Secular module for a perpetual calendar mechanism of a clock movement

Abstract

The present invention relates to a secular module for a perpetual calendar mechanism of a clock movement, comprising a first mobile arranged to be driven by a month mobile of the clock movement, second and third mobiles mounted in series with the first mobile and two rocker bars. The three mobiles comprise a bissextile cam, a tens cam and a hundreds cam, respectively.

Description

Secular module for perpetual calendar mechanism of a watch movement Technical field

[0001] The present invention relates to a secular module for a perpetual calendar mechanism for a watch movement. The secular module is intended to operate a correction device to manage the transition from the end of February to the 1 er March based on leap years while taking into account the absence of leap years every hundred years and optionally maintaining leap years every 400 years. State of the art

[0002] There are various mechanisms for indicating date information. These mechanisms are relatively simple in construction for displaying the date without correction, of the annual calendar type capable of managing the transition from months to 30 and 31 days on the 1 erof the following month, and of the perpetual calendar type which includes a mechanical memory, so to speak, allowing not only to manage the passage of months with 30 and 31 days on the 1 er of the following month, but also the passage from the end of February to the 1 er March, taking into account leap years. Conventional perpetual calendars, however, do not take into account the absence of leap years every hundred years.

[0003] Various secular calendar mechanisms have already been described. One of the challenges, however, remains maintaining acceptable compactness. Another aspect is to be able to easily integrate a secular module capable of activating a correction device to manage the transition from the end of February to the 1 er March based on leap years taking into account the absence of leap years every hundred years and possibly in now leap years every 400 years. This type of secular module is described in particular in publications EP3339973 and CH653841.

[0004] An aim of the present invention is therefore to propose a secular module capable of actuating a correction device to manage the transition at the end of February to 1 er March based on leap years, taking into account the absence of leap years every hundred years.

[0005] Another aim of the present invention is to provide a secular module which is easy to modify to operate the correction device also taking into account leap years every 400 years.

[0006] Another object of the present invention is to propose a reversible secular module to allow easy correction of the display of the year in both directions, namely both in the direction of an increment and in that of a decrement.

[0007] An additional goal is to propose a secular perpetual calendar integrating the secular module. Brief summary of the invention

[0008] These aims are achieved in particular by a secular module for a perpetual calendar mechanism, comprising three mobiles mounted in series, one of which is arranged to be driven by a months mobile. The first mobile preferably comprises a driving member, a so-called leap cam, a driven member arranged to be rotated by a finger of the months mobile. The leap cam and the driving member of the first mobile are integral with the driven member. The second mobile comprises a driven element arranged to be rotated by the driving member of the first mobile, a so-called tens cam and a drive member typically comprising a finger. The tens cam and the drive member of the second mobile are integral with the driven member. The third mobile comprises a rotary member arranged to be driven by the finger that comprises the drive member of the second mobile and a so-called hundreds cam integral with the rotary member.

[0009] The secular module further comprises a first and a second lever. The first lever comprises a feeler arranged to cooperate with the leap cam of the first mobile to bring the first lever into a first or a second position. The first lever is in the first position when the feeler cooperates with a first portion of the leap cam corresponding to a non-leap year. The first lever is in a second position when the feeler cooperates with a second portion of the leap cam corresponding to a leap year in order to actuate a correction device to take into account the 29 ème day of February in a leap year.

[0010] The second rocker comprises a first and a second feeler arranged to cooperate with the tens cam of the second mobile and the hundreds cam of the third mobile respectively. The second rocker is arranged to maintain the first rocker in the first position when the first and second feelers are located on a portion of the cam corresponding respectively to a multiple of ten years of the tens cam and to a multiple of one hundred years of the hundreds cam.

[0011] According to one embodiment, the secular module further comprises a finger secured to the rotating member of the third mobile, a fourth mobile and a third rocker. The fourth mobile comprises a rotating element arranged to be driven by the passage of the finger and a so-called 400 cam secured to the rotating element of this fourth mobile. The third rocker comprises a third feeler to cooperate with the 400 cam. The third rocker is arranged to tilt the second rocker so that it does not act on the first rocker when the third feeler of the third rocker cooperates with a portion of the 400 cam corresponding to a multiple of 400 years.

[0012] According to one embodiment, the cam of the 400 has two diametrically opposed recesses.

[0013] According to one embodiment, the rotary member of the third mobile and the driven member of the first mobile each take the form of a pinion comprising several pairs of teeth. These are distributed regularly around the circumference of the pinion and are spaced from each other to define clearances.

