EP4407384A1 - Monocular module for perpetual calendar mechanism of a clock movement - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a secular module (10) for a perpetual calendar mechanism of a watch movement, comprising a first mobile (20) arranged to be driven by a month mobile (100) of the watch movement, a second and third mobile ( 30, 40) mounted in series with the first mobile (20) and two rockers (70, 80). The three mobiles 20, 30, 40) respectively comprise a leap cam (25), a tens cam (35) and a hundreds cam (45). The first rocker (70) is arranged to cooperate with the leap cam (25) to bring the first rocker (70) respectively into a first position when it cooperates with a first portion of the leap cam (25) corresponding to a year not -leap year and in a second position when it cooperates with a second portion (26a, 26b, 26c) of the leap cam (25) corresponding to a leap year in order to activate a correction device to take into account the 29<sup >th</sup> day of February in a leap year. The second rocker (80) is arranged to cooperate with the tens cam (35) and the hundreds cam (45) respectively and to act on the first rocker (70) in order to prevent the latter from cooperating with the second portion of the leap cam (25) when a first and a second feelers (81, 82) of the second rocker (80) are on a portion of the cam corresponding respectively to a multiple of ten years of the tens cam (33) and at a multiple of a hundred years from the hundreds cam (45).

Description

Technical area

The present invention relates to a secular module for a perpetual calendar mechanism for a watch movement. The secular module is intended to activate a correction device to manage the transition from the end of February to March ^1st according to leap years while taking into account the absence of leap years every hundred years and optionally maintaining leap years every 400 years.

State of the art

There are different mechanisms for indicating date information. These mechanisms are of relatively simple construction for displaying the date without correction, of the annual calendar type capable of managing the transition from months with 30 and 31 days to the ^1st of the following month, and of the perpetual calendar type which includes a mechanical memory, so to speak, allowing not only to manage the transition from months with 30 and 31 days to the ^1st of the following month, but also the transition from the end of February to March ^1st by taking into account leap years . However, conventional perpetual calendars do not take into account the absence of leap years every hundred years.

Different secular calendar mechanisms have already been described. One of the challenges, however, remains maintaining acceptable compactness. Another aspect is to be able to easily integrate a secular module capable of activating a correction device to manage the transition from the end of February to March ¹ depending on leap years, taking into account the absence of leap years every hundred years and possibly maintaining leap years every 400 years.

An aim of the present invention is therefore to propose a secular module capable of operating a correction device to manage the transition from the end of February to March ¹ as a function of leap years taking into account the absence of years leaps every hundred years.

Another aim of the present invention is to propose a secular module which is easy to modify to operate the correction device while also taking into account leap years every 400 years.

Another aim of the present invention is to propose a reversible secular module to allow easy correction of the display of the year in both directions, namely both in the direction of an increment and in that of a decrement. .

An additional goal is to propose a secular perpetual calendar integrating the secular module.

Brief summary of the invention

These goals are achieved in particular by a secular module for a perpetual calendar mechanism, comprising three mobiles mounted in series, one of which is arranged to be driven by a months mobile. The first mobile preferably comprises a driving member, a so-called leap cam, a driven member arranged to be rotated by a finger of the months mobile. The leap cam and the driving member of the first mobile are integral with the driven member. The second mobile comprises a driven member arranged to be rotated by the driving member of the first mobile, a so-called tens cam and a drive member typically comprising a finger. The tens cam and the drive member of the second mobile are integral with the driven member. The third mobile comprises a rotating member arranged to be driven by the finger that the drive member of the second mobile includes and a so-called hundreds cam secured to the rotating member.

The secular module further comprises a first and a second flip-flop. The first rocker comprises a feeler arranged to cooperate with the leap cam of the first mobile to bring the first rocker into a first or a second position. The first rocker is in the first position when the probe cooperates with a first portion of the leap cam corresponding to a non-leap year. The first rocker is in a second position when the probe cooperates with a second portion of the leap cam corresponding to a leap year in order to activate a correction device to take into account the ^29th day of the month of February of a year leap year.

The second rocker comprises a first and a second feeler arranged to cooperate with respectively the tens cam of the second mobile and the hundreds cam of the third mobile. The second rocker is arranged to maintain the first rocker in the first position when the first and second feelers are on a portion of the cam corresponding respectively to a multiple of ten years of the tens cam and to a multiple of one hundred years of the came hundreds.

