Patents by Inventor Pierry Vuille

Pierry Vuille has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20220155729
    Abstract: A method for depositing a decorative and/or functional layer on at least a portion of a surface of a finished or semi-finished article made of a non-conductive ceramic material, this deposition method includes the following operations: subjecting the at least a portion of the surface of the article to a carburising or nitriding treatment during which carbon, respectively nitrogen atoms, diffuse in the at least a portion of the surface of the article, then depositing, by galvanic growth of a metallic material, the decorative and/or functional layer on at least a portion of the surface of the article which has undergone the carburising or nitriding treatment.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 16, 2021
    Publication date: May 19, 2022
    Applicant: The Swatch Group Research and Development Ltd
    Inventors: Loïc CURCHOD, Pierry VUILLE
  • Patent number: 11302515
    Abstract: A method for structuring a decorative or technical pattern in the thickness of an object made of an at least partially transparent amorphous, semi-crystalline or crystalline material, wherein the object is made of an at least partially transparent material including a top surface and a bottom surface which extends away from the top surface. The top or bottom surfaces is provided with a mask defining an opening whose outline corresponds to the profile of the pattern to be structured, the mask covering the top or bottom surface at the positions which are not to be structured. The pattern is structured with a mono- or multicharged ion beam through the opening of the mask, wherein the mechanical properties of the mask are sufficient to prevent the ions of the ion beam from etching the top or bottom surface at the positions where this top or bottom surface is covered by the mask.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 12, 2022
    Assignee: Comadur S.A.
    Inventors: Alexis Boulmay, Pierry Vuille, Julien Meier, Pierpasquale Tortora
  • Patent number: 11300930
    Abstract: A process for producing a part provided with an external element includes: providing an electrically conductive substrate having an upper surface and a raised pattern with a crest on the upper surface; depositing an electrically insulating layer onto the upper surface around the pattern to a thickness less than or equal to the distance between the crest and the upper surface; depositing a metal layer onto the crest by galvanic growth so that the metal layer partly rests on the insulating layer; dissolving the insulating layer; covering an assembly including the substrate and the metal layer with a mass of a base material of the part to form an imprint; separating the mass and the metal layer from the substrate, the mass then exhibiting an external element formed by a recess, the shape of which corresponds to the imprint and the base of which interfaces with the metal layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 12, 2022
    Assignee: The Swatch Group Research and Development Ltd
    Inventors: Pascal Grossenbacher, Stewes Bourban, Pierry Vuille, Yves Winkler
  • Patent number: 11249444
    Abstract: The present invention concerns a display assembly comprising an organic light-emitting diode display device comprising at least one OLED comprising an emitting stack placed on a transparent substrate, whose back face is placed on the emitting surface of the OLED, and a secondary object to be illuminated, said transparent substrate comprising a front face and at least one side face arranged to light a secondary object.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2022
    Assignee: The Swatch Group Research and Development Ltd
    Inventors: Nicolas Blanckaert, Jerome Thiault, Cyrille Gernez, Pierry Vuille, Ariane Gachet-Mueller
  • Publication number: 20210389729
    Abstract: An ornamental part, for example for a timepiece, jewellery or telephone, in particular a watch case middle, and its manufacturing method, the part at least partly including a hard material having a Vickers hardness greater than 1000 HV, the method including the following main steps: a step of producing a precursor from a mixture of at least one powder material with a binder, a step of injecting the precursor into a mould in order to form a green body, a step of sintering the green body in order to form a body of the future part from the hard material, and a step of depositing a polymer material coating on one face of the part, the deposition being carried out by moulding on the body, in particular by injection into a mould, the coating and the hard material being inseparable.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 14, 2021
    Publication date: December 16, 2021
    Applicant: Comadur SA
    Inventors: Pierry VUILLE, Denis BUBENDORF, Paulo AREDE, Johan ROMAND
  • Publication number: 20210351002
    Abstract: A method for structuring a decorative or technical pattern in the thickness of an object made of an at least partially transparent amorphous, semi-crystalline or crystalline material, wherein the object is made of an at least partially transparent material including a top surface and a bottom surface which extends away from the top surface. The top or bottom surfaces is provided with a mask defining an opening whose outline corresponds to the profile of the pattern to be structured, the mask covering the top or bottom surface at the positions which are not to be structured. The pattern is structured with a mono- or multicharged ion beam through the opening of the mask, wherein the mechanical properties of the mask are sufficient to prevent the ions of the ion beam from etching the top or bottom surface at the positions where this top or bottom surface is covered by the mask.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 23, 2021
    Publication date: November 11, 2021
    Applicant: Comadur S.A.