[0014] According to one embodiment, the drive member of the second wheel set and the drive member of the month wheel set each comprise a circular edge, a finger whose free end projects from the circular edge and two grooves arranged on either side of the finger. This allows each of these fingers to be housed in the space formed by a pair of teeth of the respective pinion of the first and third wheel sets while one and the other tooth of this pair of teeth can be housed in turn respectively in the first groove downstream of the finger relative to its direction of rotation and in the second groove arranged upstream of said finger.

[0015] According to one embodiment, two pairs of adjacent teeth of the respective pinion are arranged so that one of the teeth of each of the pairs of adjacent teeth abuts against the circular edges of the drive member of the month wheel set and the drive member of the second wheel set, thus making it possible to limit the angular movement of the respective pinions of the first and third wheel sets. The latter are therefore immobilized in a relatively stable position after each passage of the finger driving a pair of teeth until the next passage of the finger engaging an adjacent pair of teeth. This arrangement makes it possible to avoid any unexpected rotation of the members driven by the first mobile and the third mobile in the event that one of them were to move in one direction or the other, for example in the event of shocks.

[0016] According to one embodiment, the secular module further comprises a jumper arranged to come into contact with a support zone of one of the clearances of the pinion of the third mobile in order to bring the pinion into an indexed angular position.

[0017] According to one embodiment, the pairs of teeth of the pinions of the first and third mobiles respectively are obtained from a pinion of which one tooth out of three has been truncated.

[0018] According to one embodiment, the first mobile is arranged to be driven by the finger of the month mobile at a rate of one revolution every multiple of four years, preferably one revolution every eight or twelve years. The second mobile is arranged to be driven by the driving member of the first mobile at a rate of one revolution every ten years. The rotary member of the third mobile is arranged to be driven by the finger of the second mobile at a rate of one revolution every hundred years.

[0019] According to one embodiment, the leap cam of the first mobile comprises two diametrically opposed recesses or three recesses separated from each other by 120°. The tens and hundreds cams each comprise a single recess.

[0020] According to one embodiment, the secular module further comprises an indexing star secured to the first mobile and an indexing jumper cooperating with the indexing star in order to bring the first mobile in an indexed position after each passage of the finger of the mobile of the months.

[0021] According to one embodiment, the first rocker further comprises a rake arranged to be engaged with a toothing of the correction device.

[0022] Another aspect of the invention relates to a display module for displaying years, comprising the aforementioned secular module according to any one of its embodiments, in which the third mobile further comprises a second rotary member arranged to be driven by the driven member of the second mobile at the rate of one revolution every ten years. The third mobile further comprises an axis secured to the second rotary member and a barrel arranged around the axis and secured to the first rotary member. The display module further comprises a units ring mounted secured to the axis and a tens ring arranged concentrically outside the units ring and secured to the barrel.

[0023] Another aspect of the invention relates to a perpetual calendar mechanism. This mechanism comprises in particular a month cam comprising at least one notch whose depth corresponds to the month of February of a non-leap year as well as a correction device in order to limit the depth of said at least one notch so that it corresponds to the month of February of a leap year. The mechanism further comprises the aforementioned secular module, according to any one of its embodiments, so that the pivoting of the first lever into the second position actuates the correction device to limit the depth of said at least one notch.

[0024] Another aspect of the invention relates to a timepiece comprising the above-mentioned display module or perpetual calendar mechanism. Brief description of the figures

[0025] Examples of implementation of the invention are indicated in the description illustrated by the appended figures in which: - figure 1 illustrates a perspective view of a secular module arranged to be driven by a month wheel of a clockwork mechanism, according to one embodiment; - figure 2 illustrates a perspective view of the secular module of figure 1 according to another orientation; - Figures 3a and 3b illustrate views of the secular module of Figures 1 and 2 with a cross-section at the level of the cams according to two operational sequences of the module; - Figure 4 illustrates a top view of a display of years comprising the secular module of Figure 1, and - figure 5 illustrated a simplified exploded view of a secular module according to another embodiment. Examples of embodiments of the invention

[0026] According to one embodiment and with particular reference to figures 1 and 2, the secular module 10 is arranged to cooperate with a month wheel 100 of a watch movement and is adapted to take into account the absence of leap years every hundred years. The secular module 10 can also be adapted to take into account leap years every 400 years according to an advantageous embodiment which will be described later.

