CH709069B1 - Timepiece comprising a striking mechanism relating to an adjustable time zone mechanism. - Google Patents

Abstract

The timepiece according to the invention comprises a movement having an hour wheel (27); a striking mechanism capable of ringing at least the hours comprising a limaçon hours (22) coaxial and integral with a star hours (21); and a mechanism for changing the time zone including a time zone selection member. The hour star (21) and the hours snail (22) are driven by a time zone wheel return (25) coaxial with the hour star (21) and meshing with a time zone wheel (28). coaxial and connected to the hour wheel (27) of the movement by a coupling for indexing these wheels relative to each other step by step. A synchronization device kinematically links the time zone selection member to the time zone wheel (28) so that the hour limb (22) is positioned by the synchronization device for the striking mechanism to sound. time displayed.

Description

Description: [0001] The present invention relates to complicated timepieces comprising a striking mechanism and a mechanism relating to an adjustable time zone.

[0002] EP 1 770 453 describes a timepiece comprising a double-ring mechanism. This mechanical timepiece includes a time indication mechanism of a first and a second time zone and is provided with a ringing device that can ring the time corresponding to the first or second time zone. To do this, the striking mechanism comprises two hours snails providing information relating to the time of the first respectively the second time zone. This timepiece also has two hours hammers and two mechanisms for triggering the hour bell, one for the hour bell of the first time zone and the other for the hour bell of the second time zone.

[0003] EP 2 498 145 describes a ringing mechanism with distinctive ringtones for a timepiece. This mechanism includes two staggered hours ratchets and a control device for selecting one or the other of these ratchets to actuate the hour bell. A cam is provided to select one of the ratchets of the hours and make the other inoperative for a predetermined duration thereby changing the ringer during this period.

[0004] These mechanisms are complex and require duplicating several elements of the striking mechanism, ratchets, snail hours, etc. as well as providing several manual controls for the striking mechanism for its triggering and / or the selection of the ringtone.

The object of the present invention is the production of a timepiece comprising a striking mechanism and an adjustable time display mechanism according to a chosen time zone whose ringing sounds automatically, without special intervention of the user, the time displayed.

The present invention relates more particularly to a timepiece having a clock mechanism displayed time such as a minute repeater, large or small ring and a mechanism for setting the time display according to a chosen time zone such as universal time or GMT.

The present invention relates to a timepiece comprising a striking mechanism and a mechanism for changing the time zone which is distinguished by the features set forth in claim 1.

The accompanying drawing illustrates schematically and by way of example an embodiment of the timepiece according to the invention.

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a timepiece comprising a striking mechanism and a mechanism for changing the time zone provided with the synchronization device of the hour struck on the time zone displayed.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a portion of the striking mechanism and timing device sounded on the displayed time zone.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the time synchronization device sounded on the time zone displayed and part of the striking mechanism and part of the mechanism for changing the time zone.

Fig. 4 illustrates seen in plan on the dial side the snail quarter, snail minutes and a surprise.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the assembly illustrated in FIG. 4 seen from the bridge side.

Fig. 6 illustrates the training of the snail hours in perspective.

Fig. 7 is a detail in plan illustrating the coupling of the hour wheel to the timezone wheel.

Fig. 8 is a detail in plan illustrating the motive formed by the hour star, the hours snail and the time zone wheel return.

Figs. 9 to 13 illustrate different successive phases of the striking mechanism when actuated by the user at 12:59.

Fig. 14 illustrates in detail the position of the quarter piece and the minute piece resting on their respective masons when the striking mechanism is in its position illustrated in FIG. 13.

Figs. 15 to 19 illustrate different successive phases of the striking mechanism when actuated by the user at 1:00.

Fig. 20 illustrates a detail of the position of the quarter piece and the minute piece resting on their respective masons when the striking mechanism is in its position illustrated in FIG. 19.

The present invention relates to complicated watches including watches or timepieces having a striking mechanism and a mechanism for changing the time zone. The striking mechanism can be a minute repeater, a large or a small ring. What is important is that the ringing mechanism makes it possible to ring the time displayed when passing or on demand.

