CH714303A1 - Decorative system for timepiece or jewelery. - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a decorative system for a timepiece or jewelery comprising: a plurality of concentric rings (5, 5a, 5b) of which at least a part are movable rings (5, 5b) mounted to rotate on a support (3) and of which at least one surface of said rings (5, 5b) is intended to be visible to a user, a control system (11) arranged to angularly move at least one of said rings (5, 5b) under the effect of a driving force. According to the invention, each movable ring (5, 5b) is kinematically connected to at least one other movable ring (5, 5b) by means of an elastic element (7) arranged to allow relative rotation between said movable rings. (5, 5b).

Description

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to the field of watchmaking and jewelery. More particularly, it relates to a decorative system provided with a plurality of concentric mobile rings visible to the user.

State of the Art [0002] The document CH 670 186 describes a timepiece which comprises two concentric mobile rings, arranged between the dial and the ice, and carrying stones, patterns, textures or the like. These rings are rotatably mounted by means of ball bearings. They each include an unbalance, which puts them in rotary motion under the effect of accelerations induced by the actions of the wearer, to create an aesthetic effect, which is however limited.

The object of the invention is therefore to provide a room with an original animation, to improve the attractiveness and interest for such a room.

Disclosure of the invention [0004] More specifically, a first aspect of the invention relates to a decorative system for a timepiece or for a piece of jewelery. This system comprises a plurality of concentric rings, at least a portion of which are mobile rings rotatably mounted on a support and of which at least one surface of said rings is intended to be visible to a user. The support may be dedicated to the decorative system or may be part of a frame or housing that includes the timepiece.

A steering system is arranged to angularly move at least one of said rings under the effect of a driving force. This driven ring may be, for example, the inner ring, the outer ring or an intermediate ring. The driven ring can be driven via an oscillating weight, a watch movement, a control member such as a pusher or bolt, a dedicated motor spring or any other suitable means. It is also possible to combine these workouts in combinations that make technical sense.

According to the invention, each mobile ring is kinematically connected to at least one other mobile ring by means of an elastic member arranged to allow relative rotation between said rings. Moreover, the inertia of all the moving elements of the system is increased compared to those of the aforementioned document.

By these means, the movable rings are forced to move together, but at different rotational speeds. The increased inertia also dampens these displacements, which are thus made less abrupt and therefore smoother than in the production of the aforementioned document. The rotations are therefore regular and pleasant to watch.

Advantageously, said elastic element is a spiral spring comprising a plurality of attachment points, at least a portion, preferably each attachment point being attached to one of said movable rings. A simple construction is thus proposed. In addition, the latter minimizes the number of parts to be manufactured and facilitates the assembly of the system.

Advantageously, an outer ring is provided which is fixedly mounted relative to said support.

Advantageously, at least a portion of said rings comprises a plurality of rollers arranged to cooperate with a groove that includes the adjacent ring. The rollers and the grooves support each other perpendicular to the plane of the rings and all the rings are thus made self-supporting. Therefore, only a rigid connection between a fixed ring (such as the outer or inner ring) and the support is required, which frees up space below the rings for other components such as the aforementioned elastic member [ Advantageously, every second ring is of a first type comprising a plurality of rollers, each roll extending in the plane of its ring on either side of the latter so as to cooperate with grooves provided in each of the two adjacent rings, which are therefore of a second type. The two types of rings are arranged alternately in the plane of the rings. This configuration minimizes the number of rolls since each roller interacts with the two rings located on either side of the ring which carries it, and thus simplifies the construction of the rings of the second type.

A second aspect of the invention relates to a decorative system for a timepiece or piece of jewelery comprising a plurality of concentric rings, at least a portion of which are mobile rings mounted rotatably on a support and at least one surface of said rings is intended to be visible to a user. The decorative system also comprises a control system arranged to angularly move at least one of said rings. It can be noted that it is not excluded that the system further comprises stationary rings located between moving rings.

According to this aspect of the invention, each mobile ring is kinematically connected to at least one other mobile ring, and said control system comprises a separate oscillating mass of all of said rings. This oscillating mass is in kinematic connection with one of said rings, either directly or via any link.

