CH717672B1 - Mechanism for triggering an animation for a timepiece or jewelry piece. - 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 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 an arming wheel (11) integral in rotation with a first end of an elastic member (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) as a function of the rotation of a control mobile (9) which comprises said first kinematic chain (CC1).

Description

Technical area

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

State of the art

[0002] Document EP 3 242 166 describes a mechanism for triggering an animation in which the triggers of the animation can occur in a (quasi-) random manner, depending on a basic rotation speed provided by an organ motor, in combination with the speed and (quasi-) random movements of an oscillating mass. The mechanism proposed for carrying out these triggers includes a differential gear in order to allow the triggers to depend on these two inputs, and the animation mechanism itself is, preferably, driven by a dedicated barrel, distinct from the main barrel of the movement of the timepiece in which the mechanism is integrated, a trigger rocker being actuated by a control cam of non-regular shape in order to release the animation every 3 +/- 1 minutes. Consequently, even if the oscillating mass remains stationary, the triggering will still take place, but regularly.

[0003] However, this mechanism is relatively complex and cumbersome and, consequently, is uneconomical to implement.

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

Disclosure of the invention

[0005] More precisely, the invention relates to a trigger mechanism arranged to trigger an animation for a timepiece or piece of jewelry, as defined by claim 1. This mechanism comprises: – 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 secured in rotation to a first end of an elastic element. The oscillating mass may be part of a watch movement with which the trigger mechanism is associated or may be an oscillating mass dedicated to the trigger mechanism; – 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 training and/or triggering the latter; – a trigger member such as a lever, an anchor, a whip or the like, arranged to block and release said second kinematic chain as a function of the rotation of a control mobile which comprises said first kinematic chain.

[0006] A simple and reliable mechanism for triggering and/or training the animation is thus proposed. The animation can, of course, be of any known type.

[0007] Advantageously, said first mobile is a ratchet wheel or a drum serving as the input to a barrel housing a mainspring, typically for driving a watch movement.

[0008] Advantageously, said first mobile is further arranged to be pivoted via an operating member operable by a user, which allows the user to trigger the animation at will. This operating member can be for example a crown, a lever, a bolt, a bezel or rotating base, or the like.

Advantageously, said control wheel carries a cam arranged to pivot a lever constituting said trigger member. This cam can take any suitable shape.

[0010] Advantageously, said lever is an anchor arranged to be pivoted by said cam and to cooperate with at least one stop 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 for each alternation of said anchor. These steps can be equal for each alternation (half oscillation) of the anchor or unequal.

[0011] 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, made 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 views from above and below of a variant of a mechanism according to the invention, the winding wheel having a diameter different from that of Figure 2 and the number of stop members being lower; -Fig. 5 is an isometric view of a mechanism according to Figures 3 and 4, together with the associated animation, before triggering the animation; and - Fig. 6 is a partial isometric view of the mechanism of Figure 5, the trigger wheel being in another stable position.

Mode of carrying out the invention

[0013] 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 being integrated into a timepiece or piece of jewelry.

[0014] The mechanism comprises a first mobile 3, serving as force input to a first kinematic chain CC1 and arranged to be driven in rotation via an oscillating mass 5 having an unbalance. The latter can be an oscillating mass arranged for the automatic winding of a timepiece or an oscillating mass dedicated to said mechanism, and can take any known shape, 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.

The first mobile 3 can also be arranged to be rotated 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, a continuous drive of the first mobile 3 by means of a watch movement (for example by taking force on the output of a barrel or on another mobile of a finishing 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 is fixed to the winding wheel 11 or to its axis, the other being fixed to said trigger wheel 13 respectively to its axis.

Consequently, a rotation of the first mobile by means of the oscillating mass 5 will pivot the winding wheel 11 such that the elastic element 15 will be wound when the winding wheel 11 pivots. The first kinematic chain CC1 (illustrated by the bold lines in Figures 4 and 5) in the sense of the invention is thus formed by the two mobiles 3, 9, possible references (not illustrated) as well as the winding wheel 11, the rotation of the latter being a function of that of the oscillating mass 5 as well as the manipulations of the operating member 7, if necessary.

[0018] In order to trigger the animation, the control mobile 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 one complete revolution.

