Timepiece movement comprising display position adjustment mechanism

Abstract

The invention relates to a timepiece movement comprising a drive wheel set kinematically connected to first and second display mechanisms for driving first and second displays and an adjustment mechanism for adjusting the position of the first and second displays and comprising a sliding gear assembly and a control member, the control member drives the slide gear assembly into a first corrected position when the control member is pushed in a first rotational direction, where the slide gear assembly cooperates with the first display mechanism to modify the position of the first display, and drives the slide gear assembly into a second corrected position when the control member is pushed in a second rotational direction. The control member drives the sliding gear assembly into a second correction position, where the sliding gear assembly cooperates with the second display mechanism to modify the position of the second display, the first display mechanism comprising a ratchet mechanism having a ratchet capable of kinematically connecting the drive wheel set with a display wheel carrying the first display, and interrupting the kinematic connection between the first display mechanism and the drive wheel set.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the field of watch manufacturing, and in particular to a watch movement comprising a mechanism for adjusting the position of a display. Background Art

[0002] The mechanism for correcting the functions of a watch movement allows the user to modify the position of one of its displays, such as the current time, by operating the control members of the watch.

[0003] When a timepiece movement comprises multiple functions, such as date, second time zone, etc., their respective corrections are usually performed using a winding stem. In particular, prior art documents describe positioning the winding stem in a specific axial position to select the function to be corrected, and pivoting the stem to correct the selected function.

[0004] Apart from certain functions, axially positioning the winding stem can be particularly tricky. More specifically, it will be appreciated that when more than three different axial positions are available, finding the desired position can become tedious.

[0005] Furthermore, the realization of a correction mechanism is relatively complex when it has several functions, since in each of its axial positions the winding stem must be kinematically connected to a specific part of the watch movement in order to be able to act on a given function. Furthermore, the addition of specific functions to a watch movement increases its size, since each function generally has its own drive mechanism. Summary of the invention

[0006] The object of the present invention is to overcome these drawbacks by providing a timepiece movement having a plurality of functions which can be corrected easily and quickly.

[0007] Another object of the invention is to simplify the movement so as to minimize its dimensions.

[0008] To this end, the invention relates to a timepiece movement comprising a drive wheel set kinematically connected to a first display mechanism and a second display mechanism for driving a first display and a second display of time values, respectively, the adjustment mechanism for adjusting the position of the first display and the second display, and the adjustment mechanism comprising a sliding gear assembly and a control member adapted to occupy an adjustment position in which the control member engages the sliding gear assembly and:

[0009] - when the control member is pushed in a first rotational direction, the control member drives the sliding gear assembly to a first correction position in which the sliding gear assembly is able to cooperate with the first display mechanism in order to modify the position of the first display, and

[0010] When the control member is pushed in a second rotational direction, the control member drives the sliding gear assembly to a second correction position in which the sliding gear assembly can cooperate with the second display mechanism in order to modify the position of the second display.

[0011] The first display mechanism comprises a click mechanism having a ratchet wheel capable of kinematically connecting the drive wheel set with a display wheel carrying the first display so as to transmit a rotation of the drive wheel set to the first display, the ratchet wheel being movable in a plane orthogonal to its axis of rotation so as to interrupt the kinematic connection between the first display mechanism and the drive wheel set when the control member is operated to modify the position of the first display.

[0012] The user can thus easily correct the function of the timepiece movement by pivoting in one direction or the other.

[0013] Furthermore, thanks to the ratchet mechanism, the number of components in the watch movement is kept as small as possible.

[0014] In a particular embodiment, the invention may also include one or more of the following characteristics, which must be considered individually or in any technically feasible combination.

[0015] In a particular embodiment, the drive wheel set comprises a drive wheel which is located in the same plane as the ratchet wheel and the display wheel.

[0016] In a particular embodiment, the ratchet mechanism comprises a return member integral with the ratchet wheel so as to urge the ratchet wheel to a stop position in which the ratchet wheel engages with the drive wheel and the display wheel.

[0017] In a particular embodiment, the return member is arranged in the same plane as the drive wheel, the ratchet wheel and the display wheel.

[0018] In a specific embodiment, when the sliding gear assembly is in the first correction position, the sliding gear assembly engages with the first display mechanism and disengages with the second display mechanism, and when the sliding gear assembly is in the second correction position, the sliding gear assembly engages with the second display mechanism and disengages with the first display mechanism.

