Wristwatch bracelet clasp

Abstract

To provide a clasp for finely adjusting the length of a portable watch bracelet that can be easily and quickly adjusted and handled.SOLUTION: A clasp for portable watch bracelets comprises: a cover 1 connected on a first side to a bracelet strand 200 and on a second side to a folding system 300; connecting means being assembled between the bracelet strand and the cover 1, the connecting means including a sledge 3 sliding in a longitudinal direction of the clasp between a first position where the sledge 3 is engaged in the cover 1, and a second position where the sledge 3 is partially disengaged from the cover 1; and a lever 2 provided with a toothed element, the lever 2, when pressed along a direction perpendicular to the bottom of the cover, causing the toothed element to move from a rest position, in which the toothed element is in mesh with a rack toothing integral with the sledge 3, to an actuated position, in which the toothed element is released from its engagement so that the sledge 3 is free to slide, and in that the cover 1 includes an opening 11 to actuate the lever 2 from the exterior thereof.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a clasp for a bracelet, and more particularly to a clasp for a bracelet of a portable watch (e.g., wristwatch, pocket watch) that has a means for finely adjusting the length of the bracelet. [Background technology]

[0002] Clasps with means for finely adjusting the length of a wristwatch bracelet are already known in the prior art. The term "clasp for finely adjusting the length of a bracelet" should be understood to mean a clasp that allows the bracelet length to be adjusted by a short distance, adapting this length as precisely as possible to optimize the wearer's comfort. Such clasps typically have a connecting link through which one of the bracelet strands is connected to the clasp cover. This end link can slide longitudinally along the clasp between a first retracted position, where it is housed in the clasp cover, and a second protruding position, where it is disengaged from the clasp. As a result, the length available for fine adjustment depends on the amount of movement of the end link between the first and second positions. For example, European Patent Application EP 2767184 discloses a clasp with a pusher on its bottom side, which is attached to a sledge and engages with a toothed arrangement. When the pusher is actuated, the teeth are released, allowing the length of the bracelet to be adjusted by means of a sledge that moves along a longitudinal axis within the closure cover.

[0003] Another system is described in European patent document EP 3769640. This system uses a rocker instead of a pusher, which is attached to the sledge and engages with a bar mounted perpendicular to the direction of movement of the sledge.

[0004] Both of these described systems have in common that the operating mechanism is located on the underside of the clasp, which means that the length cannot be adjusted when the watch is being worn, and the length adjustment is only one-way, which can be detrimental to wearing comfort. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The present invention aims to solve these and other problems by providing a clasp for fine-tuning the length of a watch bracelet, which is particularly easy and quick to adjust and handle. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In this context, the present invention relates to a clasp for a watch bracelet, comprising a cover connected at a first side to a bracelet strand and at a second side to a folding system, with connecting means assembled between said bracelet strand and said cover of said clasp, said connecting means comprising a sledge sliding in the longitudinal direction of said clasp between a first position, in which said sledge is engaged in said cover of said clasp, and at least a second position, in which said sledge is at least partially disengaged from said cover of said clasp. According to the invention, said clasp comprises a lever with a toothed element which, when pressed along a direction perpendicular to the bottom of said cover, moves said toothed element from a rest position, in which said toothed element is engaged with a rack toothing integral with said sledge, to an actuated position, in which said toothed element is released from engagement with said rack toothing and is able to slide freely, said cover comprising an opening for actuating said lever from outside said cover.

[0007] The present invention has other features as follows. the lever is configured to rotate relative to the cover when moving from the first position to the at least second position. The lever is held in a rest position by means of a spring housed within the sledge. - said at least one toothed element and said lever form an integral element; - said at least one toothed element and said lever form one integral element; - the sledge has stop means to prevent it from being removed from the cover of the clasp; - said stop means are formed by screws which project into grooves formed in said cover to form two end stops; - The cover has a generally U-shaped cross section and two opposing wings, each of which has a guide groove on its inward surface to guide the sledge for translational movement. The sledge has lateral guide surfaces by which it is guided while sliding in the guide grooves of the wings of the cover. - the rack tooth row has teeth, the teeth having an asymmetrical shape, a first portion of the teeth oriented approximately perpendicular to a direction of movement of the sledge along a longitudinal axis of the rack tooth row, and an angle formed by a second portion of the teeth with the first portion of the teeth being approximately half the angle between the first portion of the teeth and the direction of movement of the sledge. The toothed elements of the lever are configured complementary and asymmetrical to the teeth of the rack toothing. - said lever has two toothed elements; The lever has a recess for receiving the spring, and the spring is supported at least by the innermost part of the recess and the sledge.

[0008] Other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is an exploded perspective view of a clasp according to the present invention, seen from above; [Figure 2] 2a and 2b show a top view and a side view, respectively, of a clasp according to the present invention. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a connecting means of a clasp according to the present invention. [Figure 4] 4a and 4b are perspective views from above and below, respectively, of a cover of a clasp according to the present invention. [Figure 5] 5a and 5b are perspective views from above and below, respectively, of the lever of a clasp according to the present invention. [Figure 6] 6a and 6b are perspective views from above and below, respectively, of a sledge of a clasp according to the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] The present invention proposes to allow the user to easily change the length of the watch strap without removing the watch from the wrist.