The present invention aims to achieve such a complicated timepiece in which the striking mechanism automatically sounds the time displayed, that is to say, the clock must be synchronized with the mechanism to change time zone.

In the following, the invention will be described with reference to a complicated watch comprising a minute repeater and a universal time as an example, other types of ringtones or other types of spindle adjustment mechanism. Of course, it is also possible to equip complicated watches that include synchronization of the hour, the time zone chosen and the object of the invention.

FIG. 1 illustrates diagrammatically from the front a watch comprising a time zone selection member, here a city disc 1, a disc of twenty-four hours 2, a pusher 3 for operating a mechanism for changing the time zone, a lock 4 for operating a striking mechanism and a time display 5.6.

The striking mechanism of this complicated watch partially illustrated in FIG. 2 will be described only to the extent necessary for the understanding of the present invention because for the rest it corresponds to a minute repetition mechanism of the usual type described for example in the book "clock theory" by the technical college of the Joux Valley, the Trail, Switzerland.

This striking mechanism comprises an arm 7 emerging from the watch case on which is fixed the lock 4 allowing the user to operate the striking mechanism. This arm 7 is secured to a rack 8 pivoted about an axis 9 fixed in a fixed part, bridge or plate of the striking mechanism. This rack meshes with a rack pinion 10 fixed on a rocket shaft 11 of the striking mechanism connected to the barrel (not shown).

A spout hours 12 is pivoted on the axis 9 and has at one of its ends a feeler hour 13, at its other end a pin 14 and between two a pin 33.

This striking mechanism further comprises a minute piece 15 and a quarter part 16, concentrically rotated about an axis 17 and each subject to a return spring 15.1 respectively 16.1. The minute piece 15 and the quarter piece 16 are kinematically connected to the rocket shaft 11 in a conventional manner.

The minute piece 15 has a minute mouthpiece 15.2 and the quarter part has a quarter spout 16.2.

An hour jumper 18 is pivoted at 19 on a fixed part, bridge or platinum, the striking mechanism and has a first end 18.1 cooperating with the pin 14 under the action of a jumper spring hours 20 and a second end 18.2 adapted to cooperate with a star hours 21.

This hour star 21 is integral with a snail of hours 22. This star set of hours 21 and hours snail 22 is rotated on an hour axis 23 and is connected by means of a spring 24 to a time zone wheel return 25 also rotated on said hour axis 23.

The rotation drive of the snail hour 22 is made from the main cylinder of the watch movement (not shown) by a timer wheel 26 whose pinion 26.1 meshes with a wheel of hours 27 connected to a wheel of time zones 28 by a coupling formed in this embodiment of a driving star 29 integral with the time zone wheel 28 and a pawl 30 pivoted on the hour wheel 27 and subjected to the action of a spring recall. The drive star 29 has twelve teeth so that the time zone wheel 28 can be indexed in twelve different angular positions on the hour wheel 27. Finally, the time zone wheel 28 meshes with the spindle wheel. hours 25.

This striking mechanism further comprises a quarter jumper 31 pivoted at 32 on a fixed part, bridge or platinum, the striking mechanism and whose first end 31.1 cooperates with the pin 33 serving as a stop and carried by the spout hours 12 while the second end 31.2 is able to cooperate with a surprise 43. This quarter jumper is subjected to the action of a return spring 34 tending to move the jumper quarter quarters in the counterclockwise direction ( Fig. 2).

A finger hour 35 pivoted at 36 has an oblong slot 35.1 at a first end in which is engaged a pin 37 attached to the jumper hours 18. The second end of the hour finger 35 is adapted to cooperate with a hour cam 42 united with surprise 43.

[0023] A cog wheel of the movement making one turn per hour extends coaxially through the hour wheel 27 and the time zone wheel 28. A pinion 39 is lanterned on the axis of the finishing train. This pinion 39 is integral with a minute snail 40. The quarters snail 41, the hour cam 42 and surprise 43 are integral with each other and coaxial with the axis of the finishing train. This assembly 41,42,43 is pivoted madly on the barrel of pinion 39 connected to minutes snail 40 by a surprise spring 44. Sprocket 39 lanterned on the axis of the work train is engaged with the timer wheel 26 .