[0019] In a specific embodiment, the sliding gear assembly comprises the following elements arranged coaxially:

[0020] - a drive wheel by means of which the control member can rotate the sliding gear assembly,

[0021] a first adjusting wheel which is kinematically connected to the first display mechanism when the control member is in the adjustment position and is pushed in a first rotational direction, and

[0022] - a second adjusting wheel kinematically connected to the second display mechanism when the control member is in the adjustment position and is pushed in the second rotational direction.

[0023] In a particular embodiment, the display wheel is formed by a time zone wheel and the first display mechanism comprises a transmission wheel which kinematically connects the time zone wheel with the first adjustment wheel when the control member is in the adjustment position and is pushed in the first rotational direction. Thus, when the control member is pushed in the first rotational direction, the position of the first display is continuously changed.

[0024] In a specific embodiment, the second adjustment wheel of the sliding gear assembly is formed by a cam, which includes at least one corrector finger-shaped member, and when the sliding gear assembly occupies a second correction position and when the control member is pushed along the second rotational direction, the corrector finger-shaped member can cooperate with the toothed portion of the second display mechanism that is integral with the second display, so as to drive the second display to rotate sequentially during the rotation of the sliding gear assembly.

[0025] In a particular embodiment, the drive wheel set comprises a drive finger capable of cooperating with a toothed portion of the second display mechanism to drive the second display to rotate sequentially during rotation of the drive wheel set.

[0026] In a particular embodiment, the ratchet mechanism includes a guide structure adapted to guide the movement of the ratchet when the sliding gear assembly is pushed in the first rotational direction.

[0027] In a specific embodiment, the guide structure is configured such that when the sliding gear assembly is pushed in a first rotational direction, the guide structure guides the ratchet to rotate around an axis passing through the center of the drive wheel set, or guides the ratchet to translate along a straight line trajectory tangent to a circle concentric with the drive wheel set. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description given by way of example and not limitation with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0029] - Figure 1 shows a perspective top view of a portion of a timepiece movement according to a preferred exemplary embodiment of the invention, the timepiece movement comprising a mechanism for adjusting the position of a display of a time value;

[0030] - Figure 2 Shows Figure 1A perspective bottom view of the movement shown;

[0031] - Figure 3 Shows Figure 1 a perspective view of the movement shown, wherein the position of the first display is modified;

[0032] - Figure 4 Shows Figure 1 A perspective view of the movement shown, in which the position of the second display is modified.

[0033] It should be noted that for the sake of clarity these drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] The invention relates to a timepiece movement 10 intended to be housed in a watch case and configured to drive two displays 20 and 30 for time values, in addition to the display of the current time.

[0035] In this preferred exemplary embodiment of the present invention, regarding the two time value displays 20 and 30, the first one is a display of an additional time zone time different from the display of the current time, and the second one is a date display.

[0036] For the sake of clarity, various components of a timepiece movement known to a person skilled in the art will not be described herein and do not appear in the drawings.

[0037] Figure 1 and Figure 2 The invention is shown during normal operation of the timepiece movement 10, ie when the current time, the additional time zone time and the date are displayed. Figure 1 shows a timepiece movement 10 seen from above, Figure 2 Timepiece movement 10 is shown seen from below.

[0038] The watch movement 10 comprises a driving wheel set 11, which is kinematically connected to the travel train so as to drive the first time value display 20 and the second time value display 30. In this preferred embodiment of the invention, the driving wheel set 11 is driven by the hour wheel (not shown) of the travel train at a speed of one rotation per day.

[0039] Advantageously, the watch movement 10 includes an adjustment mechanism for adjusting the positions of these displays 20 and 30, the adjustment mechanism including a sliding gear assembly 40 and a control member 50, the control member 50 being intended to be in an adjustment position in response to a user operating the watch, in which adjustment position the control member 50 engages with the sliding gear assembly 40 and is able to drive both the first display 20 and the second display 30 to be displaced.

