JPS5928276B2 - Electronic clock hammer mechanism - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an electronic timepiece, and more particularly to a rear hand mechanism of an electronic timepiece equipped with a converter such as a step motor type.

In highly accurate electronic watches such as quartz watches, high accuracy can be maintained by simply making second-level corrections every few days or weeks.

As a means of correcting the seconds, it is possible to stop the second hand and set it to the correct seconds by headless operation, but it takes time to correct, and it is very troublesome to correct the "lag" state, and it is difficult to adjust the time signal on the radio etc. A convenient method is to set the second hand to the correct second by pressing the button or other one-touch operation.

In this case, it is mechanically simple and cost-effective to use a mechanism that forcibly rotates the second hand wheel using a rear hand cam fixed to a part of the wheel train by operating an external operating member to mechanically set the rear hand. This is the lowest and easiest method to implement.

By the way, when correcting the pointer of a crystal watch equipped with a step motor type converter, it is necessary to stop part of the rotor or gear train and use the slip of the cylinder pinion to prevent the second hand from wandering or rotating. It is common to adjust the pointers such as the minute hand and hour hand.

Therefore, if you try to return the second hand to zero while the pointer is being corrected, the rear hand cam will be forcibly rotated against the stopping torque.
This may cause problems such as damage to the stopped rotor or gear train, poor fixing force of the rear needle cam, and damage to the rear needle mechanism.

The present invention prevents the above-mentioned trouble by engaging a stopping mechanism that stops the motor or wheel train and a rear hand mechanism that returns the hand when an attempt is made to return the second hand while the pointer is being corrected, and also prevents the second hand from returning. By giving priority to resetting the time over resetting the time when the watch is stopped, a drive pulse in a certain direction is always generated when the rear hand is turned.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 2 to 4 are sectional views thereof.

In conjunction with the neck pulling of the winding stem 1, the mandarin duck 2 moves to the mandarin shaft 2a.
Rotate around.

The mandarin duck 2 is in a normal operating state, with the mandarin dowel 2b engaging with the chevron portion 3a of the back pusher 3 according to the neck pulling position of the winding stem 1.
Positioned in quick correction state and pointer correction state.

Figure 1 shows the normal operating condition with the winding stem 1 pushed in.
At the position where the winding stem 1 is pulled out one step, the springy arm 3b of the back pusher 3 moves to the position 2c', releases the restraint of the mandrel pin 2c, moves to the right, and the Tsuzumi wheel 4 is in the neutral position. Move the button to quickly adjust the calendar.

When the winding stem 1 is pulled out further, the arm 3b of the back pusher is 2C! ′
Pushed by the oscilloscope pin 2c that has moved to the position, the Tsuzumi wheel moves further to the left than the neutral position and enters the pointer correction state.

At this time, the engaging part 5e of the oscilloscope pin 2c (l!:) of the stop lever 5 is released from the restraint from the pin as the oscilloscope pin 2c moves to the left from the 2c' position, and the spring part 5a
Due to the restoring force, it rotates to the left about the shaft 5b, and the stop portion 5c presses the tooth surface 6a of the fourth wheel 6, fixing the wheel train.

In this way, directly stopping the fourth gear as a means of preventing rotation of the gear train including the second hand wheel and fluctuation of the second hand against the cylinder pinion torque when correcting the pointer is effective against the fifth wheel, fifth wheel, etc. In addition to requiring a weaker brake torque than when stopping a vehicle, a reliable stopping mechanism can be realized with a simple mechanism without the need for a special brake plate or the like.

As shown in FIG. 2, the stop portion 5c of the stop lever 5 stands up almost perpendicularly from the main surface to align the height of the fourth gear 6a, and also provides a sufficient stop portion to compensate for variations in height. is forming.

In addition, the stop lever 5 is directly engaged with the pin 2c of the mandarin duck 2, which causes the arm 3b of the back pusher 3, which engages with the pin 2c of the same mandarin duck 2 and controls the tsuzumi wheel 4, to be Accuracy is increased.

This is very important; when the winding stem is pulled out and the needles are aligned, the stopper wheel 4 moves to the left and engages with the small iron wheel 16, but at this time, the tips of the teeth of the stopper wheel 4 touch the small iron wheel 16. car 16
This causes the small iron wheel to rotate as it engages while pushing away the tips of the teeth.