According to one embodiment, the secular module further comprises a finger secured to the rotating member of the third mobile, a fourth mobile as well as a third rocker. The fourth mobile comprises a rotating member arranged to be driven by the passage of the finger of the third mobile and a so-called 400 cam secured to the rotating member of this fourth mobile. The third rocker includes a feeler to cooperate with the cam of 400. The third rocker is arranged to tilt the second rocker so that it does not act on the first rocker when the feeler of the third rocker cooperates with a portion of the cam of 400 corresponding to a multiple of 400 years.

According to one embodiment, the cam of the 400 has two diametrically opposed recesses.

According to one embodiment, the rotating member of the third mobile and the driven member of the first mobile are each in the form of a pinion comprising several pairs of teeth. These are distributed evenly around the circumference of the gable and are spaced from each other to define clearances.

According to one embodiment, the drive member of the second mobile and the drive member of the months mobile each comprise a circular edge, a finger whose free end projects from the circular edge and two grooves arranged on either side and the other with the finger. This allows each of these fingers to be accommodated in the space formed by a pair of teeth of the respective pinion of the first and third mobile while one and the other tooth of this pair of teeth can be accommodated in turn role respectively in the first groove downstream of the finger relative to its direction of rotation and in the second groove arranged upstream of said finger.

According to one embodiment, two pairs of adjacent teeth of the respective pinion are arranged so that one of the teeth of each of the pairs of adjacent teeth abuts against the circular edges of the drive member of the month mobile and the the drive member of the second mobile thus making it possible to limit the angular movement of the respective pinions of the first and third mobile. The latter are therefore immobilized in a relatively stable position after each passage of the finger engaging a pair of teeth until the next passage of the finger engaging an adjacent pair of teeth. This arrangement makes it possible to avoid any unexpected rotation of the members driven by the first mobile and the third mobile in the event that one of them were to move in one direction or the other, for example in the event of shocks. .

According to one embodiment, the secular module further comprises a jumper arranged to come to bear against a support zone of one of the clearances of the pinion of the third mobile in order to bring the pinion into an indexed angular position.

According to one embodiment, the pairs of teeth of the pinions respectively of the first and third mobiles are obtained from a pinion of which one tooth out of three has been truncated.

According to one embodiment, the first mobile is arranged to be driven by the finger of the month mobile at the rate of one revolution every multiple of four years, preferably one revolution every eight or twelve years. The second mobile is arranged to be driven by the driving member of the first mobile at a rate of one revolution every ten years. The rotating member of the third mobile is arranged to be driven by the finger of the second mobile at a rate of one revolution every hundred years.

According to one embodiment, the leap cam of the first mobile has two diametrically opposed recesses or three recesses separated from each other by 120°. The tens and hundreds cams each have a unique recess.

According to one embodiment, the secular module further comprises an indexing star secured to the first mobile and an indexing jumper cooperating with the indexing star in order to bring the first mobile in an indexed position after each passage of the finger from the month mobile.

According to one embodiment, the first rocker further comprises a rake arranged to engage with teeth of the correction device.

Another aspect of the invention relates to a display module for displaying the years, comprising the aforementioned secular module according to any of its embodiments, in which the third mobile further comprises a second rotating member arranged to be driven by the driven member of the second mobile at the rate of one revolution every ten years. The third mobile also comprises an axis secured to the second rotating member and a barrel arranged around the axis and secured to the first rotating member. The display module further comprising a units ring mounted integrally with the axis and a tens ring arranged concentrically outside the units ring and secured to the barrel.

Another aspect of the invention relates to a perpetual calendar mechanism. This mechanism includes in particular a month cam comprising at least one notch whose depth corresponds to the month of February of a non-leap year as well as a correction device in order to limit the depth of said at least one notch so that it corresponds to the month of February in a leap year. The mechanism further comprises the aforementioned secular module, according to any of its embodiments, so that the pivoting of the first rocker in the second position activates the correction device to limit the depth of said at least one notch.

Another aspect of the invention relates to a timepiece comprising the display module or the perpetual calendar mechanism mentioned above.

Brief description of the figures

• la figure 1 illustre une vue en perspective d'un module séculaire agencé pour être entraîné par un mobile des mois d'un mécanisme horloger, selon une forme de réalisation ;
• la figure 2 illustre une vue en perspective du module séculaire de la figure 1 selon une autre orientation ;
• les figures 3a 3b illustrent des vues du module séculaire des figures 1 et 2 avec une coupe transversale au niveau des cames selon deux séquences opérationnelles du module ;
• la figure 4 illustre une vue de dessus d'un affichage des années comportant le module séculaire de la figure 1, et
• la figure 5 illustré une vue simplifiée éclatée d'un module séculaire selon une autre forme de réalisation.

