EP4033306B1 - Annual or perpetual date mechanism - Google Patents

Annual or perpetual date mechanism Download PDF

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Publication number
EP4033306B1
EP4033306B1 EP21152889.8A EP21152889A EP4033306B1 EP 4033306 B1 EP4033306 B1 EP 4033306B1 EP 21152889 A EP21152889 A EP 21152889A EP 4033306 B1 EP4033306 B1 EP 4033306B1
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
date
cam
mobile
finger
toothing
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EP21152889.8A
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German (de)
French (fr)
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EP4033306A1 (en
Inventor
Samuel Tanner
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Patek Philippe SA Geneve
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Patek Philippe SA Geneve
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Priority to EP21152889.8A priority Critical patent/EP4033306B1/en
Publication of EP4033306A1 publication Critical patent/EP4033306A1/en
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    • 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
    • G04B19/00—Indicating the time by visual means
    • G04B19/24—Clocks or watches with date or week-day indicators, i.e. calendar clocks or watches; Clockwork calendars
    • G04B19/243—Clocks or watches with date or week-day indicators, i.e. calendar clocks or watches; Clockwork calendars characterised by the shape of the date indicator
    • G04B19/247—Clocks or watches with date or week-day indicators, i.e. calendar clocks or watches; Clockwork calendars characterised by the shape of the date indicator disc-shaped
    • G04B19/253—Driving or releasing mechanisms
    • G04B19/25306—Independent date indicating devices activated by hand or by clockwork, e.g. calendar watches
    • G04B19/25313—Independent date indicating devices activated by hand or by clockwork, e.g. calendar watches driven or released by a steady movement

