Watch Case Provided With Integral Bracelet

The present invention relates to a wrist watch case provided with a bracelet, notably a two-piece leather watch strap integral with the case.

Heretofore, leather watch straps have always been attached to the watch case by means of small bars or pins, in particular spring pins, mounted between two lugs provided on the case. To integrate the watch strap with the case, the lugs have been replaced by grooved borders provided on the case which receive and hide the small bars. However, this is not a true integration of the watch strap and the case and such a solution is practically impossible with a very thin watch case of the order of 2 mm to 3 mm, such as those known today.

Another solution for dispensing with the lugs has been proposed in utility model No. JP 1268962. In this construction, the watch strap is provided with small bars which are retained in grooves provided in two quasi-symmetrical parts of the case which are applied one on the other. Such solution is limited to a special type of case. Moreover, application of the watch strap is delicate and the strap becomes detached and falls off whenever the case is opened.

It is an object of the invention to provide integral fixation of a leather or metal bracelet to a watch case without small bars or pins, utilizable with round cases or very thin cases, which can be easily put in place and does not automatically become detached when the case is opened.

For that purpose the watch-bracelet case according to the invention is characterized by the fact that the bracelet is fixed to a metallic body mounted in an annular recess of the case in which it is retained by a part of the case. If the bracelet is leather, it is preferably fixed on flexible metal tongues by adhesive and/or mechanical means such as rivets, these tongues being embedded and soldered in the metallic body.

If the annular recess is constituted by a groove in the watch case body, such groove is closed by the back of the case so that the metallic body is completely hidden in the case and the leather watch band or braclet seems to have been made a part of the case.

The nature objects and advantages of the invention will be more fully understood from the following description of a preferred embodiment shown by way of example in the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of the complete watch including a leather watch strap;

FIG. 2 is a side view;

FIG. 3 is a partial section taken along the line III--III in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a partial section taken along the line IV--IV in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the anchoring body of the watch strap.

The watch-bracelet shown by way of example in FIGS. 1 and 2 comprises a watch case 1 to which are fixed in an integral manner two parts 2 and 3 of a leather bracelet of which the clasp or buckle has not been shown.

The watch case 1 is shown as comprising an annular case body 4 to which is pressure fitted a case back 5 to which is soldered a ring 6 designed to support a movement 7 surmounted by a dial 8. The ring 6 is provided externally at at least two opposite points with a notch 9 engaging with a projection 10 of the case body 4 to secure the case body and back together. The case body 4 has a part 4a forming the border for the dial and a bezel portion 4b designed to receive the plane crystal 11.

As seen particularly from FIG. 4, the case body 4 has an annular groove 12 of rectangular cross section extending all around its circumference and opening to the back of the case body. The annular groove 12 is defined by an outer peripheral wall 4c and an inner wall 4d. The outer wall 4c of the groove 12 has two interruptions corresponding to the width of the watch strap as is seen in the right hand part of FIG. 3. Moreover, the outer wall has a round opening 13 (FIG. 3) for passage of the stem of the crown shown schematically in FIG. 1. In the groove 12 there is lodged a metallic anchor ring 14, for example of brass, which is shown alone in FIG. 5. The groove 12 being completely closed by the back 5, the ring 14 is retained and hidden in the interior of the case body 4. At the three-hour position, body 4 has a U-shaped notch 15 coinciding with the round opening 13 in the peripheral wall of the case body for the passage of the stem of the crown. At opposite sides the ring 14 is flattened as seen in FIG. 5 and is provided with two narrow horizontal slots 16 and 17 in which are inserted two flexible tongues 18 of beryllium bronze, one of the tongues being shown in FIGS. 3 and 5. These tongues are moreover, soldered in the slots in the ring 14. The end of the leather strap portion 3 is split so as to receive and completely enclose one of the flexible tongues 18 and is adhesively secured to the tongue. The strap part 2 is secured in like manner on or around the other tongue (not shown). Alternatively, or additionally, the strap portions are secured to the tongues mechanically, for example by rivets. The total thickness of the strap portions at the point of encasement of the tongues is equal to two thicknesses of the leather and the thickness of the tongue which is only about 0.1 mm. The total thickness of the watch strap adjacent the watch case which determines the height of the ring 14 is relatively small. It is for example of the order of 1.40 mm and has practically no influence on the total height of the watch case.

The anchor ring 14 permits making the watch strap in one piece with the means for attaching it to the watch case. By simply placing the ring 14 in the annular groove provided in the watch case body, the two parts of the watch strap are fixed simultaneously and correctly to the watch case.

The invention is in no way limited to the embodiment described above. As a variant, a watch case attaching body of this kind can equally be used with a watch case composed of three parts, that is to say a case body sandwiched between the watch bezel and the case back attached together by a screws. If the bracelet is metallic instead of leather, it can be soldered directly to the metallic ring 14 for example by its first link.