HK1205797B - Rotating bezel system - Google Patents

Description

Rotary bezel system

Technical Field

The invention relates to a timepiece comprising a case band/middle element (case band/case), which is closed by a back cover and a mirror, and a rotating bezel system fastened to the case band.

The invention belongs to the technical field of precision machinery.

Background

The invention relates to a rotary bezel for a timepiece.

A known rotary bezel system comprises a ring-shaped rotary bezel having a top surface and a bottom surface, the top surface being the surface visible to a user. The bezel has a notch or profile on its bottom surface. The rotary bezel system also includes a spring arrangement. The spring means are inserted between the rotating bezel and the case band of the timepiece when the bezel is force-locked to the case band of the timepiece. The spring means takes the form of a flat ring comprising vanes on its surface facing the recess in the bezel. The vanes are arranged inclined between 0 ° and 90 ° with respect to the plane of the flat annular ring. These vanes have some elasticity so that spring means act on the rotating bezel to exert a vertical force. This vertical force tends to push the bezel away from the case shroud of the timepiece.

The blade is also adapted to cooperate with a recess in the bezel. The vanes and notches are thus configured so that the bezel can only rotate in one direction. Typically, the bezel and the spring means are made of steel, which has the advantage of being durable and inexpensive.

The same idea is used to make a bezel made of precious material. However, the valuable materials have inadequate mechanical properties, such as low mechanical resistance. The use of recesses of precious material therefore has the disadvantage of being subject to rapid wear. One solution consists in making a notch that is added to the bezel. This arrangement makes it possible to make the bezel from a valuable material, but wherein the recess is made of a material having a long service life. A disadvantage of this solution is that it requires a more complex manufacturing method, since the recess has to be manufactured separately and then fixed to the bottom surface of the bezel.

In addition, rotary bezel systems have the disadvantage of being difficult to assemble to the case shroud, since the spring means must first be installed. The bezel is then assembled. Therefore, not only is assembly complicated, but also disassembly is almost impossible, and the rotary bezel is liable to be broken.

This in its entirety forms a prior art rotary bezel system. These systems also have an objectionable operating noise that is annoying for high-end watches.

Disclosure of Invention

The object of the present invention is to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art by providing a rotary timepiece bezel system that is easier to produce, can be made of valuable material without exhibiting premature wear, and can be disassembled.

To this end, the invention relates to a case band for a timepiece, comprising a peripheral shoulder on which a ring-shaped rotating bezel system is rotatably mounted, characterized in that the rotary bezel system is formed by a separate module comprising an annular bezel, an annular support element, a toothed element and a spring means, the spring means being elastically fitted with a toothed element, said spring means and said toothed element being axially retained by the bezel and the supporting element, the rotary bezel system further comprises fastening means for fastening the spring means, the support element and the bezel to each other, the toothed element being angularly integral with the case shroud, and the spring means being angularly integral with the bezel and the support element, so that the spring means, the bezel and the support element can be rotated together, thereby allowing the position of the rotary bezel system to be changed/adjusted relative to the case shroud.

A first advantage of the invention is that the manufacture and assembly of the rotary bezel system according to the invention is simpler. The fact of mounting the ring on the supporting element so as to position the ring and the tooth profile between said supporting element and the bezel makes it possible to have a plurality of independent modules: the module improves the manufacturing process because the rotating bezel module can be mounted separately. The support element and the spring are integral with each other, since the tooth profile is arranged to be fastened to the watch case shroud.

In addition, this arrangement makes it possible to manufacture the bezel from precious material without the risk of premature wear, since the tooth profile is not integral with the bezel but is only fastened to it. In fact, the rotary bezel system is arranged so that the spring and the tooth profile, which cooperate with each other, are interposed between the bezel and the supporting element.

In a first embodiment, the toothed element and the spring means are mutually concentric.

In a second embodiment, the bezel and the supporting element are arranged so that they have complementary profiles, so that the fitting of the bezel onto the supporting element defines a first housing in which the toothed element and the spring means are seated.

