WO2019193430A1

WO2019193430A1 - Annual calendar mechanism

Info

Publication number: WO2019193430A1
Application number: PCT/IB2019/051143
Authority: WO
Inventors: Samuel Tanner; Thierry REICHENBACH
Original assignee: Patek Philippe Sa Geneve
Priority date: 2018-04-04
Filing date: 2019-02-13
Publication date: 2019-10-10
Also published as: EP3776095A1; EP3550382A1; EP3776095B1

Abstract

The calendar mechansim has a date mobile (19) provided with toothset of 31 teeth, a drive mobile (13) that is designed to drive the date mobile (19) and bears a first finger (15) and a second finger (17) that are offset angularly and in terms of height, the first finger being designed to drive one of the teeth of the date mobile (19) one step every day. A month cam (25), which is mounted so as to pivot freely concentrically with the date mobile (19) is designed to turn through a twelfth of a turn for each turn carried out by the date mobile. The date mobile bears a lever (27) provided with a forward-driving tooth (29) and a rearward-driving tooth (31), the lever being designed to take up either an active position or an inactive position depending on the angular position of the month cam (25), the forward-driving tooth (29) being designed to be located on the path of the second finger (17) of the drive mobile (13) when the lever (27) is in the active position and the calendar mechanism is displaying "30", and the rearward-driving tooth (31) being designed to be located on the path of the second finger (17) of the drive mobile (13) when the lever (27) is in the active position and the calendar mechanism is displaying "31".

Description

Annual calendar mechanism

The present invention relates to a date mechanism comprising a date mobile equipped with a toothing of 31 teeth, a date display controlled by the date mobile, a driving mobile arranged to drive the date mobile and carrying a first finger and a second finger staggered angularly and vertically, the first finger being arranged to drive each day one step of the teeth of the date mobile, and further comprises a cam mounted months free to pivot concentrically to the mobile date and arranged to rotate a twelfth of a turn for each turn made by the date mobile, the date mobile bearing a rocker provided with at least one tooth, the rocker being arranged to occupy either an active position or an inactive position depending on the position angular of the cam months, said tooth of the rocker being arranged to be in the path of the second finger of the mob The trainer is set when the rocker is in the active position and the date display displays the "30".

PRIOR ART

Date mechanisms are already known according to the definition given in the preamble. Patent document CH 685 585, in particular, describes an annual calendar mechanism that has all of the features listed above. In particular, this mechanism comprises a driving carrier which carries two fingers offset at the same time angularly and vertically and which are arranged to drive the date mobile. It is important to note further that, according to the above-mentioned patent document, the first and the second fingers are not fixed rigidly to the driving mobile, but instead are integral with a disk which is itself freely fitted to the mobile coach. Finally, a pin is still attached to the mobile trainer to drive the rotating disk. With this feature, the first and second fingers are free to pivot forward away from the pin. The choice of this particular construction is motivated by considerations related to safety. Indeed, we know that, in a usual calendar watch, it is important not to try to manually correct the date when the time indicated by the needles approaches midnight. Otherwise, there is a risk of breaking a component by forcing the teeth of the date mobile against the finger of the mobile driver. It will therefore be understood that the particular construction which has just been described constitutes a form of security system making it possible to avoid mishandling. It will be understood that thanks to this security system, if by chance the wearer of the watch decides to manually advance the date of the calendar around midnight, the teeth of the mobile date can repel effortlessly forwards the two fingers mobile coach.

The security system that has just been described, however, has certain disadvantages. For example, when the hands indicate a time that is early in the morning, and the wearer of the watch then manually steps back the hands until they indicate a time that is the night before, this change of the displayed time is not accompanied by a corresponding change in the date. Indeed, the security system prevents the fingers of the moving trainer to drive the date mobile back. One solution to this problem might be to do without the security system. However, as we will see now, this expedient does not solve all the problems.

As already mentioned, the annual calendar mechanism described in the aforementioned prior document has all the characteristics listed in the definition given in the preamble. In particular, its mobile date has a rocker arranged in an eccentric position. This rocker is provided with a single tooth. The rocker is arranged to occupy selectively one or the other of two positions, one for which the tooth of the rocker is in the path of the second finger of the mobile driver, so that the second finger can rotate one step the mobile date , and the other for which the tooth is outside the path of the second finger. At the end of a month of 30 days, the angular position of the cam of the months is such that the tooth of the rocker is in the path of the second finger of the driving mobile. Under these conditions, the passage of the second finger has the effect of causing the latch and advance by one step the wheel set which thus passes from the position corresponding to the ^30th day of the month corresponding to the 31 ^th. A few minutes or tens of minutes later, it is the first finger which, like every day, carries one of the 31 teeth of the date wheel, thus moving it from the position corresponding to the 31 ^st day of the month to the corresponding one. the ^1st of the following month.