[0040] Preferably, control member 50 is formed by a winding stem coupled to a winding button, and the adjustment position is achieved by a predetermined axial position. The winding stem is configured so that, when control member 50 occupies the adjustment position, it is kinematically connected to sliding gear assembly 40 by means of an intermediate wheel system known to those skilled in the art. Such an intermediate wheel system is shown in the figures but is not described in detail herein, as it is well known to those skilled in the art.

[0041] As can be seen from the figure, the sliding gear assembly 40 includes a driving wheel 41 , and the control member 50 can rotate the sliding gear assembly 40 via the intermediate wheel system by means of the driving wheel 41 .

[0042] The sliding gear assembly 40 is engaged in the guide rail so that it can rotate freely and can translate in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which it can freely pivot. The sliding gear assembly 40 is therefore able to occupy two extreme positions in the guide rail. For the sake of clarity, the guide rail is not shown in the figure, which is formed, for example, by a through groove made in a supporting structure of the watch movement 10 (such as a bridge plate or a machine plate). When the control member 50 occupies the adjustment position, the control member 50 drives the sliding gear assembly 40 to one of these extreme positions, depending on the direction of rotation in which the control member is pushed. In the rest of this article, these extreme positions are called "correction positions".

[0043] In particular, when the control member 50 is positioned in the adjustment position by the user and pushed along the first rotational direction, the control member 50 is configured to drive the sliding gear assembly 40 into a first correction position, in which the sliding gear assembly 40 can cooperate with the first display mechanism 200 to modify the position of the first display 20.

[0044] As can be seen from the figure, the first display mechanism 200 includes a ratchet mechanism 210, which is configured to allow the drive wheel set 11 to be kinematically connected to the first display mechanism 200 when the control member 50 is not operated, and to interrupt this kinematic connection when the control member 50 is operated.

[0045] More specifically, the ratchet mechanism 210 is equipped with a ratchet 211, which can kinematically connect the drive wheel set 11 with the display wheel 21 carrying the first display 20, thereby transmitting the rotation of the drive wheel set 11 to the first display 20, such as Figure 1 In addition, when the control member 50 is pushed in the first rotation direction when in the adjustment position, the ratchet 211 can move in translation in a plane orthogonal to its rotation axis, or can move in rotation around the axis of the drive wheel set 11, thereby interrupting the kinematic connection between the first display mechanism 200 and the drive wheel set 11. This feature prevents damage to the watch movement 10 by transmitting force to the gear train and the oscillator.

[0046] In this preferred exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the ratchet mechanism 210 is provided with a ratchet 211 which meshes with the drive wheel 110 of the drive wheel set 11 and with the display wheel 21. The drive wheel 110, the ratchet 211 and the display wheel 21 are located in the same plane, as shown in the figure, thereby minimizing the thickness of the watch movement 10 and reducing the number of components in the watch movement.

[0047] Advantageously, the ratchet mechanism 210 may include a return member 212 integral with the ratchet 211 so as to push the ratchet 211 to a stop position in which it engages the drive wheel 110 and the display wheel 21. In the exemplary embodiment shown in the figures, the return member 212 is configured to hold the ratchet 211 in this axial position and is arranged to apply a return force to the spindle of the ratchet 211. Alternatively, the return member 212 may be arranged to rest on the teeth of the ratchet 211 so that the thickness of the movement is further minimized. The return member 212 is thus located in the same plane as the drive wheel 110, the ratchet 211 and the display wheel 21.

[0048] In summary, ratchet mechanism 211 is adapted to transfer motion from drive wheel 110 to display wheel 21, and to prevent motion from display wheel 21 from being transferred to drive wheel 110. The operation of ratchet mechanism 210 will be described in detail below.

[0049] In this preferred exemplary embodiment of the invention, display wheel 21 is constituted by a time zone wheel, and first display mechanism 200 comprises transmission wheel 22, which kinematically connects display wheel 21 with sliding gear assembly 40 when control member 50 is in the adjustment position and is pushed in the first rotational direction.

[0050] More specifically, if Figure 3 As shown in the detailed view on the right, the sliding gear assembly 40 includes a first adjustment wheel 42, which is kinematically connected to the transmission wheel 22 when the control member 50 is in the adjustment position and is pushed in the first rotation direction. Therefore, the transmission wheel 22 drives the display wheel 21 to rotate, thereby moving the time display of the additional time zone. Figure 3 The detailed view on the left shows that during this rotation, display wheel 21 causes ratchet wheel 211 to roll around drive wheel 110 and disengage from display wheel 21. In particular, as display wheel 21 rotates, its teeth apply a torque to the teeth of ratchet wheel 211, thereby displacing ratchet wheel 211 so that these teeth disengage from each other, i.e., the teeth of ratchet wheel 211 no longer contact those of display wheel 21.