In a third embodiment, the toothed element is formed by a toothed ring comprising a tooth profile, the spring means comprising a spring coil comprising elastic means able to cooperate with the tooth profile arranged on said toothed element.

In a fourth embodiment, the gear ring and the spring means are flat co-planar annular rings.

In another embodiment, the ring gear comprises on its external surface a tooth profile and is angularly integral with the case shroud, the ring spring being integral with the bezel and with the supporting element and comprising on its internal surface elastic means able to cooperate with a tooth profile arranged on said ring gear.

In a further embodiment, the resilient means are arms extending towards the inside of the spring ring, thereby exerting a pressure on the tooth profile.

In a further embodiment, the watch case shroud comprises a side wall in which a raised portion is arranged to form a slot, such that a projection arranged on the support element can cooperate with said slot and limit the vertical movement of the rotary bezel system.

In another embodiment, the ring gear comprises at least one lug and the side wall of the casing shroud comprises at least one recess arranged such that the at least one lug can be inserted therein to limit angular movement of the ring gear relative to the casing shroud.

In yet another embodiment, the ring gear includes three lugs.

In a further embodiment, the spring ring comprises three angularly distributed spring arms.

The invention also relates to a case shroud for a timepiece, comprising a peripheral shoulder on which a ring-shaped rotating bezel system is rotatably mounted, characterized in that the rotary bezel system is formed by a separate module comprising an annular bezel, an annular support element, a toothed element and a spring means, resiliently cooperating with said notch means, said spring means and said toothed element being axially retained by the bezel and/or the support element, the rotary bezel system further comprises fastening means for fastening the toothed element, the support element and the bezel to one another, the spring means being angularly integral with the case shroud, and the toothed element is angularly integral with the bezel and the support element to allow the position of the rotary bezel system to be changed/adjusted relative to the case shroud.

In a first embodiment, the toothed element and the spring means are mutually concentric.

In a third embodiment, the toothed element is formed by a toothed ring comprising a tooth profile, the spring means comprising a spring coil comprising elastic means able to cooperate with the tooth profile arranged on said toothed element.

In another embodiment, the spring ring is open and has at least one area with the smallest radius and one area with the largest radius, so that the area with the largest radius cooperates with a recess arranged in the support element and the area with the smallest radius cooperates with a groove arranged in the case shroud.

In yet another embodiment, the spring turn includes two ends, one of which has a raised portion comprising an axially oriented curvilinear portion and a flat portion parallel to the spring turn, the flat portion comprising on its outer surface a tooth profile for mating with a toothed element.

In a further embodiment, the bezel and the supporting element are arranged so that they have complementary profiles, so that the fitting of the bezel onto the supporting element forms a second housing in which the toothed element is seated, said supporting element comprising a recess in which the spring means are inserted.

The invention also relates to a timepiece comprising a case formed by a case shroud closed by a back cover and a mirror, characterized in that the case shroud is as described above.

Drawings

The objects, advantages and features of the bezel system according to the invention will appear more clearly in the following detailed description of at least one embodiment thereof, given purely by way of non-limiting example and illustrated by the accompanying drawings, in which:

figure 1 shows an exploded view of a rotary bezel system according to the invention.

Figures 2 and 3 show a bottom view and a partial enlargement of this view of a rotary bezel system according to the invention.

Figure 4 shows a top view of a rotary bezel according to the invention.

Figures 5 and 6 show a cross-section of a rotary bezel system according to the invention.

Figure 7 shows a cross-section of a second embodiment of a rotary bezel system according to the invention.

Figures 8 and 9 show a sectional view and an exploded view, respectively, of a variant of a second embodiment of a rotary bezel system according to the invention.

Fig. 10 shows a top view of a spring ring of a rotary bezel system according to the invention.

Detailed Description

The present invention proceeds from the general inventive concept in an effort to provide a rotary bezel system that is simpler to assemble.

