Clock movement including a mechanism for adjusting the position of the display.

Abstract

To provide a horological movement with a plurality of functions that can be easily and quickly corrected.SOLUTION: A horological movement 10 includes a driving wheel set 11 linked to drive first and second displays 20 and 30 of a time value, and a mechanism for adjusting positions of the displays 20 and 30. The mechanism for adjusting includes a control member 50 engaged with a sliding-gear assembly 40, drives the sliding-gear assembly 40 to a first correction position so as to change the position of the first display 20 when urged in a first rotation direction, and drives the sliding-gear assembly 40 to a second correction position so as to change the position of the second display 30 when urged in a second rotation direction. A click wheel 211 can move in a plane orthogonal to its rotation axis when the control member 50 is operated to change the position of the first display 20, so as to interrupt the kinematic link between the first display mechanism 200 and the driving wheel set 11.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of watch manufacturing, and more particularly to a watch movement including a mechanism for adjusting the position of a display.

Background Art

[0002] By a mechanism for modifying the function of a watch movement of a wristwatch, a user can change the position of one of its plurality of displays, for example the current time, by operating a control member of the watch.

[0003] When the watch movement includes a plurality of functions, such as date, second time zone, etc., each modification is typically performed using a crown. In particular, prior art documents describe positioning the crown at a specific axial position to select the function to be modified and pivoting the crown to modify the selected function.

[0004] Beyond a predetermined number of functions, positioning the crown axially can be particularly troublesome. Specifically, it is understood that when there are more than three available axial positions, it becomes cumbersome to find the desired position.

[0005] Furthermore, when there are a plurality of functions, the modification mechanism is relatively complex to implement. This is because at each of its plurality of axial positions, the crown must be kinematically connected to a specific part of the watch movement so as to be operable with a given function. Furthermore, when adding a specific function to the watch movement, its dimensions increase because each function typically has its own drive mechanism.

Summary of the Invention

[0006] An object of the present invention is to overcome these drawbacks by providing a watch movement with a plurality of functions that can be modified simply and quickly.

[0007] Another objective of the present invention is to simplify the movement in order to minimize its dimensions.

[0008] To this end, the present invention relates to a clock movement including a set of drive wheels kinematically coupled to first and second indicator mechanisms, respectively, intended to drive first and second indicators of time values, and a mechanism for adjusting the position of these indicators, wherein the adjusting mechanism includes a sliding gear assembly and a control member, the control member being adapted to take an adjustment position in which the control member engages with the sliding gear assembly. When biased in a first rotational direction, the control member drives the sliding gear assembly to a first modified position in which the sliding gear assembly can cooperate with the first indicator mechanism to change the position of the first indicator. When biased in a second rotational direction, the control member drives the sliding gear assembly to a second modified position in which the sliding gear assembly can cooperate with the second indicator mechanism to change the position of the second indicator.

[0009] The first display mechanism includes a click mechanism having a click wheel capable of kinematically linking the drive wheelset and a display wheel carrying the first display unit so as to transmit the rotation of the drive wheelset to the first display unit, wherein the click wheel is movable in a plane perpendicular to its axis of rotation so as to interrupt the kinematic link between the first display mechanism and the drive wheelset when a control member is operated to change the position of the first display unit.

[0010] Therefore, for a user to correct the function of the watch movement, all they need to do is pivot it in one direction or the other.

[0011] Furthermore, thanks to the click mechanism, the number of parts in the watch movement is kept to a minimum.

[0012] In certain embodiments, the present invention may further include one or more of the following features. These features should be considered individually or in any technically possible combination.

[0013] In a particular embodiment, the drive wheel set includes a drive wheel that is in the same plane as the click wheel and the indicator wheel.

[0014] In a particular embodiment, the click mechanism includes a return member integrated with the click wheel to bias the click wheel toward a stop position where the click wheel engages with the drive wheel and the indicator wheel.

[0015] In a particular embodiment, the return member is arranged in the same plane as the drive wheel, click wheel, and indicator wheel.

