EP0166680B1 - Pièce d'horlogerie avec mouvement de montre à quartz et générateur de son à commande électrique - Google Patents

Pièce d'horlogerie avec mouvement de montre à quartz et générateur de son à commande électrique Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0166680B1
EP0166680B1 EP85810009A EP85810009A EP0166680B1 EP 0166680 B1 EP0166680 B1 EP 0166680B1 EP 85810009 A EP85810009 A EP 85810009A EP 85810009 A EP85810009 A EP 85810009A EP 0166680 B1 EP0166680 B1 EP 0166680B1
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
switch
watch
sound generator
disk
movement
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired
Application number
EP85810009A
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German (de)
English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP0166680A1 (fr
Inventor
Paolo Spadini
Willy Meier
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Individual
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Individual
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Individual filed Critical Individual
Publication of EP0166680A1 publication Critical patent/EP0166680A1/fr
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0166680B1 publication Critical patent/EP0166680B1/fr
Expired legal-status Critical Current

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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G04—HOROLOGY
    • G04C—ELECTROMECHANICAL CLOCKS OR WATCHES
    • G04C21/00—Producing acoustic time signals by electrical means
    • G04C21/16—Producing acoustic time signals by electrical means producing the signals at adjustable fixed times
    • G04C21/20—Producing acoustic time signals by electrical means producing the signals at adjustable fixed times by closing a contact to ring an electromechanical alarm

