EP0970407A1

EP0970407A1 - Time-setting mechanism for clock movement with perpetual julian date

Info

Publication number: EP0970407A1
Application number: EP98907797A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Claude Ray; Christian Taillard
Original assignee: Girard Perregaux SA
Current assignee: Girard Perregaux SA
Priority date: 1997-03-27
Filing date: 1998-03-20
Publication date: 2000-01-12
Also published as: JP2001516455A; WO1998044394A1; US6295250B1; CH691088A5

Abstract

The invention concerns a time-setting mechanism for a clock movement (1) with perpetual Julian date comprising a device for driving (8) a date indicator (2) including driving means (10) for moving forward said indicator by one jump every twenty-four hours. The movement (1) further comprises an adjusting device for automatically moving said indicator (2) by a number of steps taking into account months with 28, 29 or 30 days, said device comprising a rotary cam (26) driven by at least one step every twenty-four hours, said cam having a profile (28) for steering a sensor (30) bringing about: the oscillating movement of a moving mechanism (32) provided with a pawl system (34) for moving forward the date indicator (2) by the required additional number of adjusting steps; and for moving forward said cam (26) by a number of steps equal to the number of said indicator (2) adjusting steps so as to make it move one complete cycle per year. The mechanism is characterised in that it comprises means (156) for disengaging the sensor (30) to release the cam (26) profile (28) and means (164) for coupling the indicator (2) with said cam (26), said coupling means (164) being steered by said disengaging means (156) which are controlled by an operating lever stem (150).

Description

TIME-SETTING MECHANISM OF A PERPETUAL CLOCK WATCH MOVEMENT

The present invention relates to a mechanism for setting the time, date, month and year of a movement with a perpetual calendar comprising at least devices for displaying the time, date, month and year. More particularly, the invention relates to such a mechanism allowing rapid correction of the indications of the abovementioned displays.

Mechanisms with a perpetual calendar of exclusively mechanical type are generally associated with mechanical movements, and in particular with automatic clock movements whose operation stops either when they are not wound manually (simple mechanical movement), or when '' they are not worn by a user (automatic mechanical movement).

Thus, when selling watches with such movements, it is often necessary to make corrections to the time information, i.e. setting the time, date, month and possibly the year, since sales are usually made after storage in store for several months since their receipt from the factory or wholesaler.

Currently, this correction operation is complicated and is difficult to understand for both the non-informed user and the seller. This type of difficulty often results in the sale failing. Indeed, this correction operation is done by means of the conventional time setting rod and by a combination of corrective pushers active only in a period of the day, each indication of the date having its corrective pushbutton (date, month, years).

Thus, the present invention aims to remedy this drawback by providing a mechanism for setting the time, date, month and year of a movement with a perpetual calendar, the correction operations of which can be performed quickly and easily, mainly by manipulating the conventional time setting rod.

To this end, the subject of the invention is a mechanism for setting the time of a clock movement with a perpetual calendar which comprises a device for driving a date indicator comprising drive means capable of advancing said indicator by jump once every 24 hours, this movement further comprising a device for catch-up allowing catch-up steps to be made to said indicator to automatically take account of the 28, 29 or 30 day months, said device comprising a rotary cam driven by at least one step every 24 hours, this cam having a profile suitable for piloting a probe causing: 5 - on the one hand, the oscillating movement of a mobile unit fitted with a ratchet system to advance the date indicator of the required additional catching step (s), and

- on the other hand, the advancement of said cam to make it perform a number of steps equal to the number of steps of catching up of said indicator in order to make it o complete one revolution per year, characterized in that it comprises means disengaging the probe to disengage it from the profile of said cam, and means for coupling the indicator with said cam, said coupling means being controlled by said disengaging means which are themselves controlled by a rod 5 command.

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will appear on reading the detailed description which follows, given with reference to the appended drawings which are given solely by way of example, and in which:

- Figures 1 to 6 are top views of the movement according to the invention, showing states of the front movement (Figures 1 and 2), during

(Figure 3) and after (Figures 4, 5 and 6) the transition from a calendar, for example mid-month, such as "12", to the next calendar;

- Figures 7 to 9 are views similar to Figures 1 to 6, but showing states of movement before (Figure 7), during (Figure 8) and after 5 (Figure 9) the passage of a date from the end of '' a month having 30 days on the 1st of the following month;

- Figures 10 and 11 are views similar to Figures 7 to 9, but showing states of movement before (Figure 10) and after (Figure 11) the passage from the 29th of the month to the 1st of the following month, for a month of February at 28 0 days (non-leap year);

- Figure 12 is also a top view of the movement according to the invention, shown equipped with a device for indicating leap years;

- Figure 13 is also a top view of the movement according to the invention, on which we see the movable flap system allowing the taking into account of the months of February of 29 days (leap years); - Figures 14 and 15 show the state of the movement after the passage from 29 to 30 of February in a leap year, before (Figure 14) and after the passage on the 1st of the following month (Figure 15);

- Figures 16 to 19 are top views of the movement shown in Figures 1 to 15, equipped with the rapid time setting mechanism according to the invention and illustrating the different functions of said mechanism;

- Figures 20 to 22 are views similar to Figures 16 to 19 and showing more particularly the correlation between the standard time setting mechanism and the fast time setting mechanism; and - Figures 23 and 24 are top views of the movement and the mechanism according to the invention, but in which only the means for correcting the days in connection with the time-setting rod have been shown.