    Inventors: Alexis BOULMAY, Pierry VUILLE, Julien MEIER, Pierpasquale TORTORA
  • Publication number: 20210240138
    Abstract: A method is for manufacturing a part including a support provided with at least one hollow filled with an aesthetic element forming a decoration on a face of the part intended to be visible. The method includes providing the support provided with the at least one hollow and providing a preform intended to form the aesthetic element of the part, and inlaying by pressing the preform into the at least one hollow of the support. The preform is made of a crystalline aluminium alloy. The inlaying is carried out at a temperature between the solidus temperature and the liquidus temperature of the crystalline aluminium alloy.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 26, 2019
    Publication date: August 5, 2021
    Applicant: Comadur SA
    Inventors: Johan ROMAND, Damien LE BOUDOUIL, Nicolas AUBRY, Pierry VUILLE, Alexandre NETUSCHILL
  • Patent number: 11077704
    Abstract: A method of fabricating a decoration provided with at least one attachment includes forming an envelope of material, the envelope including an external surface and an internal surface, and the external surface including a visible embossed part of the decoration, forming the at least one attachment, and fastening the at least one attachment directly and permanently against the internal surface of the envelope of the decoration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 3, 2021
    Assignee: The Swatch Group Research and Development Ltd
    Inventors: Pierry Vuille, Yves Winkler
  • Publication number: 20210208541
    Abstract: A method is for manufacturing a part including a support made of an electrically non-conductive material, the support being provided with at least one recess filled with an aesthetic element made of an electrically conductive material, and the aesthetic element forms a decoration on a side of the part that is intended to be visible. The method includes inlaying by pressing a preform intended to form the aesthetic element into the at least one recess of the support, and treating the surface of the aesthetic element. The at least one recess opens in one or more places onto a side of the part that is intended to be non-visible, to respectively form one or more contact points for carrying current across the aesthetic element during the surface treatment.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 18, 2019
    Publication date: July 8, 2021
    Applicant: Comadur SA
    Inventors: Johan ROMAND, Damien LE BOUDOUIL, Nicolas AUBRY, Pierry VUILLE, Alexandre NETUSCHILL
  • Publication number: 20210173351
    Abstract: A watch includes a control member capable of managing a primary function of the watch, such as a rotating crown or a push-piece, as well as a magnetic ball that can be manually pivoted by the user about the centre thereof. A 3D magnetic sensor is arranged in the watch to detect the orientation of the magnetic field emitted by the magnetic ball, in addition to a processor for converting an electric signal generated by the magnetic sensor into an instruction for managing one or more other electronic functions of the watch. The magnetic ball is partially arranged inside the control member such that it is accessible to a user. The watch can further comprise a proximity sensor for detecting the axial position of the control member relative to the middle of the watch.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 7, 2020
    Publication date: June 10, 2021
    Applicant: The Swatch Group Research and Development Ltd
    Inventors: Pierry VUILLE, Simon BOURQUIN, Yvan FERRI
  • Publication number: 20210173348
    Abstract: A watch includes a control member, for example a crown or a head of a push-piece, which is mounted in a resilient manner on the outer end of an elongated element projecting outside the middle, such that a user can tilt in a self-reverting manner the control member in two dimensions orthogonal and perpendicular to the central axis of the elongated element. At least one proximity sensor is incorporated into the middle of the watch, in a location allowing this proximity sensor to produce an electric signal that represents the tilting of the control member about an axis that is perpendicular to the central axis. A processor generates at least one instruction on the basis of the electric signal provided by at least one proximity sensor, for example to allow the user to browse a menu or a calendar displayed on a digital screen.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 30, 2020
    Publication date: June 10, 2021
    Applicant: The Swatch Group Research and Development Ltd
    Inventors: Yvan FERRI, François GUEISSAZ, Simon BOURQUIN, Pierry VUILLE
  • Patent number: 11027574
    Abstract: The invention relates to a process for the production of a part provided with an external element comprising the following steps: provide an electrically conductive substrate having an upper surface and a pattern forming a recess in said upper surface deposit an electrically insulating layer into the pattern so that the insulating layer extends as far as the upper surface deposit a metal layer onto the upper surface of the substrate by galvanic growth so that at the end of this step the metal layer partly rests on the insulating layer dissolve the insulating layer cover an assembly comprising the substrate and the metal layer with a mass of a base material of the part, wherein the mass forms an imprint of the assembly separate the mass and the metal layer from the substrate, wherein the mass then exhibits an external element with a shape corresponding to the imprint of the pattern.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 8, 2021
    Assignee: The Swatch Group Research and Development Ltd
    Inventors: Pascal Grossenbacher, Stewes Bourban, Pierry Vuille, Yves Winkler
  • Patent number: 11003140
    Abstract: A disassembly bench is for unlocking and disassembling a first component and a second component of a watch with secured fastening including handling devices to transmit a relative disassembly movement between this first component and this second component. The bench also includes centrifuging devices and/or pneumatic or hydraulic devices for simultaneous application of a centrifugal force and/or an overpressure or an underpressure to such a watch to press into a position of free passage one or more slides arranged to immobilize this first component and this second component in a locked position. A watchmaking set includes such a disassembly bench and such a watch with secured fastening.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 11, 2021
