CH717672A1 - Mechanism for triggering an animation for a timepiece or piece of jewelry. - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a mechanism (1) for triggering an animation for a timepiece or piece of jewelry, characterized in that said mechanism (1) comprises: a first kinematic chain (CC1) kinematically connecting on the one hand a first (3) intended to be driven in a single direction of rotation by means of an unbalanced oscillating mass (5) and on the other hand a winding wheel (11) integral in rotation with a first end of a elastic element (15); a second kinematic chain (CC2) extending between a trigger wheel (13) and an animation mechanism (19), said trigger wheel (13) being integral in rotation with a second end of said elastic element (15) ; a trigger member (17) arranged to block and release said second kinematic chain (CC2) according to the rotation of a control wheel set (9) that said first kinematic chain (CC1) comprises.

Description

Technical area

The present invention relates to the field of watchmaking and jewelry. It relates, more particularly, to a mechanism for triggering an animation for a timepiece or piece of jewelry, in which the lapse of time between two successive triggers can vary irregularly.

State of the art

[0002] Document EP 3 242 166 describes a mechanism for triggering an animation in which the triggering of the animation can result in a (quasi-) random way, according to a base rotation speed provided by a member engine, in combination with speed and (quasi-) random movements of an oscillating mass. The mechanism proposed to effect these triggers includes a differential gear to allow the triggers to depend on these two inputs, and the animation mechanism itself is preferably driven by a dedicated barrel, separate from the main barrel of the movement of the timepiece in which the mechanism is integrated, a trigger rocker being actuated by a non-regularly shaped control cam in order to release the animation every 3 +/- 1 minutes. Consequently, even if the oscillating weight remains stationary, the triggering will still occur, but regularly.

[0003] However, this mechanism is relatively complex and cumbersome and, consequently, is not very economical to implement.

[0004] The object of the invention is therefore to propose a mechanism for triggering an animation for a timepiece or piece of jewelery in which the aforementioned defects are at least partially overcome.

Disclosure of Invention

More specifically, the invention relates to a mechanism for triggering an animation for a timepiece or piece of jewelry, as defined by claim 1. This mechanism comprises:

[0006] - a first kinematic chain kinematically connecting on the one hand a first mobile intended to be driven in a single direction of rotation by means of an unbalanced oscillating mass, on the other hand a winding wheel integral in rotation with a first end of an elastic element. The oscillating weight can be part of a watch movement with which the trigger mechanism is associated or can be an oscillating weight dedicated to the trigger mechanism;

[0007] - a second kinematic chain extending between a trigger wheel which is integral in rotation with a second end of said elastic element and an animation mechanism, for driving and/or triggering the latter;

[0008] - a trigger member such as a lever, an anchor, a whip or the like, arranged to block and release said second kinematic chain depending on the rotation of a control wheel that includes said first kinematic chain.

[0009] A simple and reliable mechanism for triggering and/or driving the animation is thus proposed. The animation can of course be of any known type.

[0010] Advantageously, said first moving part is a ratchet wheel or a drum serving as the input for a barrel housing a mainspring, typically for driving a watch movement.

[0011] Advantageously, said first mobile is also arranged to be pivoted by means of an operating member operable by a user, which allows the user to trigger the animation at will. This maneuvering member may for example be a crown, a lever, a bolt, a bezel or revolving bottom, or the like.

[0012] Advantageously, said control wheel carries a cam arranged to cause a lever constituting said trigger member to pivot. This cam can take any suitable form.

[0013] Advantageously, said lever is an anchor arranged to be pivoted by said cam and to cooperate with at least one abutment member, such as a stud or a notch carried by said trigger wheel, in order to release this last at the rate of one step at each alternation of said anchor. These steps can be equal for each alternation (half-oscillation) of the anchor or unequal.

[0014] Advantageously, said elastic element is a spiral spring which can be arranged to provide driving force to drive said animation, and/or simply to trigger said animation.

