CH720284A2 - Device for controlling a timepiece. - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a timepiece comprising a central axis (6) control device (100) for operating at least one function of the timepiece comprising a crown (4) rotatably coupled to a stem. control (7) characterized in that: the box (1) is provided with a rotary wheel (5) provided with a central drilling and coaxial with the central axis (6), and operable in rotation around said central axis ( 6), the wheel (5) being mounted on the box (1) so as to be immobile in an axial direction parallel to the central axis (6), the crown (4) comprises a head (4a) and a body of cylindrical crown (18) coaxial with the central axis (6), the cylindrical crown body (18) passing through the central bore of the wheel (5) and being directly coupled to the wheel (5) so that a rotation of the wheel (5) causes a translation of the crown (4) in an axial direction parallel to the central axis (6) between a locked position according to which the crown (4) is housed in a cavity (10) provided in the wall (14) of the box (1), and a first control position according to which the crown (4) is projecting from said wall of the box allowing the actuation of a first function, and according to which the coupling between the cylindrical crown body (18) and the wheel (5) are lost.

Description

Technical area

[0001] The invention relates to a device for controlling a timepiece, such as a wristwatch.

[0002] For example, the invention can be applied to a wristwatch comprising a mechanical movement.

Technology background

[0003] The adjustment and/or winding of a mechanical watch is conventionally carried out by a control crown which can be rotated and pulled, generally located at the 3 o'clock position around the circumference of the watch. The crown is attached to a control rod which can be moved axially according to several axial positions corresponding to each function to be operated, such as manual winding of the movement, setting the time, setting the date and/or setting other indicators moving above or below the watch face.

[0004] The control crown which protrudes from the watch case sometimes needs to be protected, for example to avoid causing the unexpected engagement of a function by snagging, or worse, the deterioration of the winding stem.

[0005] To remedy this drawback, watches have been proposed provided with crowns embedded in the wall of the case in order to protect it from the risks of shock to which it is exposed. But access to this type of crown is not always easy for the user, particularly when it comes to pulling the crown to move it into its different axial control positions in order to activate the different control functions. the timepiece.

[0006] Furthermore, such embedded crowns are often complex to produce, to integrate into the wall of the box, or have a large number of parts.

[0007] Consequently, there is a need to improve this type of embedded crown, in particular with a simpler design and more economical to produce.

Summary of the invention

[0008] The invention aims to solve at least one of the problems cited above.

[0009] For this purpose, the invention proposes a timepiece comprising a box, a mechanical or electronic movement arranged in the box, and a central axis control device for operating at least one function of the timepiece. watchmaking, the control device comprising a crown rotatably coupled to a control rod passing through a wall of the case so as to operate at least one function of the timepiece by the rotation of the control rod around said central axis , said rotation being carried out by turning the crown.

[0010] According to the invention the box is provided with a rotary wheel provided with a central bore and coaxial with the central axis, and operable in rotation around said central axis, the wheel being mounted on the box so as to be immobile in an axial direction parallel to the central axis.

[0011] Furthermore, the crown comprises a head and a cylindrical crown body coaxial with the central axis, the cylindrical crown body passing through the central bore of the wheel and being directly coupled to the wheel so that a rotation of the wheel causes a translation of the crown in an axial direction parallel to the central axis between a locked position according to which the crown is housed in a cavity provided in said wall of the box, and a first control position according to which the crown is found projecting from said wall of the box allowing the actuation of a first function, and according to which the coupling between the cylindrical crown body and the wheel is lost.

[0012] Thus, a timepiece according to the invention comprises a crown which can be housed in a cavity provided in the case of the timepiece and open to the outside, such as a cavity in the side wall of the case of a wristwatch, so that the crown is housed entirely in the cavity or flush with the side wall when it is not in use, i.e. in the locked position of the crown.

[0013] To bring the crown out of its locked position which is its non-use position, the user will turn a fixed rotary wheel in the axial direction of the crown. Preferably, the wheel is accessible from the top of the box and/or the bottom of the box.