[0027] Indeed, we know that a leap year is a year that has 366 days instead of 365 with an extra day in February. Years are generally leap years if they are multiples of four, however they are not leap years if they are multiples of one hundred, with the exception of years that are multiples of four hundred, which are leap years. Thus, the years 2020, 2024 and 2028 are leap years, as are the years 2000 and 2400, but not the years 1900, 2100, 2200 and 2300.

[0028] This type of year exists to compensate for the time difference between the common calendar year of 365 days and the solar year, which is the time required for the Earth to complete one revolution around the Sun, which is 365.242 days. An extra day must therefore be added regularly so that the average length of calendar years is as close as possible to the solar year by making a correction according to the above rule.

[0029] In order to take into account the absence of leap years every hundred years, the secular module 10 illustrated by figures 1 and 2 comprises three mobiles 20, 30, 40 engaged directly or indirectly with the month mobile 100 and two levers 70, 80 each arranged to cooperate with at least one of these three mobiles in order to be able to actuate, every four years except every hundred years, a correction device which will be described later.

[0030] The month wheel 100 typically comprises a pinion 102 with twelve teeth, a jumper 108 meshing with the pinion 102 and a first drive member 104 secured to the pinion 102 and comprising a finger 105. The pinion 102 is arranged to be driven by the watch movement in order to make a 360° rotation every twelve months, preferably in successive jumps of 30°. To do this, at the end of December typically, the pinion 102 prints, under the effect of the jumper 108, a quasi-rotation instantaneously to the finger 105 in order to drive the first mobile 20 by a predetermined angular step in a quasi-instantaneous manner.

[0031] The first wheel set 20 comprises a driving member 27, for example a wheel, on which are coaxially superimposed a so-called leap cam 25, a driven member 21 and preferably an indexing star 24. The driving wheel 27, the leap cam 25, the indexing star 24 and the driven member 21 are fixed together in order to form a unitary block. The driven member 21 is arranged to be rotated by the finger 105 of the month wheel set 100 so that all the elements of the first wheel set 20 can together perform a 360° rotation every multiple of four years, in particular every eight years according to the preferred embodiment. The leap cam 25 therefore performs a 360° rotation every eight years.

[0032] The second mobile 30 comprises a driven member or element 37, for example a wheel or a pinion, on which are coaxially superimposed a cam 35 called the tens cam and a second drive member 31 comprising a finger 32. The driven wheel 37, the tens cam 35 and the second drive member 31 are fixed together in order to form a unitary block, like the first mobile 20. The driven wheel 37 of the second mobile 30 is engaged with the driving wheel 27 of the first mobile 20. The gear ratio between these two wheels 27, 37 is in this example 8:10 so that all the elements of the second mobile 30 can together perform a rotation of 360° every ten years. The tens cam 35 therefore performs a rotation of 360° every ten years.

[0033] The third wheel 40 comprises a first rotary member 41 arranged to be driven by the finger 32 of the second drive member 31 of the second wheel 30, a cam 45 called the hundreds cam secured to the first rotary member 41 and a second rotary member 47 engaged with the driven wheel 37 of the second wheel 30. The first rotary member 41 is thus driven by the finger 32 of the second drive member 31 of the second wheel 30 to perform a 360° rotation every hundred years. The hundreds cam 45 therefore performs a 360° rotation every hundred years. The gear ratio between the driven wheel 37 of the second wheel 30 and the second rotating member 47 is 1:1 so that the latter can also perform a 360° rotation every ten years.

[0034] The month wheel 100 and the three wheel sets 20, 30, 40 of the secular module 10 are therefore mounted in series. The transmission between these different wheel sets can be done in different ways. For example, according to Figure 1, the driven member 21 of the first wheel set 20 as well as the first and second rotary members 41, 47 of the third wheel set 40 can be in the form of pinions. As illustrated, these pinions preferably have a particular toothing provided with several pairs of teeth 22, 42 distributed regularly around their circumference and spaced from each other to define clearances 23, 43 between the pairs of teeth.

[0035] More particularly, the pinion 21 of the first mobile 20 may for example comprise eight pairs of teeth 22 and clearances 23 arranged between the pairs of teeth 22. This singular toothing is obtained from a pinion of twenty-four teeth of which one tooth in three has been truncated. The first drive member 104 of the month wheel 100 has a specific shape for driving the pinion 21. This drive member comprises a disc 106 with a circular edge over almost its entire circumference, a finger 105 whose free end projects from the circular edge of the disc 106 as well as a first and a second groove 107a, 107b arranged on either side of the finger 105. Each groove 107a, 107b extends along a direction parallel to the axis of rotation of the month wheel 100 over the thickness of the disc 106.

