WATCH, IN PARTICULAR WRIST WATCH

Abstract

A watch is described, in particular a wrist watch, having a housing (1), having a dial (3) arranged in the housing (1), having at least one endless conveyor (8), which is guided around two deflection guides (7) having deflection axes parallel to the dial (3), for at least one hand (5), and having a drive for the endless conveyor (8). To provide advantageous structural conditions it is proposed that the dial (3) extending between the two sides of the endless conveyor (8) be mounted on a mount (11), which is either provided laterally outside the orbit of the hand (5) or is fastened laterally outside the orbit of the hand (5).

Claims

1: A watch, in particular a wrist watch, having a housing (1), having a dial (3) arranged in the housing (1), having at least one endless conveyor (8), which is guided around two deflection guides (7) having deflection axes parallel to the dial (3), for at least one hand (5), and having a drive for the endless conveyor (8), wherein the dial (3) extending between the two sides of the endless conveyor (8) is mounted on a mount (11), which is either provided laterally outside the orbit of the hand (5) or is fastened laterally outside the orbit of the hand (5).

2: The watch according to claim 1, wherein the dial (3) is supported on the deflection guides (7) of the endless conveyor (8).

3: The watch according to claim 2, wherein the dial (3) is mounted on axes or shafts (17) of the deflection guides (7) designed as deflection rollers (9).

4: The watch according to claim 1, wherein the length of the dial (3) corresponds to the vertex spacing of the two deflection guides (7).

5: The watch according to claim 4, wherein the dial (3) is extended in length by supplementary dial sections (13) while leaving open a hand passage (14).

6: The watch according to claim 1, wherein the endless conveyor (8) has two hands in a mutual spacing corresponding to half of its circumferential length.

7: The watch according to claim 1, wherein the endless conveyor (8) has a single hand (5), which interacts on one side with the dial (3) between the two sides and on the other side with an additional dial (18), which is arranged below the endless conveyor (8) and is exposed by the dial (3) between the two sides.

8: The watch according to claim 1, wherein the endless conveyor (8) has two endlessly circulating traction mechanisms (10), which are arranged in parallel with lateral spacing and accommodate at least one hand (5) between them.

9: The watch according to claim 1, wherein, to indicate different time units, separate endless conveyors (8), which are provided with coaxial deflection guides (7) of equal size, having a shared dial (3) are provided for each time unit, wherein the hand path of the respective outer endless conveyor (8) overlaps that of the inner endless conveyor (8).

10: The watch according to claim 8, wherein the deflection guides (7) are designed as deflection rollers (9) and are seated in pairs on a shared shaft (17).

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

[0013] The subject matter of the invention is shown by way of example in the drawing. In the figures

[0014] FIG. 1 shows a watch according to the invention in a housing section in parallel to the dial,

[0015] FIG. 2 shows a section along line II-II of FIG. 1,

[0016] FIG. 3 shows a section along line of FIG. 2,

[0017] FIG. 4 shows a structural variant of a watch according to the invention in an illustration corresponding to FIG. 1,

[0018] FIG. 5 shows a section along line V-V of FIG. 4,

[0019] FIG. 6 shows a section along line VI-VI of FIG. 5,

[0020] FIG. 7 shows a further structural variant of a watch according to the invention in an illustration corresponding to FIG. 1,

[0021] FIG. 8 shows a section along line VIII-VIII of FIG. 7,

[0022] FIG. 9 shows a section along line IX-IX of FIG. 8,

[0023] FIG. 10 shows a further structural variant of a watch according to the invention in an illustration corresponding to FIG. 1,

[0024] FIG. 11 shows a section along line XI-XI of FIG. 10, and

[0025] FIG. 12 shows a section along line XII-XII of FIG. 11.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0026] The watches according to the exemplary embodiments each have a housing 1, which is only shown schematically, having a viewing window 2, which exposes the view of a dial 3, which is arranged above a watch mechanism 4. With the aid of this watch mechanism 4, at least one hand 5 is moved along a linear timescale 6, which is provided on the dial 3, and this is done with the aid of an endless conveyor 8 guided around deflection guides 7.

[0027] According to the exemplary embodiment according to FIGS. 1 to 3, the endless conveyor 8 is constructed from two traction mechanisms 10, which are arranged in parallel and are guided endlessly around deflection rollers 9, and which accommodate two hands 5 in a spacing corresponding to half the circumferential length of the endless traction mechanisms 10. Because the dial 3 according to FIGS. 2 and 3 extends between the two sides of the endlessly guided traction mechanisms 10 and is located in the shared axial plane of the deflection rollers 9, the dial 3, the length of which corresponds to the vertex spacing of the deflection guides 7, conceals in each case the hands 5 moved on the lower side, so that with the exception of the hands 5 opposite to one another in the vertex regions of the deflection guides 7 of the endless conveyor 8, only one of the two hands 5 is visible at a time and enables the reading of the time units along the timescale 6. If the visible hand 5 is moved at the end of the timescale 6 via the deflection guides 7 from the upper side to the lower side of the dial 3, the opposing hand 5 thus appears in the visible dial region, which makes continuous time telling possible. To be able to differentiate the two time sections displayed by the two hands 5 from one another, the two hands 5 can be designed differently, for example, can have different colors or shapes.

