Abstract:
The invention concerns a strap or bracelet ( 1 ) including a first strand ( 2 ) and a second strand ( 3 ). The second strand ( 3 ) is connected to a clasp ( 1   a ) that includes a fastening device ( 13 ). The fastening device ( 13 ) joins the strands ( 2, 3 ) to each other. The invention is characterized in that the clasp ( 1   a ) further includes a safety device ( 17 ) for better joining the first strand ( 2 ) to the clasp ( 1   a ) by pressing the former onto the latter.

Description:
[0001]    The invention concerns a strap or bracelet including a first strand and a second strand. The second strand is connected to a clasp that includes a fastening device. The fastening device joins said strands to each other. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    Clasps for straps or bracelets that use a buckle and tongue to join the two strands of the strap or bracelet to each other are known from the prior art. The strap or bracelet includes a first strand with said buckle and tongue and a second strand wherein holes are made. The second strand is intended for removable attachment to said first strand by engagement in the buckle. The buckle includes two lateral arms, each provided with a hole, a removable crosspiece whose ends are arranged to engage in the holes in the arms, and a tongue with an eye part rotatably engaged on said bar. The first strand has a transversely arranged end orifice close to a free end of the strand, for receiving said buckle bar, and an end notch that extends from said free end to beyond the end hole for receiving the eye part of the tongue. In fact, when the second strand is engaged in the buckle, the two strands are joined by the engagement of the tongue in one of the holes in the second strand. Thus, depending upon the hole in which the tongue is engaged, the second bracelet strand is engaged closer or further away in the buckle, tightening said bracelet to a greater or lesser degree. 
         [0003]    However, one of the problems of this buckle of the prior art is that the second bracelet strand, which is engaged in the buckle, also passes through leather rings located on the bracelet strand to which the buckle is secured, so as to press the second strand onto the first strand. It is possible, when the bracelet is being worn, for stresses applied to the second strand to be such that said strand comes out of the leather rings, which may lead to the bracelet opening. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    The invention concerns a strap or bracelet that overcomes the aforementioned drawbacks of the prior art by proposing a bracelet with a clasp that allows the bracelet to be securely locked. 
         [0005]    The invention therefore concerns the aforecited bracelet which is characterized in that said clasp further includes a safety device for better joining the first strand to the clasp by pressing the former onto the latter and in that the clasp is of the type with an unfolding buckle, which means that there is no need to act on the fastening and safety devices to remove the bracelet. 
         [0006]    Advantageous embodiments of this watch form the subject of the dependent claims  2  to  14 . 
         [0007]    One advantage of the bracelet defined in the present invention is, firstly, that the clasp is securely locked. The present invention associates a conventional buckle and tongue with a safety device. This device will press the bracelet strand engaged in the clasp against said clasp such that the strand engaged in the buckle can no longer move longitudinally. This prevents any inadvertent opening of the bracelet from occurring and the bracelet therefore remains adjusted to a constant size until the safety device is unlocked. 
         [0008]    Another advantage of the present invention is perceived when the clasp is connected to the second strand via an unfolding buckle controlled by a push-button system. In this case, the safety device acts like a crown protection device, which protects the push-buttons of the buckle from any shocks that may occur. 
         [0009]    Finally, the invention concerns the exterior of a timepiece including the bracelet according to the present invention. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0010]    The objects, advantages and features of the watch according to the present invention will appear more clearly in the following detailed description of at least one embodiment of the invention given solely by way of non-limiting example and illustrated by the annexed drawings, in which: 
           [0011]      FIG. 1  shows schematically the bracelet according to the present invention; 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  shows a partial view of  FIG. 1  centred on the clasp; 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  shows schematically a perspective view of the clasp buckle; 
           [0014]      FIG. 4  shows a top view of the buckle of the locked bracelet; 
           [0015]      FIG. 5  shows a cross-section of the clasp safety device; 
           [0016]      FIG. 6  shows a top view of the clasp safety device according to a preferred variant; 
           [0017]      FIG. 7  shows a partial top view of the lateral arms of the clasp, and 
           [0018]      FIG. 8  shows a simplified view of the lateral arms of the clasp. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0019]    In the following description, all those parts of the bracelet that are well known to those skilled in the art in this technical field will be explained only in a simplified manner. 
         [0020]      FIG. 1  shows a particular embodiment of bracelet  1  according to the present invention. This bracelet  1  has first  2  and second  3  bracelet strands intended to be removably attached via a clasp  1   a . Clasp  1   a , shown in  FIG. 3 , includes a support  4  and an unfolding buckle  4   a . Unfolding buckle  4   a  includes a base  5  at the ends of which are pivotably mounted two side portions  6   a ,  6   b , which are preferably of similar length. This base  5  further includes male fastening members whose purpose is to cooperate with a female fastening member located on side portions  6   a ,  6   b . This allows unfolding buckle  4   a  to be closed and locked while tightening bracelet  1 . 