The rotary bezel system is secured to a case shroud having a central axis (C). The rotary bezel system also comprises a ring-shaped bezel, which is the part visible to the user and which is operated by the user, and a supporting element, which is likewise ring-shaped. The rotary bezel system also includes a toothed element positioned between the bezel and the support element. Finally, the rotary bezel system includes spring means which cooperate with the toothed elements to allow the rotary bezel system to rotate relative to the watch case shroud to change/adjust the position of the bezel relative to the case shroud. This rotation is possible because the toothed element or the spring means is angularly integral with the case shroud.

Fig. 1 shows a rotary bezel system 1 according to a first embodiment of the invention in an exploded view to show each part separately.

In this first embodiment, the rotary bezel system comprises a bezel 7, which is the part visible to the user and which is operated by the user. The ring-shaped bezel comprises a top surface 7a visible to the user and a bottom surface 7 b. The rotary bezel system 1 further comprises a support or pre-assembly element 5 in the form of an annular ring. The support element 5 comprises a flat ring 50 having a top surface 52 and a bottom surface 54. The top surface 52 includes a first circumferential edge 56. The bottom surface 54 includes a second circumferential edge 58 and a third edge 60 proximate an inboard end of the girdle 50. The second edge 58 and the third edge 60 thus define an annular receptacle 62. The third edge 60 includes at least one protrusion 64 that extends toward the central axis of the collar 50. Preferably, the third edge 60 comprises a single protrusion covering the entire edge 60.

The rotary bezel system 1 shown in fig. 2 to 4 further comprises a spring-catch/restore-container assembly 10 or snap-in system. The spring-notch assembly 10 comprises a spring means 9 and a toothed element 19. The spring means 9 comprise a ring 11 provided with elastic means 13. These resilient means 13 take the form of, for example, resilient arms 15 which are arranged in the ring 11 such that they do not protrude therefrom. These arms 15 are arranged at their free ends inclined towards the interior of the spring ring 9. Each arm 15 is formed by making a cut in the spring ring 11, so that an undercut 17 appears between each arm 15 and the body of the ring 11. The thickness of each arm 15 decreases towards the end 15 a. In this example, the spring ring comprises 3 spring arms which are distributed angularly at 120 ° intervals.

In fact, the toothed element 19 comprises a toothed ring 21, the outer wall 21a of which is provided with a tooth profile 23 and the inner wall 21b of which has lugs or projections 25, here three in number. The toothed element 19 is arranged to be inserted into the spring means 9, i.e. the gear ring 21 is dimensioned to be able to be placed in said spring ring 11. The ring gear 21 and the coils 11 are concentric and coplanar. This configuration allows the elastic means 13 to engage with the tooth profile 23 due to the inclination of the arms 15 when the ring gear 21 is inserted inside the spring coil 11. In this configuration, each arm 15 is in contact with the tooth profile 23, so that there is a rest position in which the end 15a of each arm 15 is in the groove of the tooth profile 23. The inclination of the arms 15 towards the inside of the spring 11 is used to allow a unidirectional rotation of the spring 11 relative to the ring gear 21. The tooth profile 23 and the elastic means 13 are arranged so that the spring ring 11 can rotate in a determined direction (clockwise or anticlockwise) with respect to the ring gear 21. Of course, the tooth profile 23 and the elastic means 13 may be arranged so that the spring turn 11 can rotate in one and/or the other of the two directions (clockwise or anticlockwise).

The spring-notch assembly 10 is then placed on the top surface 52 of the support element 5. The support element 5 and the bezel 7 are mutually fixed together via fastening means 27, such as screws, thereby defining a first housing 51 in which the spring means 9 and the toothed element 19 are seated. The fastening device 27 is then passed through the spring-notch assembly 10. To achieve this configuration, the supporting element 5, the bezel 7 and said spring-notch assembly 10 comprise holes 12 allowing said fastening means 27 to pass therethrough. These holes 12 are arranged in the spring ring 11. As a result, the spring ring 11 is integrated with the support element 5 and the bezel 7. The fastening means 27 may also be an adhesive or a rivet or other means.