[0036] Thus, at the end of each year, finger 105 of the month wheel 100 is housed in the space formed by a pair of teeth 22 of the pinion 21 of the first mobile 20 while the first and second teeth of this pair of teeth are housed in turn respectively in the first groove 107a downstream of the finger 105 relative to its direction of rotation and in the second groove 107b arranged upstream of the finger 105. Thus, after the passage of the finger 105, the pinion 21 temporarily continues to be driven under the action of the second groove 107b against the second tooth of the pair of teeth 22.

[0037] The indexing star 24 is arranged to cooperate with an indexing jumper 28. In the example illustrated, the star 24 has eight teeth, that is to say the number of teeth of the star 24 corresponds to the number of pairs of teeth 22 of the pinion 21. The function of the indexing star 24 will be described later.

[0038] Like the first mobile 20, the first and second rotary members 41, 47 of the third mobile 40 can both be in the form of pinions provided with ten pairs of teeth 42 spaced regularly over 360° to define clearances 43 arranged between the pairs of teeth 42. This toothing is obtained from a pinion of thirty teeth of which one tooth in three has been truncated. Preferably, a first and a second jumper 53, 54 are arranged so that their respective head 53a, 54a comes against a bearing surface of a clearance 43 respectively of the first and second pinions 41, 47 in order to bring the two pinions 41, 47 into an indexed angular position.

[0039] When the finger 105 of the drive member 104 of the month wheel set 100 engages, typically at the end of December of each year, a pair of teeth 22 of the pinion 21 of the first wheel set 20, the latter pivots through a certain angle. The indexing star 24 is consequently rotated under the action of the finger 105, which lifts the indexing jumper 28 until it gives a jump to the first wheel set 20. to bring it into an indexed angular position. The star and the indexing jumper serve two functions.

[0040] The first function consists of adding sufficient torque to the first wheel set 20, which torque will be added to the torque exerted by the jumper 108 on the pinion 102 of the month wheel set 100, so that this pinion 102 has sufficient torque to drive the jumpers 53 and 54 as well as the levers 70 and 80, and can thus jump one step. The second function consists of completing the rotation of the first wheel set 20 so that it can make a jump of 45° at the end of each year. Each jump of the first wheel set 20 makes it possible to actuate the third wheel set 40, via the second wheel set 30, so that the first pinion 41 and the second pinion 47 of the third wheel set can make a jump of 36° at the end of each ten years and each year respectively.According to the preferred embodiment, this jump also makes it possible to ensure that the heads 53a, 54a of the two jumpers 53, 54 act correctly against a bearing surface of one of the clearances of the two pinions 41, 47 of the third mobile 40, and not on a pair of teeth 42, in order to lock the third mobile 40 in an indexed position after each jump.

[0041] It should be noted that the indexing star 24 and the indexing jumper 28 are not essential to the proper functioning of the secular module. The rigidity of the jumper of the month wheel 100 could indeed be reduced so that the torque transmitted to this wheel is sufficient to activate the jump and drive the first wheel 20 of the secular module 10.

[0042] Furthermore, the singular shape of the drive member 104 of the month wheel set and of the pinion 21 of the first wheel set 20 makes it possible to limit the angular movement of the pinion 21 during the current year between two passages of the finger 105. This is made possible by two pairs of adjacent teeth of the pinion 21 which are arranged so that one of the teeth of each pair comes to abut against the edge of the disc 106 in the case where the first mobile 20 came to move in one direction or the other following a shock for example.

[0043] Similarly, the first and second jumpers 53, 54 acting on the third mobile 40 are not essential to the proper functioning of the secular module, because the more or less stable angular position of the first and second pinions 41, 47 is ensured thanks to the singular shape of the second drive member 31 of the second mobile 30 and that of the first and second pinions 41, 47 of the third mobile 40 according to the above-mentioned explanation for the drive of the first mobile 20.

[0044] The singular shapes of the drive members 104, 31 of the first and third mobiles 20, 40 and of the respective pinions 21, 41 which they drive advantageously allow the reversibility of the secular module. Reversibility is understood to mean the possibility of driving the first mobile 20 in one direction or the other by the month module 100 in order to allow easy correction of a display of the years which will be described later.

[0045] It is however important to note that the singular shape of the drive members 104, 31 and that of the respective pinions 21, 41 are not essential for the proper functioning of the secular module. Continuously toothed pinions as well as fingers adapted to drive them could in fact be used with suitable jumpers to ensure the indexing of the mobiles and their reversibility.

