DESC:TECHNICAL FIELD

Present disclosure generally relates to a field of horology. Particularly but not exclusively, the present disclosure relates to battery operated timepiece or watches. Further embodiments of the present disclosure disclose an arrangement for clamping a battery in a main plate of the timepiece.

BACKGROUND

Generally, time piece or watch including but not limiting to wrist watch may be powered by different power sources like mechanical winding, replaceable battery and a rechargeable battery. The type of power source used in the watch depends on the type of the watch movement. In other words, the mechanical watch movements are employed with mechanical windings, electro-mechanical movements are commonly employed with replaceable battery and electronic/digital movements are employed with recharge battery.

Nowadays the analog watches are fashionable and various efforts have been made by the manufactures to improve the performance and external appearance, of the analog watches, particularly the analog wrist watches. The analog wrist watches are commonly employed with electro-mechanical movements and are powered by one or more replaceable batteries. Watch batteries are specifically designed to be fitted for any watch movement, and they may be small in size, and provide small amounts of power which last for long periods. For instance, some batteries may last a year, and can be easily replaced.

Battery-powered watches are well known because of their accurate timekeeping, dependable service, and convenience. A conventional battery-powered wristwatch has a low-cost quartz watch movement housed within a watch case. The watch movement includes a battery compartment containing a single battery to power the watch movement.

For effective transfer of power from the battery of the watch to various components of the watch movement including one or motors, it is to be ensured that the battery doesn’t displace or move during the operation of the watch. Conventionally, the battery is held in its position through a component such a metallic clip that clamps the battery on its top surface. The metallic clip may be hinged to the watch main plate, and is configured to slide along the top surface of the battery from its hinged point and halts to lock the battery. In some of the watches, the clip may also be configured to act as one of the power terminal for drawing the power from the battery.

However, in these conventional techniques, the component locking the battery adds to the thickness of the watch, thus may not be suitable in design of slim watches. Further, when the watch or timepiece is subjected to frequent shocks and vibrations, the component locking the battery may loosen its contact with the battery, thus failing to effectively lock the battery of the watch. This results in non-uniform supply of power to the watch movement, and thus may interrupt the watch operation which call for the servicing.

The present disclosure is proposed to overcome one or more limitations stated above.

SUMMARY

The shortcomings of the prior art are overcome and additional advantages are provided through the provision of arrangement as disclosed in the present disclosure.

Additional features and advantages are realized through the techniques of the present disclosure. Other embodiments and aspects of the disclosure are described in detail herein and are considered a part of the disclosure.

In one non-limiting embodiment of the disclosure an arrangement for locking a battery of a watch is disclosed. The arrangement includes a base member with at least one provision for mounting the base member to a main plate of the watch. The arrangement further comprises a clamp fixed to the base member. The clamp includes a connecting arm connected to the base member and extending along a portion of the length of the base member. The clamp also includes a second and a third arm, interconnected with the connecting arm and extending inclinedly from each end of the connecting arm. The clamp is configured to reside in a provision which accommodates the battery to make a frictional contact along a side of the battery.
In an embodiment of the disclosure, the arrangement includes a stud provided proximal to a side of the battery opposite to the side making frictional contact. The stud is configured to further clamp the battery.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the connecting arm, the second arm, and the third arm form a substantially U-shaped structure.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the second arm and the third arm may be configured such that a portion of it extends on to a top surface of the battery.

It is to be understood that the aspects and embodiments of the disclosure described above may be used in any combination with each other. Several of the aspects and embodiments may be combined together to form a further embodiment of the disclosure.

The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING FIGURES

The above-mentioned aspects, other features and advantages of the disclosure will be better understood and will become more apparent by referring to the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

FIG.1 illustrates partial perspective view of a watch main plate with an arrangement to clamp the battery of the watch, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG.2A illustrates top view of the arrangement to clamp the battery of the watch configured in the main plate of the watch of FIG.1, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG.2B illustrates perspective view of the arrangement to clamp the battery of the watch configured in the main plate of the watch of FIG.1, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates a magnified front view of a portion of P of FIG. 2B.

The figures depict embodiments of the disclosure for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following description that alternative embodiments of the system illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the disclosure described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The foregoing has broadly outlined the features and technical advantages of the present disclosure in order that the description of the disclosure that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages of the disclosure will be described hereinafter which form the subject of the disclosure. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conception and specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other devices for carrying out the same purposes of the present disclosure. It should also be realized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of the disclosure, as to its organization, together with further objects and advantages will be better understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, that each of the figures is provided for the purpose of illustration and description only and is not intended as a definition of the limits of the present disclosure.

In the present document, the word "exemplary" is used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any embodiment or implementation of the present subject matter described herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments.

