HK1194488A - Watch dial secured to a bottom plate - Google Patents

Description

Dial plate fixed on bottom plate

Technical Field

The invention relates to a dial fixed on a bottom plate. More specifically, the present invention relates to a dial fixed on a bottom plate via a fixing means.

Background

A conventional technique for retaining the dial on the bottom plate consists in providing the dial with dial feet which are locked by means of corresponding dial locking means. One of the drawbacks of this technique is: the dial feet are fragile and they are easily broken in the event of an impact. Since the dial feet themselves cannot be repaired, the entire dial must be replaced, assuming the presence of a dial back-up, but there is usually no dial back-up.

Disclosure of Invention

The purpose of the invention is: the above-mentioned and other drawbacks are overcome by providing a dial that is fixed to a bottom plate via a new simple and reliable fixing means.

The invention therefore relates to an assembly comprising a dial and a bottom plate, the bottom plate being defined by an upper peripheral edge extending downwards by a peripheral surface, the dial being fixed on the upper peripheral edge of the bottom plate via at least first and second fixing means, said assembly being characterized in that the first fixing means comprise a projection provided on the outer periphery of the bottom plate, the dial having a peripheral edge via which the dial is held between the head of a nail or screw and the upper peripheral edge of the bottom plate, the head of the nail or screw extending through a stem housed in the projection of the bottom plate.

As a result of the above features, the present invention provides an assembly comprising a dial and a bottom plate, wherein the peripheral edge of the dial is held between the head of a nail or screw received in a projection provided on the outer periphery of the bottom plate and the upper peripheral edge of the bottom plate. The dial can thus be immobilized by using simple, reliable and very economical means. In the case of a base plate made of plastic material, the projections provided on the outer periphery of the base plate can be obtained very simply by plastic moulding or injection moulding.

According to a first variant of the invention, the second fixing means comprise a slot provided on the upper peripheral edge of the bottom plate, the dial being housed via its peripheral edge in said slot of the bottom plate.

According to a second variant, the second fixing means comprise a second projection provided on the outer periphery of the bottom plate, the head of a second nail or screw holding the outer peripheral edge of the dial against the upper peripheral edge of the bottom plate, the head of the second nail or screw extending through a stem housed in the second projection of the bottom plate.

According to a complementary feature of the invention, the dial is arranged between a flange and said base plate, a nail or screw being pressed or screwed into said flange and sandwiching said flange between the head of the nail or screw and the shank housed in the projection of the base plate.

According to a further variant of the invention, the upper peripheral edge of the bottom plate comprises at least one centering stud and the peripheral edge of the dial comprises a notch arranged to cooperate with the centering stud.

Drawings

Further characteristics of the invention will be more clearly seen from the detailed description of the dial and the bottom plate according to the invention, given by way of non-limiting example below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

fig. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment according to the invention, in which the dial is held at a first point in a slot provided in the bottom plate and at a second point by a screw.

Fig. 2 is a top view of the assembly formed by the dial and the bottom plate shown in fig. 1.

FIGS. 3A, 3B and 3C are cross-sectional views taken along lines A-A, B-B and C-C of FIG. 2.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the invention, in which the peripheral edge of the dial is held between the heads of three nails, the shanks of which are received in projections provided on the outer periphery of the bottom plate, and the upper peripheral edge of the bottom plate.

Fig. 5 is a top view of the assembly formed by the dial and the bottom plate shown in fig. 4.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are cross-sectional views along the lines A-A and B-B of FIG. 5.

Fig. 7 is a schematic perspective view of a third embodiment according to the invention, in which the dial is arranged between the flange and the upper peripheral edge of the bottom plate, wherein the nails are pressed into the flange and sandwich the flange between the head of the nail and the shank received in the corresponding projection of the bottom plate.

Fig. 8 is a schematic view of a variant of the invention in which a fixing foot, integral with the flange and housed in a corresponding projection of the bottom plate, sandwiches the dial between the flange and the bottom plate.

