CH718165A2 - Control assembly for a clockwork movement of a timepiece. - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a control assembly for a clockwork movement of a timepiece, comprising: a control head (3), further comprising an outer wall (43), intended to be connected to a winding stem of the clock movement, extending along a longitudinal axis (6), a ring (31), comprising an internal wall (41) at least partially covering the external wall (43) of said control head (3) when said ring (31) is assembled on said control head (3), a system for fixing said ring (31) on said control head (3), movable alternately between a locking position in which said ring (31) is secured in rotation of said control head (3), and an unlocking position in which said ring (31) is not secured to said control head (3). According to the invention, the control assembly is remarkable in that the fastening system interfaces between said internal wall (41) of said ring (31) and between said external wall (43) of said control head (3 ), and in that said fixing system is designed so that the passage from its locking position to its unlocking position is obtained by exerting, initially, a force on the ring (31), along the longitudinal axis (6) and in the direction of the clockwork, and then, secondly, by rotating said ring (31) around the longitudinal axis (6), over a predetermined angle. The invention also relates to a timepiece comprising a control assembly according to the invention. Thanks to the invention, a control assembly is obtained such as a crown (1) whose ring is simply interchangeable.

Description

The present invention relates to a control assembly for a timepiece movement of a timepiece and a timepiece comprising a timepiece movement controlled by such a set.

[0002] A clockwork movement control assembly typically designates a crown, intended to control the time setting or the winding of the clockwork movement, or a pusher, intended to control the starting or stopping of the chronograph function.

[0003] To do this, the crown or the pusher typically comprises a head, in particular cylindrical, projecting outside the watch case, in engagement with the winding stem of the movement of the timepiece. The manual actuation of the crown or the pusher by a user makes it possible to wind the clockwork movement, to set the time, the date, etc.

[0004] In addition to the technical functionality that the crown or the pusher of a timepiece must ensure, these also constitute an aesthetic accessory, directly visible from outside the timepiece.

[0005] The crown or the pusher may for this purpose have an ornamental character. The person using the timepiece can then match their clothes with the timepiece that they are wearing, depending on the color, shape or texture of the crown and/or of the pusher. In this respect, the crown and the pusher constitute a major aesthetic accessory of a timepiece.

[0006] It may thus be desired to replace the crown or the pusher in order to match the timepiece, for example, with the clothing or jewelry worn.

[0007] However, the fact that the crown or the pusher controls the clockwork movement of the timepiece, the replacement of the crown or the clockwork pusher the timepiece, the replacement of the crown or the pusher is complex and requires the intervention of a person with watchmaking skills in order to avoid deterioration of the timepiece.

The invention described in document CH714548A1 aims to overcome this drawback and describes a control device comprising a control member, a control rod and means for locking/unlocking the control member on the control rod. . However, the positioning of the locking/unlocking means in this timepiece is such that it makes it incompatible to mount such a control device in a screw crown fitted with a system for disengaging the winding stem.

The present invention aims to overcome the above drawbacks, and to do this relates to a control assembly for a clockwork movement of a timepiece, comprising: a control head, further comprising an outer wall, intended to be connected to a winding stem of the timepiece movement, extending along a longitudinal axis, a ring, comprising an inner wall at least partially covering the outer wall of said control head when said ring is assembled on said control head, a system for fixing said ring on said control head, mobile alternately between a locking position in which said ring is fixed in rotation to said control head, and an unlocking position in which said ring is not fixed to said control head, said control assembly being remarkable in that the fixing system interfaces between said inner wall of said ring and between said outer wall of said control head, and that said fixing system is designed so that the passage from its locking position to its unlocking position is obtained by exerting, in a first step, a force on the ring, along the longitudinal axis and in the direction of the clock movement then, in a second step, by rotating said ring around the longitudinal axis, over a predetermined angle.

[0010] Thus, thanks to the present invention, a control assembly is obtained, the ring of which is simply interchangeable, by anyone who does not have watchmaking skills.