Referring now to FIG. 8, the general principle of a movement intended to be equipped with the mechanism according to the invention will be described below, this movement being designated by the general reference 1.

The movement 1 includes a calendar mechanism with a perpetual calendar comprising a calendar disc 2 which carries indications of the calendars 4. These indications appear in a window 6 of a dial, not shown.

The disc 2 is associated with a drive device 8 comprising drive means consisting of an elastic arm 10 secured to a 24-hour wheel referenced 12. The wheel 12 is engaged with a mobile 14, meshing with a 16-hour cannon wheel, which rotates in twelve hours.

The elastic arm 10 comprises, at its free end, a hook 18 provided for engaging in an internal toothing 22 of the date disc 2, in order to advance it once per 24 hours, when the hook 18 engages on a tooth of this toothing 22. A jumper spring 24 maintains the disc 2 in a fixed position until the hook 18, driven in rotation by the wheel 12, engages the tooth, for example D1, and arms the elastic arm 10 until it overcomes the force of the jumper spring 24 and moves, almost instantaneously, the date disc 2 by one jump for the passage from one calendar to the next calendar.

It will be noted that the device 8 is designed so that after the passage to the next calendar, as explained above, the hook 18 is released from the toothing 22 to allow, if necessary, an additional advancement of the disc 2 in order to make it carry out one or more catch-up steps and to take account of months having less than 31 days, using a catch-up device which will be described below.

The drive device 8 is a conventional device which will not be described in more detail.

Movement 1 includes a take-up device provided with a rotary cam 26 driven at least one step every 24 hours and making one complete revolution per year.

The cam 26 is guided in rotation, for example on the surface of the movement, by means not shown and it has a profile 28 intended to drive a probe 30.

The probe 30 controls the oscillating movement of a mobile assembly 32 which is provided with a ratchet system 34 intended to advance the disc 2 by the required take-up step or steps. The probe 30 also controls the advancement of the cam 26 so as to cause it to take a number of steps equal to the number of steps for catching up on the disc 2.

The cam 26 is driven by a gear train connected to the hour wheel 16. More specifically, the wheel of the hour gun 16 (hereinafter called the hour wheel) carries a pinion 36 in engagement with the wheel 38 of a first mobile. This first mobile comprises a finger 40 integral with the wheel 38. The reduction ratio between the pinion 36 and the wheel 38 is such that the wheel 38 makes one revolution in 24 hours. The finger 40 cooperates with the teeth of a wheel 42 with 31 teeth, belonging to a second mobile whose pinion 44 drives the cam 26.

It will be noted that the finger 40 is positioned during assembly so that the latter comes into contact with the toothing of the wheel 42 after the drive device 8 has enabled the disc 2 to jump.

The cam 26 has an annular shape surrounding the moving element 32 and the drive device 8. The cam 26 and the hour wheel 16 have the same axis of rotation R.

The cam 26 has an internal toothing 46 which cooperates with the pinion 44 for the rotary drive of this cam.

The probe 30, which has the general shape of an anchor, comprises a first arm 48 which rests, under the action of a return spring 50, on the profile 28 of the cam 26 by a lift 52.

The lift 52, which is in permanent contact with the profile of the cam 26, has a semi-spherical shape and is arranged in the vicinity of the free end of the arm 48. This lift 52 is preferably made of synthetic ruby.

The probe 30 comprises a second arm 54 which is connected to the first arm 48 by a joining part 56. This second arm 54 is coupled to the moving element 32 by its free end which has the shape of a fork 58 whose teeth are engaged, in the example shown, on a pin 60 secured to the moving assembly 32.

The probe 30 comprises a third arm 62 extending, from the junction part 56, substantially in the extension of the first arm 48, and the end of which cooperates with the spring 50 in order to push the lift 52 in the direction of the profile of the cam 26.

To do this, the probe 30 is pivotally mounted by its joining part.

56, via an axis 64, on the movement, for example on a plate (not shown). The axis 64 of the probe 30 is associated with an eccentric 66 which allows the final adjustment of the lift 52 relative to the profile 28 of the cam 26.

In the example shown, the probe 30 and the spring 50 generally extend under the cam 26.

The movable element 32 is also associated with a movable lever 68 which is articulated by one of its free ends on the pin 60, this lever 68 being controlled by the feeler 30. The other free end of the lever 68 has a spout 70 in engagement with a wheel 72 with wolf teeth. This wheel 72 is integral with the wheel 44 belonging to the mobile driving the cam 26. The lever 68 is held in engagement with the wheel 72 by means of a leaf spring 74 which presses laterally on the back of the spout 70, in a radial direction of the wheel 72.