Again, the kinematic connection between the mobile rings imposes a relative angular displacement free of sudden movements, which is particularly interesting in the context of a drive through an oscillating mass since the rings can perform complete laps without limitation. The increased inertia compared to the arrangement of the aforementioned prior art dampens the movements and makes them smoother.

Advantageously, the mobile rings are kinematically connected via gears, in particular through gears forming a plurality of differential gears arranged in cascade. A simple solution, which allows an easy determination of the angular velocity ratios between the mobile rings, is thus proposed. In order to construct this set of differential gears, each mobile ring may comprise a ring gear as well as a plurality of pivoted references on the ring, in particular on said ring. The one or more rings of a ring cooperate with the links of an adjacent ring and vice versa, which links the rings kinematically to each other.

Advantageously, every second ring comprises a plurality of supports arranged to support an element of the adjacent ring sandwich. The set of rings is thus self-supporting, which requires no structure below said assembly and thus provides room for other components and / or makes the device compact.

Advantageously, the system further comprises an outer ring secured to said support.

The system can be integrated into a timepiece or jewelery, especially behind the mirror of a housing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0019] Other details of the invention will appear more clearly on reading the description which follows, made with reference to the appended drawings in which: FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a decorative system according to the invention; Fig. 2 is an isometric view cut away from the system of FIG. 1; Fig. 3 is an isometric view of the elastic member of the embodiment of FIG. 1; Fig. 4 is a side sectional view of the system of FIG. 1; Fig. 5 is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 4; Fig. 6 is a partial sectional view of a variant of the system of FIG. 1; Fig. 7 is a partial sectional view illustrating the attachment of the elastic element to the rings in the embodiment of FIG. 1; Fig. 8 is a cut isometric view of a second embodiment of a decorative system according to the invention; Fig. 9 is an isometric view cut away from the system of FIG. 8, illustrated bottom side; Fig. 10 is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 9; and fig. 11 is an exploded view of a portion of FIG. 9.

Embodiments of the Invention [0020] FIGS. 1 to 5 and 7 illustrate a first embodiment of a decorative system 1, intended to be integrated in a timepiece such as a watch or a piece of jewelry. This system 1 can be built as a module or can be integrated with a timepiece or jewelery, being assembled at the level of a watch movement or a case. In the case of a timepiece, the system 1 can be arranged concentrically with the watch movement or, particularly with a modular construction, can be shifted with respect to the latter.

This system 1 comprises a support 3, which is intended to be mounted on the frame of a movement or on an element of the case of the timepiece or jewelery, so that a face of the system 1 is visible, especially behind the ice. Alternatively, the support 3 may be an element of the frame or the housing itself. Note that the system does not have to be protected by ice. It can therefore be provided on an outer surface of the housing, if necessary.

On the visible face of the system 1 are arranged a plurality of concentric rings 5, 5a, 5b, which carry decorative elements such as shiny 6, patterns, drawings, enamels or any other decor.

With the exception of the outer ring 5a, which is fixed in the illustrated construction, these rings 5, 5b are pivotally mounted on the support 3 and each ring 5 is kinematically connected to the neighboring ring 5. In this embodiment, this kinematic connection is obtained by means of a single spiral spring 7 which is located below (that is to say on the invisible side) of the set of rings 5. Each turn of this spring 7 comprises an attachment point 9 which makes it possible to fix the spring to each ring 5 by means of a screw, a pin or the like, as illustrated in FIG. 7. For this purpose, the pitch of the hairspring corresponds to the difference in radius between two adjacent rings, this difference being identical or variable, preferably regularly, between two adjacent rings. Alternatively, each turn of the spring 7 may have several attachment points for the same or different rings 5, or a plurality of individual springs may link the adjacent rings 5. Other similar arrangements are also conceivable.

