A mechanism for measuring time with respect to a timepiece movement, particularly a chronograph mechanism

Abstract

The present invention is a chronograph mechanism (1; 201) for a watch movement, including a counter related to a time unit, comprising a display movable part rotatable from a zero position, a return movable part rotatable between an initial position related to the zero position of the display movable part and a final position, an elastic return member (20) acting on the return movable part and configured to contribute to returning the return movable part to the initial position, wherein the display movable part and the return movable part are configured such that when the display movable part makes one rotation, the return movable part pivots from the initial position to the final position, and the display device includes teeth configured to mesh with the return movable part, the teeth including a cutout portion intended to separate the display movable part and the return movable part for a complete rotation of the display movable part.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a mechanism for a timepiece movement for measuring time, including a time unit counter, and is intended to drive a display member of the time unit so as to be rotationally driven in a predetermined rotational direction from a predetermined position by a command throughout the time measurement, and a display movable part adapted to be kinematically connected to a drive movable part of the timepiece movement, and a return movable part mounted on a frame element so as to be able to pivot between an initial position and a final position related to the predetermined position of the display movable part and intended to pivot, and an elastic return member acting on the return movable part and adapted to contribute to returning the return movable part to the initial position. The display movable part and the return movable part are related to a mechanism in which when the display movable part substantially rotates once from a predetermined position, the return movable part pivots from the initial position to the final position.

[0002] The mechanism according to the present invention is, in a preferred embodiment, a chronograph mechanism, but this mechanism may also alternatively be a countdown mechanism without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

[0003] The present invention also relates to a timepiece movement including a chronograph mechanism of this type, and a timepiece including such a timepiece movement.

Background Art

[0004] Various architectures of mechanisms for measuring time, particularly chronograph mechanisms, are already known in the background art.

[0005] An example of a conventional architecture of a chronograph mechanism is described in a study entitled “Theorie d'horlogerie” by C.-A. Reymondin et al. The study was published by the Federation des Ecoles Techniques (Suisse) (ISBN 2-940025-10-X) and is specifically described on pages 232-244.

[0006] These chronograph mechanisms have a large number of moving parts that interact with each other, and the assembly is very complex.

[0007] In particular, these mechanisms generally - a clutch device for establishing a kinematic coupling between the finishing gear of the corresponding watch movement and the chronograph counter, and - a lock or brake for locking the chronograph counter when the chronograph counter is not being driven, and - a reset device that acts on a command on the chronograph counter and returns the chronograph counter to its zero position when the reading of the measured time is complete, and - a shuttle or column wheel for controlling the states of the various devices just listed, are included.

[0008] These various devices often interact to provide complete synchronization of their respective operations on the chronograph counter.

[0009] In most cases, these chronograph mechanisms further include a minutes counter, or even a hours counter, which implies additional components for driving and resetting them.

[0010] Numerous structural variants have already been described with the aim of improving some or all of these mechanisms.

[0011] For example, International Publication No. WO 2018 / 091696 describes a chronograph mechanism including a seconds counter including a seconds display movable part that can be driven in response to a command from a finishing gear of a corresponding watch movement. The seconds display movable part carries a spiral cam adapted to cooperate with a feeler spindle on which an elastic return member acts, and thereon, the feeler spindle can act on the cam to reset the seconds display movable part as soon as it is not driven or actuated by a suitable brake. Further, the feeler spindle acts on a second arming lever adapted to increment a chronograph sub-counter each time the feeler spindle drops from a part having a maximum radius of the cam to a part having a minimum radius. Thus, this structure enables the replacement of conventional elements constituting a reset device, in particular the heart-shaped cam and the hammer intended to act on the reset device to reset the display movable part. Thereby, it becomes possible to address frequent constraints affecting the chronograph mechanism related to the high force generally required to be applied to the reset button of the corresponding watch. The high force is often somewhat uncomfortable for the user.

[0012] This chronograph mechanism requires delicate assembly and adjustment operations to ensure that the forces of the springs involved, the shapes of the cam and the feeler spindle, and the position of the pivot center of the feeler spindle relative to the cam are adapted to enable correct operation. Further, this structure is particularly suitable for the implementation of a coaxial display of various time units to be measured, but it is relatively bulky in the thickness direction.

