Calendar display device, in particular for a timepiece

Abstract

The invention relates to a calendar display device (1), comprising a calendar year display mechanism arranged to ensure simultaneous display of all months and all days of the week of a given calendar year, capable of presenting at least two different configurations for a given year, depending on whether it is a leap year or not, the display device (1) comprising: - a year display mechanism, - a control member (32) arranged to be able to act on the year display mechanism and change the year displayed, - a leap year mechanism arranged to determine whether the year displayed is a leap year or not and to act on said calendar year display mechanism to switch it from one of said at least two configurations to the other, if necessary, when the year displayed is changed.

Description

technical field

[0001] The present invention relates to a calendar display device, preferably intended to be housed in a watch part box, as well as a box housing such a display device.

[0002] The present invention also relates to a timepiece comprising a box housing such a calendar display device. State of the art

[0003] Different types of calendar display devices are already known in the prior art, these having quite diverse respective embodiments.

[0004] Calendars have long been available that present a set of relevant information for approximately a given calendar year, taking the form of almanacs and / or books that allow users to add personal notes. In this case, a page can be associated with a day, or even a half-day, of the calendar year in question. In some compact versions, a page can be associated with a week, or even a month. Calendars that present a set of relevant information for a given calendar year are also long available, with this information arranged on a single sheet, thus providing an overview of the entire year at a glance. These calendars vary in size depending on the desired balance between the readability of the information they contain and their potential portability.For example, there are small sheets that fit in a pocket or calendars made in the form of sheets or boards whose sides measure several tens of centimeters, possibly usable as desk pads.

[0005] Most of the time, these calendar display devices are valid for about one calendar year and therefore need to be replaced annually.

[0006] Several different implementations of a perpetual calendar display device, offering an overview of a calendar year, are presented, for example, in publication EP0338294A2. The display devices disclosed in this publication feature constructions that allow the displayed information to be modified and thus used over several years.

[0007] The project illustrated on the figure 1This document specifies, in particular, the implementation of a rectangular display area with a first line containing several successive series of days of the week. Opposite this, a block of months, comprising one line per month, with each line displaying the date of the month in question, can be moved. Thus, at the beginning of each year, the relative position between the first line and the block of months must be manually adjusted by a user so that January 1st is positioned opposite the correct day of the week indicated on the first line. In the case of a perpetual calendar, the block of months is made up of two parts that move relative to each other: a first part including the lines for the months of January and February, and a second part including the lines for the months of March through December.In this case, the position of the second part can be further adjusted relative to the first part to account for the number of days in February, depending on whether the year is a leap year or not. This display may also include a movable cursor that is moved daily to locate the current date and then deduce the day of the week by projecting it vertically onto the first line of the calendar.

[0008] These calendar display devices therefore require consulting another source of information at the beginning of the year to set them up, or even during the year to know the date of the day in the event that the cursor has not been moved regularly and / or controlled.

[0009] In a different way, we also know of calendar display devices in the watchmaking field, of all sizes ranging from wristwatches to monumental clocks, whether they are mechanical, electromechanical or electronic.

[0010] As a non-limiting illustrative example, one may cite in particular the annual or perpetual calendar display device as presented in publication EP3026504A1, such a calendar display device being preferably intended to be integrated into the clock movement of a timepiece of limited dimensions, such as a wristwatch or a pocket watch.

[0011] More specifically, according to the illustrated and described embodiment, this display device comprises a date wheel, carrying a date display hand and driven once a day by a ratchet mechanism to increment the date display. The ratchet mechanism is associated with a month wheel, driven to complete one revolution every four years to account for leap years. This month wheel has 48 notches, each corresponding to a given month, and the depth of each notch depends on the length of the corresponding month. The ratchet mechanism includes a feeler for engaging the notches of the month wheel to ensure that the date wheel is driven at the end of each month corresponding to the length of that month.

[0012] Thus, calendar display devices of this type offer the advantage of providing an autonomous, dynamic and automatic display of calendar information, allowing the user to know the date and day of the week at any time, at a glance.

[0013] For obvious reasons of space and readability, these displays use a single series of numbers to indicate the date each month throughout the year (this series may include sub-series, for example, in a large date display, or with two superimposed discs where the upper disc has a window to reveal the lower one). Consequently, unless the display is misaligned, it is not possible to read, on these displays, for example, what day of the week a given date would fall on if it were different from, or possibly far removed from, the current date. Disclosure of the invention

[0014] A main objective of the present invention is to propose a calendar display device having an alternative construction and mode of operation in reference to those of the prior art devices just described, in particular by combining certain respective advantages of both in the same device.

[0015] To this end, the present invention relates more particularly to a calendar display device, comprising a calendar year display mechanism arranged to ensure simultaneous display of all months and all days of the week of a given calendar year, capable of presenting at least two different configurations for a given year, depending on whether it is a leap year or not, this display device being characterized in that it comprises: a year display mechanism, a control element arranged to be able to act on the year display mechanism and change the year displayed, a leap year mechanism arranged to determine whether the year displayed is a leap year or not and to act on the calendar year display mechanism to switch it from one of at least two configurations to the other, if necessary, when the year displayed changes.

[0016] Thanks to these features, a calendar display device is obtained that provides an overview of relevant information for the current year, including the year value itself, while automatically adjusting the length of February, if necessary, each time the displayed year changes to account for whether the year is a leap year or not. Thus, the display device according to the invention offers a hybrid approach between the two types of known calendar display devices described above, providing both an overview of relevant information for an entire year and an automatic adjustment of the basic calendar information—namely, the number of days in the displayed year—when its value changes.