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a date mechanism comprising a date wheel comprising a 31-tooth toothing, an annual cam concentric with the date wheel, a driving wheel performing one revolution in 24 hours and carrying a date finger and a catch-up finger, the date finger being arranged to cooperate with the toothing of the date wheel set, and further comprising a cam follower movably mounted on the date wheel set so as to be able to follow the profile of the annual cam while being integral in rotation with the wheel set date, the follower comprising a toothing portion comprising at least one active flank, the toothing portion being movable relative to the date wheel set so as to be able to selectively occupy an inactive position and at least one active position as a function of the angular position of the follower with respect to the profile of the annual cam, the active flank being capable of being on the trajectory of the take-up finger and of cooperating with the latter when the toothing portion is in the active position, whereas it is constantly out of reach of the take-up finger when the portion of teeth is in
  • the patent document CH 685 585 describes an annual calendar mechanism which comprises a calendar wheel constituted by a toothed wheel with thirty-one teeth, and a driving wheel bearing a date finger and a catch-up finger and arranged to drive the calendar wheel at the rate of one revolution per month.
  • the date wheel set is itself arranged to drive a conventional date disc step by step via a gear train comprising two intermediate wheel sets.
  • the annual calendar mechanism also includes a moving month which is formed of an annual cam and a star of twelve. The month wheel is rotatably mounted in a coaxial position on the date wheel.
  • the date mechanism also comprises a drive finger mounted on the first of the two intermediate wheel sets and arranged to cooperate with the twelve star of the month wheel set.
  • the gear ratios are chosen so that the drive finger increments the star by twelve once a month.
  • the annual cam has a profile which is formed by twelve portions of circles, all concentric with the axis of the cam, but of unequal radii. Because the circle portions have unequal radii, the profile of the cam has alternating dips and rises, the dips corresponding to the month of 31 days, and the rises to the month having less than 31 days.
  • the date mechanism further comprises a cam follower rocker which is pivotally mounted in an eccentric position on the date wheel set.
  • the rocker carries a single tooth, and it is arranged to selectively occupy one or the other of two positions, one for which the tooth is on the trajectory of the catch-up finger of the driving mobile, so that the finger take-up finger can rotate the date wheel by one step, and the other for which the tooth is outside the trajectory of the take-up finger.
  • the angular position of the month cam is such that the rocker tooth is on the trajectory of the take-up finger of the drive wheel set.
  • the passage of the catch-up finger has the effect of driving the lever and causing the calendar wheel to advance by one step, which thus passes from the position corresponding to the thirtieth day of the month to that corresponding to the thirty-first first.
  • the date finger which drives one of the thirty-one teeth of the date mobile by one step every day, thus causing it to pass from the position corresponding to the thirty-one -first day of the month to that corresponding to the first day of the following month.
  • this annual calendar mechanism is intended to equip a mechanical or quartz caliber and it is installed between the plate and the dial of this caliber.
  • the aforementioned document further specifies that the mechanism is mounted on an additional calendar board. It will therefore be understood that it is a kind of module which is intended to be superimposed on a basic watch movement.
  • a disadvantage of such an arrangement is that the presence of the annual calendar mechanism has the effect of substantially thickening the mechanical or quartz caliber that it equips.
  • the three retractable teeth are arranged in different planes so as to each be at the height of one of the three catch-up fingers.
  • a disadvantage of such a construction is that the stepped structure of the perpetual calendar mechanism contributes to further increase the thickness of a caliber equipped with this mechanism.
  • An object of the present invention is to remedy all or part of the drawbacks of the prior art which have just been explained.
  • the present invention achieves this and other objects by providing a date mechanism according to appended claim 1.
  • the date mobile is constituted by a crown comprising an internal toothing of 31 teeth
  • the annual cam is in the form of an annular cam with an internal profile, the latter having an alternation of notches and platforms.
  • the calendar mechanism of the invention is a perpetual calendar mechanism.
  • the toothing portion of the cam follower is arranged to selectively occupy one or another of an inactive position and three active positions, depending on the height of the notch or of the platform with which cooperates the cam follower.
  • the inactive position corresponds to the months of 31 days and the three active positions are respectively a low active position corresponding to the month of 30 days, an intermediate active position corresponding to the month of 29 days, and a high active position corresponding to the months of 28 days.
  • the sector of the annual cam which is associated with the month of February consists of a movable cam sector, the latter being able to be switched between two predefined positions.
  • the moving cam sector has an edge arranged to form a portion of the annual cam profile. This profile portion is called “variable” because it can have a first height or a second height depending on whether the movable cam sector occupies one or the other of its two predefined positions.
  • the toothing portion when the cam follower cooperates with the variable profile portion, the toothing portion is in the intermediate active position when the height of the variable profile portion is the first height, and the toothing is in the high active position when the height of the variable profile portion is the second height.
  • the take-up finger is arranged to drive the date disc in one go from the position displaying the date "30" to the position displaying the date "1" when the toothing portion is in the intermediate active position, and to drive the date disc in one go from the position displaying the date "29” to the position displaying the date "1" when the toothing portion is in the high active position.
  • the date mechanism according to the preferred variant above, makes it possible to hold counts the length of months of thirty, twenty-nine and twenty-eight days using a single catch-up finger.
  • the distance over which the take-up finger drives the toothing portion in other words the “driving length” associated with the meshing of the take-up finger with the toothing portion, can take three different values. Indeed, at the end of a month of thirty days, the date disc need only pivot one additional step to indicate the first day of the following month. On the other hand, at the end of a month of February with twenty-nine days, the date disc must pivot two additional steps to indicate the first day of the following month. Finally, at the end of a February has 28 days, so the date disc must pivot three steps.
  • the mechanism may, in a traditional manner, comprise a jumper which is biased against the internal toothing of the date disc, and which is arranged to hold the latter in one or other of its thirty-one indexing positions.
  • the jumper when one of the fingers of the drive wheel drives the date disc, the jumper is first lifted by one of the teeth of the toothing with which it cooperates. Then, as soon as the jumper head has passed the top of the tooth, the jumper can lower again, so that the holding torque it generates is reversed and pushes the date disc in the direction of drive to its next index position.
  • the “driving length” is equal to the arc length associated with an angle which is called the “driving angle”. It can further be calculated that two and a half steps correspond to a steering angle of 29.0°, and that three steps correspond to a steering angle of 34.8°.
  • the need to ensure a driving angle of at least 29° can be problematic. Indeed, the greater the driving angle in a gear, or equivalently the greater the driving length, the further the point of contact between two teeth at a given instant can be from the line of centers. However, we also know that the further the point of contact between two teeth is from the center line, the greater the angle between the respective speeds of the two teeth in contact, and in therefore, the lower the efficiency of the transmission. Too large a driving angle can even cause the gear to jam.
  • THE figures 4A and 4B are two schematic diagrams illustrating respectively an external gear between a pinion and a toothed wheel and an internal gear between a pinion and a crown. It can be seen that the pinions shown in the two figures are identical and that the toothing of the wheel and the crown have the same base diameter and the same number of teeth. The two figures still show respectively the driving angle of the wheel and that of the crown. In this particular example, the steering angle of the wheel is approximately 26° and that of the crown 39°. By comparing the two figures, it can further be understood that the paths followed by the teeth of the two mobiles diverge much less quickly in the case of an internal gear than in the case of an external gear.
  • the gear between the date finger and the toothing of the date mobile is an internal gear
  • the gear between the take-up finger and the portion gear is also an internal gear.
  • FIG. 1 is a cutaway plan view of a perpetual calendar mechanism according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention.
  • the perpetual calendar mechanism represented is arranged in a timepiece so as to be driven by the movement of the latter.
  • the notion of height refers to a distance measured transversely to the profile of the cam and parallel to the direction of movement of the probe relative to its support.
  • the height therefore refers to a distance measured radially
  • the present description considers that the height of a part of the cam or of an element which cooperates with the latter is all the greater as the part or element is closer to the center of the cam (i.e. of its axis of rotation).
  • a date mobile 19 which has the shape of a conventional date disc with internal toothing 21 of thirty-one teeth and a jumper 11 which is biased against the toothing 21 by a spring 12.
  • a driving wheel set 13 arranged to actuate the internal toothing 21 of the date disc step by step.
  • the driving wheel set is itself designed to be driven from the hour wheel (not shown) of the timepiece by means of a 1 ⁇ 2 ratio gear (not shown), way to rotate at the rate of one revolution in 24 hours.
  • the driving wheel set 13 comprises a first finger, called date finger, 15 and a second finger, called catch-up finger, 17 which are integral with each other and whose positions are offset both angularly and in height. It will be understood that at each turn of the driving wheel set, the date finger 15 advances the date disc 19 by one tooth, so that the latter completes one revolution in thirty-one steps.
  • the perpetual calendar mechanism of the present example also comprises a month crown 51 which bears the names of the twelve months of the year. Crown 51 is arranged to rotate around date disc 19, concentrically to the latter.
  • the plan view of the figure 2A shows that the month crown 51 forms part of a month wheel set 25 which also comprises an annual cam 57 of annular shape which is fixed to the month crown in a concentric position.
  • the annual cam can be subdivided into twelve sectors which are associated with the twelve months of the year. It can be seen that the portions of the inner edge of the cam 57 which are contained in each of the twelve sectors are in the form of arcs of a circle, and that the latter are all centered on the axis of rotation of the month wheel set 25, although that not having all the same radius.
  • the inner edge of the annual cam 57 thus has an alternation of notches (or hollows) 55 and platforms (or lifts) 53, 61 which are constituted by the arcuate portions of heights (or in other words, radii) different .
  • the troughs 55 correspond to months with thirty-one days and the rises 53 and 61 correspond to months with less than thirty-one days.
  • the date disc 19 is arranged to drive the month wheel set 25 in rotation. It comprises for this purpose an external toothing which is referenced 71 (visible in the figure 1 ).
  • the month crown 51 comprises an internal toothing which is referenced 73 (visible in the figure 2A ).
  • the teeth 71 and 73 are connected to each other by a gear train (not shown), and the gear ratio of this gear train is chosen so that the month wheel set 25 pivots by one twelfth of a revolution (otherwise said, 30°) during each revolution of the date disc 19.
  • one of the lifts or platforms that the profile of the annual cam 57 comprises is different from the others.
  • This platform 61 is in fact formed by the concave edge of a mobile cam sector 59 which is arranged to slide radially on the plate of the crown of the months 51, while being guided between the edges of an indentation (not referenced) that presents the annual cam 57.
  • the indentation is located between the arcuate portion corresponding to the month of January and that corresponding to the month of March. It will therefore be understood that the angular position occupied by the movable cam sector 59 corresponds to the month of February.
  • the mobile cam sector 59 comprises two parallel oblong openings (referenced 62) which are provided to cooperate with two tenons (referenced 63) which protrude from the plate of the month crown 51 and which protrude through the two openings 62.
  • the cooperation of the tenons with the oblong openings makes it possible to guarantee the correct alignment of the sector of movable cam 59 between the sides of the notch, while also ensuring that the sector 59 is free to move radially between two predefined positions which are respectively associated with a so-called "high" height and a so-called “intermediate” height of the platform variable 61.
  • the mobile cam sector 59 finally comprises two leaf springs 65 which are arranged so that the variable platform 61 is returned in the direction of its intermediate position. It will be understood that the variable platform 61 corresponds to a month of February of twenty-eight days when it is in the high position, and that it corresponds to a month of February of twenty-nine days when it is in the intermediate position.
  • the perpetual calendar mechanism also includes a leap cam 67 (visible in the figure 2B And 3 ) which is pivotally mounted on the plate of the crown of the months 51 and which is arranged to cooperate with the movable cam sector 59 so as to switch the variable platform 61 between the high position and the intermediate position.
  • Leap cam 67 includes three sides that are rotationally symmetrical to one another, and a fourth side set back.
  • the leap cam 67 is integral with a Maltese cross 69 which is arranged to cooperate once per revolution of the month wheel set 25 with a fixed spur 75 (visible in the picture 3 ) presented by the inner face of the bezel of the timepiece.
  • the leap cam 67 thus performs a rotation of 90° each year so as to present a different side to the mobile cam sector 59.
  • the date mechanism further comprises a cam follower 27 which consists of a rocker pivotally mounted on the date disc 19.
  • the follower 27 comprises a sensor 32 which is permanently biased against the profile of the annual cam 57 by a leaf spring 34.
  • the arcuate portions forming the profile of the annual cam 57 have different heights depending on the month in which they are associated have 28, 29, 30 or 31 days.
  • the cam follower 27 also comprises a toothing portion which, in the present example, consists of a U-shaped notch 29 whose two edges, or flanks, are referenced 30 and 31. It can be observed that, in the illustrated example, the width of the notch 29 is substantially equal to the width of the space separating the sides of two contiguous teeth of the internal toothing 21 of the date disc. As will be seen in greater detail below, the two flanks 30, 31 perform the functions of active forward driving flank and active rearward driving flank respectively. They are likely to cooperate with the catch-up finger 17 at the end of months with less than thirty-one days.
  • the sensor 32 and the toothing portion 29 move in the same direction when the inclination of the cam follower 27 changes due to its passage from one cam portion in an arc of a circle to the next.
  • the tooth portion 29 of the cam follower "rises” when the feeler 32 is raised by a lift, or platform, 53, 61, and “lowers” when the feeler 32 falls into a hollow, or notch, 55.
  • the feeler 32 and the portion of toothing 29 move in the same direction is linked to the fact that these two elements are on the same side of the axis of pivoting of the follower cam 27 (the latter indeed constitutes a lever of the third kind).
  • the cam follower could alternatively constitute a lever of the first kind (the toothing portion and the sensor then being arranged on either side of the pivot axis of the cam follower). With such embodiments, the feeler and the toothing portion would move in opposite directions. It would then also be necessary to change the annual cam, so that the notches (or troughs) of the new cam correspond to months of less than thirty-one days and that its platforms (or lifts) correspond to months with exactly 31 days.
  • the operation of the date mechanism of the present example is similar to that of a simple date.
  • Drive wheel set 13 is driven by the movement at the rate of one revolution per twenty-four hours, and its date finger 15 causes toothing 21 of date disc 19 to advance by one step at each revolution.
  • the toothing portion 29 of the cam follower 27, for its part, is out of reach of the take-up finger 17, so that the latter rotates in a vacuum without actuating anything.
  • the trajectory of the end of the take-up finger 17 is represented by a circle in dashed lines referenced 23 in the figure 1 .
  • the angular position of the cam follower 27 relative to the mobile month 25 corresponds to a month of thirty-one days
  • the sensor 32 is in a notch, and the portion of teeth 29 is also lowered.
  • the toothing portion 29 is thus at its minimum height, its flanks 30 and 31 remain out of reach of the catch finger 17, even during the last days of the month. It is then said that the toothing portion 29 is in the inactive position, the date mechanism then functioning as a simple date throughout the month.
  • the angular position of the cam follower 27 corresponds to a month with less than 31 days
  • the sensor 32 is resting on a platform 53, 61, so that the height of the portion of toothing 29 is no longer its minimum height.
  • the step-by-step advance of the date disc 19 towards the end of the month ends up bringing the toothing portion 29 onto the trajectory 23 of the catch-up finger 17.
  • the latter can then cooperate with a flanks 30, 31 of the toothing portion 29 to drive the date disc 19. It is then said that the toothing portion 29 is in the active position.
  • the platforms 53, 61 of the annual cam 57 can have three different heights depending on whether the month with which they are associated has 28, 29 or 30 days.
  • the cam follower 27 is resting on one of the platforms 53 corresponding to the months of thirty days (the lowest platforms)
  • the toothing portion 29 remains out of reach of the catch-up finger 17 as long as the date disc 19 n 'not indicate the date 31.
  • the cam follower is resting on the variable platform 61, and the height of the latter is the intermediate height (corresponding to a month of February of twenty-nine days)
  • the toothing portion 29 arrives on the trajectory of the catch-up finger 17 as soon as the date disc 19 indicates the date 30.
  • the date finger 15 and the catch-up finger 17 are both fixed to the driving wheel set 13 in offset positions. With reference still at the figure 1 , it can be seen that, in the present embodiment, it is the date finger 15 which precedes the take-up finger 17 when the drive wheel set 13 rotates counterclockwise. Thus, at the end of the last day of a month of thirty days, the date finger 15 passes first, and as every day drives the date disc 19 by an additional step. In doing so, it also brings the toothing portion 29 into the trajectory of the catch-up finger 17, while the date disc briefly indicates the date 31.
  • the sensor 32 of the cam follower is resting on the variable platform 61 formed by the concave edge of the mobile cam sector 59. If it is a leap year, the height of the variable platform 61 is the intermediate height. In this case, it is at the end of the twenty-ninth day of the month that the date finger 15 drives the date disc 19 by an additional step by bringing the toothing portion 29 into the trajectory of the catch-up finger 17 The date disc then briefly indicates the date 30. Then, if the driving wheel set 13 still rotates a few degrees, it is the turn of the catch-up finger 17 to advance the date disc 19 in one go. from the position corresponding to the thirtieth day of the month to that corresponding to the first day of the following month.
  • the date finger 15 first causes the date disc to advance by one step which then briefly indicates the date 29. Then, if the mobile d the drive 13 still rotates a few degrees, the take-up finger 17 causes the date disc 19 to advance in one go from the position corresponding to the twenty-ninth day of the month to that corresponding to the first day of the following month.
  • the minimum distance over which the take-up finger 17 must be able to mesh with the toothing portion 29, in other words, the minimum line length is a function of the number of pitches that the take-up finger must cause the date disc 19 to catch up.
  • the catch-up finger 17 drives the portion of toothing 29 over a pipe length corresponding to approximately half a pitch. Indeed, as soon as the date disc 19 begins to pivot under the action of the take-up finger 17, its toothing 21 shifts counterclockwise, so that one of its teeth raises the jumper 11.
  • the torque generated by the force that the jumper 11 exerts on the tooth changes direction and pushes the date disc 19 in the drive direction to its next indexed position.
  • the take-up finger 17 it suffices for the take-up finger 17 to drive the toothing portion 29 over a line length corresponding to approximately one and a half steps.
  • the take-up finger 17 it suffices for the take-up finger 17 to drive the toothing portion 29 over a line length corresponding to about two and a half steps.
  • the timepiece is also equipped with a time setting (not shown) making it possible to manually control the position of the minute and hour hands (not shown) from outside the part. of watchmaking.
  • the time setting can be meshed with the minute gear train (not shown), so that it actuates the two hands via the roadway and the hour wheel respectively (not shown). represented).
  • the time setting of the timepiece also controls the mobile driver 13 and therefore the date mechanism as a whole.
  • the date finger 15 is arranged so as to encounter a tooth of the date disc 19 at each turn, regardless of the direction of rotation of the driving wheel set.
  • the latter therefore makes it possible to drive the date disc 19 backwards as well as forwards.
  • the driving wheel set 13 rotates clockwise (as shown in the drawing).
  • the date mobile 19 comes to occupy the position corresponding to the first day of a month, and the preceding month is a month with less than thirty-one days, the active flank 31 for driving towards the rear of the toothing portion 29 is on the trajectory of the catch-up finger 17. Under these conditions, the passage of the catch-up finger, a little less than twenty-four hours later, causes the date disc 19 to move back from number of steps required to account for the length of the month.
  • date mechanism which is the subject of the present description without departing from the scope of the present invention defined by the appended claims.
  • the date mechanism of the invention is not necessarily perpetual.
  • the date mechanism could be annual.
  • the profile of the annual cam does not include a variable profile portion and in particular no variable platform.