[0011] The present invention will be described below using a wristwatch bracelet. For clarity, only one side of the clasp will be described. As shown in the figures, the clasp can be fitted with a classic folding clasp or a butterfly clasp, and the length can be adjusted on both sides to fit the clasp symmetrically on the wrist and provide maximum comfort.

[0012] The clasp 100 according to the present invention comprises a cover 1, which is connected on one side to a first bracelet strand 200 and on the other side to a folding buckle fastening system 300 and a clasp locking means. The structure of said clasp locking means is known and will not be further described here. The first bracelet strand 200 is connected to the cover 1 with a sledge 3 for fine-tuning the length of the bracelet of the watch.

[0013] As shown in Figure 1, the bracelet strand is formed by a series of links, but can also be a strand made of leather, cloth, or even an elastomeric material.

[0014] The clasp 100 comprises a connection means assembled between the bracelet strand and the cover 1 of the clasp 100, the connection means including a sledge 3 that can slide in the longitudinal direction of the clasp between a first position in which the sledge 3 is engaged within the cover 1 and at least a second position in which the sledge 3 is at least partially disengaged from the cover 1.

[0015] 1, 4a, and 4b, the cover 1 has a generally U-shaped cross section and includes two opposing wings 14, each of which has a groove 12 on its inwardly facing surface. At least one groove 13 is also formed in the cover 2 to determine the stroke length of the sledge 3 relative to the cover 2. The sledge 3 is guided by lateral guide rails 34 while sliding between the wings 14 within the cover 1.

[0016] 3 shows that the connecting means comprises a sledge 3 that can slide longitudinally of the clasp 100 between a first position in which the sledge 3 is engaged within the cover 1 of the clasp 100 and at least a second position in which the sledge 3 is at least partially disengaged from the cover 2 of the clasp 100. The length available for adjusting the bracelet is determined by the amount of movement of the sledge 3 between the first position and at least the second position.

[0017] The sledge 3 has two ends spaced apart between which one end of a link or strand of the second bracelet strand is locked, the assembly being secured by a bar 9 passing through a hole 35 at the end of the sledge 3 and the link / strand of the second bracelet strand.

[0018] The sledge 3 further has at least one row of longitudinally extending rack teeth 30 on its bottom side, each tooth 31 , 32 of which defines a distinct locking position of the sledge 3 relative to the cover 1 .

[0019] The sledge 3 further includes at least one through hole 36 into which a cylindrical element such as a screw 6 is inserted. The screw 6 is configured to enter and engage with at least one groove 13, thereby forming an end stop and limiting the amount of movement of the sledge 3 within the cover 1.

[0020] The connecting means further comprises a lever 2 which is articulated with the cover 1 by means of a bore 24. The lever 2 has an actuating portion 23 which is intended to be operated by the user and which extends into the opening 11 of the cover 1 on the side opposite the wrist when the clasp is worn by the user, thereby allowing it to be operated by the user when the clasp is worn. The lever 2 therefore has two positions, the first of which corresponds to a rest position and the second of which corresponds to an activated position, and the lever 2 rotates around its fastening axis 7.

[0021] As shown in Figures 3, 5a and 5b, the lever 2 has a toothed element 20 which meshes with a rack of teeth 30 which is integral with the sledge 3, each tooth 31, 32 of the rack of teeth 30 being configured to cooperate with at least one toothed element 20 to lock the sledge 3 in place.

[0022] Although a single toothed element 20 can be considered, a pair of toothed elements 20 is safer and allows for more accurate positioning of the toothed elements 20 .

[0023] As shown, the teeth 31, 32 of the rack tooth row 30 have an asymmetrical shape such that a first portion of the teeth is oriented approximately perpendicular to the direction of movement of the sledge 3 along the longitudinal axis, and the angle that the second portion of the teeth forms with the first portion of the teeth is approximately half the angle that the first portion of the teeth forms with said direction of movement of the sledge.

[0024] Advantageously, the toothed element 20 of the lever 2 is configured complementary and asymmetrical to the teeth 31 , 32 of the rack toothing 30 .

[0025] The lever 2 can be moved from its rest position to an operating position in which the toothed element 20 is released from engagement with one of the teeth 31, 32 of the rack tooth row 30, allowing the sledge 3 to slide freely.

[0026] When the lever 2 is pushed at its actuating portion 23 and moved to the operating position, the lock between the toothed element 20 and the teeth 31, 32 is released and the sledge 3 is pulled away from the cover 1 via the bracelet strand 200, thereby allowing the length of the bracelet strand 200 to be increased.

[0027] Advantageously, the oblique angled nature of the teeth 31, 32 on the rack tooth arrangement 30 and the similar toothed element 20 of the lever 2 allows the bracelet strand 200 to be pushed towards the clasp 100, causing the teeth 31, 32 to slide over the toothed elements and rotate the lever without requiring any actuation of the lever 2 from the user.