The inner ring 5b is intended to surround the axes of the needles of the timepiece. It is arranged to be rotated by means of an oscillating mass 11 having an unbalance, similar to the oscillating masses commonly used for the winding of automatic watches. The mass 11 is movably mounted with reference to the support 3 by a ball bearing 13 to minimize friction. At its geometric center of rotation, the mass 11 is integral with the inner ring 5b, which provides support and mechanical support.

Alternatively, the oscillating mass 11 may also be connected to the inner ring 5b by a return, a unidirectional drive system or any other suitable system.

It is also possible to provide means arranged to manually move the mass 11 in motion, for example by means of a pusher, a bolt or the like which acts directly or indirectly on the mass 11. Moreover , the setting in motion can be done at the level of the inner ring 5b or directly via a bolt or a crown, a rotating bottom, a rotating bezel, a pusher or the like . Again alternatively, the inner ring 5b can be controlled continuously or intermittently by the movement in one or both directions of rotation, or by a dedicated motor spring, provided for this purpose.

As mentioned above, the outer ring is fixedly mounted on the support 3, but can also be pivotally mounted.

In principle, the rings 5 may be supported in any suitable manner, but the illustrated embodiment has a suspension arrangement which avoids contact of all the movable intermediate rings with a fixed member. Only the outer ring 5a is mounted on the support 3, the inner ring 5b being supported by the oscillating mass 11 and each of the other rings 5 being pivotally mounted relative to the neighboring rings by means of bearings of any type.

Figs. 4 and 5 illustrate these bearings in more detail.

In the illustrated embodiment, a ring 5 of two is of a first type and comprises a plurality of rollers 15 distributed around the latter so that each roller 15 supports the adjacent ring 5, which is a second type.

The rollers 15 are movably mounted on the circle of median radius of their respective ring 5, in bearings 17, and extend radially towards the two adjacent rings 5 of the second type. These latter each comprise grooves 19 arranged to cooperate with adjacent rollers 15. The ends of the roller 15 take place in the grooves 19 provided in each of the adjacent rings to form a roller bearing. The ends of the roller 15 are housed in the grooves whose dimensions allow to keep them axially in place.

The number of rollers 15 that includes each ring 5 of the first type can be chosen according to the needs of the manufacturer but, in practice, a minimum of three is preferable to minimize the frolishment of each ring 5 with respect to its neighbors.

Instead of rollers, it is also possible to use ball bearings or sliding bearings such as pads, shoulders or rolling blocks of low friction material, such as polished hard steel , in ruby or other stone, corundum, material coated with a layer of adamantine carbon or the like. These pads or tread blocks can cooperate with grooves or the like provided on the adjacent mobile rings 5.

Furthermore, it is not necessary for each roller 15 to cooperate with two adjacent rings 5; it is also possible to provide rollers of smaller diameter which are mounted closer to the inner or outer periphery of the rings 5, so that they each cooperate with a single ring 5 neighbor. In doing so, several configurations are possible. Fig. 6 illustrates a first possible configuration. Each mobile ring 5 carries a set of rollers 15 on its outer periphery and a groove 19 on its inner periphery, the rollers 15 of a ring 5 cooperating with the groove 19 of the next ring 5. Alternatively, the rollers 15 may be provided on the inner periphery of each ring and the grooves 19 on the outer periphery. Still alternatively, every second ring may comprise a first set of rollers 15 on its outer periphery and a second set of rollers 15 on its inner periphery, the other rings 5 each having two grooves 19 as in the example shown on the drawings. fig 1 to 5.

This arrangement of rollers makes it possible to clear the space between the rings 5 and the oscillating mass 11, which allows the turns of the spring 7 to move freely.

With this construction, a rotation of the mass 11 thus causes a rotation of the inner ring 5b. If it is assumed that the spring 7 is at rest, this rotation constrains the spring 7, then also drives the adjacent ring 5 by means of the spring 7. This latter ring 5 is thus driven in rotation but at a lower angular velocity. that of the inner ring 5b, and subsequently drives the next ring 5 at a still reduced angular velocity. This reduction in angular velocity continues to the ring 5 adjacent to the fixed outer ring 5a.

