Pointer module and instrument equipped with it

Abstract

Pointer module comprising a dial (3) consisting of a primary disc (6) with a primary ring (7), in which an opening (8) is made in the primary disc (6), in which a secondary disc (9) with a secondary ring (10) is made, where the discs (6, 9) serving as hands and the rings (7, 10) are provided with a scale indication (12), where the discs (6, 7) and rings (9, 10) are situated in one continuous surface (13), characterized by the fact that the outer edges (14) of the discs (6, 9), inner edge (14) of the primary ring (7), inner and outer edges (14) of the secondary ring (10) and edge (14) of the opening (8) in the primary disc (6) are provided with a groove (15) and where small balls (16) are placed between the rings (7,10) and discs (6,9) at the location of the grooves (15) for forming bearings.

Description

2 discs or rings with inscription. The discs or rings are provided with numbers corresponding to the time function of the ring, being the numbers from 1 to 12 for an hour ring, 1 to 60 for a minute ring, and seconds rings are placed directly on the drive shafts of the mechanism of the movement and replace the hands. A fixed reference or window on the watch indicates the reading or dashes with the numbers on the outermost fixed ring. The first category of classic timepieces with hands has the advantage that it is sufficient to glance at the time signs without having to read in detail to which numbers the hands are pointing. A disadvantage of this category is that it mechanically implies that the time indication is built up in layers, whereby each hand lies in a different plane to avoid intersections between the hands. This has the consequence that the hands cover each other in certain 20 positions or can cover other information, such as date information. Also in the case the movement is equipped with additional functions, such as a chronometer, 24-hour display,moon phase, power reserve indicator, and the like, these functions are inevitably temporarily wholly or partially covered, making their readability in such a position difficult or even impossible. 30 BE2025 / 5036 3 The second, less well-known category has the advantage that the rings or discs do not cover each other, at least not when they are situated in the same plane. However, intrinsic disadvantages of this category are that when the user wishes to read the time, he is obliged to read the numbers carefully to know what time it is. In addition, the numbers are limited in size due to the geometric structure in rings. The poor readability ergonomics of this category is an important explanation for its low market share. MenkentookeenwijzermodulezoalsbeschreveninBE1019110, meewijzerdelingdieisopbouwuitverschillendelen, zijndeeen basisschoolschijfmeteen basisschoolconcentrice15 ring, waarbij in deschijf éénofmeeropenings zijn,in which a secondary disc with a secondary concentric ring is fitted in each opening. The aforementioned discs form pointers and are for this purpose provided with a pointer symbol. The aforementioned concentric rings then form the dials and contain scale indications for this purpose in the form of digits, numbers, lines, dots and the like. This can of course also be reversed. The discs are rotatable with respect to the corresponding concentric ring, whereby the secondary discs and secondary rings are movable with respect to the primary discs and whereby the orientation of the primary rings and the secondary ring with respect to the housing is fixed. To regulate the rotation of the discs and rings with respect to each other, axes are,bearings and gears are provided to correctly connect the various parts to each other and allow them to move relative to one another. An advantage of such a hand module is that the hands do not overlap and that the upper visible part of the hand module is executed according to a continuous plane or curved surface, whereby the hands and dials are situated in one continuous surface or in the plane of the curved surface. Also, the hands will never overlap, making an unobstructed reading of the times and other information possible at all times and under all circumstances. A disadvantage of such a known hand module is that the mechanism of the various shafts and gears is a complex mechanism that must be assembled with many operations and very precisely. Moreover, the mechanism must be built up in different layers, which makes the mechanism relatively thick, whereby the instrument or device in which the hand module is applied or built in, such as a wristwatch,also becomes more extensive. In addition, when constructing or designing the mechanism, one must take into account the guide clearances and tolerances, whereby, as a result of the presence of the shafts, a minimal clearance on a short shaft has a very large impact on the edges of the discs and rings. This means that a certain clearance must be present between the discs and rings, which are located in the same plane, in order to compensate for these