Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G04—HOROLOGY
  • G04B—MECHANICALLY-DRIVEN CLOCKS OR WATCHES; MECHANICAL PARTS OF CLOCKS OR WATCHES IN GENERAL; TIME PIECES USING THE POSITION OF THE SUN, MOON OR STARS
  • G04B23/00—Arrangements producing acoustic signals at preselected times
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G04—HOROLOGY
  • G04B—MECHANICALLY-DRIVEN CLOCKS OR WATCHES; MECHANICAL PARTS OF CLOCKS OR WATCHES IN GENERAL; TIME PIECES USING THE POSITION OF THE SUN, MOON OR STARS
  • G04B21/00—Indicating the time by acoustic means
  • G04B21/02—Regular striking mechanisms giving the full hour, half hour or quarter hour
  • G04B21/10—Releasing or locking the regular stroke, e.g. for silence during the night
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G04—HOROLOGY
  • G04B—MECHANICALLY-DRIVEN CLOCKS OR WATCHES; MECHANICAL PARTS OF CLOCKS OR WATCHES IN GENERAL; TIME PIECES USING THE POSITION OF THE SUN, MOON OR STARS
  • G04B21/00—Indicating the time by acoustic means
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G04—HOROLOGY
  • G04B—MECHANICALLY-DRIVEN CLOCKS OR WATCHES; MECHANICAL PARTS OF CLOCKS OR WATCHES IN GENERAL; TIME PIECES USING THE POSITION OF THE SUN, MOON OR STARS
  • G04B23/00—Arrangements producing acoustic signals at preselected times
  • G04B23/02—Alarm clocks
  • G04B23/12—Alarm watches to be worn in pockets or on the wrist
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G10—MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS; ACOUSTICS
  • G10F—AUTOMATIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
  • G10F1/00—Automatic musical instruments
  • G10F1/06—Musical boxes with plucked teeth, blades, or the like