Definitions

  • the manufacturers of quartz watches have endeavored to reduce their consumption, in order to prolong the life of the batteries as much as possible.
  • the driving torque of the second hand is of the order of three micronewtonmeters.
  • a switch between a member moving with the hour hand and another joined member the indicator of the time when the sound generator comes into action.
  • Some specific switches for this purpose are known.
  • one of the poles of the switch moves concentrically with the axis of the watch hands. It is located at the end of a radial elastic arm, which presses it axially against the flat face of a conductive disc which carries the other pole of the switch. This flat face is insulated except along a radial segment constituting the said pole of the switch and on which the end of the elastic arm arrives at the time when the sound generator must come into action.
  • this arm In order to balance the force that the pressure of the end of the arm against the conductive disc generates on its anchor point, this arm is provided with a tail which also presses against this disc, but which is a little shorter than the arm, so as not to touch the pole carried by the disc.
  • a switch is also known in which the pole moving concentrically with the hands of the watch is carried by an arm in an arc of a circle, which presses this pole radially against the cylindrical edge of a flange of insulating material, the latter being mounted on a conductive tube carrying a nose flush with the periphery of the collar in order to constitute the other pole of the switch (CH-B-495 006).
  • the invention aims firstly to enable a timepiece with quartz watch movement and electrically controlled sound generator to be fitted with a switch as safe as compatible with the power available in watches of this kind, which are currently being produced.
  • the contact which brings the sound generator into action closes by axial pressure.
  • the helical shape is easy to give to the arm carrying one of the poles of the switch.
  • a simple folding of a thin and relatively wide blade, initially planar, operated in the vicinity of its anchor point, is sufficient for this. Maintaining continuous friction, when precisely trying to reduce the load on the current source, seems paradoxical.
  • this arm makes it possible to adjust the intensity of the pressure that its end exerts against the flat circular crown, so as to guarantee good contact when the switch is closed, without risking producing a braking torque compromising the running of the watch, since a relatively large axial displacement of the end of this arm causes only a slight variation in this pressure, since this arm works in bending in the direction of its thickness. The manufacturing tolerances therefore have practically no influence on the operating conditions of the watch.
  • the helical shape of this arm also has the advantage that the point of friction between its end and the flat circular ring is relatively close to the axis of rotation of the contact poles of the switch.
  • the lever arm of the friction force, which generates the braking torque is therefore relatively short. It does affect however, not the precision of the time setting at which the sound generator should come into action. Experience has shown, in fact, that this time can be easily adjusted to the nearest two minutes, which is entirely satisfactory.
  • the special embodiments defined by claim 2 have the advantage of allowing simple manufacture of the element carrying the other pole of the switch.
  • a sparing or a mask, when the insulating layer is formed on the disc, makes it possible, in fact, to leave this disc bare at the location of the conductive island.
  • the disc is itself conductive, it ensures the connection of the pole that it carries to the sound generator circuit, which avoids laborious welds and bulky wires.
  • the special embodiments defined by claim 5 are particularly suitable for wristwatches.
  • the switch according to the invention can be mounted without requiring any modification of this movement. It suffices, in fact, to weld the metal ring to the barrel wheel, to separately manufacture the disc and the indicator needle which it carries, then to add them to the said movement.
  • any existing standard movement can even be used.
  • the disc carrying one of the poles of the switch replaces in this case at least the central part of the usual dial plate, this switch does not cause any additional thickness of the watch.
  • the insulating anodic oxidation formed on the back of the disc can be extended at the same time to the obverse, where it gives a standard appearance to the visible face of the timepiece.
  • the module shown in FIG. 1 comprises a standard quartz watch movement 1, that is to say a movement for a conventional watch, without additional device.
  • This movement can be round or shaped. It is fixed in a frame 2 of injected synthetic material, which has a housing 3 of shape corresponding to that of the movement 1.
  • the outer edge 4 of the frame 2 is circular cylindrical.
  • the module shown comprises a disc 5, perpendicular to the axis of the hands (not shown) of the watch and which is rotatably mounted around this axis .
  • These needles are carried by the barrels, 6, of an hour wheel, and 7, of a minute wheel of the movement 1.
  • the disc 5 can be rotated by means of a toothing 8 which it has at its periphery and which is engaged with a transmission wheel 9, itself mounted on a control rod 10.
  • the wheel 9 is housed in a slot 11 which crosses the frame 2 and whose length is slightly greater than the diameter of the wheel 9, so that it can rotate freely while being held in a substantially fixed axial position.
  • the rod 10 As for the rod 10, it is rotatably mounted in a radial bore 12 of the frame 5. It is axially movable between two positions. In one of these, a square section portion of the rod 10 is located inside an opening in the shape of the wheel 9 so as to drive the latter in rotation with it, while in its other axial position, the rod 10 is disengaged from the wheel 9. The rod 10 thus makes it possible to adjust the angular position of the disc 5 at will.
  • This disc 5 is made of aluminum. Its faces are subjected to anodic oxidation. The obverse of the disc 5 can thus be entirely colored and have the same appearance as certain conventional dial plates. As this oxidation forms an electrically insulating layer on the surface of the disc, savings are provided on the back of this disc to take advantage of the conductivity of the aluminum.
  • One of them has the shape of a circular crown (not shown) and it extends in the area of the disc 5 which passes over a spring 13 when the disc 5 rotates around its axis. The spring 13 acts as a brush; it brings to the disc 5 the current from one of the poles of the battery actuating the movement 1.
  • Another saving provided in a place described below on the reverse of the disc 5, forms a conductive island (not shown), which constitutes one of the contact poles of a switch.
  • a first ring 14, fixed to the frame 2 brings the current to the brush spring and a second ring 15, also fixed to frame 2, carries the hourly graduation and retains the disc 5 axially in place. If the obverse of the latter is not electrically insulated and if the ring 15 is conductive, an insulating lining (not shown) is inserted between these two parts.