[0011] According to the invention, the fixing system is similar to a fixing of the "bayonet" type which interfaces very advantageously between the ring and the control head, which makes it possible to make it compatible with a device mechanism in a screw crown fitted with a winding stem release system.

[0012] According to optional features of the control assembly of the invention: - the fixing system comprises: o a plurality of teeth, forming a projection on the outer wall of the control head, o a plurality of fixing lugs , permanently fixed to the inner wall of the ring and adapted to cooperate with said teeth when the fixing system is in the locking position, o an elastic return means, arranged in said control assembly to exert on the ring a force tending in moving said ring away from the clock movement; - The elastic return means is an annular spring and the inner wall of the ring has a circumferential groove inside which is mounted said annular spring; - the outer wall of the control head comprises a cylindrical portion extending from an upper wall of said control head towards a lower edge of said head, extended in its lower part by a frustoconical portion extending in such a way so that it opens radially from said cylindrical portion, said frustoconical portion being arranged so that the annular spring deviates along said frustoconical portion when a force is exerted on the ring along the longitudinal axis and towards the clockwork; - The ring comprises a sleeve, permanently fixed to the inner wall of the ring, said sleeve comprising the fixing lugs of the fixing system; - the predetermined angle is between 45° and 135°, preferably 90°; - The control head has at least three teeth and in that the ring has at least three fixing lugs; - the teeth, respectively the fixing lugs, are distributed equidistant from each other on the circumference of the outer wall of the control head, respectively on the circumference of the inner wall of the ring; – the control element is a crown.

The present invention also relates to a timepiece comprising a control assembly according to the invention, remarkable in that it comprises a clockwork movement controlled by said control assembly.

Other characteristics, objects and advantages of the invention will appear on reading the following detailed description for the understanding of which reference will be made to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is an isometric view of the control assembly according to the invention; Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the control assembly of the invention; FIG. 3 represents the control assembly in front view, the ring having been removed; FIG. 4 represents the control assembly in top view, the ring having been removed; FIG. 5 represents the ring in isometric view, part of the internal cylinder and of the external cap having been removed; Figure 6 is an isometric view of the sleeve of the ring; Figures 7 to 9 illustrate the ring dismantling kinematics.

In all the figures, identical or similar references represent identical or similar bodies or sets of bodies.

Reference is made to Figures 1 and 2 illustrating a control assembly 1 for a timepiece movement, respectively in isometric view and in longitudinal section.

In the embodiment shown, the control assembly is a crown 1 intended to control the time setting or the winding of the timepiece movement.

[0018] According to an embodiment not shown, the control assembly according to the invention can be a push-button making it possible to control the start or stop of the chronograph function.

[0019] In the remainder of the description, the constituent elements of the control assembly when the latter is a crown apply identically when the control assembly is a pusher.

[0020] Crown 1 includes a control head 3, more simply referred to as "head 3" in the following description, which may include a logo on its upper wall 4.

The head 3 is shown here in the screwed position on a threaded tube 5, corresponding to an inactive position of the crown. Head 3 and tube 5 are concentric and extend along a longitudinal axis 6 of crown 1.

The screwing of the head 3 on the threaded tube 5 takes place via an appropriate thread 7 in the head 3 and a corresponding thread 9 on the tube 5.

[0023] The threaded tube 5 is intended to be fixed to a middle part (not shown) of a watch case (not shown), mounted in the lower part of the assembly 1.

The head 3 has a tubular central part 11 surrounded by a side skirt 13. The central part 11 defines with the side skirt 13 an annular space intended to receive the threaded portion of the tube 5.

[0025] Conventionally, the head 3 is connected to a winding stem (not shown) of the clock movement. More precisely, the central part 11 is connected to the winding stem of the clock movement. The central part 11 is attached and fixed in a central housing 15 of the head 3 and comprises a sleeve 17 in which a piston 19 slides against a spring 21. The piston 19 is intended to be connected to the crown (not shown).