It is understood from the foregoing that at the end of months of 30 days must calendar of the mobile exactly occupies the angular position corresponding to the 30 ^th day of the month for the tooth of the rocker is located on the second path finger of the mobile coach. Then, as soon as the mobile date has been moved to the position corresponding to the 3 ^rd day of the month, the tooth of the flip-flop is away from the path of the second finger. The second finger thus serves only to drive the finger of the latch at the end of the months of 30 days for passing wheel set from the angular position corresponding to the ^30th day of the month corresponding to the 31 ^th. Under these conditions, if the display of the date indicates the first day of the month, and the wearer of the watch manually moves the hands back until they indicate a time the day before, the mobile date can not move back than a single step. The date display thus shows the 31 ^th day of the month, even when it is a month of 30 days. Indeed, the second finger does not have the ability to drive back the tooth of the latch when the mobile date has the angular position corresponding to the 31 ^st day of the month. In Indeed, the tooth of the rocker is not on the path of the second finger when the date mobile is in the position corresponding to the 31 ^st day of the month. BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art which have just been explained. The present invention achieves this and other objects by providing a time setting device according to the appended claim 1.

According to the invention, the rocker is provided with a forward drive tooth and a rear drive tooth, the two teeth of the rocker being contiguous so as to form a portion of teeth. , the tooth portion being concentric with the teeth of 31 teeth when the rocker occupies said one of the two positions, and the two teeth of the rocker being separated from each other by an angle equal to one step of the mobile date .

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Other features and advantages of the present invention will appear on reading the following description, given solely by way of non-limiting example, and with reference to the appended drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a partial plan view of an annual calendar mechanism corresponding to a particular embodiment of the invention, the partial view showing in particular the driving mobile and the date mobile;

Figure 2 is a partial perspective view of the annual calendar mechanism of Figure 1, the perspective view showing the movable carrier in engagement with the date mobile; Figure 3 is a plan view of the annual calendar mechanism of Figures 1 and 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF AN EMBODIMENT FIG. 1 is a partial plan view of an annual calendar mechanism corresponding to a particular embodiment of the invention. According to the invention, the date mechanism is arranged in a timepiece so as to be driven by the movement of the timepiece.

Referring to FIG. 1, it is possible to first see an hour wheel (referenced 1 1) forming part of the abovementioned clock movement (not shown) and a driving wheel 13 which, in the present example, is arranged to be driven from the hour wheel 1 1 through a gear (not shown) ratio 1/2. It can also be seen that the driving mobile 13 carries a first finger 15 and a second finger 17 which are rigidly fixed to the mobile 13 in angularly and vertically offset positions. Each turn of the driving mobile 13, the first finger 15 advances a step of a date wheel 19 which is provided to complete a complete turn in thirty-one steps. Figure 1 also shows a cam of months 25 which is mounted freely to pivot concentrically to the date wheel. The cam profile for months 25 has an alternation of troughs and levees, and as will be seen in more detail later, the troughs correspond to the months of 31 days and the troughs correspond to the month of less than 31 days. We can see further that a rocker 27 is pivotally mounted on the board of the date wheel 19. The latch 27 has two teeth 29, 31 which are contiguous and together form a tooth portion. It can be observed that, in the illustrated example, the spacing between the teeth 29 and 31 is substantially the same as the spacing between the teeth of the toothing 21 of the date wheel. We can also see a motive of the months which includes a star of the months 33 equipped with twelve teeth and a return 35 fixed rigidly in the coaxial position on the star months. The return 35 is provided with a toothing which meshes with the toothing of a wheel of the months 37 which is integral and coaxial with the cam of the months 25.

As the gear ratio of the gear train connecting the hour wheel 1 1 to the driving wheel 13 is equal to ½, the drive wheel completes a complete revolution while the hour wheel accomplishes two. The driving wheel is arranged to be driven by the movement of the timepiece at the rate of a turn in 24 hours. In a manner known per se, the timepiece is also equipped with a time setting for manually controlling the position of the minute hands and hours from outside the timepiece. In the present example, the time setting is engaged with the timer train, so that it actuates respectively the two needles via the roadway and the hour wheel 1 1. As the mobile of drive 13 is kinematically connected to the hour wheel, it will be understood that setting the time of the timepiece also controls the drive wheel and the date mechanism as a whole.