Therefore, this rotation is transmitted to the wheel train, and when the winding stem 1 is pulled out to align the hands, the finger (seconds) hand will rotate.

Conversely, when pushing in the winding stem 1 after adjusting the hands, if the needle wheel 4 and the small iron wheel 16 become disengaged, the small iron wheel 16 will be rotated, which will disturb the adjusted pointer.

Therefore, when pulling out the winding stem 1, the wheel train is stopped before the tension wheel 4 and the small iron wheel 16 engage, and when the winding stem 1 is pushed in after needle alignment, the tension wheel 4 and the small iron wheel 16 are engaged. It is necessary to stop the gear train until it comes off.

Therefore, is it reliable within the limited winding stem stroke? To make this work? High relative precision is required between the stopper wheel 4 and the stop lever 5.

The shape of the stop lever 5 is also designed so that a slight movement of the winding stem 1 can reliably discriminate between stopping and canceling the stop.

That is, the force to become the braking force is stored in the front spring portion 5a through initial deflection, and when the mandarin duck 2 is in the normal operating state and the quick correction state, the pin 2c is at the 2c and 20' positions, respectively. , and is engaged with the engaging portion 5e, so a certain gap is maintained between the stop portion 5c and the fourth gear 6a, and when the mandarin duck 2 is slightly rotated clockwise from the quick correction position, In other words, when the pin 2c moves slightly in the direction 2C'' from the position 2c', the engaging part 5e of the stop lever 5 is released from the restraint of the pin 2c, rotates counterclockwise by the restoring force of the spring part 5a, and moves to the stop part. 5c holds down the fourth gear 6a.

The pressing force is due to the initial deflection of the spring portion 5a, and a stable and reliable braking force can be obtained regardless of the accuracy or positional relationship of other parts.

On the other hand, the other contact part 5d of the stop lever 5, which has a weaker spring property, contacts the circuit board 7 with elements such as the IC 23 and the trimmer capacitor 24, just before the stop part 5c contacts the tooth surface 6a of the fourth wheel. It contacts the fixed reset contact pin 7a and resets the circuit that controls the drive of the motor.

This means that the drive pulse of the motor can be canted off during needle alignment, and when the winding stem 1 is pushed in again after needle alignment, it will be accurate to 1.
This is to reset the frequency division stage of the circuit so that the motor drive pulse will be generated after a few seconds.

As shown in FIG. 4, the contact portion 5d of the stop lever 5 is disposed cross-sectionally between the circuit board 7 and the support plate 8a of the yoke 8, and is in contact with the upper surface of the middle support 17 to which the reset lever 5 is fixed. The upper surfaces of the yoke support plates 8a are at approximately the same height.

The reset contact pin 7a forms a straight portion between the lower surface of the circuit board 7 and the upper surface of the yoke support plate 8a, and is connected to the stop lever 5 whose height is regulated by the lower surface of the circuit board 7 and the upper surface of the yoke support plate 8a. Consideration has been taken to ensure that switching can be performed reliably even if the position of the contact portion 5d in the height direction varies due to warping or the like.

For this reason, the tip of the reset contact pin 7a protrudes into the hole 8b provided in the yoke 8 and the yoke support plate 8a, and the tip is sharp, so that the reset contact pin 7a is reset when the circuit board 7 is assembled after the stop lever 5 is assembled. The contact pin 7a is designed to prevent the lever from being deformed by stepping on it.

The yoke 8 made of soft iron and the yoke support plate 8a made of non-magnetic material such as SUS are integrated by welding, caulking, etc. using punched holes 8b as positioning holes. Even if the left and right sides are cut by providing a slit 8c in the yoke 8, the left and right sides are connected by the yoke support plate 8a, so that the precision of the yoke 8 when it was first pressed can be maintained.

The reason why the yoke support plate 8a is placed above the yoke 8 is to prevent magnetic leakage caused by the lever even if the lever placed above it is made of magnetic material, preventing the yoke 8 from forming a normal magnetic circuit. This was done so that it would not be hindered.

