EP1085384A1 - Electronic chronograph watch - Google Patents

Abstract

Electronic chronograph watch in which the prime central second hand (5) has its own drive motor and can be switched so that it indicates the seconds of the current time in phase with the small off-center second hand (6) when the watch is functioning in normal mode or can be switched so that it indicates chronometrical seconds when operating in a chronograph mode.

Description

The present invention relates to chronograph watches electronic.

In many such watches, the time is indicated by a hour hand and a minute hand rotating around the center of the watch and by an off-centered second hand, called a small second, placed usually at six o'clock.

In some of these watches the indication of a timed time is made by means of a large second hand concentric with the hands hours and minutes indicating the current time and two others small off-center hands, located at ten o'clock and two o'clock, which display hours, up to 12 or 24, and minutes, usually up to thirty.

In other watches that allow more precise timing the timed seconds and minutes are indicated by two large hands concentric with the hour and minute hands for the display of the current time and two small hands at ten o'clock and two o'clock for indication of hours and tenths or twentieths of a second.

In both cases, these watches have the disadvantage, at least for some people who complain, not to allow easy reading indication of the current seconds when the watch is running normally, that is, most of the time.

On the other hand, there are also chronograph watches electronics in which the small second is deleted and which have a second hand in the center which is used to display the seconds of the current time when the watch is operating normally and at that of the seconds timed when the watch is used in mode chronograph.

These watches that allow you to easily read the seconds in time normal have another drawback.

Indeed, while the watch is operating in chronograph mode, the user no longer has the seconds indication of the current time, this which can be inconvenient for him, especially when the time is long and can reach several hours. For example, if this user wants reset the watch to the nearest second while using the chronograph function, it cannot.

The object of the present invention is to eliminate these drawbacks from existing watches and this goal is achieved thanks to the characteristics of the chronograph watch defined in claim 1.

Additional interesting features of the invention are defined in the subclaims.

• les figures 1 et 2 montrent respectivement une montre chronographe et le schéma simplifié de son circuit électrique selon un premier mode de réalisation de l'invention; et
• les figures 3 et 4 montrent des éléments illustratifs analogues, mais relatifs à une montre chronographe électronique selon un second mode de réalisation de l'invention.

The invention will be better understood on reading the description which follows, given solely by way of example and made with reference to the appended drawings in which:

• Figures 1 and 2 respectively show a chronograph watch and the simplified diagram of its electrical circuit according to a first embodiment of the invention; and
• Figures 3 and 4 show similar illustrative elements, but relating to an electronic chronograph watch according to a second embodiment of the invention.

According to the embodiment shown in Figures 1 and 2, the watch chronograph 1 according to the invention comprises a dial 2 in front of which can move, for the indication of the current time, a 3 hour hand and a central and coaxial 4 minute hand, as well as a small seconds 6 off-center and located at six o'clock.

According to the invention, this chronograph watch includes also a central seconds hand 5, coaxial and superimposed on hour 3 and minute hands 4.

During operation in normal operating mode, hands 5 and 6 rotate in phase and therefore both indicate the second of the hour current.

Regarding timing, the watch in Figure 1 also includes a small 7 hour timed hand off center at ten o'clock, a central hand 8 of the timed minutes being part of the superposition of the other central needles 3, 4 and 5, and a hand 9 of tenths of a second timed off center at two o'clock.

According to the invention, the timed seconds are indicated in this watch by the central hand 5 which thus fulfills the double role selectively indicate the seconds of the current time and the seconds timed.

That said the watch of Figure 1 also includes a crown 10 with three positions, T1, T2 and T3, corresponding respectively in order to neutral, time zone correction and time setting, the latter position also stopping the indication of the current time.

Two push buttons P1 and P2 are provided for controlling the functions timing, push-button P1 controlling the start and stop of the timing and push-button P2 reset. Other commands, known per se, can be assigned to pushers P1 and P2.

Figure 2 shows a very simplified diagram of the watch chronograph that we have just described, this diagram representing only the elements and functions of its electrical circuit necessary for understanding of the invention.

A quartz oscillator, vibrating for example at 32768 Hz and of which only the resonator 11 is represented in FIG. 2 provides the time base of the watch to a frequency divider 12. This generates on a line 13 clock pulses intended to drive the electronic watch functions. The divider 12 also provides tenths of a second pulses on line 14 and pulses of second on a line 15. These lines are connected to a unit 16 of management of timing functions. Line 15 transmits the pulses second also to a motor unit 17. This is coupled mechanically to a cog (not shown) to train permanently hands 3, 4 and 6 to indicate the current time.

