Watch winder cabinet and watch winder apparatus |
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申请号 | US10857219 | 申请日 | 2004-05-28 | 公开(公告)号 | US20050265129A1 | 公开(公告)日 | 2005-12-01 |
申请人 | Charles Agnoff; | 发明人 | Charles Agnoff; | ||||
摘要 | A cabinet supporting a plurality of watch winders includes an enclosure having a horizontal top wall with an opening, a rear wall, a front wall, a divider wall separating the enclosure into a rear support chamber and a front storage area. A watch winder support having a top wall and a generally upright watch winder panel having a raised position projecting above the enclosure through the top wall opening from the chamber, and a lowered position within the chamber with the upper surfaces of the enclosure and support top walls being in a plane, thereby preventing access to the watch winders and hiding the watch winders and any supported watches from view. A drive mechanism with a reversible electric motor is used to move the support between its raised and lowered positions. | ||||||
权利要求 | |||||||
说明书全文 | (1) Field of the Invention The present invention relates generally to a cabinet for storing a plurality of automatic watch winders used to wind self-winding watches, and in particular to a cabinet including a moveable support for a plurality of watch winders and a mechanism for raising the support for access to the watch winders, and lowering the support and watch winders and watches carried on the support into a chamber in the cabinet for secure, inconspicuous storage, while continuing to activate the watch winders as required. (2) Description of the Prior Art The winding mechanism of a self-winding watch is comprised of a ball bearing mounted pendulum or rotor that is connected through a gear reduction system to the mainspring of the watch. Generally, the rotor can rotate 360° in either direction. However, there are also so-called “hammer” shaped rotors in older self-winding watches that have a limited travel of 150° to 220° rotation. In either case when the watch is worn, the user's random and often rapid arm movements cause the rotor to swing back and forth inertially in both directions around the rotor axis, thereby winding the watch spring. The watch spring generally stores sufficient energy to keep the watch operating 36-48 hours, whether worn or not. Thus, when worn daily, the watch will be sufficiently wound to maintain continuous operation. However, if the watch is not worn regularly, the user must wind the watch, either manually or with a watch winder, or the watch will stop. Watch winders are typically comprised of an electric drive mechanism that rotates a watch carrier adapted to hold a watch with the plane of the watch perpendicular to the axis of rotation. That is, the rotor axis is parallel to the axis of rotation of the drive mechanism, so that the watch rotates in the same plane as the hands of the watch. During the period of activation, the watch is completely rotated several times either in a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction or, alternately, reversing in both directions. During the 360° rotation of the watch, the rotor hangs downward, so that the watch rotates while the rotor is essentially stationary and the winding action is totally caused by gravity operation. That is, the motion is essentially the opposite from the way in which the winding mechanism is designed, i.e., rotation of the rotor around the rotor axis caused by inertial movement resulting from the wearer's random movements. As a result, the powered rotation of the watch must be controlled to limit the turns per day (TPD) to prevent damage or malfunction due to the forces exerted on the winding mechanism. U.S. Pat. No. 6,254,270 to Agnoff, the present inventor, issued Jul. 3, 2001 and incorporated herein in its entirety, describes an alternative watch winder design in which a self-winding watch is mounted on a horizontal or inclined, e.g., 30°, shaft or spindle, with the watch band being positioned around the spindle so that the face of the watch is generally parallel to the axis of rotation, and moves along a circular pathway during rotation of the spindle. The orbital motion of the watch about the inclined axis causes the rotor to swing back and forth, or oscillate, thereby generally replicating the effect of a person's natural arm movements. When a 30° angle from horizontal is chosen, each rotation causes the rotary pendulum to move through an arc of 120°. U.S. Pat. No. 6,543,929 to Agnoff, the present inventor, issued Apr. 8, 2003, and incorporated herein in its entirety, describes another type of watch winder that imparts a greater oscillation to the rotor, more closely simulating the bi-directional random inertial movement to which an automatic watch is subjected when worn, and enabling an automatic watch to be adequately wound in a shorter period of time without any concern for winding direction, and with less energy. Generally, the watch winder described in the '929 patent is comprised of a watch carrier having a horizontal or inclined axis of rotation with the center of gravity of the carrier being laterally offset in a given direction from the axis of rotation, and a drive mechanism to rotate the watch carrier around the axis until the given direction, or center of gravity, is in the uppermost position, whereupon the carrier is free to rotate about the axis under the influence of both gravity and inertial force, causing the carrier to oscillate around the axis bi-directionally for several excursions. The watch carrier supports one or more watches with the face of each watch being perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the carrier. That is, the axis of rotation of the watch pendulum or rotor is parallel to the axis of rotation of the carrier. As a result, the rapid oscillation of the watch carrier and the abrupt direction changes cause the rotor to spin about the rotor axis in much the same manner as the spinning that occurs when the watch is worn by a user. Moreover, since the rotor tends to spin entirely or largely around the rotor axis for several excursions, as opposed to only the single 120° or so achieved with prior art devices, the watch is more rapidly wound, and less energy is required, prolonging battery and/or winder life. While the above prior art watch winders are suitable for winding one or more watches, many individuals or commercial establishments own more self-winding watches than can be wound on a single watch winder. These watch owners must, therefore, use more than one watch winder in order to keep all of the watches in their possession wound when not being worn. Each watch winder must be separately plugged into an electrical outlet, and must be placed on some surface while being used. As a result, multiple