[0013] Therefore, it still seems desirable to find an alternative approach for manufacturing a chronograph mechanism that is robust and reliable in its function and, in particular, enables an easy conventional configuration of the chronograph counter on the dial of the corresponding watch while being comfortable to use.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0014]

Patent Document 1

Non-Patent Document

[0015]

Non-Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0016] The main object of the present invention is to propose a chronograph mechanism having a structure that replaces the structure known from the prior art, and in particular, having better efficiency, excellent simplicity, and good reliability in its functional kinematics, and being comfortable for the user to operate.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0017] For this purpose, more specifically, the present invention relates to a chronograph mechanism of the above-described type, wherein the display device further includes teeth that mesh with the teeth of the return movable part, the teeth of the display movable part include a cut shape part, and the cut shape part is configured to temporarily separate between the display movable part and the return movable part when the return movable part reaches the final position for each complete rotation of the display movable part, and is intended to reversely drive the return movable part to the initial position by the action of an elastic return member.

[0018] Thanks to these configurations, it is possible to generate a chronograph mechanism with a simplified and robust structure that enables comfortable operation, more specifically, ensures reset.

[0019] Based on the configuration disclosed above, it is clear that the display device is driven in a predetermined rotational direction throughout the entire time measurement, including when its elastic return member moves from its final position to its initial position, and this movement can occur multiple times during the measurement of that period. Thus, each time the return movable part returns from its final position to its initial position, and thus exhibits a retrograde behavior, the movement of the display device remains invariant and continues in the predetermined rotational direction.

[0020] The chronograph mechanism according to the present invention also preferably comprises, when the measurement of the time is paused, a jumper configured to cooperate with the display movable part to prevent rotation of the display movable part in at least a rotational direction opposite to the predetermined rotational direction, and a disabling device operable according to a command and configured to disable the jumper so as to enable the return of the display movable part to the predetermined position by the action of the elastic return member on the return movable part. Thus, the return of the display movable part to the predetermined position always occurs in the same rotational direction, i.e., in a rotational direction opposite to the predetermined rotational direction for driving it during the measurement of time.

[0021] In a preferred variant, the display movable part can comprise a plate having drive teeth. In this case, the jumper can comprise three teeth configured to cooperate with the drive teeth to prevent rotation of the display movable part in at least a rotational direction opposite to the predetermined rotational direction, and the three teeth have a pitch p2 that is strictly greater than the pitch p1 of the drive teeth and strictly less than (3*p1) / 2.

[0022] Furthermore, advantageously, the time unit counter is a second counter configured such that the display movable part makes a complete rotation in 60 seconds, and the mechanism for measuring the time further includes a minute counter for the minutes of the measured time, which is intended to drive a minute display member for the minutes of the measured time and includes a minute display movable part, and the return movable part cooperates with the minute display movable part and is kinematically connected to the minute pawl and may be configured to rotate the minute display movable part to increase or decrease the minute counter each time the display movable part makes a complete rotation.

[0023] In this case, the elastic return member may advantageously be configured to act on the return movable part via a first transmission lever carrying the minute pawl.

[0024] In a preferred embodiment, the minute display movable part may further include teeth engaging a minute return movable part that is attached to a frame element and intended to pivot between an initial position and a final position, both the initial position and the final position being associated with a predetermined position of the minute display movable part, the minute counter being configured to act on the minute return movable part and further including a minute elastic return member that contributes to returning the minute return movable part to the initial position, the teeth of the minute display movable part and the minute return movable part being configured such that when the minute display movable part makes a complete rotation from a predetermined position, the minute return movable part pivots from the initial position to the final position, the teeth of the minute display movable part including a cutout portion that temporarily separates the display movable part and the return movable part when the return movable part reaches the final position each time the minute display movable part makes a complete rotation and is intended to be reversely driven to the initial position of the minute return movable part by the action of the elastic return member.

[0025] Similar to the first display movable part, when the measurement of time is in progress, the movement of the minute display movable part continues in the normal driving direction and is not particularly affected at the end of each rotation when the minute return movable part returns to its initial position with a reverse movement.

[0026] Furthermore, the minute counter can be configured such that the minute display movable part rotates completely once every 60 seconds, more preferably every 30 seconds, in order to improve readability. The mechanism for measuring the time further includes a time counter for the measured time, which is intended to drive a time display member for the measured time and includes a time display movable part. The minute return movable part can cooperate with the time display movable part and can be kinematically connected to a time pawl, and can be configured to rotate the time counter to increase or decrease it for each complete rotation of the minute display movable part.