[0017] According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, it is advantageous to provide that the calendar year display mechanism includes a display unit for the months and days of the year and a display unit for the weeks of the year, adjacent and substantially parallel to the display unit for the months and days of the year, and that the display unit for the months and days of the year includes a first portion associated with the months of January and February and at least a second portion associated with the months of March to December, the first and second portions being capable of occupying a first relative position, in a first configuration, and a second relative position, different from the first relative position, in a second configuration, such that the calendar year display mechanism shows: twenty-eight days in February in a non-leap year, and twenty-nine days in February in a leap year.

[0018] Thanks to these additional features, the display device according to the invention offers a continuous distribution of information throughout the displayed year, allowing for a more intuitive and simplified reading compared to the manual perpetual calendar described above.

[0019] According to a preferred embodiment, the calendar year display mechanism may be provided to include a week drive mechanism, arranged to be able to cause a relative displacement between the month and day display element and the week display element when the year displayed changes, in such a way that they can occupy seven different relative positions depending on the year displayed.

[0020] In this case, it is advantageous to anticipate that the weekly training mechanism will include: a week cam, comprising a guide surface extending over 360 degrees and having seven successive bearings of distinct respective mean radii, the week cam having a kinematic linkage with the control member such that it can be driven in rotation by one or two steps when the displayed year is incremented or decremented, so as to be able to present seven distinct angular orientations, and a week rocker comprising a feeler arranged to cooperate with the week cam in such a way that the week rocker can occupy seven different orientations depending on the year displayed, the week rocker being arranged to cooperate with the week display member and to move it, relative to the month and day display member, when the year displayed changes.

[0021] Alternatively, it is possible to plan for the weekly training mechanism to include:a week cam, comprising a guide surface extending over 360 degrees and having twenty-eight successive steps, each of which has an average radius whose value is chosen from a set of seven different values, the week cam having a kinematic linkage with the control member such that it can be driven in rotation by one step when the displayed year is incremented or decremented, so as to be able to present twenty-eight distinct angular orientations, each of which is associated with a given year in a cycle of twenty-eight consecutive years, and a week rocker comprising a feeler arranged to cooperate with the week cam in such a way that the week rocker can occupy seven different orientations depending on the year displayed, the week rocker being arranged to cooperate with the week display member and move it, relative to the month and day display member,during the changes to the displayed year.

[0022] Furthermore, we can generally expect: that the display device according to the invention comprises a moon phase display mechanism including a moon phase display element, adjacent and substantially parallel to the month and day of the year display element or to the week display element, and bearing at least 13N substantially regularly distributed moon representations, N being an integer equal to or greater than 1, preferably less than 5, and that the moon phase display element is kinematically connected to the control element in such a way that it is driven to move approximately eleven days in reference to the first portion of the month and day of the year display element when the displayed year is incremented or decremented.

[0023] According to a preferred embodiment, the display device may further be provided that it includes a metonic display mechanism comprising a metonic cam, with nineteen distinct angular orientations, driven in synchronism with the control member and arranged to define the orientation of a metonic display rocker, itself arranged to control the movements of a metonic display member adjacent and substantially parallel to the display member of the phases of the Moon, the metonic display member carrying at least one indicator of an event related to the cycles of the Moon capable of moving about eleven days in one direction and about nineteen days in the other direction, depending on whether the year of the metonic cycle has 12 lunar months or 13 lunar months.

[0024] It can then also be expected, in addition, that the metonic display mechanism includes at least one indicator of the beginning of a specific lunar month carried by the metonic display organ.

[0025] Thanks to the additional features just mentioned, in relation to lunar cycles, the display device according to the invention makes it possible to display the data of a lunisolar type calendar.

[0026] In general, it can also be provided that the display device according to the invention includes at least one additional display element, to display one or more pieces of information taken from the group comprising at least one additional piece of information respecting the Metonic cycle, the seasons, the at least approximate dates of the solstices and equinoxes, at least one period of shooting stars, the signs of the zodiac, the equation of time, an event with a fixed annual date.

[0027] Depending on various preferred embodiments, which may be combined, the following may also be envisaged: that the display unit for the months and days of the year is substantially in the shape of a ring, that the display device includes a leap year display mechanism comprising at least two states, leap year and non-leap year, that the year display mechanism includes a display unit for the thousands and hundreds of years, a display unit for the tens of years and a display unit for the years, each of which preferably has the shape of a disc or a cylinder, and that the display device includes at least one additional display mechanism comprising an independent movable display unit and an additional control unit arranged to be able to adjust the position of the independent movable display unit on demand.

[0028] The present invention also relates to a box, in particular for a timepiece, housing a display device according to the above characteristics, as well as a timepiece comprising such a box and further housing a watch movement.

