BELTS

CORRESPON DING APPLICATION

The present application claims priority to earlier Swiss patent application N° 0771/95 filed on May 29, 2015 in the name of ROLAN D ITEM MECHANICAL LUXU RY SA, the content of this earlier application being incorporated by reference in its entirety in the present application.

TECHNICAL FI ELD

The present invention concerns the field of adjustable straps, such as watch strap or belts.

More specifically, the present invention concerns a system allowing a fine and precise adjustment of the size of a strap such as watch strap or belt.

BACKGROUND ART

Straps for wrist watches with clasps or buckles are known in the art and they have different shapes. Usually, such straps or belts are made of a continuous part with two ends that are joined by a buckle or clasp mechanism. A problem of the known realization is that they only provide fixed sizes and not a continuously adjustable size of the belt/strap.

In rest of the present specification, the notion of belt or strap will be used indifferently, the principle of the present invention applying to any equivalent product it being a strap or a belt or other similar products and not limited by its end use or application. Some mechanisms have been developed in past to provide a fine and continuous adjustment feature of a strap with moving parts.

For example, figures 1A and 1 B illustrates a first example of an adjustable mechanism for a strap. The mechanism comprises a base plate 3 attached to one end of the strap via axis 4, a rotating plate 2 mounted on the base plate 3 and a moving ardillion 1 . The ardillion 1 is guided in a calibration groove 20 and moved from the position of figure 1A to the position of figure 1 B by the rotation of the plate 2 relatively to plate 3. The displacement of the ardillion 1 in the groove 20 allows a longitudinal movement of the ardillion as illustrated by the arrows of figures 1A and 1 B which are under the plate 3. As the ardillion 1 is introduced in a hole of one end of the strap and the other end of the strap is attached to plate 3, the longitudinal movement of the ardillion 1 in the groove 20 allows a fine adjustment of the size of the strap.

Other examples of clasps/buckles allowing an adjustment of the length of a strap or buckle are for example given in the following documents: EP 1815765, EP 1981365CH 702523, WO 2008064931 , GB730846 and WO 2014/033662. SUMMARY OF THE I NVENTION

An aim of the present invention is to improve the known clasps and buckles of the prior art. Another aim of the present invention is to provide a clasp/buckle that allows a fine adjustment of the size of the strap/belt and also a stable position and adjusted length of the strap/belt once the desired length has been chosen.

In one embodiment, the invention concerns an adjustment system for a fine and precise adjustment of the size of a strap, such as watch strap or a belt. The system comprises at least a base fixed to a part of the belt or strap and a rotating part cooperating with an adjustment element which is linked to another part of said strap or belt, such that the rotation of said rotating relatively to said base creates a motion of said adjustment element that moves two parts of a strap/belt relatively to each other in order to adjust the overall length of said strap/belt.

Preferably, the movement of the adjustment element is a translation. Other movements may of course be envisaged.

In one embodiment, the adjustment element is an ardillion which cooperates with a hole in a part of said strap or belt. The ardillion may be attached to the said part though other equivalent means, for example a specific attachment part.

In one embodiment, the adjustment element is fixed to the rotating part and comprises a pinion cooperating with a rack. The rack is preferably fixed to the base.

In one embodiment, the system comprise a clicking mechanism with at least a ball and a spring.

In one embodiment, the invention concerns a strap, such as a watch strap, or a belt with an adjustment system as defined herein.

In one embodiment, the invention concerns an object, such as a watch or a belt, in combination with an adjustment system or a strap as defined herein.

In one embodiment, the present invention concerns an adjustment method using the system as described in the present application. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention is defined by the subject-matter of the claims and of the appended drawings which show:

Figures'! A and 1 B illustrate a system of the prior art.

Figures 2A to 4C illustrate views of the principle of an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRI PTION

The invention and its non-limiting illustrative embodiments will explained now by reference to the figures.

The adjustable system attached to a strap or belt according to the invention comprises mainly (see figures 2A and 2B) a base plate 30 attached to one end of the belt/strap on which is mounted a rotating plate 14 which carries the ardillion 10 that is attached to the other end of the belt/strap, for example by introduction in a hole of said belt/strap. As explained in reference to figures 1A and 1 B, the ardillion 10 has a translation movement which is imparted by the rotation of the plate 14.

In the present invention, the means allowing this transformation of a rotation into a translation movement are explained with reference to figures 3A to 4C. In figure 3A, a side view of the moving parts of the adjustment system is illustrated. These parts include the plate 14, a pinion gear 1 1 , an axis 12, a friction wheel 13 and the ardillion 10.

An example to fabricate said moving parts assembly is illustrated in the exploded view of figure 3B. The plate 14 may be screwed into the ardillion 10 and comprise a square profile matching a corresponding square profile of the ardillion so that a rotation of the plate 14 will be imparted to the ardillion 10 as well.

Figure 3C illustrates a top view of the adjustment system without the plate 14. It comprises a base 30 with a rack 31 , a rolling groove 32 and a friction spring unit 33.

The rack 31 cooperates with the pinion 1 1 of the ardillion 10 such that a rotation of the pinion 1 1 (effected by a rotation of the plate 14) will move the pinion 1 1 in a translation movement along the rack 31 guided in the groove 32 by axis 12 thereby providing the size adjustment function between a tight position and a loose position. Typically, the tight position is when the ardillion 10 is close to the axis 4 and the loose position is when the ardillion 10 is away from the axis 4. Figure 3D illustrates a side view of the adjustment system in a tight position and figure 3E a front cut view of the system without the plate 14 in the same position as figure 3D.

Figures 4A to 4C illustrate the adjustment system changing from a loose position (figure 4A) to a tight position (figure 4C), each time with a side view and a top view without plate 14, but the passage from one position to the other being carried out by a rotation of the pinion 1 1 along the rack 31 , for example by the rotation of the plate 14. Preferably, the friction spring unit 33 comprise a ball mounted on a spring that creates a "clicking effect" when rotating the plate so that a used will feel and/or hear the rotation movement.

The system may be stopped in any position (from loose to tight and the other way round) and remains in a stable position when stopped. This is in particular due to the high friction of the ardillion 10 in the hole of the belt, thus preventing its unwanted rotation (and change in adjustment size) by pulling action on the belt/strap.

The system according to the invention thus allows a very fine and simple adjustment to the desired position by the user, by the use of simple means.

The system of the invention may be made in any suitable material, for example metals, precious metals, alloys or others such as synthetic materials, mix of materials, etc.

Preferably, the system according to the invention is used with a watch strap for a wrist watch. However, the system may be used with other objects, similar or not, such a belts, helmet straps etc. The examples given in the present specification are only for illustrative purposes and should not be construed in a limiting manner. Other constructions are possible using equivalent means and within the spirit and scope of the present invention. Also, different embodiments of the present invention may be combined according to circumstances.