Brief description of the drawings

Other details of the invention will appear more clearly on reading the description which follows, given with reference to the appended drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of the general principle of a trigger mechanism according to the invention; Fig. 2 is a transparent plan view of a concrete and non-limiting embodiment of a trigger mechanism according to the invention; Fig. 3 and 4 are top and bottom views of a variant of a mechanism according to the invention, the winding wheel having a different diameter from that of FIG. 2 and the number of abutment members being lower; Fig. 5 is an isometric view of a mechanism according to FIGS. 3 and 4, together with the animation associated therewith, before the triggering of the animation; and Fig. 6 is a partial isometric view of the mechanism of Figure 5, with the trigger wheel in another stable position.

Embodiment of the invention

[0016] Figure 1 schematically illustrates the principle of the trigger mechanism 1 of an animation according to the invention, in the form of a schematic diagram, which is suitable for integration into a timepiece or piece of jewelry.

The mechanism comprises a first mobile 3, serving as a force input on a first kinematic chain CC1 and arranged to be driven in rotation by means of an oscillating weight 5 having an unbalance. The latter can be an oscillating weight arranged for the automatic winding of a timepiece or an oscillating weight dedicated to said mechanism, and can take any known form, arranged to drive said first mobile 3 in rotation in a single direction. of rotation by any known kinematic arrangement. If the oscillating mass 5 is arranged to wind the timepiece when it pivots in both directions of rotation, a conventional inverter system can be provided to obtain a single direction of rotation of the first mobile 3.

[0018] The first mobile 3 can also be arranged to be driven in rotation by means of an operating member 7 such as a winding and/or time-setting crown, a bolt, a bezel or back pivoting, a lever, a push button or the like, in order to allow the user to obtain triggering on demand by manipulating said member 7. In the context of the present invention, continuous driving of the first mobile 3 by means of a watch movement (for example by taking force from the output of a barrel or from another moving part of a going train) is not envisaged.

The first mobile 3 is in kinematic connection (preferably in desmodromic connection) with a control mobile 9, which is itself in kinematic connection with a winding wheel 11, connected to a trigger wheel 13 by the through an elastic element 15, one of its ends of which is fixed to the winding wheel 11 or to its axis, the other being fixed to said trigger wheel 13 respectively to its axis.

[0020] Consequently, a rotation of the first mobile through the oscillating mass 5 will cause the winding wheel 11 to pivot so that the elastic element 15 will be wound when the winding wheel 11 pivots. The first kinematic chain CC1 (illustrated by the thick lines in FIGS. 3 and 5) in the sense of the invention is thus formed by the two mobiles 3, 9, any referrals (not illustrated) as well as the winding wheel 11, the rotation of the latter being a function of that of the oscillating weight 5 as well as manipulations of the maneuvering member 7, if necessary.

In order to trigger the animation, the control wheel 9 is integral in rotation with a cam 9a, which cooperates with a trigger member 17. The latter in turn cooperates with the trigger wheel 13 in order to release it for perform a rotational step of any angle, which can vary up to a full turn.

[0022] The trigger member 17 can be a simple lever subjected to the effect of a return spring, an anchor-shaped lever or the like, a trigger lever, a whip, at least one lift or the like, and the cam 9a can take any form, such as a simple single or multi-lobe cam, a heart, a half-cylinder, a constant radius cam or a cam track or the like. Various possibilities in this regard are known to those skilled in the art, such as those disclosed by documents US6997602, CH712013, EP2583142 and others in the context of deadbeat second mechanisms.

The cam 9a is integral in rotation with the mobile control 9 and thus pivots in synchronism with the winding wheel 11, the gear ratios being determined so as to ensure that sufficient energy, to actuate the animation 19, is stored in the elastic element 15 when the release wheel is released. The kinematic link, beginning with the trigger wheel 13 and ending at the animation force input 19, constitutes a second kinematic chain CC2 in the sense of the invention, which is triggered according to the rotation of the first kinematic chain CC1 via cam 9a. It should also be noted that the elastic element 15 can drive the animation 19 via the trigger wheel 13, or alternatively, the pivoting of the latter can simply trigger an animation driven by another source of energy. . For the surplus, it is possible that the first mobile 3 carries the cam 9a, and therefore also serves as a control mobile in the first kinematic chain CC1.