The device for synchronizing the clock of the hour on the chosen time zone (FIG 3) comprises a ring gear 45 fixed under the time zone selection member, here the disk of the cities 1, whose teeth cooperates with a finger 48 carried by the end of a first arm of a synchronization lever 46 ft voted 47. The second arm of this synchronization lever 46 carries a pawl 49 cooperating with the tooth teeth wolf a synchronizing wheel 50. This synchronizing wheel is integral and coaxial with a synchronization pinion 51 engaged with the time zone wheel 28 and a drive wheel 52 of the twenty-four hour disk 2.

Thus, when the timepiece is running, the snail 22 hours of its striking mechanism is driven by the wheel 27 hours of the wheelwork through the wheel of time zones 28 meshing with the time zone wheel return 25.

The operation of the striking mechanism is illustrated in FIGS. 9 to 14 for a bell at 12:59.

In fig. 9, the striking mechanism is illustrated in the rest position, the hour snail 22 being indexed on 12H, the quarters snail 41 on the fourth quarter and minute snail 40 on the 59th minute.

The user actuates the ringing movement of the latch 4 which acts on the arm 7 rotates the rack 8 clockwise up the ring barrel by the rack pinion 10. In doing so, the bill of hours 12 is driven and quarter jumper 31 is released and its second end 31.2 bears against the surprise 43 (Figure 10). The movement of the latch 4 continuing the spout hours 12 releases the jumper hours 18 whose stroke is limited by the finger hour 35 coming to butter against the hour cam 42 before the second end 18.2 of the jumper hours 18 does not come find on the way to the star of hours 21 (Fig. 11). An additional displacement of the latch 4 causes the contact between the hour probe 13 and the hour snail 22 on its lowest echelon corresponding to 12 hours. Once the contact is established, the pivoting of the lock 4 causes the movement of a bird 53 bringing it into contact with an all or nothing 54 (FIG 12). The end of the displacement of the lock 4 causes the movement of the all or nothing 54 by the bird 53 which releases the minute room 15 and the room of the quarters 16 which fall on the fourteenth stage of the fourth branch of the minutes snail 40 respectively on the fourth rung of the quarter snail 41 (Figures 13 and 14).

Finally, conventionally under the action of the barrel ring, the rocket shaft 11 drives a drive pinion 55 of the quarter part 16. Going up the quarter part 16 and the minute piece 15 are ringing the ringing through hammers and stamps not illustrated.

When the buzzer is active at the correct time, for example 1H, see fig. 15 to 20, when the user actuates the latch 4, the hours spout begins to descend and releases the jumper quarters 31, its end 31.2 causes surprise 43 and the integral parts thereof is the quarter snail 41 and the hours cam 42. An additional displacement of the latch 4 allows the fall of the hours jumper 18 which is not limited by the hour finger 35 by the hour cam 42 because it is moved. The hour jumper 18 can thus index the hour star 21 so that the hour snail 22 passes from the low rung (12H) to the high rung (1H). When the latch 4 is in abutment, the end 13 of the hour beak 12 bears on the top rung of the hour snail 22, the all or nothing 54 to release the minute piece 15 and the quarter piece 16 which fall on the surprise 43 respectively on the 1st rung of the quarters snail 41 (Figs 19 and 20).

When the user steps forward the disk of the cities 1, the time zone wheel 28 is shifted by 30 °, angle corresponding to one hour with respect to the hour wheel 27 by the synchronization device which comprises the ring gear 45, the synchronization lever 46, the synchronization wheel 50 and the star coupling 29 - ratchet 30 between the hour wheel 27 and the time zone wheel 28. In doing so, the hours snail is automatically indexed by to be positioned so that the ringing mechanism sounds the time displayed.

Unlike the existing striking mechanisms where the hour snail 22 integral with the star hours is driven by a pad integral with the surprise, in an embodiment according to the present invention the hour snail 22 integral with the star of 21 hours is driven by a time zone wheel return 25 in engagement with a time zone wheel 28 connected by a coupling formed by the star 29 and the pawl 30 to the hour wheel 27 and thus indexable in steps corresponding to a hour compared to this hour wheel 27.