[0029] It is understood that the calendar display device according to the invention can be mounted in the case of a timepiece while remaining independent of the corresponding watch movement, and can be manually operated by a user via at least one specific manual control. Alternatively, it is also possible to provide that the control element of the calendar display device according to the invention is driven by the watch movement, preferably once a year to change the displayed year, without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined by the attached claims. Brief description of the drawings

[0030] Other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent upon reading the detailed description of a preferred embodiment that follows, made with reference to the accompanying drawings given by way of non-limiting example and in which:

[0031] - there figure 1 represents a simplified front view of a calendar display device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; there figure 2 represents a simplified front view of the construction of the display device of the figure 1 ; there figure 2a represents a simplified front view in which a particular construction detail is highlighted; the figure 3 represents a simplified perspective view of an initial construction detail of the display device of the figure 1 ; there figure 3arepresents a front view of a construction detail of the display device of the figure 1 ; there figure 4 represents a simplified front view of a second construction detail of the display device of the figure 1 ; there figure 5 represents a simplified front view of a third construction detail of the display device of the figure 1 , and the figure 6 represents a simplified front view of a fourth construction detail of the display device of the figure 1 . Method(s) of embodiment of the invention

[0032] There figure 1 represents an overview, front and simplified view, of a display device 1 of a calendar according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0033] Generally, the display device 1 is preferably integrated into a box 2, which may be specifically designed to house it or which may also accommodate additional devices. For example, and by way of non-limiting illustration, the box 2 may also be intended to house a watch movement, thus constituting a watch component case, the size of which does not significantly impact the implementation of the present invention. The display device according to the invention may, for instance, allow for the creation of a table calendar, by being housed in a suitably sized box, which may or may not also incorporate a clock or any other compatible device.Alternatively, it may be advantageous to integrate the display device 1 into the case of a wristwatch or pocket watch, for example, into the case back, whether fixed or possibly pivoting, particularly as in the case of a case back known as an "officer's case back". For example, the display device 1 could be associated with a part mounted hinged to a case middle 2, such as a flap or cover that folds against the case back, bridge side, or against its crystal, dial side.

[0034] A person skilled in the art will not encounter any particular difficulty in adapting this instruction and implementing the display device 1 according to the invention in a format different from that of the preferred embodiment described below, without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the attached claims. By way of non-limiting example, it should be noted that if the display device 1 presented here is round, it could be implemented in the form of an arc of a circle, or even in a straight line, without any particular difficulty.

[0035] The display device 1 comprises a series of display elements in the form of discs or rings arranged concentrically, being adjacent in pairs, and in such a way that the indications they bear are arranged in substantially parallel directions.

[0036] More specifically, the display device 1 includes a calendar year display mechanism, intended to ensure simultaneous display of all months and all days of the week of a given calendar year, and comprising for this purpose a display element for the months and days of the year 4, arranged here as far outside the display area as possible.

[0037] This display for the months and days of the year 4 comprises two concentric scales covering the entire calendar year. The first scale bears markings for the months of the year, from January to December, and the second scale bears indices, each corresponding to a day of the displayed calendar year. As a non-limiting illustrative example, the indices corresponding to dates whose value is a multiple of 5 (the only ones indicated here) are hollowed out to improve readability.

[0038] As will be explained in more detail later, the display unit for the months and days of the year 4 is made in two complementary portions to cover a calendar year following an angular range of at least 300 degrees, preferably at least 340 degrees, or even up to approximately 360 degrees, a first portion 10 being associated with the months of January and February, and a second portion 12 being associated with the other months, i.e. March to December.

[0039] The calendar year display mechanism further includes a 14-week display element, adjacent and substantially parallel to the 4-month and 4-day display element. Thus, in the preferred embodiment presented and illustrated here, the 14-week display element also has an annular shape, being arranged concentrically with respect to the 4-month and 4-day display element.

[0040] The display unit for weeks 14 has at least fifty-two successive segments, each corresponding to a week of the calendar year. Only odd-numbered weeks are numbered here, as a non-limiting illustrative example. Thus, the extent of each segment covers an angle corresponding to seven index 8s of the display unit for months and days of the year 4. It follows that the first index 8 associated with a given segment in the clockwise direction corresponds to Monday of that week, while the last index of the segment corresponds to Sunday of the same week.

[0041] As an example, for the year illustrated on the figure 1 , we can read that January 1st is a Saturday (since two index 8s precede the start of the segment associated with the first week of the year), while December 31st is a Sunday (the seventh and last index 8 of the fifty-second segment of the display organ of weeks 14).

[0042] It is understood that the display unit for the months and days of the year 4 and the display unit for the weeks 14 must be able to exhibit a relative movement when the year displayed changes, in order to ensure a correct simultaneous display of the days of the week for the entire year displayed, and this will be explained further in the description.

[0043] The display device 1 also includes a lunar phase display 16, adjacent to the week display 14 and substantially parallel to it. More precisely, the lunar phase display is also annular in shape here, and bears at least 13N regularly spaced representations of the Moon 18, N being an integer at least equal to one, preferably less than five. Indeed, a calendar year (based on the solar cycle, according to the Gregorian calendar) comprises between twelve and thirteen lunar cycles (each lasting approximately 29 days, 12 hours, and 44 minutes), and these cycles therefore shift from one year to the next relative to the calendar. N thus corresponds here to the number of different representations of the Moon that the lunar phase display 16 will bear for each lunar cycle.For example, we can plan to display only the Full Moon or the New Moon for each cycle, in which case N=1, or as illustrated on the . figure 1 , both the New Moon and the Full Moon for each lunar cycle, in which case N=2. We can consider adding representations associated with the waxing and waning Moon, but, ultimately, it will be preferable to provide a limited number of representations to avoid overloading the display of the phases of the Moon 16 and / or to ensure that a sufficient level of readability is maintained.

[0044] According to the preferred embodiment illustrated here, the lunar phase display 16 comprises twenty-six representations of the Moon (one of which is masked) and is arranged to be movable relative to the calendar year display mechanism, in a manner that will be explained later. More specifically, in this case, the lunar phase display 16 must exhibit jumps of approximately eleven days at each change of year to account for the difference in length between a Gregorian calendar year and a twelve-month lunar cycle (which lasts approximately 354 days, 8 hours, and 48 minutes). In theory, the difference in length, on the order of 10 days and 21 hours (approximately 10.88 days), depends on the average value used for the Gregorian calendar year, particularly whether or not exceptions to leap years every 100 years that are not multiples of 400 are taken into account.In practice, the actual jumps will also depend on construction parameters, including the gear ratios involved.