It should be noted that, to illustrate the different roles of the hands of the shows, we have represented, on the right of figure 2, several replicas of the dial 2 with drawings in each of them, the needle or needles which are entrained by an independent power unit. These are respectively indicated by references 17 to 21, each unit comprising, as known per se, a driver indicated by "a" and a motor indicated by "b".

Thus, in addition to the motor unit 17 which drives the needles 3, 4 and 6 by through the cog, the power unit 18 drives the needle 9 of the tenths seconds, unit 19, central hand 5 seconds, unit 20, hand 8 minutes and unit 21, the hour hand 7.

Motor units 18 to 21 are associated with counters respective 22 to 25 whose states reflect at all times, the positions of the needles to which they correspond. Each counter is set at zero on initialization of the hand associated with twelve o'clock and it counts each drive pulse transmitted by the unit 16 for managing timing. Thus, the counter 22 can count up to 10 (tenth of second), motors 19 and 20 up to sixty and motor 21 up twelve.

An input management unit 26 ensures the shaping and distribution of control signals supplied respectively by a switch 27 associated with crown 10 and by switches 28 and 29 associated respectively with pushers P1 and P2. An order made by these members 27 to 29 amounts, in a manner known per se, to apply to the unit management 26 the potential of one of the terminals (here Vdd) of a source power supply (not shown) such as a battery incorporated in watch 1.

Depending on the actions on buttons P1 and P2, the management unit 26 of inputs generates a start / stop command signal for timing on a line 30 and a reset command signal on a line 31, lines 30 and 31 being connected to the management unit 16 timing.

The latter produces lines 32 to 34 respectively control pulses for counters 22, 24 and 25. These can also be directly positioned by the unit 26 for managing the inputs through a command line 35.

A switching unit 36 is connected by a line of command 37 at the counter 23 responsible for cooperating with the power unit 19 of the central seconds indication hand 5. This switching unit 36 is connected on the one hand directly to the divider 12 by line 15 on which pass the second impulses of the current hour, and other leaves to management unit 16 via a line 38 on which the timed second pulses. This switching unit 36 receives inversion orders from the input management unit 26 via of a line 39.

Thus, depending on the switching signal passing over line 39, the rotation of the 5 second hand can selectively be subject to seconds pulses of the current time (line 15) or pulses of second of the timed hour (line 38). This is the reason why, at right in Figure 2, needle 5 is shown in dotted lines on two representations of the dial 2.

All the functions performed by the watch that has just been described will preferably be executed by a microcontroller that the man of profession will be able to program accordingly using the description that comes to be made and the one that will now follow about the operation of the watch. This microcontroller is generally designated by the reference 40 in figure 2.

During the running in current time, the watch turns the hands 3, 4 and 6 by the motor unit 17 controlled by the pulses of second passing on line 15. Hand 5 rotates in synchronism with needle 6, the switching unit connecting this line 15 to line 37 to control the drive unit 19. The user thus has good readability of the second of the current time via the hand 5.

When the watch is put into timing function by a pressure on push-button P1, unit 26 for management of command inputs reversing the switching unit 36 by line 39 and the management unit 16 timing device sends pulses very quickly to the motor unit 19 to return hand 5 to the twelve o'clock position, if it is not already there and this at a sufficient speed not to distort the precision of time stopwatch. Immediately after, unit 16 applies the control signals suitable for lines 33, 34 and 37 so that through counters 24, 25 and 23 respectively and motor units 20, 21 and 19, hands 7, 8 and 5 respectively display the timed time.

Meanwhile counter 22 receives pulses of one tenth of a second but the drive unit 18 remains inactive and the needle 9 remains stationary.

Pressing button P1 again stops timing, without that the position of the switching unit 36 is changed. Needles 5, 7 and 8 stop, while the power unit 18 is activated by the unit 16 of timing management, so that hand 9 advances to the position angular corresponding to the number of tenths of a second counted at time of timing stop.

When, for reset, push-button P2 is actuated, the hands 7, 8 and 9 are repositioned at zero. Furthermore, the unit 26 for managing inputs controls the inversion of switching unit 36 and unit 16 of timing management sends pulses to counter 23 and to the unit drive 19 so that the needle 5 quickly reaches the angular position that at this instant the second hand 6. The number of angular steps of this catch-up can be calculated by subtracting modulo 60 from the content of the second counter (not shown) of hand 6 by the content of the counter 23. This function is programmed in the microcontroller 40.