Furthermore, directly arranging a movable bar on the yoke 8, which has a slit 8c and is restricted in shape, also imposes restrictions on the shape of the lever and the range of motion of the lever.

Further, the upper surface of the intermediate receiver 17 to which the stop lever 5 and the rear needle lever 9 (described later) are fixed is approximately at the same height as the upper surface of the yoke support plate 8a, so that each lever moving on the yoke support plate 8a is warped. You can exercise smoothly without any movement or tilt.

The rear needle mechanism is composed of a rear needle lever 9 and a rear needle transmission lever 10.

The retaining part 10a with the bush button is the bush button 11
It is pressed by and rotates to the right around axis 'IOb.

The engaging portion 10a has some elasticity, so that when an impact load is applied to the bushing button 11, the impact force can be alleviated by the elasticity of this portion.

The restoring force of the rear needle lever 10 is given by the spring portion 10c, and the restoring force of the rear needle lever 9 and the button 11 is also provided by this spring portion.In order to obtain a sufficient spring length, the circuit board T
It is arranged almost along the outer periphery of the watch base plate 13 so as not to overlap in plane with the thin crystal resonator 12 fixed to the watch base plate 13 .

The spring portion 10f, which is provided approximately parallel to the direction of the bushing button 11, has a slope portion 10ff that is approximately perpendicular to the spring portion with a clearance angle at the tip of the spring portion, and when the bushing button 11 is slightly pressed, the slope portion 10ff hits the pin 13a provided on the watch board 13 and shows strong resistance, and when the button 11 is pushed further, the spring part 10f bends and the pin 13a comes off from the slope part 10ff, causing almost no resistance. It is designed so that the button 11 can be pressed all the way.

This works as a safety device to prevent the rear needle from being moved even if the button 11 is accidentally touched, and also serves as a safety device to prevent the button 11 from being pressed down halfway through the rear stitch and stopping. It's empowering.

The rear needle lever 9 engages with the notch 10e of the rear needle lever 10 with a pin 9a, rotates to the left about the shaft 9b, and adjusts the regulating portion 9c.
The heart cam 6b fixed to the fourth axle 6c is rotated to perform the rear stitching.

At this time, the fourth wheel & pinion 6, the fifth wheel & pinion 14, and the rotor 15 are also rotated at the same time.

When using a two-pole reversing pulse motor, the rotor 15
There are two statically stable positions, and it is necessary to align these directions and the relative position of the heart cam 6b of the fourth wheel & pinion 6 in advance.

For this reason, as shown in FIG. 2, the fifth wheel 14 is provided with a slip mechanism 14a, and the pulse motor 15 is made of plastic or metal such as Bs to protect the rotor magnet 15a, which is made of a fragile magnet. A mark 15bb such as a protrusion or notch is provided on a part of the seat 15b, and the mark 15b
The rotor magnet 15a is magnetized in accordance with the direction b.

Therefore, align this mark 15bb with the mark 8d on the yoke support plate 8a and use tweezers etc. to attach the rotor magnet 1.
5a is fixed so that it does not rotate, the button is pressed to activate the rear needle mechanism and rotate the heart cam 6b, whereby the slip mechanism 14a of the fifth wheel 14 operates to adjust the relative position of the rotor magnet 15a and the heart cam 6b. Can be matched.

The slip mechanism 14a of the fifth wheel 14 requires a slip torque of at least 109 cm to prevent it from slipping due to shocks while carrying. This may cause deformation or damage to the button engaging portion 10a of the needle lever, the pin 9a of the rear needle lever 9, etc.

For this purpose, an arm 9d is provided on the rear needle lever 9, and the heart cam 6b is rotated by directly operating the arm 9d of the rear needle lever with tweezers or fingers without using the button.
5a.

In addition to the embodiment in which the slip mechanism 14a is provided on the fifth wheel & pinion 14 as described above, a means for adjusting the phase between the rotor magnet 15a and the heart cam 6b fixed to the second hand shaft 6c may be provided. Therefore, for example, a method can be considered in which a suitable fitting force is applied between the rotor seat 15b and the rotor shaft 15c, and the phase is adjusted by slipping at this portion.

If plastic is used for the rotor seat 15b, relatively stable fitting force can be obtained. and slip mechanism 14a
In addition, the number of parts can be reduced and the number of parts can be reduced.