tolerances so that the discs and rings cannot touch each other during the operation of the pointer module. The current invention aims to offer a solution to at least one of the aforementioned disadvantages. The current invention has a pointer module as its object comprising a dial constructed from a primary disc with a primary concentricity, in which at least one opening is made, in which at least one opening a secondary disc with secondary concentricity is made,where the discs serve as pointers and rings are provided with a scale indication on a front side or vice versa, where the discs and rings with their front side are situated in one continuous surface, characterized by the fact that the outer edges of the discs, the inner edge of the primary ring, the inner and outer edges of the secondary rings and the edge of the opening in the primary disc serve as outer rings and / or inner rings of bearings, where the aforementioned outer edges of the discs, inner edge of the primary ring, inner and outer edge of the secondary ring and edge of the opening in the primary disc are provided with a groove for this purpose and where small balls are fitted between the rings and discs at the location of the grooves, where the aforementioned grooves are filled with small balls and where the dimensions of the small balls and the aforementioned grooves are such that the space between edges of the rings and discs is less than 0,05 millimeters.5 By 'front side' is meant that side of the pointer module on which the information to be read is visible. By 'vice versa' is meant that either the discs10 serve as pointers, whereby the rings are provided with a scale indication, or that the rings serve as pointers, whereby the discs are provided with a scale indication. 15 The aforementioned grooves in the edges of the discs and rings will form a space in pairs for the ball bearings and thus, as it were, form a bearing. For example: the groove in the inner edge of the primary ring20 and the groove in the outer edge of the primary disc form a space for the ball bearings. The inner edge of the primary ring then forms the outer ring of the bearing thus formed, whereby the outer edge of the primary disc then forms the inner ring of the bearing and the ball bearings the25 ball bearings. An advantage is that by providing the bearing in the discs and rings themselves,it is no longer necessary to work with physical shafts and separate bearings.30 BE2025 / 5036 7 This has the consequence that the hand module according to the invention can be made thinner than known hand modules. Indeed, in classic wristwatches, for example, it is necessary to work in different layers to build up the shafts, bearings and gears of the watch mechanism in order to realize the desired movement. Because this is no longer necessary for the invention, this will make it possible to make thinner (wrist)watches, for example, and will result in the installation space of the hand module in instruments or devices being smaller compared to known hand modules. 15 Since no shafts need to be provided, the play on the various parts will be much more limited because there are no large levers. As a result, the distance between the discs and rings can be kept very minimal,in the order of a few hundredths of a millimeter.20 In other words, there will be much less play on the discs and rings by using the small balls which, in combination with the aforementioned groove bearings.25 After all, there is no longer any risk that the discs and rings can touch each other due to play in the mechanism, because the small balls in the grooves physically prevent them from touching.30 BE2025 / 5036 8 This is in contrast to current solutions, where minimal play in the shafts driving the discs and rings causes a relatively large impact on the ends or edges of the discs and rings.5 Moreover, the discs and rings will be perfectly aligned with respect to each other in a single surface, due to the use of the balls. Indeed, because the small balls are held in the grooves of the 10 outer edges and / or inner edges of the discs and rings with very limited clearance and an extremely fine tolerance,they will, as it were, hold the discs and rings in the same continuous surface. 15 This continuous surface can be a flat surface or a curved surface. Also, the fact that there are no levers, as explained above, will contribute to the fact that the discs and rings20 of the pointer module can extend into a perfectly flat surface, compared to known pointer modules where this is not possible. In addition, the pointer module will also be very shock-resistant25 due to the fact that the grooves are filled with small balls. Preferably, the groove is maximally filled with small balls. This means that no extra small balls can fit in. 30 The groove can also be less filled than maximally filled. BE2025 / 5036 9 Thus, the groove can also be 50% filled; this means that half, or approximately half, of the maximum number of small balls is placed in the groove. 