JPS58863Y2 - Locking mechanism for battery compartment hatch in wristwatches - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Background of the Invention The present invention relates to a locking mechanism for a battery compartment hatch used in a wristwatch.

Until now, the battery of a wristwatch with an internal battery had to be replaced by removing the back cover of the case, which was extremely difficult for amateurs to do, so it was usually done by a watch repairman.

However, it is desirable that this kind of work can be easily performed even by an amateur, and therefore, recently, a hatch mechanism has been devised in which a battery compartment is provided on the back side of the case and only this part can be removed.

Description of the Prior Art As a mechanism of this type, a known method is to counterbore the inner surface of the battery chamber entrance, insert a ring-shaped seal into the seal, and press a hatch onto the seal with a screw.

However, since these members are quite small, it is very difficult to close the hatch, and the seal in particular does not fit into the specified position.

Furthermore, since wristwatches are required to be waterproof, they use seals with a relatively strong sealing force, and unless the hatch is properly tightened to the entire culm before being screwed, the seal's elastic force will cause the hatch to float up.

Even if you press the hatch with the fingers of your left hand and tighten the screw with your right hand, it won't work as expected because the parts are small.

Furthermore, even if the screw has finally stopped, if the seal is even slightly displaced from its predetermined position, its waterproofing effect will be halved.

Forming a thread around the outer circumference of the hatch itself would make closing the lid somewhat easier, but unless the hatch itself is made thicker, sufficient threads cannot be obtained, and in today's world, where watches with thinner walls are required, I don't like it very much.

Furthermore, although this method limits the hatch shape to a circular shape, depending on the type of wristwatch, the hatch may be oval or rectangular, so it may not be practical in terms of its application.

Other known methods include a snap type using a hatch made of an elastic material, and a method in which the lid is closed by pressing the hatch and latching with a slight rotation.

However, in either case, the hatch must be tightened by pressing with your fingers after the seal is put in, making closing the lid extremely difficult.

In addition, the groove in the back cover that receives the seal requires a great deal of precision when machining, as waterproofing will be compromised if the seal does not fit perfectly into the groove.

As a means to solve these problems, there is Utility Model Application No. 130635/1983 filed by the same applicant.

This consists of a hatch with two lids, and a seal fitted around the lid so that when the two lids are brought into contact with a lever, the seal tightly engages with the inner surface of the battery compartment entrance. It is.

However, with this idea, the hatch inevitably protruded from the back of the watch, and there remained the problem that watch users were concerned about the unevenness of the closed lever and hatch.

Even if the protruding part could be eliminated by recessing the hatch into the watch side, the structure of the hatch, including the lever, inevitably left an uncomfortable feeling of unevenness in the user's hands.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, the present invention aims to eliminate as much as possible the discomfort caused by the unevenness of the hatch during use, and to provide a hatch that does not pose any hindrance to the operations of opening and closing the hatch.

In order to achieve the purpose of this invention, when the hatch is closed,
In other words, when the lever is pushed down, the outer surface of the hatch is designed to line up as closely as possible with the surface of the back cover of the watch.

The hatch has a groove to receive the lever, and a notch is formed on the hatch side to make it easier to raise the lever.

Also, depending on the type of watch, there are some that require two or more batteries, in which case the hatch shape will be oval or square.
Since the hatch of the present invention is not limited to a circular shape, it can be applied to any situation.

Of course, the present invention can also produce hatches that can accommodate batteries of various sizes.

Furthermore, if there is a fine adjustment screw for the movement near the battery compartment, by covering this part with a hatch, adjustments can be made without removing the back cover of the watch itself.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows one side of a wristwatch in longitudinal section, and for convenience of explanation, hatching is omitted except for the seal.

As is well known, the watch 11 consists of a front glass 13, a front cover 15 that supports it, a display panel 17, a side 19, and a back cover 21.A battery chamber 23 is formed on the back side of the watch and has a hatch 25.
covered by.

The hatch 25 of the present invention includes an inner cover 27, an outer cover 29, an operating lever 31. It consists of an annular seal 33.35.

The inner cover 27 is hollowed out from the disk portion 37, the shaft portion 39, and the flange 41 as shown in FIG. 4, and the disk portion 37 has an annular groove 43 that fits into the outer cover 29 when the hatch 25 is closed.

The shaft portion 39 is located between the flat portion 45 of the disk and the flange 41, and the flange 41 is located between the lever 3 and the flange 41, as can be seen in FIG.
Support both ends of 1.

The flat portion 45 is a portion that comes into contact with the side surface of the lever 31 when the lever 31 is pushed down, and the details thereof will be described later.

The outer cover 29 is disc-shaped and has a shaft 39 of the inner cover 27 at its center.
and a through hole 47 for receiving the flange 41'.

