US 4,397,567 AGranted

Timepiece construction with a caseback removable using a credit card

AssigneeTimex Corporation

InventorStewart Carl

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Abstract

A timepiece construction is disclosed in which a back cover member can be unsnapped from a case by using a credit card as a lever. Typically, the back cover member includes a slanted lip along one side and the timepiece case includes a pair of attachment lugs adjacent the lip, each lug having a first slanted wall spaced from the cover member lip to define slots to receive one end of the credit card and further each lug having a second slanted wall intersecting the first wall to define fulcrums for contacting the credit card intermediate its ends. One end of the credit card is inserted in the slots and force is applied to the other end to pivot the credit card about the fulcrums to lift the lip of the back cover member and thereby unsnap it from the case.

Claims4

Dependent claims

A timepiece assembly comprising:

a. a plastic back cover member having a slanted lip along a straight side thereof and having attachment means projecting therefrom, and
b. a plastic case having an access opening in one side thereof over which the back cover member is positioned to close off said opening, said case including means for engaging the attachment means of the back cover member in snap-fit relation and further including a pair of lugs adjacent the lip of the back cover member for receiving conventional pin bars with each lug having a first slanted wall spaced from said lip to define an open-ended slot between said lugs and the lip to receive one end of a credit card and, each lug further having a second slanted wall intersecting said first slanted wall to define at their intersection a fulcrum on each lug adapted to contact the credit card intermediate its ends, whereby said credit card can be used as a lever to unsnap the back cover member from the case.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.