[0027] In this case, the minute elastic return member can also be configured to act on the minute return movable part via a second transmission lever that carries the time pawl.

[0028] Furthermore, advantageously, the time display movable part can further include teeth that engage with a time return movable part that is attached to a frame element and is intended to pivot between an initial position and a final position. Both the initial position and the final position are associated with a predetermined position of the time display movable part. The time counter can be configured to act on the time return movable part and can further include a time elastic return member that contributes to returning the time return movable part to the initial position. The teeth of the time display movable part and the time return movable part can be configured such that when the time display movable part rotates completely once from a predetermined position, the time return movable part pivots from the initial position to the final position. The teeth of the time display movable part include a cut-shaped part, and the corresponding shaped part can temporarily separate between the time display movable part and the time return movable part when the time return movable part reaches the final position for each complete rotation of the time display movable part. It is intended that the time elastic return member (36) can drive the time return movable part back to the initial position in reverse.

[0029] Similar to other display movable parts, when the measurement of time is in progress, the movement of the time display movable part continues in the normal driving direction, and when the time return movable part returns to its initial position with reverse movement, it has no particular influence at the end of each rotation.

[0030] In addition, the chronograph mechanism may further include, when the measurement of time is in progress, a time jumper that acts on the time display device to rotate the time display movable part only in the normally driven direction, and a disabling device that is operable according to a command and is configured to enable the time display movable part to return to a predetermined position by the action of the time return movable part on the time elastic return member to disable the time jumper.

[0031] In addition, the mechanism for measuring time may further include, when the measurement of time is in progress, a minute jumper that acts on the minute display device to rotate the minute display movable part only in the normally driven direction, and a disabling device that is operable according to a command and is configured to enable the minute display movable part to return to a predetermined position by the action of the minute return movable part on the minute elastic return member to disable the minute jumper.

[0032] When the second counter and the minute counter include jumpers, the mechanism for measuring time can include a control movable part adapted to pivot between at least one stop position and one reset position according to a command, and when the control movable part moves from the stop position to the reset position, the disabling device for disabling the second jumper and the disabling device for disabling the minute jumper are configured with respect to the control movable part so that they can act on their respective jumpers substantially simultaneously for disabling.

[0033] When the mechanism includes a time jumper, when the control movable part moves from the stop position to the reset position, the disabling device for disabling the time jumper can be configured with respect to the control movable part so that all the disabling devices can act on their respective jumpers substantially simultaneously for disabling.

[0034] In this case, in a first modification of the present invention, the control movable part can further carry a clutch wheel adapted to occupy a clutch engagement position or a clutch disengagement position, the clutch engagement position being associated with an additional starting position of the control movable part, establishing a kinematic connection between the control movable part and the drive movable part in a clockwise movement, and the clutch disengagement position being associated with the stop position and the reset position of the control movable part, preventing a kinematic coupling.

[0035] In this case, the chronograph mechanism further includes a control member adapted to move between a first starting state and a second stop state according to a command to pivot the intermediate control lever between a first starting position and a second stop position, and the intermediate control lever can be adapted to actuate the control movable part to pivot between a starting position and a stop position.

[0036] In this case, the mechanism for measuring time can further include a reset member configured to act on the intermediate control lever to move the intermediate control lever from one of a first position and a second position to a third reset position, and at the third reset position, the intermediate control lever actuates the control movable part to pivot to the reset position.

[0037] The mechanism for measuring time further preferably includes a spring configured to contribute to placing the intermediate control lever in the first position.

[0038] Furthermore, in a second variant of the invention, the mechanism for measuring time can include a clutch device including a clutch wheel adapted to move between a clutch engaged state in which, according to a command, the clutch wheel occupies a clutch engagement position and kinematic connection of the display movable part and the drive movable part in the time movement is established, and a clutch disengaged state in which the clutch wheel occupies a clutch disengagement position and the kinematic connection is hindered, and the control movable part also acts on the clutch device moving from a stop position to a reset position and is adapted to advance or hold the clutch device in the clutch disengaged state.

[0039] In this case, when the mechanism for measuring time includes a jumper associated with a first display movable part, advantageously it can include an actuator movable between an operating position and a non-operating position, in which operating position the actuator cooperates with the jumper to arrange at least one tooth within the range reachable by the drive teeth of the plate of the display movable part, and in which non-operating position the actuator freely moves all the teeth of the jumper outside the range reachable by the drive teeth, and the clutch device is further adapted to cooperate with the actuator to move to the operating position in the clutch disengaged state and to the non-operating position in the clutch engaged state.