Furthermore, it will be specified that the wheels 72 and 42, which belong to the mobile driving the cam 26, are held in position, between each step, by a jumper 76, biased by a spring 78. The crew 32 comprises a base plate 80 rotatably mounted around the axis R, around the hour wheel 16. The base plate 80 extends from the center of the movement in the radial direction towards the disc 2.

This plate 80 carries the pawl 34 which is rotatably mounted on it by means of a pivot 82. The pawl 34 consists, on the one hand, of a spout 84 intended to come to engage in the toothing 22 disc 2 and, on the other hand, an elastic arm

86 which extends above the plate 80. In this example, the arm 86 extends in the direction of the center of the movement. The pawl 34 further comprises a spring 88 acting on the spout 84 to make it penetrate into the teeth 22 of the disc 2. In the example illustrated, the spring 88 has the general shape of an L which partially surrounds the pivot 82 and one branch of which bears against a side of the spout 84, while the other branch bears against an axis 90 integral with the plate 80.

Axis 90 carries a 24-hour wheel, referenced 92, which meshes with a pinion 94 secured to the hour barrel. The axis 90 also carries an inertial cam 96 which is driven by the wheel 92, this inertial cam 96 cooperating periodically with the end of the arm 86 to block it against a pin 98 also carried by the base plate 80.

As will be understood from the description of the detailed operation of the movement, this arrangement constitutes a blocking system making it possible, every two months, to block the movement of the arm 86 of the pawl 34 in order to condemn it at the time of the catch-up jump or jumps. Thus, this blocking system maintains, in a first position, the spout 84 almost permanently so that it ensures the drive of the disc 2. In a second position, this blocking system releases the spout 84 so that it ensures its pawl function, vis-à-vis the disc 2, when the latter is actuated, in particular by the drive device 8. The profile 28 of the cam 26 is formed of five contiguous sectors, referenced I to V, connected between them by recesses forming notches E1 to E5. The depth of these notches determines the radial displacement of the probe 30, and in particular the radial displacement of the lift 52 to cause the disc 2 to perform the number of catch-up steps required at the end of the months having less than 31 days.

The five sectors I to V form continuous ramps R1 to R5 which extend, counterclockwise, from the bottom of a notch En to the top of a next notch In + 1, from a first ray to a second ray greater than the first. One of the notches, referenced E3, has a greater depth than that of the other four notches E1, E2, E4 and E5, the latter having depths equal to each other.

The notches E1, E2, E4 and E5 have depths such that they can cause the probe 30 to move so as to control, via the moving element 32, the movement of the disc 2 from one catch-up step at the end of the month to 30 days (April, June, September, November), while the notch E3 has a depth such that it can move the probe 30 to also control, via the moving element 32, the movement of the disc 2 by two or three catch-up steps, respectively at the end of the 29 and 28-day months (leap and non-leap February).

To this end, the depth of the notch E3 is not constant. This is associated with a system 100 capable of varying its depth once every four years. This system 100, visible in FIG. 13, consists of a movable flap 102 rotatably mounted on the cam 26 via an axle 104. The axle 104 carries a wheel 106 making a turn every four years , this wheel therefore being actuated at each complete rotation of the cam by a quarter turn. To this end, the system 100 cooperates, once a year, with a fixed finger of the movement, referenced 108. Thanks to this arrangement, the movable flap 102 can be closed once every four years the notch E3 in order to reduce its depth. This makes it possible to limit the movement of the probe 30 so that the latter does not make the disc 2 perform two catch-up steps at the end of February in leap years. In addition, the shutter 102 has a rim which, when the shutter comes once to close the notch E3, lengthens the length of the ramp R3 by a distance corresponding to one day.

The wheel 106 is held in position by an L-shaped jumper 110, mounted for rotation using a pivot 112 which is supported by a crown 116 forming a month disc and integral with the cam 26.

This jumper 110 cooperates with a return spring 114 which acts on one of the branches of the L so that the other branch comes to penetrate between two teeth of the wheel 106, this second branch having an end provided for this purpose. Thus, the jumper 110 and its spring 114 rotate with the cam 26 at the rate of one complete revolution per year.

FIG. 13 also shows a device for indicating leap years 120 which can advantageously equip movement 1.

The device 120 comprises a star 122 carrying an annual indication needle (not shown), this needle being pivoted on the movement 1. The star 122 is held by a jumper spring 124 ensuring the positioning of the needle. In the example shown, the star 122 has eight branches and is driven by two drive teeth 126 integral with the cam 26. Thus, the star 122 is controlled, once a year, by these two teeth to perform a quarter turn at each complete rotation of the cam. This indication is valuable for highlighting the leap year. With reference to FIGS. 1 to 15, the operation of the movement will be described below.

In Figure 1, we see the training device of the classic calendar at 9 o'clock, that is to say at the beginning of its winding for the triggering of a usual jump, on the passage from 12 to 13 of the month.

The hook 18 of the elastic arm 10 abuts against a tooth D1 of the toothing 22. The lift 52 is being mounted on the ramp R5. The inertial cam 96 has not reached the end of the arm 86 of the pawl 34. The beak 84 can thus rise slowly on the side of a tooth D2. The pawl 34 is therefore free and allows either the function of future passage of the date, or a rapid resetting to the date by means of a device not described.