Detailed Description

The present invention proceeds from the general inventive concept: nails or screws are used to fix the dial to the bottom plate. Such a fixing device is a simple and therefore economical device and immobilizes the dial in a very reliable manner. According to another advantage of the invention, no modification of the dial is required, since it is simply held between the head of the nail or screw and the upper peripheral edge of the base plate. The only special arrangement involves a base plate which must be provided with as many projections on its outer periphery as there are screw heads. However, this does not pose any significant problems, especially if the sole plate is made of an injected or moulded plastics material. In this case, in fact, the mould need only be provided with a recess matching the projection.

Fig. 1 to 3 show a first embodiment of the present invention. The dial, indicated as a whole by the general reference numeral 1, is made, for example, of sheet metal or sheet plastic. In the example in fig. 1, dial 1 and bottom plate 2 both have a generally circular shape. It is clear, however, that the invention is not limited to this geometry, and dial 1 and bottom plate 2 may have any shape, for example square or rectangular.

The base plate 2 is typically in the form of a ring. The bottom plate 2 is delimited at the top by a circular peripheral edge 4, on which peripheral edge 4 the dial 1 is to be supported, and which peripheral edge 4 extends towards the bottom by a peripheral surface 6.

As can be seen by observing fig. 1, at one position of the length of the upper peripheral edge 4, the bottom plate 2 is provided with a slot 8 in the shape of a circular arc, into which slot 8 the peripheral edge 10 of the dial 1 slides. Thus, the slot 8 provides a first retaining point in the vertical direction, at which the dial 1 is retained on the bottom plate 2.

According to the invention, dial 1 is held on bottom plate 2 at least a second point. Thus, a screw 12 is used that includes a head 14 extending through a shaft 16. Dial 1 will now be held between head 14 of screw 12 and upper peripheral edge 4 of bottom plate 2 at one location of its peripheral edge 10. The screws 12 thus provide a second holding point at which the dial 1 is held on the bottom plate 2 in a vertical direction perpendicular to the plane of the dial 1 and in a radial direction. In order to retain the screw 12, a corresponding projection 18 is provided on the outer circumferential surface 6 of the base plate 2, into which projection 18 the shank 16 of the screw 12 is screwed. The projection 18 is formed by excess material provided locally on the peripheral surface 6 of the base plate 2, which is sufficient to enable the screw 12 to be screwed therein. In the case of a base plate 2 made of plastic material, the projections 18 can be obtained very simply by plastic moulding or injection moulding. In the example shown in the figures, a centering pin 20 is provided on the projection 18. The dial 1 rests via its peripheral edge 10 on the centering pin 20, which centering pin 20 is raised at the surface of the upper peripheral edge 4 of the bottom plate 2 and is provided for improving the guidance of the screw 12. As seen in particular in fig. 2, the screw 12 is provided at 12 o 'clock and the slot 8 is provided at 6 o' clock. The screws 12 and the slots 8 hold the dial 1 very well on the bottom plate 2, so that no further holding means are required. For example, at 9 o' clock (see fig. 3C), the dial 1 abuts only against the bottom plate 2.

In the above description, there is only one projection 18, which projection 18 is intended to serve as a seat for the respective screw 12. It goes without saying that the invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiments described above, and that a plurality of projections and corresponding screws can be provided. Similarly, dial 1 is described as being fixed by means of one or more screws. Obviously, the screws may be replaced by other fixing means, such as nails, to be pressed into the projections.

Fig. 4 shows a variant of the invention in which dial 1 is fixed to bottom plate 2 by means of at least two nails 22 (or three in the example shown). The respective projections 18 are provided on the outer circumferential surface 6 of the bottom plate 2, for example, at regular intervals from each other. The head 24 (FIG. 6A) of the nail 22 disposed at 12 o 'clock is larger than the head 24 (FIG. 6B) of the nail 22 disposed at 4 o' clock, which heads extend through the shank 26.

In order to further improve the orientation of dial 1, bottom plate 2 comprises at least one centering stud 28 on upper peripheral edge 4, and peripheral edge 10 of dial 1 comprises a notch 30, notch 30 being arranged to cooperate with centering stud 28. Finally, in order to orient dial 1 in a suitable manner, on upper peripheral edge 4 of bottom plate 2, for example at 6 o' clock, an error-proofing element, for example a lug 32, is provided, lug 32 being housed in a corresponding cavity 34, cavity 34 being provided on peripheral edge 10 of dial 1.

