Wristwatch Band

Abstract

A wristwatch band having two major components, each having one of its ends attached respectively to the opposite sides of a wristwatch case. The other ends of the major components are not normally attached to anything when the wristwatch is not being worn. The major components are each comprised of at least two distinct sections, one of said sections having expansible structure and said other section having non-expansible structure. The sections of non-expansible structure are located at the ends of said major components that normally aren't attached to anything. Buckle structure is attached to the free end of one of the non-expansible sections and the other non-expansible section has a plurality of apertures formed therein to receive the pin of the buckle for detachably securing together the free ends of the non-expansible sections when the wristwatch is being worn. The non-expansible sections are normally made of leather and the expansible sections are normally made of metal.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a wristwatch band in combination with a wristwatch case. Wristwatch bands are either made of a closed loop type or of the open loop type. The closed loop type is formed as a single member whose opposite ends are attached respectively to the opposite sides of the watch case and at least a portion of it has expansible structure. The open loop type of wristwatch band is made of two separate members, each having one of its ends attached respectively to the opposite sides of a watch case with its other ends being fastened together by a buckle on the free end of one of those members and a plurality of apertures in the other member. These two types of construction each have their own separate desirable characteristics, but until the advent of applicant's invention the desirable characteristics of both of these types of wristwatch bands could not be enjoyed by a single wristwatch band. Many people prefer having a wristwatch band made of leather both because of the natural beauty of its appearance and also the comfort of its feel against the wrist of the wearer. Unfortunately with this type of an open loop wristband, it is almost impossible to obtain a comfortable snug fit. Either the wristband is too tight or too loose. In practice it is common when putting an open loop type wristband around the wearer's wrist to pull the tongue portion through the buckle until the wrist is overly squeezed. Then the buckle's pin is put through the closest aperture on the tongue. However, after the pin has been inserted through that aperture it is discovered that the wristwatch band still has a looseness in fit. Because of the inability to obtain a snug fit with the open loop type wristband many people have switched to the closed loop expansible ones. These overcome the problem of looseness initially. However, after continued stretching of the wristwatch band during putting it on and taking it off over the wearer's hand, the expansible sections lose a portion of their elastic memory. When this occurs, the wearer again has the undesirable loose, sloppy fit. At this point he normally has to purchase a new wristwatch band.

It is well known that all ordinary wristwatch bands will slip or rotate about the wrist unless they are fastened so tightly as to be uncomfortable to the wearer, and that such unavoidable displacement is not only disquieting but also inconvenient, because the watch carried thereby will slide to such a position that it cannot be properly viewed without abnormal twisting of the wrist with the result that the position of the watchband must be frequently adjusted. It is also well known that very often the watchband will be so tight around the wrist of the user circulation is cut off in the wrist and particularly along the inner side of the arm over the veins and arteries.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The novel wristwatch band of this application permits a more accurate fitting of the watch to the wrist of the wearer with less pressures on the wrist and considerably more comfort. The novel wristwatch band is wrapped around the wrist of the wearer with its tongue portion being inserted through the buckle portion on the opposite member. The tongue is pulled therethrough to a comfortable degree of snugness with the expansible sections being stretched a limited amount. The pin of the buckle is then inserted through one of the apertures in the tongue and the tongue is then inserted through the loop of that member. With the normal closed loop type wristwatch band of the past the snug fit would disappear as the buckle pin becomes fully inserted into the aperture but with applicant's novel structure the expansible section on both sides of the wristwatch case can contract a sufficient amount to keep the fit snug. Additionally since the wristwatch band will be opened when removing the watch from the wearer's arm the expansible sections will not have to undergo the constant stretching action to which a normal expansion band is subjected when it must be slid over the hand of the wearer to remove it. This results in the ability of the expansible sections to retain their elastic memory for an almost indefinite length of time.

Additionally this novel structure permits interchange of any of the four parts of the wristwatch band at less cost than replacement of the whole band. This also permits the wearer to have contrasting colors of the parts as desired. A new dimension in aesthetic appearance can be developed around this novel structure.

An added feature allows for minute adjustments and varying degrees of snugness to be obtained by varying which holes the pin of the buckle is placed in with the expansible section taking up any of the slack produced when the pin of the buckle is fully inserted into the apertures on the tongue portion.

It is an object of the invention to produce a wristwatch band capable of giving a snug and comfortable fit on the wrist of the wearer.

It is also an object of the invention to produce a wristwatch band whose expansible sections will be stretched only a limited degree in usage thus allowing them to retain their elastic memory indefinitely.

It is a further object of the invention to produce a wristwatch band having the most desirable characteristics of both the open loop and the closed loop types.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view illustrating the combined wristwatch with its watchband in a relaxed state;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the combined wristwatch with its watchband in an expanded state;

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 the combined wristwatch case and watchband is generally designated numeral 10. The wristwatch band is comprised of two major components 12 and 14 that have one of their ends attached respectively to the opposite sides of wristwatch case 16. This novel wristwatch band is of the open loop variety.

The major components 12 and 14 of the wristwatch band have an expansible section 18 and 19 and non-expansible sections 20 and 21, respectively. One end of each of the expansible sections 18 and 19 is attached to the wristwatch case 16 by a member embracing spring actuated pins 22 in a manner well known in the watch industry. Spring actuated pins 24 of a like structure are used to attach one end of the non-expansible sections 20 and 21 to one end of the expansible sections 18 and 19. Normally the non-expansible sections are made from leather or any other non-expansible material. The expansible sections are normally made from a metallic material.

At the free end of non-expansible section 20 a buckle 26 having a pin 27 is attached thereto. Spaced inwardly therefrom is a loop 28. The other non-expansible section 21 is referred to as the tongue portion of the watchband, and it has a plurality of apertures 36 spaced along its length. As is well known, when the wearer puts the watch on his wrist, he would insert the tongue portion through buckle 26 and by inserting pin 27 through the desired aperture 36 the watch can be snugly secured to the wrist of the wearer. Since the expansible section need only be capable of limited linear expansion, its proportion of length of the major components 12 or 14 is normally less than 50 percent of the total length.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. In combination a wristwatch case and a watchband,

said watchband comprising two major components each of which have one of their ends attached respectively to the opposite sides of said wristwatch case by a member embracing a spring pin, the opposite ends of said major components normally being unattached to anything when the combination is not being worn on the wrist,

said major components each comprising at least two distinct sections, each of said sections having a metal expansible structure at the end of the major components which are attached to the watch case and each of said other sections having non-expansible structure, said sections of non-expansible structure being located and pivotally attached at the ends of said expansible structure, and means for detachably securing together the free ends of said non-expansible sections once the wristwatch case has been positioned next to the wrist of the wearer with the opposite ends of the wrist band wrapped around the opposite sides of the wearer's wrist to form a closed loop,

said means for detachably securing together the free ends of said non-expansible sections comprises buckle means attached to the free end of one of said non-expansible sections and a plurality of apertures formed in said other non-expansible section.

2. The combination as recited in claim 1 wherein said non-expansible sections are made of leather.

3. The combination as recited in claim 1 wherein the non-expansible section of each major component of said watchband comprises at least 50 percent of the length of said major component.