The bezel system is then assembled to the timepiece as shown in fig. 5 and 6. The timepiece comprises a case band 3. The case shroud 3 includes a shoulder 300 defined by a sidewall 302 and a base 304. The shoulder 300 serves as a receptacle for the rotary bezel system 1. The sidewall 302 includes a raised portion 306 that extends over the entire perimeter of the sidewall 302. The raised portion 306 cooperates with the base 304 and the wall portion 302 to define a support slot 308. This bearing groove 308 allows the projection 64 to be inserted therein during the assembly of the rotary bezel system 1 to the case shroud 3. The insertion is a force/force-fit insertion whereby the rotary bezel system 1 is held vertically to the case shroud 3.

The lugs 25 or projections of the ring gear 21 are used to fasten the rotary bezel system to a timepiece.

The watch case shroud also includes at least one recess 310. In the example, three recesses 310 are made, the number of these recesses 310 being equal to the number of lugs 25. In fact, the three recesses 310 arranged on the side wall 302 have the same or substantially the same shape as the shape of the lugs 25 of the inner wall 21b of the ring gear 21. During the assembly of the rotary bezel system 1 to the case shroud 3 of a timepiece, each lug 25 is inserted into a recess 310 of the case shroud 3. The purpose of these recesses 310 is to lock the rotation of the rotary bezel system 1 with respect to the case shroud 3.

In fact, by means of projections 64 inserted in supporting grooves 308, rotary bezel system 1 is fixed axially in the vertical direction of case band 3. However, the rotation of the rotary bezel system 1 is not locked and can therefore be rotated relative to the case band 3 when the user rotates the bezel. Only the friction between the wall 302 and the base 304 of the case shroud 3 and the outer wall of the rotary bezel system 1 is used to prevent this rotation.

With lugs 25 inserted in the recesses of the series of recesses, ring gear 21 is prevented from rotating relative to case band 3. The ring gear 21 thus rotates as a unit with the case shroud. Since this ring gear 21 is inserted into the rotary bezel system 1 and cooperates with the spring ring 11, only the assembly formed by the rotary bezel, the spring ring 11 and the support element 5 can rotate relative to the case shroud.

As mentioned above, the tooth profile 23 and the spring means 13 are arranged to define the direction of rotation of the rotary bezel 7 with respect to the ring gear 21 (i.e. with respect to the case shroud 3). When the user grips and turns bezel 7, two different reactions can occur.

First, the user rotates the bezel 7 in the direction opposite to the desired direction without the bezel rotating. In fact, the elastic arms 15 are formed so that the end 15a of each arm 15 prevents rotation. When the rotation of bezel 7 and therefore of winding 11 is not in the correct direction, the inclination of arm 15 causes end 15a to press against tooth profile 23, so that arm 15 cannot pass the top of tooth profile 23. The more the user turns the bezel 7 and thus the winding 11 in the wrong direction, the more pressure the end 15a exerts on the tooth profile 23. This makes the bezel unable to rotate. In particular, the arm 15 has a curved shape at its end 15a, so that the end will press on the groove between the two notches. Locking can be improved by bending the end 15a of each arm 15 so that the curvature of said end 15a matches the shape of the recess of the tooth profile 23.

Second, when the bezel is rotated in the direction in which it is desired to rotate, it is rotated. In fact, in this case, bezel 7 and therefore spring ring 11 rotate in the correct direction, in which arm 15 does not prevent rotation, because in this direction end 15a of arm 15 does not press against tooth profile 23. The recess of the tooth profile 23 presses on the arm 15. These elastic arms 15 move radially towards the spring ring 11 until the arms 15 come into contact with said spring ring 11.

Thus, the direction of rotation of the bezel can be changed by changing the orientation of the resilient arms 15. If the arm 15 is oriented in a clockwise direction, the bezel 7 will be unidirectional in a direction opposite to the clockwise direction and vice versa. This configuration can be achieved simply by flipping the spring coil, thereby changing the orientation of the spring arm. In addition, the rotary bezel system 1 can be bidirectional by producing resilient arms that do not exert pressure on the ring gear 21 when the user rotates the bezel 7. To achieve this configuration, it may be assumed that the arm 15 extends radially so that it exerts no pressure on the tooth profile 23 in either direction of rotation. A preassembled rotary bezel system is thus obtained which is easy to adjust.