Seals are in known manner placed between the head 3 and the tube 5. For this purpose, a flat seal 23 is interposed between the bottom 25 of the sleeve 17 and the end wall 27 of the tube 5 threaded, which is compressed when screwing the head 3 on the tube 5. Similarly, an O-ring 29 is mounted between the sleeve 17 and the threaded tube 5.

The crown 1 further comprises a ring 31, also called "decor ring" which, according to the invention, is interchangeable by anyone without any particular watchmaking skill.

The ring 31 defines a cylinder preferably extending over the entire circumference of the head 3 of the crown 1.

[0029] The ring 31 comprises a so-called "internal" cylinder 33 having an axis of revolution intended to coincide, when the ring 31 is mounted on the head 3 of the crown 1, with the longitudinal axis 6 of the crown 1.

[0030] In the description and in the claims, the terms “internal” and “external” are understood to refer to the radial distance of a member from the longitudinal axis 6 of the crown when all of the members that make up the crown are assembled together. Thus, a so-called “internal” member is radially closer to the longitudinal axis 6 with respect to a so-called “external” member, which is radially farther from the longitudinal axis 6 with respect to the internal member.

[0031] Similarly, the terms “upper” and “lower” are understood in the description and in the claims with reference to the axial distance of a member relative to the middle part of the watch case. Thus, a so-called "lower" member is axially closer to the middle part of the watch case (that is to say towards the bottom of the assembly in Figures 1 and 2) compared to a so-called "upper" member. “, which is axially farther from said middle part, with respect to the lower member.

The ring 31 comprises an ornamental outer cap 35, fixed permanently to the inner cylinder 33 of the ring 31, for example by welding, crimping, gluing, etc.

The outer cap 35 has an outer ornamental surface 37, intended to confer the ornamental character on the ring 31. Thus, the color, the shape and the material of the ornamental surface 37 confers on the ring 31 its aesthetic properties visible from outside, and may vary from ring to ring. Also, the shape of the ornamental surface 37 is given in the figures by way of example only.

The outer cap 35 extends over the entire circumference of an outer wall 39 of the inner cylinder 33 of the ring or, according to a variant not shown, over only part of its circumference.

The ring 31 has an inner wall 41 at least partially covering an outer wall 43 of said head 3 when the ring 31 is assembled on the head 3.

Reference is made to Figures 3 and 4 showing the crown 1 on which the ring 31 has been removed for better visibility, respectively in front view and in top view.

The outer wall 43 of the control head 3 comprises a cylindrical portion 45 extending from the upper wall 4 of the head 3 towards a lower edge 47 of the head 3, receiving a base 49.

The cylindrical portion 45 is extended at its lower part by a frustoconical portion 51. The frustoconical portion 51 opens radially from the cylindrical portion 45, that is to say that it deviates radially towards the outside, relative to the longitudinal axis 6, from the cylindrical portion 45.

The outer wall 43 of the head 3 comprises a plurality of teeth 53 forming a projection on the outer wall 43. In one embodiment, the outer wall 43 of the head 3 comprises three teeth 53. In the embodiment of the figure 4, the head 3 comprises for example four teeth 53.

The teeth 53 are for example distributed equidistant from each other on the circumference of the outer wall 43 of the head 3.

According to a variant not shown, the teeth can be distributed non-equidistant from each other on the circumference of the outer wall. According to another variant not shown, the head has more than four teeth. The invention can, however, also operate when the head has at least two teeth, preferably but not limited to, diametrically opposed.

Referring now to Figure 5 in which is shown the ring 31 in isometric view, part of the inner cylinder 33 and the outer cap 35 having been removed for better visibility. The ring 31 includes a sleeve 55, permanently fixed to the inner wall 41 of the ring, for example by welding, crimping, gluing, etc.

The ring 31 has at its inner wall 41 a circumferential groove 57, preferably extending over the entire inner wall 41 of the ring 31. The circumferential groove 57 is preferably performed above an upper edge 59 of the sleeve 55. The circumferential groove 57 houses an elastic return means, produced for example by an annular spring 61.