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Description

La présente invention concerne un mécanisme de quantième comprenant un mobile de quantième comportant une denture de 31 dents, une came annuelle concentrique au mobile de quantième, un mobile entraîneur effectuant une révolution en 24 heures et portant un doigt de quantième et un doigt de rattrapage, le doigt de quantième étant agencé pour coopérer avec la denture du mobile de quantième, et comprenant en outre un suiveur de came monté mobile sur le mobile de quantième de façon à pouvoir suivre le profil de la came annuelle tout en étant solidaire en rotation du mobile de quantième, le suiveur comportant une portion de denture comprenant au moins un flanc actif, la portion de denture étant mobile relativement au mobile de quantième de manière à pouvoir occuper sélectivement une position inactive et au moins une position active en fonction de la position angulaire du suiveur par rapport au profil de la came annuelle, le flanc actif étant susceptible de se trouver sur la trajectoire du doigt de rattrapage et de coopérer avec ce dernier lorsque la portion de denture est en position active, alors qu'il est constamment hors de portée du doigt de rattrapage lorsque la portion de denture est en position inactive.The present invention relates to a date mechanism comprising a date wheel comprising a 31-tooth toothing, an annual cam concentric with the date wheel, a driving wheel performing one revolution in 24 hours and carrying a date finger and a catch-up finger, the date finger being arranged to cooperate with the toothing of the date wheel set, and further comprising a cam follower movably mounted on the date wheel set so as to be able to follow the profile of the annual cam while being integral in rotation with the wheel set date, the follower comprising a toothing portion comprising at least one active flank, the toothing portion being movable relative to the date wheel set so as to be able to selectively occupy an inactive position and at least one active position as a function of the angular position of the follower with respect to the profile of the annual cam, the active flank being capable of being on the trajectory of the take-up finger and of cooperating with the latter when the toothing portion is in the active position, whereas it is constantly out of reach of the take-up finger when the portion of teeth is in the inactive position.

ART ANTERIEURPRIOR ART

On connait déjà des mécanismes de quantième conforme à la définition qui précède. Le document de brevet CH 685 585 , notamment, décrit un mécanisme de quantième annuel qui comporte un mobile de quantième constitué par une roue dentée à trente-et-une dents, et un mobile entraîneur portant un doigt de quantième et un doigt de rattrapage et agencé pour entraîner le mobile de quantième au rythme d'une révolution par mois. Le mobile de quantième est lui-même agencé pour entraîner pas-à-pas un disque de quantième classique par l'intermédiaire d'un rouage comprenant deux mobiles intermédiaires. Le mécanisme de quantième annuel comporte encore un mobile des mois qui est formé d'une came annuelle et d'une étoile de douze. Le mobile des mois est monté rotatif en position coaxiale sur le mobile de quantième. Le mécanisme de quantième comporte également un doigt d'entraînement monté sur le premier des deux mobiles intermédiaires et agencé pour coopérer avec l'étoile de douze du mobile des mois. Les rapports d'engrenage sont choisis de manière que le doigt d'entraînement incrémente l'étoile de douze une fois par mois. La came annuelle présente un profil qui est formé de douze portions de cercles, tous concentriques avec l'axe de la came, mais de rayons inégaux. Du fait que les portions de cercles ont des rayons inégaux, le profil de la came présente une alternance de creux et de levées, les creux correspondant au mois de 31 jours, et les levées au mois ayant moins de 31 jours.Date mechanisms conforming to the above definition are already known. The patent document CH 685 585 , in particular, describes an annual calendar mechanism which comprises a calendar wheel constituted by a toothed wheel with thirty-one teeth, and a driving wheel bearing a date finger and a catch-up finger and arranged to drive the calendar wheel at the rate of one revolution per month. The date wheel set is itself arranged to drive a conventional date disc step by step via a gear train comprising two intermediate wheel sets. The annual calendar mechanism also includes a moving month which is formed of an annual cam and a star of twelve. The month wheel is rotatably mounted in a coaxial position on the date wheel. The date mechanism also comprises a drive finger mounted on the first of the two intermediate wheel sets and arranged to cooperate with the twelve star of the month wheel set. The gear ratios are chosen so that the drive finger increments the star by twelve once a month. The annual cam has a profile which is formed by twelve portions of circles, all concentric with the axis of the cam, but of unequal radii. Because the circle portions have unequal radii, the profile of the cam has alternating dips and rises, the dips corresponding to the month of 31 days, and the rises to the month having less than 31 days.

Le mécanisme de quantième comprend encore une bascule suiveuse de came qui est montée pivotante en position excentrée sur le mobile de quantième. La bascule porte une dent unique, et elle est agencée pour occuper sélectivement l'une ou l'autre de deux positions, l'une pour laquelle la dent se trouve sur la trajectoire du doigt de rattrapage du mobile entraîneur, de sorte que le doigt de rattrapage peut faire pivoter d'un pas le mobile de quantième, et l'autre pour laquelle la dent se trouve en dehors de la trajectoire du doigt de rattrapage. A la fin d'un mois de trente jours, la position angulaire de la came des mois est telle que la dent de la bascule se trouve sur la trajectoire du doigt de rattrapage du mobile entraîneur. Dans ces conditions, le passage du doigt de rattrapage a pour effet d'entraîner la bascule et de faire avancer d'un pas le mobile de quantième qui passe ainsi de la position correspondant au trentième jour du mois à celle correspondant au trente-et-unième. Quelques minutes ou dizaines de minutes plus tard, c'est le doigt de quantième qui entraîne comme chaque jour d'un pas une des trente-et-une dents du mobile de quantième, le faisant ainsi passer de la position correspondant au trente-et-unième jour du mois à celle correspondant au premier jour du mois suivant.The date mechanism further comprises a cam follower rocker which is pivotally mounted in an eccentric position on the date wheel set. The rocker carries a single tooth, and it is arranged to selectively occupy one or the other of two positions, one for which the tooth is on the trajectory of the catch-up finger of the driving mobile, so that the finger take-up finger can rotate the date wheel by one step, and the other for which the tooth is outside the trajectory of the take-up finger. At the end of a month of thirty days, the angular position of the month cam is such that the rocker tooth is on the trajectory of the take-up finger of the drive wheel set. Under these conditions, the passage of the catch-up finger has the effect of driving the lever and causing the calendar wheel to advance by one step, which thus passes from the position corresponding to the thirtieth day of the month to that corresponding to the thirty-first first. A few minutes or tens of minutes later, it is the date finger which drives one of the thirty-one teeth of the date mobile by one step every day, thus causing it to pass from the position corresponding to the thirty-one -first day of the month to that corresponding to the first day of the following month.

Selon le document de brevet CH 685 585 , ce mécanisme de quantième annuel est destiné à équiper un calibre mécanique ou à quartz et il est installé entre la platine et le cadran de ce calibre. Le document susmentionné précise encore que le mécanisme est monté sur une planche de calendrier additionnel. On comprendra donc qu'il s'agit d'une sorte de module qui est prévu pour venir se superposer à un mouvement horloger de base. Un inconvénient d'un tel agencement est que la présence du mécanisme de quantième annuel a pour effet d'épaissir sensiblement le calibre mécanique ou à quartz qu'il équipe.According to the patent document CH 685 585 , this annual calendar mechanism is intended to equip a mechanical or quartz caliber and it is installed between the plate and the dial of this caliber. The aforementioned document further specifies that the mechanism is mounted on an additional calendar board. It will therefore be understood that it is a kind of module which is intended to be superimposed on a basic watch movement. A disadvantage of such an arrangement is that the presence of the annual calendar mechanism has the effect of substantially thickening the mechanical or quartz caliber that it equips.

Un autre inconvénient du mécanisme de quantième décrit dans le document de brevet CH 685 585 est que le passage de la fin du mois février au premier mars nécessite une intervention manuelle. En effet, il s'agit d'un mécanisme de quantième annuel et, comme on le sait bien, seuls les mécanismes de quantième perpétuel sont capables de rattraper plus d'un jour en arrivant à la fin d'un mois. Le document de brevet EP 2 490 084 A1 propose de remédier à ce dernier problème en remplaçant la came de douze annuelle par une came de douze perpétuelle à croix de Malte. Le mécanisme de quantième décrit dans ce deuxième document diffère également du précédent en ce que son mobile entraîneur porte un doigt de quantième et trois doigts de rattrapage décalés angulairement et en hauteur, et en ce qu'il comporte trois dents escamotables agencées chacune pour coopérer avec un des doigts de rattrapage pour faire avancer le mobile de quantième d'un jour supplémentaire. Les trois dents escamotables sont agencées dans des plans différents de façon à se trouver chacune à la hauteur d'un des trois doigts de rattrapage. Un inconvénient d'une telle construction est que la structure étagée du mécanisme de quantième perpétuel contribue à augmenter encore d'avantage l'épaisseur d'un calibre équipé de ce mécanisme.Another drawback of the date mechanism described in the patent document CH 685 585 is that the transition from the end of February to the first of March requires manual intervention. Indeed, it is an annual calendar mechanism and, as we well know, only perpetual calendar mechanisms are capable of catching up for more than a day when reaching the end of a month. The patent document EP 2 490 084 A1 proposes to remedy this last problem by replacing the annual twelve cam by a perpetual twelve cam with a Maltese cross. The date mechanism described in this second document also differs from the previous one in that its drive wheel carries a date finger and three catch-up fingers offset angularly and in height, and in that it comprises three retractable teeth each arranged to cooperate with one of the catch-up fingers to advance the date wheel set by an additional day. The three retractable teeth are arranged in different planes so as to each be at the height of one of the three catch-up fingers. A disadvantage of such a construction is that the stepped structure of the perpetual calendar mechanism contributes to further increase the thickness of a caliber equipped with this mechanism.

BREF EXPOSE DE L'INVENTIONBRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Un but de la présente invention est de remédier à tout ou partie des inconvénients de l'art antérieur qui viennent d'être expliqués. La présente invention atteint ce but ainsi que d'autres en fournissant un mécanisme de quantième conforme à la revendication 1 annexée.An object of the present invention is to remedy all or part of the drawbacks of the prior art which have just been explained. The present invention achieves this and other objects by providing a date mechanism according to appended claim 1.