The advantage of this rotary bezel system 1 is that it enables the rotary bezel to be easily made of precious materials. In fact, the ring gear 21 is independent of the bezel, i.e. not fixed thereto. Therefore, there is no particular limitation. Thus, the bezel can be made of precious material without thereby causing manufacturing problems, since the ring gear 21 and the spring ring 11 are still made of steel (i.e. of a material that has less wear than the precious material).

In a second embodiment shown in fig. 7, a rotary bezel system 1 comprises a bezel 1070, which is the part visible to the user and operated by the user. The ring-shaped bezel includes a top surface visible to a user and includes a bottom surface. The rotary bezel system 1 further comprises a support element 1050. The support member 1050 includes a flat annular ring 1051 having a top surface and a bottom surface. The top surface includes a first peripheral edge 1052 having a stepped profile. It is therefore clear that the edge has a plurality of levels or bearing surfaces. The first circumferential edge 1052 will comprise at least one intermediate horizontal plane and the support element 1050 thus comprises three support surfaces at three different heights. The bottom surface includes a second circumferential edge 1053. The latter has a recess 1054 that covers the inner surface of the second edge 1053, thereby forming a circular recess. Bezel 1070 also has a stepped profile, but is reversed. The stepped profile is arranged to match the profile of the support element 1050.

The rotary bezel system 10 shown in fig. 7 and 9 also includes a spring-notch assembly. The spring-notch assembly includes a spring device 1090 and a toothed element 1190. The toothed element 1190 comprises a toothed ring 1191, the inner wall of which 1191 comprises a toothed profile 1192, and the outer wall 1193 comprises a lug or protrusion 1194, which here is three in number. The toothed element 1190 is arranged to be inserted into the support element 1050. More particularly, the ring gear 1191 is seated on the lowermost bearing surface. To angularly lock the toothed element 1190, the support element 1050 includes a notch 1055. The number of these recesses 1055 is equal to the number of lugs or projections 1194 on the outer wall 1193 of the ring gear 1191. The recesses 1055 are arranged such that, when the gear ring 1191 is seated in the support element 1050, the lugs or protrusions 1194 are inserted into the recesses 1055, thereby locking the gear ring 1191 angularly. Bezel 1070 is then secured to the support member. During this assembly, the reverse stepped profile of bezel 1070 mates with the stepped profile of support element 1050. These profiles are dimensioned such that the oppositely stepped profile of bezel 1070 and the stepped profile of support element 1050 mate together to form a second receptacle 1156 into which a toothed element may be inserted. As a result, bezel 1070 presses against toothed element 1190, thereby securely holding it in support element 1050. Bezel 1070 may be pushed or screwed or glued on.

Spring means 1090 includes a spring coil 1900, which may or may not be open, having an outer wall 1901 and an inner wall 1903. Spring coil 1900 includes at least one region 1902 having a smaller radius of curvature than the radius of curvature of the non-closed coil. It is therefore apparent that the coil 1900 includes at least one area 1904 with the largest radius and at least one area 1902 with the smallest radius. In the case shown in fig. 9 and 10, spring coil 1900 includes three regularly angularly spaced regions 1902 having a smaller radius of curvature than the radius of curvature of the non-closed coil. The non-closed loop also has a raised portion 1908 at one end 1906 thereof. This means that the end 1906 has a curved portion 1906a with an axial or vertical curvature so as to make the end 1906 convex and a flat portion 1906b parallel to the plane of the spring coil 1901.

