Moon phase and earth phase display device for a horological movement

Abstract

The invention relates to a moon phase and earth phase display device (100) for a timepiece movement, the device comprising: a display (110) comprising a plurality of graphical representations (120) respectively symbolizing different consecutive phases of a celestial body; a dial (130) provided with two apertures (131) arranged to simultaneously display two diametrically opposite graphical representations (120), one graphical representation (120) representing the moon phase and the other graphical representation (120) representing the earth phase; and a driving mechanism (140) configured to drive the display (110) in a sequential movement manner.

Description

(19) State Intellectual Property Office (12) Invention Patent Application (10) Application Publication Number (43) Application Publication Date (21) Application Number 202510728900.6 (22) Application Date 2025.06.03 (30) Priority Data 24180118.2 2024.06.05 EP (71) Applicant Ita Swiss Watch Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Address Glenchen, Switzerland (72) Inventor I. Villar R. Coussier (74) Patent Agency China Patent Agency (Hong Kong) Ltd. 72001 Patent Attorney Moody Houyunzhong (51) Int.Cl. G04B 19 / 26 (2006.01) (54) Title of Invention: Moon Phase and Earth Phase Display Device for Watch Movement (57) Abstract: This invention relates to a moon phase and earth phase display device (100) for watch movement, the device comprising: a display (110) including a plurality of graphic representations (120) respectively symbolizing different consecutive phases of celestial bodies; a dial (130) having two apertures (131) arranged to simultaneously display two graphic representations (120) opposite each other in the diametrical direction, one graphic representation (120) symbolizing the moon phase and the other graphic representation (120) symbolizing the earth phase; and a drive mechanism (140) configured to drive the display (110) in a sequential movement manner. Claims 1 page, Description 3 pages, Drawings 2 pages, CN 121069725 A 2025.12.05 CN 1 21 06 97 25 A 1. A moon phase and earth phase display device (100) for a watch movement, characterized in that the display device (100) comprises: a display (110) including a plurality of graphic representations (120) respectively symbolizing different consecutive phases of celestial bodies; a dial (130) having two openings (131) arranged to simultaneously display two graphic representations (120), one graphic representation (120) symbolizing the moon phase and the other graphic representation (120) symbolizing the earth phase; and a drive mechanism (140) configured to move the display (110). 2. The display device (100) according to claim 1, wherein the display (110) is in the form of a ring and includes a plurality of graphical representations (120) and the same number of teeth (111), the display (110) being intended to be driven by the drive mechanism (140) in a sequential movement manner via the teeth (111).3. The display device (100) according to claim 1, wherein the display (110) is in the form of a ring and includes thirty graphic representations (120) and thirty teeth (111), the display (110) being intended to be moved by the drive mechanism (140) at a rate of one step per day via the teeth (111), the two apertures (131) being arranged opposite each other in the diametrical direction. 4. The display device (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein at least one of the apertures (131) comprises aperture glass, the aperture glass giving the graphic representation (120) a different appearance from the graphic representation (120) visible in the other aperture (131). 5. The display device (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the graphical representation (120) of the display (110) is transparent or translucent, such that an ornament arranged facing the side of the display (110) opposite to the dial (130) is visible through one or each of the apertures (131), thereby allowing the distinction between lunar and terrestrial phases in the apertures (131). 6. The display device (100) according to claim 5, wherein the one or more ornaments are in the form of a colored surface. 7. The display device (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the drive mechanism (140) includes an hour wheel (141) of a gear train of moving parts, a drive wheel (142) kinematically connected to the hour wheel (141) via an intermediate wheel (144), the drive wheel (142) being designed to cooperate with the teeth (111) of the display (110) by means of a drive finger (143) carried thereon. 8. The display device (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, comprising a correction mechanism (150) provided with a control member, the control member being kinematically connected to a corrector (153) via a series of intermediate wheels (154). 9. A watch (10), characterized in that the watch comprises a watch movement provided with a moon phase and earth phase display device (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 8. Claims 1 / 1 page 2 CN 121069725 A Moon Phase and Earth Phase Display Device for Watch Movement Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of watchmaking, and particularly to a device for displaying time variables on a timepiece.