In addition, the end of the finger 40 has not, at this instant, yet reached one of the teeth of the wheel 42 with 31 teeth.

In Figure 2, we see the drive device of the classic calendar at 11:30 pm. The elastic arm 10 of the drive means has continued its winding without the disc 2 having yet moved, the latter being maintained by the jumper spring 24. The two 24-hour wheels, referenced respectively 38 and 92, have traversed the complementary angle corresponding to the time elapsed between 9 pm and 11:30 pm, without any other function having occurred.

In Figure 3, we see the classic date drive device at 24 hours, the disc 2 is ready to jump one step. The hook 18 advanced the disc 2 during the half hour preceding midnight. The jumper spring 24 rose during this short period. It still retains disc 2.

In Figure 4, we see the drive device just after the jump of the disc 2, that is to say after the transition to the 13th of the month. The elastic arm 10 of the drive means has regained its shape at rest. The hook 18 begins to disengage from the teeth 22 to allow the future rotation of the disc 2, at the end of the month of less than 31 days.

In Figure 5, we can see the state of movement after the aforementioned jump, at 2 a.m. The hook 18 of the elastic arm 10 is completely disengaged from the toothing 22. The end of the finger 40 drives a tooth D3 of the wheel 42 with 31 teeth, until the return force of the jumper 76 will be overcome by driving the finger 40 and will complete the drive function of this wheel 42 under the action of the spring 78.

The pinion 44 which is integral with the wheel 42 rotates the cam 26 via the internal toothing 70 of this cam. So the cam 26 which is integral with the disc 116 will have made an additional step of 1 / 372nd of a turn in the clockwise direction, thereby raising the lift 52 on the ramp R5 by slowly moving the probe 30 counter-clockwise, this probe 30 driving the moving assembly 32 in its travel. During this period, the tip of the spout 84 is mounted against the flank of a tooth D4 of the toothing 22 of the disc 2. The arm 86 has moved angularly around its axis 82, the end of this arm being pushed by the inertial cam 96 and leaving the spout 84 of the toothing 22.

The end of the arm 86 moves until the moment, by the 24-hour rotation of the inertial cam 96, the cam 96 will drop the pawl

34 in the toothing 22, under the effect of the spring 88. During this entire period, the disc 2 has the freedom to rotate, in particular under the effect of a rapid date setting.

The maximum displacement of the pawl 34 is reached, in this configuration, around 4 o'clock in the morning, as shown in FIG. 6 which presents at this time the position of the other moving mobiles.

Figure 7 shows the movement under the same conditions as those described above in Figure 3, but this time before the catch-up step of the disc 2 for the passage from 30 to 31 of the month, for a month of 30 days.

During the following period, the inertial cam 96 will come to be positioned in front of the end of the arm 86 to block it against the pin 98 and in order to immobilize the pawl 34 relative to the base plate 80. At this time , the spout 84 of the pawl fully penetrates the toothing 22 of the disc 2.

At the same time, the articulated lever 68 moved slowly under the action of the feeler 30, via the pin 60, to mount on the toothing of the wheel 72. The spout 70 of this lever came to engage in the next hollow of the wheel 72, under the effect of the spring 74. It will be noted that the lift 52 always rests at the edge of the notch E1 of the cam 26 on the ramp R1.

As in Figures 1 to 5, the drive device 8 will arm and, around midnight, will rotate the disc 2 for the jump from 30 to 31, as seen in Figure 8. The figure 8 shows the situation of the movement at 2 am, just before it takes the catch-up step, from the 31st to the ^1st .

The hook 18 is completely disengaged from the toothing 22. At this time, the pawl 34, and more particularly its beak 84, is immobilized on the base plate 80 by the inertial cam 96 and the lift which is at the edge of the notch E1 is ready to fall into this notch.

The finger 40 then drives the wheel 42 by one step to advance the cam 26 by a corresponding step. The advance of the cam 26 causes the fall of the lift 52 in the notch E1, under the effect of the spring 50. In its travel, the feeler 30 moves the moving element 32 in rotation, which then advances the disc 2 with a catch-up step, thanks to the spout 84 which is immobilized by the inertial cam 96 (FIG. 9).

It will be noted in this connection that, during the catch-up step, the inertia of the disc 2 cannot be controlled, all the more so since the energy distributed by the spring 50 is variable depending on its winding, itself dependent the depth of the notches E1 to E5. The solution to this problem consists in blocking the pawl 32 by the inertial cam 96, as mentioned above. This blocking takes place at the moment when the catching jump is made, which thus keeps the spout 84 in the toothing 22 of the disc 2.

Thus, after advancing one step of the disc 2, the preceding tooth D5 abuts against the heel of the spout 84, thus preventing the disc 2 from passing an additional tooth.

It will be specified, moreover, that since the inertial cam 96 rotates continuously, the pawl 32 is free most of the time and in particular during the passage of the traditional calendar at midnight. However, if a rapid date change should occur when the cam blocks the elastic arm 86, in particular between the period following the traditional jump at midnight and the catch-up jump at the end of the month, the elastic arm 86 has the necessary flexibility to pass one or more teeth of the toothing 22 over the tip of the pawl 84.