Selon l'invention, le mobile de quantième est constitué par une couronne comportant une denture intérieure de 31 dents, et d'autre part la came annuelle se présente sous la forme d'une came annulaire à profil intérieur, ce dernier présentant une alternance de coches et de plateformes. Ces caractéristiques offrent la possibilité d'agencer le mécanisme de quantième autour du mouvement horloger avec lequel il est associé, plutôt que d'agencer ces deux parties l'une au-dessus de l'autre. L'invention permet ainsi de réaliser des montres-calendrier d'épaisseur réduite.According to the invention, the date mobile is constituted by a crown comprising an internal toothing of 31 teeth, and on the other hand the annual cam is in the form of an annular cam with an internal profile, the latter having an alternation of notches and platforms. These characteristics offer the possibility of arranging the date mechanism around the watch movement with which it is associated, rather than arranging these two parts one above the other. The invention thus makes it possible to produce calendar watches of reduced thickness.

Conformément à un mode de réalisation particulier, le mécanisme de quantième de l'invention est un mécanisme de quantième perpétuel. Selon une version de ce mode de réalisation, la portion de denture du suiveur de came est agencée pour occuper sélectivement l'une ou une autre parmi une position inactive et trois positions actives, en fonction de la hauteur de la coche ou de la plateforme avec laquelle coopère le suiveur de came. La position inactive correspond aux mois de 31 jours et les trois positions actives sont respectivement une position active basse correspondant au mois de 30 jours, une position active intermédiaire correspondant au mois de 29 jours, et une position active haute correspondant aux mois de 28 jours. Ces caractéristiques permettent au mécanisme de quantième d'indiquer la date en tenant compte automatiquement de la longueur des mois et du retour des années bissextiles.According to a particular embodiment, the calendar mechanism of the invention is a perpetual calendar mechanism. According to a version of this embodiment, the toothing portion of the cam follower is arranged to selectively occupy one or another of an inactive position and three active positions, depending on the height of the notch or of the platform with which cooperates the cam follower. The inactive position corresponds to the months of 31 days and the three active positions are respectively a low active position corresponding to the month of 30 days, an intermediate active position corresponding to the month of 29 days, and a high active position corresponding to the months of 28 days. These characteristics enable the date mechanism to indicate the date by automatically taking into account the length of the months and the return of leap years.

Conformément à une variante avantageuse du mode de réalisation susmentionné, le secteur de la came annuelle qui est associé au mois de février est constitué par un secteur de came mobile, ce dernier pouvant être commuté entre deux positions prédéfinies. Le secteur de came mobile comporte un bord agencé pour former une portion du profil de la came annuelle. Cette portion de profil est dite « variable » car elle peut avoir une première hauteur ou à une seconde hauteur selon que le secteur de came mobile occupe l'une ou l'autre de ses deux positions prédéfinies.According to an advantageous variant of the aforementioned embodiment, the sector of the annual cam which is associated with the month of February consists of a movable cam sector, the latter being able to be switched between two predefined positions. The moving cam sector has an edge arranged to form a portion of the annual cam profile. This profile portion is called “variable” because it can have a first height or a second height depending on whether the movable cam sector occupies one or the other of its two predefined positions.

Conformément à une version préférée de la variante susmentionnée, lorsque le suiveur de came coopère avec la portion de profil variable, la portion de denture est en position active intermédiaire quand la hauteur de la portion de profil variable est la première hauteur, et la portion de denture est en position active haute quand la hauteur de la portion de profil variable est la seconde hauteur. De plus, le doigt de rattrapage est agencé pour entraîner le disque de quantième d'une seule traite de la position affichant le quantième « 30 » à la position affichant le quantième « 1 » lorsque la portion de denture est en position active intermédiaire, et pour entraîner le disque de quantième d'une seule traite de la position affichant le quantième « 29 » à la position affichant le quantième « 1 » lorsque la portion de denture est en position active haute. On comprendra que, contrairement aux mécanismes de quantième de l'art antérieur qui comportent trois doigts de rattrapage décalés en hauteur et agencés pour coopérer respectivement avec trois portions de denture mobiles, le mécanisme de quantième selon la variante préférée ci-dessus, permet de tenir compte de la longueur des mois de trente, vingt-neuf et vingt-huit jours à l'aide d'un unique doigt de rattrapage.According to a preferred version of the aforementioned variant, when the cam follower cooperates with the variable profile portion, the toothing portion is in the intermediate active position when the height of the variable profile portion is the first height, and the toothing is in the high active position when the height of the variable profile portion is the second height. In addition, the take-up finger is arranged to drive the date disc in one go from the position displaying the date "30" to the position displaying the date "1" when the toothing portion is in the intermediate active position, and to drive the date disc in one go from the position displaying the date "29" to the position displaying the date "1" when the toothing portion is in the high active position. It will be understood that, unlike the date mechanisms of the prior art which comprise three catch-up fingers offset in height and arranged to cooperate respectively with three mobile toothing portions, the date mechanism according to the preferred variant above, makes it possible to hold counts the length of months of thirty, twenty-nine and twenty-eight days using a single catch-up finger.

Comme nous venons de le voir, la distance sur laquelle le doigt de rattrapage entraîne la portion de denture, autrement dit la « longueur de conduite » associée à l'engrènement du doigt de rattrapage avec la portion de denture, peut prendre trois valeurs différentes. En effet, à la fin d'un mois de trente jours, il suffit au disque de quantième de pivoter d'un pas supplémentaire pour indiquer le premier jour du mois suivant. En revanche, à la fin d'un mois de février comptant vingt-neuf jours, il faut que le disque de quantième pivote de deux pas supplémentaires pour indiquer le premier jour du mois suivant. Enfin, à la fin d'un mois de février comptant vingt-huit jours, il faut que le disque de quantième pivote de trois pas.As we have just seen, the distance over which the take-up finger drives the toothing portion, in other words the “driving length” associated with the meshing of the take-up finger with the toothing portion, can take three different values. Indeed, at the end of a month of thirty days, the date disc need only pivot one additional step to indicate the first day of the following month. On the other hand, at the end of a month of February with twenty-nine days, the date disc must pivot two additional steps to indicate the first day of the following month. Finally, at the end of a February has 28 days, so the date disc must pivot three steps.

Le mécanisme peut, de façon traditionnelle, comporter un sautoir qui est rappelé contre la denture intérieure du disque de quantième, et qui est agencé pour maintenir ce dernier dans l'une ou l'autre de ses trente-et-une positions d'indexage. Avec un tel agencement, lorsqu'un des doigts du mobile d'entraînement entraîne le disque de quantième, le sautoir est d'abord soulevé par une des dents de la denture avec laquelle il coopère. Ensuite, dès que la tête du sautoir a passé le sommet de la dent, le sautoir peut à nouveau s'abaisser, de sorte que le couple de maintien qu'il engendre s'inverse et pousse le disque de quantième dans le sens d'entraînement jusqu'à sa prochaine position d'indexage. Il suffit dans ces conditions d'entraîner le disque de quantième d'environ un demi pas pour le faire avancer d'un pas entier, de l'entraîner d'un pas et demi pour le faire pivoter de deux pas, et enfin de l'entraîner de deux pas et demi pour qu'il pivote de trois pas. On comprendra donc que l'utilisation de moyens d'indexation élastiques permet de réduire la longueur de conduite minimum requise.The mechanism may, in a traditional manner, comprise a jumper which is biased against the internal toothing of the date disc, and which is arranged to hold the latter in one or other of its thirty-one indexing positions. . With such an arrangement, when one of the fingers of the drive wheel drives the date disc, the jumper is first lifted by one of the teeth of the toothing with which it cooperates. Then, as soon as the jumper head has passed the top of the tooth, the jumper can lower again, so that the holding torque it generates is reversed and pushes the date disc in the direction of drive to its next index position. It suffices under these conditions to drive the date disc by approximately half a step to make it move forward by a whole step, to drive it by one and a half steps to make it pivot by two steps, and finally to take two and a half steps so that he pivots three steps. It will therefore be understood that the use of elastic indexing means makes it possible to reduce the minimum pipe length required.

Que la longueur de conduite requise soit réduite ou non, elle n'en demeure pas moins considérable. En effet, on peut rappeler qu'en première approximation, la « longueur de conduite » est égale à la longueur d'arc associée à un angle qui est appelé « l'angle de conduite ». On peut en outre calculer que deux pas et demi correspondent à un angle de conduite 29,0°, et que trois pas correspondent à un angle de conduite de 34,8°. La nécessité d'assurer un angle de conduite d'au moins 29° peut s'avérer problématique. En effet, plus l'angle de conduite est grand dans un engrenage, ou de manière équivalente plus la longueur de conduite est grande, plus le point de contact entre deux dents à un instant donné peut être éloigné de la ligne des centres. Or, on sait par ailleurs que plus le point de contact entre deux dents est éloigné de la ligne des centres, plus l'angle entre les vitesses respectives des deux dents en contact est grand, et en conséquence, plus le rendement de la transmission est petit. Un angle de conduite trop grand peut même provoquer le blocage de l'engrenage.Whether or not the required line length is reduced, it is still considerable. In fact, it can be recalled that as a first approximation, the “driving length” is equal to the arc length associated with an angle which is called the “driving angle”. It can further be calculated that two and a half steps correspond to a steering angle of 29.0°, and that three steps correspond to a steering angle of 34.8°. The need to ensure a driving angle of at least 29° can be problematic. Indeed, the greater the driving angle in a gear, or equivalently the greater the driving length, the further the point of contact between two teeth at a given instant can be from the line of centers. However, we also know that the further the point of contact between two teeth is from the center line, the greater the angle between the respective speeds of the two teeth in contact, and in therefore, the lower the efficiency of the transmission. Too large a driving angle can even cause the gear to jam.

Les figures 4A et 4B sont deux schémas de principe illustrant respectivement un engrenage extérieur entre un pignon et une roue dentée et un engrenage intérieur entre un pignon et une couronne. On peut voir que les pignons représentés dans les deux figures sont identiques et que les dentures de la roue et de la couronne ont le même diamètre de base et le même nombre de dents. Les deux figures montrent encore respectivement l'angle de conduite de la roue et celui de la couronne. Dans cet exemple particulier, l'angle de conduite de la roue vaut approximativement 26° et celui de la couronne 39°. En comparant les deux figures, on peut comprendre de plus que les chemins suivis par les dents des deux mobiles divergent beaucoup moins vite dans le cas d'un engrenage intérieur que dans le cas d'un engrenage extérieur. Il en résulte que l'angle maximum entre les vitesses de deux dents en contact n'est pas plus grand dans la situation de la figure 4B que dans celle de la figure 4A, malgré l'angle de conduite plus important. A cet égard, il est important de noter que, conformément à l'invention, l'engrenage entre le doigt de quantième et la denture du mobile de quantième est un engrenage intérieur, et que l'engrenage entre le doigt de rattrapage et la portion de denture est également un engrenage intérieur. Un avantage supplémentaire de l'invention est ainsi qu'elle rend plus facile l'entraînement du mobile de quantième par le doigt de rattrapage sur un angle de conduite important.THE figures 4A and 4B are two schematic diagrams illustrating respectively an external gear between a pinion and a toothed wheel and an internal gear between a pinion and a crown. It can be seen that the pinions shown in the two figures are identical and that the toothing of the wheel and the crown have the same base diameter and the same number of teeth. The two figures still show respectively the driving angle of the wheel and that of the crown. In this particular example, the steering angle of the wheel is approximately 26° and that of the crown 39°. By comparing the two figures, it can further be understood that the paths followed by the teeth of the two mobiles diverge much less quickly in the case of an internal gear than in the case of an external gear. It follows that the maximum angle between the speeds of two teeth in contact is not greater in the situation of the figure 4B than in that of the figure 4A , despite the greater driving angle. In this respect, it is important to note that, in accordance with the invention, the gear between the date finger and the toothing of the date mobile is an internal gear, and that the gear between the take-up finger and the portion gear is also an internal gear. An additional advantage of the invention is thus that it makes it easier to drive the date wheel set by the take-up finger over a high driving angle.