[0040] In this case, the clutch device can further include an intermediate control lever configured to act on the clutch wheel to position it, and the intermediate control lever also advantageously carries the actuator and simplifies the synchronization of the movements of the jumper and the clutch wheel.

[0041] The invention also relates to a time movement including a mechanism for measuring time, preferably a chronograph mechanism, having exactly the disclosed configuration, and to a timepiece including such a time movement and at least one external control member adapted to operate it in response to appropriate user operation, i.e., from outside the casing of the timepiece, a control member accessible to the user.

[0042] Other configurations and advantages of the present invention will become more clearly apparent by reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments given with reference to the accompanying drawings provided only as non-limiting examples.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0043]

Figure 1

Figure 2a

Figure 2b

Figure 2c

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8a

Figure 8b

Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 11

Figure 12

Figure 13

Figure 14

Figure 15

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0044] FIG. 1 represents a partially transparent-like simplified partial front view of mechanism 1 for measuring time according to the first preferred variant of the present invention when mechanism 1 is in the form of a chronograph mechanism. A person skilled in the art will adapt this teaching to manufacture a countdown mechanism without particularly facing difficulties and without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

[0045] More precisely, FIG. 1 shows a partial view of the seconds counter 2, the minutes counter 4, and the hours counter 6, together with the corresponding reset devices.

[0046] The seconds counter 2 includes a seconds display movable part that includes a seconds wheel 8 intended to be driven based on an instruction by a drive movable part (reference number 10 in FIG. 5) of the corresponding timepiece movement, and a pinion 12 (appearing as if it were transparent) firmly attached to the seconds wheel 8. The pinion 12 has a set of truncated teeth, two of which are cut directly at their base.

[0047] The teeth of the pinion 12 are arranged to cooperate with the teeth of a return movable part intended to pivot on a frame element of the timepiece movement, more precisely on a rack 14 included in the frame element, and the return movable part is associated with a counterweight 16. The teeth of the return movable part preferably also optionally include two truncated teeth and a junction 18.

[0048] As shown in FIG. 1, the elastic return member 20 is arranged to act on the return movable part so that the junction 18 tends to return to a first initial position where it is positioned relative to the teeth of the pinion 12. Thus, the junction 18 acts as a positioning jumper that indexes the return movable part in its initial position.

[0049] As shown in FIG. 1, the teeth of the pinion 12 and the rack 14 are arranged such that when the seconds wheel 8 rotates completely counterclockwise from its zero position, the pinion 12, in cooperation with the rack 14, turns the return movable part from its initial position to the final position reached by the action of the last tooth of the pinion 12 located immediately before the tip of the tooth in the rotational direction on the last tooth of the rack 14. When this last tooth of the pinion 12 releases the last tooth of the rack 14, after substantially one complete rotation of the seconds wheel 8, the tip of the tooth of the pinion 12 faces the rack 14. Then, the rack 14 can be returned to its initial position with a rapid reverse movement by the action of the elastic return member 20, while the seconds wheel 8 can continue its rotation in the counterclockwise direction of rotation to start a new rotation from its zero position. Therefore, it is clear that the seconds wheel 8 has a conventional external operating mode in which it always rotates in the same predetermined direction of rotation while the measurement of time is in progress.

[0050] The last tooth of the rack 14 is preferably slightly narrower and / or slightly less pointed than the other teeth to prevent point-on-point fixation between the tooth and the last tooth of the pinion 12 that drives the tooth. Alternatively or additionally, the length of this last tooth of the rack 14 can be made slightly longer than the length of the other teeth to prevent any risk of contact between the teeth of the pinion 12 and the other teeth when the rack 14 falls towards its initial position due to the action of its elastic return member 20.

[0051] In a preferred non-limiting manner, the seconds wheel 8 can turn itself completely (rotate) in 60 seconds, and during the measured time, it can be intended to directly carry the seconds display member, preferably a display hand (not shown). In this case, the return movable part performs a reverse movement that lasts for 60 seconds, which allows sizing of the elastic return member 20 such that the impact on the operation of the clock movement is relatively small.

[0052] The structure and function of the minute counter 4 and the hour counter 6 are the same as those of the second counter.