[0046] Furthermore, the gear ratio between the driving wheel 27 of the first mobile 20 and the driven wheel 37 of the second mobile 30 as well as the shape of the pinion 21 of the first mobile could be different. For example, this gear ratio could be 12:10 and the pinion 21 could have twelve pairs of teeth, instead of eight, so that all the elements of the first mobile 20 can rotate together. 360° every 12 years. In this case, the leap cam would have three indentations arranged at 120° to each other, since each indentation represents a leap year in a four-year cycle.

[0047] In particular in view of figures 3a and 3b, the secular module 10 further comprises a first lever 70 and a second lever 80. The first lever 70 is in particular arranged to cooperate, on the one hand, with the leap cam 25 of the first mobile 20 and, on the other hand, with a correction device. In this respect, the first lever 70 further comprises transmission means for actuating the correction device when this first lever is brought into a certain position. The transmission means are in the form of a rake 74 in this example to be engaged with a toothing of the correction device which will be described later.

[0048] The second rocker 80 is arranged to cooperate with the tens cam 35 of the second mobile 30 and with the hundreds cam 45 of the third mobile 40. The second rocker 80 is arranged so as to move the first rocker 70 as a function of the angular position of the tens cam 35 and that of the hundreds cam 45.

[0049] More particularly, the first lever 70 comprises a feeler 72 and a rocker spring 78 arranged to force the feeler 72 to bear against the contour of the leap cam 25 of the first mobile 20. The profile of this cam comprises in this example two diametrically opposed recesses 26a, 26b and two circular portions 26d, 26e. The second lever 80 comprises a first feeler 81 and a second feeler 82. The first feeler 81 is arranged to feel the contour of the tens cam 35 of the second mobile 30. The profile of this cam comprises in this example a recess 36 as well as a circular portion 36a which typically extends over more than 300°. The second feeler 82 is arranged to feel the contour of the hundreds cam 45 of the third mobile 40. The profile of this cam comprises in this example a recess 46 as well as a circular portion which, preferably, extends over more than 300°.

[0050] The second rocker 80 also comprises a rocker spring 86 intended to force the first and second feelers 81, 82 against the profile of the respective cams of the second and third mobiles 30, 40. This second rocker 80 also comprises an actuating arm 83, a free end 84 of which is intended to act on an actuable part 76 of the first rocker 70.

[0051] The cumulative consideration of the angular positions of the tens cam 35 and the hundreds cam 45 makes it possible to determine whether the current year is a multiple of 100 years, in which case it is not a leap year. Since the tens cam 35 makes a complete revolution every ten years while the hundreds cam 45 makes a complete revolution every hundred years, their respective recesses 36, 46 are in the same angular position every multiple of 100 years. In other words, by making a revolution every ten years, the tens cam 35 can be considered an indicator of the units of the current year. Similarly, by making a revolution every hundred years, the hundreds cam 45 can be considered an indicator of the tens of the current year.Thus, when the units and tens of the current year are equal to zero, which corresponds to a common direction or angular position of the recesses 36, 46 of these cams relative to their axis of rotation, we are in a case where the current year corresponds to a multiple of one hundred.

[0052] The operation of the secular module 100 will be better understood by the description of the two operational sequences illustrated by figures 3a to 3b.

[0053] According to Figure 3a, the tens cam 35 and the hundreds cam 45 of the second and third mobiles 30, 40 are not in the same angular position. The current year is therefore not a multiple of 100 years. On the other hand, the angular position of the leap cam 25 indicates that the current year is a leap year. The first lever 70 pivots, under the action of the lever spring 78, so that its feeler 72 comes into abutment against the bottom of the recess 26a. The pivoting of the first lever 70 actuates the rack 74, secured to one of its branches, so that it in turn actuates the correction device in order to take into account the 29 ème day of the month of February.

[0054] According to Figure 3b, the tens cam 35 and the hundreds cam 45 are in the same angular position. The current year is therefore a multiple of 100 years. It is therefore not a leap year. However, the leap cam 25 is in an angular position where the recess 26a is opposite the feeler 72 of the first lever 70. The second lever 80 pivots, under the action of the lever spring 86, when its first and second feelers 81, 82 come into abutment against the bottoms of the recesses 36, 46 respectively of the tens cam 35 and the hundreds cam 45. The pivoting of the second lever 80 allows the free end 84 of its actuating arm 83 to act on the actuable part 76 of the first lever 70 in order to position its feeler 72 at a distance from the bottom of the recess 26a of the leap cam 25.This action may consist of preventing its feeler 72 from coming into abutment against the bottom of the recess 26a of the leap cam 25 or of raising this feeler 72 if it has come into abutment against the bottom of the recess or if it is in the process of tilting towards the bottom of this recess 26a. In the first case, the first rocker 70 cannot therefore move, which makes it possible to avoid actuating the correction device to carry out a correction which is not necessary.