BREVE DESCRIPTION DES FIGURESBRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

D'autres caractéristiques et avantages de la présente invention apparaîtront à la lecture de la description qui va suivre, donnée uniquement à titre d'exemple non limitatif, et faite en référence aux dessins annexés dans lesquels :

  • la figure 1 est une vue écorchée en plan d'un mécanisme de quantième perpétuel correspondant à un mode de réalisation particulier de l'invention ;
  • la figure 2A est une vue en plan du mobile des mois du mécanisme de quantième perpétuel de la figure 1, le mobile des mois étant constitué par l'assemblage d'une came annuelle avec une couronne des mois ;
  • la figure 2B est une vue en perspective de la came annuelle du mobile des mois de la figure 2A, la couronne des mois ayant été omise pour faciliter la compréhension ;
  • la figure 3 est une vue partielle en perspective montrant plus particulièrement le secteur de came mobile de la came annuelle du mécanisme de quantième perpétuel des figures 1 et 2.
  • les figures 4A et 4B sont des schémas de principe illustrant l'engrènement d'un pignon respectivement avec la denture intérieure d'une couronne et avec la denture extérieure d'une roue dentée.
Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention will appear on reading the following description, given solely by way of non-limiting example, and made with reference to the appended drawings in which:
  • there figure 1 is a cutaway plan view of a perpetual calendar mechanism corresponding to a particular embodiment of the invention;
  • there figure 2A is a plan view of the month runner of the perpetual calendar mechanism of the figure 1 , the mobile for the months being constituted by the assembly of an annual cam with a crown for the months;
  • there figure 2B is a perspective view of the yearly mobile cam of the months of the figure 2A , the crown of the months having been omitted to facilitate understanding;
  • there picture 3 is a partial perspective view showing more particularly the mobile cam sector of the annual cam of the perpetual calendar mechanism of the figure 1 And 2 .
  • THE figures 4A and 4B are principle diagrams illustrating the meshing of a pinion respectively with the internal teeth of a crown and with the external teeth of a toothed wheel.

DESCRIPTION DETAILLEE D'UN MODE DE REALISATIONDETAILED DESCRIPTION OF AN EMBODIMENT

La figure 1 est une vue en plan écorchée d'un mécanisme de quantième perpétuel conforme à un mode de réalisation exemplaire de l'invention. Le mécanisme de quantième perpétuel représenté est agencé dans une pièce d'horlogerie de manière à être entraîné par le mouvement de cette dernière.There figure 1 is a cutaway plan view of a perpetual calendar mechanism according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention. The perpetual calendar mechanism represented is arranged in a timepiece so as to be driven by the movement of the latter.

Il est d'usage de dire que les levées du profil d'une came « soulèvent » le palpeur et que ce dernier « s'abaisse » ensuite dans les creux du profil. Ainsi, dans le contexte des cames, la notion de hauteur fait référence à une distance mesurée transversalement au profil de la came et parallèlement à la direction de déplacement du palpeur par rapport à son support. Dans le cas particulier d'une came radiale, la hauteur fait donc référence à une distance mesurée radialement, et dans le cas spécifique d'une came radiale à profil intérieur comme celle qui est représentée dans les figures, la présente description considère que la hauteur d'une partie de la came ou d'un élément qui coopère avec cette dernière est d'autant plus grande que la partie ou l'élément est plus proche du centre de la came (c.-à-d. de son axe de rotation).It is customary to say that the lifts of the profile of a cam “raise” the probe and that the latter then “lowers” into the hollows of the profile. Thus, in the context of cams, the notion of height refers to a distance measured transversely to the profile of the cam and parallel to the direction of movement of the probe relative to its support. In the particular case of a radial cam, the height therefore refers to a distance measured radially, and in the specific case of a radial cam with an internal profile such as that shown in the figures, the present description considers that the height of a part of the cam or of an element which cooperates with the latter is all the greater as the part or element is closer to the center of the cam (i.e. of its axis of rotation).

En se référant à la figure 1, on peut voir tout d'abord un mobile de quantième 19 qui présente la forme d'un disque de quantième classique avec une denture intérieure 21 de trente-et-une dents et un sautoir 11 qui est rappelé contre la denture 21 par un ressort 12. On peut voir également un mobile entraîneur 13 agencé pour actionner pas à pas la denture intérieure 21 du disque de quantième. Dans le présent exemple, le mobile entraîneur est lui-même prévu pour être entraîné à partir de la roue des heures (non représentée) de la pièce d'horlogerie par l'intermédiaire d'un engrenage de rapport ½ (non représenté), de façon à tourner au rythme d'un tour en 24 heures. Le mobile entraîneur 13 comporte un premier doigt, dit doigt de quantième, 15 et un deuxième doigt, dit doigt de rattrapage, 17 qui sont solidaires l'un de l'autre et dont les positions sont décalées à la fois angulairement et en hauteur. On comprendra qu'à chaque tour du mobile entraîneur, le doigt de quantième 15 fait avancer d'une dent le disque de quantième 19, de sorte que ce dernier accomplit une révolution en trente-et-un pas.By referring to the figure 1 , one can first see a date mobile 19 which has the shape of a conventional date disc with internal toothing 21 of thirty-one teeth and a jumper 11 which is biased against the toothing 21 by a spring 12. One can also see a driving wheel set 13 arranged to actuate the internal toothing 21 of the date disc step by step. In the present example, the driving wheel set is itself designed to be driven from the hour wheel (not shown) of the timepiece by means of a ½ ratio gear (not shown), way to rotate at the rate of one revolution in 24 hours. The driving wheel set 13 comprises a first finger, called date finger, 15 and a second finger, called catch-up finger, 17 which are integral with each other and whose positions are offset both angularly and in height. It will be understood that at each turn of the driving wheel set, the date finger 15 advances the date disc 19 by one tooth, so that the latter completes one revolution in thirty-one steps.

Le mécanisme de quantième perpétuel du présent exemple comporte encore une couronne des mois 51 qui porte les noms des douze mois de l'année. La couronne 51 est agencée pour tourner autour du disque de quantième 19, concentriquement à ce dernier. La vue en plan de la figure 2A montre que la couronne des mois 51 fait partie d'un mobile des mois 25 qui comprend également une came annuelle 57 de forme annulaire qui est fixée à la couronne des mois en position concentrique. On peut subdiviser la came annuelle en douze secteurs qui sont associés aux douze mois de l'année. On peut voir que les portions du bord intérieur de la came 57 qui sont contenues dans chacun des douze secteurs sont en forme d'arcs de cercle, et que ces derniers sont tous centrés sur l'axe de rotation du mobile des mois 25, bien que n'ayant pas tous le même rayon. Le bord intérieur de la came annuelle 57 présente ainsi une alternance de coches (ou creux) 55 et de plateformes (ou levées) 53, 61 qui sont constituées par les portions en arc de cercle de hauteurs (ou autrement dit, de rayons) différents. Comme on le verra plus en détail plus loin, dans l'exemple illustré, les creux 55 correspondent aux mois de trente-et-un jours et les levées 53 et 61 correspondent aux mois comptant moins de trente-et-un jours.The perpetual calendar mechanism of the present example also comprises a month crown 51 which bears the names of the twelve months of the year. Crown 51 is arranged to rotate around date disc 19, concentrically to the latter. The plan view of the figure 2A shows that the month crown 51 forms part of a month wheel set 25 which also comprises an annual cam 57 of annular shape which is fixed to the month crown in a concentric position. The annual cam can be subdivided into twelve sectors which are associated with the twelve months of the year. It can be seen that the portions of the inner edge of the cam 57 which are contained in each of the twelve sectors are in the form of arcs of a circle, and that the latter are all centered on the axis of rotation of the month wheel set 25, although that not having all the same radius. The inner edge of the annual cam 57 thus has an alternation of notches (or hollows) 55 and platforms (or lifts) 53, 61 which are constituted by the arcuate portions of heights (or in other words, radii) different . As will be seen in more detail below, in the illustrated example, the troughs 55 correspond to months with thirty-one days and the rises 53 and 61 correspond to months with less than thirty-one days.

Le disque de quantième 19 est agencé pour entraîner le mobile des mois 25 en rotation. Il comporte à cet effet une denture extérieure qui est référencée 71 (visible dans la figure 1). De son côté, la couronne des mois 51 comporte une denture intérieure qui est référencée 73 (visible dans la figure 2A). Les dentures 71 et 73 sont reliées l'une à l'autre par un rouage (non représenté), et le rapport d'engrenage de ce rouage est choisi de manière que le mobile des mois 25 pivote d'un douzième de tours (autrement dit, 30°) lors de chaque révolution du disque de quantième 19.The date disc 19 is arranged to drive the month wheel set 25 in rotation. It comprises for this purpose an external toothing which is referenced 71 (visible in the figure 1 ). For its part, the month crown 51 comprises an internal toothing which is referenced 73 (visible in the figure 2A ). The teeth 71 and 73 are connected to each other by a gear train (not shown), and the gear ratio of this gear train is chosen so that the month wheel set 25 pivots by one twelfth of a revolution (otherwise said, 30°) during each revolution of the date disc 19.