[0053] Actually, the minute counter 4 includes a minute display movable part intended to drive the minute display member. The minute display member includes a minute wheel 22 carrying a pinion 24, the set of teeth of which is chamfered and arranged to mesh with the teeth on a rack 26 of the minute return movable part.

[0054] An additional elastic return member 28 acts on the minute return movable part and is arranged so as to tend to pivot it to an initial position defined by the contact between the abutting part 29 of the rack 26 and the teeth of the pinion 24 in the counterclockwise direction of rotation as seen in FIG. 1.

[0055] The minute display movable part and the minute return movable part are preferably such that when the minute display movable part rotates substantially one revolution from its zero position (shown in FIG. 1), the minute return movable part rotates from its initial position to a final position where the chamfered part of the set of teeth of the pinion 24 faces the rack 26. Next, the action of the elastic return member 28 on the minute return movable body drives a rapid reverse movement of the minute return movable body to its initial position without affecting the movement of the minute wheel 22 while the time measurement is in progress.

[0056] Similarly, the hour counter 6 includes an hour display movable part intended to drive the hour display member. The hour display member includes an hour wheel 30 carrying a pinion 32, the set of teeth of which is chamfered and arranged to mesh with the set of teeth on a rack 34 of the hour return movable part.

[0057] An additional elastic return member 36 acts on the hour return movable part and is arranged so as to tend to pivot it to an initial position defined by the contact between the abutting part 37 of the rack 34 and the teeth of the pinion 32 in the counterclockwise direction of rotation as seen in FIG. 1.

[0058] The time display movable part and the time return movable part are preferably arranged such that when the time display movable part rotates substantially once from its zero position (shown in FIG. 1), the time return movable part rotates from its initial position to the final position where the tip portion of the set of teeth of the pinion 32 faces the rack 34. Next, the action of the elastic return member 36 on the time return movable part drives a rapid reverse movement of the time return movable part to its initial position without affecting the movement of the time wheel 30 while the time measurement is in progress.

[0059] Figures 2a, 2b and 2c respectively represent simplified front views of the details of the configurations of the second counter, the minute counter, and the hour counter.

[0060] From FIG. 2a, it is clear that the second counter 2 advantageously includes a jumper 40 which cooperates with the second wheel 8 and is adapted to ensure angular locking in the stop mode while enabling rotation in a predetermined rotational direction in the start mode of the chronograph when the time measurement is in progress and is driven by the watch movement.

[0061] More precisely, here the jumper 40 includes a double peak 42, the two points of which are spaced apart from each other such that these points rotate in cooperation with the teeth of the second wheel 8 and rotate around every half step, in other words, the step of the jump of the second wheel 8 corresponds to half of the pitch of its teeth. Thanks to this feature, the recoil movement of the second wheel 8 is limited when starting the time measurement. Furthermore, the jumper 40 holds the second wheel 8 in a given position when the drive of the second wheel 8 by the watch movement is interrupted, so the use of a brake is unnecessary.

[0062] The action of the spring of the jumper 40 is advantageously adjustable, for example by means of an eccentric as shown here, to optimize its function and to define the best compromise between its action and the energy consumption it causes in the correction function of the corresponding watch movement.

[0063] Similarly, as is apparent from FIGS. 2b and 2c, a jumper 44 is associated with the minute wheel 22 and another jumper 46 is associated with the time wheel 30 to ensure their angular lock when the measurement of time is interrupted, while allowing these two wheels to rotate in their increasing direction when the measurement of time is in progress.

[0064] It should also be noted that in FIGS. 2b and 2c, on the one hand, indexing is carried out between the minute wheel and the time wheel, and on the other hand, the corresponding pinions are provided by a fixture with two corresponding positioning pins intended to receive the wheels through two corresponding alignment holes typically cooperating with the teeth of the pinions. Thus, the indexing between each wheel and its pinion is accurate.

[0065] FIG. 3 represents a simplified front view similar to FIG. 1 in which details of an additional configuration are depicted.

[0066] FIG. 3 shows more specifically how the minute counter 4 and the time counter 6 are driven when the measurement of time is in progress.

[0067] The chronograph mechanism 1 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a first transmission lever 50 intended to pivot about a rotation axis 52 on a frame element of the watch movement.