5 There are always at least 3 balls, for example 12 balls, present in the groove which are evenly distributed over the groove. Due to a very large quantity of balls,any potential shocks or forces to which the hand module is exposed will be distributed over all these small balls, making the hand module more resistant to these influences compared to classic hand modules. Moreover, this will also make the module more pressure-resistant, since any pressure exerted on the hand module is distributed over the many small balls. Because the space between the edges of the rings and discs is smaller than 0.05 millimeters, the space between the edges of the rings and discs will therefore be invisible or barely visible to the naked eye. In other words: there is an apparently split-line-free surface where it appears to the naked eye as if the dial is a single whole. This not only results in a beautiful, elegant aesthetic appearance, but will also ensure that any dust,dirt or other contaminants cannot get between the various parts of the dial. This is possible due to the extremely fine tolerance of the balls as explained above. Preferably, the space between the edges of the rings and discs is less than 0.02 millimeters, and preferably this space amounts to only 0.01 millimeters. According to a preferred feature of the invention, the pointer module is provided with a mechanism to drive the primary discs and rings and the secondary discs and ring, whereby this mechanism comprises one or more gear transmissions with gears and / or gear rings that are directly connected to one or more of the primary and secondary discs and concentric rings. The mechanism can be constructed without having to provide physical axes.as is necessary in the classic watch mechanism to be able to connect and assemble the individual bearings and gears with each other in a correct manner. 25 This has the consequence that there are also no levers as is the case in the classic watch mechanism. Construction makes the mechanism much more stable and reliable in terms of operation.30 BE2025 / 5036 11 There will naturally still be geometric axes around which the rotational movement of the discs and rings will take place, but these geometric axes will not represent a physical axis and are therefore entirely 'virtual' axes. 5 In a practical design, the secondary disc is provided with a window or openings and extra functionalities are provided on the underside of the secondary disc that display data that can be observed through the window.10 These extra functionalities may include a second time zone, a temperature measurement, date displays and the like. 15 After all, since, as explained above, no physical axes need to be provided in the mechanism, and gear rings can be used,can the underside of the secondary disc be kept clear, creating space to incorporate this extra functionality.20 This has the additional advantage that no second, third, ...secondary disc with associated secondary ring needs to be provided. In other words, more functionalities can therefore be built into the pointer module.25 Preferably, the balls are spherical stones, where the stones are, for example, rubies. Such ruby ​​stones can be manufactured with a precision of two microns (2µm).30 BE2025 / 5036 12 This very precise accuracy contributes to minimal play of the mechanism, with the benefits explained above. 5 As explained above,The aforementioned grooves in the edges of the discs and rings, together with the balls, form a bearing as it were. In a preferred bearing shape, a spacer or ball-bearing spacer is fitted in a groove, which serves as a bearing cage. In particular, a ball-bearing spacer shall be provided for each formed bearing. In a preferred bearing shape, the pointer module is lubricant-free. This means that no lubricant such as oil is present in the pointer module or in the drive. After all, the balls used in the pointer module according to the invention do not need to be lubricated, in contrast to traditional stone bearings, which means less maintenance is required. The invention also concerns an instrument equipped with a pointer module according to the invention.30 BE2025 / 5036 13 This instrument cannot be just a wristwatch, watch or clock, but also a dashboard of a car or vehicle or another type of instrument display or the like. Indeed,The applications of the hand module are numerous thanks to its thinness and minimal clearances, with associated advantages. Any application where varying information needs to be read, such as, but not limited to, time, temperature, speed, humidity, date, etc., is suitable for applying the hand module according to the invention. Preferably, in such instruments, the hand module is not covered by a glass plate or the like. In other words, a glass-free watch can therefore be made, precisely because the hand module according to the invention is so robust and sturdier. After all, even if one were to accidentally push on the hand module, this would have no further influence on the hand module and it will not deform the hand module or anything like that. An advantage of this is that no reflection can occur, which could hinder or affect the correct reading of the hand module. Preferably, the instrument is provided with a housing that is open to the environment. 