On peut voir encore dans les figures qu'une des levées ou plateformes que comporte le profil de la came annuelle 57 est différente des autres. Cette plateforme 61 est en effet formée par le bord concave d'un secteur de came mobile 59 qui est agencé pour coulisser radialement sur la planche de la couronne des mois 51, tout en étant guidé entre les bords d'une échancrure (non référencée) que présente la came annuelle 57. On peut voir que l'échancrure est située entre la portion en arc de cercle correspondant au mois de janvier et celle correspondant au mois de mars. On comprendra donc que la position angulaire qu'occupent le secteur de came mobile 59 correspond au mois de février. On comprendra de plus qu'il est possible de changer la distance entre la plateforme 61 et le centre de la came, autrement dit la hauteur de la plateforme, en faisant coulisser radialement le secteur de came mobile 59. C'est la raison pour laquelle la plateforme 61 sera appelée ci-après plateforme variable 61. En se référant plus particulièrement à la figure 3, on peut voir que le secteur de came mobile 59 comporte deux ouvertures oblongues parallèles (référencées 62) qui sont prévues pour coopérer avec deux tenons (référencés 63) qui font saillie à partir de la planche de la couronne des mois 51 et qui dépassent à travers les deux ouvertures 62. La coopération des tenons avec les ouvertures oblongues permet de garantir le bon alignement du secteur de came mobile 59 entre les côtés de l'échancrure, tout en assurant également que le secteur 59 est libre de se déplacer radialement entre deux positions prédéfinies qui sont respectivement associées à une hauteur dite « haute » et une hauteur dite « intermédiaire » de la plateforme variable 61. Le secteur de came mobile 59 comporte enfin deux lames ressort 65 qui sont agencées de façon que la plateforme variable 61 soit rappelée en direction de sa position intermédiaire. On comprendra que la plateforme variable 61 correspond à un mois de février de vingt-huit jours quand elle se trouve en position haute, et qu'elle correspond à un mois de février de vingt-neuf jours quand elle se trouve en position intermédiaire.It can also be seen in the figures that one of the lifts or platforms that the profile of the annual cam 57 comprises is different from the others. This platform 61 is in fact formed by the concave edge of a mobile cam sector 59 which is arranged to slide radially on the plate of the crown of the months 51, while being guided between the edges of an indentation (not referenced) that presents the annual cam 57. It can be seen that the indentation is located between the arcuate portion corresponding to the month of January and that corresponding to the month of March. It will therefore be understood that the angular position occupied by the movable cam sector 59 corresponds to the month of February. It will further be understood that it is possible to change the distance between the platform 61 and the center of the cam, in other words the height of the platform, by causing the mobile cam sector 59 to slide radially. This is the reason why platform 61 will hereinafter be referred to as variable platform 61. Referring more particularly to the picture 3 , it can be seen that the mobile cam sector 59 comprises two parallel oblong openings (referenced 62) which are provided to cooperate with two tenons (referenced 63) which protrude from the plate of the month crown 51 and which protrude through the two openings 62. The cooperation of the tenons with the oblong openings makes it possible to guarantee the correct alignment of the sector of movable cam 59 between the sides of the notch, while also ensuring that the sector 59 is free to move radially between two predefined positions which are respectively associated with a so-called "high" height and a so-called "intermediate" height of the platform variable 61. The mobile cam sector 59 finally comprises two leaf springs 65 which are arranged so that the variable platform 61 is returned in the direction of its intermediate position. It will be understood that the variable platform 61 corresponds to a month of February of twenty-eight days when it is in the high position, and that it corresponds to a month of February of twenty-nine days when it is in the intermediate position.

Le mécanisme de quantième perpétuel comprend encore une came bissextile 67 (visible dans les figures 2B et 3) qui est montée pivotante sur la planche de la couronne des mois 51 et qui est agencée pour coopérer avec le secteur de came mobile 59 de façon à faire commuter la plateforme variable 61 entre la position haute et la position intermédiaire. La came bissextile 67 comprend trois côtés qui sont symétriques par rotation les uns des autres, et un quatrième côté situé en retrait. En se référant simultanément aux figures 2A, 2B et 3, on peut voir que la came bissextile 67 est solidaire d'une croix de Malte 69 qui est agencée pour coopérer une fois par tour du mobile des mois 25 avec un éperon 75 fixe (visible dans la figure 3) que présente la face intérieure de la lunette de la pièce d'horlogerie. La came bissextile 67 effectue ainsi chaque année une rotation de 90° de façon à présenter un côté différent au secteur de came mobile 59.The perpetual calendar mechanism also includes a leap cam 67 (visible in the figure 2B And 3 ) which is pivotally mounted on the plate of the crown of the months 51 and which is arranged to cooperate with the movable cam sector 59 so as to switch the variable platform 61 between the high position and the intermediate position. Leap cam 67 includes three sides that are rotationally symmetrical to one another, and a fourth side set back. By simultaneously referring to Figures 2A, 2B And 3 , it can be seen that the leap cam 67 is integral with a Maltese cross 69 which is arranged to cooperate once per revolution of the month wheel set 25 with a fixed spur 75 (visible in the picture 3 ) presented by the inner face of the bezel of the timepiece. The leap cam 67 thus performs a rotation of 90° each year so as to present a different side to the mobile cam sector 59.

En se référant à nouveau à la figure 1, on peut voir que le mécanisme de quantième comprend encore un suiveur de came 27 qui est constitué par une bascule montée pivotante sur le disque de quantième 19. Le suiveur 27 comporte un palpeur 32 qui est rappelé en permanence contre le profil de la came annuelle 57 par un ressort-lame 34. Les portions en arc de cercle formant le profil de la came annuelle 57 ont des hauteurs différentes selon que le mois auquel elles sont associées comptent 28, 29, 30 ou 31 jours. Lorsque le mobile des mois 25 tourne relativement au disque de quantième 19, le palpeur 32 du suiveur de came 27 est amené à passer d'une portion de came en arc de cercle à une autre, de sorte que l'inclinaison du suiveur de came varie en fonction de la hauteur de la portion de came contre laquelle il est en appui. Le suiveur de came 27 comporte également une portion de denture qui, dans le présent exemple, est constituée par une encoche 29 en forme de U dont les deux bords, ou flancs, sont référencés 30 et 31. On peut observer que, dans l'exemple illustré, la largeur de l'encoche 29 est sensiblement égale à la largeur de l'espace séparant les flancs de deux dents contiguës de la denture intérieure 21 du disque de quantième. Comme on le verra plus en détail plus loin, les deux flancs 30, 31 remplissent respectivement les fonctions de flanc actif d'entraînement vers l'avant et de flanc actif d'entraînement vers l'arrière. Ils sont susceptibles de coopérer avec le doigt de rattrapage 17 à la fin des mois comptant moins de trente-et-un jours.Referring again to the figure 1 , it can be seen that the date mechanism further comprises a cam follower 27 which consists of a rocker pivotally mounted on the date disc 19. The follower 27 comprises a sensor 32 which is permanently biased against the profile of the annual cam 57 by a leaf spring 34. The arcuate portions forming the profile of the annual cam 57 have different heights depending on the month in which they are associated have 28, 29, 30 or 31 days. When the month wheel set 25 rotates relative to the date disc 19, the sensor 32 of the cam follower 27 is caused to pass from one portion of the cam in an arc of a circle to another, so that the inclination of the cam follower varies according to the height of the cam portion against which it bears. The cam follower 27 also comprises a toothing portion which, in the present example, consists of a U-shaped notch 29 whose two edges, or flanks, are referenced 30 and 31. It can be observed that, in the illustrated example, the width of the notch 29 is substantially equal to the width of the space separating the sides of two contiguous teeth of the internal toothing 21 of the date disc. As will be seen in greater detail below, the two flanks 30, 31 perform the functions of active forward driving flank and active rearward driving flank respectively. They are likely to cooperate with the catch-up finger 17 at the end of months with less than thirty-one days.

En se référant toujours à la figure 1, on peut comprendre que le palpeur 32 et la portion de denture 29 se déplacent dans le même sens quand l'inclinaison du suiveur de came 27 change en raison de son passage d'une portion de came en arc de cercle à la suivante. Autrement dit, la portion de denture 29 du suiveur de came « s'élève » quand le palpeur 32 est soulevé par une levée, ou plateforme, 53, 61, et « s'abaisse » quand le palpeur 32 chute dans un creux, ou coche, 55. Il vaut la peine de noter que le fait que le palpeur 32 et la portion de denture 29 se déplacent dans le même sens est lié au fait que ces deux éléments se trouvent du même côté de l'axe de pivotement du suiveur de came 27 (ce dernier constitue en effet un levier du troisième genre). On comprendra toutefois que selon d'autres modes de réalisation, le suiveur de came pourrait alternativement constituer un levier du premier genre (la portion de denture et le palpeur étant alors agencés de part et d'autre de l'axe de pivotement du suiveur de came). Avec de tels modes de réalisation, le palpeur et la portion de denture se déplaceraient en sens contraires. Il faudrait alors changer également la came annuelle, de façon que les coches (ou creux) de la nouvelle came correspondent aux mois de moins de trente-et-un jours et que ses plateformes (ou levées) correspondent aux mois comptant exactement 31 jours.Always referring to the figure 1 , it can be understood that the sensor 32 and the toothing portion 29 move in the same direction when the inclination of the cam follower 27 changes due to its passage from one cam portion in an arc of a circle to the next. In other words, the tooth portion 29 of the cam follower "rises" when the feeler 32 is raised by a lift, or platform, 53, 61, and "lowers" when the feeler 32 falls into a hollow, or notch, 55. It is worth noting that the fact that the feeler 32 and the portion of toothing 29 move in the same direction is linked to the fact that these two elements are on the same side of the axis of pivoting of the follower cam 27 (the latter indeed constitutes a lever of the third kind). It will however be understood that according to other embodiments, the cam follower could alternatively constitute a lever of the first kind (the toothing portion and the sensor then being arranged on either side of the pivot axis of the cam follower). With such embodiments, the feeler and the toothing portion would move in opposite directions. It would then also be necessary to change the annual cam, so that the notches (or troughs) of the new cam correspond to months of less than thirty-one days and that its platforms (or lifts) correspond to months with exactly 31 days.

Le fonctionnement du mécanisme de quantième du présent exemple va maintenant être décrit de manière à illustrer certains avantages et caractéristiques de l'invention. En dehors des derniers jours d'un mois, le fonctionnement du mécanisme de quantième du présent exemple est semblable à celui d'un quantième simple. Le mobile entraîneur 13 est entraîné par le mouvement au rythme d'un tour par vingt-quatre heures, et son doigt de quantième 15 fait avancer la denture 21 du disque de quantième 19 d'un pas à chaque tour. La portion de denture 29 du suiveur de came 27, pour sa part, se trouve hors de portée du doigt de rattrapage 17, de sorte que ce dernier tourne dans le vide sans rien actionner. A cet égard, on notera que la trajectoire de l'extrémité du doigt de rattrapage 17 est représentée par un cercle en traits interrompus référencé 23 dans la figure 1.The operation of the date mechanism of the present example will now be described so as to illustrate certain advantages and characteristics of the invention. Apart from the last days of a month, the operation of the date mechanism of the present example is similar to that of a simple date. Drive wheel set 13 is driven by the movement at the rate of one revolution per twenty-four hours, and its date finger 15 causes toothing 21 of date disc 19 to advance by one step at each revolution. The toothing portion 29 of the cam follower 27, for its part, is out of reach of the take-up finger 17, so that the latter rotates in a vacuum without actuating anything. In this respect, it will be noted that the trajectory of the end of the take-up finger 17 is represented by a circle in dashed lines referenced 23 in the figure 1 .

