Timepiece movement

Abstract

The present invention relates to a clock movement comprising an oscillating regulating member (1) intended to regulate a gear of the movement and comprising a movable inertial part (10), a time-setting mechanism controlled by a control member operable by a user between a rest position and a time-setting position and a stop and restart mechanism of the oscillating regulating member (1) intended to stop the oscillating regulating member (1) when setting the time of the movement and to restart said regulating member (1) when the time setting is carried out.The stopping and restarting mechanism of the oscillating regulating member (1) includes a rocker (3) arranged to pivot between a rest position and a stop position when the control member is moved from its rest position to its time-setting position and a lever (5) comprising a toothed sector (51) intended to cooperate with a corresponding toothed sector (321) of the rocker (3) for pivoting the lever (5) between a rest position and a stop position and an elastic arm (52) arranged to come into contact with the movable inertial part (10) of the oscillating regulating member (1), tangentially to it, when the lever (5) pivots from its rest position to its stop position.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a timepiece movement comprising an oscillating regulating member intended to regulate a train of the movement, a time-setting mechanism and a stop and restart mechanism making it possible to stop and restart the oscillations of the oscillating regulating member.

[0002] When setting the time of a watch movement, the oscillating regulating organ is usually stopped when the setting stem is pulled out. If the escapement mechanism used in the movement is self-starting, there will be no problem when the time setting is finished: the setting stem is pushed back and the escapement and oscillating regulating organ restart. This is the case with classic anchor escapement mechanisms.

[0003] In the case of a non-self-starting escapement mechanism, such as a detent escapement, it is necessary to provide a device to restart the oscillations of the oscillating regulating organ at the end of the time setting.

[0004] Document DE 10 94 666 describes, for example, a balance wheel stop mechanism comprising an elastic member which pivots to bear tangentially against the rim of the balance wheel to stop it.

[0005] Document JP 2017 161511 describes a mechanism for stopping and restarting a regulating organ having the shape of a tourbillon carrying the escapement and the balance. A ring is secured to the outer cage of the tourbillon and it is on this ring that the stopping and restarting mechanism will act. Thus, the mechanism for stopping and restarting the regulating organ does not act directly on the regulating organ but on the cage of the tourbillon which carries the regulating organ. The aim of the present invention is to provide a timepiece movement comprising a mechanism for stopping and restarting the oscillating regulating organ which makes it possible to restart the oscillating regulating organ efficiently in all cases, regardless of the associated escapement mechanism, with the largest possible restart angle and while remaining simple and compact.

[0006] The present invention relates to a clockwork movement according to claim 1 and a timepiece according to claim 5.

[0007] The attached figures schematically illustrate an embodiment of the clockwork movement according to the invention.

[0008] THE figures 1 And 2 illustrate in particular the oscillating regulating organ and the mechanism for stopping and restarting the latter of a movement according to an embodiment of the invention, the mechanism for stopping and restarting the oscillating regulating organ being in its rest position in the figure 1 and in its stop position in the figure 2 .

[0009] The watch movement according to the invention comprises an oscillating regulating member intended to regulate a train of the movement, a time-setting mechanism controlled by a control member actuable by a user between a rest position and a time-setting position and a mechanism for stopping and restarting the regulating member controlled by said control member. In the illustrated embodiment, the oscillating regulating member 1 is a sprung balance comprising a balance 10 and a balance spring 11. Alternatively, the regulating member could be a flexible-guided oscillator.

[0010] In the illustrated embodiment, the movement comprises a time-setting mechanism well known to those skilled in the art and of which only the pull-out 2 is visible. The time-setting mechanism and the movements of the pull-out 2 are notably controlled by a time-setting stem, not illustrated.

[0011] In the illustrated embodiment, the mechanism for stopping and restarting the sprung balance 1 comprises a lever 3 pivotally mounted at A on a fixed part of the movement and having a first arm 31 intended to cooperate with the pull-out piece 2. To do this, the first arm 31 comprises at its end a slot 311 in which a stud 4 fixed to the pull-out piece 2 is housed. Thus, when the pull-out piece 2 pivots, it drives the lever 3 which pivots in turn. The lever 3 is arranged to pivot between a first rest position illustrated in figure 1 , which corresponds to the pushed position of the time-setting stem (normal operation of the movement), and a stop position illustrated in figure 2 , which corresponds to the pulled position of the time setting stem (setting the movement time).