30 BE2025 / 5036 14 This means that the housing is not sealed, and that dust, dirt, moisture, water and the like,but also other influences such as vibrations, pressures, and the like can reach the pointer module. 5 Given the construction of a pointer module according to the invention, it is perfectly possible not to make the housing hermetically sealed or to omit it altogether. With the aim of better demonstrating the characteristics of the invention, some preferred forms of execution of a pointer module according to the invention equipped with an instrument are described below as examples without any restrictive character, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 15 Figure 1 schematically depicts the front of a pointer module according to the invention; 20 Figure 3 schematically depicts the pointer module of Figure 1,but in a different position. Figure 1 schematically shows a pointer module 1 in accordance with the invention.25 More specifically, the front side 2 of the pointer module 1 is shown. The pointer module 1 mainly comprises a dial 3.30 BE2025 / 5036 15 In addition, the pointer module 1 also comprises a mechanism 4 for the drive, which is visible in the cross-section Figure 2 and which is located entirely on the back side 5 of the dial 1. 5 This dial 1 can be built into a housing, for example the housing of a wristwatch or the speedometer in a vehicle dashboard. The dial 1 is composed of a number of parts 6,10 7,9,10 that together form the dial 1. First of all, there is a primary disc 6 with a primary concentric ring 7. 15 Concentric means that the center of the ring 7 coincides with the center of the disc 6. In this case, these centers also lie on the rotation axes of the disk 6endering7 or, in other words,The discs and rings rotate in the surface of the dial around their center. A number of openings are provided in the primary disc. In this case, there is one opening in Figure 1. In this opening, a secondary disc with a concentric ring is fitted. The terms 'primary' and 'secondary' are used here only to distinguish between the different discs and rings, but otherwise have no relevance or meaning. It should be clear that the primary disc can be provided with multiple openings, for example two, three, four or more openings, in each of which a secondary disc with a concentric secondary ring is fitted. In the example shown, the two discs serve as pointers. To this end, they are provided with a pointer indication11 on their front side2 which can be used to point to specific information on the accompanying ring7,10 or which indicates specific15 information on the accompanying ring7,10. This pointer indication11 is an arrow or pointer which is placed on the disc6,9. 20 Each accompanying ring7,10 is provided with a scale indication12 on its front side2. This scale indication12 must be interpreted very broadly and can be not only a time scale of minutes, hours or seconds, but also rotational speeds, days of the week, months25 or weeks of the year, date, and the like. It is also possible that this is exactly the other way around, where the rings7,10 serve as pointers and the discs are provided with the scale indication6,9.30 BE2025 / 5036 17 But it is also possible that the primary disc6 and the secondary ring10 serve as pointers and the primary ring 7 and the secondary disc9 are provided with the scale indication12. 5 The pointer indications11 on the discs6,9 will, as it were, point to an indication on the time scales12 and in this way the information can be read. As can be seen in figure 2, horizontal discs and rings10 with their front side in one continuous surface13. In the example shown in Figure 2, this is a curved surface13, but this could also be a flat surface15. According to the invention, doing the outer edges14 of the primary disk6 and secondary disk9,the inner rim14 of the primary ring7, the inner and outer rim14 of the secondary rings10 and the rim14 of the opening8 in the 20 primary disc6 serve as outer rings and / or inner rings of bearings, whereby the aforementioned outer rims14 of the discs6,9, inner rim14 of the primary ring7, inner and outer rim14 of the secondary ring10 and rim14 of the opening8 in the primary disc6 are provided for this purpose25 with a groove15 and whereby small balls16 are placed between the rings7,10 and discs6,9 in the place of the grooves15. This can be seen in figure 2, and in this way bearings17 are formed between the primary ring7 and the BE2025 / 5036 18 primary disc6, between the primary disc6 and the secondary ring10 and between the secondary ring10 and the secondary disc9. The aforementioned balls16 serve as the ball bearings and5 are preferably spherical balls. In particular, these balls are preferably rubies. Rubin balls16 can be manufactured