  • An index (not shown) is transferred or applied to the obverse of the disc 5. It acts as a pointer indicating the time at which the sound generator is triggered.
  • the module shown also comprises a tube 16, for sealing the passage of the rod 10.
  • This tube passes through the wall of a housing (not shown), in which the module is intended to be housed and a conventional waterproof crown (not shown) is fixed to the end of the rod 10.
  • the second contact pole of the switch mentioned above is located on the part shown in Figs. 3 and 4.
  • This part results from a metal ring a few hundredths of a millimeter thick, in which a peripheral cutout 17 has been made so as to form an arm 18.
  • a folding 19 is formed at the root of this arm, so that the latter extends out of the plane of the body 20 along a helical surface.
  • the end of the arm 18 is rounded and folded in a direction opposite to the body 20 so as to form a spout 21, which constitutes the movable pole of said switch.
  • the body 20 of the part of FIGS. 3 and 4 is fixed on the hour wheel 22, fitted with the barrel 6, as shown in FIG. 2. As can be seen in this figure, the spout 21 presses against the back of the disc 5. When the module is assembled, the difference between the spout 21 and the body 20 is approximately one third of that in the rest state of the arm 18.
  • the material of the part of FIGS. 3 and 4 is chosen so that this deformation of the arm 18 is perfectly elastic. It follows that the arm 18 presses its beak 21 with a determined force against the disc 5.
  • the contact pole of the switch 5, 18, carried by the disc 5 is stationary.
  • the end of the arm 18 therefore moves over an area in the form of a circular crown of the disc 5.
  • this spout 21 When the wheel 22 has brought the spout 21 into the angular position which corresponds to the time indicated by the index appearing on the obverse of the disc 5, this spout is located on the island on the reverse of the disc 5 where the metal of the latter was left bare by sparing, during the anodic oxidation of this face of the disc 5.
  • the contact between the spout 21 and this island closes a circuit between one of the poles of the battery actuating the movement 1, which is connected to the mass of this movement, and the other pole of this battery, which is connected to the disc 5 by the ring 14 and the brush spring 13, both isolated from the mass of the movement 1 by the frame 2.
  • any known sound generator can be associated with the closed circuit by the switch 5, 18.
  • a sound generator such as the current pulse, which occurs when the spout 21 comes into contact with the conductive island of the disc 5, is sufficient to bring the sound generator into action.
  • the sound itself is produced by a piezoelectric plate which can be fixed to the bottom of the case containing the module described or to a membrane located in this case or to the glass of the watch, for example.
  • This sound can be produced by a vibration at a determined frequency, continuous or interrupted periodically; it can also constitute a melody or emit a sentence such as the reminder of an appointment, a departure time, that of absorption of a drug, etc. All of these types of sound generators are well known to those skilled in the art.
  • the sound generator control circuit includes yet another switch (not shown), which the rod 10 opens, when it is brought into one of its two axial positions.
  • the user can thus interrupt the sound generator activated by the switch 5.18 at will.
  • An automatic interruption after a few minutes of operation can also be provided.
  • the user can also prevent the sound generator from coming into action when the switch 5, 18 closes.
  • the energy absorbed by the sound generator does not significantly shorten its lifespan.
  • the disc 5 could also be made of a different metal, for example that usually used for dials. While the obverse of this disc would then be treated like the bottom of conventional dials, the reverse should be isolated by coating it for example with a layer of lacquer. The contact area of the brush spring 13 and the island cooperating with the spout 21 should then be spared. Metallic applications could also be deposited by vacuum spraying over the layer of insulating lacquer. These applications should, however, connect the island cooperating with the spout 21 to the area swept by the spring 13. In such an embodiment, it could however be necessary that the barrels of the hour and minute wheels be longer than usual, due to the thickness of the disc 5.
  • the disc carrying the island constituting one of the poles of the switch described replaces the dial. It could also be mounted under a conventional dial. A tube passing through the central opening of the dial would then be added to it and a needle would be engaged on this tube. In this case, the barrels 6 and 7 should be longer than in the example shown in the drawing.
  • the contact poles of the switch 5, 18 rotate coaxially with the hands of the watch; it suffices to provide them on a pair of coaxial rotary mobiles, one of which would rotate with the hour wheel and the other would be secured to the member indicating the time of entry into action of the sound generator.
  • the spout 21 constitutes the contact pole of the switch, which is movable with the hands of the watch; it could just as easily constitute its fixed, but adjustable, contact pole. It would then be the disc carrying the other contact pole of this switch which would be driven with the hands of the watch.
  • Fig 1 the use of the module shown in Fig 1 is not limited to wristwatches. It could just as easily enter, for example, the case of a miniature alarm clock or a pocket receiver to switch it on at a specific time.
  • the braking torque exerted on the wheel 22 by the friction of the spout 21 against the disc 5, although constant, is low enough not to risk stopping the watch.
  • This is due, on the one hand, to the flexibility of the arm 18, which works on bending in a direction parallel to the short sides of its section, and, on the other hand, to the fact that the contact point of the spout 21 is close to its axis of rotation, which reduces the lever arm of the force of friction of the spout 21 against the disc 5.
  • the spout 21 passes over the roughness that it can meet the along its path on the disc 5, such as for example one or the other of the edges of the island, recessed or in relief, forming a contact pole on this disc, without increasing the braking torque exerted on the mobile who wears it, contrary to what happens in the case where this contact pole is carried by a radial arm, that the said asperities of the disc 5 would stress not only in a direction parallel to the short sides of the section of such an arm , but also in a direction parallel to the long sides of this section, increasing sharply and so sensitive the braking torque on the mobile which would carry it.
  • the configuration of the spout 21 also has the advantage of eliminating by scraping the oxidation which could form, for example, on the contact island of the disc 5.