To further comment on the foregoing, it will be specified that during the successive days of the months to 31 days, the lift 52 rises progressively along one of the ramps R1 to R5 of the cam 26. During this path which represents, in the case of the ramp R1, the interval between two months, the spring 50 has been progressively bandaged by the arm 62 of the probe 30 and has armed the probe 30 so that it falls into the notch E1, when the finger 40 has commanded the displacement of the cam 26. When the probe 30 progresses along the ramp R1, it pivots about its axis 64 and thereby causes an angular displacement of the moving element 32, via the pin 60. When the probe 30 rises on the ramp R1, it pivots clockwise and moves the moving element 32 angularly in the counterclockwise direction. When the lift 52 falls into the notch E1, the probe 30 pivots around of its axis 64 counterclockwise and displaces the moving element 32 angularly in the clockwise direction, which causes the disc 2 to perform the required catch-up step. The spout 84 of the pawl 34, which is immobilized by the inertial cam, then pushes the toothing 22 clockwise. Simultaneously, the movement of rotation of the probe 30 causes the rotation of the wheel 72, by traction on the lever 68. The wheel 72 being integral with the pinion 44, the traction movement of the lever 68 also causes the rotation of the cam 26 by the same no catch-up, so that this cam 26 remains in phase with the periods of the following months. Figure 9 shows the situation of the movement after the catch-up step, from the 31st to the ^1st , at the end of a month of 30 days.

During the step, that is to say at the moment when the feeler fell into the notch E1, the articulated lever 68 by the driving of its beak 70 made the wheel mobile 42, 72 and 44 rotate. a step. Thus, the lift 52 did not fall directly to the bottom of the notch E1, but at a distance from the vertical wall of the notch E1, this distance corresponding to one day for an end of the month to 30 days.

Figures 10 and 11 show the situation of the movement before and after the three adjusting for the passage of 29 to ¹ at the end of a month of 28 days.

The movement works in an identical manner to what has been described previously, with the difference that the number of steps is determined by the depth of the notch E3. This notch has a depth a priori provided so that the displacement of the probe 30 in this notch causes a displacement of the disc 2 by three steps, thanks to a corresponding angular displacement of the movable assembly.

However, at the end of February in leap years (see FIGS. 14 and 15), the notch E3 can be partially obstructed so as to cause only a displacement of the disc 2 by two steps and one day later. The obstruction of this notch E3 is carried out in due time using the mechanism 100 described above, and in particular via the flap 102.

Referring now to FIGS. 16 to 24, the correction mechanism according to the invention will be described more particularly.

This mechanism, like the movement 1, is controlled by a conventional rod 150 which can occupy several axial positions designated in the figures by PO, P1 and P2. In the first position PO (neutral), the rod 150 is used to wind the barrel of the movement (not shown) if the latter is not equipped with an automatic winding system.

The state of the correction mechanism according to the invention in the position PO of the rod 150 is shown in Figure 16. We will now describe the various elements forming this mechanism in connection with this figure.

This correction mechanism comprises a pull tab 152 pivoted on the movement and cooperating with the rod 150 in a conventional manner. One end of this pull tab 152 bears against an added plate 154, for example using rivets, on a declutching member 156 comprising three arms 156a,

156b and 156c.

The declutching member 156 is pivotally mounted around an axis 158 fixed, for example, on a bridge, not shown in the drawing. One end or head 160 of the arm 156c penetrates into a notch 162 of a clutch lever 164. The latter is pivotally mounted, by its opposite end, around an axis 166 also mounted, for example, in a bridge not shown. .

The lever 164 carries a wheel 168 which is rotatably mounted on a central lug 170 integral with the lever 164. The wheel 168 is in permanent engagement with the wheel 42 of the perpetual calendar device and, in this position, it rotates freely.

The mechanism further comprises a control star 172 with six branches which is pivoted on a plate inside the circle defined by the date disc 2, so that the teeth of said star 172 can cooperate with the teeth 22 of the disc.

The star 172 is integral with a control pinion 174 having the same number of teeth as said star which carries it and constitutes therewith a control mobile. This control mobile is associated with a jumper spring 176 which makes it possible to orient it so that one of the branches of the star 172 is at all times positioned between two teeth of the toothing 22.

The mechanism further comprises a return spring 178 which comes into contact with a protuberance 180 formed on the rocker 164, this spring 178 being fixed to the plate of the movement. In this example, the spring 178 has the shape of a wire spring configured in U. In the position PO of the pull tab 150, the spring 178, by its restoring force, returns the rocker 164 to its initial rest position and the remote from the control mobile, so that the clutch wheel 168 is released from the control pinion 174. By the articulated connection of the rocker 164 with the declutching member 156, the return force of the spring 178 causes the rotation of this member in a clockwise direction, so that the arm 156a of the latter rests against a pin 182 The probe 30, and more particularly its arm 48, comprises a pin 184 which projects out of the plane of the arm 48. The pin 184 is intended to cooperate with the arm 156a of the declutching member 156 in the position P1 of the rod as will be described below in connection with FIG. 17. Thus, the arm 156a can switch between a first position (FIG.