The date wheel 19 is provided with a toothing having thirty-one teeth 21, and the first finger 15 is arranged to advance one step of one of the teeth 21 of the toothing each turn of the mobile drive 13. will understand that, as the first finger is integral in rotation of the driving carrier 13, and that the latter can be actuated in one direction or the other, it allows the drive of the date wheel back as well as forward . On the other hand, as already mentioned, the rocker 27 is provided with a portion of teeth formed of two teeth 29 and 31. The rocker 27 also comprises a cam follower 32 which is permanently biased against the cam 25. Thus, when the cam of the months rotates relative to the date wheel 19, the cam follower moves from a depression to a lifting of the cam, or vice versa, so that the rocker is caused to pivot between the one and the other two extreme positions depending on whether the Current month counts 30 or 31 days. When the cam follower presses against raising the cam months, the tooth portion formed by the two teeth 29, 31 is, in the active position, superimposed on the toothing of the date wheel 19, while when the follower cam is in a recess of the cam, the tooth portion is retracted. As will be seen in more detail below, the two teeth 29 and 31 are respectively a forward drive tooth and a rear drive tooth. When the tooth portion of the rocker 27 is not in the retracted position, the forward drive tooth 29 is in the path of the second finger 17 of the driving wheel 13 when the date wheel 19 is in the position angular corresponding to the date 30, and the rear drive tooth 31 is on this path when the date wheel is in the angular position corresponding to the date 31. When following its circular path, the second finger meets the one of the teeth 29 or 31, it pushes it in front of it so as to rotate the date wheel 19 by a step.

The date wheel 19 further comprises a finger 23 arranged to cooperate with one of the twelve teeth of the star of the months 33 so as to take it one step each turn of the date wheel. In other words, the motive of the months and its star 33 are arranged to be driven by a twelfth of a turn for each complete turn made by the date wheel 19. As already mentioned, the motive of the months also includes a reference 35 which is fixed rigidly in coaxial position on the star of the months. The gearing of the gear 35 meshes with the toothing of a wheel 37 months, itself integral and coaxial with the cam of months 25. The gear ratio is equal to 1 so that the wheel of 37 months and the cam 25 months are rotated at the same speed as the reference 35 and the star of the months 33.

Figure 3 is an overall plan view of the same annual calendar mechanism. The view of FIG. 3 shows in particular the date display which, in a manner known per se, comprises a ring 41 divided into 31 sectors each bearing the indication of one of the numbers from 1 to 31. The crown is arranged to turn step by step under the dial of the timepiece so that the numbers from 1 to 31 are successively visible through a window (not shown). The ring 41 still has an internal toothing 43 formed of 31 teeth. The step-by-step drive of the crown 41 is provided by a driving mobile of the display (referenced 45). The mobile driving of the display is itself actuated from the date wheel 19 via a gear wheel 47. It will be understood that, thanks to the arrangement just described, the number displayed in the window is incremented by one unit each time the date wheel 19 advances by one step.

According to the embodiment which is the subject of this example, the display also includes a disk of the months 51 divided into 12 sectors which each bear the indication of one of the twelve months of the year. As shown in Figure 3, the disc of months 51 is fixed rigidly on the mobile months so it is driven step-by-step with the star of the month 33. It will therefore be understood that the display of the month passes from the indication of one month to that of the following month each time the finger 23 of the date wheel 19 returns to advance one step of the teeth of the star of the month 33.

The operation of the date mechanism of the present example will now be described in order to illustrate certain advantages and features of the invention. According to the invention, flip-flop 27 is provided with a forward drive tooth 29 and a rearward drive tooth 31. Apart from the time-setting episodes and the date, the forward drive tooth 29 performs exactly the same function as the tooth of the rocker of the annual calendar mechanism of the prior art described above. In particular, when the angular position of the cam of the months 25 is such that the tooth portion of the rocker 27 is in the active position (corresponding to a month of 30 days) and that the date mobile is in the angular position corresponding to the 30th day of the month, the forward driving tooth 29 is in the path of the second finger 17 of the driving wheel 13.

