Bracelet clasp comprising a sliding catch

The present invention relates to a clasp with a sliding catch designed to be fitted to a bracelet of the closed type that can be used both in watches and in jewelry but also, more generally, as any type of collar designed to be placed about a body, in a removable manner.

Bracelets are either of the open type, when their two strands can be completely separated, or of the closed type, when the strands remain fixedly attached and are connected to one another by a clasp making it possible to increase their diameter in order to be able to put the hand through.

Bracelets of this second type, to which the invention applies, most frequently use a catch, called an unfolding catch, that usually comprises a clasp with two bands articulated in butterfly fashion. In the closed position, the bands are kept folded over one another. Actuating the clasp allows them to unfold and therefore enlarge the bracelet.

Certain less frequent embodiments of bracelets of the closed type use a catch, called a sliding catch, as proposed in document GB 680 368. The catch then comprises a flexible band mounted fixedly in one of the two strands by its first end, and slidingly in the other strand by its second end. Such a rather rudimentary structure certainly prevents the complication of an unfolding catch, but it does not guarantee that the two strands will remain joined when a considerable force is applied to the bracelet which may therefore open inadvertently.

Document GB 1 261 027 proposes a bracelet with a sliding catch whose flexible band also slides in only one strand of the bracelet by one of its ends. However, this device does not have the abovementioned disadvantage because this end is furnished with two fingers forming a Y, these fingers preventing the band from coming right out of the strand in which it is lodged.

However, since the band slides in only one strand, it is difficult to envisage that the conditions of sliding inside the band can be appropriate over a great length, because the flexing that the band sustains causes major friction between it and the bracelet. In addition, the bracelet, necessarily being hollow and rigid to allow the band to slide, is not very comfortable for the wearer. Actually, such a device cannot be adapted to flexible bracelets made of leather, rubber or even of metal with articulated links.

The object of the present invention is therefore to propose an enhanced version of a bracelet clasp with a sliding catch, free from the abovementioned disadvantages and adapting to any type of bracelet.

More precisely, the invention relates to a bracelet clasp with a longitudinal axis Y-Y, comprising:

• • two closing elements respectively designed to be placed at the two ends of the bracelet that are to be joined, and furnished with means for them to be coupled; and
  • a band connecting said elements and mounted so as to be able to move in relation to each of them,
  • members for limiting the travel of the band in the open position, in relation to said closing elements, associating one end of the band with one of the closing elements.

According to the invention, the clasp also comprises a member for limiting the travel of the band in the closed position, in relation to said closing elements, placed on said band, at its central portion in relation to the longitudinal axis, in the travel of said closing elements.

According to a first embodiment of the invention, the clasp is characterized in that the band is mounted so as to slide in each of the two elements, the elements being arranged to receive it.