Battery Discharge Guard For Electric Watch

Abstract

A guard for the external actuator which internally connects the battery in an electric watch. The guard holds the actuator crown in an extended non-operative position to prevent accidental starting of the watch and discharge of the battery during shipping or storage. The guard has a stretchable portion enclosing the stem and pendant for holding the crown in an extended position and a tab for removing the guard by stretching it over the crown.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Electric watches which employ an internal energy cell or battery as a power source, generally have an external actuator, such as a knob, button or crown, for connecting the battery through an internal switch to the watch circuit or releasing a balance wheel locked in open circuit position when it is desired to operate the watch. Such actuators may perform other functions such as setting the hands.

Similar guards are known in the art comprising metal clips which slip transversely over the stem of the external button or crown and hold it in an extended position during shipping or storage. This prevents accidental starting of the watch and consequent discharge of the battery. The clip is removed by the purchaser and generally discarded.

Because of the great variety of shapes and sizes of the external crowns, buttons or knobs, various types and shapes of clips have been needed in the past to accommodate the different designs. Additional expense is required to manufacture and stock the different types of clips.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is one object of the present invention to provide an improved battery discharge guard for an electric watch which accommodates most of the common types of external actuators.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved battery discharge guard which is more economical to manufacture and easier to remove than previous types.

Briefly stated, the invention comprises a battery discharge guard for a depressible external actuator having a stem within a pendant and an enlarged crown. The guard comprises a pendant-enclosing, portion of stretchable material for holding the actuator in an extended position, and a connecting tab portion for pulling the pendant-enclosing portion over the crown.

DRAWING

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be more clearly understood by reference to the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective drawing of the battery discharge guard,

FIG. 2 is a plan view, partly in section, showing the guard in place on the actuator stem,

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating operation of the invention, and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a modification of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now to FIG. 1 of the drawings, the battery discharge guard, illustrated at 1 comprises a first pendent-enclosing portion 2 and a connected second portion 3 in the form of a finger tab. The pendant-enclosing portion is generally in the shape of a washer with an internal hole 4 of diameter sufficient to enclose the pendant and stem of the actuator but substantially less than the crown diameter. The portion 2 is of a thickness sufficient to hold the actuator in its extended non-operative position.

The pendant-enclosing portion 2 is made of thermoplastic rubber or other stretchable plastic material, such as polyvinyl chloride. In the preferred embodiment of FIGS. 1-3, the entire number 1 is molded in one piece so that the second or tab portion 3 is integral with the pendant-enclosing portion.

FIG. 2 illustrates the battery discharge guard in position on a watch 5 having an external actuator 6. The actuator is depressible to connect the battery to the internal circuitry through an internal switch or by releasing the balance wheel locked in open circuit position. Actuator 6 has a stem 7 slidable within a fixed pendant 15 and an enlarged connected crown or knob 8. As seen in FIG. 2, the pendant-enclosing portion 2 just fits over the pendant 15 where it can be put during assembly when the actuator is inserted, or subsequent to assembly by stretching over the crown after assembly.

Reference to FIG. 3 illustrates the method of removal. The purchaser simply grasps the tab 3 and pulls to deform or stretch the pendant-enclosing portion 2 so that it may be removed by twisting up over the crown 8. The guard may then be discarded and the actuator depressed to start the watch running.

When manufactured in one piece, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the improved guard is economical to manufacture and fits many different types and sizes of external actuators. It may also carry legible characters giving an advertising message or trademark by appropriate indicia as shown at 9.

Referring to FIG. 4, another version of the invention comprises a stretchable washer 10 serving as the pendant-enclosing portion and a connected tag 11 attached to member 10 by a cord or wire 12 serving as the second portion of the guard. This is operated in a manner similar to the embodiment of FIGS. 1-3.

In some types of watches not having an extended pendant, the portion 2 may simply fit over the stem. In the appended claims, "pendant-enclosing" is intended to mean stem-enclosing in watches of this type.

Thus there has been shown an improved battery discharge guard which is easier to remove and which accommodates a greater variety of watch designs than previous guards. It is particularly economical to manufacture and easy to install.

While there has been described what is considered to be the preferred embodiment of the invention, other modifications will occur to those skilled in the art, and it is desired to secure in the appended claims all such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

I claim:

1. A battery discharge guard for an electric watch of the type having a depressible external actuator for closing an internal circuit or connecting the battery and having a stem slidable within a pendant and an enlarged crown,

said guard comprising a first pendant-enclosing portion of stretchable material of sufficient thickness to hold the stem in an extended non-operative position, and a second portion connected to the pendant-enclosing portion for stretching it and pulling it over the crown of the actuator.

2. The combination according to claim 1, wherein said first and second portions are formed as an integral member of stretchable material.

3. The combination according to claim 1, wherein said first portion comprises a washer-like element with an internal hole of a diameter substantially less than that of said actuator crown.

4. The combination according to claim 1, wherein said first portion comprises a washer-like element and said second portion comprises an integral connected tab member, all of substantially uniform thickness.

5. The combination according to claim 4, wherein said tab member is flat and adapted to carry legible characters.