Lorsque la position angulaire du suiveur de came 27 relativement au mobile des mois 25 correspond à un mois de trente-et-un jours, le palpeur 32 se trouve dans une coche, et la portion de denture 29 est abaissée également. Tant que la portion de denture 29 se trouve ainsi à sa hauteur minimum, ses flancs 30 et 31 demeurent hors de portée du doigt de rattrapage 17, même durant les derniers jours du mois. On dit alors que la portion de denture 29 est en position inactive, le mécanisme de quantième fonctionnant alors comme un quantième simple durant tout le mois. En revanche, lorsque la position angulaire du suiveur de came 27 correspond à un mois comptant moins de 31 jours, le palpeur 32 se trouve en appui sur une plateforme 53, 61, de sorte que la hauteur de la portion de denture 29 n'est plus sa hauteur minimale. Dans ce cas, l'avance pas-à-pas du disque de quantième 19 en direction de la fin du mois, finit par amener la portion de denture 29 sur la trajectoire 23 du doigt de rattrapage 17. Ce dernier peut alors coopérer avec un des flancs 30, 31 de la portion de denture 29 pour entraîner le disque de quantième 19. On dit alors que la portion de denture 29 se trouve en position active.When the angular position of the cam follower 27 relative to the mobile month 25 corresponds to a month of thirty-one days, the sensor 32 is in a notch, and the portion of teeth 29 is also lowered. As long as the toothing portion 29 is thus at its minimum height, its flanks 30 and 31 remain out of reach of the catch finger 17, even during the last days of the month. It is then said that the toothing portion 29 is in the inactive position, the date mechanism then functioning as a simple date throughout the month. On the other hand, when the angular position of the cam follower 27 corresponds to a month with less than 31 days, the sensor 32 is resting on a platform 53, 61, so that the height of the portion of toothing 29 is no longer its minimum height. In this case, the step-by-step advance of the date disc 19 towards the end of the month ends up bringing the toothing portion 29 onto the trajectory 23 of the catch-up finger 17. The latter can then cooperate with a flanks 30, 31 of the toothing portion 29 to drive the date disc 19. It is then said that the toothing portion 29 is in the active position.

Comme déjà mentionné, les plateformes 53, 61 de la came annuelle 57 peuvent avoir trois hauteurs différentes selon que le mois auquel elles sont associées compte 28, 29 ou 30 jours. Lorsque le suiveur de came 27 est en appui sur une des plateformes 53 correspondant aux mois de trente jours (les plateformes les moins hautes), la portion de denture 29 reste hors de portée du doigt de rattrapage 17 tant que le disque de quantième 19 n'indique pas le quantième 31. D'autre part, lorsque le suiveur de came est en appui sur la plateforme variable 61, et que la hauteur de cette dernière est la hauteur intermédiaire (correspondant à un mois de février de vingt-neuf jours), la portion de denture 29 arrive sur la trajectoire du doigt de rattrapage 17 dès que le disque de quantième 19 indique le quantième 30. Enfin, lorsque le suiveur de came est en appui sur la plateforme variable 61, et que la hauteur de cette dernière est haute (correspondant à un mois de février de 28 jours), la portion de denture 29 arrive déjà sur la trajectoire du doigt de rattrapage 17 lorsque le disque de quantième indique le quantième 29. En se référant à nouveau à la figure 1, on comprendra que lorsque le mobile entraîneur 13 est entraîné par le mouvement de la montre, il tourne dans le sens antihoraire (tel que représenté sur le dessin). Dans ces conditions, le flanc de la portion de denture 29 qui est amené à coopérer avec le doigt de rattrapage 17 est le flanc actif 30 d'entraînement vers l'avant. Le disque de quantième 19 est donc entraîné dans le sens antihoraire également.As already mentioned, the platforms 53, 61 of the annual cam 57 can have three different heights depending on whether the month with which they are associated has 28, 29 or 30 days. When the cam follower 27 is resting on one of the platforms 53 corresponding to the months of thirty days (the lowest platforms), the toothing portion 29 remains out of reach of the catch-up finger 17 as long as the date disc 19 n 'not indicate the date 31. On the other hand, when the cam follower is resting on the variable platform 61, and the height of the latter is the intermediate height (corresponding to a month of February of twenty-nine days) , the toothing portion 29 arrives on the trajectory of the catch-up finger 17 as soon as the date disc 19 indicates the date 30. Finally, when the cam follower is resting on the variable platform 61, and the height of the latter is high (corresponding to a month of February of 28 days), the toothing portion 29 already arrives on the trajectory of the catch-up finger 17 when the date disc indicates the date 29. Referring again to the figure 1 , it will be understood that when the mobile trainer 13 is driven by the movement of the watch, it rotates counterclockwise (as shown in the drawing). Under these conditions, the flank of the toothing portion 29 which is caused to cooperate with the take-up finger 17 is the active flank 30 for driving forwards. The date disc 19 is therefore also driven counterclockwise.

Le doigt de quantième 15 et le doigt de rattrapage 17 sont tous les deux fixés au mobile d'entraînement 13 en positions décalées. En se référant encore à la figure 1, on peut voir que, dans le présent mode de réalisation, c'est le doigt de quantième 15 qui précède le doigt de rattrapage 17 lorsque le mobile entraîneur 13 tourne dans le sens antihoraire. Ainsi, à la fin du dernier jour d'un mois de trente jours, le doigt de quantième 15 passe le premier, et entraîne comme chaque jour le disque de quantième 19 d'un pas supplémentaire. Ce faisant il amène aussi la portion de denture 29 sur la trajectoire du doigt de rattrapage 17, alors que le disque de quantième indique brièvement le quantième 31. Ensuite, si le mobile d'entraînement 13 tourne encore de quelques degrés, c'est le tour du doigt de rattrapage 17 de faire avancer d'un pas supplémentaire le disque de quantième 19, ce dernier passant ainsi de la position correspondant au trente-et-unième jour du mois à celle correspondant au premier jour du mois suivant.The date finger 15 and the catch-up finger 17 are both fixed to the driving wheel set 13 in offset positions. With reference still at the figure 1 , it can be seen that, in the present embodiment, it is the date finger 15 which precedes the take-up finger 17 when the drive wheel set 13 rotates counterclockwise. Thus, at the end of the last day of a month of thirty days, the date finger 15 passes first, and as every day drives the date disc 19 by an additional step. In doing so, it also brings the toothing portion 29 into the trajectory of the catch-up finger 17, while the date disc briefly indicates the date 31. Then, if the drive wheel 13 still rotates a few degrees, it is the turn of the catch-up finger 17 to cause the date disc 19 to advance by an additional step, the latter thus passing from the position corresponding to the thirty-first day of the month to that corresponding to the first day of the following month.

A la fin du mois de février, le palpeur 32 du suiveur de came se trouve en appui sur la plateforme variable 61 constituée par le bord concave du secteur de came mobile 59. S'il s'agit d'une année bissextile, la hauteur de la plateforme variable 61 est la hauteur intermédiaire. Dans ce cas, c'est à la fin du vingt-neuvième jour du mois, que le doigt de quantième 15 entraîne le disque de quantième 19 d'un pas supplémentaire en amenant la portion de denture 29 sur la trajectoire du doigt de rattrapage 17. Le disque de quantième indique alors brièvement le quantième 30. Ensuite, si le mobile d'entraînement 13 tourne encore de quelques degrés, c'est le tour du doigt de rattrapage 17 de faire avancer d'une seule traite le disque de quantième 19 depuis la position correspondant au trentième jour du mois à celle correspondant au premier jour du mois suivant. Enfin, s'il s'agit d'un mois de février qui compte vingt-huit jours, la hauteur de la plateforme variable 61 est haute. Dans ce cas, c'est à la fin du vingt-huitième jour du mois, le doigt de quantième 15 fait d'abord avancer d'un pas le disque de quantième qui indique alors brièvement le quantième 29. Ensuite, si le mobile d'entraînement 13 tourne encore de quelques degrés, le doigt de rattrapage 17 fait avancer d'une seule traite le disque de quantième 19 depuis la position correspondant au vingt-neuvième jour du mois à celle correspondant au premier jour du mois suivant.At the end of the month of February, the sensor 32 of the cam follower is resting on the variable platform 61 formed by the concave edge of the mobile cam sector 59. If it is a leap year, the height of the variable platform 61 is the intermediate height. In this case, it is at the end of the twenty-ninth day of the month that the date finger 15 drives the date disc 19 by an additional step by bringing the toothing portion 29 into the trajectory of the catch-up finger 17 The date disc then briefly indicates the date 30. Then, if the driving wheel set 13 still rotates a few degrees, it is the turn of the catch-up finger 17 to advance the date disc 19 in one go. from the position corresponding to the thirtieth day of the month to that corresponding to the first day of the following month. Finally, if it is a month of February which has twenty-eight days, the height of the variable platform 61 is high. In this case, it is at the end of the twenty-eighth day of the month, the date finger 15 first causes the date disc to advance by one step which then briefly indicates the date 29. Then, if the mobile d the drive 13 still rotates a few degrees, the take-up finger 17 causes the date disc 19 to advance in one go from the position corresponding to the twenty-ninth day of the month to that corresponding to the first day of the following month.