[0055] The third mobile 40 can, according to an advantageous embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4, support a display of the years 200. This comprises a units ring 210 and a tens ring 220 arranged concentrically outside the units ring 210 and each comprising a succession of numbers from 0 to 9. According to FIG. 1, the third mobile 40 further comprises an axis 50 secured to the second rotary member 47 and a barrel 44 arranged around the axis 50 and secured to the first rotary member 41.

[0056] The ring of units 210 comprises at its center a fixing element 212 comprising a hub 213 fixed on the axis 50 of the second rotary member 47 (figure 1), for example by driving, and several fixing arms 214 extending radially from the hub 213 and the free ends of which are fixed on the lower face of the ring of units 210. The ring of tens 220 also comprises at its center a hub (not visible) arranged under the hub 213 of the ring of units and several fixing arms 222 extending radially from the hub and the free ends of which are fixed on the lower face of the ring of tens 220. The hub of the ring of tens 220 is fixed to the barrel 44 of the first rotary member 41 (figure 1), for example by driving.

[0057] According to another embodiment shown schematically in Figure 5, the secular module is adapted to not only take into account the absence of leap years every hundred years like the secular module 100 which has just been described but also the years divisible by 400 as leap years even though they are also divisible by 100.

[0058] For this purpose, the secular module comprises three mobiles and two rockers identical or similar to the three mobiles 20, 30, 40 and to the two rockers 70, 80 as described previously for the embodiment illustrated in figures 1 and 2. A transmission member 51 (comprising a finger 52) is mounted on the third mobile in order to be integral with the first rotary member 41 to be driven at the rate of one 360° rotation every hundred years. The secular modular further comprises a fourth mobile 60 and a third rocker 90 as illustrated in Figure 5.

[0059] The fourth mobile 60 comprises a member or a rotary element 62 arranged to be driven by the passage of the finger 52 associated with the third mobile 40. The rotary element can for example be in the form of a pinion 62 provided with eight pairs of teeth, like the pinion 21 of the first mobile 20 of FIG. 1, so that the pinion 63 can make a 360° rotation every 800 years. A so-called 400 cam 64 is mounted integrally with the pinion 62 so that this cam 64 can also make a 360° rotation every 800 years. The profile of this 400 cam comprises two diametrically opposed recesses 65a, 65b as well as two circular portions. The fourth mobile 60 could be presented in other forms, in particular with regard to the number of teeth or pairs of teeth of the pinion 62 and the number of recesses 65a, 65b that the cam 64 comprises.What matters is that the elements of the fourth mobile 60 can together perform a rotation of 360° every multiple of four hundred years.

[0060] The third lever 90 comprises a third feeler 92, a rocker spring (not shown) to force the third feeler 92 to follow the profile of the cam of the 400, as well as an actuating arm 94. The latter comprises a free end 95 intended to act on an actuable part 85 of the second lever 80 so that the latter does not act on the first lever 70 when the third feeler 92 of the third lever 90 cooperates with one or other of the two recesses 65a, 65b of the cam of the 400 corresponding to a multiple of 400. The first lever 70 can thus pivot, under the action of its rocker spring, and thus force its feeler 72 to come to the bottom of a recess 26c of the leap cam 25.

[0061] Note that the leap cam 25 in this example comprises three recesses 26a, 26b, 26c arranged at 120° to each other and that the driving wheel 27 of the first wheel set and the driven wheel 37 of the second wheel set have a gear ratio of 12:10 so that the second wheel set comprising the tens cam 35 can complete a full revolution every ten years when the first wheel set completes a full revolution every twelve years.

[0062] The secular module 10 according to one of the aforementioned embodiments is intended to be incorporated into a perpetual calendar mechanism preferably equipped with a month cam (not illustrated) of thirty-six notches or less, unlike most conventional perpetual calendars which are equipped with a month cam with forty-eight notches, commonly called a 48 cam, in order to cover a four-year cycle including a leap year.

[0063] The thirty-six notches of the month cam extend towards the center of the cam and have three different depths. These notches are arranged successively respecting the length of the months ordered from January to December. The notches with the shallowest depth correspond to the months of 31 days, the notches with the greatest depth correspond to the months of 28 days and the intermediate notches correspond to the months of 30 days.