[0014] In the locked position, the wheel is coupled to a cylindrical crown body. The rotation of the wheel causes a translation of the crown, in an axial direction, without rotation of the crown around its central axis until losing the coupling between the wheel and the cylindrical crown body, and bringing the crown into a first control position.

As in known control devices, the crown is rotatably coupled to a control rod to operate one or more functions of the movement of the timepiece, depending on the axial position of the control rod.

The invention makes it possible to reach the first control position of the crown and the stem, by turning the wheel, therefore without manually pulling the crown outwards. Other control positions of the crown and stem can be reached from the first control position by manually pulling the crown outwards.

[0017] In the control positions, the crown projects from the wall, which makes it possible to release the crown and to be able to turn it manually as in existing control devices. To return the crown to its locked position, the user must apply pressure on the crown towards the inside of the case and turn the dial in the opposite direction.

[0018] Advantageously, the crown cooperates with an elastic member tending to exert on the crown a pushing force towards the outside of the box, so as to position and guarantee the positioning of the crown in the first control position when the coupling between the cylindrical crown body and the wheel is lost.

[0019] Particularly, the elastic member is arranged between a shoulder of the control rod and the head of the crown.

The coupling between the crown and the wheel can be achieved by a threaded connection.

[0021] This connection is configured to control the movement of the crown from its locked position until waiting for the first control position to adjust a function of a watch movement. This first control position can be the only control position of the watch movement.

The other control positions, if they exist, can be reached only by manually pulling the crown from the first position towards the outside of the case, the coupling between the wheel and the crown being lost, a additional rotation of the wheel, from this first control position, no longer allows the axial position of the crown to be modified.

[0023] More particularly, the threaded connection is shaped so that the coupling between the wheel and the crown is lost when the crown reaches the first control position from the locked position, and in that the coupling can be restored by pushing the crown manually towards the inside of the case then activating the rotating dial.

[0024] More particularly and according to a preferred form, the connection by thread is made between an internal thread which extends over a length of the central bore of the wheel and an external thread which extends over a limited portion of the crown body cylindrical, making it possible to reach said first control position, or the only control position, by losing the coupling by said threaded connection between the cylindrical crown body and the wheel.

[0025] According to another embodiment, the connection between the crown body and the wheel is made by a helical profile provided on the exterior surface of the crown body, cooperating with a plurality of radial pins fixed inside the the wheel. More particularly and according to a preferred form, the crown body is provided with a helical profile on its exterior surface, said profile defining a groove extending like a helix along said crown body, the wheel is provided of one or more pins oriented radially with respect to the surface of the central bore of the wheel and arranged in a single plane perpendicular to the central axis, the pins penetrate into said groove, so that the rotation of the wheel in one or the other direction of rotation causes a translation of the crown in one or the other axial direction.

Preferably, the pins are mounted in a sleeve driven inside the central bore of the wheel.

[0027] According to one characteristic of the invention, the crown comprises a barrel integral with the crown head, forming a hollow cylinder with an internal section of polygonal shape, and in that an end part of the control rod is arranged inside the barrel, said end part of the control rod comprising a portion with a polygonal section corresponding to the internal section of the barrel, and in that the control rod is arranged such that during the translation of the crown between the locked position and the first control position of the crown projecting from the wall, the control rod remains stationary relative to the box.

According to one characteristic of the invention, the control rod is arranged such that when the crown moves in translation beyond the first control position, the rod is driven with the crown towards one or more control positions different.

[0029] According to a characteristic of the invention, the wheel may include on its outer periphery a marking indicating an angular position of the wheel corresponding to the release of the coupling between the cylindrical crown body and the wheel, and therefore to the first position crown control or to the single control position.

[0030] According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the timepiece is a wristwatch with a mechanical movement and manual winding.

[0031] According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the first control position allows manual winding of the movement, and in that a second control position allows the hours and/or minutes to be adjusted.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the crown is level with the wall of the box when the crown is in the locked position.