watch winders create clutter and inconvenience. Moreover, multiple self-winding watches represent a substantial monetary investment. In order to minimize this clutter and provide a degree of security, it has also been proposed to mount a plurality of watch winders of the type described above in a lockable cabinet or enclosure. Generally, a watch winder support panel having a front face is positioned within an enclosure with the front face being toward an access door. The door is lockable and normally includes a transparent panel. A plurality, e.g., from about 2 to about 24, watch winders are mounted in openings in the support panel. Wiring within the enclosure connects the watch winders to a common source of electricity. Each watch winder includes means for controlling the time and frequency of activation. While apparatus of the latter type are useful in holding and operating a plurality of watch winders, there is still a need for an apparatus for use in simultaneously winding multiple watches that will provide greater security for the watches. Generally, the present invention is comprised of a watch winder storage cabinet for enclosing a plurality of watch winders in a manner such that the watch winders, and watches mounted on the watch winders, are readily accessible for viewing or removal, or for mounting of additional watches on the watch winders, but which will securely and inconspicuously enclose the watch winders and watches when access is not desired. The present invention also relates to the combination of a cabinet of this type in combination with a plurality of watch winders supported by the cabinet. Specifically, the watch winder storage cabinet is comprised of a top with an upper surface, a front, sides and a back. The cabinet front preferably includes one or more lockable doors to permit access into the cabinet. A watch winder support chamber is provided in the cabinet. Preferably, the chamber is located in the rear of the cabinet, behind a storage area in the front of the cabinet. The storage area may include one or more shelves. Opening the door or doors provides access into the storage area, but does not provide access into the support chamber. The cabinet also includes a watch winder support comprised of a top with an upper surface, sides, a back, a bottom, and a generally upright watch winder mounting panel beneath the top and between the sides of the support. The mounting panel, which may be rearwardly inclined by up to about 15°, includes a plurality of openings to receive watch winders with the cross-section of the openings generally corresponding to the cross-section of the watch winder housing. A drive means is positioned within the cabinet, e.g., in the lower part of the support chamber, and is attached to the lower part of the support. The drive means is adapted to move the support between raised and lowered positions. In the raised position, the support extends upwardly through an opening in the cabinet top to expose the watch winders carried on the support panel. In the lowered position, the support is completely enclosed within the cabinet chamber with the upper surface of the support top being in a plane with the upper surface of the cabinet top. Thus, when the support is in the lowered position, any watch winders and watches supported thereon are completely enclosed by the cabinet, preventing unauthorized access. In addition, the fact that the watch winder support even exists will not be readily apparent to uninformed persons since the only part of the support that is exposed is the support upper surface which appears to be a part of the cabinet upper surface. Various types of drive mechanisms can be used to move the support between its raised and lowered positions. For example, the drive mechanism may be comprised of a first section attached to the cabinet and a telescoping second section attached to the watch winder support. Other suitable mechanisms of the type described in the description of the preferred embodiment are used to raise and lower televisions and the like, and are sold by Auton Motorized Systems, Valencia, Calif. The drive mechanism motor may be remotely controlled by a receiver in communication with a switch in the motor circuit and a handheld transmitter. The motor circuit may also include a combination or key actuated lock in communication with a switch. Generally, watch winders used with the present invention are comprised of a watch carrier having a horizontal or inclined axis of rotation, and a drive mechanism to rotate the watch carrier around the axis. For example, the drive mechanism may include a shaft rotated, e.g., at about 10-12 revolutions per hour, by electric motor that is connected to the shaft through a set of reduction gears. Since different styles of automatic watches have different winding requirements, normally determined by the number of desired rotations of the rotor within a given time period, a controller is also included for use in setting these parameters. The watch winder may be mounted in an outer case. Control knobs or switches can be mounted on the case to adjust the controller. In the following description, terms such as horizontal, upright, vertical, above, below, beneath, and the like, are used solely for the purpose of clarity in illustrating the invention, and should not be taken as words of limitation. The drawings are for the purpose of illustrating the invention and are not intended to be to scale. As best illustrated in Watch winder support, generally 40, is comprised of a top wall 42 with a horizontal upper surface, spaced parallel side walls 44 and 46, and a watch winder mounting panel 48 beneath wall 42 and extending between side walls 44 and 46. As illustrated in When in the lowered position as illustrated in As illustrated in Electrical circuitry, not shown, connecting motor 60 to a power source also includes a manual lock 64 preventing motor 60 from being energized when support 40 is in its lowered position, thereby preventing unauthorized access to any watch winders or watches carried by support 40. A remote control transmitter 66 can also be used to open or close the electrical circuit to motor 60. Support mounting panel 48 includes a plurality of openings 70 to receive watch winders 72. While panel 48 is shown with openings to receive forty watch winders, it will be understood that panels with a lesser or greater number of openings are within the scope of the invention. Certain modifications and improvements will occur to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the foregoing description. It should be understood that all such modifications and improvements have been deleted herein for the sake of conciseness and readability but are properly within the scope of the following claims. |