         [0021]    The first side portion  6   a  of unfolding buckle  4   a  is also pivotably mounted on support  4 , whereas the second side portion  6   b  is pivotably mounted on second strand  3 . Second side portion  6   b  can be mounted on second strand  3  via a pin  7 . 
         [0022]    Indeed, so that bracelet  1  is more comfortable for the person wearing it, unfolding buckle  4  is made to be curved to follow the shape of bracelet  1  or to partly follow the shape of the user&#39;s wrist. To achieve this, base  5  of unfolding buckle  4   a  is curved such that, when bracelet  1  is being worn by the user, base  5  wholly or partly matches the shape of the user&#39;s wrist. Side portions  6   a ,  6   b  are also curved so that, when unfolding buckle  4   a  is closed, side portions  6   a ,  6   b  can be integrated into or at least match the shape of base  5 , as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . 
         [0023]    Support  4  is pivotably mounted on first side portion  6   a  and includes a fastening device  13 . Support  4  is thus used to attach bracelet  1  via engagement of first strand  2  in support  4 . To achieve this, support  4 , shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , takes the form of a generally rectangular buckle in which strand  2  of bracelet  1  is engaged. This buckle  4  is formed of two parallel lateral arms  8 , each pierced with a hole. The arms are then arranged to face each other so that an arbour  10  can be arranged transversely thereto. This arbour  10  is for mounting second side portion  6   b  of unfolding buckle  4   a  on which the female fastening member of side portion  6   b  is mounted. Arms  8  are also connected to each other by a crosspiece  9  located at one end of the arms and by a support element  12 , located opposite said crosspiece  9 . This transverse support element  12  takes the form of a plate and is used for cooperating with fastening device  13  of clasp  1   a.    
         [0024]    The function of buckle  4   a , apart from closing bracelet  1 , is to act as guide means. Indeed, first strand  2  engages in buckle  4  to be removably attached to second strand  3 ? via a fastening device  13 . When engaging in buckle  4 , first strand  2  is inserted between the two lateral arms  8  of buckle  4  as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 4 , with the result that the transverse movements of first strand  2  in the buckle are limited by these two arms  8 . 
         [0025]    Fastening device  13  attaches first strand  2  to buckle  4  and here includes a tongue  13   a . In fact, tongue  13   a  is a pin, pivotably mounted via an arbour  11  mounted between the two lateral arms  8  of buckle  4 . This tongue  13   a  abuts support element  12  and is used for joining the two strands  2 ,  3  to each other, while allowing the size of bracelet  1  to be selected. To achieve this, holes  14  are arranged in first strand  2  which engages in buckle  4 . Thus, when first strand  2  engages in buckle  4 , tongue  13   a  can be inserted in one of holes  14 , thus blocking strand  2  in buckle  4 . Of course, it will be clear that tongue  13   a  may take other forms such as a finger arranged directly on support element  12 . 
         [0026]    For the assembly of first strand  2  in buckle  4 , said strand  2  is engaged in buckle  4  as shown in  FIG. 4 . Preferably, strand  2  is engaged by entering buckle  4  on the side where support element  12  is located. Of course, the position of buckle  4  could be reversed. Afterwards, bracelet strand  2  will rest on arbours  10 ,  11  where first side portion  6   a  and tongue  13   a  are pivotably mounted, then emerge on the side of crosspiece  9 . Once strand  2  is engaged, it need only be attached to buckle  4 . To achieve this, strand  2  is moved longitudinally such that one of holes  14  in said strand  2  is placed in proximity to tongue  13   a  so that the tongue engages therein, thus longitudinally locking first strand  2 . 
         [0027]    Next, to tighten bracelet  1 , and to enable the user to wear said bracelet, unfolding buckle  4  must be closed. To achieve this, the two side portions  6   a ,  6   b  are folded down towards base  5  such that the female locking members of side portions  6   a ,  6   b  cooperate with the male locking members of base  5 . Of course, engagement of the female locking members in the male locking members can be achieved using different systems. Indeed, it is possible to use means that operate by pressure or by using push-buttons  15  acting on hooks that grip the male locking members of base  5 . Evidently, each side portion  6   a ,  6   b  could also have a different system, for example using pressure on one portion and push-buttons  15  on the other. 
         [0028]    Generally, the second bracelet strand  3  has a ring  16  made of leather, or another material, fixed to said bracelet strand  3  close to the end thereof. This ring  16  is arranged so that the end of first strand  2  can be engaged in said ring  16 , allowing the two strands  2 ,  3  to be pressed against each other as efficiently as possible. Moreover, bracelet clasp  1   a  according to the present invention can be provided with additional elements. For example, support  4  can be fitted with additional guide means to further limit the movements of first strand  2  when it is engaged in said support  4 . This additional guide means can take the form of one or more eyes located at one or both ends of support  4 . The eyes have an opening allowing just enough space for the first strand  2  to be able to engage therein. Thus, the eyes limit the movements of said strand  2 , by limiting the clearance of said strand. Preferably, this additional guide means is located in proximity to crosspiece  9 . However, the guide means and leather ring  16  are not infallible, and, under some stress, it may happen that first strand  2  of bracelet  1  becomes so loose that it causes bracelet  1  to open. 