Examples of implementation of the invention are indicated in the description illustrated by the appended figures in which:

• there figure 1 illustrates a perspective view of a secular module arranged to be driven by a mobile of the months of a watch mechanism, according to one embodiment;
• there figure 2 illustrates a perspective view of the secular module of the figure 1 according to another orientation;
• THE figures 3a 3b illustrate views of the secular module of figures 1 and 2 with a cross section at the level of the cams according to two operational sequences of the module;
• there Figure 4 illustrates a top view of a years display featuring the secular module of the figure 1 , And
• there figure 5 illustrated a simplified exploded view of a secular module according to another embodiment.

Examples of embodiments of the invention

According to one embodiment and with particular reference to figures 1 and 2 , the secular module 10 is arranged to cooperate with a mobile of the months 100 of a watch movement and is adapted to take into account the absence of leap years every hundred years. The secular module 10 can also be adapted to take into account leap years every 400 years according to an advantageous embodiment which will be described in a second step.

Indeed, we know that a leap year is a year which has 366 days instead of 365 with an extra day in the month of February. Years are generally leap years if they are multiples of four, however they are not if they are multiples of one hundred with the exception of years multiples of four hundred which are leap years. This is how the years 2020, 2024 and 2028 are leap years, the years 2000 and 2400 are also leap years, but not the years 1900, 2100, 2200 and 2300.

This kind of year exists to compensate for the time difference between the common calendar year of 365 days and the solar year which is the time required for the Earth to complete one revolution around the Sun, which is 365.242 days. A supernumerary day must therefore be added regularly so that the average length of the calendar years is as close as possible to the solar year by making a correction according to the aforementioned rule.

In order to take into account the absence of leap years every hundred years, the secular module 10 illustrated by the figures 1 and 2 comprises three mobiles 20, 30, 40 engaged directly or indirectly with the mobile of months 100 and two rockers 70, 80 each arranged to cooperate with at least one of these three mobiles in order to be able to operate, every four years at With the exception of every hundred years, a correction device which will be described later.

The month mobile 100 typically comprises a pinion 102 with twelve teeth, a jumper 108 engaged with the pinion 102 as well as a drive member 104 secured to the pinion 102 and comprising a finger 105. The pinion 102 is arranged to be driven by the watch movement in order to complete a 360° turn every twelve months, preferably in successive jumps of 30°. To do this, at the end of December typically, the pinion 102 produces, under the effect of the jumper 108, an almost instantaneous rotation. to the finger 105 in order to drive the first mobile 20 with a predetermined angular step almost instantly.

The first mobile 20 comprises a driving member 27, for example a wheel, on which are coaxially superimposed a so-called leap cam 25, a driven member 21 and preferably an indexing star 24. The driving wheel 27, the leap cam 25, the indexing star 24 and the driven member 21 are fixed together to form a unitary block. The driven member 21 is arranged to be rotated by the finger 105 of the month mobile 100 so that all the elements of the first mobile 20 can together rotate 360° every multiple of four years, in particular every eight years according to the preferred embodiment. The leap cam 25 therefore rotates 360° every eight years.

The second mobile 30 comprises a driven member 37, for example a wheel or a pinion, on which a so-called tens cam 35 and a drive member 31 comprising a finger 32 are superimposed coaxially. The driven wheel 37, the cam tens 35 and the drive member 31 are fixed together to form a unitary block, like the first mobile 20. The driven wheel 37 of the second mobile 30 is engaged with the driving wheel 27 of the first mobile 20 The gear ratio between these two wheels 27, 37 is in this example 8:10 so that all the elements of the second mobile 30 can together rotate 360° every ten years. The tens cam 35 therefore rotates 360° every ten years.

The third mobile 40 comprises a first rotating member 41 arranged to be driven by the finger 32 of the drive member 31 of the second mobile 30, a so-called hundreds cam 45 integral with the first rotating member 41 and a second rotating member 47 in taken with the driven wheel 37 of the second mobile 30. The first rotating member 41 is thus driven by the finger 32 of the drive member 31 of the second mobile 30 to rotate 360° every hundred years. The hundreds cam 45 therefore rotates 360° every hundred years. The gear ratio between the driven wheel 37 of the second mobile 30 and the second rotating member 47 is 1:1 so that the latter can also perform a 360° turn every ten years.

The month mobile 100 and the three mobiles 20, 30, 40 of the secular module 10 are therefore connected in series. Transmission between these different mobiles can be done in different ways. For example, according to the figure 1 , the driven member 21 of the first mobile 20 as well as the first and second rotating members 41, 47 of the third mobile 40 can be in the form of pinions. As illustrated, these pinions preferably have a particular set of teeth provided with several pairs of teeth 22, 42 distributed regularly around their circumference and spaced from each other to define clearances 23, 43 between the pairs of teeth.