[0016] In a particular embodiment, when the sliding gear assembly is in the first position, it engages with the first indicator mechanism and disengages from the second indicator mechanism, and when the sliding gear assembly is in the second position, it engages with the second indicator mechanism and disengages from the first indicator mechanism.

[0017] In a particular embodiment, the sliding gear assembly is arranged coaxially. • A drive wheel that can be rotated by a control member, A first adjustment wheel is kinematically connected to a first indicator mechanism when the control member is in the adjustment position and biased in a first rotational direction, • A second adjustment wheel is kinematically connected to the second indicator mechanism when the control member is in the adjustment position and biased in the second rotational direction. Includes.

[0018] In a particular embodiment, the indicator wheel is formed by a time zone wheel, and the first indicator mechanism includes a transmission wheel that kinematically connects the time zone wheel and the first adjustment wheel when the control member is in the adjustment position and biased in a first rotational direction. Therefore, when the control member is biased in the first rotational direction, the position of the first indicator changes continuously.

[0019] In a particular embodiment, the second wheel of the sliding gear assembly is formed by a cam. The cam includes at least one corrector finger that can cooperate with the teeth of a second display mechanism integrated with the second display to sequentially rotate the second indicator during rotation of the sliding gear assembly when the sliding gear assembly occupies a second corrector position and the control member is biased in a second rotational direction.

[0020] In a particular embodiment, the drive wheelset includes a drive finger that can cooperate with the teeth of a second indicator mechanism to sequentially drive the second indicator during the rotation of the drive wheelset.

[0021] In certain embodiments, the click mechanism includes a guide structure adapted to guide the click wheel movably when the sliding gear assembly is biased in a first rotational direction.

[0022] In certain embodiments, the guide structure is configured to guide the click wheel so as to be rotatable around an axis passing through the center of the drive wheelset, or so as to be translationally guided along a linear trajectory tangential to a circle concentric with the drive wheelset, when the sliding gear assembly is biased in a first rotational direction. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0023] Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, which is given by illustration with reference to the accompanying drawings and is not limiting.

[0024] [Figure 1] A perspective top view of a part of a timepiece movement including a mechanism for adjusting the position of a time value display, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, is shown. [Figure 2] A perspective bottom view of the movement shown in FIG. 1 is shown. [Figure 3] A perspective view of the movement shown in FIG. 1, in which the position of the first display has been changed. [Figure 4] A perspective view of the movement shown in FIG. 1, in which the position of the second display has been changed.

[0025] It should be noted that the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale for the purpose of clarity.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0026] The present invention relates to a timepiece movement 10 intended to be housed in a wristwatch case, the timepiece movement 10 being configured to drive two time displays 20 and 30 in addition to a display of the current time.

[0027] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, of these two time value displays 20 and 30, the first display is a display of the time in an additional time zone different from the display of the current time, and the second display is a date display.

[0028] For the sake of clarity, parts of the timepiece movement known to those skilled in the art are not described in the text and are not shown in the figures.

[0029] FIGS. 1 and 2 show the present invention during normal operation of the timepiece movement 10, i.e., when displaying the current time, the time in an additional time zone, and the date. In particular, FIG. 1 shows the timepiece movement 10 as seen from above, and FIG. 2 shows the timepiece movement 10 as seen from below.

[0030] The clock movement 10 includes a drive wheelset 11 kinematically coupled to a motion work train to drive first and second time value indicators 20 and 30. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the drive wheelset 11 is driven by an hour wheel (not shown) of the motion work train at a rate of one rotation per day.

[0031] Advantageously, the watch movement 10 includes a mechanism for adjusting the positions of these indicators 20 and 30. This mechanism includes a sliding gear assembly 40 and a control member 50. The control member 50 engages with the sliding gear assembly 40 and is intended to take an adjustment position that can drive and displace both the first and second indicators 20 and 30 in response to the user operating the watch.