[0002] More specifically, the present invention relates to a device for displaying moon phase and earth phase in a watch movement for a watch. Background Art

[0003] Moon phase displays are well known in the watchmaking industry, as are earth phase displays (i.e., displays of the portion of the Earth visible from the Moon).

[0004] Moon phase or earth phase display devices add significantly greater complexity to the watch movements in which they are integrated.

[0005] Furthermore, for aesthetic reasons, it may be desirable to display both lunar and terrestrial phases simultaneously.

[0006] The present invention satisfies this need while simplifying the kinematics for simultaneously displaying lunar and terrestrial phases as much as possible. Summary of the Invention

[0007] To this end, the present invention relates to a lunar and terrestrial phase display device for a watch movement. The display device includes: a display comprising a plurality of graphical representations, each symbolizing a different successive phase of a celestial body; a dial having two apertures arranged to simultaneously display two graphical representations, one symbolizing a lunar phase and the other symbolizing a terrestrial phase; and a drive mechanism configured to drive the display in a sequential movement manner.

[0008] In a particular embodiment, the invention may also include one or more of the following features, which must be considered individually or in any combination that is technically possible.

[0009] In a particular embodiment, the display takes the form of a ring and includes a plurality of graphical representations and the same number of teeth, the display being intended to be driven by the drive mechanism in a sequential movement manner via the teeth.

[0010] In a particular embodiment, the display takes the form of a ring and includes thirty graphic representations and thirty teeth. The display is intended to move via the teeth by a drive mechanism at a rate of one step per day. The two apertures are arranged opposite each other in the diametrical direction.

[0011] In a particular embodiment, at least one of these apertures includes aperture glass that gives the graphic representations a different appearance than the graphic representations visible in the other aperture.

[0012] In a particular embodiment, the graphic representations of the display are transparent or translucent, such that decorations arranged to face the side of the display opposite the dial are visible through one or each of these apertures, thereby allowing the distinction between lunar and terrestrial phases within the apertures.

[0013] In a particular embodiment, the one or more decorations are in the form of a colored surface.

[0014] In a particular embodiment, the drive mechanism includes an hour wheel of a gear train of moving parts, a drive wheel kinematically connected to the hour wheel via an intermediate wheel, the drive wheel being intended to cooperate with the teeth of the display by means of drive fingers carried thereon.

[0015] In a particular embodiment, the display device includes a correction mechanism provided with a control member configured to be kinematically connected to a corrector via a series of intermediate wheels.

[0016] The present invention also relates to a watch movement comprising a watch movement provided with a device as described above for displaying the moon phase and the earth phase. (Clock instruction manual 1 / 3 page 3 CN 121069725 A)

[0017] Referring to the accompanying drawings, other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, given by way of example and in no way limiting, in which:

[0018] - FIG1 shows a front view of a watch including a moon phase and terrestrial phase display device according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention,

[0019] - FIG2 shows a perspective view of the watch in FIG1, wherein several components have been obscured to reveal the display device.

[0020] It should be noted that the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale for clarity. Detailed Description

[0021] FIG1 shows a watch 10 including a watch movement provided with a device 100 for displaying moon phase and terrestrial phases according to the invention.

[0022] In the exemplary embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings, the display device 100 includes a ring-shaped display 110, which includes a plurality of graphical representations 120 respectively symbolizing various consecutive phases of celestial bodies. Celestial bodies represent the Earth or the Moon, as described in more detail below.

[0023] In a preferred exemplary embodiment of the invention, and as shown in FIG2, the display 110 preferably has thirty graphic representations 120. More specifically, as indicated below, the display 110 is intended to rotate sequentially at a rate of one step per day, thereby completing one rotation every thirty days.

