US2189096A - Watch bracelet - Google Patents

Description

Fab. 6, 19.40.l v, M QNGEV 2,189,096

WATCH BRACELET Filed July 7, 1938 mmw'eb/M y f fabric straps,

be produced at a relatively low cost and designed.`

\ wearer. `be of the same general ltype due to their corn- `interchanged from one ,bracelets so as to match the Patented Feb. 6, 1940 UNITED STATI-:s

,PATENT ori-Ica WATCH `lmiiolsnlrl* l n Vera Alom, New York, NVY. Application July 7, 193s, seran Nn. 217,97

This invention relates generally to jewelry and vmore particularly to bracelets for removably supporting watches or the like.-

Wrist watches are extensively used andare supported by4 bracelets of many types. These supporting bracelets comprise leather straps,

according to the taste oi?A the wearer. and the priceit is desired to pay.l In wrist watches for women it is customary' to` provide ornamental bracelets for supporting the watches that are made from precious metals and are considered to be attractive in design. lThese bracelets are usually of aflexible type and formed by a series oi' links so as to conform to the wrist ofI the Bracelets for this use must necessarily paratively highcostand long life. Consequently, vit has not been practical to attempt to follow the'current'trends of style in jewelry. Furthermore, the watches have been secured to the bracelets by rather a complicated linkage that does not permit `the watches to, be readily interchanged from one bracelet to another so that the wearer could match ,thebracelet with the costume worn or with the current trends in style. f Accordingly, `it is `the object of the present' invention to overcome the above diiliculties and to provide a simple means for supporting a watch,

whereby the watch may be readily removed and another. In addition, a bracelet is contemplated incorporating this supporting means, which may according to the current trends of style. Furthermore, a wearer may have several of these color and/or style of the costume worn.

The foregoing objects, and others relatin thereto, are accomplished in the preferred embodiment of the present invention which-comprises a slip-on bracelet provided with anaper'- ture in the form of 'a socket on one sidefthereof tofreceive a watch, and a resilientxbrace supported .beneath this socket so as to removably retain the watch therein. -To match the style of the day, a relatively wide and thick bracelet is shown, although, of course, other styles may be used. This bracelet may be formed from metal, wood, or any of the Vcurrently fashionable folding plastics which may be colored and consequently-.chosen according to the costume worn. The socket for.. receiving the watch may be of 'various sizesfand shapes, according to the style of watch to be associatedy therewith. and j .orvarious formations in metal supported behind the supporting member to (Cl. 22d- 4) is provided with an` opening .therebetween and an-edge of the bracelet to accommodate the stem of the watch.

AThe socket may taper slightlyfrom the back oi' vthe 'bracelet toward r`the front` thereof vto re- 5 tain the watch within the bracelet. In addition, the socket Ymay be formed so that th'e,

edges thereof'cover the casing of the watch. so that only the watch face is visible from the front of the bracelet.

' socket is preferably inthe form of a T-shaped metal member, the cross i of the T-member lying toward the side of ther socket having the communication with the edge of the bracelet, so `that the watch may be readily inserted in the socket or withdrawn therefrom by sliding it across the cross-bar ofthe T-member. It is preferable that this T-member' rbe form'eci'from a resilient material which will so the watch snugly in place within tend to hold the socket.

The novelty characteristic oi.' the present invention is set forth in the appended claims but the invention itself may best be understood from the following detailed description thereof when read in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein like'rei'erence characters indicate like parts throughout, and in which Fig. 1 is a view in perspective o1' the front of the bracelet supporting a. watch Yaccording .o

to the presentI invention;

Fig. 2 is a view in perspective of the yunder side of a bracelet supporting a watch according to the present invention Fig. 3 is a view in cross section taken on the u line 3-3 of Fig. 1; and f Figs. 4, 5, 6 and 'l are plan views which show .modifications of the bracelet to accommodate varioustypes of watches.

' Referring more specitcallyto the drawing, as o illustrated in Fig. prises a bracelet ing through the 1, the present invention com- I having an aperture extendfront face vthereof to form a socket -2 to receive a Watch 3. One edge' 4 of the bracelet I. is curved inwardly to form an opening 5 in communication with the socket 2, which opening is adapted to receive the winding wheel mounted on the stem of the watch 3.

As will be noted in the drawing the arrangement may be such that the outer ends o! the winding wheel-.6 of the watch 3 may lie substantially flush ,with the edge 4 of the bracelet I, but nevertheless is freely accessible for operation. 'I'he bracelet l may --be of any preferred type, and as shown in the prent in- The retaining member 10 stance comprises a slip-on bracelet which is comparatively wide and thick as dictated by the present trends of fashion. This bracelet is split at 1 to permit a degree of resiliency, although, of course, this is not necessary to comply with the spirit of the invention. f

A retaining member I0 is mounted behind the watch receiving socket 2 and may be secured to the inner surface of the bracelet in any desired manner as by rivets or screws 9, as best shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Though it is not neoessary it may be desired to form the member I0 of resilient material so that the rivet or screw 9 may be omitted at one end of the cross-bar II, as indicated in Fig. 3, to provide greater ease in removing 'and inserting 'the watch 3.L

The retaining member I0 may be of any desired shape and of any suitable material. It has been found, however, that a metal T-shaped member is the most desirable according to the present circumstances. A member of this type securely retains the watch in position, and yet through the resiliency of the metal, the watch may be readily inserted or removed by sliding it between the cross bar II of the T-member and the edge of the socket 2 adjacent the opening 5.