[0051] If the ratchet mechanism 210 includes a return member 212, the torque applied to the teeth of the ratchet 211 resists the return force applied by the return member 212 to the ratchet 211. Therefore, in the stop position, the ratchet 211 is immediately returned to contact with the display wheel 21 after the teeth of the ratchet 211 are disengaged from the teeth of the display wheel 21.

[0052] Therefore, in this exemplary embodiment of the present invention shown in the drawings, when the display wheel 21 rotates, the ratchet wheel 211 rolls on the driving wheel 110 like a planetary wheel, thereby reciprocating.

[0053] Alternatively or additionally, the ratchet 211 can be engaged in a guide rail in a manner similar to the sliding gear assembly 40 so as to guide the ratchet 211 during displacement of the ratchet 211 when the sliding gear assembly 40 is pushed in the first rotational direction. For example, the guide structure can be configured to guide the ratchet 211 to rotate around an axis passing through the center of the drive wheel set 11, or to guide the ratchet 211 to translate along a straight line trajectory tangential to a circle concentric with the drive wheel set 11.

[0054] like Figure 4 As shown, when the control member 50 occupies the adjustment position and is pushed along the second rotation direction, the control member 50 is configured to drive the sliding gear assembly 40 into the second correction position, in which the sliding gear assembly 40 can modify the position of the second display 30 by means of the second display mechanism 300.

[0055] It should be noted that when in the first position, the sliding gear assembly 40 is engaged with the display wheel 21 as described above, and is disengaged from the second display mechanism 300, as described above. Figure 3 In contrast, when in the second position, the sliding gear assembly 40 engages with the second display mechanism 300 and disengages from the display wheel 21, as shown in FIG. Figure 4 shown.

[0056] The sliding gear assembly 40 comprises a second adjusting wheel 43, by means of which the sliding gear assembly 40 can be kinematically connected to the second display mechanism 300. The second adjusting wheel 43 is composed of a cam, which comprises at least one corrector finger, for example three corrector fingers, as shown in the figure. The drive wheel 41 is arranged coaxially with the first adjusting wheel 42 and the second adjusting wheel 43.

[0057] In particular, in this preferred exemplary embodiment of the present invention, as Figure 4As shown in the detailed view of FIG. 3 , the second display mechanism 300 includes a toothed portion 301 coupled to the second display 30, which here is constituted by a date disc. When the sliding gear assembly 40 is in the second correction position, the corrector finger can cooperate with the toothed portion 301, thereby driving the second display 30 to rotate sequentially during the rotation of the sliding gear assembly 40 by means of the indexed positioning of the jumper spring 213 arranged under the return member 212.

[0058] In this preferred exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the driving wheel set 11 includes a driving finger 111, which can cooperate with the tooth portion 301 of the second display mechanism 300 to drive the second display 30 to rotate sequentially one step when the driving wheel set 11 rotates one circle, such as Figure 1 shown.

[0059] The drive finger 111 may include Figure 2 , which is well known to those skilled in the art, allows the drive finger 111 to be retracted so as not to transmit any rotational movement to the drive wheel set 11 when the second display 30 is driven by the sliding gear assembly 40, thereby not disturbing the time zone display.

[0060] More generally, it should be noted that the embodiments and examples considered above are described as non-limiting examples, and other alternatives are therefore possible.