[0028] As shown in Figures 1, 5a and 5b, the lever 2 has a blind recess 27 at the bottom side of the lever, which is substantially parallelepiped shaped, in which the torsion spring 5 is attached in an articulated manner to a pin 4 which is inserted into a transverse hole in the lever 2.

[0029] Torsion spring 5 has at least a first lateral arm 50 located at the back of blind recess 27 and a central arm 51 extending opposite slideway 33 formed in the upper part of sledge 3. This configuration keeps lever 2 in a rest position when lever 2 is not actuated, and central arm 51 slides within slideway 33 in sledge 3 when bracelet strand 200 is lengthened or shortened.

[0030] 2a and 2b, when the sledge 3, lever 2 and cover 1 are assembled together, the torsion spring 5, which is mounted in compression, pushes the lever towards the cover 1 so that the toothed element 20 engages with the teeth 31, 32 of the rack teeth 30. Conversely, when the lever 2 is pushed against the elastic return force of the spring 5, the toothed element 20 is released from engagement with the rack teeth 30 of the sledge 3, allowing the sledge 3 to slide freely relative to the cover 1.

[0031] The user does not need to open clasp 1 to access the lever to adjust the clasp. The user simply presses actuating portion 23 of lever 2, disengaging toothed element 20 from teeth 31, 32, allowing sledge 3 to slide freely and allowing the wearer to pull on the bracelet strand to lengthen it. Finally, after the wearer selects the length, they release the lever, which, under the influence of spring 5, returns to its rest position, locking the position by engaging at least one of toothed elements 20 with at least one tooth 31, 32 of rack tooth arrangement 30. The wearer can then simply press on bracelet strand 200 to move sledge 3 toward the center of the clasp and shorten the bracelet strap.

[0032] Naturally, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and those skilled in the art can think of various simple alternatives and modifications without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0033] 1 cover 2 levers 3 Sledge 5 Spring 6 screws 9. Wristbands 11 Aperture 12 Guide groove 13 Groove 14 Wings 20 Toothed Elements 30 rack teeth Teeth 31 and 32 34 Guide surface 100 clasp 200 bracelet strands 300 Folding System

Claims

1. A clasp (100) for a wristwatch bracelet, comprising: A cover (1) connected to a bracelet strand (200) on a first side and to a folding system (300) on a second side, A connecting means is assembled between the bracelet strand and the cover (1) of the clasp (100), The connecting means comprises a sledge (3) that slides in the longitudinal direction of the clasp (100) between a first position in which the sledge (3) is engaged in the cover (1) of the clasp (100) and at least a second position in which the sledge (3) is at least partially disengaged from the cover (1) of the clasp (100), said clasp (100) comprising a lever (2) with a toothed element (20); When the lever (2) is pressed along a direction perpendicular to the bottom of the cover, it moves the toothed element (20) from a rest position in which the toothed element (20) is engaged with a rack tooth arrangement (30) integral with the sledge (3) to an actuated position in which the toothed element (20) is released from engagement with the rack tooth arrangement (30) and the sledge (3) is allowed to slide freely; The cover (1) has an opening (11) for actuating the lever (2) from outside the cover (1). A clasp characterized by:

2. The lever (2) is configured to rotate relative to the cover (1) when moving from the first position to the at least second position.

2. The clasp according to claim 1 .

3. The lever (2) is held in a rest position by means of a spring (5).

2. The clasp according to claim 1 .

4. The at least one toothed element (20) and the lever (2) form one integral element.

2. The clasp according to claim 1 .

5. The sledge (3) has a stop means to prevent the sledge (3) from being removed from the cover (1) of the clasp (100).

2. The clasp according to claim 1 .

6. The stop means are formed by screws (6) that protrude into grooves (13) formed in the cover (1) to form two end stops.

6. The clasp according to claim 5.

7. The cover (1) has a generally U-shaped cross section and has two opposing wings (14); Each of the wings (14) has a guide groove (12) on its inward surface to guide the sledge (3) in translational movement.

2. The clasp according to claim 1 .

8. The sledge (3) has lateral guide surfaces (34) that guide it while sliding in the guide grooves (12) of the wings (14) of the cover.

8. The clasp according to claim 7.

9. The rack tooth row (30) has teeth (31, 32), the teeth (31, 32) have an asymmetrical shape, with a first portion of the teeth (31, 32) oriented substantially perpendicular to the direction of movement of the sledge (3) along the longitudinal axis of the rack tooth row (30); The angle that the second portion of the teeth (31, 32) forms with the first portion of the teeth (31, 32) is approximately half the angle between the first portion of the teeth and the direction of movement of the sledge (3).

2. The clasp according to claim 1 .

10. The toothed element (20) of the lever (2) is configured complementary and asymmetrical to the teeth (31, 32) of the rack toothing (30).

10. The clasp of claim 9.

11. The lever (2) has at least one toothed element (20) 2. The clasp according to claim 1 .

12. The lever (2) has a recess for receiving the spring, The spring is supported at least in the deep part of the recess.

2. The clasp according to claim 1 .

13. The clasp according to claim 1 A wristband (9) characterized in that

14. A wristwatch case configured to receive at least the wristband of claim 13. A portable watch characterized by the above.

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