As shown in FIG. 5, the bridge 22 of the rotor 15 is connected to the train
A method of supporting only the shaft of the rotor 15 separately from the rotor 15 is also effective as a phase adjustment means for the rotor magnet 15a and the heart cam 6b, and has other ripple effects as well.

That is, after assembling all other gear trains such as the third wheel & pinion 20, fourth wheel & pinion 6, and fifth wheel & pinion 14, operate the rear needle mechanism and adjust the heart cam while adjusting the mark 15bba on the rotor seat and the mark 8d on the yoke support plate. By assembling the rotor 15 last, the rotor magnet 15a and the heart cam 6b can be assembled with their phases aligned.

When a slip mechanism is provided, it is very difficult to balance the slip torque that facilitates phase alignment with the slip torque that does not cause phase shift during carrying, but with this method, a slip mechanism is provided in the middle. Therefore, even if the rear needle mechanism receives an impact, there is no risk of phase shift.

Further, by using a separate support 22 for the rotor 15, which is unstable due to the action of magnetic force, from the rest of the wheel train, the workability of assembling the wheel train is greatly improved, and automatic assembly of the wheel train can be easily realized.

Furthermore, even when the movement is complete, only the rotor 15 can be removed, making it extremely easy to remove chips and dust that adhere to the rotor magnets, and to replace defective rotors 15, which has great practical effects.

Even when the fifth wheel 14 is separately mounted, the phasing is the same as in the case of the rotor.

If the space for the foot tube or the like is limited by separating the bridge, a hole seat may be provided in the train wheel bridge.

A rear needle reset spring 10d made by bending a thin plate is fixed to the rear needle lever 10 and moves together with the rear needle lever 10, and a rear needle reset contact is provided on the circuit board 7 in the same manner as the reset contact pin 7a. Contact pin 7b to reset the circuit that controls the drive of the motor.

The reason why the rear needle reset spring 10d is made separate from the rear needle lever 10 is to obtain an extremely weak spring force within a limited plane space by bending a thin plate and using the thickness direction as a spring. It is possible to make a reliable contact point with sufficient deflection at the part, and to minimize the pushing force of the bushing button 11 due to the reaction force of the spring.

To reset the rear hand, the rotor 15 is rotated together with the fourth wheel & pinion 6 to reset the rear hand, so even if the phase of the rotor 15 driven by the reversal pulse returns to zero at an odd number of seconds, it will be the same as when it returns to zero at an even number of seconds. Similarly, the drive pulse on the even-numbered second side must be generated one second after the contact reaches 0FFL after releasing the press button.

Now, in a crystal watch that has both a stop mechanism for stopping the motor or wheel train when adjusting the pointer, and a rear hand mechanism, there is no problem if each mechanism is operated independently, but If the mechanisms are operated at the same time or by mistake, the heart cam 6b will be forcibly rotated with the rear needle lever 9 while the stop portion 5c of the stop lever 5 is holding down the gear 6a of the fourth wheel 6. By crushing the tooth tips of the gear 6a and breaking the tooth shape, the heart cam 6b and the fourth axle 6
There is a risk of problems such as loosening of the fixing force with c, and damage to the rear needle lever and rear needle transmission lever.

Since it is forced to rotate while the brake is applied, the pressing force on the button for the rear needle is also excessive.

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment in which the rear needle cannot be moved during the stop operation, and a stopper part 5f, which is a first retaining part, is provided in the part of the stop lever 5 that interlocks with the stop part 5c, so that the needle can be adjusted in the pointer correction state. When the stopper part 5f moves to the lower imaginary line position and presses the button 11, it does not engage with the protrusion 9e, which is the second retaining part provided on the part of the rear needle lever 9 that interlocks with the regulating part 9c. This prevents the rear needle lever 9 from rotating.

Therefore, in the pointer correction state, even if an attempt is made to press the button by mistake, the button cannot be pressed, thereby preventing the above-mentioned trouble from occurring.

While the needle is being corrected, it is not possible to move the needle backwards, but in practical terms this does not pose a particular problem or cause any inconvenience.

FIG. 5 shows the main parts of a second embodiment of the present invention, and other parts not shown are the same mechanism as in FIG. 1.