More particularly, the pinion 21 of the first mobile 20 can for example comprise eight pairs of teeth 22 and clearances 23 arranged between the pairs of teeth 22. This singular toothing is obtained from a pinion of twenty-four teeth including one tooth out of three has been truncated. The drive member 104 of the month mobile 100 has a specific shape for driving the pinion 21. This drive member comprises a disc 106 with a circular edge over almost its entire circumference, a finger 105 whose free end projects from the circular edge of the disc 106 as well as a first and a second groove 107a, 107b arranged on either side of the finger 105. Each groove 107a, 107b extends along a direction parallel to the axis of rotation of the mobile of months 100 on the thickness of the disc 106.

Thus, at the end of each year, the finger 105 of the month mobile 100 is housed in the space formed by a pair of teeth 22 of the pinion 21 of the first mobile 20 while the first and second teeth of this pair of teeth are housed in turn respectively in the first groove 107a downstream of the finger 105 relative to its direction of rotation and in the second groove 107b arranged in upstream of the finger 105. Thus, after the passage of the finger 105, the pinion 21 continues temporarily to be driven under the action of the second groove 107b against the second tooth of the pair of teeth 22.

The indexing star 24 is arranged to cooperate with an indexing jumper 28. In the example illustrated, the star 24 has eight teeth, that is to say the number of teeth of the star 24 corresponds to the number of pairs of teeth 22 of the pinion 21. The function of the indexing star 24 will be described later.

Like the first mobile 20, the first and second rotating members 41, 47 of the third mobile 40 can both be in the form of pinions provided with ten pairs of teeth 42 spaced regularly over 360° to define clearances 43 arranged between the pairs of teeth 42. This toothing is obtained from a pinion of thirty teeth of which one tooth out of three has been truncated. Preferably, a first and a second jumper 53, 54 are arranged so that their respective heads 53a, 54a come against a bearing surface of a clearance 43 respectively of the first and second pinions 41, 47 in order to bring the two gears 41, 47 in an indexed angular position.

When the finger 105 of the drive member 104 of the month mobile 100 engages, typically at the end of December of each year, a pair of teeth 22 of the pinion 21 of the first mobile 20, the latter pivots from a certain angle. The indexing star 24 is therefore rotated under the action of the finger 105, which raises the indexing jumper 28 until the latter gives a jump to the first mobile 20 to bring it into an indexed angular position. The star and the indexing jumper serve two functions.

The first function consists of adding sufficient torque to the first mobile 20, which torque will be added to the torque exerted by the jumper 108 on the pinion 102 of the mobile of the months 100, so that this pinion 102 has sufficient torque to drive the jumpers 53 and 54 as well as the seesaws 70 and 80, and can thus jump one step. The second function consists of completing the rotation of the first mobile 20 so that it can make a jump of 45° at the end of each year. Each jump of the first mobile 20 makes it possible to actuate the third mobile 40, via the second mobile 30, so that the first pinion 41 and the second pinion 47 of the third mobile can make a jump of 36° at the end respectively of every ten years and every year. According to the preferred embodiment, this jump also ensures that the heads 53a, 54a of the two jumpers 53, 54 act correctly against a bearing surface of one of the clearances of the two pinions 41, 47 of the third mobile 40 , and not on a pair of teeth 42, in order to lock the third mobile 40 in an indexed position after each jump.

It should be noted that the indexing star 24 and the indexing jumper 28 are not essential to the proper functioning of the secular module. We could in fact reduce the rigidity of the jumper of the mobile of months 100 so that the torque transmitted to this mobile is sufficient to activate the jump and drive the first mobile 20 of the secular module 10.

Furthermore, the unique shape of the drive member 104 of the month mobile and of the pinion 21 of the first mobile 20 makes it possible to limit the angular movement of the pinion 21 during the current year between two passages of the finger 105. This is made possible by two pairs of adjacent teeth of the pinion 21 which are arranged so that one of the teeth of each pair abuts against the edge of the disc 106 in the case where the first mobile 20 were to move in one direction or the other following an impact for example.

Similarly, the first and second jumpers 53, 54 acting on the third mobile 40 are not essential to the proper functioning of the secular module, because the more or less stable angular position of the first and second pinions 41, 47 is ensured thanks to the singular shape of the drive member 31 of the second mobile 30 and that of the first and second pinions 41, 47 of the third mobile 40 according to the above-mentioned explanation for the driving of the first mobile 20.