[0045] It should be noted that the moon phase display 16 can be optionally combined with an indicator for the start of a specific lunar month 20, positioned opposite a particular representation of the New Moon. It is therefore preferable to implement a separate indicator for the start of a specific lunar month, to account for the possibility that the beginnings of the same lunar month in two successive lunar years might fall within the same calendar year of the solar calendar.In a preferred particular case, this indicator of the start of a specific lunar month 20 can be arranged to indicate Ramadan (ninth month of the Hijri calendar, i.e. twelfth New Moon after the previous Ramadan), which exceptionally occurs twice in the same year every 32.5 years on average, since the Hijri calendar is shorter than the Gregorian calendar (on average 354 days 8 hours and 48 minutes, compared to 365 days 5 hours and 49 minutes).

[0046] Display device 1 also includes a metonic display mechanism arranged to exhibit cyclic behavior over a metonic cycle, i.e., over a period of nineteen years. The metonic cycle comprises twelve normal years of 12 lunar months, each of 29 or 30 days, for a total year length of 354+ / -1 days, and seven leap years with an additional month of 30 days, for a total leap year length of 384+ / -1 days (i.e., an average year length of approximately 365 days, 5 hours, and 55 minutes over a complete metonic cycle).

[0047] This Metonic display mechanism may include a Metonic display element bearing one or more indicators 22 associated with events linked to lunisolar calendars. It is advantageous to provide that the Metonic display element can move during changes in the displayed year, in jumps of approximately eleven days in normal years or approximately nineteen days when an embolismic year is involved, following a total angular range corresponding to a complete lunar cycle, or approximately thirty days. Indeed, when two successive lunisolar years are normal years of 354 days, the indicators 22 simply need to follow the lunar phase display element 16, following a normal jump slightly less than eleven days as explained previously, since the offset with reference to the Gregorian calendar will be the same as for the lunar phase display element 16.However, the jump of the Metonic display may be offset by + / -1 day relative to that of the Moon phase display 16 when a normal lunisolar year of 353 or 355 days is involved. Finally, when an embolismic year is involved, the length of the corresponding additional lunar month must be combined with that of the normal jump of approximately eleven days, resulting in approximately nineteen days. It is advantageous to implement elongated windows 24, each associated with one of the indicators 22, allowing visualization of the range of variation of the date on which the corresponding event may occur, depending on the year.

[0048] As an example, various events related to lunisolar calendars were represented on the figure 1 , notably the Chinese New Year (spanning January and February on the figure 1The second New Moon after the winter solstice), Jewish Passover (the day of the first Full Moon following the March equinox), Christian Easter (the first Sunday after the first Full Moon following the March equinox), Vesak (in May), a Hindu festival celebrating the birth of Buddha, Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year), and Diwali (the eighth New Moon after the March equinox). Advantageously, two 22 indicators can be displayed for a given festival, one associated with the first part of the corresponding 24 window and the other with the remaining part, since the metonic display mechanism is arranged to show jumps in both directions of rotation according to the changing of the year. As for the two Easter festivals, they generally fall on the same date, and only one 22 indicator is visible in the corresponding 24 window.However, their dates may be shifted by one month from time to time (three times per nineteen-year Metonic cycle), in which case both indicators 22 are visible at the same time in the window and, in this case, the first indicator 22 always corresponds to Christian Easter, and the second indicator 22 always corresponds to Jewish Passover.

[0049] Of course, a person skilled in the art will not encounter any particular difficulty in implementing such optional metonymic indicators, regardless of the event to which they are associated or their form (including the presence and / or form of the associated counters), by adapting this teaching to their own needs and constraints, without going out of the scope of the invention as defined by the attached set of claims.

[0050] The display device 1 here advantageously includes a cover 26, positioned between the beginning and the end of the calendar, allowing in particular to conceal inactive portions of the different display organs which have just been described according to the years displayed, as well as possibly an additional indicator for the beginning of a specific lunar month, as mentioned above.

[0051] Other indicators can be provided without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the attached claims. Thus, it can be provided that the display device 1 includes at least one additional display element to display one or more pieces of information taken from the group comprising at least one additional piece of information respecting the Metonic cycle, the seasons, the at least approximate dates of the solstices and equinoxes, at least one period of shooting stars, the signs of the zodiac, the equation of time, an event with a fixed annual date.

[0052] Finally, the display device 1 advantageously includes a mechanism for displaying the Gregorian calendar year to show, through a year window 28, the year value corresponding to the calendar data displayed by the display devices described above. Preferably, but optionally, the display device 1 also includes a leap year display mechanism arranged to show whether the displayed year is a leap year or not in a leap year window 30. Thus, the figure 1 illustrates the display of calendar data for the year 2000 which was a leap year, hence the display of an L for "leap year" in the leap year window 30.

[0053] The display device 1 also includes a control element (schematically shown for illustrative purposes only and identified with the numerical reference 32 on the figure 2allowing, for example, a user to act on the value of the year displayed in the year 28 window to modify the relative positions of the different display elements described above and adjust the data displayed according to the new year displayed.

[0054] The operation of the display device 1 according to this preferred embodiment will be described below in relation to the illustrations of figures 2 to 6 which represent different construction details of the display device 1.