[0024] Alternatively, it is conceivable that the display 110 has fewer than thirty graphic representations 120 (e.g., twenty-eight or twenty-nine) or more than thirty (e.g., thirty-one).

[0025] The display device 100 includes a dial 130 (shown in FIG1) arranged above the display 110 to obscure all graphic representations 120 except for two diametrically opposed graphic representations visible through apertures 131 provided in the dial 130. More specifically, the dial 130 is provided with two apertures 131, which are arranged such that two graphic representations 120 opposite each other in the diametrical direction appear simultaneously, one graphic representation symbolizing the lunar phase and the other graphic representation symbolizing the terrestrial phase.

[0026] It should be noted that the apertures 131, and therefore the visible graphic representations 120, are arranged such that they are opposite each other in the diametrical direction, i.e., such that when the display has an even number of graphic representations 120, they form an angle of 180 degrees.

[0027] For example, one of the apertures 131 may include aperture glass that gives the graphic representation 120 a different appearance than the graphic representation 120 visible in the other aperture 131, allowing the user to distinguish between the lunar phase and the terrestrial phase. For this purpose, the aperture glass may have a tint (e.g., blue or gray), or the aperture glass may have decorations or markings symbolizing continents or craters.

[0028] Decorative elements may also be made on the dial 130 near at least one of the apertures 131 (e.g., around its periphery) to indicate which aperture 131 represents the lunar or terrestrial phase.

[0029] This or such decorative elements may also be present below the display 110, i.e., on the side of the display 110 opposite to the dial 130, and visible through one or more apertures 131. These one or more decorative elements may be in the form of a colored surface, for example, formed from a disc that may be luminous or possibly non-luminous. In this case, the graphic representations 120 are transparent or translucent. In particular, they may be formed by cutouts through the display 110.

[0030] In FIG. 1, the aperture 131 has a circular shape corresponding to the shape of the graphic representation 120 symbolizing a phase of a solid celestial body. However, the aperture 131 may have any shape and size suitable for viewing the graphic representation 120.

[0031] The graphical representations 120 are arranged such that they are evenly distributed around the display 110, such that two graphical representations 120 opposite each other in the diametrical direction symbolize opposite phases, as shown in FIG2. More specifically, the lunar phases occur at the same frequency as the terrestrial phases, and the lunar and terrestrial phases are exactly opposite. In other words, as the surface of the moon visible from Earth decreases, the surface of the Earth visible from the moon increases by the same proportion, and vice versa.

[0032] To move the display 110, the display device 100 has a drive mechanism 140, which preferably includes a date drive mechanism. In particular, as shown in FIG2, the drive mechanism 140 includes an hour wheel 141 of a gear train of moving parts, which rotates in a manner known in the art, for example, two revolutions per day. The drive mechanism 140 also includes a transmission wheel 142, which, in the exemplary embodiment of the invention shown in FIG2, is kinematically connected to the hour wheel 141 via an intermediate wheel 144. The drive wheel 142 is intended to cooperate with the display 110 via the drive fingers 143, particularly with the teeth 111 provided on the periphery of the display 110 as shown in FIG. 2.

[0033] The number of teeth 111 of the geared device of the display 110 is the same as the number of graphical representations 120, such that for each step produced by the display 110, a new graphical representation 120 can be seen through the aperture 131. In the example embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the geared device of the display 110 is arranged on its inner periphery; however, it may also be arranged on its outer periphery. Preferably, as shown in FIG. 2, the geared device of the display 110 includes thirty teeth 111 in order to be driven to rotate once every thirty steps.

[0034] In this case, the display 110 is driven sequentially. However, the display can be driven continuously by replacing the drive fingers 143 with gears that mesh with the geared device of the display 110.

[0035] Conventionally, the stability of the position of the display 110 is ensured by a pawl cooperating with the teeth 111 (not shown in the figures).

