Wrist Watch With Changeable Case

Abstract

A wrist watch which has an encased movement provided with a crystal, a sidewall, a bottom and a winding crown, and which includes a reversible housing center part as retaining member equipped with stems for fastening to a watchband, and presenting in its bore a spring wire, seated in a circular groove, as fastening means for the movement, which spring wire pushes into a circular groove in the movement.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There is known a watch with two faces, each having a dial, with the local time being indicated in the usual manner on the one face by at least one hour and one minute hand and the hours of the comparative time, such as Greenwich time, appearing by jumps in a window of the other face and the corresponding minutes being indicated by the rotation of a minute hand. The same spring movement is the driving force. An axially movable winding crown is provided for each dial to set the time independently.

DESCRIPTION

The wrist watch according to the invention is characterized in that the housing center part is formed of a front and a rear face with the same bore and different appearance, that one of the faces is equipped with an assembly member projecting radially inward and being spring loaded in that direction, and that a depression is provided at the cylindrical portion of the movement's sidewall each on a different side of the central retaining groove for said assembly member to engage.

One embodiment of the object of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawing wherein,

FIG. 1 is a cross-section taken on line I--I of FIG. 2, and

FIG. 2 is a top view of the wrist watch.

The wrist watch includes an encased movement 1. The movement is provided with a crystal 2, a sidewall 3, a bottom 4 and a winding crown 5. A reversible housing center part 6 provided with stems 7 for fastening to a watchband, is provided as retaining member.

In its bore, the housing center part 6 has a spring wire 11 seated in a circular groove 10, as fastening means for the movement 1, with the spring wire pushing into a circular groove 9 in the movement 1.

The housing center part 6 is formed of a front and a rear face part 6a and 6b, respectively, with the same bore and different appearance. The face part 6a is equipped with an assembly member 14 which projects radially inward with a spring pushing it in that direction against the movement 1. The latter is provided at its cylindrical sidewall 3, on both sides of the central retaining groove 9, with depressions 13 each for the assembly member 14 to engage. The assembly member 14 may be a pin with a spherical bearing surface or a ball.

The bottom 4 of the movement 1 may be provided with a radially projecting flange which serves as stop when inserting the movement 1 into the housing center part 6.

To simplify the design of the housing center part 6, the winding crown 5 is provided in a segment-shaped cutout 8 in the cylindrical portion 3 of the movement 1.

The front face part 6a and the rear face part 6b of the housing center part 6 are joined to each other rigidly and concentrically. The connection can be made either by glueing or soldering. The front face part 6a and the rear face part 6b may also be provided with groove and tongue-shaped turnings and be interconnected by pushing them together or these parts 6a and 6b may also be connected by pinning them together.

The two face parts 6a and 6b may be made of different metals so as to give them a different appearance. The desired different appearance of the two face parts 6a and 6b may be brought about by treating their surfaces differently and/or by different ornamentations.

When reversing the housing center part including the watchband, for instance for conversion into a Sunday watch, the movement 1 must be pushed out of the housing center part 6 with the thumb and reinserted at the opposite face of the center part 6. Therefore, the assembly member 14 at the housing center part 6 and the depressions 13 of the movement 1 are advantageously provided on top, i.e. at the figure 12.

Claims

I claim:

1. A wrist watch comprising an encased movement having a sidewall, a bottom and a winding crown, a crystal on said movement, a reversible housing center part, stems on said housing center part for fastening a watchband thereto, said housing center part having a bore and a circular groove, a spring wire seated in said groove, said movement having a circular groove with said wire seated therein, said housing center part having a front and a rear face part with the same bore and different appearance, an assembly member carried by one of said face parts and projecting radially inward and being spring loaded in that direction, and said sidewall having depressions each provided on opposite sides of said circular groove for the assembly member to engage.

2. Wrist watch according to claim 1, wherein a winding crown is provided in a segment-shaped cutout in said side wall of said movement.

3. Wrist watch according to claim 1, wherein said two face parts are made of different metals.

4. Wrist watch according to claim 1, wherein the machining of the surfaces of the two face parts is different.

5. Wrist watch according to claim 1, wherein said two face parts are provided with different ornamentations.

6. Wrist watch according to claim 1, wherein said front face part and said rear face part are joined to each other rigidly and concentrically.

7. Wrist watch according to claim 6, wherein said front face part and said rear face part are glued together.

8. Wrist watch according to claim 6, wherein said front face part and said rear face part are soldered together.

9. Wrist watch according to claim 6, wherein said front face part and said rear face part are interconnected by tongue and groove-shaped turnings and pushed together.

10. Wrist watch according to claim 6, wherein said front face part and said rear face part are connected by pinning them together.