Reference is made to Figure 6 showing the sleeve 55 in isometric view. The sleeve 55 is a generally cylindrical piece. The sleeve 55 is for example obtained in a metallic material that can withstand high contact pressures.

The sleeve 55 comprises a cylindrical wall 63 extending from an upper end wall 65 towards a lower part of the sleeve. The cylindrical wall 63 is extended in its lower part by a plurality of fixing lugs 67.

The fixing lugs 67 are thus fixed permanently, via the sleeve 55, on the inner wall 41 of the ring 31. The fixing lugs 67 are adapted to cooperate with the teeth of the control head.

According to the embodiment given in the figures, the sleeve 55 has four fixing lugs 67. The fixing lugs 67 are for example distributed equidistant from each other on the circumference of the inner wall of the ring. According to a variant not shown, the fixing lugs can be distributed non-equidistant from each other on the circumference of the internal wall of the ring. According to another variant not shown, the sleeve has more than four fixing lugs. The invention can, however, also function when the sleeve has at least two fixing lugs, preferably but not limited to, diametrically opposed. In any case, the number of fixing lugs is identical to the number of teeth of the control head.

The fixing lugs 67 each comprise a fixing portion 69 intended for fixing the fixing lug 67 to a corresponding tooth of the head. The fixing portion 69 is connected to the cylindrical wall 63 via a connecting portion 71. The fixing portion 69 comprises a receiving portion 73 of the corresponding tooth, of length substantially equal to that of the corresponding tooth , and at the end of which is mounted a curved portion 75.

[0049] Due to the geometry of the sleeve 55, which cannot be directly machined in the ring 31, the sleeve 55 is attached to the ring 31.

The teeth 53, the fixing lugs 67 and the elastic return means formed by the annular spring 61 thus define a system for fixing the ring 31 to the control head 3.

Referring to Figure 7, which is shown the crown 1 in isometric view, the ornamental surface 37 and the inner wall 41 of the ring 31 being shown in transparency for better visibility. In this figure, the fastening system is in a locking position.

In this locking position, the fixing lugs 67 of the inner wall 41 of the ring 31 cooperate with the teeth 53 of the head 3. The ring 31 is thus integral in rotation with the head 3 of control. When the crown 1 is screwed onto the threaded tube 5, the crown is in the inactive position. When the crown is passed into the active position, by means known to those skilled in the art which are not the subject of the present invention, the ring 31 can be apprehended and rotated to rotate the head 3 of the crown 1, this for example in order to set the time of the clock movement.

[0053] Maintaining in this locking position is effected thanks to the elastic return means, constituted by the annular spring 61, which is arranged in the crown 1 to exert on the ring 31 a force tending to move the ring 31 away from the movement of watchmaking, i.e. the lower part of the crown 1.

Referring to Figure 8 which is shown the crown 1 being unlocked.

When it is desired to replace the ring 31 with another ring, in order to confer a new ornamental character on the timepiece, a force is first exerted on the ring 31 along the longitudinal axis 6, in the direction of the clock movement, that is to say towards the lower part of the crown 1, as illustrated by the arrow 77. The elastic return means, constituted by the annular spring 61, moves along of the frustoconical portion 51 (visible in Figures 2 and 3) of the outer wall 43 of the head 3, thus separating the annular spring 61 from the longitudinal axis 6 and thus tending to return the ring 31 to the position of Figure 7 The force is exerted until the lower wall 78 of the cylindrical wall 63 of the sleeve 55 abuts the teeth 53.

In a second step, the ring 31 is rotated, for example in a clockwise direction according to the embodiment shown in the figures, around the longitudinal axis 6 and as shown by the arrow 79.

The rotation takes place over a predetermined angle, until the curved portions 75 of the fixing lugs 67 emerge from the teeth 53. By way of example, the predetermined angle is between 45° and 135° °, preferably 90°.

