Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G04—HOROLOGY
  • G04D—APPARATUS OR TOOLS SPECIALLY DESIGNED FOR MAKING OR MAINTAINING CLOCKS OR WATCHES
  • G04D3/00—Watchmakers' or watch-repairers' machines or tools for working materials
  • G04D3/0002—Watchmakers' or watch-repairers' machines or tools for working materials for mechanical working other than with a lathe
  • G04D3/0017—Watchmakers' or watch-repairers' machines or tools for working materials for mechanical working other than with a lathe for components of gearworks
  • G04D3/002—Watchmakers' or watch-repairers' machines or tools for working materials for mechanical working other than with a lathe for components of gearworks for gear wheels or gears
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
  • F16H—GEARING
  • F16H55/00—Elements with teeth or friction surfaces for conveying motion; Worms, pulleys or sheaves for gearing mechanisms
  • F16H55/02—Toothed members; Worms
  • F16H55/14—Construction providing resilience or vibration-damping
  • F16H55/16—Construction providing resilience or vibration-damping relating to teeth only
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
  • F16H—GEARING
  • F16H55/00—Elements with teeth or friction surfaces for conveying motion; Worms, pulleys or sheaves for gearing mechanisms
  • F16H55/02—Toothed members; Worms
  • F16H55/17—Toothed wheels
  • F16H55/18—Special devices for taking up backlash
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G04—HOROLOGY
  • G04B—MECHANICALLY-DRIVEN CLOCKS OR WATCHES; MECHANICAL PARTS OF CLOCKS OR WATCHES IN GENERAL; TIME PIECES USING THE POSITION OF THE SUN, MOON OR STARS
  • G04B13/00—Gearwork
  • G04B13/02—Wheels; Pinions; Spindles; Pivots
  • G04B13/027—Wheels; Pinions; Spindles; Pivots planar toothing: shape and design
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G04—HOROLOGY
  • G04B—MECHANICALLY-DRIVEN CLOCKS OR WATCHES; MECHANICAL PARTS OF CLOCKS OR WATCHES IN GENERAL; TIME PIECES USING THE POSITION OF THE SUN, MOON OR STARS
  • G04B13/00—Gearwork
  • G04B13/02—Wheels; Pinions; Spindles; Pivots
  • G04B13/028—Wheels; Pinions; Spindles; Pivots wheels in which the teeth are conic, contrate, etc; also column wheels construction
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G04—HOROLOGY
  • G04B—MECHANICALLY-DRIVEN CLOCKS OR WATCHES; MECHANICAL PARTS OF CLOCKS OR WATCHES IN GENERAL; TIME PIECES USING THE POSITION OF THE SUN, MOON OR STARS
  • G04B13/00—Gearwork
  • G04B13/02—Wheels; Pinions; Spindles; Pivots
  • G04B13/025—Wheels; Pinions; Spindles; Pivots with elastic means between the toothing and the hub of a toothed wheel
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G04—HOROLOGY
  • G04B—MECHANICALLY-DRIVEN CLOCKS OR WATCHES; MECHANICAL PARTS OF CLOCKS OR WATCHES IN GENERAL; TIME PIECES USING THE POSITION OF THE SUN, MOON OR STARS
  • G04B19/00—Indicating the time by visual means
  • G04B19/02—Back-gearing arrangements between gear train and hands
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G04—HOROLOGY
  • G04B—MECHANICALLY-DRIVEN CLOCKS OR WATCHES; MECHANICAL PARTS OF CLOCKS OR WATCHES IN GENERAL; TIME PIECES USING THE POSITION OF THE SUN, MOON OR STARS
  • G04B35/00—Adjusting the gear train, e.g. the backlash of the arbors, depth of meshing of the gears
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G04—HOROLOGY
  • G04B—MECHANICALLY-DRIVEN CLOCKS OR WATCHES; MECHANICAL PARTS OF CLOCKS OR WATCHES IN GENERAL; TIME PIECES USING THE POSITION OF THE SUN, MOON OR STARS
  • G04B37/00—Cases
  • G04B37/0083—Cases for more than one clockwork
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G04—HOROLOGY
  • G04B—MECHANICALLY-DRIVEN CLOCKS OR WATCHES; MECHANICAL PARTS OF CLOCKS OR WATCHES IN GENERAL; TIME PIECES USING THE POSITION OF THE SUN, MOON OR STARS
  • G04B39/00—Watch crystals; Fastening or sealing of crystals; Clock glasses
  • G04B39/008—Watch crystals; Fastening or sealing of crystals; Clock glasses with means for magnified reading