While the disclosure is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiment thereof has been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described below. It should be understood, however that it is not intended to limit the disclosure to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the disclosure is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternative falling within the spirit and the scope of the disclosure.

The terms “comprises”, “comprising”, or any other variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a mechanism that comprises a list of components does not include only those components but may include other components not expressly listed or inherent to such mechanism. In other words, one or more elements in the device or mechanism proceeded by “comprises… a” does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of other elements or additional elements in the mechanism.

Embodiments of present disclosure, discloses an arrangement for clamping a battery of a watch or a timepiece. The arrangement of the present disclosure reduces the overall thickness of the watch by configuring the lock from side surface of the battery rather than conventionally known locking arrangement which locks from top of the battery. The arrangement of the present disclosure, holds the battery firmly in its place avoiding any movement or displacement of the battery. It is ensured that the arrangement withstand shocks, thus preventing battery pop-up issue.

The arrangement for clamping the battery of a watch, comprises a base member that may be mounted on a main plate of the watch. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the base member has at least one provision to mount the base member on the main plate. In one embodiment, there may be two provisions in the base member in the form of through holes, where through holes may be utilized to assemble the base member with the main plate of the watch using fasteners such as screws. The base member may be made of a material that acts as a good conductor of electricity.

Further, the arrangement comprises a clamp fixed to the base member. The clamp is configured to reside in the provision which accommodates the battery, to grip at least a portion of the battery. The clamp comprises a plurality of arms connected to the base member, which is in turn arranged to form a firm contact with the battery for locking. The plurality of arms includes a connecting arm, and a plurality of extended arms. The connecting arm is directly connected to the base member and runs horizontally along a portion of the length of the base member. In an embodiment, the pair of elongated arms include a second arm and a third arm which may be interconnected with the connecting arm. The second arm may extend angularly upwards with respect to the connecting arm, joining one of the ends of the connecting arm. Similarly, the third arm may extend angularly upwards joining the other end of the connecting arm. In an embodiment, the second arm and the third arm extend in directions opposite to each other forming an angle of inclination with respect to the connecting arm. The angle of inclination may be same for the second and third arms or may vary as per the requirement.

The arrangement holds or locks the battery of the watch with the aid of second and third arms of the arrangement, where second and third arms applies a resilient force on a side surface of the battery. The arrangement forms a frictional contact with the battery along one of its sides. Thus, in the present disclosure, the arrangement to lock the battery is provided in a side assembly of the battery in the main plate of the watch. Since, the contact or locking is sideways, thickness of the watch movement may be reduced, aiding in development of slim watches.

Henceforth, the present disclosure is explained with the help of one or more figures of exemplary embodiments. However, such exemplary embodiments should not be construed as limitations of the present disclosure.

FIG.1 is an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure which illustrates main plate (103) of a watch or a time piece with an arrangement (100) provided to clamp a battery (101) of the watch. The main plate (103) may consist plurality of grooves or provisions such as slots, through holes, blind holes for accommodating various components of the watch assembly such as gears, minute and hour hands, sliding pinion, setting wheels, and hand setting stem. The main plate (103) may comprise a number of parts to set date, time etc. Additionally, the main plate (103) of the watch is adapted to house a power source such as battery (101) to supply necessary power to different components of the watch.

In an embodiment, during usage of the watch, it may be subjected to shocks and vibrations, because of which the battery (101) may pop up from its position and fall on a back cover plate. It is necessary to hold the battery (101) firmly in its position for its functioning. Thus, the present disclosure provides an arrangement (100) for locking the battery (101) in the watch.

The arrangement (100) comprises a plurality of arms [as shown in FIG.2 (106, 107 and 108)] and a base member (104) to hold the battery (101) firmly in the watch main plate (103). The base member (104) may have a plurality of provisions (105) in the form of through holes to mount the arrangement (100) on the main plate (103). The base member (104) may be mounted on the main plate (103) through one or more fasteners such as screws. As shown in FIG.1, a stud (102) to further clamp the battery (101) on the main plate (103) is disclosed. In an embodiment, the stud (102) may be located in a direction opposite to the arrangement (100) for locking the battery (101). For instance, if the base member (104) and plurality of arms (106, 107 and 108) are located on the left side of the battery (101), then the stud (102) may be located on the right side of the battery (101).