[0012] The rocker 3 further comprises a second arm 32 which has a toothing 321 at its end.

[0013] The mechanism for stopping and restarting the sprung balance 1 also comprises a stop lever 5 pivoted at B on a fixed part of the clockwork movement. The stop lever 5 comprises a toothing 51 meshing with the toothing 321 of the second arm 32 of the lever 3. Thus, when the lever 3 pivots from its rest position to its stop position, it in turn drives the stop lever 5 which also pivots from its rest position to its stop position.

[0014] The stop lever 5 further comprises an elastic arm 52 arranged to come into contact with the balance 10 of the sprung balance 1 tangentially thereto. In its rest position, the stop lever 5 is arranged so that its elastic arm 52 is in contact with a pin 6 fixed in the clockwork movement, said contact generating a stressing or pre-winding of said elastic arm 52. This pre-stressing or pre-winding, which may be slight, makes it possible to take up the play in the stop and restart mechanism of the oscillating regulating member and therefore makes it possible to prevent the stop lever 5 from moving when it is in its rest position.

[0015] In normal operation of the movement, the time-setting stem is in its pushed position, the pull-out 2 is in its rest position. The lever 3 and the stop lever 5 are therefore also in their respective rest positions, the elastic arm 52 of the stop lever 5 being supported with prestress on the pin 6. In this configuration, illustrated in figure 1 , the regulating organ 1 formed by the balance wheel 10 and the balance spring 11 oscillates, thus regulating a cog of the movement, its oscillations being maintained by an escapement mechanism.

[0016] When the user sets the time, the time-setting stem is moved to its pulled-out position. It then moves the pull-out 2 to its time-setting position. In doing so, the pull-out 2 drives the lever 3 which pivots into its stop position, taking with it the stop lever 5 thanks to the gearing of the teeth 321 and 51. By pivoting, the elastic arm 52 of the stop lever 5 comes into contact against the balance 10 tangentially thereto. The stop and restart mechanism of the regulating member according to the invention is arranged so that, when the stop lever 5 pivots into its stop position, the elastic arm 52 comes into contact with the balance 10 and briefly drives it through a certain angle, which will be called the restart angle (clockwise in the figure 2 ) before braking it and stopping it completely as soon as the stop position of the stop lever 5 is reached. Preferably, the stop lever 5 is arranged to drive the balance 10 through a recovery angle greater than 20°, even more preferably through a recovery angle greater than 25° when it pivots from its rest position to its stop position.

[0017] In the stop position of the stop lever 5 shown in figure 2 , the regulating organ 1 is stopped and no longer oscillates. The user can then set the time in the conventional manner via the time-setting stem.

[0018] When the time is set and the user pushes the time-setting stem back into its pushed position, the pull-out piece 2 returns to its rest position and therefore drives the lever 3 and the stop lever 5, each of which pivots to return to its rest position. In doing so, the elastic arm 52 of the stop lever 5 in contact with the balance 10 will, thanks to friction, restart the sprung balance 1 by pivoting the balance 10 counterclockwise in the figures by an angle essentially corresponding to the restart angle defined above. The oscillating regulating organ 1 is restarted and the movement can restart regardless of the escapement mechanism used.

[0019] Thus, it is possible to produce a mechanism for stopping and restarting the oscillating regulating organ which is controlled by the time-setting stem and the pull-out and which, thanks to the toothed gear between the lever 3 and the stop lever 5, allows the travel of said lever to be multiplied so that it can restart the regulating organ with a significant restart angle. This ensures that the oscillating regulating organ restarts after a time-setting operation, regardless of the position in which the movement has stopped and regardless of the escapement mechanism of the movement. The stop lever 5 acts tangentially to the balance 10, which guarantees a simple and space-saving mechanism.

[0020] In the illustrated embodiment, the oscillating regulating member is a balance spring. Alternatively, the regulating member could be of another type, such as a flexibly guided oscillator.