[0055] There figure 2 represents a front view of the display device 1 as a whole, with some trim elements masked (notably a central dial) to make part of its construction visible, in particular the main components of the year display mechanism and the leap year mechanism.

[0056] The control unit 32 has been schematically represented on the figure 2in the form of a dial that can be rotated in either direction by a user to increment or decrement the year displayed in the year window 28. The control member 32 is arranged to mesh with a control element 34 (via conventional gears not shown here), so that it can be rotated in either direction in response to a user action. It is understood that a person skilled in the art will not encounter any particular difficulty in implementing any other suitable form of the control member 32 without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the attached set of claims.For example, it may be possible to implement a control mechanism in the form of two separate pushbuttons, one of which would be capable of driving the control mobile 34 in a first direction of rotation, and the other of which would be capable of driving the control mobile 34 in the opposite direction of rotation.

[0057] To begin, it should be noted that the control unit 34 is arranged in a kinematic linkage with the moon phase display unit 16 so that it can be driven in one direction or the other when the displayed year is changed by the user. More precisely, here, as better seen in the detailed view of the figure 2a, the control mobile 34 is in contact with a first Moon return 36, itself in contact with a second Moon return 38 meshing with a toothed part of the Moon phase display organ 16. The corresponding gearing is made in such a way that the Moon phase display organ 16 is driven by about eleven days (about 10.88) counterclockwise when the displayed year is incremented, and by about eleven days (about 10.88) clockwise when the displayed year is decremented.

[0058] In addition, the control unit 34 is specifically arranged to cooperate with the year display mechanism, the leap year display mechanism, and the calendar year display mechanism.

[0059] More specifically, the control unit 34 is arranged in contact with a central unit of the years 40, itself arranged in contact on the one hand with a thousands and hundreds unit 42, intended to drive a thousands and hundreds display element 44, and on the other hand with a tens and units unit 46, intended to drive a tens display element 48 and a units display element 50.

[0060] The different display devices of the years 44, 48 and 50 are presented here in the form of discs (or rings) whose relevant indication to be read, for each of them, is positioned in the window of the year 28 by being adjacent to the indications of the other display devices of the years.

[0061] The thousands and hundreds digits of the years 42 and the tens and units digits of the years 46 also cooperate with the leap day mechanism to define the indication appearing in the leap day window 30, as will be described later, in relation to the figure 4 .

[0062] The drive mechanism of the display components from years 44, 48, and 50 will now be described in relation to the figure 3 which represents a perspective view of a construction detail of the display device 1 concerning the drive of these display components.

[0063] As a preliminary point, it should be noted that, according to the preferred embodiment illustrated, the control mobile 34 includes a positioning toothing 34a (visible only on the figure 3aand arranged to cooperate with a suitable positioning jumper 51), this positioning toothing 34a comprising nineteen teeth allowing nineteen different positions of the control mobile 34 to be defined. The choice of this specific number of teeth is linked to the duration of the metonic cycle of nineteen years, which will be explained in more detail later.

[0064] The control unit 34 is arranged in contact with a unit transfer 52 constituting a first stage of the central unit from the 1940s. The unit transfer 52 is in turn in contact with a unit unit from the 1956s which is part of the tens and units unit from the 1946s and intended to carry the unit display element from the 1950s.

[0065] Thus, each time the control unit 34 pivots one step, the year units unit 56 does the same and causes the year units display 50 to move one step in one direction or the other.

[0066] At the same time, the units wheel 56 meshes with a tooth 58 formed on a first level of a tens wheel 60, the latter comprising a second level comprising a single tooth 62 intended to cooperate with a tens wheel 64 of the tens and units wheel 46. The tens wheel 64 is arranged freely in rotation on the units wheel 56, being intended to carry the tens display member 48.

[0067] The 56-year units and 64-year tens wheels, and the 60-year tens wheel, have similar radii and tooth pitches. Thus, each time the 56-year units wheel completes a rotation (i.e., every ten activations by the user in the same direction), the same occurs for the 60-year tens wheel, which can then cause the 64-year tens wheel to move one step in either direction, resulting in a one-step movement of the 48-year tens display.

[0068] The tens-year mobile 64 is also engaged with a continuous toothing 66 defining a second stage of the central mobile of the 40s, this second stage being integral with a third stage comprising only two diametrically opposed teeth 68 (only one of which is visible on the figure 3 ).

[0069] The teeth 68 cooperate in turn with the thousands and hundreds-years mobile 42 to advance it one step in one direction or the other each time the second and third stages of the central years mobile 40 make a half-turn, that is, each time the tens-years mobile 64 makes a complete turn on itself. The thousands and hundreds-years display organ 44 then advances one step.

[0070] It should be noted that the thousands and hundreds year display element 44 is shown here in only two distinct configurations for illustrative purposes only, the range of years that can be displayed by the display device 1 extending from 1900 to 2099. This display element can be replaced during servicing by a watchmaker when the time comes. A person skilled in the art will not encounter any particular difficulty in adapting this instruction and implementing a different range of years than that described here, without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the attached set of claims.

[0071] It is understood from the above that the construction of the display device 1 allows the year displayed to be modified in either direction without any problem.

[0072] There figure 4represents a simplified front view of another construction detail of the display device 1 allowing for a better understanding of how the leap day mechanism works.

[0073] It first appears from the figure 4 that positioning jumpers 70 and 72 are advantageously provided to ensure the angular maintenance of the thousands and hundreds year mobile 42 and the tens and units year mobile 46.

[0074] These two mobiles will be used to control different switches ensuring the implementation of the display in the leap year 30 window, to indicate to the user whether the current year is a leap year or not.