[0064] This month cam has the advantage of being less bulky than a 48 cam, while maintaining notches of the same width. The cam therefore only represents a cycle of three consecutive years with three notches arranged at 120° to each other for correction at the end of February in non-leap years.

[0065] In order to further reduce the size of the month cam, it could, according to other execution variants, only have twenty-four notches, or even twelve notches while preserving, for example, notches of the same width as a 48 cam.

[0066] Regardless of the number of notches provided for the month cam (12, 24, 36, or even 48 notches), the February months of such a cam would be represented by notches having a representative depth of 28 days. The month cam therefore does not have any notch dedicated to the correction necessary for a February in a leap year.

[0067] In order to achieve this correction, the perpetual calendar mechanism includes a correction device designed to limit the depth of the February notch during a leap year so that the depth corresponds to a 29-day month.

[0068] The correction device comprises for this purpose a rotating member in the form of a disc mounted coaxially with the month cam, for example in the same plane as the latter. The disc comprises on its contour a circular portion, a radial slot and a toothing. The rake 74 of the first lever 70 of the secular module is engaged with the toothing of the disc so as to pivot the disc so that its radial slot is aligned with the notch for the month of February of the month cam during a normal year, and that on the contrary this radial slot is not aligned with the notch for the month of February during a leap year. Reference list Secular Modular 10 First mobile 20 Driven body 21 (eg pinion) Pair of teeth 22 Clearance 23 Indexing star 24 Leap Cam 25 Recesses 26a, 26b; 26a, 26b, 26c Circular portions 26d, 26e Leading organ 27 28 Index Necklace Second mobile 30 Drive organ 31 finger 32 Circular profile edge 33 Groove 34 Came of tens 35 Recess 36 Circular profile 36a Driven element 37 Third mobile 40 First rotating organ 41 (eg pinion) Pair of teeth 42 Clearance 43 Canon 44 Came hundreds 45 Recess 46 Circular profile 46a Second rotating organ 47 (eg pinion) Pair of teeth 48 Clearance 49 Axis 50 Transmission organ 51 Finger 52 First and second jumpers 53, 54 Heads 53a, 54a Fourth mobile 60 (eg pinion) Rotating element 62 Came of the 400 64 Recess 65a, 65b First switch 70 Feeler 72 Rake 74 Actionable Part 76 Spring blade 78 Second switch 80 First feeler 81 Second feeler 82 Actuating arm 83 Free end 84 Actionable part 85 Rocker spring 86 Third switch 90 Third probe 92 Actuating arm 94 Free end 95 Rocker spring 96 Mobile of the 100 months Pinion of the months 102 Drive unit 104 Finger 105 Circular profile edge106 Grooves 107a, 107b Necklace 108 Display module 200 Ring of Units 210 Fastening element 212 Hub 213 214 Mounting Arm Tens ring 220 222 Mounting Arm

Claims

Claims 1. Secular module (10) for a perpetual calendar mechanism of a watch movement, comprising: a first wheel set (20) comprising a driving member (27), a cam (25) called a leap cam, and a driven member (21) arranged to be driven in rotation by a drive member (104) of a month wheel set (100) of the watch movement, the leap cam (25) and the driving member (27) being integral with the driven member (21), a second wheel set (30) comprising a driven element (37) arranged to be driven in rotation by the driving member (27) of the first wheel set (20) and a second driving member (31) integral with the driven element (37), a third wheel set (40) comprising a rotary member (41) arranged to be driven by the second driving member (31) of the second wheel set (30), a cam (45) called hundreds integral with the rotating organ (41),and a first lever (70) comprising a feeler (72) arranged to cooperate with the leap cam (25) of the first mobile (20) to bring the first lever (70) respectively into a first position when the feeler (72) cooperates with a first portion of the leap cam (25) corresponding to a non-leap year and into a second position when the feeler (72) cooperates with a second portion (26a, 26b, 26c) of the leap cam (25) corresponding to a leap year in order to actuate a correction device to take into account the 29, èmeday of the month of February of a leap year, and characterized in that the second mobile (30) further comprises a cam (35), called the tens cam, integral with the driven element (37) of said second mobile, and in that the secular module (10) further comprises a second rocker (80) comprising a first and a second feeler (81, 82) arranged to cooperate with respectively the tens cam (35) of the second mobile (30) and the hundreds cam (45) of the third mobile (40), the second rocker (80) being arranged to act on the first rocker (70) in order to prevent its feeler (72) from cooperating with said second portion of the leap cam (25) when the first and second feelers (81, 82) of the second rocker (80) are located on a portion of the cam corresponding respectively to a multiple of ten years of the tens cam (35) and to a multiple of one hundred years of the hundreds cam (45).