with an accuracy of 10 2 micrometers (2 µm). The spherical balls can of course also be made of other materials,and the small balls16 can of course also be made of steel, for example,15 with comparable accuracy in dimensions. By working with the small balls16 located in the aforementioned grooves15, the discs6,7 and rings9, 10 will be automatically aligned, as it were, and situated in the same20 surface13, without further adjustment or regulation being required. This simplifies and speeds up the assembly or assembly of the hand module1. Moreover, one no longer needs to take into account clearances25 that need to be regulated or adjusted as with classic watches with a mechanism with various gears and shafts. During assembly, one simply needs to screw the parts together, which will be faster compared to classic systems,and leads to better quality.30 BE2025 / 5036 19 In this case, a spacer or spacer 18 for balls16 is fitted in the groove1, which acts as a bearing cage. This spacer18 will ensure that the balls165 are seated at equal distances from each other in the grooves15. Preferably, the dimensions of the balls16 and the aforementioned grooves15 are such that the space between the edges14 of the rings9,10 and discs6,7 is not or hardly 10 visible to the naked eye. As will be explained later, the clearance or space between the rings9,10 and discs6,7 can be very minimal, in the order of hundredths of a millimeter,15 which, together with the fact that they are located in the same surface13 as the front side2, appears to the naked eye to consist of a single piece or a single unit. In the example shown, the pointer module 1 is equipped with a mechanism 4 to drive the primary disk 6 and / or primary ring 7 and the secondary disk 9 and secondary ring 10. In this case, driving refers, for example, to the 25 different parts 6, 7, 9,10 to rotate relative to each other or relative to a housing in which the pointer module 1 is built. BE2025 / 5036 20 In most cases, either the primary disc6 or the primary ring7 will be fixed relative to the aforementioned housing. This can be achieved by having the primary ring7 or 5 primary disc6 form part of the housing of the pointer module or be integrally connected to it. The mechanism4 is visible in figure 2 and because one or more gear transmissions with gears19 and / or gear rings19 are directly connected to one or more of the primary and secondary discs6,9 and concentric rings7,10. 'Directly' means that the gears19 and / or gear rings19 are not connected via a physical shaft to the rings7,10 and discs6,9. There will also be no physical shafts to connect bearings17 to gears19, gear rings19, rings7,10 or discs6,9, this because the bearings17 are integrated into rings7,10 and discs20 6,9. As can be seen in Figure 2,are no physical axes provided that are connected to the centers of the discs6,9 that are provided with bearings and / or gears25 or additionally auxiliary axes with bearings and / or gears. In other words, there are no levers present in the mechanism4 such as in the well-known watch mechanisms that are constructed from physical axes, separate bearings and30 gears. BE2025 / 5036 21 Because the bearings17 of the mechanism4 are, as it were, integrated into the discs6,9 and rings7,10, because the aforementioned clearance on the bobbin balls16 amounts to only 2µm and because there are no physical axes5 connecting the discs6,9 and rings7,10 to gears 19, gear rings19 and / or bearings17, the result is that the clearance on the parts6,7,9,10 of the dial3 is very minimal, whereby the space between the various discs6,9 and rings7,10 can be kept very minimal. Indeed, a clearance of a few hundredths of a millimeter is sufficient and enough to ensure that the discs6,9 and rings7,10 do not touch each other during the 15 operation of the mechanism4. Moreover, the presence of the small balls 16 between the discs 6,9 and rings 7,10 ensures that they cannot touch each other anyway, since the small balls 16 provide a 20 physical separation between the discs 6,9 and rings 7,10. In addition, an important advantage of the absence of shafts with separate bearings is the fact that the position or orientation of the pointer module 1 has no influence on the 25 operations and in particular on the forces that occur during the operation of the pointer module 1. Indeed, in classical watch mechanisms, the orientation of the watch influences the orientation of the shafts and bearings, causing the influence of gravity BE2025 / 5036 22 on the shafts and bearings to change when the orientation changes. This influences, among other things, the friction forces acting on the shafts and bearings. The changes in these friction forces will, albeit small,cause deviations in the operation of the mechanism, which will require the watch to be readjusted sooner. A hand module according to the invention will always experience the same constant frictional forces, independent of the orientation of the hand module, and will moreover be insensitive to gravity. Because this