The unique shapes of the drive members 104, 31 of the first and third mobiles 20, 40 and the respective pinions 21, 41 that they drive advantageously allow the reversibility of the secular module. By reversibility we mean the possibility of driving the first mobile 20 in one direction or the other by the month module 100 in order to allow easy correction of a display of the years which will be described later.

It is, however, important to note that the unique shape of the drive members 104, 31 and that of the respective pinions 21, 41 are not essential for the proper functioning of the centuries-old module. Continuously toothed pinions as well as fingers adapted to drive them could in fact be used with suitable jumpers to ensure the indexing of the mobiles and their reversibility.

Furthermore, the gear ratio between the driving wheel 27 of the first mobile 20 and the driven wheel 37 of the second mobile 30 as well as the shape of the pinion 21 of the first mobile could be different. For example, this gear ratio could be 12:10 and the pinion 21 could have twelve pairs of teeth, instead of eight, so that all the elements of the first mobile 20 can rotate together. of 360° every 12 years. In this case, the leap cam would have three recesses arranged at 120° to each other, because each recess represents a leap year on a four-year cycle.

In particular in view of the figures 3a and 3b , the secular module 10 further comprises a first rocker 70 and a second rocker 80. The first rocker 70 is in particular arranged to cooperate, on the one hand, with the leap cam 25 of the first mobile 20 and, on the other hand, with a correction device. As such, the first rocker 70 further comprises transmission means for actuating the correction device when this first rocker is brought to a certain position. The transmission means are in the form of a rake 74 in this example to engage with teeth of the correction device which will be described later.

The second rocker 80 is arranged to cooperate with the tens cam 35 of the second mobile 30 and with the hundreds cam 45 of the third mobile 40. The second rocker 80 is arranged so as to move the first rocker 70 as a function of the angular position of the tens cam 35 and that of the hundreds cam 45.

More particularly, the first rocker 70 comprises a feeler 72 and a rocker spring 78 arranged to force the feeler 72 to come into contact with the contour of the leap cam 25 of the first mobile 20. The profile of this cam includes in this example two diametrically opposite recesses 26a, 26b and two circular portions 26d, 26e. The second rocker 80 comprises a first feeler 81 and a second feeler 82. The first feeler 81 is arranged to feel the contour of the tens cam 35 of the second mobile 30. The profile of this cam includes in this example a recess 36 as well as a circular portion 36a which typically extends over more than 300°. The second probe 82 is arranged to feel the contour of the hundreds cam 45 of the third mobile 40. The profile of this cam includes in this example a recess 46 as well as a circular portion which, preferably, extends over more than 300°.

The second rocker 80 also comprises a rocker spring 86 intended to force the first and second feelers 81, 82 against the profile of the respective cams of the second and third mobiles 30, 40. This second rocker 80 also includes an actuating arm 83 a free end 84 of which is intended to act on an actuable part 76 of the first rocker 70.

The cumulative consideration of the angular positions of the tens cam 35 and the hundreds cam 45 makes it possible to determine whether the current year is a multiple of 100 years, in which case it is not a leap year. Given that the tens cam 35 makes a complete revolution every ten years while the hundreds cam 45 makes a complete revolution every hundred years, their respective recess 36, 46 are in the same angular position at each multiple of 100 years. In other words, by making one revolution every ten years, the tens cam 35 can be considered as an indicator of the units of the current year. Similarly, by making one revolution every hundred years, the hundreds cam 45 can be considered as an indicator of the tens of the current year. Thus, when the units and tens of the current year are equal to zero, which corresponds to a direction or a common angular position of the recesses 36, 46 of these cams relative to their axis of rotation, we find ourselves in a case where the current year corresponds to a multiple of one hundred.

The operation of the secular module 100 will be better understood by the description of the two operational sequences illustrated by the figures 3a to 3b .

According to figure 3a , the tens cam 35 and the hundreds cam 45 of the second and third mobiles 30, 40 are not in the same angular position. The current year is therefore not a multiple of 100 years. On the other hand, the angular position of the leap cam 25 indicates that the current year is a leap year. The first rocker 70 pivots, under the action of the rocker spring 78, so that its feeler 72 abuts against the bottom of the recess 26a. The pivoting of the first rocker 70 activates the rake 74, secured to one of its branches, so that this in turn activates the correction device in order to take into account the ^29th day of the month of February.