A tooth profile 1910 intended to cooperate with the tooth profile 1192 of the ring gear 1191 is arranged on the outer wall 1901 of the raised portion 1908. In fact, when the coil spring 1900 is installed in the rotary bezel system 10, the coil spring 1900 is inserted into the circular recess 1054 of the second edge 1053. Thus, the convex height of the convex portion 1908 is calculated so that the latter is opposite the ring gear 1191. As a result, the profile 1910 of the outer surface 1901 of the raised portion 1908 contacts the profile 1192 of the inner surface of the ring gear 1191. This cooperation makes it possible to determine the direction of rotation of the rotating bezel 10. To achieve this, the profile 1910 of the raised portion 1908 and the profile 1192 of the inner surface of the ring gear 1191 are configured such that each tooth includes a sloped surface and a surface that blends with the radius of the ring gear 1191 or coils 1901. When the coil 1901 is installed in the rotary bezel system 10, the inclined surface of each tooth of the coil profile is supported on the inclined surface of each tooth of the profile 1192 of the ring gear 1191. The rotation of the system 10 is unidirectional, i.e., rotation may occur in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction; however, the rotation may be bidirectional.

The spring coil 1901 is designed such that, once mounted on the support element 1050, only the regions 1902, which have a smaller radius of curvature than the spring coil, are arranged in the rounded recesses 1054 of the second edge 1053, since these regions are farther from the center of the spring coil 1900 than the rest of the spring coil.

The advantage of this arrangement is that it provides a rotary bezel system 1 that can be pre-assembled, which facilitates final assembly of the watch.

When the rotary bezel system 10 is assembled on the watch case shroud 1300, pushing on said rotary bezel system 10 causes a stress to be exerted on the spring means 1090. The result of this stress is that the spring coil 1901 increases in diameter such that the latter tends to fully enter the rounded recess 1054 of the second edge 1053, which facilitates the pushing operation.

When the spring ring 1901 faces the groove 1308 located on the case band 1300, the stress exerted on said spring ring 1901 is reduced. The coil relaxes to return to its original position. When the coil areas furthest from the center of the coil are relaxed, they are inserted into the slots 1308 of the case band 1300 to ensure vertical retention.

In addition, the spring ring has at least one protrusion 1912 on its inner surface 1903. The protrusion 1912 is arranged to mate with a recess 1309 located on the case shroud 1300. The recess 1309 is positioned so that the protrusion 1912 is inserted therein when the rotary bezel system 10 is mounted on a watch case strap. This engagement results in locking spring coil 1901 angularly relative to case band 1300.

This results in a spring ring 1901 which is integrated angularly with the casing band 1300 and in an assembly formed by the bezel 1070, the supporting element 1050 and the toothed element 1191, which can be rotated in at least one predetermined direction about the casing band 1300. In fact, when the user decides to turn the rotary bezel system 10, there are two possibilities: the rotating bezel system 10 is rotated in the direction in which it is desired to rotate the rotating bezel system 10 or in the opposite direction. Depending on the direction in which the user turns the bezel, the teeth of the coil spring and the teeth of the ring gear 1191 slide over each other to engage or squeeze each other to prevent rotation.

One advantage of the rotary bezel system according to this second embodiment of the invention is that it is easier to fit on the case band because the stresses to be applied are lower. In fact, in the known system 10, the vertical retention is achieved by pushing on the rigid element, which requires the application of a great force to push on the rotary bezel system 10. This also means that the operation of detaching rotary bezel system 10 from case shroud 3 is very complex, since there is a great risk of damaging said system. The rotary bezel system according to the invention uses elastic elements to ensure the vertical retention. The spring ring 1901 is used for holding in the vertical or axial direction and is deformed during the pushing operation. Thus, the stresses that must be applied to assemble the rotary bezel system 10 of the present invention to a case shroud are lower. As a result, this makes it possible to make the operation of removing the rotary bezel system from the case shroud less complicated and the risk of damaging the rotary bezel system lower.

A common advantage of both embodiments is that the choice of the direction of rotation of the rotating bezel system can be easily changed by exchanging the coils 11, 1901 and the toothed rings 21, 1191 in the rotating bezel system.