This embodiment is intended to enable the rear hand to be moved even when the hands are being corrected without causing the various troubles described above.

A slope portion 5g and a circular arc portion 5h are provided in place of the stopper portion 5f of the stop lever 5 in the first embodiment, so that when the stop portion 5c of the stop lever 5 is braking the fourth gear 6a in the pointer correction state, a bump occurs. When the stop button 11 is pressed to perform the second stitch, the second needle lever 9 rotates to the left, and before the tip of the regulating portion 9c contacts the tip of the heart cam 6b, the protruding portion 9e pushes up the slope portion 5g of the stop lever 5. The brake of the fourth wheel & pinion 6 is released, and the protrusion 9e slides on the arcuate part 5h of the stop lever 5 to continue releasing the brake until the rear needle lever 9 rotates to return the heart cam 6b to zero.

According to this embodiment, even when the pointer is being corrected, it is possible to realize the rear hand without increasing the pressing force of the button and without causing various troubles. will also increase.

Next, according to this embodiment, the reset R1-R1 when the pointer is corrected and the reset R2 when the back hand is turned on are turned on at the same time or alternately, but the reset when the back hand is being prioritized and the reset R2 is turned on during the pointer correction. However, the configuration is such that the drive pulse always starts from a certain direction when the second stitch is performed.

FIG. 6 shows a block configuration diagram of the circuit used in this embodiment, in which a 32,768 KHz signal generated by the oscillation section 25 including a crystal resonator is divided down to IHz by FF1 to FF15. , 1 in the FF 15 via the waveform shaping section 26
It consists of a basic circuit that divides the frequency into /2Hz and sends an alternating drive current to the motor 28 every second from the drive section 21.

The reset R1 when correcting the pointer resets the frequency division stages of FFI to FFI 5, but FF16 is not reset, so it maintains the state before the pointer correction, so push the winding stem after completing the pointer correction. One second later, the drive section 27 generates a signal in the opposite direction to the direction that was output before the pointer correction.

Reset R2 at the time of rear needle is FF16 along with FFI~15
The drive unit 2 is reset after 1 second after the second hand is reset.
Regardless of the direction of the pulses that are output before moving the needle after 7, the drive pulses always flow to the motor 28 in a fixed direction.

As described above, according to the present invention, in an electronic timepiece having a stop mechanism and a rear hand mechanism during pointer correction, each retaining part of the stop mechanism and the rear hand mechanism is By configuring them to engage with each other, it is possible to prevent troubles such as damage to the internal mechanism of the watch.In particular, in the second embodiment, the rear hand can be set even when the pointer is being corrected, and furthermore, the reset at the time of the rear hand is prioritized. As a result, drive pulses are always applied to the motor from a fixed direction even when the rear hand is moved during pointer correction, making it possible to provide a convenient and highly practical electronic timepiece.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a first embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 2 to 4 are partial sectional views thereof. FIG. 5 is a plan view of main parts showing a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a circuit block diagram used in the present invention. 1... winding stem, 2... mandarin duck, 3...
... Back pusher, 5... Stop lever, 6...
... Fourth wheel, 9... Rear needle lever, 10...
... Rear needle lever, 11 ... Button button, 14 ... Fifth wheel, 15 ... Rotor.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In an electronic watch that has a stop mechanism for stopping a part of the rotor or wheel train when correcting the pointer, and a rear hand mechanism for returning the pointer using an external operating member, the part that interlocks with the stop part of the stop mechanism a first retaining portion is provided, and a second retaining portion is provided in a portion interlocking with the regulating portion of the rear needle mechanism;
When the stop mechanism operates the rear needle mechanism during the stopping operation, the first retaining part and the second engaging part engage with each other, so that the stop mechanism and the rear needle mechanism are separated. The stop mechanism and the rear needle mechanism each have a reset function, and when the rear needle mechanism is activated, a reset signal is sent to a frequency dividing stage at an upper level of the frequency divider. to the last dividing stage, and when the stop mechanism is activated, the reset signal resets the upper dividing stage of the frequency divider to the dividing stage one before the last dividing stage. The rear hand mechanism of an electronic watch is characterized by giving priority to resetting the rear hand rather than when the hand stops.