It will be noted that during the timing, the hand 6 continued to indicate the seconds of the current time. Therefore, the user continues to have the information concerning the second of the current hour, then that the timing function is running.

The embodiment shown in Figures 3 and 4 differs from that Figures 1 and 2 in that the display functions of hands 7 and 8 are replaced by those of respective needles 7A and 8A, the first of which, 7A, indicates the timed minutes for example on 30 minutes and the second, 8A, the timed seconds.

The programming of the microcontroller must of course be adapted Consequently.

In this case, the hand 5 retains its dual role of displaying the second of the current time in phase with the second hand 6 to ensure a good readability during walking in current time and display the second timed in timing operation, hand 5 then being superimposed on needle 8A so as not to disturb a good reading of the second timed. During the execution of this function, the needle 6 continues to display the second of the current time.

When, in this case, the timing function is triggered by an action on the push-button P1, the needle 5 is superimposed in fast motion on needle 8A. The display of the timed time is then ensured by the minute indication hand 7A, the tenth indication hand 9 second and superimposed by hands 5 and 8A to display the seconds. As in the previous case, the needle 5 is driven after switching unit 36 toggles under pulse control second stopwatch passing on lines 38 and 37 and by via counter 23. A new press on push-button P1 stop timing and hand 9 is quickly positioned to indicate the tenths of a second timed counted at the time of stopping timing.

When zeroing by pressing button P2, hands 7A, 8A and 9 return to the starting position, while the needle 5 resumes at high speed fast position in phase with needle 6 after tilting the switching 36, line 37 being connected again to line 15 on which pass the second impulses of the current hour.

Naturally, as in any watch where one or more hands should display different information depending on the mode in which the watch works and where the watch has no non-volatile memory to memorize the position of these needles when the energy source is exhausted, it is necessary to reset the position of these needles when the source is changed or recharged.

For the embodiments of the watch according to the invention which come to be described this reset can be done through particular and combined manipulations of crown 10 and pushers P1 and P2, so as to bring back the small seconds hand 6, the seconds in center 5 and in the first case (Figures 1 and 2) the chronograph 8 minutes and in the second case the seconds hand at 8A chronograph center at twelve o'clock.

This reset will not be described in detail here as it depends, on the one hand, the way the microcontroller 40 is programmed and, on the other hand hand because such a reset is quite within the reach of man of the trade, because it is necessary in many multifunction watches currently known.

On the other hand, it should be noted that with minor modifications programming the microcontroller 40, the needle 5 could act as split-second in the second embodiment of the invention.

Of course, this is not limited to the embodiments described. In particular, the positions of the various graduations and those of the hands can be chosen differently depending on the aspect desired watch.

Claims (5)

Electronic chronograph watch including: a central hour hand (3), a central minute hand (4) and a small off-center seconds hand (6) for permanent indication of the current time, chronograph hands (7, 8, 9; 7A, 8A, 9) for indicating a timed time when the watch is operating in chronograph mode, motor units (17 to 21) for driving said needles, and generator means (40) responding to manual control means (P1, P2, 10, 27, 28, 29) for applying control pulses to said motor units, characterized by the fact that it also comprises a first central second hand (5) driven by its own motor unit (19) and that said generating means (40) comprise means (16, 36) for applying selectively to this motor unit control pulses so that said central second hand indicates the seconds of the current hour, in phase with said small off-center second hand (6), when the watch is operating normally and the timed seconds when the watch is operating in chronograph mode . Watch according to claim 1, characterized in that it includes for the indication of a timed time, in addition to said central seconds (5), a small off-center hour hand (7), a large central minute hand (8) and a small off-center hand tenths of a second (9). Watch according to claim 1, characterized in that it includes for the indication of a timed time, in addition to said central seconds (5), a small off-center minute hand (7A), a small off-center tenths of a second hand (9) and a second hand of central seconds (8A) which rotates in superposition with said first central seconds hand (5) when the watch is operating in mode chronograph. Watch according to claim 1, characterized in that said central hour and minute hands (3, 4) and said small off-center seconds hand (6) are mechanically coupled together and driven by a common power unit (17). Watch according to claim 1, characterized in that said chronograph hands (4, 8, 9; 7A, 8A, 9) are, like the first central seconds hand (5), each driven by a unit motor (18, 20, 21) of their own.

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