[0028] Because of the fact that the hand path encloses the dial 3 in length, the dial 3 has to be fastened to a mount 11 outside the region of the hand path. This mount 11 is indicated in the exemplary embodiment by a housing shoulder 11, on which the dial 3 is supported with fastening sections 12 extending between the sides of the endlessly guided traction mechanism 10 in relation to the housing 1.

[0029] As may be inferred from FIG. 1, difficulties result with respect to the unit steps of the timescale 6 in the region of the deflection guides 7 of the endless conveyor 8, because these unit steps are defined by the projection on the dial 3 of the path length of the hands 5 covered in the region of the deflection guides 7 in the time, unit. To provide a remedy here and enable good readability of the timescale 6, the dial 3 can be supplemented in length by supplementary dial sections 13, which are mounted in the housing 1 while leaving a hand passage 14 and each have the end unit of the timescale 6.

[0030] Gearwheel pairs 15 on opposing longitudinal sides of the dial 3 are used for the synchronous drive of the two endless traction mechanisms 10 of the endless conveyor 8, so that one pair of deflection rollers 9 is driven in each case by the watch mechanism 4. So as not to interfere with the longitudinal extension of the dial 3, the shafts or axes accommodating the deflection rollers 9 are mounted freely protruding in corresponding bearings 16 of the housing 1 which is not required, however.

[0031] The exemplary embodiment according to FIGS. 4 to 6 differs from that according to FIGS. 1 to 3 above all in that two endless conveyors 8 are provided, which are driven separately from one another, to be able to read off different time units on the basis of different timescales 6 on the shared dial 3. The endless conveyors 8 each have, corresponding to the exemplary embodiment according to FIGS. 1 to 3, two traction mechanism 10 circulating endlessly around deflection rollers 9 as the deflection guides 7 of the endless conveyors 8, which each carry two hands 5 at a spacing corresponding to half the circumferential length of the traction mechanism 10. Since the hands 5 of the two endless conveyors 8 have to be guided past one another as a result of the different circumferential velocities, the hand path of the endless conveyor 3 having the outer traction mechanism 10 overlaps with the hand path of the inner endless conveyor 8, as can be inferred from FIGS. 5 and 6.

[0032] Two gearwheel pairs 15, which drive a shared shaft 17 for the respective pair of deflection rollers 9 to be driven, are provided for driving the two endless conveyors 8. These shafts 17 extend through the dial 3, so that the dial 3 can be supported on the shafts 17 as part of the deflection guide 7 and do not require further mounting. Because the deflection rollers 9 of the two endless conveyors 8 extend coaxially, the pair of deflection rollers 9 which is not driven by the respective shaft 17 have to be mounted in a rotatable manner on the shaft 17. Therefore, the deflection wheels 9 of one endless conveyor 8 are driven via the shaft 17 at one end of the dial 3 and the deflection wheels 9 of the other endless conveyor are driven via the shaft 17 on the opposite dial side.

[0033] As can be inferred from the exemplary embodiment of FIGS. 7 to 9, a continuous time display using only one hand 5 is also possible if an additional dial 18 is arranged below the endless conveyor 8, because the dial 18 is not concealed by the dial 2 between the sides of the endless conveyor 8. If, in such an embodiment, in which, corresponding to the exemplary embodiment according to FIGS. 1 to 3, the two hands 5 are moved endlessly around deflection rollers 9 of the deflection guides 7 of the endless conveyor 8 above the dial 3, the time is thus told on the basis of the timescale 6 indicated on this dial 3. On the lower side of the dial 3, the hand 5 is concealed in the region of the dial 3, but it remains visible in relation to the additional dial 18, because it is moved above this dial 18. Therefore, the time can also be told along the return path of the hand 5 using only one timescale 6 extending in the opposite direction to the timescale 6 on the additional lower dial 18.

[0034] Finally, an exemplary embodiment is shown in FIGS. 10 to 12, in which the hands 5 are only fastened on one side on endless conveyors 8 and therefore protrude freely toward the dial 3. The endless conveyors 8 accordingly have only one traction mechanism 10 guided endlessly around deflection rollers 9. Because, according to this exemplary embodiment, the two endless conveyors 8 are opposite to one another with respect to the dial 3, the hands 5 of the endless conveyors 8 protrude toward one another.

[0035] With the aid of these hands 5, different time units can be indicated. However, it is also possible to enable a quasi-revolving time display with the aid of two hands, if the two endless conveyors 8 are driven in opposite directions and are aligned in relation to one another so that the two hands 5 are opposite in the vertexes of the deflection guides 7, so that the hand which disappears at the end of one timescale 6 through the hand passage 14 is replaced by the hand 5 appearing through this hand passage 14 for the other timescale 6.

[0036] The dial 3 is mounted on stub shafts or stub axles of the deflection rollers 9. The stub shafts or stub axles protruding beyond the deflection rollers 9 engage in corresponding receptacle boreholes of the dial 3. The dial, is therefore also supported on the deflection guide 7 in this case.

[0037] It has been shown that clocks having a variety of hand paths and time displays can be implemented by the arrangement according to the invention of a dial 3 between the sides of at least one endless conveyor 8 for at least one hand 5.