The trigger member 17 can be a simple lever subjected to the effect of a return spring, a lever in the form of an anchor or the like, a trigger lever, a whip, at least one lift or the like, and the cam 9a may take any shape, such as a simple cam with one or more lobes, a heart, a half-cylinder, a constant radius cam or a cam path or the like. Various possibilities in this respect are known to those skilled in the art, such as those revealed by documents US6997602, CH712013, EP2583142 and others in the context of dead second mechanisms.

The cam 9a is integral in rotation with the control wheel 9 and thus pivots in synchronism with the winding wheel 11, the gear ratios being determined in such a way as to ensure that sufficient energy is available to actuate the animation 19, is stored in the elastic element 15 when the trigger wheel is released. The kinematic connection, starting with the trigger wheel 13 and ending at the force input of the animation 19, constitutes a second kinematic chain CC2 in the sense of the invention, which is triggered as a function of 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 energy source . Furthermore, 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 above, the moments of en passant triggering 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 non-regular. 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 operating member), no triggering will take place.

[0022] 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 follow from the following.

[0023] 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 driving spring in a toothed drum arranged to drive a finishing 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, a reverse arrangement is also possible, the finishing gear being driven from the barrel shaft and its winding being carried out by its drum, in which case the drum will constitute the first mobile 3. More generically, the first mobile 3 is the entrance to the barrel used for winding the mainspring housed there.

As mentioned above, the first mobile 3 is arranged to be rotated at least by means of an oscillating mass 5, in a conventional manner, and possibly also by means of an operating member 7. In doing so, the driving spring of the movement (not illustrated) can be wound in a known manner, and the trigger mechanism 1 can be actuated.

The first mobile 3 meshes with an optional gear 21 which in turn meshes with the control mobile 9, which carries the cam 9a. In the construction illustrated, the latter has a circular shape, mounted eccentrically on the axis of the control mobile 9, and takes place between the two arms 17a of a fork which 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.

[0026] In order to complete the first kinematic chain CC1 (illustrated in Figures 4 and 7 in thick lines), the control mobile 9 meshes with a second optional transmission 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 causes the animation 19 under the effect of the elastic element 15 via the wheel 25, as clearly follows from Figures 5 and 6. The kinematic connection formed by the meshing between the trigger wheel 13 and the wheel 25 forms the second kinematic chain CC2 in the sense of the invention, indicated by the dashed line in Figure 3.

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

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

[0030] In the construction illustrated, and starting from the position of the elements of the mechanism of Figure 5, when the control mobile 9 has pivoted sufficiently to cause the anchor 17 to move around its axis 17c so as to release the stud 13a, which is retained by the corresponding pallet 17b, the trigger wheel 13 is free to pivot under the effect of the elastic element 15 until the stud 13a which has just been released comes into contact with the other pallet 17b, as illustrated in Figure 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 Figures 5 and 6). Then, the sequence is repeated at each complete rotation of the control mobile 9, the trigger wheel 13 therefore making a half-turn in two unequal steps per revolution of the control mobile 9, a first relatively large step being followed by a relatively large step. little.

[0031] In the construction illustrated, 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.

[0032] In order to prevent rotation of the animation disk 25a in the opposite direction and at rest during an impact or a movement when carrying, a partial peripheral toothing 25b is provided, and cooperates with a jumper (not illustrated).

[0033] Furthermore, a ratchet or other anti-return arrangement can be provided to ensure that the elastic element cannot unload in the first kinematic chain CC1.

[0034] In view of the above, 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 ad hoc animation according to its needs. For example, the number of pads 13a can vary between 1 and any number. Furthermore, the anchor 17 can take any shape, and can be replaced by a trigger lever similar to that of a trigger escapement.

[0035] Furthermore, and as mentioned above, the rotation of the wheel 25 can alternatively trigger an animation provided with its own driving source.

[0036] 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. Trigger mechanism (1) arranged to trigger 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 armage (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) as a function of the rotation of a control mobile (9) which comprises 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 the input of 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 via 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 stop member (13a) carried by said trigger wheel (13) in order to release the latter at the rate of one step for each alternation of said anchor (17). 6. Mechanism (1) according to claim 5, wherein said at least one stop 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 jewelry item comprising a mechanism (1) according to one of claims 1 to 9.