Watch movement comprising a retrograde display and a jump hour ring
10928777 · 2021-02-23
Assignee
Inventors
- Yves Gerber (Cernier, CH)
- Sébastien Mojon (La Chaux-de-Fonds, CH)
- Guilhem Watrelot (Villers-le-Lac, FR)
Cpc classification
G04B27/004
PHYSICS
International classification
Abstract
A watch movement comprising a retrograde mobile, an hours ring bearing an asymmetric internal toothing and driven by the retrograde mobile in order to display the current hour in a jumping way, a correction mechanism allowing the retrograde mobile to be corrected in both directions, a drive member that can be actuated by said correction mechanism and engages with said asymmetric internal toothing so that corrections of the retrograde mobile in the clockwise direction are transmitted to the hours ring, whereas corrections in the counterclockwise direction are not transmitted to the hours ring.
Claims
1. A watch movement comprising: a retrograde mobile; an hours ring bearing an asymmetric internal toothing and driven via the retrograde mobile in order to display the current hour in a jumping way; a correction mechanism allowing the retrograde mobile to be corrected in a bidirectional way; a drive member that can be activated by said correction mechanism and engages with said asymmetric internal toothing so that corrections of the retrograde mobile in the clockwise direction are transmitted to the hours ring, and so that corrections in the counterclockwise direction are not transmitted to the hours ring.
2. The movement as claimed in claim 1, in which said asymmetric internal toothing comprises a plurality of teeth with asymmetric flanks, said drive member being arranged in such a way as to be able to butt against one flank of a tooth of the internal toothing and to drive the hours ring when the retrograde mobile is rotating in the counterclockwise direction, and to slide along another flank of a tooth of the internal toothing when the retrograde mobile is rotating in the clockwise direction.
3. The movement as claimed in claim 1, said retrograde mobile allowing the minutes to be displayed.
4. The movement as claimed in claim 3, comprising a snail cam and a rack engaged with the snail cam in order to drive said retrograde mobile.
5. The movement as claimed in claim 4, comprising a spring mounted on said rack and applying a force to press said drive member onto said asymmetric internal toothing.
6. The movement as claimed in claim 5, in which the snail cam rotating in a first direction of rotation drives said rack and said retrograde mobile in the opposite direction of rotation.
7. The watch movement as claimed in claim 4, in which said spring mounted on said rack comprises an end, for example a tooth-shaped end, designed to collaborate with said asymmetric internal toothing so as to control the counterclockwise rotation of the driving ring.
8. The watch movement as claimed in claim 7, comprising a jumper having a shape designed to block any clockwise rotation of the drive ring when said jumper is engaged in a recess of an external toothing of the drive ring.
9. The watch movement as claimed in claim 8, in which said jumper comprises an end substantially parallel to edge corners defining said recess when the jumper engages in said recess.
10. The movement as claimed in claim 3, designed to allow unlimited correction of the hours and minutes display in the clockwise direction.
11. The watch movement as claimed in claim 3, designed to allow correction of the minutes display in the counterclockwise direction.
12. The watch movement as claimed in claim 11, comprising a correction blocking mechanism to prevent the minutes from being corrected in the counterclockwise direction within a range that includes the instant at which the retrograde mobile returns, and to allow the minutes to be corrected in the counterclockwise direction outside of that range.
13. The movement as claimed in claim 1, in which the correction mechanism is designed to allow correction of the hours in the clockwise direction in a jumping way.
14. A method for correcting the display of an item of time-based information on a watch movement as claimed in claim 1, in which, in a first interval: the rotation of a time-setting stem in a first direction causes a snail cam to rotate in a first direction, and a rack to rotate in a second direction, the rotation of the rack in a second direction causes a retrograde mobile and a drive member to rotate; and said drive member moves along a first flank of an internal toothing of a ring without driving the rotation of said ring, then, at minute 60: the rotation of the snail cam causes the rack to fall and to rotate in the first direction near-instantaneously; the near-instantaneous rotation of the rack in the first direction drives the near-instantaneous rotation of the retrograde mobile, the rotation of said drive member pressing against a second flank of the internal toothing of the ring drives this ring with jumping and near-instantaneously.
15. The correction method as claimed in claim 14, wherein: the rotation of the time-setting stem drives the snail cam; the rotation of the snail cam causes the rack to rotate in the opposite direction, the rotation of the rack causes the retrograde mobile and the drive member to rotate.
