US2707371A - Watch with both a selfwinding and a manually winding mechanism - Google Patents

Description

May 3, 1955 H. KocHER 2,707,371

WATCH WITH BOTH A SELFWINDING AND A MANUALLY WNDING MECHANISM Flled Nov. 4, 1953 s sheets-sheer 1 fig. Z

May 3, 1955 H KOCHER 2,707,371

WATCH WITH BTH A SELFWINDING AND A MANUALLY WINDING MECHANISM Filed Nov. 4, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 MM e,

May 3, 1955 H. KOCHER 2,707,371 WATCH WITH BOTH A SELFWINDING AND A MANUALLY WINDING MECHANISM Filed NOV. 4, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 YNVUXOY: Hans Kocher en e tates Hans Kocher, Euren, Switzerland,

Watch Company S. A., Buren, a.

assigner to Bren A., Switzeriand Application November 1i, 1953, Seriai No. 399,134

Claims priority, application Switzerland November 6, 1952 s entras. (ci. .es-azi This invention relates to selfwino'ing watches with a manually winding mechanism, in particular to watches in which the ratchet wheel is driven by two independent trains of gear-wheels forming part each of one of said windin g mechanisms.

In watches of this type a first device is provided for unclutching at least a part of the organs of the seltwinding mechanism, when the watch is wound up manually, and a second device is provided for unclutching at least a part of the manually winding means, when the watch is wound up by the selfwinding mechanism. In watches provided with a seltwinding mechanism comprising pawls and ratchets, unclutching of the selfwinding mechanism is ensured by these pawls. With a watch comprising a selfwinding mechanism composed only of gear-wheels, Swiss Patent 247,760 shows a free-wheel mechanism inserted in the train of gear-wheels which forms part of the selfwinding mechanism. Such a free-wheel renders, however, the construction of the watch more dicult and therefore more expensive.

On the other hand, the device which unclutches the manually winding mechanism, is commonly constituted by the yoke spring which shifts the clutch-wheel. With these watches, the seltwinding mechanism thus drives not only the ratchet of the barrel but also the crown wheel, the winding pinion mounted around the winding stem, the Breguet toothing of this latter pinion thereby moving the clutch wheel to and fro along the square portion of the winding stem, against the action or the yoke spring, when the watch is wound up by the selfwnding mechanism. The friction of these organs (crown wheel, winding pinion, clutch-wheel, yoke) as well as the action of the yoke spring uselcssly overburden the selfwinding mechanism and cause a material decrease of its efficiency.

The Swiss Patent No. 267,734 shows the crown wheel pivoted on an independent roel-:er which swings around an axle xed with respect to the watch movement. The spring-loaded detent which usually acts on the ratchet wheel, cooperates here with the crown wheel and is arranged to urge the crown wheel and its rocker in such a direction as to keep this wheel in meshing relation with the ratchet. in this construction the selfwinding mechanism, if operating, is still overburdened by the spring of the detent against the action of which it must throw the crown wheel with its rocker out of gear with the ratchet wheel of the barrel.

The Swiss Patent No. 274,012 has provided still another construction in which a gear permanently meshes with the ratchet and a companion pinion permanently meshes with the crown wheel, this companion pinion being mounted on a rocker rotatably mounted coaxially to the crown wheel. A spring urges this rocker in such a direction that the companion pinion is disconnected from the gear which is in meshing relation with the ratchet wheel and keeps this companion pinion usually in this position, the crown being thus unclutched from the ratchet wheel. While winding such a watch manually the rocker swings in such a direction that the comatent O being so arranged that the selfwinding ICC 2 panion pinion engages said gear. This swinging movement of the rocker is ensured by a jumper. Unclutching of the manually winding mechanism is here quite satisfactory, but this construction requires manufacturing several additional elements.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a watch with both a selfwinding and a manually winding mechanism, in which the unclutching devices of these mechanisms are easy to be manufactured, these devices mechanism is not overburdened in any useless Way.

