CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to European Patent Application No. 19183418.3, filed on Jun. 28, 2019, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of horology or jewellery. More specifically, it concerns a device for attaching a bracelet to an object, particularly a watch case.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Generally, bracelets, made of leather or metal, are attached to the horns of a watch case by means of a bar formed by a tube, inside which are mounted two pistons that move in translation, and an elastic member disposed between said pistons and intended to drive them outwardly of the tube. Said bar is mounted inside a housing provided for this purpose at one end of the bracelet, and the pistons are engaged in blind bores facing them in the horns of the case.

To detach a bracelet attached to a case in this manner, it is necessary to have a tool designed to push the pistons back inside the tube, against the stress exerted by the elastic member, and thereby remove them from the bores. The wearer of the watch does not permanently carry such a tool, and moreover, the tool can be inconvenient to use. This is why bracelets provided with such an attachment device are generally permanently secured to the case.

There are also attachment devices that allow the bracelet to be removed from the case without using a tool. Such devices usually comprise a bar, of the type described above, on which is mounted, through the tube, a member for actuating the pistons. Said actuation member is, for example, a radial finger integral with one of the pistons, as described in Swiss Patent No. 327838. The finger is mounted such that it slides through an axial slot made in the tube, and its movement along the slot pushes one of the pistons inside the tube.

Swiss Patent No. 614589 discloses a watch case with a device for attaching a bracelet to the case, the central horn has a cylindrical passage that is slit longitudinally over the entire length of the horn, to allow insertion of a bar for attaching a bracelet. The bar takes the form of a cylinder with a flat portion along its entire length to allow the bar to pass when it is inserted into the passage and to hold the bar in place when the latter occupies a determined angular position.

The attachment devices thus described are generally employed for interchangeable bracelets which the user can then change as desired. They are not, however, free of drawbacks. It will be noted in particular, that they require major structural modifications to the bar, such as, for example, making an opening in the tube, or transforming the pistons. These changes entail significant extra manufacturing costs. These attachment devices also include a protruding element, namely the actuating member, which may snag or injure the wearer of the watch.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention makes it possible to overcome these drawbacks by proposing a device for attaching a bracelet to a watch case, the device comprising, on the one hand, a bar secured to the watch case by means of at least one horn, and on the other hand, an insert integral with the end of the bracelet, wherein the bar and the insert are complementary in order to cooperate by fitting one inside the other to form removable assembly means able to make the bracelet interchangeable.

According to the invention, the bar is formed by a cylindrical hollow body provided with two retractable pivots, and has at least one housing arranged to cooperate by interlocking with said at least one insert, said bar comprising means for holding the insert, the bar being arranged so as to pivot from a first position A, in which the insert is capable of being positioned on the bar, into a second position B in which said insert is locked onto the bar by means of locking means cooperating with said holding means.

According to other advantageous alternative embodiments of the invention:each of the pivots comprise a post arranged so as to slide in a longitudinal groove formed in the body of the bar, said pivots being separated by a spring;said means for holding the at least one insert are formed, on the one hand, by a point of a pivot, and on the other hand, by a hollow formed in the insert, each point being arranged so as to be housed inside a hollow when the insert is inserted into the housing;the point of each pivot at least partially projects into a housing;said locking means comprise at least one additional groove extending from one of the ends of the longitudinal groove in a substantially perpendicular direction relative to a longitudinal groove, the at least one additional groove being arranged so as to cooperate with at least one post when the bar pivots from position A to position B;the at least one additional groove extends while slightly diverging so as to form an angle slightly greater than 90° with the longitudinal groove, preferably an angle that lies in the range 91° to 95°;the at least one additional groove has a length that is less than that of the longitudinal groove;the bar comprises at least one collar at at least one of the ends thereof, said collar forming an axial retaining element cooperating with at least one lateral stop surface of the watch case;said watch case comprises means for holding the bar in position, said holding means comprising at least one ball catch arranged so as to cooperate with at least one cavity formed on the body of the bar;the watch case comprises a median horn comprising a passage whose diameter corresponds to the diameter of the body of the bar;said bar comprises a housing in the vicinity of each of the ends thereof, a housing being disposed on either side of the longitudinal groove;said median horn comprises a removable cover held on the case by screws.