[0033] According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the wall of the box comprises a through housing extending perpendicular to the cavity housing the crown and facing it and the wheel is arranged in this housing .

[0034] The invention thus makes it possible to house the crown in a cavity provided in a watch case, so that the crown does not bother the user of the watch when it is in its locked position, and to bring out the crown from the locked position without manually pulling the crown outward.

Brief description of the figures

[0035] The invention will be described below in more detail using the appended drawings, given by way of non-limiting examples, in which: – Figure 1 represents a perspective view of a watch case in which the control device according to the invention is mounted; – Figure 2 represents a 2D sectional view, along the axis A-A of the control device according to the invention illustrated in Figure 1, Figure 2 more particularly represents the control device in a locked non-use position; – Figure 3 represents a 2D sectional view, along the axis A-A of the control device according to the invention illustrated in Figure 1, Figure 3 more particularly represents the control device in a first control position; – Figure 4 represents a 2D sectional view, along the axis A-A of the control device according to the invention illustrated in Figure 1, Figure 4 more particularly represents the control device in a second control position; – Figure 5 represents a 2D sectional view, along the axis A-A of the control device according to the invention illustrated in Figure 1, Figure 5 more particularly represents the control device in a third control position.

[0036] In all the figures, the common elements bear the same reference numbers unless otherwise specified.

Detailed description of the invention

An exemplary embodiment of a wristwatch according to the invention is illustrated in Figures 1 to 5 which represent a control device incorporated in a watch case 1.

Box 1 contains a clock movement (not shown). The clock movement can be a mechanical movement, but also an electronic or electromechanical clock movement known from the state of the art.

We also see a portion of the bezel 2 and the crystal 3 of the watch (in Figures 2 to 5).

The control device 100 according to the invention comprises a crown 4 formed of a crown head 4a and a hollow cylindrical crown body 18, the crown 4 being housed in a through cavity 10 and provided in a wall side 14 of box 1.

[0041] In the example shown in Figures 1 and 2, the exterior surface of the crown 4 is flush with the exterior surface 21 of the wall 14. This condition represents the rest state or the locked position of the control device 100, in effect when the device is not used by the user of the watch.

[0042] In this locked position, the crown 4 could also be housed entirely in the cavity 10 instead of coming flush with the wall 14.

Advantageously, in this locked position, the crown body 18 abuts with the bottom of the cavity 10 of the exterior surface 21 of the side wall 14.

[0044] To operate the control device 100, the user will turn a rotary wheel 5 provided with a central bore and, arranged coaxially with a central axis 6 of the control device 100, coinciding with the axis of rotation of the crown 4, and an upper and/or lower part of which is accessible to the user from the top and/or the bottom of the box 1.

The wheel 5 is free to rotate around the central axis 6 and immobile in the general axial direction of the crown 4, along the central axis 6.

The central axis 6 coincides with the central axis of a control rod 7 capable of cooperating with a mechanism of the clock movement, in a manner known per se and not detailed in the present context, for example example with a winding stem.

The control rod 7 is guided inside a fixed shouldered sleeve 8 which is configured to be screwed or driven into the wall 14 of the case 1 of the watch, at the bottom of the cavity 10. In the Example shown in Figures 2 to 5, the sleeve is mounted screwed into the wall 14 of the box 1.

A first seal 9 is placed in an outer groove of the sleeve 8, so as to form a seal between the sleeve 8 and the wall 14.

A second seal 19 is placed in an interior groove of the sleeve 8, so as to form a seal between the fixed sleeve 8 and the barrel 15.

A third seal 29 is placed in a second outer groove of the sleeve 8, so as to form a seal between the sleeve 8 and the crown body 18.

The wheel 5 is arranged around the crown body 18, and coupled to this crown body 18 by a threaded connection 16, so that the rotation of the wheel 5 causes an axial translation of the crown 4 along the central axis 6.