According to figure 3b , the tens cam 35 and the hundreds cam 45 are in the same angular position. The current year is therefore a multiple of 100 years. It is therefore not a leap year. However, the leap cam 25 is in an angular position where the recess 26a is opposite the feeler 72 of the first rocker 70. The second rocker 80 pivots, under the action of the rocker spring 86, when its first and second feelers 81, 82 abut against the bottoms of the recesses 36, 46 respectively of the tens cam 35 and the hundreds cam 45. The pivoting of the second rocker 80 allows the free end 84 of its actuating arm 83 to act on the actuable part 76 of the first rocker 70 in order to position its feeler 72 at a distance from the bottom of the recess 26a of the leap cam 25. This action may consist of preventing its feeler 72 from coming into abutment against the bottom of the recess 26a of the leap cam 25 or to raise this feeler 72 if it has come into abutment against the bottom of the recess or if it is tilting towards the bottom of this recess 26a. In the first scenario, the first rocker 70 cannot therefore move, which makes it possible to avoid activating the correction device to carry out a correction which does not need to be made.

The third mobile 40 can, according to an advantageous embodiment illustrated in the Figure 4 , support a display of the years 200. This comprises a ring of units 210 and a ring of tens 220 arranged concentrically outside the ring of units 210 and each comprising a succession of numbers from 0 to 9. According to figure 1 , the third mobile 40 further comprises an axis 50 secured to the second rotating member 47 and a barrel 44 arranged around the axis 50 and secured to the first rotating member 41.

The ring of the units 210 has in its center a fixing element 212 comprising a hub 213 fixed on the axis 50 of the second rotating member 47 ( figure 1 ), for example by driving, and several fixing arms 214 extending radially from the hub 213 and whose free ends are fixed on the lower face of the ring of units 210. The ring of tens 220 also includes in its between a hub (not visible) arranged under the hub 213 of the ring of the units and several fixing arms 222 extending radially from the hub and the free ends of which are fixed on the lower face of the ring of the tens 220. The hub of the tens ring 220 is fixed to the barrel 44 of the first rotating member 41 ( figure 1 ), for example by hunting.

According to another embodiment shown schematically in figure 5 , the secular module is adapted to not only take into account the absence of leap years every hundred years like the secular module 100 which has just been described but also the years divisible by 400 as leap years when well even they are also divisible by 100.

For this purpose, the secular module comprises three mobiles and two rockers identical or similar to the three mobiles 20, 30, 40 and the two rockers 70, 80 as described previously for the embodiment illustrated in figures 1 and 2 . A transmission member 51 comprising a finger 52 is mounted on the third mobile in order to be integral with the first rotating member 41 to be driven at a rate of one 360° revolution every hundred years. The centuries-old modular also includes a fourth mobile 60 and a third rocker 90 as illustrated in the figure 5 .

The fourth mobile 60 comprises a rotating member 62 arranged to be driven by the passage of the finger 51 of the third mobile. The rotating member can for example be in the form of a pinion 62 equipped with eight pairs of teeth, like the pinion 21 of the first mobile 20 of the figure 1 , so that pinion 63 can complete a 360° turn every 800 years. A so-called 400 64 cam is mounted integrally with pinion 62 so that this cam 64 can also complete a 360° turn every 800 years. The profile of this 400 cam has two diametrically opposed recesses 65a, 65b as well as two circular portions. The fourth mobile 60 could be presented in other forms, in particular with regard to the number of teeth or pairs of teeth of the pinion 62 and the number of recesses 65a, 65b that the cam 64 has. What is important is that is that the elements of the fourth mobile 60 can together rotate 360° every multiple of four hundred years.

The third rocker 90 comprises a feeler 92, a rocker spring (not shown) to force the feeler 92 to follow the profile of the cam of the 400, as well as an actuating arm 94. This has a free end 95 intended to act on an actuable part 85 of the second rocker 80 so that it does not act on the first rocker 70 when the feeler 92 of the third rocker 90 cooperates with one or the other of the two recesses 65a , 65b of the cam of 400 corresponding to a multiple of 400. The first rocker 70 can thus pivot, under the action of its rocker spring, and thus force its feeler 72 to come to the bottom of a recess 26c of the leap cam 25.

Note that the leap cam 25 comprises in this example three recesses 26a, 26b, 26c arranged at 120° relative to each other and that the driving wheel 27 of the first mobile and the driven wheel 37 of the second mobile have a ratio of gear of 12:10 so that the second mobile comprising the tens cam 35 can make a complete revolution every ten years when the first mobile makes a complete revolution every twelve years.

The secular module 10 according to one of the above-mentioned embodiments is intended to be incorporated into a perpetual calendar mechanism preferably equipped with a month cam (not illustrated) of thirty-six notches or less, unlike most calendars conventional perpetuals which are equipped with a month cam with forty-eight notches, commonly referred to as a 48 cam, in order to cover a four-year cycle including a leap year.

