Ultra-flat electronic watch
AssigneeEbauches S.A.
InventorRaoul H. Erard
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The watch of the invention contains a power cell 46, a quartz crystal 44, a step-by-step motor 42, a gear train 32 and a device for the analog display of the time constituted by two coaxial discs provided with index marks 24, 26 and each having external teeth so that they can be driven by the gear train. These components are all located inside a casing 10, 12 with a transparent window 14 and whose back acts as a bottom plate. All "thick" elements of the watch (cell 46, crystal 44, motor 42, gear train 32) are outside the periphery of the discs without overlapping, when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the front plate of the watch, and are partially recessed into the underside of the rim 12 of the casing. The integrated circuit 50 may be hidden by the discs or also outside their periphery.
Claims10
An electronic watch comprising:
- a casing having a planar front plate including a transparent window in one portion thereof, said window being provided with a lower face directed towards the interior of the casing, a back plate substantially parallel to said front plate;
- and having within said casing;
- time display means visible beneath said transparent window and comprising two pivotally mounted coaxial discs having external teeth arranged around the periphery of said discs and provided with index marks acting as an hour hand and a minute hand respectively;
- a driving unit including a motor and a gear train driven by said motor and comprising a plurality of gears meshing with said external teeth of said discs, a quartz crystal resonator and an integrated circuit for controlling said motor;
- and a power cell for feeding said motor, said quartz crystal resonator and said integrated circuit;
- said power cell, said resonator and said driving unit being mounted on said back plate at least partially at the same level as said display means without substantially overlapping one another and said discs when viewed in a direction perpendicular to said front plate of the watch, and the upper portion of at least one of said motor, gear, quartz crystal resonator or power cell being at least at the same level as the lower face of said window.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.