In view of the foregoing, the moments of triggering en passant are determined by the movements of the oscillating mass 5, which are a function of the movements of the wearer's arm and are therefore irregular. It should be noted that, if the part in which the mechanism 1 is integrated is placed on a surface, and not manipulated (by the maneuvering member), no triggering will take place.

[0025] Figures 2 to 6 illustrate concrete constructions of a mechanism 1 according to the invention, which correspond to the schematic diagram of Figure 1, that of Figure 2 varying slightly from that of Figures 3 to 6, as will result from the following.

In these constructions, the first mobile 3 is a ratchet wheel of a barrel of a watch movement (not shown). As generally known, such a barrel houses a mainspring in a toothed drum arranged to drive a going train. The outer end of the spring is in kinematic connection with the drum and the inner end is in kinematic connection with a shaft, the latter being integral in rotation with the ratchet wheel. Of course, an inverse arrangement is also possible, the going train being driven from the shaft of the barrel and its winding being carried out by its drum, in which case the drum will constitute the first wheel set 3. More generically, the first wheel set 3 is the inlet of the barrel used for winding the mainspring housed therein.

[0027] As mentioned above, the first mobile 3 is arranged to be driven in rotation at least by means of an oscillating weight 5, in a conventional manner, and possibly also by means of an operating member 7. In doing so, the mainspring of the movement (not shown) can be wound up in a known manner, and the trigger mechanism 1 can be actuated.

The first mobile 3 meshes with an optional reference 21 which meshes in turn with the mobile control 9, which carries the cam 9a. In the illustrated construction, the latter has a circular shape, mounted eccentrically on the axis of the mobile control 9, and takes place between the two arms 17a of a fork that includes a first end of an anchor serving as a trigger member 17. This anchor 17 is pivotally mounted on a frame element (not shown) of the mechanism 1 or of a clock movement in which the latter is integrated.

In order to complete the first kinematic chain CC1 (illustrated in Figures 4 and 7 in thick lines), the control wheel 9 meshes with a second optional return 23, which in turn meshes with a winding wheel 11. It should be noted that the latter has a larger diameter in Figure 2 than in Figures 3 to 6.

The winding wheel 11 is integral in rotation with a first end of an elastic element 15, in particular a spiral spring in the case illustrated, the other end of which is integral in rotation with a trigger wheel 13 The latter drives the animation 19 under the effect of the elastic element 15 via the wheel 25, as clearly follows from FIGS. and the wheel 25 forms the second kinematic chain CC2 in the sense of the invention, indicated by the dashed line in FIG. 3.

As shown in Figure 5, the animation of the illustrated construction includes an animation disc 25a integral in rotation with the wheel 25 and provided with a representation of a shooting star 25b. As trigger wheel 13 rotates clockwise (referring to the orientation of Figure 5), animation disk 25a rotates counterclockwise, which animates shooting star 25b in a circular path.

To allow this triggering, the anchor 17 includes a pair of pallets 17b. These pallets 17b cooperate with two studs 13a serving as abutment members carried by the trigger wheel 13 so that, when the anchor 17 pivots under the control of the cam 9a, the studs 13a are released, and the disc d 'animation 25a is pivoted under the effect of the elastic element 15 at the rate of a fraction of a turn. By arranging the studs 13a as well as the pallets 17b in an ad hoc manner, the pivoting angles of the trigger wheel 13 at each alternation of the anchor 17 can be determined according to the manufacturer's needs. In this regard, it is noted that the variant of Figure 2 comprises three studs 13a regularly distributed around the trigger wheel 13, which therefore performs a complete revolution in unequal steps for three half-oscillations of the anchor 17.

