Watch Armor Case Winding Stem Mechanism Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing wristwatch designs with a one-piece armor case structure face limitations in dial size flexibility due to the integration of the winding stem attachment/detachment mechanism within the armor cover, restricting the design freedom of the timepiece armor assembly and making it difficult to produce watches with varying dial sizes.
Innovation Solution
The mechanism is relocated to the armor case side with an engagement/disengagement operation body on the case bottom wall, allowing external operation and enabling the winding stem to be inserted or detached without protruding components, thus eliminating size constraints on the dial.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the winding stem attachment/detachment mechanism is integrated into the armor cover, then the mechanism can be operated by opening the case back, but the dial size is limited and design freedom is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The attachment/detachment mechanism is segmented from the armor cover and relocated to the armor case side. The engagement/disengagement operation body is provided in the case bottom wall, separating the mechanism's operational component from the armor cover structure, thereby eliminating the constraint on dial size while maintaining operational functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The engagement/disengagement operation body is extracted from the armor cover and placed in the case bottom wall. This extraction removes the limiting factor (the operation body protruding from the armor cover edge) that previously constrained dial size, allowing for greater design freedom and larger dial configurations.
2Shape
If the armor case is made with one-piece structure, then the circumference part can be made thinner with taper-like form, but the mechanism integration becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The mechanism is segmented into distinct components: the engagement body with stopper part, and the engagement/disengagement operation body in the case bottom wall. This segmentation simplifies the integration process into the one-piece armor case structure, as each component can be independently positioned and assembled without compromising the monolithic case design.
Solution Approach 2:
The operation body is positioned in the case bottom wall (vertical dimension) rather than protruding from the armor cover edge (horizontal dimension). This dimensional relocation allows the circumference part to maintain its thin taper-like form while still providing access to the attachment/detachment mechanism through the case bottom wall.
3Ease of operation
If the operation body protrudes from the armor cover edge, then the mechanism can be accessed, but the dial size is constrained by the protruding component
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of providing access to the operation body from the outer edge of the armor cover (external access), the operation body is inverted and positioned in the case bottom wall (internal access). This inversion allows the dial to extend to the full available area while the mechanism remains accessible through the case bottom wall opening.
Data Source
AI summary
To obtain a degree of freedom in a design of a circumference part of a timepiece armor assembly, and provide a watch whose degree of freedom in a size of a dial is high. A timepiece armor assembly is formed of an armor case of one-piece structure in which a case bottom wall and a case band part provided with a crown have been monolithically molded and of an armor cover which has a transparent member and an edge member supporting a circumference edge of the former member and has been mounted to the case band part. In the armor assembly, a timepiece movement which has a movement main body and a winding stem attached to this main body so as to be capable of being inserted into or detached from it and connected to the crown, and a dial are built, and a winding stem attachment/detachment mechanism which makes an insertion/detachment of the winding stem into/from the main body possible is provided. The winding stem attachment/detachment mechanism possesses an engagement body which has a stopper part engaged with or disengaged from a groove (engagement part) of the winding stem, and an engagement/disengagement operation body which causes the stopper part 34a to engage with or disengage from the groove 15e by follow-moving the engagement body. The engagement/disengagement operation body is provided in the case bottom wall so as to be capable of being operated from an outside of the armor case.