Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G04—HOROLOGY
  • G04B—MECHANICALLY-DRIVEN CLOCKS OR WATCHES; MECHANICAL PARTS OF CLOCKS OR WATCHES IN GENERAL; TIME PIECES USING THE POSITION OF THE SUN, MOON OR STARS
  • G04B19/00—Indicating the time by visual means
  • G04B19/26—Clocks or watches with indicators for tides, for the phases of the moon, or the like

Definitions

• Calendar mechanism with display of the seasons for a timepiece
• the present invention relates to a calendar mechanism with display of the seasons for a timepiece. Calendar mechanisms with display of the seasons have been proposed in US patent 563268 and patent applications DE 102008031441 and EP 3327516.
• the watch dial has four symbols in the shape of the sun for summer, a leaf for autumn, a crystal of snow for winter and a flower for spring, respectively. Each symbol is a recess made in the dial or a transparent area of the dial.
• a first rotating plate driven by the movement of the watch and located under the dial has colored sectors allowing the color of the active season to be changed to indicate whether it is at the beginning, in the middle or at the end of the season.
• a second board is used to make invisible the symbols corresponding to the three seasons which are not active.
• This patent application relates only to a principle of displaying the seasons. No platter drive mechanism is described.
• a first wheel is arranged to make one revolution in thirty-one days for displaying the date and a second wheel, coaxial with the first wheel, is provided for displaying the seasons.
• the first and the second wheel are driven by the same mobile but with different gear ratios so that the second wheel rotates faster than the first wheel and shifts by one revolution every the twelve turns of the first wheel.
• the first wheel carries a date indicator hand.
• the second wheel has on its upper surface, fully visible through a large aperture made in the dial, symbols representing the seasons, the current season being indicated by the symbol or parts of symbols visible through an opening in the hand date indicator. This mechanism has the advantage of being simple but it does not allow a precise display of the current season nor a precise indication of the changes of season.
• the present invention aims to propose a calendar mechanism with display of the seasons whose display of the current season and the changes of season can be precise.
• the present invention also relates to a timepiece, such as a wristwatch, a pocket watch or a clock, comprising such a calendar mechanism.
• FIG. 1 is a top view of a calendar mechanism according to a particular embodiment of the invention.
• FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the calendar mechanism shown in Figure 1;
• FIG. 3 shows a one-way gear formed by an hour cam and a wheel pinion for the date drive of the calendar mechanism shown in Figure 1;
• - Figure 4 is a top view of part of the calendar mechanism illustrated in Figure 1, in which certain elements have been removed to make what is underneath visible;
• FIG. 5 is a view similar to Figure 4 but showing the hidden parts in dotted lines;
• FIG. 6 is a bottom view of part of the calendar mechanism illustrated in Figure 1, showing a season display drive wheel, a safety member and a season display star in a state rest ;
• FIG. 7 is a bottom view of the part illustrated in Figure 6, showing the season display drive wheel, the safety device and the season display star during the drive of the display star of the seasons;
• FIGS. 8 and 9 are respectively a top view and a perspective view of part of a calendar mechanism according to another embodiment of the invention, showing a quarter drive wheel and an intermediate wheel quarters before the passage of a season;
• Figures 10 and 11 are respectively a top view and a perspective view of the part illustrated in Figures 8 and 9, showing the quarter drive wheel and the intermediate quarter wheel before the passage of one month.
• a calendar mechanism 1 integrated into a watch movement, comprises an hour cam 2 coaxial with and integral with the hour wheel 4 of the watch movement and therefore rotating at the rate of a round by twelve hours.
• This hour cam 2 is a disk having, over a quarter of its perimeter, a toothed sector 6 with four teeth arranged to cooperate with the pinion 8 of a date drive wheel set 10.
• the pinion 8 is driven by the toothed sector 6 when the latter is in in front of him, or over a period of three hours per period of twelve hours, these three hours of training causing him to turn 180°.
• the pinion 8 is opposite the non-toothed portion of the hours cam 2, for the remaining nine hours, it remains stationary.