The socket 2 has inner walls I2 which are curved inwardly toward the front of the bracelet so as to conform. approximately to the formation of the watch casing and to form a socket, in com` bination with the T-member I U for snugly retaining the watch in position. The outer edge of the socket 2 may be beveled inwardly slightly, as at I3, so as to provide clear visibility of the face of the watch 3. This beveled edge I3 may fit snugly around the crystal I4 oi' the watch so that the watch will appear to be housed within the bracelet rather than merely supported thereby. This construction is particularly desirable when the bracelet is to be worn by women in view of the fact that it offers a neater and more dainty appearance. To conform with this construction, the prongs I5 which form continuations of the edge 4 of the bracelet adjacent the opening 5 may be formed so that they extend over the casing I6 of the watch 3 adjacent the stem winding wheel 6 and yet permit sufcient freedom to said winding wheel 6 for the watch to be readily wound.

The bracelet I may be made in various sizes to accommodate various sized wrists, and the sockets 2 therein may be of various shapes and sizes to accommodate the diiferent styles and types of watches. As shown in Figs. 4, 5, 6, and 7, for instance, the sockets 2 may be adapted to accommodate square, oblong, oval, and octagonal types of watches. In addition, these bracelets may be made from various materials such as metal, wood, or any of the currently popular molding plastics. -Furthermore, these bracelets may be made in different colors, particularly when fabricated from the molding plastics, and a wearer may have several bracelets of different colors so that the watch may be vquickly interchanged from one bracelet to another, and consequently a bracelet would be worn to match the costume of said wearer.

In view of the foregoing description, the'operation of the present invention should be readily understandable. If, upon dressing, the wearer nds that the watch bracelet does not match the costume, the watch is quickly removed from. the bracelet and inserted into another bracelet which matches the costume either in style or color, or both. To remove the watch 3, it is pressed downwardly and outwardly slightly, adjacent the stem thereof, so that it may be slipped past the cross bar II of the T-shaped retaining member Il and removed from the socket 2. The curvature of the inner walls I2 of the socket 2 facilitate in the movement ofrthe watch 3 as the yportions of these walls adjacent the prongs I5 tend to cam the watch 3 downwardly as it is pressed outwardly, so as to slide it past the cross bar II of the retaining member IIJ. Upon the removal of the lwatch 3 from one bracelet, the action is reversed with the newly selected bracelet. The inner edge of the watch 3 is inserted between the inner edge of the socket 2 and the cross bar II of the retaining member I0. As the watch I is pressed inwardly, the curvature of the walls I2 of the socket 2 tend to cam the watch 3 upwardly into position. The bracelet is then ready to be slipped on to the wrist of the wearer.

By the above described arrangement, a snug,

hrm support is provided for the watch and at" the same time a variety of bracelets may be used at varioustimes according to the taste of the wearer. Consequently, relatively inexpensive bracelets may be supplied which are inv keeping with the current styles and the fashionable colors of the day. As the styles change from time to time, new bracelets may be secured at relatively small cost so that the wrist watch appears to match the color and style of the costume at all times, even though the watch itself may be com.- paratively old fashioned.

Many different effects may be produced byv the use of various types of bracelets incorporating the present invention, and although certain specific embodiments have been shown and described, many modications thereof are possible, and the present disclosure should be construed only in an illustrative sense. The present invention, therefore, is not to be restricted except insofar as is necessitated by the prior art and by the spirit of the appended claims.

I claim:

1'. A bracelet watch-holder comprising a bracelet, anl aperture through the front portion thereof to provide a socket adapted to removably receive a watch, and a yielding retaining member fixed to said bracelet and covering a portion .of the under side of said socket whereby the passageway for the watch may be opened sufiiciently for the transit of said watch therethrough.

2. A bracelet watch-holder comprising a bracelet, an aperture through the front portion thereof to provide a socket adapted to removably receive a watch, an opening adjacent said socket to receive the winding wheel on said watch, said Winding wheel being positioned by said opening so that the outer end thereof lies substantially in line with the edge of said'bracelet and a yielding retaining member fixed to s aid bracelet and covering a portion of the undnside of said socket opposite said opening whereby `the passageway for the watch may be opened suflciently for the transit of saidwatch therethrough.

3. A bracelet watch-holder comprising a bracelet, an aperture through the front portion thereof, said aperture having an edge to substantially coincide with the shape of the rim of the face of said watch and inner walls which said v 2,189,096 watch may be opened suiiiciently for the transitv oi' said watch therethrough. Y A

4. A bracelet watch-holder comprising a bracelet, an aperture through the front portion thereoi',

gressivly enlarged away from said edge to provide aV socket to removably receive a watch, an opening adjacent said socket to receive the winding wheel on saidl watch, said wheel being posiprojections extending between said aperture and said openingto substantially complete the edge otsaid aperture, ber ixed to said of the under side oi' said socket whereby the passageway for the watch may and a yielding retaining memf cientiy forthe transit ot said watch therethrough. y t vm ALONGEL bracelet and covering a'portion be opened suIii-' n n

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