The thirty-six notches of the month cam extend toward the center of the cam and have three different depths. These notches are arranged successively respecting the length of the months ordered from January to December. The notches with the smallest depth correspond to 31-day months, the notches with the greatest depth correspond to 28-day months, and the intermediate notches correspond to 30-day months.

This months cam has the advantage of having a smaller footprint, compared to a 48 cam, while preserving notches of the same width. The cam therefore only represents a cycle of three consecutive years with three notches arranged at 120° to each other for correction at the end of February for non-leap years.

In order to further reduce the bulk of the month cam, it could only have, according to other execution variants, twenty-four notches, or even twelve notches while preserving, for example, notches of the same width as a 48 cam.

Whatever the number of notches provided for the month cam (12, 24, 36, or even 48 notches), the months of February of such a cam would be represented by notches having a representative depth of 28 days. The month cam therefore does not have any notch dedicated to the correction necessary for a month of February in a leap year.

In order to achieve this correction, the perpetual calendar mechanism includes a correction device intended to limit the depth of the notch for the month of February during a leap year so that the depth corresponds to a month of 29 days.

For this purpose, the correction device comprises a rotating member in the form of a disc mounted coaxially with the month cam, for example in the same plane as the latter. The disc has on its contour a circular portion, a radial slot and teeth. The rake 74 of the first rocker 70 of the secular module is engaged with the teeth of the disc so as to pivot the disc so that its radial slot is aligned with the notch for the month of February of the month cam during a year normal, and that on the contrary this radial slot is not aligned with the notch for the month of February during a leap year.

Reference list

• Secular Modular 10
  • First mobile 20
    • Driven member 21 (eg pinion)
      • Pair of teeth 22
      • Clearance 23
    • Index star 24
    • Leap cam 25
      • Recesses 26a, 26b; 26a, 26b, 26c
      • Circular portions 26d, 26e
    • Leading organ 27
  • Indexing jumper 28
    • Second mobile 30
      • Drive member 31
        • finger 32
        • Circular profile edge 33
        • Groove 34
      • Cam of tens 35
        • Recess 36
        • Circular profile 36a
      • Led organ 37
    • Third mobile 40
      • First rotating member 41 (eg pinion)
        • Pair of teeth 42
        • Clearance 43
        • Canon 44
      • Hundreds cam 45
        • Recess 46
        • Circular profile 46a
      • Second rotating member 47 (eg pinion)
        • Pair of teeth 48
        • Clearance 49
        • Axis 50
      • Drive member 51
        Finger 52
    • First and second saltires 53, 54
      Heads 53a, 54a
    • Fourth mobile 60 (eg pinion)
      • Rotating member 62
      • Cam of the 400 64
        Recess 65a, 65b
    • First rocker 70
      • Feeler 72
      • Rake 74
      • Actionable part 76
      • Blade spring 78
    • Second rocker 80
      • First probe 81
      • Second probe 82
      • Actuator arm 83
        Free end 84
      • Actionable part 85
      • Rocker spring 86
    • Third rocker 90
      • Feeler 92
      • Actuator arm 94
        Free end 95
      • Rocker spring 96
• Mobile of 100 months
  • Pinion of months 102
  • Drive member 104
    • Finger 105
    • Circular profile edge106
    • Grooves 107a, 107b
  • Necklace 108
• Display module 200
  • Ring of Units 210
    Fixing element 212
    • Hub 213
    • Fixing arm 214
  • Ring of tens 220
    Fixing arm 222

Claims (14)