16) in which it presses against the pin 182 when the rod is in position PO, and a second position (FIG. 17) in which it pushes the pin 184 to release the lift 52 from the profile of the cam 26 when the rod 150 is in position P1. In addition, the articulated lever 68 comprises, near its beak, a pin 186 which also projects outside the plane of the lever. In the PO position of the rod, the declutching member 156 does not interact with the pin 184, so that the beak of the lever 68 remains in engagement with the wheel 72 with wolf teeth. In the position P1 of the rod, the declutching member 156, which has been tilted counterclockwise, pushes the pin 186 to release the beak of the lever 68 from the toothing of the wheel 72.

Figure 17 mounts the rod 150 in the position P1, which corresponds to the position generally used for setting the date of the date.

In this position, the pull tab 152 has been tilted by the movement of the rod clockwise. The end of the pull tab 152 being in abutment against a side 188 of concave shape of the plate 154, this movement causes the tilting, in the counterclockwise direction, of the plate 154 and of the declutching member 156 which is integral of the plate.

In its stroke, the arm 156a of the declutching member leaves the pin 182 to push the pin 184, integral with the feeler 30, and sufficiently release the lift 52 from the profile of the cam 26 to allow its rotation in both directions, without the latter interfering with said lifting 52.

In its tilting movement, the probe 30 causes, by means of its arm 54, the tilting of the movable assembly 32 in the counterclockwise direction, this tilting causing the ratchet 34 to pass over the teeth of the toothing 22 of disc 2, without driving disc 2, since the return force of spring 88 is weaker than that of jumper spring 24. Thus, the moving element 32 will take a non-functional but nevertheless well-determined intermediate position.

In this tilting position of the moving element 32, the pawl 34 must be located so that the inertial cam 96, during its 24-hour rotation, always passes near the end of the elastic arm 86, the spout 84 of the pawl 34 being engaged in the teeth 22 of the disc 2, as if the normal catch-up operation were to take place. This arrangement allows the time to be set forwards and backwards whatever the stop time of the movement, since the inertial cam 96 always passes behind the end of the arm 86 without moving it and, consequently, without moving ratchet 34.

The tilting of the declutching member 156 anti-clockwise also allows the release of the lever 68, and more particularly of the spout 70 of the teeth of the wolf tooth wheel 72, in order to allow rotation in both directions. of the wheel 72, which is linked to the correction mechanism according to the invention, in the position P1 of the rod.

To do this, the arm 156a of the declutching member 156 has a rounded flank 190 which pushes the pin 186 secured to the lever 68. The kinematics of this arrangement is provided so that the spout 70 is in this tilting position outside the field of the toothing of the wheel 72.

The tilting of the declutching member 156 also causes the tilting of the rocker 164 clockwise by the action of the end 160 of the arm 156c engaged in the notch 162. This movement of the rocker allows the engagement of the clutch wheel 168 with the control pinion 174 which is integral with the control star 172 in engagement with the teeth 22 of the disc 2.

FIG. 18 shows the synchronization of the correction functions, in particular of rapid date setting, by means of the rod 150 which is in the position P1.

In this position, the advance of the date disc is achieved by means of a wheel 192 conventionally linked in rotation to the rod 150. This wheel 192 meshes with a sliding pinion 194 secured to a rapid correction wheel 196, for example with three lugs. The number of pins determines the speed of correction of disk 2 and can be less than or more than three.

This rapid correction wheel 196 is intended to drive the disc 2 of the dates in a clockwise direction, when the rod 150, in its position P1, is turned in a negative direction of rotation symbolized by the arrow SN (Figure 18).

During its rotation, the disc 2 drives the control star 172, with six branches in the example shown. Each passage of a tooth of the toothing 22 corresponds to a passage of a branch of the control star 172.

The control pinion 174, integral with the control star 172, therefore also performs a sixth of a revolution for a step of the date disc. Note that, in this example, one step of the date disc 2 corresponds to one day.

Since, in the position P1 of the rod 150, the control pinion 174 meshes with the wheel 168 integral with the rocker 164, the advancement of one sixth of a turn of the control pinion 174 causes the advancement of a pitch of the wheel 168. The wheel 168 being engaged with the wheel 42 integral with the wolf tooth wheel 72, the advancement of a tooth thereof corresponds to the normal daily advancement that the wheels would have made 42 and 72 driven by the finger 40, which allows the cam 26 to be driven 1 / 372nd of a turn by the pinion 44, as described above. Thus, it is understood that, thanks to this arrangement, a function of synchronizing the movement of the date disc 2 with the movement of the cam 26 is achieved during the rapid date correction operation.

In this function, the date disc 2 controls the advancement of cam 26, this disc being leading. During rapid correction by means of a corrector such as the one just described, it is common for the operator to unintentionally spend the day he wanted to display in the window and move the date disc d 'one or more days beyond the desired position. With a conventional date device, this handling error is not very annoying, because the operator just has to make the date disc make an additional turn so that it finds the desired position.