Definitions

• the present invention relates to the field of watchmaking. More particularly, it relates to a display system for a timepiece.
• complicated watches are typically large, and include one or more powerful barrels to provide sufficient torque to the mechanisms while keeping a running time acceptable to the user.
• the object of the invention is therefore to overcome the disadvantages mentioned above, and thus to allow the construction of a timepiece with additional displays energy consumption. reduced, thus allowing an improvement in the running time of the part and / or a multiplication of the number of possible displays.
• the invention relates to a display system for a timepiece as defined in claim 1.
• This system comprises a mobile arranged to be driven by a driving source, such as a cylinder, an electric motor, an output of a power reserve device or a device for displaying tides, the moon phase or similar, via a first toothing that includes said mobile.
• the mobile comprises at least a second toothing having a gear module less than 0.05 mm, said second toothing being arranged to drive directly or indirectly a display member.
• This display member may be for example a needle, a disc, markings on a wheel, or any other form of display member.
• This module allows a significant decrease in the size of the components, and therefore a reduction in their inertia and the torque needed to train them. A decrease in the size of the part and / or a multiplication of the number of additional displays is possible.
• the second toothing being very small and therefore light, it is possible to display fractions of a second by means of a display member which is permanently driven but which does not generate energy consumption. nor a need for excessive additional torque.
• a chronograph mechanism a "foudroyante”
• the display member is disengaged from the chronograph train when the latter is running, in order to avoid losses. important energy.
• the system of the invention thus avoids the need to disengage the display member, and allows an indication of fractions of a second not only in the context of a chronograph blaster, but also in the context of a link permanent kinematics with the finishing gear of the basic movement.
• a lightning can be implemented with a reduced number of components and gears compared to a known lightning mechanism.
• Said second toothing may be straight, edge-shaped, conical, or have a combined shape.
• said mobile comprises a third toothing also having a module of lower teeth at 0.05 mm, the display member being driven via a pair of pinions interconnected by an elastic member. , one of these gears meshing with said second toothing, the other with said third toothing, the elastic element being prestressed, for example by dehasing the two gears to stretch the elastic element in one direction or the other .
• This arrangement catches the gear gap and thus avoids any jarring of the display member by means of an arrangement which is suitable for use in combination with teeth of such small size.
• said second toothing is integrally formed with said third toothing, which allows a one-piece construction facilitating the assembly of these teeth at once on the mobile.
• At least said second toothing is constructed by additive manufacturing.
• the system of the invention can be incorporated in a timepiece which comprises an optical device to be able to display said display member.
• the timepiece comprises a plurality of said systems, said optical device being arranged to be movable relative to a middle part of said timepiece in order to display the display member of at least two desd its systems, including the corresponding display organs.
• a single optical device can therefore be used to read the various indications, without having to have the display members immediately adjacent to each other.
• the optical device may be mounted in a rotating ring provided in said middle, in a slide mounted in a slide provided in said middle part, in a rotating bezel mounted on said middle part, or in a bottom or part of a rotating bottom (e) mounted (e) on said middle.
• the system of the invention can be located in a removable module arranged to take place at least partially in a housing provided in the timepiece, including its middle part.
• the user can take the system out of the timepiece to examine it. Moreover, a plurality of modules of features and / or different aesthetic aspects can be used with the same timepiece.
• said power source can be part of a movement that includes the timepiece while said mobile is in said removable module, said power source being in kinematic connection with said mobile when said removable module is in said housing.
