US2619791A - Automatic winding timepiece - Google Patents

Description

Man Myuen/h Umvmfiam- 1952 M. HUGUENIN AUTOMATIC WINDING TIMEPIECE Filed April 15, 1949 Patented Dec. 2, 1952 AUTOMATIC WINDING TIMEPIECE Marc Huguenin, Geneva, Switzerland, assignor to Montres Rolex S. A. (Rolex Watch Co. Ltd.) a corporation of Switzerland Application April 13, 1949, Serial No. 87,295 In Switzerland April 26, 1948 1 Claim.

This invention relates to improvements in time-pieces (watches, clocks, etc.) and more particularly to improvements in time-pieces automatically wound by an oscillating mass, with seconds at the center.

As a feature of this invention, the winding mass is rotatably mounted on a support for the upper bearing of the shaft of seconds at the center, said support being attached to a bridge of the framework.

In time-pieces object of this invention, the upper pivot-movement of the shaft of the seconds in the center, at the exclusion of any other pivotmovement, is effected in a support permanently attached to the bridge serving ordinarily as bearing for the upper pivot of the minute-wheel, said support being used as rotation-axis for the oscillating mass which winds the time-piece.

The construction of a watch with the secondhand at the center and with automatic winding, in which the winding mass pivots about the center of the movement, exhibits difficulties resulting from the peculiar and specific relative position of three superimposed and coaxial parts: The minute-wheel; the wheel of the seconds at the center; and the support serving as axis of rotation to the winding mass.

As the total height of the movement is fixed, the three parts above referred to must be so disposed that the quality and life of the watch are not impaired. Considering that the weight and radius of gyration of the winding mass must be as great as possible, the length of its adjustment on the central support should properly be sufiicient to avoid that the inevitable wear exceeds acceptable and. inconsequential limits.

Since the three parts above-named are superimposed, it is important that they should fit within each other as far as practically possible, in order to reduce their combined height to the minimum.

The pinion of second at the center is located on a plane intermediate the minute-wheel and the support forming the pivoting axis of the winding mass. Its lower shaft or arbor engages the shaft or arbor of the minute-wheel in a known manner. According to the conditions set forth for the inter-pen tration of these parts according to a feature of the invention, the upper pivot of said pinion of seconds is inserted within the said support for the winding mass.

The foregoing and other features of this invention will appear from the following detailed description and from the accompanying drawings, which refer, by way of illustration but not of limitation, to two of its embodiments.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 shows a cross-sectional view through the center of a time-piece built according to the principle of the invention.

Figure 2 shows a similar cross-sectional view of an alternative embodiment of this invention.

In these figures, however, certain pinions and other parts are shown as front views.

Referring to Figure l, the pillar plate of the time-piece is numbered I and the finishing plate or bridge 2. An intermediate plate 3 serves for the pivoting of sleeve 4 of the minute-pinion 5. The latter meshes with the teeth of the barrel I. The barrel is set in motion by means of the spiral spring contained therein. A shaft 8 carrying a second-hand at the center 9 and the pinion for the seconds (also known as fourth pinion) Ill passes through sleeve The pinion of seconds is meshes with the wheel I I, also known as third wheel, which transmits the movement from the minute-wheel S3 to said pinion of seconds through its coaxial pinion, not shown, known as third pinion.

Sleeve 4 carries at its lower end (on Figure 1) a hearing it. which receives the lower pivot 8a of shaft 8. The second-hand 9 is fitted onto said pivot 8a. The minute wheel it! passes under barrel I.

An opening I4 is provided in finishing plate 2. A support for the oscillating mass IT is attached to the finishing plate 2, concentric with opening I4. Said support comprises a cylindrical tubular part I5a terminating by a base flange IE1) at tached under plate 2 by means of three screws I5 disposed at angles from each other. The oscillating mass I! is joined to a sleeve IIa, rotatably adjusted around the cylindrical part I5a of the support. Sleeve Ila goes through opening I4, so that its length is sufficient to insure an accurate and lasting adjustment for the oscillating mass, which is relatively heavy.

The support I5a is provided with a recess I8, coaxial therewith, which receives a bearing IS in which the upper pivot 8b of shaft 8 is adjusted.

The features of this invention permit mounting a second-hand concentrically to an oscillating winding mass, without materially increasing the height of the movement, or decreasing the length of adjustment of the said mass.

The barrel-bridge could be substituted functionally and operatively for bridge or plate 2.

In the alternative embodiment shown in Figure 2, the support for the winding mass is numbered 20, the finishing plate 2I, its opening 22 and the pinion of seconds 23. The flanged base 20a. of the support 20 is attached to the top surface of the finishing plate 2| and the pinion of seconds 23 is located in part in the thickness of plate 2|, within opening 22. The minute wheel 24 passes over the barrel 25. Otherwise the principle of the movement, its parts and operation remain as described in connection with Fi ure 1. Especially the bearing guiding the upper pivot of the pinion of seconds is located in a recess at the lower part of and coaxial with the support 20 for the winding mass. 10

I claim:

In an automatic winding time-piece having the second hand at its center, in combination, a winding mass, a bridge-plate provided with an opening, a flanged support comprising a cylin- 15 drical tubular member passing through said opening and a flanged base attached to said bridge-plate on the lower face thereof, a sleeve joined and coaxial with said winding mass and rotatably mounted onto said cylindrical tubular 20 member and passing through said opening too, a shaft of seconds at said center and coaxial with said cylindrical tubular member, and a bearing for said shaft inserted in and coaxial with said cylindrical tubular member, said bearing being situated at least partly Within said sleeve of the mass.

MARC I-IUGUENIN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,098,737 Bornfriend Nov. 9, 1937 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 170,501 Switzerland Oct. 16, 1934

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