For a set of eleven rings 5, 5a, 5b and in the case where the stiffness of the spring 7 is constant, an angular displacement at a rate of 100 ° of the inner ring 5b will cause an angular displacement of 90 ° of the next ring, 80 ° of the next ring, differences of 10 ° continuing to the outer ring 5a fixed, which remains of course immobile. By cons, the manufacturer can adapt the stiffness of the spring 7 to optimize the relative angular displacements according to his needs, by providing spring sections 7 between attachment points 9 which are stiffer or more flexible. When the system 1 is laid flat, the action of the spring 7 drives back the rings 5, 5b so that they adopt their rest positions again following a succession of damped oscillations.

If the outer ring 5a is not fixed and is mobile against rotation, for example against a suitable friction and / or through a ball bearing or the like, it is also This also influences the angular displacements of the intermediate rings. In such a case, the inertia of the outer ring 5b contributes to the damping of its displacements and may possibly be increased for this purpose.

The use of the spring 7 in the embodiment described above eliminates the friction which are typically associated with gear kinematic links, the only friction present being due to the bearings. These friction dampen the movement of the rings 5. However, the extent of the rotations of the mobile rings 5 is limited by the attachment of the end of the spring 7 to the outer ring 5a fixed. On the other hand, if the outer ring 5a is rotatable, all the rings 5 will pivot at the same angular speed once the spring 7 is stretched to the maximum.

Figs. 8 to 11 illustrate an alternative arrangement of rings 5, offering more possibilities in terms of rotations between the rings 5, despite less efficient friction optimization. In this arrangement, the angular displacements of the rings 5 are not limited by springs 7, and the rings 5 can therefore perform complete turns without stopping.

In this embodiment, each ring 5, 5a 5b comprises a ring gear 24, and each ring 5, 5b other than the outer ring 5a further carries a plurality of pivots 21 pivoted on the ring 24 in question. The outer ring 5a and the inner ring 5b each comprise a crown 24 with single toothing, inner and outer respectively, while all the other rings 24 are double-toothed (inner and outer), these teeth being respectively in look at the set of references 21 of each of the adjacent rings 5. The crown or crowns 24 of each ring 5, 5a, 5b mesh with the links 21 of the adjacent ring (s) 5, 5a, 5b and vice versa, and each ring 5, 5a, 5b is thus kinematically linked. to his or her ring (s) 5 neighbor (s).

Furthermore, every second ring is of a first type in which the corresponding ring 24 is located on the bottom side and the references 21 are on the dial side, and the other rings are of a second type in which the corresponding ring 24 is located on the dial side and the references 21 are on the bottom side. In the illustrated embodiment, the inner ring 5b is of said first type, but may alternatively be of said second type.

The other components of the module 1 have not been shown here, but are unchanged from those of FIGS. 1 to 7.

The outer ring 5a is fixed again relative to the support 3 (not shown) and also has an internal toothing which meshes with the references 21 of the adjacent mobile ring. The set of rings 5, 5a, 5b thus forms a plurality of differential gears cascaded between the inner ring 5b and the outer ring 5a. In doing so, each ring represents both the output of a differential gear, the planet carrier of the next differential gear, and the input of the subsequent differential gear. However, the use of toothed gears is not mandatory, and it would also be possible to replace the various teeth by friction surfaces. In such a case, the drive of the rings is by friction between these surfaces. Note also that the outer ring 5a can be movable and subjected to an ad hoc mechanical strength.

Note also that this embodiment is also compatible with means arranged to manually move the mass 11 in motion, for example by means of a pusher, a bolt or the like which acts directly or indirectly on the mass 11.

So that all rings is self-supporting as in the embodiment of Figs. 1 to 6 and that of FIG. 7, each ring 5 carries a decorated plate 23 located on its visible face. In the variant shown, these plates comprise etchings forming patterns, but these plates may also include other decorations such as jewelry or the like. This plate 23 serves as a support that sandwiched support supported or formed by element of the adjacent ring.