• Pinion 8 therefore makes one revolution every twenty-four hours, but its movements during these twenty-four hours only last a total of six hours.
• the hours cam 2 thus constitutes an acceleration cam making it possible to accelerate the rotation of the pinion 8.
• the hours cam 2 also plays the role of preventing any time setting of the movement backwards around midnight, as this will be explained later with reference to Figure 3.
• the date drive wheel set 10 comprises (cf. FIG. 4) a lower finger 12, or first finger, and an upper finger 14, or second finger, which are rigidly connected to the pinion 8 in offset positions at both angularly and in height.
• the lower finger 12 advances a date wheel 16 with thirty-one teeth by one step subjected to the action of a date jumper 18.
• This date wheel 16, which therefore makes one revolution per month, is coaxial with a month cam 20 which is free to pivot with respect to the date wheel 16.
• the periphery of the month cam 20 comprises an alternation of recesses and of lifts, the troughs corresponding to the months of thirty-one days, the lifts corresponding to the months of less than thirty-one days.
• a month rocker 22 is pivotally mounted on the plate of the date wheel 16 and comprises a beak 22a able to cooperate with the periphery of the month cam 20.
• the month rocker 22 is free to rotate but its travel is limited in a direction by the month cam 20 and in the other direction by a pin 22b driven into the plate of the date wheel 16.
• a tooth 24 of the month rocker 22 is superimposed on the toothing of the date wheel 16 and is thus on the trajectory of the upper finger 14 when the date wheel 16 is in the angular position corresponding to date 30.
• tooth 24 is retracted with respect to the toothing of date wheel 16 and cannot cooperate with upper finger 14.
• the upper finger 14 cannot act on the date wheel 16 and the passage from the date 30 to the date 31 is effected by the action of the lower finger 12, as for the other days.
• the tooth 24 is superimposed on the teeth of the date wheel 16, it disappears as soon as it meets the upper finger 14 preventing the latter from driving the date wheel 16.
• the upper finger 14 cooperates with the tooth 24 of the month rocker 22, which is then supported by its beak 22a on a lifting of the month cam 20, to move the date wheel 16 with a first step for the passage from 30 to 31, then the lower finger 12 cooperates with the toothing of the date wheel 16 to make it advance by an additional step and ensure the passage from 31 to 1 st .
• Each movement of the date wheel 16 is communicated, via a gear train (not shown), to a date indicator member (not shown) such as a crown, a disc or a hand.
• the date drive wheel 10, the date wheel 16 and the month rocker 22 are part of an annual calendar mechanism based on the principle set out in patent CH 685585 and patent application WO 2019/193430.
• the date mechanism could nevertheless be simple or perpetual.
• a quarter drive wheel 26 is mounted coaxially to the date wheel 16.
• the quarter drive wheel 26 can rotate relative to the date wheel 16 over a certain angle only, defined by two openings 28 made in the date wheel 16 and through which two respective pins 30 pass, driven on one side into the quarter drive wheel 26 and on the other side into a season piece 32.
• seasons 32 comprises a toothed sector 34 with four teeth superimposed on the toothing of the date wheel 16.
• a return spring 36 mounted on the plate of the date wheel 16 acts on the seasons part 32 so that at least one of the pins 30 is held in abutment against the wall of the corresponding opening 28. This support allows the date wheel 16 to drive the quarter drive wheel 26.
• the seasonal piece 32 is positioned such that on the date 19 of each month, around midnight, the upper finger 14 meets the first tooth of the seasonal piece 32 and cooperates with it to move the drive wheel of the quarters 26 with respect to the date wheel 16 by an angle corresponding to a pitch of the date wheel 16, against the action of the return spring 36. Then, still on the 19th around midnight, the lower finger 12 acts on the toothing of the date wheel 16 to advance the date wheel 16 by one step and catch up with the quarter drive wheel 26. On the 20th around midnight the upper finger 14 meets the second tooth of the quarter piece. seasons 32 and cooperates with it to move the quarter drive wheel 26 relative to the date wheel 16 by an angle corresponding to a pitch of the date wheel 16, against the action of the return spring 36.