On the other hand, as already mentioned, the forward and rearward drive teeth 29 are separated from each other by an angle equal to one step of the date wheel 19. Moreover, the rearward driving tooth 31 is arranged one step behind the forward driving tooth 29. Thus, when the angular position of the cam of the months 25 is such that the tooth portion of the latch 27 is in the active position (corresponding to a month of 30 days), it is necessary that the date wheel 19 occupies the angular position corresponding to the 31st day of the month so that the rear drive tooth 31 is on the trajectory the second finger 17.

The second finger is attached to the drive, and it travels its circular path to the rhythm of a turn in 24 hours. Thus, when the display indicates the 30th day of a month of 30 days, the passage of the second finger 17 has the effect of advancing by one step the date wheel 19 which passes from the position corresponding to the 30th day of the month to that corresponding to the 31st. Then, if the driving wheel rotates a few degrees further, the passage of the first finger 15 will have the effect, as every day, to still lead one of the 31 teeth of the date mobile. The date mobile thus moves from the position corresponding to the 31st day of the month to that corresponding to the first day of the following month. It may be noted that during this process, the rearward drive tooth 31 has not been solicited. She was briefly on the path of the second finger 17, but as it passes only once a day, the rear drive tooth 31 did not have the opportunity to meet him before that the date mobile 19 still advances one step to the position corresponding to the first day of the month.

When the drive wheel 13 is turned back, things go a little differently. At each turn of the driving wheel 13, the passage of the first finger 15 has the effect of driving a step back a of the 31 teeth of the date mobile 19. When the date mobile comes to occupy the position corresponding to the 31 st day of the month, and the month in question has 30 days, the rear drive tooth is on the trajectory of the second finger 17 of the drive wheel 13. Under these conditions, if the drive wheel 13 still rotates a few degrees backwards, the passage of the second finger 17 will have the effect of causing a step in the rear drive tooth 31, thus causing the date wheel 19 to move from the position corresponding to the 31st day of the month to that corresponding to the 30th. Then, if the driving wheel 13 still rotates a little less than one turn to the rear, the passage of the first finger 15 will have the effect of still one step back one of the 31 teeth of the mobile 19. It should be noted that during this retrograde process, the forward drive tooth 29 has not been solicited. It was in the path of the second finger 17 for almost a turn of the drive wheel 13, but as the latter rotates back, the passage of the first finger 15 takes place before the passage of the second 17, the tooth of rearward drive 31 therefore did not have the opportunity to meet the second finger 17 before the date wheel 19 again steps back to the position corresponding to the 29th day of the month.

It will be further understood that various modifications and / or improvements obvious to those skilled in the art can be made to the date mechanism which is the subject of the present description without departing from the scope of the present invention defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. Date mechanism comprising a date mobile (19) provided with a 31 teeth toothing (21), a date display (41) controlled by the date mobile, a driving mobile (13) arranged to drive the mobile calendar (19) and carrying a first finger (15) and a second finger (17) staggered angularly and vertically, the first finger being arranged to drive each day a step one of the teeth of the date mobile (19), a cam of the months (25) mounted freely to pivot concentrically to the date mobile (19) and arranged to rotate a twelfth of a turn for each turn made by the date mobile, the date mobile carrying a rocker (27) provided of a tooth (29), the rocker being arranged to occupy either an active position or an inactive position as a function of the angular position of the cam months (25), the tooth (29) of the rocker being arranged to be located on the trajectory of the second finger (17) the driving mobile (13) when the latch (27) is in the active position and the date display (41) displays the "30"; characterized in that the first finger (15) and the second finger (17) are integral with the driving wheel (13), in that said tooth (29) of the rocker (27) is a forward driving tooth , and in that the rocker is further provided with a rear drive tooth (31) arranged to be in the path of the second finger (17) of the driving wheel (13) when the rocker occupies the active position and that the date display (41) displays the "31".

2. Date mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a star (33) and a month disk (51) fixedly mounted on the star months, the latter being arranged to rotate a twelfth of turn for each complete turn made by the date mobile (19).

3. Date mechanism according to claim 2, characterized in that the cam months (25) is kinematically connected to the star months (33) so as to be driven by the latter to rotate at the same rate.

4. Timepiece comprising a watch movement, a display mechanism hours and minutes arranged to be driven by the watch movement, a time setting, and a date mechanism according to one of the preceding claims. and arranged to be driven through the hours and minutes display mechanism.