Fig. 7 shows a further variant in which dial 1 is sandwiched between flange 36 and upper peripheral edge 4 of bottom plate 2. In order to retain the assembly formed by the flange 36, the dial 1 and the bottom plate 2, the nails 22 are pressed into the flange 36, the shanks 26 of these nails 22 being received in the corresponding projections 18 provided on the peripheral surface 6 of the bottom plate 2. Thus, the flange 36 is held between the head 24 of the nail 22 and the upper peripheral edge 4 of the dial 1 and grips the dial 1. Instead of nails, screws may be provided, which are screwed into the flange 36 and into the projection 18 of the base plate 2.

Fig. 8 shows another variant of the invention, in which a fixing foot 38 clamps dial 1 between flange 36 and bottom plate 2, this fixing foot 38 being integral with flange 36 and being housed in a corresponding projection 18 of bottom plate 2.

Claims (10)

1. Assembly comprising a dial (1) and a bottom plate (2), said bottom plate (2) being defined by an upper peripheral rim (4), this upper peripheral rim (4) extending downwards by a peripheral surface (6), said dial (1) being fixed on said upper peripheral rim (4) of said bottom plate (2) via at least first and second fixing means, said assembly being characterized in that said first fixing means comprise a projection (18) provided on said peripheral surface (6) of said bottom plate (2), said dial (1) having a peripheral edge (10), said dial (1) being held via this peripheral edge (10) between a head (14; 24) of a nail or screw (12; 22) and said upper peripheral rim (4) of said bottom plate (2), the head (14; 24) of said nail or screw (12; 22) extending through a stem (16; 26) housed in said projection (18) of said bottom plate (2).

2. The assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that said second fixing means comprise a slot (8) provided on said upper peripheral edge (4) of said bottom plate (2), said peripheral edge (10) of said dial (1) being housed in said slot (8) of said bottom plate (2).

3. Assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that said second fixing means comprise a second projection (18) provided on said peripheral surface (6) of said bottom plate (2), a second nail or screw (22; 12) holding said peripheral edge (10) of said dial (1) against said upper peripheral edge (4) of said bottom plate (2) via its head (24; 14), the head (24; 14) of said second nail or screw (22; 12) extending through a stem (26; 16) housed in said second projection (18) of said bottom plate (2).

4. Assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that said dial (1) is arranged between a flange (36) and said bottom plate (2), said nail or screw (22; 12) being pressed or screwed into said flange (36) and sandwiching said flange (36) between the head (24; 14) of said nail or screw (22; 12) and said stem (26; 16) housed in said projection (18) of said bottom plate (2).

5. Assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that said dial (1) is arranged between a flange (36) and said bottom plate (2), at least one fixing foot (38) integral with said flange (36) being housed in a corresponding projection (18) of said bottom plate (2).

6. Assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that said bottom plate (2) comprises at least one centering stud (28) on its upper peripheral edge (4), the peripheral edge (10) of said dial (1) comprising a notch (30), this notch (30) being arranged to cooperate with said centering stud (28).

7. Assembly according to claim 2, characterized in that said bottom plate (2) comprises at least one centering stud (28) on its upper peripheral edge (4), and in that the peripheral edge (10) of said dial (1) comprises a notch (30), this notch (30) being arranged to cooperate with said centering stud (28).

8. Assembly according to claim 3, characterized in that said bottom plate (2) comprises at least one centering stud (28) on its upper peripheral edge (4), the peripheral edge (10) of said dial (1) comprising a notch (30), this notch (30) being arranged to cooperate with said centering stud (28).

9. Assembly according to claim 4, characterized in that said bottom plate (2) comprises at least one centering stud (28) on its upper peripheral edge (4), the peripheral edge (10) of said dial (1) comprising a notch (30), this notch (30) being arranged to cooperate with said centering stud (28).

10. Assembly according to claim 5, characterized in that said bottom plate (2) comprises at least one centering stud (28) on its upper peripheral edge (4), the peripheral edge (10) of said dial (1) comprising a notch (30), this notch (30) being arranged to cooperate with said centering stud (28).