SYSTEM FOR CHARGING THE BATTERY OF WATCHES WITHOUT OPENING THE LID

Abstract: The battery (4) is never removed from its location. The battery is charged through the difference of voltage maintained by means of an external source. The two poles of the source may be connected to the watch (1) through a plug if the lid of the watch is connected to the earth of its circuit, and trhough two plugs if the lid is isolated, or by a method of connection without penetration. The orifices (7) for inserting the plugs may be provided with appropriate isolators. In the case of two plugs, and in order to avoid an erroneous connection, the plugs may have different and incompatible shapes. Application to watches and apparatuses which are battery operated.

Description: Watch or clock battery charging system not requiring the cover to be taken off. The technical field of this patent is that of watches or clocks, particulary digital and analogical wristwatches or clocks which are powered by a button type battery, combined with battery chargers, particularly button battery chargers. This system is also applicable to other types of devices which work with said type of batteries or similar. Statement of the prior state of the art. ES 91011267 for a circuit and device for recharging electrical batteries and other specific use which constitutes a specific invention for recharging batteries, particularly useful for recharging button batteries. Also ES 9400027 for charging electrical batteries carries out the function of charging button batteries through a voltage drop maintaining the amperage through the voltage differential, specially suitable for the purpose set forth in this patent, as this charging system does not damage the mechanism of the watch to which the battery is connected. DE-U-1 792 589 refers to a clock or a watch with a battery, said battery being able to be charged through an external connection, and said external connection being formed by an anode and a cathode said external connection being able to be connected to an external charger which makes if impossible to connect the poles in wrong position. There are two problems that this known clock or watch cannot solve, namely to be waterproof and to have a permanent connection to the external part, so that there can be a permanent discharge of the battery, for example through the water when the person carrying the watch is swimming, so that the duration of the battery charge is substantially reduced. FR-A-0 635 762 refers to a connection electrical plug which has different shapes for each of the poles, either fitted into a common base or independently. This invention is not directed to watches and the same disadvantage that in the previous reference must be stated. FR-A-0 732 962 refers to a protection for electrical wall plugs, to prevent the possibility to be touched, for example by children. It consists of an isolator pieze obturing the hole of the plug and being able to be displaced inside by the pressure of a pin. This provides personal protection and again no waterproof condition is provided. Until now, the recharging of button batteries turned out to be impossible, as the charging systems previously known of prevented the charge from being accepted, and even brought about the explosion of said button batteries on occasions. Furthermore the watches which have a button type battery all have the common characteristic of these being replaced by opening the cover. The duration of the battery is fairly long. Nevertheless, when a watch is opened, damp, dust and, definitively, dirt enter the watch with consequent deterioration of the initial conditions of the same. For this reason the ideal solution would be to have a watch which is never opened. This is difficult in mechanical watches which break down, though theoretically they never need to be opened for them to work, but it becomes impossible in electronic watches, in which the power source is inside them. This invention proposes a watch or clock battery charging system that does not require the cover to be taken off, based on the possibility of recharging button type batteries without needing them to be taken out. Another problem which can be understood to exist in these conditions is that during the recharging process the watch or clock could undergo an overload which might damage one of its tiny circuits. Nevertheless, this does not occur with the type of charge applied to said watches or clocks so that even when these have stopped through lack of power, at the initial contact they start again with the full accuracy of each particular watch or clock, and after the charging time, these could never stop at all if the recharging is done at sufficiently regular periods, such as every year, or every two years, according to the capacity of the battery. In watches which only withstand fresh water, the external contacts can be outside to facilitate the charging contact, with these being of any kind. Nevertheless, in those designed to be submerged in salt water one has to prevent the electrolytic contact of water with salts dissolved in this, so that the contact should in this case be able to be insulated from water contact, as otherwise the battery could wear out quickly, through the resistant closure of the circuit. To avoid the above mentioned drawbacks, this invention as claimed thus envisages insulation systems which involve the protection of the positive pole of the circuit, the negative one being the casing of the watch itself, or a circuit similarly able to be insulated if suitable on the other side of the watch, with a contact access incompatible with the positive one. All of this does not prevent one of the buttons from being used for activation as a connection for a possible charging clip. In order to make the following explanation clearer, two sheets of drawings are enclosed which in three figures represent the essence of this invention as an example. Figure 1 shows a perspective view of an open watch. Figure 2 shows a plan view of the same watch. Figure 3 shows a perspective view of a detail of an example of connection for recharging. In said figures 1 is the watch, 2 the watch mechanism, 3 the crown, 5 the connection and securing of the battery anode, 6 the battery cathode, 7 the connection hole of the charging anode, 8 the contact of the charging anode at the end of the connection hole, 9 being the connection to the battery, 10 the insulating interior of the connection hole, 11 the movable "O" ring, 12 the spring that moves the "O" ring, 13 the connection plug or pin, 14 the end or contact of the pin, 15 the shaft or insulated handle of the pin, 16 the internal connection between the contact 14 and the charger, 17 the conducting surface connected to the anode of the connection hole, 18 the rim which prevents the "O" ring from getting out through the action of spring 12, and 19 shows the hole, for example of the anode pin, 20 the anode pin, 21 the diameter of hole 19, 22 the diameter of pin 20, 23 the hole for the cathode pin, 24 the larger diameter of hole 23, 25 being the smaller diameter of hole 23, 26 the pin, for example oval shaped, 27 the larger diameter of pin 26, 28 being the smaller diameter of pin 26. A watch thus fitted with this structure has an identical shape to the traditional ones, and can even be opened to repair this where necessary, but nevertheless also can have its battery charged from the outside, thus making it impossible to cause the breakdowns and damage suffered by others. In the case of watches or clocks that have the negative or earth of the battery connected to the chassis, it is not necessary to charge these by inserting two pins. Nevertheless, when the watch or clock being charged has insulation to prevent the chassis coming into contact with the negative of the battery there can be a second pin, in a different shape to the first one, for example, oval, so that neither of these can be inserted in the opposite polarity hole, thus preventing any mistakes. It is clear from the explanation given above that the position of the charging pins does not matter, in so far as this has to match each kind of clock or watch, particularly watches for immersion, especially those which can be submerged in sea water through having greater protection than watches that do not resist water. The dual pin device for watches which have the negative of the battery insulated from the casing of the watch can be formed of a type of pin incompatible with the other. This could be for example the one set out in figures 4 and 5, which has an anode, a circular diameter pin 22, of a size that can linked through hole 19 and its diameter 21. This circular pin is of greater diameter than the smaller diameter 25 of hole 23, and less than the greater diameter 24 of hole 23. The one for the cathode is for example oval or elliptical, and its larger diameter 27 is of greater size than diameter 21 of the previous one, and the smaller diameter 28 is of smaller size than diameter 21 of the other polarity, preventing the possibility of mixing up the polarities. The example described does not restrict realization with other forms of pin. Neither does it prevent the pin from being done without where necessary, with its external connection being for example to one of the buttons by means of a charging clip. This system is for industrial application in making watches which are electrically driven by button batteries, and also for making calculators and other devices that work with rechargeable batteries.