2. Secular module (10) according to claim 1, further comprising a finger (52) integral with the rotary member (41) of the third mobile (40), a fourth mobile (60) comprising a rotary element (62) arranged to be driven by the passage of the finger (52), and a so-called 400 cam (64) integral with the rotary element (62), and a third rocker (90) comprising a third feeler (92) arranged to cooperate with the 400 cam (64), the third rocker (90) being arranged to tilt the second rocker (80) so that the latter does not act on the first rocker (70) when the third feeler (92) cooperates with a portion (65a, 65b) of the 400 cam (64) corresponding to a multiple of 400 years.

3. Secular module (10) according to the preceding claim, in which the cam of the 400 (64) comprises two diametrically opposed recesses (65a, 65b).

4. Secular module (10) according to one of the preceding claims, in which the rotary member (41) of the third mobile (40) and the driven member (21) of the first mobile (20) are each in the form of a pinion comprising several pairs of teeth (42) distributed regularly around their circumference and spaced from each other to define clearances (23, 43).

5. Secular module (10) according to the preceding claim, in which the second drive member (31) of the second wheel set (30) and the drive member (104) of the month wheel set (100) each comprise a circular edge (33, 106), a finger (32, 105) whose free end projects from the circular edge (33, 106), and two grooves (34, 107a, 107b) arranged on either side of the finger (32, 105), said grooves (34, 107a, 107b) being shaped to receive the teeth of the respective pinions (41, 21) therein, and the fingers (32, 105) being shaped to engage within said pairs of teeth (22, 42).

6. Secular module (10) according to the preceding claim, in which the adjacent teeth of two consecutive pairs of teeth (22, 42) are shaped to abut against the circular edge (33, 106) of the drive member (31, 104) associated with the pinion (41, 21) of said pairs of teeth, in order to limit the angular movement of said pinions (21, 41) after each passage of the finger (32, 105) of the drive member (31, 104).

7. Secular module (10) according to one of claims 4 to 6, further comprising a jumper (53) arranged to come into contact with a contact zone of one of the clearances (43) of the pinion (41) of the third mobile (40) in order to bring the pinion (41) into an indexed angular position.

8. Secular module (10) according to one of claims 4 to 7, in which the pairs of teeth of the pinions (21, 41) respectively of the first and third mobiles (20, 40) are obtained from a pinion of which one tooth in three has been truncated.

9. Secular module (10) according to one of claims 4 to 8, in which the first mobile (20) is arranged to be driven by the finger (105) of the month mobile (100) at the rate of one revolution every multiple of four years, preferably one revolution every eight or twelve years, the second mobile (30) is arranged to be driven by the driving member (27) of the first mobile (20) at the rate of one revolution every ten years, and the rotary member (41) of the third mobile (40) is arranged to be driven by the finger (32) of the second mobile (30) at the rate of one revolution every hundred years.

10. Secular module (10) according to one of the preceding claims, in which the leap cam (25) of the first mobile (20) comprises two diametrically opposed recesses (26a, 26b) or three recesses (26a, 26b, 26c) separated from each other by 120°, and the tens (35) and hundreds (45) cams each comprise a single recess (36, 46) 11. Secular module (10) according to one of the preceding claims, further comprising an indexing star (24) integral with the first mobile (20), and an indexing jumper (28) cooperating with the indexing star (24) in order to bring the first mobile (20) into an indexed position after each passage of the finger (105) of the month mobile (100).

12. Secular module (10) according to one of the preceding claims, in which the first rocker (60) further comprises a rake (74) arranged to be engaged with a toothing of the correction device.

13. Display module (200) for displaying years, comprising the secular module (10) according to one of the preceding claims, in which the third mobile (40) further comprises a second rotary member (47) arranged to be driven by the driven element (37) of the second mobile (30) at the rate of one revolution every ten years, an axis (50) secured to the second rotary member (47) and a barrel (44) arranged around the axis (50) and secured to the first rotary member (41), the display module (200) further comprising a ring of units (210) mounted secured to said axis (50) and a ring of tens (220) arranged concentrically outside the ring of units (210) and secured to said barrel (44).

14. Timepiece comprising the secular module (10) according to one of claims 1 to 12 or the display module (200) according to claim 13.

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