[0075] As a reminder, according to the Gregorian calendar, years whose value is a multiple of four are generally leap years, with the exception of years whose value is also a multiple of one hundred. However, years whose value is a multiple of four hundred are still considered leap years, in derogation of the one-hundred-year exception.

[0076] Therefore, the leap year mechanism should make it possible to identify the years whose value is a multiple of four, those whose value is a multiple of one hundred and those whose value is a multiple of four hundred.

[0077] To begin, a leap year cam 74 is provided, carried here directly by the central moving part of the 1940s (by its second or third stage, so as to complete a full rotation every twenty years). The leap year cam 74 defines a path in which a leap year rocker finger 76 78 is engaged, rotatably mounted on the frame of the display device 1. The path of the leap year cam 74 has five identical successive segments, each associated with a four-year cycle, to define a non-leap year position of the leap year rocker 78 for three years and a leap year position in the fourth year before starting a new four-year cycle. The situation of a leap year (the year 2000) is shown on the figure 4, finger 76 being in a position closer to the center of the central mobile of the 40s, associated with a leap year, than in the three previous positions and in the three following positions, corresponding to non-leap years.

[0078] The leap year indicator 78 works with a leap year indicator 80, visible in the leap year indicator 30, to display an "L" for leap years or a "C" for non-leap years (conventional years). The leap year indicator 80 is therefore designed to pivot on the frame of the display device 1 between positions C and L, and it is understood that in the event of a year change from the configuration illustrated on the figure 4 , finger 76 would move away from the center of the central mobile of the 1940s, rotating the leap day rocker 78 clockwise on the view of the figure 4, causing the leap day display mechanism to pivot counter-clockwise to replace the L with the C in the leap day window.

[0079] Furthermore, the leap day flip-flop 78 also cooperates with the second portion 12 of the month and day display 4, via an intermediate flip-flop 82 comprising a fork in which a pin 84, integral with portion 12, is engaged. The configuration illustrated on the figure 4In a leap year, sections 10 and 12 of the display for the months and days of year 4 are moved apart to include February 29th between them. As explained above, when a year changes from a leap year to a non-leap year, the clockwise rotation of the leap year lever 78 causes the counterclockwise rotation of the intermediate lever 82, resulting in a relative movement of sections 10 and 12 of the display for the months and days of year 4, thus obscuring February 29th.

[0080] Preferably, to account for exceptions to the four-year rule, it is advantageous to further stipulate that the tens and units year 46 mechanism comprises two cams, one base-ten cam 86 (visible on the figure 3), attached to the unit of years 56, and a base hundred cam 88, attached to the tens of years 64, while the thousands and hundreds of years 42 includes a base four cam 90.

[0081] Cams 86 and 88 are indexed relative to each other so that they can simultaneously act on a centennial rocker 92 by rotating it from a first position illustrated on the figure 4 , towards a second position (not illustrated), by rotating counter-clockwise on the view of the figure 4 , when the tens and units digits of the displayed year are both zero.

[0082] The 100th anniversary flip-flop 92 cooperates with a non-leap day display 94, rotating between a first position illustrated on the figure 4, in which it presents an opening 96 opposite the leap day window 30, and a second position in which it superimposes an "X" indication on the leap day display element 80. The non-leap day display element 94 may be opaque or at least partially transparent without affecting the implementation of the present invention.

[0083] Thus, for each year whose value is a multiple of one hundred, the non-leap year display for 94 is likely to cover the leap year display for 80 to indicate the exception to the basic four-year rule. Alternatively, the non-leap year display for 94 could be opaque and display a "C" (for "Conventional year") without highlighting the exception to the basic four-year rule.

[0084] Finally, the base-four cam 90 of the thousands and hundreds-year mobile 42 is arranged to cooperate with a four-hundred-year rocker 98 to define its position among two possible positions: a first position when the displayed year value is not a multiple of four hundred, and a second position, as illustrated on the figure 4 , when the displayed year value is a multiple of four hundred (to be more precise here, when the value defined by the thousands and hundreds digits of the displayed year is a multiple of four). When the year is changed to take such a value (which is a multiple of four hundred), the four hundred year 98 flip is rotated counterclockwise on the view of the figure 4and acts on an insulator 100 to prevent it from rotating counterclockwise, the insulator 100 itself then acting on the hundred year rocker 92 to prevent it from pivoting counterclockwise and obscuring the leap year display organ 80 as is the case for years whose value is a multiple of one hundred but not four hundred.

[0085] Preferably, it is of course expected that the hundred year rocker 92 can act on the leap year rocker 78, advantageously via the insulator 100, to prevent it from moving portions 10 and 12 of the display organ for the months and days of the year 4 away from each other when the value of the year displayed is a multiple of one hundred without being a multiple of four hundred.

[0086] It is understood from the above that the leap year mechanism allows reliable and robust control of the configuration of the display unit for the months and days of the year 4 according to the number of days in the year displayed, as well as the display of its leap year status or not in the leap year window 30.

[0087] As particularly visible on the figure 5 which represents a front view of another construction detail of the display device 1, the latter includes a week drive mechanism allowing control of the position of the week display organ 14 relative to the month and year display organ 4.

[0088] For this purpose, the control mobile 34 is arranged in contact with a sequenced gearbox 102 having a toothing with four regularly distributed portions, three portions having only one tooth, and one portion having two teeth.

[0089] The sequenced link 102 is arranged to control the movements of a mobile of weeks 104 carrying a cam of weeks 106 comprising a guide surface extending over 360 degrees and having seven successive stages of distinct respective mean radii.