[0058] Once the fixing lugs 67 no longer cooperate with the teeth 53, the ring 31 is then in an unlocking position allowing the separation of the ring 31 relative to the head 3, as illustrated in Figure 9. The ring 31 can then be completely removed from the head 3, as represented by the arrow 81 in order to be replaced by a new ring.

The fastening system according to the invention is similar to a fastening of the “bayonet” type. It interfaces very advantageously between the internal wall 41 of the ring 31 and between the external wall 43 of the control head 3, which makes it possible to make it compatible with a control device in a screw crown fitted with a winding stem release system.

According to a variant not shown, the ring 31 can be replaced by a cover identical to the ring 31 except that it includes a cover covering the upper wall 4 of the control head 3.

[0061] It goes without saying that the present invention is not limited solely to the embodiments of this control assembly and of this timepiece, described above solely by way of illustrative examples, but it encompasses on the contrary, all the variants involving the technical equivalents of the means described as well as their combinations if these fall within the scope of the invention.

Claims (10)

1. Control assembly for a timepiece movement of a timepiece, comprising: – a control head (3), further comprising an outer wall (43), intended to be connected to a winding stem of the timepiece movement, extending along a longitudinal axis (6), – a ring (31), comprising an inner wall (41) at least partially covering the outer wall (43) of said control head (3) when said ring (31) is assembled on said control head (3), – a system for fixing said ring (31) on said control head (3), mobile alternately between a locking position in which said ring (31) is integral in rotation with said control head (3), and a position unlocking according to which said ring (31) is not integral with said control head (3), said control assembly being characterized in that the fixing system interfaces between said internal wall (41) of said ring (31) and between said external wall (43) of said control head (3), and that said fastening system is designed so that the passage from its locking position to its unlocking position is obtained by first exerting a force on the ring (31), along the longitudinal axis (6) and in the direction of the clock movement then, in a second step, by operating a rotation of said ring (31) around the longitudinal axis (6), over a predetermined angle. 2. Control assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that the fixing system comprises: – a plurality of teeth (53), forming a projection on the outer wall (43) of the control head (3), – a plurality of fixing lugs (67), permanently fixed to the internal wall (41) of the ring (31) and adapted to cooperate with said teeth (53) when the fixing system is in the locking position, - an elastic return means, arranged in said control assembly to exert on the ring (31) a force tending to move said ring (31) away from the clock movement. 3. Control assembly according to claim 2, characterized in that the elastic return means is an annular spring (61) and in that the inner wall (41) of the ring (31) has a circumferential groove (57) at inside which is mounted said annular spring (61). 4. Control assembly according to claim 3, characterized in that the outer wall (43) of the control head (3) comprises a cylindrical portion (45) extending from an upper wall (4) of said control head (3) in the direction of a lower edge (47) of said control head (3), extended in its lower part by a frustoconical portion (51) extending in such a way that it opens radially from said portion cylindrical (45), said frustoconical portion (51) being arranged so that the annular spring (61) deviates along said frustoconical portion (51) when a force is exerted on ring (31) along the longitudinal axis (6) and in the direction of the clock movement. 5. Control assembly according to one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that the ring (31) comprises a sleeve (55), permanently fixed to the inner wall (41) of the ring (31), said sleeve (55) comprising the fixing lugs (67) of the fixing system. 6. Control assembly according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the predetermined angle is between 45° and 135°, preferably 90°. 7. Control assembly according to one of claims 2 to 6, characterized in that the control head (3) has at least three teeth (53) and in that the ring (31) has at least three fixing lugs (67). 8. Control assembly according to one of claims 2 to 7, characterized in that the teeth (53), respectively the fixing lugs (67), are distributed equidistant from each other on the circumference of the outer wall (43) of the control head (3), respectively on the circumference of the internal wall (41) of the ring (31). 9. Control assembly according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that said control element is a crown (1). 10. Timepiece comprising a control assembly according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that it comprises a clockwork movement controlled by said control assembly.