[0021] In the illustrated embodiment, the oscillating regulating member comprises an oscillating movable inertial part having the shape of a solid circular balance. Alternatively, the inertial part of the oscillating regulating member could be formed of several circular segments or could have any other suitable shape.

[0022] In general, the watch movement according to the invention comprises an oscillating regulating member intended to regulate a train of the movement and comprising a mobile inertial part, a time-setting mechanism controlled by a control member actuable by a user between a rest position and a time-setting position and a mechanism for stopping and restarting the oscillating regulating member intended to stop the oscillating regulating member when the time is set on the movement and to restart said regulating member when the time is set. The mechanism for stopping and restarting the oscillating regulating member is controlled by the control member of the time-setting mechanism and comprises a lever pivotally mounted between a rest position and a stop position and comprising a toothed sector intended to cooperate with a corresponding toothed sector of a lever.The lever is pivotally mounted between a rest position and a stop position and comprises an elastic arm arranged to come into contact with the movable inertial part of the oscillating regulating member, tangentially thereto, when the lever pivots from its rest position into its stop position.

[0023] The stop and restart mechanism of the oscillating regulating organ is arranged so that: when the control member is moved into its time-setting position, it drives the rocker and the lever which pivot into their respective stop position; by pivoting into its stop position, the lever and its elastic arm pivot the movable inertial part of the oscillating regulating member by a certain angle, called the relaunch angle, before stopping said movable inertial part and therefore stopping the oscillating regulating member; and so that, by returning the control member to its rest position, the rocker and the lever also pivot to return to their rest position and in doing so, the elastic arm of the lever pivots the movable inertial part so as to restart the oscillations of the oscillating regulating member.

[0024] Preferably, the relaunch angle is greater than 20°, more preferably, greater than 25°.

[0025] The elastic arm of the lever is arranged to cooperate in its rest position with a fixed member of the movement so that said elastic arm is prestressed against this fixed member in the rest position of the lever.

Claims

1. Timepiece movement comprising an oscillating regulating member (1) intended to regulate a going train of the movement and comprising a mobile inertia part (10), a time-setting mechanism controlled by a control member which can be actuated by a user between a rest position and a time-setting position and a mechanism for stopping and restarting the oscillating regulating member (1) intended to stop the oscillating regulating member (1) when the movement is being set to time and to restart said regulating member (1) when the time-setting process is completed, the mechanism for stopping and restarting the oscillating regulating member (1) comprising a rocker (3) arranged to pivot between a rest position and a stopping position when the control member is moved from its rest position to its time-setting position, and a lever (5) comprising a toothed sector (51) intended to cooperate with a corresponding toothed sector (321) on the rocker (3) for pivoting of the lever (5) between a rest position and a stopping position; the lever (5) comprising an elastic arm (52) arranged to come into contact with the mobile inertia part (10) of the oscillating regulating member (1), tangentially to said part, when the lever (5) pivots from its rest position into its stopping position such that, by pivoting into its stopping position, the lever (5) and its elastic arm (52) cause the mobile inertia part (10) of the oscillating regulating member (1) to pivot before stopping said mobile inertia part (10) and thus stopping the oscillating regulating member (1); a movement in which, by returning the control member into its rest position, the rocker (3) and the lever (5) also pivot to return to their rest position and in so doing the elastic arm (52) of the lever (5) causes the mobile inertia part (10) to pivot so as to restart the oscillations of the oscillating regulating member (1); a movement in which the elastic arm (52) of the lever (5) is arranged to cooperate, in its rest position, with a fixed member (6) of the movement such that said elastic arm (52) is biassed against this fixed member (6) in the rest position of the lever (5).

2. Movement as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the lever (5) is arranged to cause the mobile inertia part (10) to pivot by an angle greater than 20°, preferably greater than 25°, when the lever (5) pivots from its rest position into its stopping position.

3. Movement as claimed in any one of the proceeding claims, characterised in that the oscillating regulating member is a balance-hairspring (10, 11).

4. Movement as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the control member is a time-setting stem actuating a pull-out piece (2) to which the rocker (3) is connected.

5. Timepiece comprising a movement as claimed in any one of the preceding claims.

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