[0052] In the locked position shown in section in Figure 2, the crown body 18 extends inside the cavity 10 up to a shoulder 11.

The crown body 18 surrounds the sleeve 8, and is movable axially relative to the latter which is fixed in the box, along the central axis 6.

The crown 4, and more particularly the head 4a, comprises an internal cavity into which a barrel 15 is inserted. The barrel 15 is integral with the crown 4. The barrel 15 comprises a head inserted into the internal cavity of the crown 4 and a body extending around the control rod 7. The barrel 15 is also coaxial with the central axis 6.

The barrel 15 comprises at least one part where the section of the interior of the barrel 15 is non-circular, for example square or having another polygonal shape.

The control rod 7 is inserted into the barrel 15 and coupled in rotation to the barrel 15 and therefore to the crown 4, by a portion 25 of non-circular section, for example square or polygonal, of shape complementary to the section of inside the barrel 15.

An elastic member 26, such as a compression spring, is mounted compressed between a shoulder of the control rod 7 and the head 4a of the crown 4.

The barrel 15 and the crown 4 can move axially along the central axis 6, in translation, relative to the control rod 7 between two stop positions. A first stop position is shown in Figure 2, in which the crown 4 is housed in the cavity 10 and the crown body 18 abuts on the bottom of the cavity 10. In this first stop position, the elastic member 26 is in its maximum compression state.

[0059] A second stop position is shown in Figures 3 to 5, in which a portion of the barrel 15 abuts against an annular shoulder of the control rod 7, under the thrust of the elastic member 26.

By turning the wheel 5 manually from the position shown in Figure 2, that is to say the locked position described previously, the user can extract the crown head 4a from the wall 14 of the box 1 without that the crown head 4a does not rotate.

[0061] Actuated by the rotation of the wheel 5 via the threaded connection 16, the crown 4 moves axially outwards along the central axis 6, and therefore drives the barrel 15 secured to the crown head 4a . The crown head 4a will come out of its housing inside the cavity 10, until it loses the threaded connection 16 between the wheel 5 and the crown body 18.

[0062] When the threaded connection 16 is lost, the elastic member 26 is free to relax until it axially positions the barrel 15 in abutment support on the control rod 7, to reach a first projecting control position of the box 1, as shown in Figure 3. Thus in this first control position, the control device is configured so that the threaded connection 16 is lost between the wheel 5 and the crown body 18 .

[0063] It will be noted that the crown 4 does not rotate around the axis of rotation 6 between the locked position and the first control position.

The control rod 7 remains stationary between the locked position and the first control position.

The user can now access the crown 4 and turn it around its central axis 6, driving the control rod 7 in rotation, to activate a first function of the movement, for example the manual winding of the last one.

[0066] To reach a second control position, the user pulls axially on the crown 4, the barrel 15 abutting against the annular shoulder of the control rod 7, the latter is driven in translation with the crown 4 , i.e. the control rod 7 is pulled axially relative to the sleeve 8 towards an axial position which makes it possible to activate a second function, for example the adjustment of the hour and/or minutes. This second control position is illustrated in Figure 4.

[0067] Figure 5 finally represents a third control position of the crown 4, reached by pulling axially again on the crown 4 from the second control position (illustrated in Figure 4), moving the control rod 7 axially towards a position which allows a third function to be activated, for example setting the hour or minutes if this setting is not provided for by the second position or even setting the date.

[0068] To return the crown 4 to its initial rest position (embedded in the box 1), the user will push the crown 4 towards the inside of the box 1, driving the control rod 7 towards the inside of the box 1. the box 1 until reaching the first control position of the crown 4 and the control rod 7. The user continues to exert pressure on the crown 4 to counter the force of the elastic member 26 until to be able to couple again the connection by thread 16 between the wheel 5 and the crown body 18, by a slight rotation of the wheel 5. He can then turn the wheel 5 in the opposite direction to move the crown 4 inside of the cavity 10 until reaching the locked position described previously and shown in Figure 2.

