4 softens, it becomes more flexible, allowing the insertion / embedding of the insert 3 into said part 4 and the joining to said material.

[0036] It should be noted that in this configuration, in which the insert 3 is arranged in the plate 2 of the needle 1 so as to form a pipe 5, the peripheral walls 6 of the insert 3 project on either side of the opposing faces of the portion 4 of said plate 2 of the indicator needle 1. These two opposing faces are joined together by the side walls of this needle 2.

[0037] In particular, the peripheral wall 6 includes a first portion 14a and a second portion 14b that protrude from opposite sides of the portion 4 of the body 2. Each of these portions 14a, 14b includes an opening in the shaft hole 13 of the insert 3. Needless to say, these openings face each other. In this configuration, the first portion 14a and the second portion 14b of the insert 3 have thicknesses E3, E4 that are preferably similar. Such thicknesses E3, E4 are - smaller than thickness E1 of insert 3, - The thickness E2 of the part 4 is smaller than that - The thickness E2 of the assembly area 5 is smaller.

[0038] Such an arrangement of the inserts 3 in this portion 4 serves to stabilize the indicator needle 1 axially and rotationally. Moreover, this arrangement serves to even out the distribution of stresses that the needle 2 may be subjected to, not only when the needle 1 is assembled on the drive shaft, but also after the needle 2 has been assembled on this shaft. In other words, such stresses are distributed evenly over the entire thickness E2 of the body 2. This even distribution ensures that the body 2 of the needle, and thus the portion given the reference number 4, remains flat, i.e. that the body 2 of the needle 1 remains flat after assembly.

[0039] It will be appreciated that such an arrangement of inserts 3 in the body 2 of the needle 1 allows for a wider range of materials to be used, particularly as there is less need to use materials that are explicitly reinforced to prevent needle deformation that may result from such stresses.

[0040] Moreover, the free ends of each of these first and second portions 14a, 14b include insertion areas 15a, 15b configured to pass through the material of said portion 4 of said body 2 in which said insert 3 is likely to be embedded by melting. In particular, each of these insertion areas 15a, 15b preferably has a flared cross section having one end that essentially terminates in a tip.

[0041] It should also be noted that the indicator hand 1 is symmetrical with respect to a longitudinal symmetry plane P1 and / or a transverse symmetry plane P2 of said hand 1. It will be understood that these two planes P1, P2 are perpendicular to each other. Due to the symmetry, such an indicator hand 1 can be inverted, which helps to simplify and reduce the time required for assembly in the display mechanism. In other words, such an indicator hand 1 can be assembled on a shaft with either one of its two opposing faces as the visible face.

[0042] The above description corresponds to a preferred embodiment and cannot be considered limiting in any way, particularly with respect to the type of display elements described, as other display elements such as discs, particularly date discs, are also part of the invention.

[0043] Moreover, the present specification is not limited to the described forms of the various structural elements or their materials constituting the display element 1. A person skilled in the art will have no particular difficulty in selecting, for example for the plate 2 of the needle 1, any other material having the mechanical properties necessary for the implementation of the invention.

[0044] The possible applications for such a display element are very numerous, since the invention can be implemented in any type of object or device, in particular a portable object or device that includes a display element.

Claims

1. A display element (1) intended to be attached to a watch, comprising: a body (2) provided with a portion (4) including an assembly area (5) adapted to receive an insert (3) by embedding, said embeddable insert (3) is provided with a shaft hole (13) adapted to adjust said display element (1) to a drive shaft; said body (2) comprises a portion (4) made of a material having softening properties in which said insert (3) is embedded by melting; the insert (3) comprises a peripheral wall (6) provided with a patterned outer surface (7a) connected to the portion (4) of the body (2) of the display element (1); said outer surface (7a) being configured to ensure that said insert (3) is mechanically fixed to said part (4); The peripheral wall (6) protrudes in both directions from opposite faces of the portion (4) of the main body (2).

2. 2. The display element (1) according to claim 1, wherein the peripheral wall (6) is provided with a connecting outer surface (7a), a portion of the connecting outer surface (7a) corresponding to a thickness (E2) of the assembly area (5) being entirely patterned by including a plurality of relief patterns (8).

3. 2. The display element (1) according to claim 1, wherein the insert (3) comprises a first portion (14a) and a second portion (14b) respectively protruding on opposite sides from the opposing faces of the portion (4) of the body (2).

4. The display element (1) of claim 1, wherein the insert (3) includes a first part (14a, 14b) protruding on both sides from opposing surfaces of the portion (4) of the main body (2), and the first part (14a, 14b) of the insert (3) has a similar thickness (E3, E4).

5. 2. The display element (1) of claim 1, wherein the insert (3) comprises a first part (14a, 14b) and a second part (14a, 14b), the free ends of which comprise insertion areas (15a, 15b) configured to pass through the material of the portion (4) of the body (2) in which the insert (3) becomes easily embedded by melting.

6. 2. Display element (1) according to claim 1, wherein said material having softening properties comprises, in whole or in part, a plastic material having said softening properties.

7. 2. Indication element (1) according to claim 1, wherein the embeddable insert (3) is made from a material having a softening point higher than the softening point of the material constituting the portion (4).

8. 2. The display element (1) of claim 1, wherein the portion (4) comprises the insert (3) embedded therein by melting / integrating / associating the materials constituting the insert (3) and the portion (4), respectively, in particular by ultrasonic melting / integrating / associating.

9. 2. Display element (1) according to claim 1, which is symmetrical with respect to a longitudinal plane of symmetry (P1) and / or a transverse plane of symmetry (P2) of said element (1).

10. 2. The display element (1) according to claim 1, which is an indicator hand, the body (2) of which comprises a plate (2) provided with an assembly area (5) including a pipe (5) formed by the embeddable insert (3).

11. A watch comprising at least one display element (1) according to claim 1.

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