Claims: System for charging button batteries inside of watertight watches or clocks without taking off the cover of the watch as the clock, in which charging is done by voltage drop, maintaining the amperage through voltage differential, in which the battery (4) or each one of the batteries, has different connections (5,6), one for the anode (5) and another for the cathode (6), with the one for the anode (5) being able to be connected (9) with the outside by means of an external connection (13,14,15) located in a hole (7) set in the body of the watch (1) and the one for the cathode (7) is also accessible from the outside either by means of its coupling to the chassis of the watch (1), or by its coupling to a second hole (23) set at a different point of the watch chassis, so that the connections of the electrical part of the watch to the battery and to the external charging source are permanently connected, and in which the points (20, 26) for the anode and cathode are different and incompatible with each other through their shape and size, characterized in that the holes (7, 23) for the insertion of pins (15) are insulated by means of an external insulator (10) and a deep connection (17), further in that in the charging pin insertion holes, there is an insulating "O" ring (11) able to move as the pin is inserted, and whose travel is limited by an annular stop (18), and in that the said connection hole (7) set in the body of the watch (1) and the contact (8) of said anode (5) connection for charging, located at the end of said connection hole (7), are made such that the watertight condition of the clock or watch is not altered.

Inventors: PLANELLS ALMERICH FRANCISCO, PLANELLS ALMERICH, FRANCISCO
Applicants: PLANELLS ALMERICH FRANCISCO, PLANELLS ALMERICH, FRANCISCO
Application year: 1995
Main classification: G04C10
IPC codes: G04C10