• the driving source can be integrated with said removable module, and thus the system can be independent of the movement of the timepiece. The latter alternative avoids having to take the PTO through the housing of the room, and thus has advantages in terms of sealing.
• the invention also relates to a method of manufacturing a display system as defined above, wherein at least said second toothing is obtained via an additive manufacturing process. This allows the construction of teeth of any three-dimensional shape having the tooth modules necessary for the implementation of the invention.
• FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a display system according to the invention.
• FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a wheel forming part of the system of FIG. 1;
• FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view of another variant of a timepiece comprising several systems according to the invention.
• Figure 1 illustrates a display system 1 according to the invention in the context of a lightning. Nevertheless, the principle of the invention applies more widely, for example to chronograph displays, calendar, power reserve, moon phase, tides, time in another time zone, animations, etc.
• the system 1 comprises a mobile 3, comprising a first set of teeth 5 intended to be rotated by a driving source such as a barrel.
• the mobile 3 is an escape wheel 3 comprising an escape pinion 5 and an escape wheel 7 intended to interact with an anchor 8 associated with a spiral balance 25 in a known manner.
• the mobile 3 may be a date mobile, mobile seconds (or another mobile of a creep end issage) mobile chronograph seconds, mobile whose position is representative of the power reserve. a barrel, or any other mobile that is suitable for the desired display.
• the mobile 3 also comprises a second toothing 9 which is arranged to drive a display member 1 1 of any shape, which will be described in more detail below, but illustrated here as a needle 1 1 located at the end of a rod 13 supported on an element of the watch by a bearing 15.
• the other end of the rod 13 carries a first pinion 17 integral in rotation with the rod 13 and meshing with the second toothing 9
• Other forms of display members 11 are also possible, for example discs, marking on a wheel or pinion meshing with the second toothing, etc.
• the needle 1 1 illustrated has a length of between 1 mm and 1.5 mm, and can be better seen by the user with the aid of an optical device such as a magnifying glass integrated in the timepiece, as for example that of the piece "Art Room 1" of Greubel Forsey.
• the second toothing 9 provides the effect that forms the heart of the invention.
• the modulus of its toothing that is to say the pitch of the teeth measured on its pitch circle for a given gear, is less than 0.05 mm, preferably equal to or less than 0.035 mm, more preferably equal to or less than at 0.025 mm, more preferably equal to or less than 0.015 mm.
• Such teeth having such modules are not typically manufacturable by conventional machining techniques, and therefore require manufacturing by a micro-machining process (etching of one or more plate (s) of material, technical LIGA, high resolution additive manufacturing), which will be discussed in more detail below.
• the second toothing 9 can take any shape, for example that of a conventional toothing or conically extending radially, a right or conical edge toothing, helical toothing, etc.
• the second toothing 9 is a conical edge toothing, manufacturable by means of additive manufacturing high resolution metal, epoxy or ceramic.
• additive manufacturing is the general term for all manufacturing procedures by means of material addition, more particularly 3D printing, especially 3D photolithography, but other known methods can also be used. used. It is currently possible to manufacture parts with an accuracy of 1 ⁇ or less, which makes it possible to manufacture teeth having the modules necessary to implement the invention.
• micromachining techniques masking and etching of a plate, deposition, etc.
• a particular advantage of using a 3D epoxy printing or other polymeric material is a reduction in inertia compared to the same structure made of metal, which minimizes the increase in inertia compared to a standard mobile 3. Nevertheless, the use of metal, ceramic or other material is also possible.
• the polymer material is typically more flexible than metal, which provides more margin in the respective positioning of the elements. Indeed, if the elements can deform slightly, the positioning tolerance can be more generous. A metal with a low Young's coefficient has the same effect.
• the display member is a needle 1 1 located at the end of a rod 13 supported on an element of the watch by a bearing 1 5.
• the other end of the rod 13 carries a first pinion 17 integral in rotation with the rod and meshing with the second toothing 9.