[0090] The week drive mechanism also includes a week rocker 108 comprising a feeler 110 arranged to cooperate with the week cam 106 and define the angular orientation of the week rocker 108. The latter also cooperates with a pin 111 attached to the week display member 14 to move the latter in one direction or the other during year changes.

[0091] The sequenced reference 102 allows the week cam 106 to be rotated by one step when the change in the displayed year involves two non-leap years, and by two steps when the initial or final year is a leap year, the corresponding offset being two days when moving from one year to the other.

[0092] During successive year changes in the same direction, the shift in the 14-week display mechanism can be up to seven days before a new week begins. Therefore, it is sufficient to provide seven different positions for the 14-week display mechanism relative to the month and day display mechanism of year 4, and the implementation of a snail-shaped 106-week cam advantageously allows the 14-week display mechanism to be returned to its initial position once it has shifted over the seven days of a week.

[0093] There figure 6represents a front view of another construction detail of the display device 1 allowing for a better understanding of how its metonic display mechanism works.

[0094] This includes a metonic display organ 112 bearing the indicators 22 and also presenting an annular shape here.

[0095] As previously mentioned and most notably visible on the figure 3a , the control mobile 34 is arranged to advance step by step in such a way that it makes a complete turn on itself in nineteen steps, i.e. by being moved to display nineteen successive years, which corresponds to the duration of a metonic cycle (cycle at the end of which the phases of the Moon start again in phase with the previous cycle, as also explained above).

[0096] Thus, the control unit 34 is equipped with a metonic cam 114 for controlling the movements of the metonic display element 112 throughout each metonic cycle. The metonic cam 114 defines a path in which a finger 116 is housed, attached to an intermediate rocker 118, which in turn controls the orientation of a metonic display rocker 120. The metonic display rocker 120 includes a fork 122 cooperating with a finger 124 attached to the metonic display element 112 to control the movements of the latter during changes in the displayed year.

[0097] Thus, the metonic display organ 112 is driven to make jumps of about eleven or nineteen days at each change of the displayed year, as are the indicators 22 it carries, depending on the different possible configurations, as explained above, including the occurrence of embolismic years.

[0098] It should be noted that the metonic cam 114 and the moon phase display organ 16 must be synchronized over a period of nineteen years, in such a way that the moon phase display organ 16 has, every nineteen years, a similar relative orientation with respect to the metonic cam 114, in other words with respect to the calendar year display mechanism, since the control mobile 34 which carries the metonic cam 114 itself has a "period" of rotation of nineteen years with respect to the calendar year display mechanism (in other words, when it is activated to change the display according to nineteen years, it returns to its initial orientation when passing from the nineteenth to the twentieth year).Over the course of a Metonic cycle, the Moon phase display organ 16 makes less than one full rotation, since one full rotation corresponds to thirteen lunar cycles or about 384 days, while the Moon phase display organ 16 moves only a little less than eleven days (about 10.88 days to be a little more precise) at each change of year, or about 193.8° in total in nineteen years, since 10.88 days corresponds to about 360 degrees x 10.88 days / 384 days = 10.2°.

[0099] Therefore, in accordance with the preferred embodiment illustrated, it may be particularly advantageous to designate the teeth of the lunar phase indicator 16 to be both a multiple of thirteen, to accurately indicate the lunar cycles, and a multiple of nineteen, to remain synchronized with the metonic cam 114. In this case, it is preferable to designate the lunar phase indicator 16 to have 13 x 19 = 247 teeth. It follows that the lunar phase indicator 16 is driven by steps of seven teeth at each change of year (247 teeth x 10.2° / 360° = 7 teeth).

[0100] Of course, a person skilled in the art will be able to adapt this teaching to modify the teeth and gear ratios according to their own needs without going out of the scope of the invention as defined by the attached claims.

[0101] Thanks to the characteristics just presented, we obtain a calendar display device that can display a large amount of information related to the cycles of the Sun and / or the Moon, in the case of a lunisolar calendar, for the whole of a given year, with great ease of use and high precision of the quantities displayed, and the person skilled in the art will not encounter any particular difficulty in adapting this teaching according to their own needs.

[0102] As previously mentioned, the implementation of the present invention is not limited to certain specific features as illustrated and described. Indeed, a person skilled in the art will encounter no particular difficulty in adapting this instruction to their own needs and implementing a calendar display device incorporating only some of these features without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined by the claims.

[0103] Thus, for example, it should be noted that the present invention is not limited by the nature of the control mechanism used to change the displayed year value, nor by the nature of the information displayed, its scope, or even its degree of precision. It is also possible to provide for the control mechanism to be automatically activated once a year by a clockwork movement associated with the calendar display device according to the present invention. In this case, a clockwork movement incorporating a perpetual calendar mechanism is preferred (particularly to avoid the possible occurrence of a discrepancy between the indications of the display device according to the invention and those of the clockwork movement when its calendar mechanism is not perpetual or even secular, and the user does not make the necessary corrections at the end(s) of the month(s) in a timely manner).

[0104] In general, multiple embodiments can be envisaged, such as a version without metric indicators, in which the control mechanism would not necessarily be configured to display nineteen stable positions, or a simplified version in which exceptions to the four-year rule for leap years would not necessarily be taken into account and / or without a leap year display element. It is also possible to provide that the display device according to the invention includes at least one additional display mechanism comprising an independent movable display element, and an additional control element arranged to allow adjustment of the position of the independent movable display element as needed. Such an independent movable display element could be implemented, for example, in the form of a simple movable index for locating an important date, such as a birthday.