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a mechanism capable of producing at least one sound and intended to equip, for example, a timepiece such as a wristwatch.
• a striking mechanism commonly used in wristwatches includes a hammer striking a stamp.
• the hammer is removed from its rest position and released and hits the root of the stamp which is arranged in a circle around the movement.
• a disadvantage of such a striking mechanism is that the intensity of the sound produced is low.
• a second type of striking mechanism is similar to the striking mechanisms used in music boxes.
• This mechanism is schematically represented in FIG. 1 appended to the present patent application.
• This mechanism generally designated by the general reference numeral 1, essentially comprises a rotary drum 2 on the surface of which are provided lugs 4.
• lugs 4 When the drum 2 rotates, one of the lugs 4 comes to raise a stamp 6 and the progressively moved away from its rest position until the stamp 6 escapes the lug 4 and relaxes suddenly. By relaxing, the timbre 6 vibrates and produces a sound.
• Such a mechanism has the advantage of producing sounds of higher intensity.
• the driving of the rotary drum 2 requires a high energy, which makes such a mechanism difficult to integrate in a watch that has only a small reserve of energy.
• the present invention aims to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks as well as others by providing a sound generating mechanism that can easily be integrated for example in a wristwatch and producing a high intensity sound.
• the present invention relates to a sound generating mechanism comprising a control member, a vibrating member and a locking / unlocking mechanism of the control member, the control member being able to move between a first position. in which it is retained by the locking / unlocking mechanism and in which it keeps the vibrating member spaced from its rest position, and a second position in which it is released by the locking / unlocking mechanism and in which it releases simultaneously the vibrating organ that starts to vibrate and produce a sound.
• the present invention provides a sound generating mechanism which, by removing the vibrating member from its rest position and then releasing it suddenly, is capable of producing a high intensity sound.
• the sound generating mechanism is armed by an action of the user and is triggered when a temporal process comes to an end.
• control member moves by pivoting between its first and second positions.
• control member comprises a cam and the locking / unlocking mechanism comprises a detent spring.
• FIG. 2a is a schematic sectional representation of the sound generating mechanism according to the present invention in the locked position
• Figure 2b is a view similar to that of Figure 2a showing the sound generating mechanism in the unlocked state.
• the present invention proceeds from the general inventive idea of providing a sound generating mechanism capable of producing high intensity sounds while requiring little energy for its triggering, which makes such an object particularly easy to integrate.
• a portable object such as, for example, a wristwatch.
• the sound generating mechanism according to the invention comprises a control member which, in a first locked position, separates a vibrating member from its rest position and which, in a second unlocked position, releases the vibrating member which vibrates and produces a high intensity sound.
• the sound generator mechanism according to the invention shown in section in FIG. 2a essentially comprises a control member 10, a vibrating member 12 and a locking / unlocking mechanism 14 More specifically, the control member 10 is in the form of a cam provided with two lugs 16a and 16b diametrically opposed.
• the locking / unlocking mechanism 14 is in turn in the form of a leaf spring fixed at one of its ends and having a detent 18 at its free end.
• the vibrating member 12 is constituted by a blade-shaped stamp.
• the cam 10 is pivotally mounted on a motor shaft 20.
• the cam 10 has a slot 22 formed of a cylindrical central passage 22a through which said cam 10 is mounted on the motor shaft 20 and two arcuate cuts 22b which open into the central passage 22a.
• the cam 10 is coupled with the motor shaft 20 by means of a retaining member 24 such as a key integral with the motor shaft 20 and whose role is described below.
• the cam 10 In the position shown in Fig 2a, the cam 10 is locked, one of its lugs 16a abutting against the detent 18 of the leaf spring 14, while its other lug 16b, the cam 10 maintains the stamp 12 spaced from its horizontal rest position shown in phantom for example at an angle ⁇ of about 18 °.
• a motor mechanism (not shown) that can be driven by the movement of the watch moves the spring 14 downwards according to the arrow A.
• the cam 10 is no longer locked, it is free to rotate clockwise according to the arrow B under the effect of the bending force exerted by the stamp 12 which seeks to regain its position horizontal rest by moving along the arrow C.
• the stamp 12 advantageously has at its free end an extra thickness in which is formed an inclined plane 26 along which the pin 16b can slide. Released from the grip of the cam 10, the stamp 12 returns to its horizontal rest position by vibrating and emitting a loud sound signal.
• the only energy necessary to trigger the sound generating mechanism according to the invention is that which must be provided to move the spring 14 away from the position in which it blocks the cam 10.
• the quantity of energy to provide is very low, which allows to easily consider the integration of the mechanism according to the invention for example in a watch which, as we know, can store only a very limited amount of energy.
• the rearrangement of the sound generating mechanism according to the invention is carried out by the user who can, for example, exert pressure on a button, under the effect of which the motor shaft 20 performs a movement of 180 °.
• the present invention is not limited to the embodiment which has just been described and that various modifications and simple variants can be envisaged by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.
• the arming operation of the sound generating mechanism according to the invention is carried out by means of a motor. It is also conceivable to have in parallel several mechanisms according to the invention but whose frequencies of the sounds produced by the respective timbres are different in order to generate a melody.

Landscapes

• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Acoustics & Sound (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Multimedia (AREA)
• Electromechanical Clocks (AREA)
• Electric Clocks (AREA)
• Investigating Or Analysing Materials By Optical Means (AREA)
• Apparatuses For Generation Of Mechanical Vibrations (AREA)
• Measurement And Recording Of Electrical Phenomena And Electrical Characteristics Of The Living Body (AREA)
• Medicines Containing Material From Animals Or Micro-Organisms (AREA)
• Pivots And Pivotal Connections (AREA)
• Transmission Devices (AREA)

Priority Applications (1)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=35788186

Family Applications (2)

Family Applications Before (1)

Country Status (9)

Families Citing this family (4)

Family Cites Families (13)

• 2005
  • 2005-04-22 EP EP05008838A patent/EP1715393A1/de not_active Withdrawn
• 2006
  • 2006-04-03 JP JP2008506957A patent/JP4896962B2/ja active Active
  • 2006-04-03 KR KR1020077023788A patent/KR20080002840A/ko not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2006-04-03 AT AT06723969T patent/ATE419565T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2006-04-03 DE DE602006004577T patent/DE602006004577D1/de active Active
  • 2006-04-03 EP EP06723969A patent/EP1875317B1/de active Active
  • 2006-04-03 WO PCT/EP2006/003011 patent/WO2006111262A1/fr not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2006-04-03 CN CNB2006800133435A patent/CN100573366C/zh active Active
  • 2006-04-03 US US11/912,265 patent/US7641023B2/en active Active
• 2008
  • 2008-09-30 HK HK08110969.8A patent/HK1119262A1/xx unknown

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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