Granted Patent B2

US 12,619,199 · App. 18/381,720 · Granted May 5, 2026

Inventor: Takumi Yasuda (Tokyo, JP)

Assignee: CASIO COMPUTER CO., LTD.

G04B37/0008G04B45/0069

Abstract

Claims (31)

1 . A case comprising:

a device case; and

an exterior member which is attached covering an outer circumferential surface of an upper part of the device case,

wherein the device case has a catching portion formed in an outer circumferential portion thereof,

wherein the exterior member has an engaging portion which is formed on an inner side portion thereof, engages with the catching portion when the exterior member is attached to the device case, and prevents the exterior member from being detached from the device case,

wherein a support area which supports the engaging portion of the exterior member is formed of a material whose hardness is lower than hardness of a material of an area adjacent to the support area, and

wherein the exterior member includes the support area and the area adjacent to the support area, which are formed as an integrated member.

2 . The case according to claim 1 , wherein areas other than the support area of the exterior member are formed of a material whose hardness is higher than the hardness of the material of the support area.

3 . The case according to claim 1 , wherein an upper side portion of the exterior member is formed of a material whose hardness is lower than the hardness of the material of the area adjacent to the support area of the exterior member.

4 . The case according to claim 3 , wherein the hardness of the material of the upper side portion of the exterior member is equal to the hardness of the material of the support area.

5 . The case according to claim 1 , wherein the support area which supports the engaging portion of the exterior member possesses elasticity by which the engaging portion is moved from a position where the engaging portion is out of the catching portion to a position where the engaging portion is engaged with the catching portion along with shape recovery of the support area.

6 . The case according to claim 1 , wherein the catching portion is plurally formed in two symmetrical portions of an outer circumferential part of the device case located across a center of an upper part of the device case from each other, and

wherein the engaging portion of the exterior member is plurally formed on two inner side portions of the exterior member corresponding to the catching portions.

7 . The case according to claim 1 , wherein an operation member projects from an outer circumferential surface of the device case, and the catching portion is formed at a position shifted in a circumferential direction from a position of the operation member on the outer circumferential surface, and

wherein the exterior member attached to the device case covers the outer circumferential surface of the upper part of the device case while avoiding the operation member.

8 . The case according to claim 1 , wherein the exterior member is integrally formed by a first area including a first material and a second area including a second material whose hardness is higher than a hardness of the first material.

9 . The case according to claim 1 , wherein the support area of the exterior member and an area of the exterior member other than the support area differ from each other in color.

10 . The case according to claim 1 , wherein the catching portion of the device case forms a recess portion in an outer surface of an outer circumferential part of the device case, and

wherein the engaging portion of the exterior member forms a projection portion which projects from an inner surface of the exterior member and is fitted into the catching portion from an outer circumference side of the device case.

11 . The case according to claim 10 , wherein an upper surface of the engaging portion of the exterior member is provided with a projecting ridge which extends from a base end of the engaging portion toward a leading end thereof and comes in pressure contact with an upper surface of an inner side of the catching portion of the device case when the engaging portion is fitted into the catching portion.

12 . The case according to claim 10 , wherein the projection portion formed by the engaging portion of the exterior member is a hollow projection which is open in a projecting direction and a downward direction.

13 . The case according to claim 1 , wherein the device case includes a case main body and a fixed exterior member which is harder than the support area of the exterior member, provided with the catching portion, and fixed on an upper part of the case main body, and

wherein the exterior member is attached to the device case while covering an outer circumferential surface of an upper part of the fixed exterior member.

14 . A timepiece comprising:

the case according to claim 1 ;

a pointer; and

a movement which moves the pointer to indicate clock time.

15 . The case according to claim 1 , wherein the exterior member includes an attachment operation section that is integrally formed with the exterior member and that is provided at an outer circumferential portion of the exterior member, and

wherein the attachment operation section includes the engaging portion.

16 . The case according to claim 15 , wherein the attachment operation section includes (i) the support area, which is provided adjacent to the engaging portion and supports the engaging portion, and (ii) side sections adjacent to the support area, the support area being interposed between the engaging portion and the side sections.

17 . The case according to claim 16 , wherein a hardness of a material of the support area is lower than a hardness of a material of the side sections.

Assignments (1)

Priority Claims (1)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (17)