Claims

1. Display device (1) for a calendar, comprising a mechanism for displaying the calendar year, arranged to ensure simultaneous display of all months and all days of the week of a given calendar year, capable of presenting at least two different configurations for a given year, depending on whether it is a leap year or a non-leap year, characterized in that It comprises: - a year display mechanism, - a control element (32) arranged to be able to act on said year display mechanism and change the year displayed, - a leap year mechanism arranged to determine whether the year displayed is a leap year or not, and to act on said calendar year display mechanism to switch it from one of said at least two configurations to the other, if necessary, when the year displayed changes.

2. Device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in thatsaid calendar year display mechanism comprises a display element for the months and days of the year (4) over a year and a display element for the weeks (14) over a year, adjacent to and substantially parallel to said display element for the months and days of the year (4), and in thatsaid display device for the months and days of the year (4) comprises a first portion (10) associated with the months of January and February and at least a second portion (12) associated with the months of March to December, said first and second portions (10, 12) being capable of occupying a first relative position, in a first of said at least two configurations, and a second relative position, different from said first relative position, in a second of said at least two configurations, in such a way that said calendar year display mechanism shows: - twenty-eight days in the month of February in a non-leap year, and - twenty-nine days in the month of February in a leap year.

3. Device (1) according to claim 2, characterized in thatsaid calendar year display mechanism includes a week drive mechanism, arranged to be able to cause a relative displacement between said month and day display organ (4) and said week display organ (14) when the year displayed changes, in such a way that they can occupy seven different relative positions depending on the year displayed.

4. Device (1) according to claim 3, characterized in thatsaid week drive mechanism comprises: - a week cam (106), including a guide surface extending over 360 degrees and having seven successive bearings of distinct respective mean radii, said week cam (106) having a kinematic linkage with said control member (32) such that it can be driven in rotation by one or two steps when the displayed year is incremented or decremented, so as to be able to present seven distinct angular orientations, and - a week rocker (108) including a feeler (110) arranged to cooperate with said week cam (106) in such a way that said week rocker (108) can occupy seven different orientations depending on the year displayed, said week rocker (108) being arranged to cooperate with said week display member (14) and move it, relative to said month and year display member (4),during the changes to the displayed year.

5. Device (1) according to claim 3, characterized in thatsaid week drive mechanism comprises: - a week cam, including a guide surface extending over 360 degrees and having twenty-eight successive steps, each having an average radius whose value is chosen from a set of seven different values, said week cam (106) having a kinematic linkage with said control member (32) such that it can be driven in rotation by one step when the displayed year is incremented or decremented, in order to present twenty-eight distinct angular orientations, and - a week rocker (108) including a feeler (110) arranged to cooperate with said week cam (106) in such a way that said week rocker (108) can occupy seven different orientations depending on the year displayed, said week rocker (108) being arranged to cooperate with said week display member (14) and move it,relative to said display unit for the months and days of the year (4), during changes to the year displayed.

6. Device (1) according to any one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that it includes a mechanism for displaying the phases of the Moon comprising a display element for the phases of the Moon (16), adjacent to and substantially parallel to said display element for the months and days of the year (4) or to said display element for the weeks (14), and bearing at least 13N representations of the Moon (18) substantially regularly distributed, N being an integer equal to or greater than 1, preferably less than 5, and in thatsaid Moon phase display organ (16) is kinematically linked to said control organ (32) in such a way that it is driven to move approximately eleven days in reference to said first portion (10) of said month and year display organ (4) when the year displayed is incremented or decremented.

7. Device (1) according to claim 6, characterized in thatit includes a metonic display mechanism comprising a metonic cam (114), with nineteen distinct angular orientations, driven in synchronism with said control member (32) and arranged to define the orientation of a metonic display rocker (120), itself arranged to control the movements of a metonic display member (112) adjacent and substantially parallel to said display member of the phases of the Moon (16), said metonic display member (112) carrying at least one indicator (22) of an event related to the cycles of the Moon capable of moving by about eleven days or nineteen days when the year displayed is incremented or decremented.

8. Device (1) according to claim 7, characterized in that said metonic display mechanism includes at least one indicator of the beginning of a specific lunar month (20) carried by said metonic display organ (112).

9. Device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that It includes at least one additional display device to display one or more pieces of information taken from the group comprising at least one additional piece of information respecting the Metonic cycle, the seasons, the at least approximate dates of the solstices and equinoxes, at least one period of shooting stars, the signs of the zodiac, the equation of time, an event with a fixed annual date.

10. Device (1) according to any one of claims 2 to 9, characterized in that said display device for the months and days of the year (4) is substantially in the shape of a ring.

11. Device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that It includes a leap year display mechanism comprising at least two states, leap year and non-leap year.

12. Device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in thatsaid year display mechanism includes a display element for thousands and hundreds of years (44), a display element for tens of years (48) and a display element for units of years (50), each of which preferably has the form of a disc or a cylinder.

13. Device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that It includes at least one additional display mechanism comprising an independent movable display element and an additional control element arranged to be able to adjust the position of said independent movable display element on demand.

14. Box (2), in particular for a timepiece, housing a display device (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

15. Box (2) according to claim 14, characterized in that It comprises a case, designed to house a watch movement, as well as a cover mounted movably on said case, and in thatthe display device (1) is attached to said cover, preferably being integrated into said cover.

16. Timepiece comprising a case (2) according to claim 14 or 15 further housing a timepiece movement.

17. Timepiece according to claim 16, characterized in that said control organ (32) of said display device (1) is capable of being driven by said clockwork movement.

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