influence of gravity is eliminated, the hand module according to the invention will operate much more accurately and reliably, with fewer deviations, meaning that the hand module will require little to no adjustment or readjustment. Furthermore, the hand module according to the invention will also be much less susceptible to shocks, or thus be more shock-resistant than classic hand modules, precisely due to the absence of the axes. Moreover, more or less pressure on a disc or ring will not influence higher or lower friction, which is the case in a classic hand module with axes. Another additional advantage of the absence of physical axes connecting the center of the discs6,930 BE2025 / 5036 23 bearings17 and / or gears19 or gear rings19,is that the space under the disks6,9 is free. In particular for the secondary disk9, this offers the possibility to add additional functionalities20. In the example shown in Figure 2, it is shown that the secondary disk9 is provided with a window21 or openings and that at the bottom of the secondary disk9 there is an extra functionality20 for displaying data that can be observed through the window21. In Figure 2, this functionality20 is a temperature sensor that can display the ambient temperature.15 It is clear that different types of functionalities20 can be provided, as described above. 20 Finally, it is preferable that one or more of the primary or secondary rings7,10 or discs6,9 are composed of at least two constituent parts22, 23, where these constituent parts22,23 encompass at least the groove15, such that before assembling the disc6,9 or ring7,10 in question with the constituent parts23,23,the groove15 has been partially opened to provide access for the balls16. The aforementioned constituent parts22,23 are attached to each other30 by screws, bolts or the like. BE2025 / 5036 24 In particular, in the example shown, the primary ring7 is made up of two constituent parts22,23, as is the secondary ring10. 5 It is possible that the constituent parts22,23 are both ring-shaped, where the groove15 is made open over its entire circumference, or that one constituent part23 concerns only a part of a circle's circumference, where the groove15 is therefore also partially free.10 By manufacturing these parts7,10 of the dial1 from two constituent parts22,23, the disassembly or assembly of the hand module1 will proceed much more easily.15 Moreover, the mechanism4 will in any case be much simpler to assemble because no shafts or bearings need to be mounted and adjusted. 20 Indeed, after placing the spacers18 and balls16 in the grooves15 only the screws of the constituent parts22,23 need to be loosened from the rings 7,10 must be tightened and the gears19 and gear rings19 installed, but no further 25 adjustment or settings need to be made with shafts or bearings. The operation of the hand module 1 is very simple and as follows.30 BE2025 / 5036 25 During the operation of the hand module 1, the mechanism will rotate 4 rings7,10 and discs6,9. It should be noted here that in the example of the figures, the primary ring7, with the scale division 12, will not 5 move relative to the housing of the hand module 1. The primary disc 6, which serves as a hand, will be able to move, in particular rotate, relative to the housing. Due to the rotation of the disc 6, the hand symbol 11 on the disc 6 will indicate certain information on the scale division 12 of ring 7. This is therefore very similar to the hand of a traditional watch. 15 In addition, due to the rotation of the primary disk6,the secondary ring10 and secondary disc9 rotate together. The mechanism4 is preferably in this case such that the secondary ring10 is driven at the same rotational speed20 as the primary disc6 but in the opposite direction, so that the secondary ring10 always maintains the same fixed orientation with respect to the pointer module1 or a housing of the pointer module1 when rotating. 25 This results in the scale marking12 of the secondary ring10 always being oriented in the same way, which will simplify readability. Note that if the secondary ring 10 serves as 30 the pointing secondary disc 9 contains the scale division 12, BE2025 / 5036 26 that the mechanism 4 shall be such that the secondary disc 9 is driven at the same rotational speed as the primary disc 7 but in the opposite direction, so that the secondary disc 9 always maintains the same fixed orientation when rotating with respect to the pointer module 1 or 5 a housing of the pointer module 1. In Figure 3 the pointer module 1 of Figure 1 is shown, in which case the primary disc 6 is rotated,and where the secondary disc9 is also rotated, so that both10 pointer symbols11 indicate different information on their respective scale indications12. The scale indication12 on the secondary ring10 is hereby also rotated, but such that the scale indication12 is15 still in the same orientation with respect to the pointer module1 and the primary ring7. The current invention is by no means limited to the example described and,