[0069] Preferably, the wheel 5 includes a marking (not shown) on the outer peripheral or lateral surface of the wheel 5. The marking indicates the angular position of the wheel 5 corresponding to the first control position releasing the crown 4 from the wheel 5.

[0070] It will be noted that the connection by thread 16 between the crown body 18 and the wheel 5 only represents one embodiment of the coupling between the wheel 5 and the crown 4. When the pitch of the thread of the connection by thread 16 is small compared to the dimensions of the wheel 5, this device requires several turns of the wheel 5 to reach the first control position.

Conversely, when the pitch of the thread of the threaded connection 16 is large in relation to the dimensions of the wheel 5, this device requires a slight rotation of the wheel 5 to reach the first control position. Such an achievement can be interesting for the production of a quarter-turn wheel for example.

[0072] According to a second embodiment of the coupling between the crown 4 and the wheel 5, the crown body 18 can be provided with a helical profile on its exterior surface, which defines a groove which extends in the manner of a helix over the entire exterior surface of the crown body 18. A sleeve is driven inside the central bore of the wheel 5. The sleeve maintains a plurality of radial pins which enters the groove with a certain clearance The pins, typically two in number, are arranged in the same plane perpendicular to axis 6, preferably in the middle of the length of the wheel 5 (length measured in the direction of axis 6). The rotation of the wheel 5 thus actuates the rotation and translation of the crown body 18. The advantage of this embodiment is that the axial movement of the crown body to reach the first control position is now actuated by a rotation over a smaller angular distance from the wheel 5 than is the case in the embodiment described above, in particular with a small thread pitch compared to the dimensions of the wheel 5.

[0073] According to the invention, the threaded connection 16 does not make it possible to reach all the control positions, and the user is obliged to manually pull the crown to reach a number of additional positions, starting from the first position control. For this purpose, and as illustrated in Figures 3 to 5, the thread connection 16 is made between an internal thread 12 which extends over at least a portion of the length (seen in the direction of axis 6) of the drilling central of the wheel 5 and an external thread 13 which extends over a limited portion of the length of the crown body 18.

[0074] Thus, the connection by thread 16 only allows the crown 4 to come out of its locked position illustrated in Figure 1. The coupling between the threads 12, 13 is lost at the moment when the crown 4 reaches the first control position , as shown in Figure 3.

[0075] To bring the crown 4 to its other positions, the user must manually pull the crown 4 towards the outside of the box 1, see Figures 4 and 5, as in existing control devices.

[0076] To return the crown 4 to the locked position, the user must push the crown 4 back until it is brought into the first position and until it engages the threaded connection 16 between the wheel and the crown body 18 Once the thread 12 of the wheel 5 engaged on the thread 13 of the crown body 18, the crown 4 can be returned to its locked position by rotating the wheel 5 in the opposite direction to that allowing extraction, movement. axial of the crown 4 induced by the rotation of the wheel 5 compressing the elastic member 26.

The invention is advantageously applicable to mechanical watch movements with manual winding, but it is also applicable to electronic watches of the quartz or other type, in particular electronic watches comprising analog display members.

[0078] The materials used for the different components are preferably metals.

Claims (15)