• the lower finger 12 acts on the tooth ure of the date wheel 16 to cause the date wheel 16 to advance one step and catch up with the quarter drive wheel 26.
• the same operation occurs on the 21st between the upper finger 14 and the third tooth of the quarter piece. seasons 32 and between the lower finger 12 and the toothing of the date wheel 16, then the 22 between the upper finger 14 and the fourth tooth of the seasons part 32 and between the lower finger 12 and the toothing of the date wheel 16.
• the date wheel 16 which drives the quarter drive wheel 26 by pressing at least one of the pins 30 against the wall of the corresponding opening 28.
• the quarter drive wheel 26 is driven by one thirty-first of a revolution each day, like the date wheel 16, but between the 19th and on the 23rd, this movement takes place in a temporally offset manner with respect to the date wheel 16.
• the displacements of the drive wheel of the quarters 26 between the 19th and the 23rd cause each quarter the displacement of a display of the seasons. It is advantageous, in order to avoid large peaks in energy consumption, for the date jumps and those of the display of the seasons to occur at different instants.
• the season piece 32 could be removed and the quarter drive wheel 26 could be made integral with the date wheel 16.
• the quarter drive wheel 26 has a season drive toothed sector, formed by two large teeth 38.
• the quarter drive wheel 26 further has a small month drive tooth 40.
• the two large teeth 38 are sized to advance four steps - the first from 19 to 20, the second from 20 to 21, the third from 21 to 22 and the fourth from 22 to 23 - an intermediate wheel of 42 quarters.
• small tooth 40 advances the intermediate wheel of quarters 42 one step at the end of each month.
• the intermediate wheel of the quarters 42 comprises six toothed sectors 44 of four teeth each separated by six empty spaces 46 each occupying the place of one tooth. These empty spaces 46 have the function of allowing the small tooth 40 to catch the right tooth of the intermediate quarter wheel 42 each time. They do not interfere with the driving of the intermediate quarter wheel 42 by the two large teeth. 38.
• a month drive wheel 48 (cf. FIG. 1) is coaxial with and integral with the intermediate quarter wheel 42 and drives via a transmission 50, at the rate of one revolution per twelve months, a month wheel 52 which is coaxial and solidarity with the cam of 20 months.
• the intermediate wheel of the quarters 42 meshes with a pinion 54 of fifteen teeth subjected to the action of a jumper of the quarters 56 and forming part of a quarters 58 (see Figure 5).
• the mobile of the quarters 58 comprises a drive wheel for displaying the months 60 and a drive wheel for displaying the seasons 62, both secured to the pinion 54 (cf. FIG. 1).
• the mobile of the quarters 58 moves one revolution per quarter but, as for the intermediate wheel of the quarters 42, its movement is irregular: a jump every day around midnight between the 19th and the 23rd and a jump at each end of months around midnight, i.e. five jumps per month and fifteen jumps per quarter.
• the month display drive wheel 60 has three teeth 64 located 120° apart (only two of which are visible in Figure 1). On the last day of each month, one of these teeth 64 advances pinion 66 by one step of an intermediate month display wheel set 68 (see FIG. 2) whose wheel 70, integral with pinion 66, meshes with a month display wheel 72 carrying a month indicator member, such as a hand or a disk, displaying the current month in conjunction with a dial.
• Three notches 76 made in said non-toothed upper part to the right of the teeth 64 respectively allow the square 74 and therefore the intermediate month display wheel set 68 to rotate when one of the teeth 64 cooperates with the pinion 66 to drive it.
• the season display drive wheel 62 includes a sector gear 78 with three teeth, the remainder of the season display drive wheel 62 being non-toothed.
• the toothed sector 78 meshes every three months, between the date 19 and the date 23, with a season display star 80 with sixteen teeth to move it by four teeth.
• the 80 Seasons Display Star is subjected to the action of a season jumper 82 and carries a season indicator member, such as a disc bearing symbols of the seasons visible successively through an aperture of the dial or a needle.
• a season indicator member such as a disc bearing symbols of the seasons visible successively through an aperture of the dial or a needle.