On comprendra de ce qui précède que la distance minimale sur laquelle le doigt de rattrapage 17 doit être capable d'engrener avec la portion de denture 29, autrement dit, la longueur de conduite minimale, est fonction du nombre de pas que le doigt de rattrapage doit faire rattraper au disque de quantième 19. Tout d'abord, lorsqu'à la fin d'un mois de trente jours, le disque de quantième doit être avancé d'un pas supplémentaire, il suffit en fait que le doigt de rattrapage 17 entraîne la portion de denture 29 sur une longueur de conduite correspondant à environ un demi-pas. En effet, dès que le disque de quantième 19 commence à pivoter sous l'action du doigt de rattrapage 17, sa denture 21 se décale dans le sens antihoraire, de sorte qu'une de ses dents soulève le sautoir 11. Dès que la tête du sautoir a passé le sommet de la dent, le couple engendré par la force que le sautoir 11 exerce sur la dent change de sens et pousse le disque de quantième 19 dans le sens d'entraînement jusqu'à sa prochaine position indexée. Pour la même raison, lorsque le disque de quantième doit être avancé de deux pas supplémentaires, il suffit que le doigt de rattrapage 17 entraîne la portion de denture 29 sur une longueur de conduite correspondant à environ un pas et demi. De même, lorsque le disque de quantième doit être avancé de trois pas supplémentaires, il suffit que le doigt de rattrapage 17 entraîne la portion de denture 29 sur une longueur de conduite correspondant à environ deux pas et demi.It will be understood from the foregoing that the minimum distance over which the take-up finger 17 must be able to mesh with the toothing portion 29, in other words, the minimum line length, is a function of the number of pitches that the take-up finger must cause the date disc 19 to catch up. First of all, when at the end of a month of thirty days, the date disc must be advanced by an additional step, it suffices in fact that the catch-up finger 17 drives the portion of toothing 29 over a pipe length corresponding to approximately half a pitch. Indeed, as soon as the date disc 19 begins to pivot under the action of the take-up finger 17, its toothing 21 shifts counterclockwise, so that one of its teeth raises the jumper 11. As soon as the head of the jumper has passed the top of the tooth, the torque generated by the force that the jumper 11 exerts on the tooth changes direction and pushes the date disc 19 in the drive direction to its next indexed position. For the same reason, when the date disc has to be advanced by two additional steps, it suffices for the take-up finger 17 to drive the toothing portion 29 over a line length corresponding to approximately one and a half steps. Similarly, when the date disc has to be advanced by three additional steps, it suffices for the take-up finger 17 to drive the toothing portion 29 over a line length corresponding to about two and a half steps.

De manière connue en soi, la pièce d'horlogerie est également équipée d'une mise à l'heure (non représentée) permettant de commander manuellement la position des aiguilles des minutes et des heures (non représentées) depuis l'extérieur de la pièce d'horlogerie. Dans le présent exemple, la mise à l'heure peut être en prise avec le rouage de minuterie (non représenté), de sorte qu'elle actionne les deux aiguilles par l'intermédiaire respectivement de la chaussée et de la roue des heures (non représentées). Comme le mobile entraîneur 13 est relié cinématiquement à la roue des heures, on comprendra que la mise à l'heure de la pièce d'horlogerie commande également le mobile entraîneur 13 et donc le mécanisme de quantième dans son ensemble. La figure 1 permet de comprendre que le doigt de quantième 15 est agencé de manière à rencontrer une dent du disque de quantième 19 à chaque tour, quel que soit le sens de rotation du mobile entraîneur. Ce dernier permet donc d'entraîner le disque de quantième 19 en arrière aussi bien qu'en avant. On comprendra en outre que, lorsque la mise à l'heure est actionnée en arrière, le mobile entraîneur 13 tourne dans le sens horaire (tel que représenté sur le dessin). Lorsqu'en reculant, le mobile de quantième 19 vient occuper la position correspondant au premier jour d'un mois, et que le mois qui précède est un mois comptant moins de trente-et-un jours, le flanc actif 31 d'entraînement vers l'arrière de la portion de denture 29 se trouve sur la trajectoire du doigt de rattrapage 17. Dans ces conditions, le passage du doigt de rattrapage, un peu moins de vingt-quatre heures plus tard, fait reculer le disque de quantième 19 du nombre de pas requis pour tenir compte de la longueur du mois.In a manner known per se, the timepiece is also equipped with a time setting (not shown) making it possible to manually control the position of the minute and hour hands (not shown) from outside the part. of watchmaking. In the present example, the time setting can be meshed with the minute gear train (not shown), so that it actuates the two hands via the roadway and the hour wheel respectively (not shown). represented). Like the mobile driver 13 is kinematically connected to the hour wheel, it will be understood that the time setting of the timepiece also controls the mobile driver 13 and therefore the date mechanism as a whole. There figure 1 makes it possible to understand that the date finger 15 is arranged so as to encounter a tooth of the date disc 19 at each turn, regardless of the direction of rotation of the driving wheel set. The latter therefore makes it possible to drive the date disc 19 backwards as well as forwards. It will also be understood that, when the time setting is actuated backwards, the driving wheel set 13 rotates clockwise (as shown in the drawing). When moving back, the date mobile 19 comes to occupy the position corresponding to the first day of a month, and the preceding month is a month with less than thirty-one days, the active flank 31 for driving towards the rear of the toothing portion 29 is on the trajectory of the catch-up finger 17. Under these conditions, the passage of the catch-up finger, a little less than twenty-four hours later, causes the date disc 19 to move back from number of steps required to account for the length of the month.

On comprendra en outre que diverses modifications et/ou améliorations évidentes pour un homme du métier peuvent être apportées au mécanisme de quantième qui fait l'objet de la présente description sans sortir du cadre de la présente invention définie par les revendications annexées. En particulier, le mécanisme de quantième de l'invention n'est pas forcément perpétuel. En effet, selon d'autres modes de réalisation, le mécanisme de quantième pourrait être annuel. L'homme du métier comprendra que dans ce cas, le profil de la came annuelle ne comporte pas de portion de profil variable et en particulier pas de plateforme variable.It will also be understood that various modifications and/or improvements obvious to a person skilled in the art can be made to the date mechanism which is the subject of the present description without departing from the scope of the present invention defined by the appended claims. In particular, the date mechanism of the invention is not necessarily perpetual. Indeed, according to other embodiments, the date mechanism could be annual. Those skilled in the art will understand that in this case, the profile of the annual cam does not include a variable profile portion and in particular no variable platform.

Claims (10)

  1. Date mechanism comprising a date mobile (19) comprising toothing (21) with 31 teeth, a year cam (57) in the form of a radial cam arranged concentrically with the date mobile (19) and formed of twelve sectors (59) associated with the different months of the year, and a drive mobile (13) effecting one revolution in twenty four hours and carrying a date finger (15) and a make-up finger (17), the date finger (15) being arranged to cooperate with the toothing (21) of the date mobile so as to drive the latter in a stepping manner, the date mobile (19) for its part being arranged to drive the year cam (57) at a rate of 1/12th of a turn per revolution of the date mobile, the date mechanism further comprising a cam follower (27) movably mounted on the date mobile (19) so as to be able to follow the profile of the year cam (57) while being connected for conjoint rotation with the date mobile (19), the follower (27) comprising a toothing portion (29) comprising at least one active flank (30, 31), the toothing portion (29) being movable relative to the date mobile so as to be able to selectively occupy an inactive position and at least one active position depending on the angular position of the follower (27) with respect to the profile of the year cam (57), the active flank (30, 31) being able to be located on the trajectory (21) of the make-up finger (17) and to cooperate with the latter when the toothing portion (29) is in the active position, whereas it is constantly outside the range of the make-up finger (17) when the toothing portion is in the inactive position; characterised in that the date mobile (19) is in the form of a crown, the internal toothing of which has 31 teeth, and in that the year cam (57) is an annular cam, the internal profile of which has an alternating arrangement of notches (55) and platforms (53, 61).
  2. Date mechanism as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the notches (55) of the profile of the year cam (57) correspond to the months with 31 days and the platforms (53, 61) to the months with less than thirty one days, and in that the toothing portion (29) is in the inactive position when the angular position of the cam follower (27) is associated with a notch (55) and is in the active position when the position of the cam follower is associated with a platform (53, 61).
  3. Date mechanism as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterised in that it is an annual date mechanism.
  4. Date mechanism as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterised in that it is a perpetual date mechanism.
  5. Date mechanism as claimed in claim 4, characterised in that the toothing portion (29) of said follower (27) is arranged to selectively occupy an inactive position and three active positions depending on the height of the notch (55) or of the platform (53, 61) with which the angular position of the cam follower (27) is associated, the inactive position corresponding to the months with 31 days and the three active positions being respectively a low active position corresponding to the months with 30 days, an intermediate active position corresponding to the month with 29 days, and a high active position corresponding to the month with 28 days.
  6. Date mechanism as claimed in claim 4 or 5, characterised in that the sector of the year cam (57) which is associated with the month of February is formed by a mobile came sector (59) able to be switched between two predefined positions, the mobile cam sector (59) comprising an edge (61) adapted to form a so-called variable portion of the profile of the year cam (57), the variable profile portion (61) being at a first or at a second height depending on whether the mobile cam sector (59) occupies one of its two predefined positions or the other.
  7. Date mechanism as claimed in claim 6, characterised in that, when the angular position of the cam follower (27) is associated with the month of February, the toothing portion (29) is in the intermediate active position if the height of the variable profile portion (61) is the first height, and it is in the high active position if the height of the variable profile portion (61) is the second height, and in that the make-up finger (17) is arranged to drive the date disc (19) in a single action from the position displaying the date "30" to the position displaying the date " 1" when the toothing portion (29) is in the intermediate active position, and to drive the date disc (19) in a single action from the position displaying the date "29" to the position displaying the date "1" when the toothing portion (29) is in the high active position.
  8. Date mechanism as claimed in claim 6 or 7, characterised in that it comprises a mobile formed from a leap-year cam (67) and Maltese cross (69), the leap-year cam comprising three symmetrical sides and a recessed side, and the Maltese cross being arranged to be incremented by 90° with each turn of the year cam (57).
  9. Date mechanism as claimed in claim 8, characterised in that the leap-year cam (67) is arranged to cooperate with the mobile cam sector (59) in order to cause the height of the variable profile portion (61) to switch between the "high" height and the "intermediate" height.
  10. Date mechanism as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the make-up finger (17) is offset angularly and in height with respect to the date finger (15).
EP21152889.8A 2021-01-22 2021-01-22 Annual or perpetual date mechanism Active EP4033306B1 (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP21152889.8A EP4033306B1 (en) 2021-01-22 2021-01-22 Annual or perpetual date mechanism

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP21152889.8A EP4033306B1 (en) 2021-01-22 2021-01-22 Annual or perpetual date mechanism

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP4033306A1 EP4033306A1 (en) 2022-07-27
EP4033306B1 true EP4033306B1 (en) 2023-06-28

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Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP21152889.8A Active EP4033306B1 (en) 2021-01-22 2021-01-22 Annual or perpetual date mechanism

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Family Cites Families (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CH685585B5 (en) 1994-01-21 1996-02-29 Patek Philippe Sa Calendar mechanism.
DE602005001798T8 (en) * 2004-05-14 2008-08-28 Rolex Sa Annual calendar mechanism for clockwork
CH704505A2 (en) 2011-02-17 2012-08-31 Glashuetter Uhrenbetrieb Gmbh Perpetual calendar mechanism for watch, has pivotally retractable teeth mounted to pivot between active position in which teeth are driven by timepiece movement and inactive position in which teeth are not driven by timepiece movement

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