It is also an object of the invention to provide each train of gear-wheels constituting both winding mechanisnis with a wig-Wag pinion the axle of which is guided within two slots provided in the frame of the watch movement, concentrically to the pinion which drives said wigwag piuions, each train being in clutched position when the axle of its wig-Wag pinion lies in an extreme position within its guiding slot, and in unclutched position, when the wig-Wag pinion is removed from said extreme position, said wig-Wag pinions with their slots being provideoI in such a way that the ratchet wheel thrusts the wig-Wag pinion of one train into unclutched position, when the ratchet is driven by the other train.

ln the drawings aihxed to this specification and forming part thereof, one embodiment of the invention is represented diagrammatically and by way of example.

ln the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a partial plan view oi the watch with the selfwinding mechanism in. clutched position and the manually winding mechanism in unclutched position;

Fig. 2 is a cross-section along line lil of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view analogous to that of Fig. l but showing other details than those represented in Fig. 1, and the manually winding mechanism being in clutched position;

Fig. 4 is a cross-section along line 1V-lV of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a part sectional view along line V-V of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a plan view of a part f frame removed from the watch and to Figs. 1 and 3, and

Fig. 7 shows the remaining part of the watch movement when the unit shown in Fig. 6 has been taken away.

Only those details or" the watch are represented which are necessary for the comprehension of the invention.

eferring first to Figs. 1, 2 and 7, the numeral 1 designates the base-plate of the watch movement onto which the barrel bridge 2 is xed. A circular countersink 3 (Pius. 2 and 7) is provided in the lower surface of bridge 2, in order to locate therein the barrel 4 the arbor 5 of which is pivoted in the base-plate 1 and the bridge 2. A ratchet wheel 6 is carried by arbor 5 and it is angularly secured thereto by means of a square portion 7 provided on the arbor. A further circular countersink 8 (Figs. 2 and 7) is provided in the upper surface of bridge 2 in order to locate therein the crown wheel 9 which is axially held in place by the usual flat-headed screw 10. This wheel 9 freely rotates around a ring 11 of an appropriate metal, which is set with snug tit around a tubular projection 12 of bridge 2.

Three further circular and staggered countersinks 31 are still provided in the upper surface of bridge 2, in order to locate therein some elements of the winding mechanism of the watch, which are described hereinafter.

T he crown wheel 9 is as usual in meshing relation with a winding pinion freely rotatable around the Winding stem, the two latter elements being not represented' in the drawing. The wheel 9 meshes on the other hand with a gear 13 pivoted in the base-plate 1 and an upper bridge 14 (see also Fig. 6). The axle of this gear passes through a circular bore 32 provided in bridge 2. The

the watch movement reversed with respect two shoulders (one of which is designated by the numeral 30 in Fig. 2) of this axle, adjacent its pivots, are chosen such a distance apart from one another that this axle has a small amount of shake between base-plate 1 and bridge 14. The axle 13a of gear 13 is permanently urged upwards in Fig. 2 by a leaf spring 29 (Figs. 2 and 5) located within an elongated countersink 33 provided in the lower surface of the base-plate 1, the spring 29 being tixed by a screw to the base-plate. The shoulder 30 of axle 13a (Fig. 2) thus always remains in frictional engagement with the upper bridge 14. Gear 13 is, in turn, always in meshing relation with a wig-Wag pinion 15 the pivots of which are guided within two slots 16 provided in the barrel bridge 2 and the upper bridge 14, respectively. Slots 16 are arcuate concentrically to the axis of gear 13 and pinion 15 is arranged in order to be able to come into meshing relation with the ratchet wheel 6.

The winding stem with the clutch-wheel and the winding pinion (not shown), as well as the crown wheel 9, gear 13 and pinion 15, constitute together the manual winding mechanism.