In a variation of the second embodiment shown in fig. 8, the support element 1050 further comprises a sealing element 1200. In fact, in the case where the bezel is used in a diver's watch or simply to protect said bezel from water penetration, a sealing gasket 1201 is arranged in the rotary bezel system 10 to seal it. To this end, the profile of support element 1050 has an additional intermediate horizontal plane, i.e., an additional support surface. This additional bearing surface is used for inserting a sealing gasket. The sealing gasket 1201 is then compressed between bezel 1070 and support element 1050. Preferably, the additional intermediate level is dimensioned so that, when the sealing gasket 1201 is inserted, the profile of the support element with gasket is the same as the profile of the support element 1050 of the second embodiment (i.e. without sealing gasket). This means that only support member 1050 is changed instead of the bezel.

It will be apparent that various changes and/or modifications and/or combinations apparent to those skilled in the art may be made to the embodiments of the invention described above without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

Claims (26)

1. An annular rotary bezel system (1) arranged to be rotatably mounted on a circumferential shoulder (300) of a case shroud (3) of a timepiece, characterized in that said rotary bezel system (1) is formed by a preassembled module comprising an annular bezel (7), an annular supporting element (5), a toothed element (19) and spring means (9), wherein said annular supporting element is positioned below said bezel, the spring means being elastically fitted with the toothed element, said spring means and said toothed element being axially retained between said bezel and said supporting element, said rotary bezel system further comprising fastening means (27) for fastening the spring means, the supporting element (5) and the bezel (7) to each other, the toothed element (19) being angularly integral with said case shroud, and the spring means (9) are angularly integral with the bezel (7) and the support element (5), so that the spring means (9), the bezel (7) and the support element (5) can rotate together, allowing the position of the rotary bezel system to be changed with respect to the case shroud.

2. Rotary bezel system according to claim 1, characterized in that the toothed element (19) and the spring means (9) are mutually concentric.

3. A rotary bezel system according to claim 1, characterized in that said bezel (7) and support element (5) are arranged so that they have complementary profiles, so that the fitting of the bezel onto the support element defines a first housing (51) in which the toothed element (19) and the spring means (9) are arranged.

4. A rotary bezel system according to claim 2, characterized in that said bezel (7) and support element (5) are arranged so that they have complementary profiles, so that the fitting of the bezel onto the support element defines a first housing (51) in which the toothed element (19) and the spring means (9) are arranged.

5. Rotary bezel system according to claim 1, characterized in that said toothed element (19) is formed by a toothed ring (21) provided with a tooth profile (23), said spring means (9) being formed by a spring ring (11) comprising resilient means (13) able to cooperate with the tooth profile (23) of said toothed ring (21).

6. Rotary bezel system according to claim 5, characterized in that the ring gear (21) and the spring ring (11) are flat coplanar rings.

7. Rotary bezel system according to claim 5, characterized in that said ring gear (21) comprises a tooth profile (23) on its outer surface and is angularly integral with the case shroud (3), said ring (11) being integral with the bezel (7) and with the support element (5) and comprising on its inner surface elastic means (13) able to cooperate with the tooth profile (23) arranged on said toothed element.

8. Rotary bezel system according to claim 6, characterized in that said ring gear (21) comprises a tooth profile (23) on its outer surface and is angularly integral with the case shroud (3), said ring (11) being integral with the bezel (7) and with the support element (5) and comprising on its inner surface elastic means (13) able to cooperate with the tooth profile (23) arranged on said toothed element.

9. Rotary bezel system according to claim 7, characterized in that said elastic means (13) are arms (15) extending towards the inside of the spring ring (11) to exert pressure on the tooth profile (23).

10. Rotary bezel system according to claim 8, characterized in that said elastic means (13) are arms (15) extending towards the inside of the spring ring (11) to exert pressure on the tooth profile (23).

11. Rotary bezel system according to claim 1, characterized in that said circumferential shoulder (300) comprises a side wall (302) parallel to the central axis of the case shroud, in which a raised portion (306) is arranged, forming a groove (308) enabling a projection (64) arranged on the support element (5) to cooperate with said groove and limit the axial movement of the rotary bezel system.