[0032] Preferably, the control member 50 is formed by a winding stem connected to a winding button, and the adjustment position is embodied by a predetermined axial position. The winding stem is configured to be kinematically connected to the sliding gear assembly 40 by an intermediate wheel system, which is well known to those skilled in the art, when the control member 50 occupies the adjustment position. Such an intermediate wheel system is shown in the figure, but is well known to those skilled in the art and will not be described in detail here.

[0033] As can be seen in the figure, the sliding gear assembly 40 includes a drive wheel 41 which can be rotated by a control member 50 via a system of intermediate wheels.

[0034] The sliding gear assembly 40, by engaging with the guide track, is capable of rotation and translational movement in a direction perpendicular to its pivotable direction. That is, the sliding gear assembly 40 can occupy two extreme positions on the guide track. The guide track, although not shown in the figure for clarity, is formed by a through groove made in a support structure of the clock movement 10, such as a bridge or plate. When the control member 50 occupies the adjustment position, the sliding gear assembly 40 is driven by the control member 50 to one of these extreme positions, depending on the rotational direction to which the control member is biased. These extreme positions will be referred to as “correction positions” for the remainder of this document.

[0035] In particular, the control member 50 is configured such that, when positioned by the user in an adjustment position and biased in a first rotational direction, it drives the sliding gear assembly 40 to a first correction position in which it can cooperate with the first indicator mechanism 200 to correct the position of the first indicator 20.

[0036] As can be seen in the figure, the first indicator mechanism 200 includes a click mechanism 210. The click mechanism 210 is configured to allow the drive wheelset 11 to be kinematically coupled to the first indicator mechanism 200 when the control member 50 is not operated, and to allow this kinematic coupling to be interrupted when the control member 50 is operated.

[0037] More specifically, the click mechanism 210 includes a click wheel 211, which, as indicated by the arrow in Figure 1, can kinematically connect the drive wheelset 11 and the indicator wheel 21 that carries the first indicator 20 in order to transmit the rotation of the drive wheelset 11 to the first indicator 20. Furthermore, when the control member 50 is in the adjustment position and biased in the first rotation direction, the click wheel 211 can be translated in a plane perpendicular to its axis of rotation, or rotated around the axis of the drive wheelset 11, thereby interrupting the kinematic connection between the first indicator mechanism 200 and the drive wheelset 11. This feature prevents damage to the clock movement 10 by transmitting force to the gear train and oscillator.

[0038] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the click mechanism 210 is provided with a click wheel 211 that engages with the drive wheel 110 of the drive wheel set 11 and also engages with the indicator wheel 21. As can be seen from the figure, the drive wheel 110, the click wheel 211, and the indicator wheel 21 are on the same plane, minimizing the thickness of the clock movement 10 while reducing the number of parts in the clock movement.

[0039] Advantageously, the click mechanism 210 may include a return member 212 integrated with the click wheel 211. This forces the click wheel 211 toward a stop position that engages with both the drive wheel 110 and the indicator wheel 21. In the illustrated embodiment, the return member 212 is configured to hold the click wheel 211 in an axial position and is arranged to apply a return force to the spindle of the click wheel 211. Alternatively, the return member 212 is arranged to abut against the teeth of the click wheel 211, thereby further minimizing the thickness of the movement. That is, the return member 212 is located in the same plane as the drive wheel 110, the click wheel 211, and the indicator wheel 21.

[0040] In summary, the click wheel 211 is adapted to transmit motion from the drive wheel 110 to the indicator wheel 21, but to prevent the transmission of motion from the indicator wheel 21 to the drive wheel 110. The operation of the click mechanism 210 is described in detail below.

[0041] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the indicator wheel 21 is formed by a time zone wheel. The first display mechanism 200 includes a transmission wheel 22 that kinematically connects the indicator wheel 21 and the sliding gear assembly 40 when the control member 50 is in the adjustment position and biased in a first rotational direction.