Looking at one of the rings 5 of the second type, a support formed by the plate 23 cooperates with another support formed by the ring 24 of the ring 5 to sandwich a shoulder 23a that includes the plate 23 of the ring 5, 5a, 5b adjacent. By these means, the set of rings 5, 5a, 5b is made self-supporting.

In order to assemble the rings 5, pads 25 carried by the plate 23 of each ring 5 of any type type, are driven into corresponding openings in the corresponding ring 24, the depth of this hunting being arranged to provide enough clearance so that the rings can slide over each other. The supports may be provided with an anti-friction layer such as PTFE, adamantine diamond or the like. Instead of chasing, gluing, welding or the like can be used.

Claims (14)

claims 1. Decorative system (1) for a timepiece or jewelery piece comprising: a plurality of concentric rings (5,5a, 5b) of which at least a part are mobile rings (5,5b) mounted rotatably mounted on a support (3) and at least one surface of said rings (5, 5a, 5b) is intended to be visible to a user, - a control system (11) arranged to angularly move at least one of said rings (5). , 5b) under the effect of a driving force; characterized in that each movable ring (5, 5b) is kinematically connected to at least one other movable ring (5, 5b) via an elastic member (7) arranged to allow relative rotation between said movable rings ( 5, 5b). 2. Decorative system (1) according to the preceding claim, wherein said elastic element (7) is a spiral spring comprising a plurality of attachment points (9), at least a portion of said attachment point (9) being fixed at one of said movable rings (5, 5b). 3. Decorative system (1) according to one of the preceding claims, further comprising an outer ring (5a) which is fixed relative to said support. 4. Decorative system (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein said control system comprises at least one of: - an oscillating mass (11) in kinematic connection with one of said mobile rings ( 5, 5b); and a control member such as a pusher or a bolt. 5. Decorative system (1) according to one of claims 1 to 3, wherein said control system comprises at least one of: - a watch movement; and - a dedicated motor spring. 6. Decorative system (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein at least a portion of said rings (5, 5b) comprises a plurality of rollers (15) arranged to cooperate with a groove (19) that comprises the ring (5, 5a) 5b) adjacent. The decorative system (1) according to claim 6, wherein one of two movable rings (5,5b) is of a first type having a plurality of rollers (15), each roll (15) extending in the plane of its ring (5, 5b) on either side of the latter so as to be able to cooperate with grooves (19) provided in each of the two adjacent rings (5, 5a, 5b), which are of a second type, the rings (5) of said first type alternating with the rings (5, 5a, 5b) of said second type. 8. Decorative system (1) for timepieces or jewelery parts comprising: - a plurality of concentric rings (5,5a, 5b), at least a part of which are mobile rings (5,5b) mounted rotatably mounted on a support (3) and at least one surface of said rings (5, 5b) is intended to be visible to a user; a control system (11) arranged to angularly move at least one of said rings (5, 5b); characterized in that: - each movable ring (5, 5b) is kinematically connected to at least one other movable ring (5, 5b); and in that - said control system (11) comprises an oscillating mass (11) distinct from all of said movable rings (5, 5b), said oscillating mass (11) being in kinematic connection with one of said rings ( 5, 5b). 9. Decorative system (1) according to the preceding claim, wherein said movable rings (5, 5b) are kinematically connected through gears (21,24). 10. Decorative system (1) according to the preceding claim, wherein said gears (21,24) form a plurality of differential gears arranged in cascade. 11. decorative system (1) according to the preceding claim, wherein each movable ring (5, 5b) comprises a ring gear (24) and a plurality of pivots (21) pivoted on said ring (5, 5b), the referrals (21) of each of said rings (5, 5b) meshing with the ring gear (s) (s) (24) of the adjacent ring (s). 12. Decorative system (1) according to one of claims 8 to 11, wherein every other ring (5, 5a, 5b) comprises a plurality of supports arranged to support an element of the ring (5, 5a, 5b) sandwiched adjacent. 13. Decorative system (1) according to one of the preceding claims, further comprising an outer ring (5a) which is fixed relative to said support (3). 14. Timepiece or jewelery comprising a decorative system (1) according to one of the preceding claims.