         [0029]    To avoid this happening, support  4  is provided with a safety device  17  for preventing this type of nuisance. Safety device  17  takes the form of a part mounted on support  4 , as shown in  FIGS. 1 to 4 , and it is generally made of the same material as the support. This device  17  is then temporarily attached inside said support  4  so as to clamp first strand  2  tightly. This therefore presses said strand  2  preventing any clearance against clasp  1   a  and thus limits the movements of said strand  2  still further. 
         [0030]    Advantageously, according to the invention, it is thus clear that safety device  17  does not need to be opened for the timepiece to be put on. Indeed, the use of unfolding buckle  4   a  allows the assembly comprising fastening device  13  and safety device  17  to be fixedly adjusted in accordance with the size of the user&#39;s wrist. 
         [0031]    In a particular embodiment shown in the Figures, the part  22  used to clamp first strand  2  against the clasp, takes the form of an approximately U-shaped part  22  as shown in  FIG. 5 . This part  22  includes a generally flat base  22   a , for clamping the entire width of strand  2  in a uniform manner, at the ends of which are two arms  22   b  mounted at right angles relative to base  22   a . At the end of one of the two arms  22   b , perpendicular to base  22   a , there is a raised portion  18  in the form of a hook. This hook  18  is used for temporarily attaching U-shaped part  22  to said support  4 . At a second end of said part  22  an eye  19  is arranged for permanently attaching said U-shaped part  22  to said support  4 . This eye is used for rotatably mounting said U-shaped part  22  on the support. 
         [0032]    To assemble said approximately U-shaped part  22  on support  4 , one of side arms  8  is provided with means for temporarily attaching part  22  and the other arm  8  is provided with means for permanently attaching said part  22 . Thus, on one of arms  8  there is a permanent attachment recess  21  in which eye  19  of U-shaped part  22  is inserted, as shown in  FIG. 7 . Each flank of this recess is pierced with a hole  21   a  enabling a pin to be inserted therein such that said U-shaped part  22  is pivotably mounted. Whereas the other side arm  8  of the support is provided with a temporary attachment recess  20  located opposite the assembly recess for part  22 . When the user wishes to lock clasp  1   a , he or she will fold part  22  down onto the clasp, thereby clamping first strand  2 , and such that hook  18  of part  22  engages in its recess  20 . 
         [0033]    Of course, it is possible for this attachment to be mounted in a different manner, such as using a slide-block. Moreover, it is possible for the clasp to have several safety devices  17  as described above, and, in such case, several series of recesses  20 ,  21  are arranged on said support  4 . 
         [0034]    In a preferred variant shown in  FIG. 6 , safety device  17  may take the form of two U-shaped parts  22  that are integral with each other. This variant has the advantage of increasing the clamping surface and the actual clamping efficiency by distributing stress. Indeed, with a single U-shaped part  22 , clamping is optimal when base  22   a  of U-shaped part  22  is opposite arbours  10 ,  11  where said first strand  2  abuts. Whereas, with a safety device  17  that includes two U-shaped parts  22  integral with each other, it is possible to position part  22  such that the part of first strand  2  opposite arbours  10 ,  11  is surrounded, for more efficient clamping. First bracelet strand  2  undergoes stress distributed over four surfaces, i.e. the two bases  22   a , and arbours  10 ,  11 . These two U-shaped parts can also be made integral with each other to make the assembly attractive. 
         [0035]    If the variant of safety device  17  with two U-shaped parts is used, it is clear that temporary attachment recesses  20  and permanent attachment recesses  21  enabling said device to be pivotably mounted on said support  4 , are doubled.  FIG. 8  shows, in a simplified manner, arms  8  seen from the side along arrow A of  FIG. 7  for recesses  21  and along arrow A′ for recesses  20 . This variant also protects push-button  15  of unfolding buckle  4   a . Indeed, in this variant, safety device  17  is arranged such that the two U-shaped parts  22  surround said push-button  15  as shown in  FIGS. 1 to 4 , which protects the latter from any shocks that it might be subjected to, but also from accidental opening. 
         [0036]    In another variant, safety device  17  could be not integral with support  4 . In such case, the ends of the U-shaped part(s) are only provided with hooks  18 . Consequently, the recesses of each of arms  8  are temporary attachment recesses  20  in which said U-shaped parts are attached. 
         [0037]    Of course, it is easily understood that the bracelet  1  described above is not limited simply to the characteristics described. For example, bracelet  1  may use not a clasp with an unfolding buckle  4  as above, but a conventional clasp. This clasp is arranged such that support  4  is pivotably mounted directly on second bracelet strand  3  by replacing arbour  10  with pin  7 . 
         [0038]    It will be clear that various alterations and/or improvements and/or combinations that are evident to those skilled in the art may be made to the various embodiments of the invention set out above without departing from the scope of the invention defined by the annexed claims.