• recesses between the teeth of the season display star 80 which are not used for meshing with the season display drive wheel 62 are partially filled with material to accommodate screw 84 securing a season indicator disc to the season display star 80.
• the safety member 88 comprises (cf. FIG. 6) a safety surface 90 substantially concentric with the non-toothed sector 86 and with the axis 92 of the mobile of the quarters 58 and which extends, at a different height, the periphery of the sector non-toothed 86 in the region of the toothed sector 78.
• the safety device 88 is mounted free to rotate around the axis 92 of the mobile of the quarters 58 but its rotation relative to the season display drive wheel 62 is limited by the cooperation between a pin 94 located in the season display drive wheel 62 and an oblong hole 96 made in the safety device 88.
• a return spring 98 acting between the drive wheel of display of the seasons 62 and the safety member 88 holds the safety member 88 bearing against the pin 94 in an angular position relative to the season display drive wheel 62 where three notches 100 made in the surface security 90 are aligned res respectively with the three teeth of the toothed sector 78.
• the toothing of the season display star 80 has a sufficiently large height to be able to cooperate both with the season display drive wheel 62 and with the safety member 88.
• each jump of the season display star 80 comprises a first jump part where the star 80 is driven by the sector gear 78 against the action of the jumper of the seasons 82 and a second part of the jump caused by the jumper of the seasons 82 after the latter has passed the top of a tooth of the star 80.
• the safety member 88 is integral with the season display drive wheel 62 due to the support of the pin 94 against the wall of the oblong hole 96.
• the safety member 88 uses its mobility with respect to the season display drive wheel 62, against the action of the return spring 98, to let p asser a tooth of the display star of the seasons 80 located in one of the notches 100 (cf. figure 7), said tooth then continuing its movement until completing the jump of the 62 seasons display training wheel.
• the various moving parts of the calendar mechanism 1 are indexed with respect to each other so that the actuation of the quarter drive wheel 26 by the upper finger 14, between the 19 and the 23 of each month, does not cause actuation of the seasons display star 80 by the quarters mobile 58 for two consecutive months (the toothed sector 78 then not being facing the seasons display star 80) and causes the season display star 80 to be actuated by the quarter mobile 58 in the third month between the date 19 and the date 23.
• the season display star 80 and the season indicator member she wears therefore turn a quarter turn every three months, between the 19th and the 23rd, and are immobile the rest of the time.
• European season change dates differ from season to season and from year to year, but are always between the 19th and 23rd of the last month of each calendar quarter, i.e. say between the 19th and 23rd of March, June, September and December, and this at least until the year 2100.
• the present invention is however applicable to other dates of change of season than European dates, for example to Russian or Eastern dates, in particular to dates of change of season located at the beginning of the month or in the middle of a month.
• the seasons display star 80 is driven only for one predetermined time interval, less than thirty days, every three months and this time interval is preferably at most ten days, preferably at most seven days, preferably at most five days.
• the predetermined time interval is part of the last month of each calendar quarter and, preferably, this time interval ends before the last day of the said last month.
• this time interval includes, at least partially, the twenty-first day of the last month of each calendar quarter.
• this time interval begins no earlier than the 18th and ends no later than the 23rd.
• the 80 seasons display star in several jumps spread over several days, from preferably over at least three days, more preferably over at least four days, for two reasons: it ensures that the time interval during which the 80 seasons display star moves encompasses the exact date of the season change and this smooths out the torque needed to drive the 80 seasons display star – which must move a quarter turn to indicate the change of season – and thus avoids a spike in power consumption.
• the present invention thus makes it possible to change the information displayed on the current season on the exact dates of season changes or on previously chosen dates, in particular on dates which are distinct from those of the end of the month.
• the display of the season is permanently synchronized with the display of the month so that a desynchronization between the season and the month during a correction of one or more the other or during current operation cannot occur.
• the season display star 80 cannot move backwards without risk of breakage due to the presence of the safety member 88.
• Other parts of the calendar mechanism 1 could be affected by this problem, for example the display of the months if it was of the retrograde type.