In addition, the time zone wheel 28 is connected by a kinematic link to the selection member of the time zone, here the disk of the cities 1 so as to make an angular displacement of 30 ° relative to the wheel of the hours 27 for each 15 ° movement of the disk of the cities 1. This arrangement therefore allows the striking mechanism to ring the hours of the hour of the selected time zone, the hour snail 22 being automatically indexed to the time displayed by the synchronization device connecting it to the cities disk 1.

In variants, the coupling between the hour wheel 27 and the time zone wheel 28 can be achieved by any device for changing the position of these wheels 27, 28 in steps corresponding to one hour. Similarly, the synchronization lever 46 kinematically connecting the toothed ring 45 fixed to the selection member of the time zone, here to the disk of the cities 1 and the synchronization wheel 50 could be replaced by any link allowing

Claims (11)

to drive step by step the time zone wheel 28 with respect to the hour wheel 27 from the angular displacements step by step of the disk of the cities 1. [0035] In the embodiment described, the pusher 3 makes it possible to classic way of advancing the disc of cities 1 step by step to change time zones. claims 1. Timepiece comprising a movement having an hour wheel (27); a striking mechanism capable of ringing at least the hours comprising a limaçon hours (22) coaxial and integral with a star hours (21); and a mechanism for changing a timezone having a time zone selection member (1), characterized in that the hour star (21) and the hours snail (22) are driven by a wheel spindle time zones (25) coaxial with the hour star (21) and meshing with a coaxial time zone wheel (28) and connected to the hour wheel (27) of the movement by a coupling for indexing these wheels; one in relation to the other step by step; and in that a synchronization device kinematically links the time zone selection member (1) to the time zone wheel (28) so that the hour limb (22) is positioned by the synchronization so that the ringing mechanism sounds the time displayed. 2. Timepiece according to claim 1, characterized in that the coupling indexes the wheel of time zones (28) in twelve different positions relative to the hour wheel (27). 3. Timepiece according to claim 2, characterized in that the different indexing positions of the time zone wheel on the hour wheel are each distant from the indexing position close to an angular value corresponding to one o'clock. 4. Timepiece according to claim 3, characterized in that the coupling between the time zone wheel (28) and the hour wheel (27) comprises a star (29) with twelve teeth integral with one of these two wheels, cooperating with a pawl (30) subjected to the action of a return spring pivoted on the other of these two wheels. 5. Timepiece according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the synchronization device comprises a synchronization wheel (50) having a teeth wolf teeth, coaxial and secured to a pinion of synchronization (51) meshing with the time zone wheel (28). 6. Timepiece according to claim 5, characterized in that the synchronization device further comprises a synchronization lever (46) having a first arm whose end carries a finger (48) cooperating with the selection member. the time zone (1) and a second arm carrying a pawl (49) cooperating with the synchronization wheel (50). 7. Timepiece according to claim 6, characterized in that the selection member of the time zone is a city disc (1) integral with a ring gear (45) whose teeth cooperate with the finger (48). ) of the first arm of the sync rocker (46). Timepiece according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the timezone wheel return (25) is connected to the star set of hours (21) - hour limb (22) by a spring (24) allowing an angular displacement between this time zone wheel return (25) and the star hour set (21) - hour limb (22). 9. Timepiece according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the striking mechanism comprises an assembly formed by a quarter snail (41), an hour cam (42) and a surprise (43) solidaires and coaxial with each other rotated crazy on an axis of the work train, this assembly (41,42,43) being connected to a minute snail (40) by a surprise spring (44). 10. Timepiece according to claim 9, characterized in that the striking mechanism further comprises a jumper quarters (31), a second end (31.2) is adapted to cooperate with the surprise (43) and a jumper of hours (18), a first end (18.1) cooperates with a pin (14) carried by one end of a spout hours (12) whose other end has a feeler hour (13) adapted to cooperate with the snail hours (22), a second end (18.2) of the hours jumper (18) being adapted to cooperate with the hour star (21); the hours nozzle comprising a pin (33) cooperating with a first end (31.1) of the quarter jumper (31). 11. Timepiece according to claim 10, characterized in that the saltire hours (18) comprises a stud (37) engaged in an oblong slot (35.1) of a finger hours (35), one end cooperates with the hour cam (42).