[0036] Advantageously, the display device 100 may include a correction mechanism 150 provided with a control member, which, in the exemplary embodiment of the invention shown in the figures, is formed by a winding stem 151 connected to the winding button 152. The winding stem 151 is configured to be kinematically connected to the corrector 153 by means of a series of intermediate wheels 154. Such a correction mechanism 150 is shown in the figures but is not described in detail in the text because it is well known to those skilled in the art.

[0037] The present invention advantageously allows the use of existing designs of watches with date displays. This is because, for implementation, the present invention requires very little adjustment, only requiring replacement of the watch dial 130 and the display 110. Furthermore, due to the features of the present invention, the quick date correction mechanism can be easily adapted to correct the moon phase and Earth phase.

[0038] More generally, it should be noted that the embodiments and examples considered above have been described by way of non-limiting examples, and therefore other alternatives are also possible.

[0039] It should be noted that, for clarity, components of watch movements known to those skilled in the art are not described in this text and are not shown in the figures.Page 3 / 3 of the description, 5 CN 121069725 A, Figure 1, Page 1 / 2 of the accompanying drawings of the description, 6 CN 121069725 A, Figure 2, Page 2 / 2 of the accompanying drawings of the description, 7 CN 121069725 A, Moon phase and Earth phase display device for a horological movement. The invention relates to a Moon phase and Earth phase display device (100) for a horological movement, which device comprises a display (110) comprising a plurality of graphical representations (120) symbolising respectively different successive phases of a celestial body, a dial (130) provided with two apertures (131) arranged so as to concomitantly display two diametrically opposed graphical representations (120), one of which symbolises a Moon phase and the other of which symbolises an Earth phase, and a drive mechanism (140) configured to drive the display (110) in sequential movement. Abstract。

Claims

1. A moon and earth phase display device (100) for a timepiece movement, characterized in that, The display device (100) comprises a display (110) comprising a plurality of graphical representations (120) respectively emblematic of different successive phases of celestial bodies, a dial (130) provided with two apertures (131) arranged to simultaneously display two graphical representations (120), one graphical representation (120) emblematic of the lunar phase and the other graphical representation (120) emblematic of the terrestrial phase, and a drive mechanism (140) configured to move the display (110).

2. The display device (100) according to claim 1, wherein the display (110) takes the form of a ring and comprises a number of graphical representations (120) and the same number of teeth (111), the display (110) being intended to be driven in a sequential moving manner by the drive mechanism (140) via the teeth (111).

3. The display device (100) according to claim 1, wherein the display (110) takes the form of a ring and comprises thirty graphical representations (120) and thirty teeth (111), the display (110) being intended to be moved by the drive mechanism (140) at a rate of one step per day via the teeth (111), the two apertures (131) being arranged diametrically opposite to each other.

4. The display device (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein at least one of the apertures (131) comprises an aperture glass giving the graphical representation (120) a different appearance from the graphical representation (120) visible in the other aperture (131).

5. The display device (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the graphical representations (120) of the display (110) are transparent or translucent, so that a decoration arranged to face the side of the display (110) opposite to the dial (130) is visible through one or each of the apertures (131), thereby allowing to distinguish the lunar phase from the terrestrial phase in the apertures (131).

6. The display device (100) according to claim 5, wherein the one or more decorations take the form of a colored surface.

7. The display device (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the drive mechanism (140) comprises a minute wheel (141) of a movement train, a transmission wheel (142) being kinematically connected to the minute wheel (141) via an intermediate wheel (144), the transmission wheel (142) being intended to cooperate with the teeth (111) of the display (110) by means of a drive finger (143) carried thereby.

8. The display device (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, comprising a correction mechanism (150) provided with control members configured to be kinematically linked via a series of intermediate wheels (154) with a corrector (153).

9. A watch (10) characterized in that, The watch comprises a timepiece movement provided with a lunar and terrestrial phase display device (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

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