The drawings only show a gear 17 (Fig. 2) and a wig-Wag pinion 1S belonging to the selfwinding mechanism. Gear 17 is always driven into the same direction by an appropriate mechanism (not shown), comprising for instance a rockable weight pivotally mounted around a fixed axle and carrying a coaxial pinion which drives gear 17 by means of a mechanism well known in the art, which transmits unidirectional drives to gear 17 under the control of the reversible movements of the rockable weight. A suitable mechanism of this type is represented in the Swiss Patent No. 233,899 in which the wheel 3 may be identified with gear 17 of the present construction.

Gear 17 carries a coaxial pinion 19 permanently in meshing relation with pinion 18 the pivots of which are guided within two slots 20 (Figs. 1 and 6) provided in the upper bridge 14 and in an intermediate bridge 21, respectively. This bridge 21 is iixed to bridge 14 by means of steady pins 22 and screws 23. An elongated countersink 24 (Figs. 3 and 6) as well as a deeper circular countersink 34 are provided in the lower surface of bridge 14. A two-armed spring 25 is located within countersinks 24 so that the longer arm of this spring extends outside countersink 24, into countersink 34. Spring 25 is so arranged as to be already slightly bent when its two arms lean against the side walls of countersink 24. The unit formed by both bridges 14 and 21, represented in Fig. 6, is fixed on to base-plate 1 by means of two screws 26 which engage each an ear 27 provided on bridge 14 (see also Fig. 4). The relative position of the said unit with respect to the base-plate is secured by two steady pins 28.

When the watch is wound up by the selfwindng mechanism (Fig. l), gear 17 with pinion 19 are driven into the direction of the arrow. The wig-Wag pinion 18 rests in the extreme position within slots 2t), which is shown in Fig. 1. In this position, pinion 18 is kept in meshing relation with ratchet 6 by a couple of forces which are due, on the one hand, to pinion 19 which drives pinion 18, and, on the other hand, to ratchet 6, which opposes to this pinion a certain resistance. In the position represented and described of pinion 18, the axes of the ratchet 6, of the wig-Wag pinion 1S and of gear 17, 19 lie substantially on a straightline.

Since ratchet 6 rotates in the direction of the arrow, under the action of the selfwinding mechanism, and because of the friction between shoulder 30 of axle 13a and bridge 14, which is due to spring 29, it will be observed that the wig-Wag pinion 15 is also subjected to a couple of forces (due to the moving ratchet 6 and the blockaded pinion 13). These forces throw pinion 15 out of gear with the ratchet 6, the pivots of pinion 15 thereby travelling within slots 16 into the position represented in Fig.

4 l, wherein the pinion 15 is no longer in meshing relation with the ratchet 6.

The leaf spring 29 prevents the manual winding mechanism (gear 13, crown wheel 9, winding pinion, clutch wheel and winding stem) from moving with ratchet 6 when the latter is driven by the selfwinding mechanism. Spring 29, is, indeed, so adjusted as to increase the frictional resistance of the manual winding mechanism in such a way that the said couple of forces acting on pinion 15 will doubtlessly be strong enough in order to throw pinion 15 ont of gear with ratchet 6.

After the described movement of pinion 15, the manually winding mechanism is wholly unclutched and the selfwinding mechanism has no unnecessary resistance to break.

When the watch is wound up manually, the crown wheel 9 is driven by means of the winding pinion and the winding stem (not shown) in the direction indicated by the arrow (Fig. l). The movement of gear 13 drives the wig-Wag pinion 15 iirstly into meshing relation with ratchet 6 which will then also be driven in the direction of the arrow.

As to the selfwinding mechanism, the ratchet 6 may be considered as driving element and pinion 19 is substantially at rest with respect to ratchet 6, even if the rockable weight (not shown) moves during manually winding the watch. The wig-Wag pinion 18 which is in the position shown in Fig. l at the beginning of the manually winding operation, is subjected to a couple of forces which cause its pivots to travel along slots 2t) until pinion 18 no longer meshes with the ratchet 6 which thus rotates without driving pinion 19.