16. The correction method as claimed in claim 15, wherein the correction of the minutes display in the counterclockwise direction is limited to a range that excludes the instant at which the retrograde mobile returns.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
(1) Exemplary embodiments of the invention are indicated in the description which is illustrated by the attached figures in which:
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EXAMPLE(S) OF EMBODIMENT(S) OF THE INVENTION
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(18) The first end 31 of a rack 3 follows the rotation of a snail cam 5 borne by a driving release wheel 52. This driving release wheel 52 is driven by the wheel 7 of the geartrain in such a way that the minutes indicator 2 travels over the minutes scale 9 (
(19) The correction mechanism is illustrated in
(20) In position P0 illustrated in
(21) When the time-setting stem 10 is brought by the user into the position P1 in the direction of the arrow A, the pull-out piece 11 is held in the indentation 121 of the pull-out-piece jumper 12, while at the same time driving the lever 13 and the sliding pinion 15 in the direction of the arrow B so that the sliding pinion 15 engages with the first correction transfer gear 16.
(22) The first correction transfer gear 16 in its turn engages with the second correction transfer gear 18. With reference to
(23) As illustrated in
(24) The second end 32 of the rack 3 comprises an oblong opening equipped with an internal toothing 320. The rack 3 pivots about a pivot point 34 under the action of the snail cam. During this pivoting, the internal toothing 320 of the second end of the rack 32 engages with the external toothing 200 of the retrograde mobile 20 so that the retrograde indicator 2 borne by the retrograde mobile 20 turns in the same direction as the second end of the rack 32.
(25) A rack end-stop 35, the purpose of which will be detailed later on, is connected to the rack 3 and makes it possible to prevent the snail cam 5 from rotating in the clockwise direction, at least in a blocking range when the feeler 31 is close to the jump of the cam.
(26) The movement of the rack is transmitted to a drive member, here consisting of a tooth 4 articulated to the second end of the rack 32 by means of the axis 41. A return spring 42 applies a return force to the tooth 4 in order to press it against the toothing 610.
(27) Hours indications 6 are borne by the hours ring 60. This ring is mounted on the smaller-diameter drive ring 61. In an alternative form which has not been illustrated, it is also conceivable for the hours indications 6 to be positioned directly on the drive ring 61 or on a ring of the same diameter.
(28) The drive ring 61 comprises an internal toothing 610 with a plurality of teeth around the entire internal periphery. The spacing between the teeth is an even spacing. The teeth have two asymmetric flanks 6100 and 6101. The first flank 6100 is almost radial in relation to the diameter of the ring 61 and allows the ring 61 to be driven by means of the drive member (tooth) 4. The second flank 6101 is inclined and forms an angle of less than 30 with the tangent to the ring 61 so that when the tooth 4 is in contact with the second flank 6101, it can slide along this second flank 6101 without driving same, and without driving the ring 61 either.
(29) The drive ring 61 further comprises an external toothing 611 exhibiting teeth 6110 the tips of which are concentric with the drive ring 61, the hollow 6111 between each of the teeth 6110 being designed to accept the end 620 of a positioning jumper 62. The jumper 62 thus collaborates with the external toothing 611 in order to center the hour indications 6 in a window (not depicted). The end 620 of this jumper 62 opposes the movement of the ring 61 by engaging in the hollow 6111 between the teeth 6110 of the external toothing of the drive ring 61. The stiffness of the jumper 62 is chosen such that it holds the hours drive ring 61 in place when said ring is not being driven by the tooth 4 and so as to allow the end of the jumper 620 to disengage from the hollow 6111 of the external toothing of the hours ring 611 under the action of the tooth 4 on the toothing 6100 and by virtue of a rack spring 33.
(30) The operation of the correction mechanism during corrections in the clockwise direction, namely in order to move the indicated time forward, between minutes 0 and 60, will now be described with the aid of
(31) When the time-setting stem 10, pulled axially into the correction position P1, turns in a first direction in order to move the displayed minute forwards, it drives the snail cam 5 in the counterclockwise direction, thus causing the first (feeler) end 31 of the rack 3, the second end of the rack 32, the retrograde indicator 2 and the tooth 4 to rotate in the clockwise direction with respect to the pivot point 34. Friction on the drive wheel 7 (
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(35) During the course of the interval illustrated in
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(37) Because the movements of the rack 3 in the counterclockwise direction have now to be transmitted to the hour ring 60, it is important to ensure that the minutes are not manually corrected backwards, as this would cause the rings 60 and 61 to move. It would then be possible to leave the hours disk 60 between two figures depending on the minute at which the correction was stopped.
(38) In order to avoid this risk, as can be seen in particular in
(39) The rack stop 35 acts only in a limited range when the feeler 31 is just before the fall of the cam; it remains possible to rotate the cam 5 in both directions outside of this range. In one embodiment, the rotation of the snail cam 5 is blocked in the clockwise direction when the minutes indicator is between 57 and 59 minutes.