• Other forms of display members 1 1 are also possible, for example discs, marking on a wheel or on a pinion meshing with the second toothing etc.
• the needle 1 1 illustrated has a length of between 1 mm and 1.5 mm, and may for example be better seen better by means of a magnifying glass integrated into the timepiece, for example that included in the piece "Art Part 1" by Greubel Forsey.
• the System 1 comprises means for eliminating the needle kinking which will result in the case of a simple drive.
• a jogging does not necessarily affect the user's appreciation of the display, and therefore a simple gear between the second toothing 9 and the pinion 17 could be appropriate depending on the case.
• a third toothing 1 9 is provided on the mobile 3, coaxial with the second toothing 9, these two wheels having the same number of teeth (60 in this case), which is best seen in Figure 2.
• the teeth of each of the teeth 9, 19 are mutually integral in rotation and are aligned, but can also be angularly offset relative to each other.
• the first pinion 17, mentioned above is connected to a second pinion 21 via an elastic member 23, here illustrated as a coil spring, but other forms and means are also possible.
• the second pinion 21 is mounted loosely on the rod 13, and, apart from the system assembly, it is offset angularly, for example by being rotated by at least one pitch of teeth, relative to the first one. pinion 17 to preload the elastic member 23 in one direction or the other.
• the second pinion 21 acts as a tensioning pinion and the first pinion 17 is forced to pivot in order to rest against a flank of a tooth of the second toothing 9, thus catching up any play and thus avoiding the kinking which can happen when the first pinion 17 is free to "float".
• the spring constant of the elastic element being adapted accordingly.
• the escapement wheel 3 illustrated For a regulator 25 which beats at 28,800 vibrations per hour, the escapement wheel 3 illustrated, whose escape wheel 7 has 20 teeth, performs a turn in 5 seconds.
• the second 9 and third 19 teeth each have 60 teeth, and the two gears 17, 21 each comprise 12 teeth, and therefore the display member performs 1 turn per second in steps of 1/8 turn alternately. A read accuracy of 1/8 of a second is thus possible.
• the second 9 and third 19 teeth are made of one-piece epoxy, and, in combination with the display member 1 1, the rod 13, the pinions 17, 21 and the elastic element 23, only represent a relative inertia increase of 1.03 in comparison with the "bare" escapement, and similarly involve only a relative torque increase of 1, 1 1 8.
• the inertia of these elements is 1 1 exert times lower, and the torque required to drive them is 6.8 times lower.
• FIG. 4 illustrates a simplified schematic form a timepiece 27 comprising a housing of which only the middle part 29 has been shown. Inside this housing is housed a watch movement 31, which is associated two display systems 1 a, 1 b according to the invention, each being provided with a respective display member 1 1 a, 1 1 b . While the two display members 11a, 11b could be arranged so that they can be viewed by a single optical device 33, such as a magnifying glass, arranged in the caseband 29 or in another element of the device. In the case of a housing, or to provide two individual optical devices 33 for displaying each display member 11a, 1b individually, the embodiment of this figure provides a single optical device 33 carried by a rotary ring 35. The latter is arranged in the middle part 29 so that the user can pivot it in order to move the optical device to be in front of one or the other of the display members 1 1 in order to visualize the body. corresponding display 1 1 a, 1 1 b.
• the optical device 33 may be carried by a straight or curved slide that moves along a corresponding slide. Otherwise, the optical device 33 can be mounted in the housing by means of a hinge which allows it to rotate about an axis of rotation passing through the middle part.
• the optical device 33 in another element of the cladding of the timepiece 27, such as a rotating bezel or a rotating bottom, the display members 1 1 a, 1 1 b being arranged in a corresponding appropriate manner.
• a bar-shaped magnifier mounted rigidly in a wall of an element of the timepiece as a part of dressing, which would allow to view them all at the same time.
• Such a solution is particularly suitable for a housing having at least one straight wall.
• Figure 5 schematically illustrates a simplified variant of a timepiece 27 comprising a housing of which only the middle part 29 has been shown.
• This figure represents both several variants of modular approaches for the implementation of a display device 1 according to the invention in a timepiece 27, which can be implemented individually or in any combination.