    Assignee: The Swatch Group Research and Development Ltd
    Inventor: Pierry Vuille
  • Patent number: 10996630
    Abstract: An applique is intended to be affixed to a timepiece dial, and includes at least one foot portion having a first end attached to the applique and a second, free end, the foot portion being arranged to be capable of insertion into a hole provided in the dial. The foot portion includes, on the side of the free end thereof, a plastically deformable area arranged to form, after deformation, once the foot portion is inserted into the hole in the dial, at least one locking area of the foot portion on the dial.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 4, 2021
    Assignee: The Swatch Group Research and Development Ltd
    Inventor: Pierry Vuille
  • Patent number: 10991530
    Abstract: A portable object including a near-field communication device. The communication device includes an antenna, the ends of which are configured to be connected electrically to an electronic chip, forming, together with the chip, an electrical circuit. In an original manner, the portable object includes a control element which is able to be displaced between two predefined positions, i.e. an active position wherein the communication device is activated and a passive position wherein the communication device is deactivated. The portable object includes, furthermore, a mechanical switch which is able to switch between an open state and a closed state in response to a displacement of the control element from one to the other of its predefined positions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 8, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 27, 2021
    Assignee: The Swatch Group Research and Development Ltd
    Inventors: Pierry Vuille, Jean-Claude Martin, Michel Willemin, Thierry Scordilis
  • Patent number: 10918173
    Abstract: A one-piece bar is for attaching a bracelet to a watch. The bar extends in a longitudinal direction and includes two pivots and a body connecting the two pivots, each pivot being intended to be introduced into a corresponding housing of a respective horn of a watch case. The body includes a plurality of elements connected to one another, each element having a hollowed portion, in order to give the bar longitudinal elasticity and allow elastic deformation thereof in the longitudinal direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 16, 2021
    Assignee: The Swatch Group Research and Development Ltd
    Inventors: Pierry Vuille, Yoann Mosteiro Vazquez
  • Patent number: 10901370
    Abstract: A safety valve for a watch including a head that is movably mounted on a tube and able to move between an open position and a closed position, the tube including in its internal volume a first spring and wherein the tube is provided on an external face with a cam surface allowing a manual movement and an automatic movement of the head into its open position, after the first spring, the tube includes a second spring having a higher stiffness than that of the first spring.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 26, 2021
    Assignee: The Swatch Group Research and Development Ltd
    Inventors: Pierry Vuille, Michel Willemin, Jean-Claude Martin
  • Patent number: 10869527
    Abstract: Watch band comprising lower and upper half band portions connected at a fold portion to surround a watch lug at the fold portion, each comprising a drilled hole for the passage of a double rivet comprising lower and upper bodies, either inserted one inside the other or each inserted into a common tube, the band including, at each double rivet, a snap means for ensuring a reversible axial stop for the lower body with respect to the upper body, comprising either a holding plate aligning lower and upper grooves of the lower and upper bodies, or two lower and upper clip lips of the common tube each clip fitted onto a complementary lower or upper lip of the lower or upper body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 17, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 22, 2020
    Assignee: The Swatch Group Research and Development Ltd.
    Inventors: Pierry Vuille, Cedric Nicolas, Yvan Ferri
  • Publication number: 20200387112
    Abstract: A closing/opening system for a case of a timepiece is defined particularly in first and second parts of the case. The system includes a device for producing a mechanical connection, particularly a bayonet connection between these first and second parts and a device for creating a friction torque between these first and second parts. The device for creating a friction torque includes tightening faces to cooperate with one another when closing/opening the case and which are defined in the first and second parts. The system further includes a tightening element in one of these two tightening faces. The tightening element generates a constant friction torque during a course of travel of one of the two parts relative to the other when closing/opening the case of the timepiece.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 19, 2018
    Publication date: December 10, 2020
    Applicant: The Swatch Group Research and Development Ltd
    Inventors: Pierry VUILLE, Enzo AGUSTONI, Joel ALLIMANN, Francois ERDEMLI
  • Publication number: 20200331801
    Abstract: A method hardens an anti-reflection treatment deposited on a transparent substrate that includes a top surface and a bottom surface which extends remotely from the top surface. The anti-reflection treatment includes depositing at least one anti-reflection layer of at least one material on at least one of the top and bottom surfaces of the transparent substrate, bombarding the at least one top or bottom surface on which the at least one anti-reflection layer has been deposited using a singly-charged and/or multi-charged ion beam produced by a singly-charged and/or multi-charged ECR electron cyclotron resonance ion source. The method produces a transparent substrate having undergone an anti-reflection treatment such that at least one of the top and bottom surfaces of the transparent substrate is coated with at least one anti-reflection layer of at least one material, whereby ions are implanted in the at least one anti-reflection layer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 19, 2019
    Publication date: October 22, 2020
    Applicant: Comadur SA
    Inventors: Alexis BOULMAY, Julien MEIER, Pierry VUILLE