Two concentric annular grooves 49 and 51 are formed on the upper surface of the outer cover 29 (upper side of FIG. 1), and these grooves are connected to the annular seal 3, respectively.
3 and 35 are accepted.

Further, an annular groove 53 is formed on the lower surface of the outer lid 29.
This receives the lever 31 when it is folded down when the hatch 25 is closed.

Furthermore, as can be seen from FIG. 5, there is also a vertical groove 55 in the center of the outer cover 29.
is formed to receive the straight portion of the lever 31.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG. Each end is engaged with the inner surface of the flange 41.

If formed in this way, the production will be easier than providing a through hole in the shaft portion 39 and passing the straight portion of the lever 31 through it.

When closing the hatch 25 having such a structure, the lever 31 may be tilted in either direction.

FIG. 3 shows a state in which the lever 31 is tilted clockwise, and when the inner cover 27 and outer cover 29 fit together, the seals 33 and 35 are pressed against each other.

It will be understood that the tightening stroke of the hatch 25 by the lever 31 in this case corresponds to r shown in FIG.

Next, the characteristic feature of the present invention is that, as shown in FIG. 3, when the hatch 25 is closed, the outer surface of the hatch has a gently curved or flat shape.

Specifically, from the outer surface of the back cover 21 of the watch to the outer cover 29 of the hatch.
, the lever 31 and the flange 41 are dimensioned so that they are substantially continuous.

This allows the user to use the hatch 25 even when wearing the watch.
You don't have to feel so much discomfort.

However, in this case, it is difficult to raise the lever 31 when opening the hatch 25, so as shown in FIG.
Notches 57 and 59 are provided on the periphery of 9.

The notch 57 is large enough to allow the lever 31 to be raised with a finger or nail, and the notch 59 is large enough to allow the lever 31 to be raised with a pin or the like.

It is also possible to form these notches at the positions shown at 57' and 59'.

If you want to further reduce the discomfort caused by the hatch 25, keep this notch in one place, and also remove the groove 53 of the outer cover 29 from the lever 3.
It is sufficient to limit it to the inner part of the hand according to 1.

As detailed above, according to the present invention, the discomfort caused by the unevenness of the hatch can be minimized, and since the notch is formed in the outer cover, there is no problem in opening and closing the hatch.

In addition, since the lever is separated at both ends and engaged with the flanges of the inner cover, it is highly effective in terms of manufacturing and assembly.

Although the hatch in the above embodiment is circular, the present invention may also employ an elliptical or square hatch if necessary.

Therefore, the present invention is not limited to this example,
It should be understood that various changes can be made within the scope of a claim for utility model registration.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view showing the hatch of the present invention before locking;
The figures are a sectional view taken along the line II-II in Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view showing the hatch in the locked state, Fig. 4 is a side view showing the inner lid of the hatch, and Fig. 5 is the hatch in the locked state. FIG. 11...Clock, 13...Glass, 15
...Front cover, 17...Display panel, 19...
...Side, 21...Back cover, 23...
Battery compartment, 25...hatch, 27...inner lid, 29...outer lid, 31...operation lever, 33, 35...・Seal, 41...
Flange, 53... Annular groove, 55...
Vertical groove, 57.57', 59.59'...notch, r...tightening stroke.

Claims (10)

[Scope of utility model registration request] (1) In a hatch that locks and closes the battery compartment of a wristwatch using an inner cover, an outer cover, a seal interposed between the side covers, and an operating lever that tightens the side cover and the seal, The outer surface of the hatch 25 is shaped to be continuous with the outer surface of the back cover of the watch, and the lever 31 is attached to the outer cover 29.
A hatch locking mechanism characterized by having notches 57°57' and 59.59' for raising the hatch. (2) The linear portion of the lever 31 is divided at the center, and each end portion is engaged with the inner surface of a flange 41 formed on the inner lid 27. Claim (1) of Utility Model Registration: The hatch locking mechanism described in . (3) The outer lid 29 is formed with a groove 53 for receiving the lever 31 during locking.
The hatch locking mechanism described in item 1). (4) The hatch locking mechanism according to claim (3), in which the groove 53 is formed in a semicircular shape. (5) The hatch locking mechanism according to claim (3), in which the groove 53 is formed in an annular shape. (6) The hatch locking mechanism according to claim (1), wherein the notches 57 and 59 are provided on the periphery of the outer cover 29. (7) The cutouts 57' and 59' are provided inside the groove 53 of the outer lid 29. Utility model registration claim No. 1
The hatch locking mechanism described in section. (8) The hatch locking mechanism according to claim (1), wherein the hatch 25 is circular. (9) The hatch locking mechanism according to claim (1), wherein the hatch 25 has an oval shape. (10) The hatch locking mechanism according to claim (1), wherein the hatch 25 is square.