Moving on to FIG.2A and FIG.2B, they depict top and perspective views of the arrangement (100) for locking the battery (101) in the watch. As shown in FIG.2A and FIG.2B, the arrangement (100) includes a base member (104) which may be made of an electrically conductive material such as but not limited to metallic material. The base member (104) comprises one or more provisions (105) for mounting the arrangement or the base member (104) on the main plate (103) of the watch. The provisions (105) may be through holes, that may be used to fasten the base member (104) by fasteners such as screws. The arrangement (100) further includes clamp (C) having a plurality of arms – a connecting arm (106), and a pair of elongated arms like a second arm (107) and a third arm (108). The connecting arm (106) is connected to a top portion of the base member (104) and it extends parallel to the top portion of base member (104) along its length. In one embodiment, the connecting arm (106) may be joined to the base member (104) through techniques such as but not limited to welding, brazing etc. In an embodiment, the plurality of arms (106, 107 and 108) may be made of a material same as that of the base member (104).

Further, the second arm (107) and the third arm (108) of the pair of elongated arms are interconnected with the connecting arm (106). The second arm (107) may be connected or joined with one end of the connecting arm (106) and the third arm (108) may be connected or joined with the other end of the connecting arm (106). Further, the second arm (107) and the third arm (108) extend upwards in an angular manner or in an inclined manner with respect to the connecting arm (106). Similarly, the third arm (108) also extend upwards in an angular manner or in an inclined manner with respect to the connecting arm (106) in a direction opposite to the direction of extension of the second arm (107). In an embodiment of the disclosure, the second and third arms are disposed in the provision (105) such that free ends of the second and third arm (107 and 108) face away from each other. The inclination angle between the second arm (107) and the connecting arm (106) and the third arm (108) and the connecting arm (106) may be same. In one embodiment, the connecting arm (106) and the second arm (108) form a substantially L-shaped structure, so does the connecting arm (106) and the third arm (108). The second arm (107) and the third arm (108) are adapted to make a frictional contact i.e. apply resilient force on at least portion of side surface of the battery (101), to hold it firmly in its position. In one embodiment, the second arm (107) and the third arm (108) may be configured such that a portion of it extends on to the top portion of the battery (101). In an embodiment, the pair of elongated arms i.e. second arm (107) and the third arm (108) are defined with a mold (109) extending from a wall (W) defining a pocket to prevent the battery (101) from popping out during shocks or vibrations. In an embodiment, the mold (109) extends perpendicular on a peripheral portion of the wall (W) [best shown in FIG. 3]. In addition, the arrangement (100) may act as a positive contact for the battery (101). This way the battery (101) may be firmly held and thus locked within the main plate (103), to effectively perform its function.

Since the arrangement (100) is provided in a side assembly of the battery (101) rather than from the top assembly, the battery (101) is locked with substantive reduction in thickness of the watch. This feature may allow in designing slim watches.

Table of Referral Numerals:

Reference Number Description
100 Arrangement for locking battery of a watch or timepiece
101 Battery of the watch or timepiece
102 Stud
103 Main plate of the watch
104 Base member
105 Provisions in the base member
106 Connecting arm
107 Second arm
108 Third arm
109 Mold
110 Provision in the main plate
C Clamp
W Wall
107a and 108a Free ends
101a Side surface of the battery
101b Top surface of the battery
,CLAIMS:We claim:

1. An arrangement (100) for clamping a battery (101) in a main plate of a timepiece, the arrangement (100) comprising:
a base member (104) connectable to the main plate (103); and
a clamp (C) extending from the base member (104) and configured to reside in a provision (110) in the main plate (103) which accommodates the battery (101), the clamp (C) comprises:
a pair of elongated arms (107 and 108) interconnected with the base member (104) and extending inclinedly from the base member (104), wherein each of the pair of elongated arms (107 and 108) is adapted to apply resilient force on at least a portion of a side surface (101a) of the battery (101).

2. The arrangement (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pair of elongated arms (107 and 108) reside in a portion of the provision (110).

3. The arrangement (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein a free ends (107a and 108a) of the pair of elongated arms (107 and 108) face away from each other.

4. The arrangement (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pair of elongated arms (107 and 108) are interconnected with the base member (104) through a connecting arm (106).

5. The arrangement (100) as claimed in claim 4, wherein the connecting arm (106) extends along a portion of a length of the base member (104).

6. The arrangement (100) as claimed in claim 4, wherein at least one of the pair of elongated arms (107 and 108) extends inclinedly from either ends of the connecting arm (106).

7. The arrangement (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one of the pair of elongated arms (107 and 108) is configured with a mold portion (109) extending along at least a portion a wall (W).

8. The arrangement (100) as claimed in claim 7, wherein the mold portion (109) extends substantially perpendicular to the wall (W) defining pocket to make contact with at least a portion of a top surface (101b) of the battery (101).

9. The arrangement as claimed in claim 1 comprises a stud (102) provided in a peripheral portion of the provision (110), the stud (102) is configured to apply resisting force to a sideward movement of the battery (101).

10. An analog timepiece comprising an arrangement (100) for clamping a battery (101) in a main plate (103) as claimed in claim 1.