12. A rotary bezel system according to claim 5, characterized in that said ring gear (21) comprises at least one lug (25) and in that the lateral wall (302) of the case shroud comprises at least one recess (310) arranged so that said at least one lug (25) is inserted therein to limit the angular movement of the ring gear with respect to the case shroud.

13. Rotary bezel system according to claim 12, characterized in that the ring gear comprises three lugs (25).

14. The rotary bezel system of claim 9, wherein the spring ring comprises three angularly distributed spring arms.

15. The rotary bezel system of claim 10, wherein the spring ring comprises three angularly distributed spring arms.

16. An annular rotary bezel system (10) arranged to be rotatably mounted on a circumferential shoulder (300) of a case shroud (1300) of a timepiece, characterized in that it is formed by a preassembled module comprising an annular bezel (1070), an annular support element (1050), a toothed element (1190) and spring means (1090), wherein said annular support element is positioned below said bezel and said toothed element is positioned on a top surface of said support element, which spring means cooperate elastically with notch means, said spring means and said toothed element (1190) being axially retained by the bezel and/or the support element, said rotary bezel system (10) further comprising fastening means (27) for fastening the toothed element, the support element and the bezel to each other, spring means (1090) are angularly integral with said case band (1300) and toothed elements are angularly integral with the bezel and the support element to allow the position of the rotary bezel system to be changed with respect to the case band.

17. Rotary bezel system according to claim 16, characterized in that said toothed element (1190) and spring means (1090) are mutually concentric.

18. Rotary bezel system according to claim 16, characterized in that said toothed element (1190) is formed by a ring gear (1191) comprising a tooth profile (1192), said spring means (1090) comprising a spring ring (1901) comprising resilient means (13) able to cooperate with the tooth profile arranged on said toothed element.

19. Rotary bezel system according to claim 17, characterized in that said toothed element (1190) is formed by a ring gear (1191) comprising a tooth profile (1192), said spring means (1090) comprising a spring ring (1901) comprising resilient means (13) able to cooperate with the tooth profile arranged on said toothed element.

20. Rotary bezel system according to claim 18, characterized in that said spring ring (1901) is open and has at least one area (1902) with the smallest radius and at least one area (1904) with the largest radius, whereby the area with the largest radius cooperates with a recess (1054) arranged on said support element (1050) and the area (1902) with the smallest radius cooperates with a slot (1308) arranged on the case shroud.

21. Rotary bezel system according to claim 19, characterized in that said spring ring (1901) is open and has at least one area (1902) with the smallest radius and at least one area (1904) with the largest radius, whereby the area with the largest radius cooperates with a recess (1054) arranged on said support element (1050) and the area (1902) with the smallest radius cooperates with a slot (1308) arranged on the case shroud.

22. The rotary bezel system according to claim 20, characterized in that the spring ring (1901) comprises two ends (1906), one of which has a raised portion (1908) comprising a vertically oriented curved portion (1906a) and a flat portion (1906b) parallel to the spring ring, and in that the flat portion comprises on its outer surface a tooth profile (1912) mating with a toothed element (1190).

23. The rotary bezel system according to claim 21, characterized in that the spring ring (1901) comprises two ends (1906), one of which has a raised portion (1908) comprising a vertically oriented curved portion (1906a) and a flat portion (1906b) parallel to the spring ring, and in that the flat portion comprises on its outer surface a tooth profile (1912) mating with a toothed element (1190).

24. A rotary bezel system according to claim 17, characterized in that said bezel (1070) and support element (1050) are arranged so that they have complementary profiles, so that the fitting of the bezel onto the support element forms a housing (1156) in which the toothed element (1190) is arranged, said support element (1050) comprising a recess (1154) in which the spring means are inserted.

25. Timepiece comprising a case formed by a case shroud (3, 1300) closed by a back cover and a mirror, characterized in that the case shroud is a case shroud according to claim 1.

26. Timepiece comprising a case formed by a case shroud (3, 1300) closed by a back cover and a mirror, characterized in that the case shroud is a case shroud according to claim 17.