However, in the case of a perpetual calendar, this handling error is much more damaging. Indeed, after such an error, the operator must turn the rod to pass every month of the following four years in order to find the position of the desired date.

According to the invention, there will be described below, in particular in connection with FIG. 19, a device making it possible to eliminate this drawback. As will be understood, this device allows easily, during such a handling error, to go back one or more steps to display the desired date without disturbing the synchronization of the various elements of the perpetual mechanism. This device comprises a ratchet correction module 200 provided with a plate 202 which is pivotally mounted on the plate, not referenced, around an axis 204. This plate 202 carries a ratchet 206 mounted pivoting around an axis 208 making projection of the plate 202.

The plate 202 further comprises a lug 210 on which a spring 212 secured to the plate rests to return the plate to its initial rest position shown in FIG. 18, position in which the correction module comes into contact with the head of a pusher 214 partially shown in the drawing.

The pawl 206 has, at a first end, a spout 216 and, at a second opposite end, a stud 218 driven into this pawl.

The plate 202 also carries a cylindrical stop 220 on which the pusher 214 comes to bear.

The correction module 200 further comprises a ratchet spring 222 which is wound, on the one hand, around the stop 220 while being fixed to the latter and, on the other hand, around the axis 204 to come to bear by its free end against the pin 218 which rests against a flange of the plate 202.

FIG. 19 shows the operation of the correction module 200. By applying pressure to the pusher 214, for example using a pointed tool, such as the tip of a ballpoint pen, the stop 220 is acted upon. which causes the plate 202 to tilt clockwise and causes the spout 216 to push a tooth of the wheel 42 counterclockwise.

The rotation of this wheel 42 anti-clockwise causes a movement of the date disc in the opposite direction by means of the wheel 168, the control pinion 174 and the control star 172 which are kinematically connected in position P1 of the control rod 150.

The calendar displayed can therefore be corrected backwards while keeping the synchronization of the perpetual mechanism with the disc 2, as shown in FIG. 21, since the wheel 42, integral with the pinion 44 correspondingly drives the cam 26 also in the opposite direction from

1/372th turn.

By releasing the pressure on the pusher 214, the return spring 212 returns the module 200 to its initial position. During this movement, the spout 216, by virtue of the pivoting of the pawl, passes over a tooth of the wheel 42 which is held stationary in position by the jumper 78.

In FIG. 20, the correction mechanism is shown with the rod 150 pulled in its position P2. This additional traction of the rod does not influence the position of the elements of the mechanism which has just been described.

Indeed, the end of the pull tab 152 continued to rotate clockwise, with no other effect than to move along the concave flank 188 of the plate 154, without causing a complementary movement of the latter or of the declutching member 156. This results from the fact that, in this position, the concave flank 188 is centered on the axis of rotation of the pull tab 152.

The complete traction of the rod 150 has the effect of separating the wheel 192 from the rapid correction wheel 194 which returns to a non-functional position.

According to the example shown, in the position P2 of the rod, the rotation of this rod 150 in the negative direction SN allows the rotation of the hour and minute hands clockwise. In this position, all the functions of the base movement, its date and its perpetual calendar with the rapid date setting, are preserved.

The 24-hour wheel 12 carrying the elastic arm 10 in this case rotates clockwise by manual control of the barrel wheel 16 to drive the disc 2 clockwise. In parallel, the barrel wheel 16 also controls the movement of the finger 40 counterclockwise so that it drives the wheel 42 clockwise to keep the synchronization of the perpetual calendar after the normal passage of the calendar.

The wheel 42 causes the movement of a pitch of the wheel 168 which, in the position P2 of the rod, is in engagement with the control pinion 174. This movement causes the rotation of the date disc clockwise by one of the branches of the control star 172. During the normal passage of the date or the catch, the pawl

34 remains free to pivot during movement of the date disc 2.

FIG. 20 shows the correction mechanism according to the invention in the period between midnight and 4 am, the rod 150 being in the position P2 and being rotated in the negative direction. It can be seen that, if the time setting is carried out during this period, the ratchet stop position is such that the end of its arm 86 is driven by the inertial cam 96 during rotation, by so that the beak 84 of the pawl 34 leaves the field of the teeth 22 of the disc 2. Under these conditions, if this position were to remain after the rotation in the negative direction of the rod 150, in the period from midnight to 4 am, the disc 2 would remain stationary when the moving equipment 32 goes back. Figure 22 shows the operation of the time setting by the rotation of the rod in the positive direction SP. In this case, it can be seen that the end of the finger 40 rotates clockwise and that the elastic mounting of this finger 40 allows it to move in rotation without driving the wheel 42 with 31 teeth which is held in position by the jumper 76. As specified above for the rotation of the rod in the negative direction, it is not recommended to set the time between midnight and 4 am. In fact, the inertial cam 96 which rotates anti-clockwise will come into contact with the end of the arm 86 of the pawl 34 and block its operation by abutting against the pin 98. Referring now to FIG. 23, it is shown a day indication device 250 comprising a seven-pointed star 252 carrying a day indication disc not shown in the drawing and rotatably mounted on the plate. In normal operating mode of movement 1, this star 252 is driven once a day by a 24-hour wheel referenced 254, provided with an elastic arm 256 having a configuration analogous to the wheel 12 for driving the date disc (FIG. 20). The wheel 254 is in permanent engagement with the pinion 36 carried by the hour barrel.