Claims

1. A timepiece movement (10), the timepiece movement (10) comprising a drive wheel set (11) and an adjustment mechanism, the drive wheel set (11) being kinematically connected to a first display mechanism (200) and a second display mechanism (300), the first display mechanism (200) and the second display mechanism (300) being used to drive a first display (20) and a second display (30) of a time value, respectively, the adjustment mechanism being used to adjust the position of the first display (20) and the second display (30), and the adjustment mechanism comprising a sliding gear assembly (40) and a control member (50), the control member (50) being adapted to occupy an adjustment position, in which the control member (50) is engaged with the sliding gear assembly (40), and: - when the control member (50) is pushed in a first rotational direction, the control member (50) drives the sliding gear assembly (40) into a first correction position, in which the sliding gear assembly is able to cooperate with the first display mechanism (200) so as to modify the position of the first display (20), and - when the control member (50) is pushed in the second rotational direction, the control member (50) drives the sliding gear assembly (40) into a second correction position, in which the sliding gear assembly is able to cooperate with the second display mechanism (300) so as to modify the position of the second display (30), The first display mechanism (200) comprises a ratchet mechanism (210), the ratchet mechanism (210) having a ratchet wheel (211), the ratchet wheel (211) being capable of kinematically connecting the drive wheel set (11) with a display wheel (21) carrying the first display (20) so as to transmit the rotation of the drive wheel set (11) to the first display (20), and when the control member (50) is operated to modify the position of the first display (20), the ratchet wheel (211) is capable of moving in a plane orthogonal to the rotation axis of the ratchet wheel (211) so as to interrupt the kinematic connection between the first display mechanism (200) and the drive wheel set (11).

2. The watch movement (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that: The driving wheel pair (11) comprises a driving wheel (110), and the driving wheel (110) is located in the same plane as the ratchet wheel (211) and the display wheel (21).

3. The watch movement (10) according to claim 2, characterized in that: The ratchet mechanism (210) includes a return member (212) integral with the ratchet (211) so as to push the ratchet (211) to a stop position, in which the ratchet (211) engages with the drive wheel (110) and the display wheel (21).

4. The watch movement (10) according to claim 3, characterized in that: The return member (212) is arranged in the same plane as the drive wheel (110), the ratchet wheel (211) and the display wheel (21).

5. The watch movement (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The sliding gear assembly (40) is engaged with the first display mechanism (200) and disengaged from the second display mechanism (300) when in the first correction position, and the sliding gear assembly (40) is engaged with the second display mechanism (300) and disengaged from the first display mechanism (200) when in the second correction position.

6. The watch movement (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The sliding gear assembly (40) comprises the following elements arranged coaxially: a drive wheel (41) by means of which the control member (50) is able to rotate the sliding gear assembly (40), a first adjustment wheel (42) kinematically connected to the first display mechanism (200) when the control member (50) is in the adjustment position and is pushed in the first rotational direction, and - a second adjusting wheel (43) kinematically connected to the second display mechanism (300) when the control member (50) is in the adjusting position and is pushed in the second rotational direction.

7. The watch movement (10) according to claim 6, characterized in that: The display wheel (21) is formed by a time zone wheel, and the first display mechanism (200) comprises a transmission wheel (22) which kinematically connects the time zone wheel with the first adjustment wheel (42) when the control member (50) is in the adjustment position and is pushed in the first rotational direction.

8. The watch movement (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The second adjustment wheel (43) of the sliding gear assembly (40) is formed by a cam, and the cam includes at least one corrector finger-shaped member, when the sliding gear assembly (40) occupies the second correction position and when the control member (50) is pushed in the second rotation direction, the corrector finger-shaped member can cooperate with the toothed portion (301) of the second display mechanism (300) which is integral with the second display (30), so as to drive the second display (30) to rotate sequentially during the rotation of the sliding gear assembly (40).

9. A timepiece movement (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The drive wheel set (11) comprises a drive finger (111) which can cooperate with a toothed portion (301) of the second display mechanism (300) so as to drive the second display (30) to rotate during the rotation of the drive wheel set (11).

10. The watch movement (10) according to claim 9, characterized in that: The second display (30) is formed by a date disc and is driven to rotate sequentially during the rotation of the drive wheel set (11).

11. The timepiece movement (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that: The ratchet mechanism (210) comprises a guide structure, wherein the guide structure is suitable for guiding the movement of the ratchet (211) when the sliding gear assembly (40) is pushed along the first rotation direction.

12. The watch movement (10) according to claim 11, characterized in that: The guide structure is configured such that, when the sliding gear assembly (40) is pushed along the first rotation direction, the guide structure guides the ratchet (211) to rotate around an axis passing through the center of the drive wheel pair (11), or guides the ratchet (211) to translate along a straight line trajectory tangent to a circle concentric with the drive wheel pair (11).

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