Landscapes

  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Electromechanical Clocks (AREA)
EP85810009A 1984-01-14 1985-01-14 Pièce d'horlogerie avec mouvement de montre à quartz et générateur de son à commande électrique Expired EP0166680B1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CH162/84 1984-01-14
CH16284A CH662465GA3 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1984-01-14 1984-01-14

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0166680A1 EP0166680A1 (fr) 1986-01-02
EP0166680B1 true EP0166680B1 (fr) 1988-12-14

Family

ID=4180670

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP85810009A Expired EP0166680B1 (fr) 1984-01-14 1985-01-14 Pièce d'horlogerie avec mouvement de montre à quartz et générateur de son à commande électrique

Country Status (5)

Country Link
US (1) US4629332A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
EP (1) EP0166680B1 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
JP (1) JPS60152980A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
CH (1) CH662465GA3 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
DE (1) DE3566845D1 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)

Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3611702A (en) * 1969-05-08 1971-10-12 Paolo Spadini Electric alarm timepiece

Family Cites Families (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CH8431A (de) * 1894-05-29 1894-10-31 Alfred Vohland Vorrichtung zum Öffnen und Schließen von Oberlichtfenstern
CH9720A (de) * 1894-12-04 1895-07-31 Fennessy Frank Richard Heizbrenner
CH13687A (fr) * 1897-01-25 1897-07-31 Placet Paul Emile Blocs de construction réfractaires
US1048987A (en) * 1911-12-18 1912-12-31 Robert Mauthe Electrically-operated alarm-clock.
US1459876A (en) * 1920-09-18 1923-06-26 George Rawak Alarm-controlling mechanism for clocks
CH537032A (fr) * 1966-02-17 1973-06-29 Spadini Paolo Montre-bracelet-réveil
US3596460A (en) * 1969-04-29 1971-08-03 Timex Corp Alarm device for a horological instrument
JPS5326662B2 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) * 1973-10-29 1978-08-03
FR2484101A1 (fr) * 1980-06-04 1981-12-11 Suisse Horlogerie Piece d'horlogerie pourvue d'un dispositif de synchronisation entre un affichage analogique et un compteur electronique incorpore

Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3611702A (en) * 1969-05-08 1971-10-12 Paolo Spadini Electric alarm timepiece

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
US4629332A (en) 1986-12-16
DE3566845D1 (en) 1989-01-19
EP0166680A1 (fr) 1986-01-02
CH662465GA3 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1987-10-15
JPS60152980A (ja) 1985-08-12

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