[0042] More specifically, as can be seen in the detailed view on the right side of Figure 3, the sliding gear assembly 40 includes a first adjustment wheel 42 which is kinematically coupled to the transmission wheel 22 when the control member 50 is in the adjustment position and biased in the first rotational direction. That is, the transmission wheel 22 drives the additional time zone time indicator by rotationally driving the indicator wheel 21. The detailed view on the left side of Figure 3 shows that during this rotation, the indicator wheel 21 causes the click wheel 211 to roll around the drive wheel 110 and disengage from the indicator wheel 21. More specifically, as the indicator wheel 21 rotates, its teeth torque the teeth of the click wheel 211, displacing the click wheel 211 and disengaging the teeth from each other. That is, the teeth of the click wheel 211 no longer contact the teeth of the indicator wheel 21.

[0043] If the click mechanism 210 includes a return member 212, the torque exerted on the teeth of the click wheel 211 counteracts the return force exerted by the return member 212 on the click wheel 211. Therefore, the click wheel 211 immediately re-contacts the indicator wheel 21, which is in the stop position, after the teeth of the click wheel 211 have disengaged from the teeth of the indicator wheel 21.

[0044] In the embodiment of the present invention shown in the figure, the click wheel 211 rolls like a planetary wheel, so as the indicator wheel 21 rotates, the drive wheel 110 moves back and forth.

[0045] Alternatively or additionally, the click wheel 211 may engage with a guide track in a similar manner to the sliding gear assembly 40 to guide the click wheel 211 in its displacement when the sliding gear assembly 40 is biased in a first rotational direction. For example, the guide structure may be configured to guide the click wheel 211 so as to be rotatable around an axis passing through the center of the drive wheelset 11, or so as to be translationally guided along a linear trajectory tangential to a circle concentric with the drive wheelset 11.

[0046] As shown in Figure 4, when the control member 50 occupies the adjustment position and is biased in the second rotational direction, it is configured to drive the sliding gear assembly 40 to a second modified position in which the position of the second indicator 30 can be changed by the second indicator mechanism 300.

[0047] It should be noted that, when the sliding gear assembly 40 is in the first position, it is engaged with the indicator wheel 21 as described above, but not with the second indicator mechanism 300, as shown in Figure 3. Conversely, when the sliding gear assembly 40 is in the second position, it is engaged with the second indicator mechanism 300 and disengaged from the indicator wheel 21, as shown in Figure 4.

[0048] The sliding gear assembly 40 includes a second adjustment wheel 43 which can be kinematically connected to a second indicator mechanism 300. This second adjustment wheel 43 consists of a cam including at least one, for example, three, adjuster fingers, as shown in the figure. The drive wheel 41 and the first and second adjustment wheels 42 and 43 are arranged coaxially.

[0049] More specifically, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, as shown in the detailed view of Figure 4, the second indicator mechanism 300 includes teeth 301 connected to a second indicator 30, which here comprises a date disc. The corrector indexer can cooperate with the teeth 301 to sequentially rotate the second indicator 30 during rotation of the sliding gear assembly 40, thanks to indexing by a jumper spring 213 arranged below the return member 212 when the sliding gear assembly 40 is in a second correct position.

[0050] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the drive wheelset 11 includes a drive finger 111 that can cooperate with the teeth 301 of the second display mechanism 300 to drive the second indicator 30 in a sequential rotation of one step for each rotation of the drive wheelset 11, as shown in Figure 1.

[0051] The drive finger piece 111 may include a safety system, as shown in detail in Figure 2. This safety system is well known to those skilled in the art and allows the drive finger piece 111 to retract so as not to transmit any rotational motion to the drive wheelset 11, so as not to cause the time zone indicator to wobble when the second indicator 30 is driven by the sliding gear assembly 40.

[0052] In general, it should be noted that the implementation examples and embodiments considered above are described as non-limiting examples, and as a result, other alternative examples are possible.