• the display device 1, including its mobile 3 is provided in a removable module 37a comprising a frame inside which are housed components of the display device 1, the module 37a being intended to take place at least partially in a corresponding housing 39a arranged in the middle part.
• Retention means (not shown) may be provided to retain the module 37a in its housing 39a.
• the driving source is integrated in the movement 31 and is part of it.
• a first power take-off 41 such as a transmission shaft, a shaft or the like, is provided, which opens into the dwelling 39a.
• seals may be provided to seal the passage of the power take-off 41 through the wall of the housing 37a.
• the module 37a comprises a second PTO 43 adapted to interact with the first PTO 41, to control the display member 1 1 located in the module 37a.
• the force can be transmitted in rotation or even in axial translation or by means of a rocking lever which pivots about a pivot axis to act on the system 1 located in the module 37a.
• the detachable coupling between the two power take-offs 41, 43 is shown schematically by means of the diamonds in FIG.
• an optical device 33 may be integrated in the module housing 37a to allow the user to view the display member.
• the module 37b differs from the module 37a in that it is independent of the movement, and contains its own power source 42. Its housing 37b is thereforeq u'un simple hollow provided in the middle part 29, without communication with the movement 31.
• the module 37c is also independent of the movement, but is devoid of optical device 33.
• the optical device 33 is formed in the middle part 29.
• This optical device 33 comprises a magnifying lens 33a located in the outer side wall of the middle part 29, adjacent to an optical passage 45 leading to the interior of the housing 39c via a prism or mirror 33b which makes it possible to display the corresponding display member 11, which is visible through an opening or a window (not shown) provided in the wall of the module 37c.
• the optical passage 45 may simply be one or more voids, or may be any waveguide such as a prism made of transparent material (eg glass, quartz, acrylic resin or the like).
• the module 37d is substantially similar to the module 37c, but is adapted for use with a different variant of an optical device 33.
• This optical device comprises a magnifying lens arranged in the upper face of the middle part 29. If it does not it is not possible to arrange the magnifying glass directly in front of the display member 1 1 when the module is in the inserted position, a prism or a mirror can be provided in the optical passage 45 as in the case of the module 37c.
• modules 37a, 37b, 37c, 37d can be combined in ways that make technical sense.
• the modules 37c and 37d can be provided with a kinematic link with the movement as applied in the module 37a.
• Other modifications are still possible.
• optical fibers could be used as optical passages 45 in order to avoid using prisms or mirrors, and in order to be able to relocate the magnifying glass from the corresponding display and thus able to position the magnifying glasses anywhere in the middle part 29.
• the optical device 33 can be inside the watch case, visible through a standard transparent portion and already sealed, such as ice. Again alternatively, the optical device 33 may be outside the sealed portion of the watch case, being positioned to display the display member 1 1 through the ice, a window or the like. These variants avoid having to provide additional seals at the optical device 33.
• the teeth 5, 9 and the workings of the display system 1 may be flat, that is to say parallel to the plane of movement, vertical, that is, perpendicular to the plane of motion, or inclined at another angle to the plane of motion.

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• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Electromechanical Clocks (AREA)
• Measurement Of Unknown Time Intervals (AREA)
• Micromachines (AREA)
• Measurement Of Predetermined Time Intervals (AREA)
• Gears, Cams (AREA)
• Electric Clocks (AREA)

Priority Applications (3)

Applications Claiming Priority (4)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=58266613

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (6)

Cited By (1)

Families Citing this family (3)

Family Cites Families (16)

• 2016
  • 2016-03-16 CH CH00360/16A patent/CH712261B1/fr unknown
  • 2016-03-16 EP EP16160577.9A patent/EP3220207B1/fr active Active
• 2017
  • 2017-03-09 JP JP2018546652A patent/JP6929297B2/ja active Active
  • 2017-03-09 WO PCT/EP2017/055587 patent/WO2017157764A2/fr not_active Ceased
  • 2017-03-09 US US16/083,041 patent/US11249442B2/en active Active
  • 2017-03-09 CN CN201780015038.8A patent/CN109074027B/zh active Active

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