1. Timepiece comprising a box (1), a mechanical or electronic movement arranged in the box (1), and a central axis control device (100) (6) for operating at least one function of the part watchmaking, the control device (100) comprising a crown (4) rotatably coupled to a control rod (7) passing through a wall (14) of the box (1) so as to activate at least one function of the timepiece by the rotation of the control rod (7) around said central axis (6), said rotation being carried out by turning the crown (4), the timepiece being characterized in that: – the box (1) is provided with a rotary wheel (5) provided with a central bore and coaxial with the central axis (6), and operable in rotation around said central axis (6), the wheel (5) being mounted on the box (1) so as to be immobile in an axial direction parallel to the central axis (6), – the crown (4) comprises a head (4a) and a cylindrical crown body (18) coaxial with the central axis (6), the cylindrical crown body (18) passing through the central bore of the wheel (5) and being directly coupled to the wheel (5) so that a rotation of the wheel (5) causes a translation of the crown (4) in an axial direction parallel to the central axis (6) between a locked position according to which the crown (4) is housed in a cavity (10) provided in said wall (14) of the box (1), and a first control position according to which the crown (4) is projecting from said wall (14) of the box (1) allowing the actuation of a first function, and according to which the coupling between the cylindrical crown body (18) and the wheel (5) is lost. 2. Timepiece according to claim 1, characterized in that the crown (4) cooperates with an elastic member (26) tending to exert on the crown (4) a pushing force towards the outside of the case (1 ), so as to position the crown (4) in said first control position when the coupling between the cylindrical crown body (18) and the wheel (5) is lost. 3. Timepiece according to claim 2, characterized in that the elastic member (26) is arranged between a shoulder of the control rod (7) and the head (4a) of the crown (4). 4. Timepiece according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the wheel (5) and the crown (4) are coupled by a threaded connection (16). 5. Timepiece according to claim 4, characterized in that the threaded connection (16) is shaped so that the coupling between the wheel (5) and the crown (4) is lost when the crown (4) reaches the first control position from the locked position, and in that the coupling can be restored by pushing the crown (4) manually towards the inside of the box (1) then by rotating the wheel (5). 6. Timepiece according to one of claims 4 to 5, characterized in that the thread connection (16) is made between an internal thread (12) which extends over a length of the central drilling of the wheel ( 5) and an external thread (13) which extends over a limited portion of the cylindrical crown body (18), making it possible to reach said first control position by losing the coupling by said threaded connection (16) between the body cylindrical crown (18) and the wheel (5). 7. Timepiece according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that from said first control position at which the coupling is lost, the crown (4) can move into one or more axial control positions additional by manually pulling the crown (4) towards the outside of the box (1). 8. Timepiece according to claim 1, characterized in that: – the cylindrical crown body (18) is provided with a helical profile on its outer surface, said profile defining a groove extending like a helix along said cylindrical crown body (18), – the wheel (5) is provided with one or more pins oriented radially relative to the surface of the central bore of the wheel (5) and arranged in a single plane perpendicular to the central axis (6), – the pins penetrate said groove, so that the rotation of the wheel (5) in one or the other direction of rotation causes a translation of the crown in one or the other axial direction. 9. Timepiece according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the crown (4) comprises a barrel (15) integral with the head (4a) of the crown (4), forming a hollow cylinder with internal section of polygonal shape, and in that an end part of the control rod (7) is arranged inside the barrel (15), said end part of the control rod (7) comprising a portion (25) with a polygonal section corresponding to the internal section of the barrel (15), and in that the control rod (7) is arranged such that during the translation of the crown (4) between the locked position and the first position control of the crown (4) projecting from the wall, the control rod (7) remains stationary relative to the box (1). 10. Timepiece according to claim 9, characterized in that the control rod (7) is arranged such that when the crown (4) moves in translation beyond the first control position, the control rod (7) is driven axially with the crown (4) towards one or more different control positions. 11. Timepiece according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the wheel (5) is provided at its outer periphery with a marking indicating an angular position of the wheel corresponding to the release of the coupling between the body cylindrical crown (18) and the wheel (5). 12. Timepiece according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the timepiece is a wristwatch with mechanical movement and manual winding. 13. Timepiece according to claim 12, characterized in that the first control position allows manual winding of the movement, and in that a second control position allows the hours and/or minutes to be adjusted. 14. Timepiece according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the crown (4) is level with said wall (14) of the box (1) when the crown is in the locked position. 15. Timepiece according to any one of the preceding claims in which said wall (14) comprises a through housing extending perpendicular to the cavity (10) housing the crown (4) and facing the latter characterized in that said wheel (5) is arranged in said housing.