Claims

1. A clock movement (10), A drive wheelset (11) kinematically connected to the first and second display mechanisms (200, 300), the first and second display mechanisms (200, 300) being intended to drive the first and second time value indicators (20, 30), and the drive wheelset (11), A mechanism for adjusting the position of these indicators (20, 30) Includes, The adjustment mechanism includes a sliding gear assembly (40) and a control member (50) adapted to take an adjustment position that engages with the sliding gear assembly (40). - When the control member (50) is biased in the first rotational direction, it drives the sliding gear assembly (40) to a first modified position in which the sliding gear assembly can cooperate with the first display mechanism (200) to change the position of the first indicator (20). - When the control member (50) is biased in the second rotational direction, it drives the sliding gear assembly (40) to a second modified position in which the sliding gear assembly can cooperate with the second display mechanism (300) to change the position of the second indicator (30). The first display mechanism (200) includes a click mechanism (210) having a click wheel (211) capable of kinematically linking the drive wheelset (11) and a display wheel (21) carrying the first display unit (20) so as to transmit the rotation of the drive wheelset (11) to the first display unit (20), wherein when the control member (50) is operated to change the position of the first display unit (20), the click wheel (211) is movable in a plane perpendicular to its axis of rotation so as to interrupt the kinematic link between the first display mechanism (200) and the drive wheelset (11). The drive wheel set (11) is a clock movement (10) that includes a drive wheel (110) that is in the same plane as the click wheel (211) and the indicator wheel (21).

2. The clock movement (10) according to claim 1, wherein the click mechanism (210) includes a return member (212) integrated with the click wheel (211), thereby forcing the click wheel (211) toward a stop position that engages with the drive wheel (110) and the indicator wheel (21).

3. The clock movement (10) according to claim 2, wherein the return member (212) is arranged in the same plane as the drive wheel (110), the click wheel (211), and the indicator wheel (21).

4. The clock movement (10) according to claim 1, wherein when in the first corrected position, the sliding gear assembly (40) engages with the first indicator mechanism (200) and is disengaged from the second indicator mechanism (300), and when in the second corrected position, the sliding gear assembly (40) engages with the second indicator mechanism (300) and is disengaged from the first indicator mechanism (200).

5. The aforementioned sliding gear assembly (40) is arranged coaxially, - A drive wheel (41) that can be rotated by the control member (50), - A first adjustment wheel (42) is kinematically connected to the first indicator mechanism (200) when the control member (50) is in the adjustment position and biased in the first rotation direction, - The second adjustment wheel (43) is kinematically connected to the second indicator mechanism (300) when the control member (50) is in the adjustment position and biased in the second rotation direction. A watch movement (10) according to claim 1, including the following:

6. The clock movement (10) according to claim 5, wherein the indicator wheel (21) is formed by a time zone wheel, and the first display mechanism (200) includes a transmission wheel (22) that kinematically connects the time zone wheel and the first adjustment wheel (42) when the control member (50) is in the adjustment position and biased in the first rotational direction.

7. The clock movement (10) according to claim 5, wherein the second adjustment wheel (43) of the sliding gear assembly (40) is formed by a cam, the cam includes at least one adjuster finger capable of cooperating with the teeth (301) of the second indicator mechanism (300) integrated with the second indicator (30) to sequentially drive the second indicator (30) to rotate during the rotation of the sliding gear assembly (40) when the sliding gear assembly (40) occupies the second adjuster position and the control member (50) is biased in the second rotation direction.

8. The clock movement (10) according to claim 1, wherein the drive wheelset (11) includes a drive finger (111) that can cooperate with the teeth (301) of the second display mechanism (300) to rotate the second display (30) while the drive wheelset (11) is rotating.

9. The clock movement (10) according to claim 8, wherein the second display (30) is formed by a date disc and is sequentially driven to rotate while the drive wheelset (11) is rotating.

10. The clock movement (10) according to claim 1, wherein the click mechanism (210) includes a guide structure adapted to move the click wheel (211) when the sliding gear assembly (40) is biased in the first rotational direction.

11. The clock movement (10) according to claim 10, wherein the guide structure is configured to guide the click wheel (211) so as to be rotatable around an axis passing through the center of the drive wheelset (11) when the sliding gear assembly (40) is biased in the first rotational direction, or to guide it so as to be translatably along a linear trajectory in the tangential direction of a circle concentric with the drive wheelset (11).

Images