In the illustrated construction, and starting from the position of the elements of the mechanism of Figure 5, when the control wheel 9 has pivoted sufficiently to move the anchor 17 around its axis 17c so as to release stud 13a, which is retained by corresponding pallet 17b, release wheel 13 is free to pivot under the effect of elastic element 15 until stud 13a which has just been released comes into contact with the other pallet 17b, as illustrated by FIG. 6. After the next half-oscillation of the anchor 17, this pallet 13a will be released, the other coming into contact with the pallet on the right (according to the orientation of the figures 5 and 6). Then, the sequence is repeated with each complete rotation of the mobile control 9, the release wheel 13 therefore performing a half-turn in two unequal steps per revolution of the mobile control 9, a first relatively large step being followed by a relatively large step. small.

In the illustrated construction, the gear ratio between the trigger wheel 13 and the wheel 25 is chosen so as to ensure a complete revolution of the latter for each half-turn of the trigger wheel 13.

[0035] In order to prevent rotation of the animation disc 25a in the opposite direction and at rest during an impact or a movement when worn, a partial peripheral toothing 25b is provided, and cooperates with a jumper (not illustrated).

[0036] Furthermore, a pawl or other anti-return arrangement may be provided to ensure that the elastic element cannot in any way discharge into the first kinematic chain CC1.

[0037] In view of the foregoing, it is clear that the manufacturer can arrange the studs 13a (or equivalents which are within the reach of those skilled in the art), the shape of the cam 9a as well as the gear ratios in order to obtain an ad hoc animation according to his needs. For example, the number of studs 13a can vary between 1 and any number. For the rest, the anchor 17 can take any form, and can be replaced by a detent lever similar to that of a detent escapement.

[0038] For the rest, and as mentioned above, the rotation of the wheel 25 can alternatively trigger an animation provided with its own driving source.

[0039] Although the invention has been previously described in connection with specific embodiments, other additional variants are also possible without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the claims.

Claims (10)

1. Mechanism (1) for triggering an animation for a timepiece or piece of jewelry, characterized in that said mechanism (1) comprises: – a first kinematic chain (CC1) kinematically connecting on the one hand a first mobile (3) intended to be driven in a single direction of rotation by means of an unbalanced oscillating mass (5) and on the other hand a wheel of reinforcement (11) integral in rotation with a first end of an elastic element (15); – a second kinematic chain (CC2) extending between a trigger wheel (13) and an animation mechanism (19), said trigger wheel (13) being integral in rotation with a second end of said elastic element (15 ); – a trigger member (17) arranged to block and release said second kinematic chain (CC2) according to the rotation of a control wheel set (9) that comprises in said first kinematic chain (CC1). 2. Mechanism (1) according to the preceding claim, wherein said first mobile (3) is a ratchet wheel or a drum serving as an input for a barrel housing a mainspring. 3. Mechanism (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein said first mobile (3) is further arranged to be pivoted by means of an operating member (7) operable by a user. 4. Mechanism (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein said control wheel (9) carries a cam (9a) arranged to pivot a lever (17) constituting said trigger member (17). 5. Mechanism (1) according to the preceding claim, wherein said lever (17) is an anchor (17) arranged to be pivoted by said cam (9a) and to cooperate with at least one abutment member (13a) carried by said release wheel (13) in order to release the latter at the rate of one step at each alternation of said anchor (17). 6. Mechanism (1) according to one of claims 3 to 5, wherein said at least one abutment member (13a) is at least one stud (13a) arranged to cooperate with said lever (17). 7. Mechanism (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein said elastic element (15) is a spiral spring (15). 8. Mechanism (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein said elastic element (15) is arranged to provide driving force to drive said animation (19). 9. Mechanism (1) according to one of claims 1 to 7, wherein said elastic element (15) is arranged to provide driving force to trigger said animation (19). 10. Timepiece or piece of jewelery comprising a mechanism (1) according to one of the preceding claims.