CH684455B5 - Timepiece with minute repeater. - Google Patents

Description

1

CH 684 455G A3

2

Description

Watchmakers specializing in complicated watches are well aware of the minute repeater mechanisms that strike, on request, the hours, quarter-hours and residual minutes.

In these rooms, it is imperative, if not recommended, to wait, before asking the time again, for the repeating mechanism to return to its initial state, which does not take place until a certain time after the last stroke of the minute bell.

Unfortunately, timepieces of this type that we know do not include any indicator device to know when the repeating mechanism is reusable after the last strike of the minutes.

The object of the present invention is a timepiece eliminating this gap. Claim 1 defines it.

The attached drawing shows schematically and by way of example an embodiment constituting a wristwatch.

Fig. 1 is a plan view of its dial.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan view of the part of the repeating mechanism controlling the striking of the minutes.

The wristwatch shown displays on its dial 10 the hours, minutes and seconds.

Its movement includes a minute repeater mechanism striking, on demand, successively the hours, quarter-hours and residual minutes.

This mechanism consists of a barrel, not shown, and, at the level of the organs controlling the striking of the minutes, by a part 11 pivotally mounted on a fixed axis 12 by means of a barrel 13 and by a minute snail. 14 rotating at the rate of one revolution per hour and having four arms each provided with fifteen teeth.

The part 11 comprises on the one hand a toothing 15 and on the other hand a rake 16 intended to cooperate with the lifting of the minute hammer 17.

The position of the part 11 from which this hammer is actuated and the number of blows which it must strike are determined in a known manner by a tilting hook A mounted on the part of the quarter-hours and in engagement with the toothing 15.

After the quarter-hour strike, this hook A is initially released from the toothing 15 which allows a spring to rotate the part 11 as far as an angular position determined by engagement with the spout 11A in the tooth of the snail 14 corresponding to the number of residual minutes, thereby fixing the relative angular position of the rake 16 and the pawl 17, then, in a second step, automatically reengaged in the toothing 15.

From this instant, the hook A drives the part 11 in the direction of the arrow F1 and the hammer of the ifminutes strikes as many strokes as the pawl 17 jumps from the teeth of the rake 16.

After the last stroke, it takes a while for all of the mechanism's components to return to their original positions and thus it is possible to repeat the time indication.

To make it possible to know exactly from which moment the minute repeater mechanism can be activated again after having given the time for the first time, the watch is equipped with a device making it possible to visualize the angular movement described by the part 11 during the ringing and when the mechanism is reset to zero and thus determine, when this part comes to a stop, the instant from which the repeating mechanism can again be used.

This indicating device comprises an axis 18 extending the barrel 13 and carrying a needle 19 which cooperates with a zone 20, in the form of a sector, of the dial 10. This zone 20 is divided into a graduated zone 21 and a zone 22 bearing the indication "STOP".

The graduations of zone 21 correspond to the minutes of the striking of the minutes and zone 22 to 1 time interval necessary for resetting the mechanism with repetition to minutes.

When the needle 19, after having swept the zone 22 in the direction of the arrow F2 comes to a standstill in the position indicated in broken lines, the mechanism can be controlled again.

The invention is obviously not limited to the embodiment shown and described above.

In particular, the end of the resetting of the repeating mechanism could be indicated by a sensory signal different from that described, for example by a sign appearing in a window, an indicator light, an audible signal, etc.

Claims (8)

Claims 1. Timepiece with minute repeater, characterized in that it is provided with a device comprising means which indicate the moment from which the minute repeater mechanism, after being used, is again operational. 2. Part according to claim 1, characterized in that said means are visual. 3. Piece according to claim 2, characterized in that said means display said instant on the dial (10) of the piece. 4. Part according to claim 3, characterized in that said means are constituted by an indicator member (19) cooperating with a range (20) of the dial (10) divided into a first zone (21) having a graduation indicating the number of minutes to ring and a second zone (22) corresponding to the time necessary for the resetting of said mechanism. 5. Piece according to claim 4, characterized in that said indicator member (19) is driven by the minute piece (11) of said mechanism. 6. Piece according to claim 5, characterized in that said indicator member (19) is wedged on an axis (18) rotatably integral with the minute piece (11) of said mechanism. 7. Part according to claim 2, characterized 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 3 3 CH 684 455G A3 by the fact that said means are constituted by a light signal or by a sign appearing in a window. 8. Piece according to claim 1, characterized in that said means are acoustic. 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65