Thus, during the clockwise rotation of the barrel wheel 16, the pinion 36 drives the wheel 254 counterclockwise, which in turn drives, via a hook 258 formed at the end of the arm 256, the star 252 clockwise, this star being held in position by a jumper spring 260.

Referring also to FIG. 24, we will now describe how the day indication device 250 can be brought into phase with current time.

To do this, the correction mechanism further comprises a rocking lever 270 articulated on a pivot 272 secured to the plate.

This lever 270 comprises a first arm 274 with a swan neck, the free end of which is intended to cooperate with the star 252 in order to advance it in steps. The lever 270 comprises a second arm 276 the free end of which is intended to cooperate with a wheel 278 with two fingers, integral with the wheel 192. The lever 270 is returned to a rest position, disengaged from the teeth of the star 252, by means of a return spring, for example with a leaf, referenced 280, fixed in the plate by a tenon 282 and by a screw 284. When the rod is pulled into position P1, as shown in FIG. 24, and when the rod 150 is rotated in the positive direction, the wheels 192 and 278 are driven in rotation clockwise and move the walkman 196 in an inactive position, represented in the figure, in which it is outside the field of the teeth 22 of the disc 2. Thus, with each half-turn of the wheel 278 in the clockwise direction, one of the fingers makes rocking the lever 270 and the free end of the arm 274 advances the star 252 by one step, each step representing a day of the week.

In FIG. 23, it will be noted that the end 258 of the elastic arm 256 comprises, on a face opposite to the attack face normally driving the star 252, a ramp 288 allowing the arm 256 to retract, during the setting at the hour of the hands in the negative direction, without driving the star 252, the flexibility of the arm 258 being greater than the holding torque of the jumper 260.

Claims

1. Mechanism for setting the time of a clock movement (1) with perpetual calendar which comprises a drive device (8) of a date indicator (2) comprising drive means (10) capable of advancing said indicator (2) by jumping once every 24 hours, this movement (1) further comprising a catching device making it possible to cause said indicator (2) to take up steps to automatically take months into account at 28, 29, or 30 days, said device comprising a rotary cam (26) driven at least one step every 24 hours, this cam having a profile (28) capable of driving a probe (30) causing:

- on the one hand, the oscillating movement of a mobile assembly (32) fitted with a ratchet system (34) to advance the date indicator (2) by the required additional catch-up step (s), and

- on the other hand, the advancement of said cam (26) to make it perform a number of steps equal to the number of take-up steps of said indicator (2) in order to make it perform one complete revolution per year, characterized in that '' it comprises means (156) for disengaging the probe (30) to release it from the profile (28) of said cam (26) and means (164) for coupling the indicator (2) with said cam (26 ), said coupling means (164) being controlled by said disengaging means (156) which are controlled by a control rod (150).

2. Mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that said declutching means (156) are controlled by a pull tab (152) associated with the rod (150).

3. Mechanism according to one of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the coupling means (164) comprise, on the one hand, a correction star (172) in permanent engagement with the indicator (2) and , on the other hand, a wheel (168) integral with a rocker (164) which is controlled by said declutching means (156), this wheel (168) being in permanent engagement with a mobile (42, 72) controlling the rotation of the cam (26).

4. Mechanism according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the declutching means (156) consist of a member pivotally mounted on the movement and comprising three arms (156a, 156b, 156c).

5. Mechanism according to claim 4, characterized in that, in a pulled position (P1, P2) of the rod, the first arm (156a) of the member is provided to push the feeler (30), the second arm ( 156b) is provided for pushing a take-up lever (68) to release it from a toothing of a wheel of a mobile (42, 72) controlling the rotation of the cam (26), and the third arm (156c) is provided to control the coupling means (164).

6. Mechanism according to claim 5, characterized in that the coupling means (164) comprise a clutch lever pivoted by one of its ends on the movement, and in that the third arm (156c) comprises a head ( 160) which enters a notch (162) provided in the other end of said lever.

7. Mechanism according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it further comprises a correction module (200) with ratchet provided with a pivoting plate (202) which carries a ratchet (206) pivotally mounted around an axis (208) integral with said plate, this pawl comprising a spout (216) capable of pushing a tooth of a wheel of a mobile (42, 72) controlling, on the one hand, the rotation of the cam (26) counterclockwise and, on the other hand, rotation of the indicator (2) counterclockwise, via the coupling means (164), in a pulled position (P1) from the rod (150), in response to pressure exerted by a pusher (214) on said pawl (206).

8. Mechanism according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it further comprises a rocking lever (270) comprising a first arm (274) intended to advance by steps a day star (252) and a second arm (276) cooperating with a two-finger wheel (278) engaged with a sliding pinion (196) in a pulled position (P1) from the rod (150).