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(41) At minute 60, the falling of the rack 3 onto the snail cam 5 simultaneously causes a near-instantaneous return of the minutes indicator 2 to 0 in the counterclockwise direction and a jump of the hours ring 61, likewise in the counterclockwise direction, so as to display the next hour. This return is illustrated in
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(46) The correction mechanism 1 thus allows jumping correction of the hours display in the clockwise direction. This correction is achieved through the intermediary of the minutes correction mechanism 1, by turning the time-setting stem 10 into the correction position P1. A correction of unlimited amplitude can thus be performed in the clockwise direction.
(47) The operation of the correction mechanism in the counterclockwise direction between minutes 0 and 59, namely by turning the time-setting stem in a second direction in order to turn back time, will now be described. Rotating the time-setting stem in the second direction causes the snail cam 5 to rotate in the clockwise direction, and causes the rack 3, the retrograde minutes indicator 2 and the drive member 4 to rotate in a counterclockwise direction. In this direction, the correction movements of the windings stem are transmitted to the snail cam 5 and to the rack 3. Between minutes 0 and 59, the drive member 4 driven in the counterclockwise direction slides against the second flank 6101 of the drive ring 61, without moving same.
(48) From minute 57 onwards, or as soon as the snail cam enters the rotation-blocking range, the rack stop 35 presses against the edge of the fall of the snail cam 5 and prevents the latter from continuing its rotation in the clockwise direction, as explained above. If the user forces the issue, the friction wheel 17 (
(49) After the fall, namely at minute 0, rotation of the snail cam 5 in the clockwise direction is blocked by the rack 3 which cannot climb back up the fall of this snail cam 5. The friction wheel 17 slips and the movements of the time-setting stem remain ineffectual.
(50) It is therefore not possible to move on directly from minute 01 to minute 59; the friction wheel 17 prevents this movement. However, the user can correct the time using a suitable number of rotations in the clockwise direction.
(51) In the clockwise direction, this correction device thus allows an unlimited correction to be made to the hours and to the minutes with, between the end of minute 60 and minute 0, a near-instantaneous return of the minute hand 2 and a synchronized jump of the hours indicator 6.
(52) In the counterclockwise direction (in order to turn back time), this correction device thus allows the minutes to be corrected only outside of the blockage range, for example between minute 57 (or 59) and minute 0.
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(54) As will be discussed later on, the return spring 44 and the jumper 64 which are illustrated in
(55) It is important to emphasize at this point that it is not essential to have the return spring 44 and the jumper 64 both present at the same time. It is possible for example to envision a mechanism comprising the return spring 44 of
(56) The return spring 44 of the alternative form of
(57) In order to demonstrate the difference in shape between the jumper 62 of
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(63) If the jumper 62 of
(64) By contrast, the jumper 64 of
(65) The alternative form illustrated in
(66) In the alternative form illustrated in
REFERENCE NUMERALS USED IN THE FIGURES
(67) 1 Watch movement, particularly correction mechanism 10 Time-setting stem 11 Pull-out piece 12 Pull-out piece jumper 120 First depression 121 Second depression 13 Lever 131 Lever spring 14 Rewinding pinion 15 Sliding pinion 16 First correction transfer gear 17 Motion-work drive wheel 18 Second correction transfer gear 2 Retrograde indicator 20 Retrograde mobile 200 Toothing of mobile 20 3 Rack 31 First end of the rack 32 Second end of the rack 320 Toothing of rack 3 33 Rack spring 34 Pivot point 35 Rack stop (correction blocking mechanism) 350 Head of the rack stop 4 Drive member/tooth/finger 41 axis 42 First alternative form of return spring 420 End of return spring 42 421 Body of return spring 42 44 Second alternative form of return spring 440 First end of return spring 44 441 Body of return spring 44 442 Second end of return spring 44 5 Snail cam 51 Peak of snail cam 52 Release drive wheel 6 Jumping display element 60 Jumping display element ring 61 Jumping display element drive ring 610 Internal toothing of drive ring 61 6100 First flank of toothing 610 6101 Second flank of toothing 610 6102 Tip of toothing 610 611 External toothing of drive ring 61 6110 Tooth of toothing 611 6111 Recess of toothing 611 61110 First edge corner of recess 6111 61111 Second edge corner of recess 6111 62 First embodiment of jumper for positioning ring 61 620 First end of jumper 62 622 Second end of jumper 62 63 Jumper spring 64 Second embodiment of jumper for positioning ring 61 640 First end of jumper 64 642 Second end of jumper 64 7 Center wheel friction mobile/retrograde minutes intermediate transfer gear 8 Jumping hours window 9 Minutes scale