Secular module (10) for a perpetual calendar mechanism of a watch movement, comprising: a first mobile (20) comprising a driving member (27), a so-called leap cam (25), and a driven member (21) arranged to be rotated by a drive member (104) of a month mobile (100) of the watch movement, the leap cam (25) and the driving member (27) being integral with the driven member (21), a second mobile (30) comprising a driven member (37) arranged to be rotated by the driving member (27) of the first mobile (20), a cam (35) called tens and a drive member (31 ), the tens cam (35) and the drive member (31) being integral with the driven member (37), a third mobile (40) comprising a rotating member (41) arranged to be driven by the drive member (31) of the second mobile (30), a so-called hundreds cam (45) integral with the rotating member (41 ), a first rocker (70) comprising a feeler (72) arranged to cooperate with the leap cam (25) of the first mobile (20) to bring the first rocker (70) respectively into a first position when the feeler (72) cooperates with a first portion of the leap cam (25) corresponding to a non-leap year and in a second position when the probe (72) cooperates with a second portion (26a, 26b, 26c) of the leap cam (25) corresponding to a year leap year in order to activate a correction device to take into account the ^29th day of February of a leap year, and a second rocker (80) comprising a first and a second feeler (81, 82) arranged to cooperate with respectively the tens cam (35) of the second mobile (30) and the hundreds cam (45) of the third mobile (40) , the second rocker (80) being arranged to act on the first rocker (70) in order to prevent its feeler (72) from cooperating with said second portion of the leap cam (25) when the first and second feelers (81, 82) of the second rocker (80) are located on a portion of the cam corresponding respectively to a multiple of ten years of the tens cam (35) and to a multiple of one hundred years of the hundreds cam (45). Secular module (10) according to claim 1, further comprising a finger (51) secured to the rotating member (41) of the third mobile (40), a fourth mobile (60) comprising a rotating member (62) arranged to be driven by the passage of the finger (51) of the third mobile (40), and a so-called 400 cam (64) secured to the rotating member (62) , And a third rocker (90) comprising a feeler (92) arranged to cooperate with the cam of 400 (64), the third rocker (90) being arranged to tilt the second rocker (80) so that it does not act on the first rocker (70) when the feeler (92) cooperates with a portion (65a, 65b) of the 400 cam (64) corresponding to a multiple of 400 years. Secular module (10) according to the preceding claim, in which the cam of 400 (64) has two diametrically opposed recesses (65a, 65b). Secular module (10) according to one of the preceding claims, in which the rotating member (41) of the third mobile (40) and the driven member (21) of the first mobile (20) are each in the form of a pinion comprising several pairs of teeth (42) distributed regularly around their circumference and spaced from each other to define clearances (23, 43). Secular module (10) according to the preceding claim, in which the drive member (31) of the second mobile (30) and the drive member (104) of the months mobile (100) each have a circular edge ( 33, 106), a finger (32, 105) whose free end projects from the circular edge (33, 106), and two grooves (34, 107a, 107b) arranged on either side and on the other side of the finger (32, 105), said grooves (34, 107a, 107b) being shaped to receive the teeth of the respective pinions (41, 21), and the fingers (32, 105) being shaped to come into contact with each other. taken within said pairs of teeth (22, 42). Secular module (10) according to the preceding claim, in which the adjacent teeth of two pairs of consecutive teeth (22, 42) are shaped to abut against the circular edge (33, 106) of the drive member (31, 104) associated with the pinion (41, 21) of said pairs of teeth, in order to limit the angular movement of said pinions (21, 41) after each passage of the finger (32, 105) of the drive member (31, 104 ). Secular module (10) according to one of claims 4 to 6, further comprising a jumper (53) arranged to come to bear against a support zone of one of the clearances (43) of the pinion (41) of the third movable (40) in order to bring the pinion (41) into an indexed angular position. Secular module (10) according to one of claims 4 to 7, in which the pairs of teeth of the pinions (21, 41) respectively of the first and third mobiles (20, 40) are obtained from a pinion of which one tooth out of three has been truncated. Secular module (10) according to one of claims 4 to 8, in which the first mobile (20) is arranged to be driven by the finger (105) of the month mobile (100) at the rate of one revolution every multiple of four years, preferably one revolution every eight or twelve years, the second mobile (30) is arranged to be driven by the driving member (27) of the first mobile (20) at the rate of one revolution every ten years, and the rotating member (41) of the third mobile (40) is arranged to be driven by the finger (32) of the second mobile (30) at the rate of one revolution every hundred years. Secular module (10) according to one of the preceding claims, in which the leap cam (25) of the first mobile (20) comprises two diametrically opposed recesses (26a, 26b) or three recesses (26a, 26b, 26c) separated from each other relative to the others by 120°, and the tens (35) and hundreds (45) cams each have a unique recess (36, 46) Secular module (10) according to one of the preceding claims, further comprising an indexing star (24) secured to the first mobile (20), and an indexing jumper (28) cooperating with the indexing star ( 24) in order to bring the first mobile (20) into an indexed position after each passage of the finger (105) of the month mobile (100). Secular module (10) according to one of the preceding claims, in which the first rocker (60) further comprises a rake (74) arranged to engage with teeth of the correction device. Display module (200) for displaying the years, comprising the secular module (10) according to one of the preceding claims, in which the third mobile (40) further comprises a second rotating member (47) arranged to be driven by the driven member (37) of the second mobile (30) at the rate of one revolution every ten years, an axis (50) secured to the second rotating member (47) and a barrel (44) arranged around the axis (50) and integral with the first rotating member (41), the display module (200) further comprising a units ring (210) mounted integrally with said axis (50) and a tens ring (220) arranged so concentric outside the ring of units (210) and integral with said barrel (44). Timepiece comprising the secular module (10) according to one of claims 1 to 12 or the display module (200) according to claim 13.

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