The spring 25 is, however, so arranged that pinion 18 somewhat pushes the longer arm of this spring into countersink 34, when the watch is wound up manually and the pinion 18 is accordingly thrown out of gear with the ratchet 6. This position of pinion 13 is shown in Fig. 3.

Since spring 25 is set in place in countersink 24 already with a small tension, its tension gets increased and this spring prevents the pinion 1S from denitely leaving the ratchet 6. In other words, the pinion 18 oscillates within slots 2t) under the action of spring 25 in order to allow the teeth of ratchet 6 to jump freely over those of pinion 18, when the watch is wound up manually.

Once the manual winding operation has ended, the selfwinding mechanism alone remains operative and pinion 18, which never did entirely leave ratchet 6 because of spring 25, is driven back into its original position represented in Fig. l. As soon as ratchet 6 is driven again by the selfwinding mechanism, the wig-Wag pinion 15 travels from the position shown in Fig. 3 into that which is shown in Fig. l.

It will still be observed in Fig. 3, that ratchet 6, wigwag pinion 15 and gear 1 3 are arranged in such a way that their axes deline two intersecting planes so that the angle between them is comprised between and 180 provided that this angle be measured from ratchet 6 to gear 13 in the winding direction of ratchet 6 as indicated by the arrow (Fig. l).

Pinion 15 does not necessarily require to be driven back into meshing relation with ratchet 6 by a spring like pinion 18, since gear 13 rotates at a relative high speed while winding the watch manually and the pinion 15 cornes into meshing relation with ratchet 6 without any noticeable delay. v

A circular opening 35 is provided in bridge 1 4 in order to allow spring 25 to be checked in particular to see whether it has broken.

Various changes may be made in the configuration and arrangement of the parts hcreabove described and shown in the drawings without departing from or sacricing the advantages thereof.

I claim:

l. In a watch movement having both a selfwinding and a manually winding mechanism, the combination of a movement frame, a ratchet wheel and two independent trains of gear-wheels, belonging each to one of the winding mechanisms, in which each train comprises a driving pinion and a wigawag pinion having an axle guided by part circular slots concentric to the driving pinion of the train which drives said wig-Wag pinion, these slots being provided in the frame of the movement and so arranged that, on the one hand, the Wig-Wag pinion of each train is in clutched position for driving said ratchet wheel, when its axle is in one extreme position within said slots, and, on the other hand, the ratchet throws the wig-Wag pinion of one train out of gear when this ratchet is driven by the other train.

2. The combination of claim l, in which the manually winding mechanism comprises a crown Wheel, a gear driven by said crown wheel and a wig-Wag pinion driven by said gear and being in meshing relation with the ratchet wheel when this wig-Wag pinion is in one of its extreme positions, the axes of the ratchet, this wig-Wag pinion and said gear thereby being so arranged that the two planes they define and which intersect each other along the axis of the wig-Wag pinion, form an angle ranging between 90 and 180, when this angle is measured from the ratchet to said gear.

3. The combination of claim 1, in which the wig-Wag pinion of the selfwinding mechanism is in meshing relation with the ratchet when it is in one of its extreme positions, the axes of the ratchet, of this wig-Wag pinion and of the gear which drives it at this time lying substaniially in the same plane.

4, In the combination of claim l, the frame of the watch movement comprising a base-plate, a barrel bridge on said base-plate, an intermediate bridge on said barrel bridge and an upper bridge on said intermediate bridge for pivoting at least partially the elements of the winding mechanisms, both the intermediate bridge and the upper bridge constituting a unit fixed directly to the base-plate.

5. The combination of claim l, in which a spring urges the wig-Wag pinion of the selfwinding mechanism into such a direction as to keep it in meshing relation with the gear it is intended to drive.

6. The combination of claim 5, in which the spring is kept somewhat bent by a stop provided on the frame of the movement in such a position that said wig-Wag pinion only contacts this spring just before it leaves the gear it is intended to drive.

No references cited.

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