• teeth 102 of pinion 8 of date drive wheel set 10 which correspond to a time range including midnight have a flat top 104 oriented tangentially with respect to the axis of pinion 8 and are truncated on the side of their front flank 106.
• a tooth 6a of the hour cam 2 abuts against the top 104 of one of the teeth 102 and lock the gear by buttress.
• the teeth 102 and the toothed sector 6 thus form a unidirectional gear.
• the rotation of the winding stem 108 is transmitted to the hour wheel 4 via successively (cf. FIGS. 1 and 2) a sliding pinion 110, a first reference 112, a second reference 114, a third reference 116, a timer wheel 118 and a timer pinion 120.
• the second and the third reference 114, 116 are coaxial and integral. However, one of them is mounted by friction on the common axis of the transmissions 114, 116 in order to be able to disengage the winding stem 108 from the timer in the event of excessive torque exerted by the user backwards on the winding stem. crown 108 while the hours cam 2 is blocked on the pinion 8 of the date drive mobile 10.
• the display of the months and of the seasons can be corrected by means of a corrector acting on a coaxial ratchet secured to the intermediate wheel of the quarters 42.
• the display of the months and seasons can be corrected by winding stem 108 of the watch movement having a dedicated axial position in which a rotation of the winding stem 108 causes the date wheel 16 to rotate independently of the hour wheel 4.
• a security system illustrated in FIGS. 8 to 11, can be used.
• This safety system comprises, on the periphery of the quarter drive wheel 26, a first safety surface 122 and a second safety surface 124.
• the first safety surface 122 extends angularly in the non-toothed sector of the quarters drive wheel 26 which precedes the two large seasons drive teeth 38, over the entire height of the quarters drive wheel 26.
• the first safety surface 122 is concentric with the axis of the wheel 26 and has a radius R1.
• the second safety surface 124 extends angularly in the non-toothed sector of the quarter drive wheel 26 which follows the two large teeth 38 by projecting a little from this non-toothed sector, but in height it extends only on a lower part of the quarter drive wheel 26.
• the second safety surface 124 is concentric with the axis of the wheel 26 and has a radius R2 greater than the radius R1 and equal to the radius of the head circle of the two large teeth 38.
• An upper part 126 of the non-toothed sector of the quarter drive wheel 26 which follows the two large teeth 38 is concentric with the axis of the wheel 26 and has a radius R3 smaller than the radius R1. This upper part 126 extends from the toothed sector for training the seasons formed by the two large teeth 38 up to the small tooth 40 for training the months which here is no longer in the form of a tooth but of a transition surface between the first safety surface 122 and said upper part 126.
• the first safety surface 122 acts as an abutment respectively for the last tooth 44a and the first tooth 44b of two adjacent toothed sectors 44 of the intermediate wheel of the quarters 42 separated by an empty space 46, thus preventing, in the event of impact, the wheel 42 from de-indexing with respect to the drive wheel of the quarters 26 in one direction or in the each other before the passing of the seasons.
• the second safety surface 124 acts as a stop respectively for the second tooth 44c and the first tooth 44d of two adjacent toothed sectors 44 of the intermediate wheel of the quarters 42 (see FIG. 10), thus preventing, in the event of shock, the wheel 42 to de-index relative to the drive wheel of the quarters 26 in one direction or the other before the passage of the months.
• the last two teeth of each toothed sector 44 have a lower height than that of the first two teeth and are located on a different level from that of the second safety surface 124, namely the level of the upper part 126 and of the transition surface 40, as seen in Figures 9 and 11.

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• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Electromechanical Clocks (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

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• 2021
  • 2021-06-16 EP EP21179694.1A patent/EP4105732A1/de not_active Withdrawn
• 2022
  • 2022-06-15 EP EP22733480.2A patent/EP4356203A1/de active Pending
  • 2022-06-15 JP JP2023577593A patent/JP2024521494A/ja active Pending
  • 2022-06-15 WO PCT/IB2022/055525 patent/WO2022264046A1/fr active Application Filing
  • 2022-06-15 CN CN202280042768.8A patent/CN117501188A/zh active Pending

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