[0068] The first transmission lever 50 includes a first arm 54, the end of the first arm 54 being connected to the seconds return movable part by a joint or connection 56 of the linear ball joint type. The first transmission lever 50 includes a second arm 58 carrying a minute claw 60 at its end, the minute claw 60 retracting during a first period when the transmission lever 50 rotates in a first predetermined rotation direction (counterclockwise as seen in FIG. 3) to move from one tooth to another tooth of the minute wheel 22, and driving the minute wheel 22 together with it and increasing the minute counter when the transmission lever 50 rotates in the reverse direction.

[0069] Therefore, the minute pawl 60 is disposed behind the next tooth of the minute wheel 22 while the second return movable part moves from its initial position to its final position, while the minute gear 22 is rotated by one step only (in the counterclockwise rotation direction as seen in FIG. 3) while the second return movable part rapidly moves backward from its final position to its initial position, i.e., every 60 seconds.

[0070] Similarly, the chronograph mechanism 1 includes a second transmission lever 62 intended to pivot about a rotation axis 64 (which coincides here, by way of non-limiting illustration, with the axis of the time return movable part) on a frame element of the watch movement.

[0071] The second transmission lever 62 includes a first arm 66, the end of which is connected to the minute return movable part by a linear joint type of joint or connection 68. The second transmission lever 62 includes a second arm 70 carrying the hour pawl 72 at the end of the second arm 70, the hour pawl 72 being adapted to move backward from one tooth to another of the hour wheel 30 when the transmission lever 62 rotates in a first predetermined rotation direction (clockwise as seen in FIG. 3) and to drive the hour wheel 30 therewith and increase the hour counter when the transmission lever 62 rotates in the reverse direction.

[0072] Here, the hour pawl 72 rotates the hour wheel 30 gradually by one step (in the counterclockwise rotation direction as seen in FIG. 3) while the minute return movable part moves from its initial position to its final position, while the minute return movable part is rapidly positioned behind the next tooth of the hour wheel 30 during the reverse movement of the minute return moving body moving from its final position to its initial position. Thus, it is advantageous for the minute counter 4 to cause the minute wheel 22 to rotate once every 60 minutes, more preferably 30 minutes. By way of non-limiting illustration, the hour counter 6 is such that here the hour wheel 30 rotates once every 24 hours, more preferably 12 hours.

[0073] It should be noted that each jumper of the three counters, more specifically the jumpers of the sub-counter and the time counter, advantageously makes it possible to keep the position of the corresponding wheel fixed while returning the associated transmission lever to its initial position. In fact, during this operation that immediately follows the incrementing of the counter, the wheel no longer receives the force applied by the transmission lever for the remaining time and opposes the resetting of the counter for the operation of the corresponding return moving part. Thus, while returning the transmission lever to its initial position, only the jumper opposes the movement of the return moving part and prevents an untimely resetting of the counter. As a result, when the measurement of time is in progress, each jumper allows rotation of the corresponding counter in only one rotational direction, and the rotational increment is a rotation in the reset direction caused by the corresponding return moving part being blocked.

[0074] Next, with reference to FIGS. 4, 5, and 6, which respectively represent a simplified overall front view of the chronograph mechanism 1, a simplified perspective view of the details of the first structure of the chronograph mechanism 1, and a simplified front view of the details of the second structure of the chronograph mechanism 1, the general functions of the chronograph mechanism 1 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described.

[0075] The components of the chronograph mechanism 1 are carried by one or more frame elements generally identified by reference numeral 80, and the number and shape of the frame elements are not relatively important for the implementation (mounting) of the present invention. Thus, the frame elements can include the plates of the timepiece movement, or dedicated additional plates for the chronograph mechanism 1, and one or more bridges.

[0076] Here, the functions of the chronograph mechanism 1 are intended to be controlled by the user via two buttons (not visible) of the corresponding timepiece, a start / stop control unit 82 and a reset control unit 84.

[0077] The start / stop control unit 82 carries a pawl 86 adapted to cooperate with a control member in the form of a column wheel 88 here, in order to rotate one step in the counterclockwise direction of rotation as seen in FIG. 4 each time the user presses the corresponding button.

[0078] The jumper 90 also defines its stable angular orientation in a conventional manner that is alternately associated with the start state and the stop state of the chronograph mechanism 1 in cooperation with the column wheel 88.

[0079] The column wheel 88 cooperates next with the peak at the free end of the first arm of an intermediate control lever 92 having an overall V-shaped configuration. The second arm of the intermediate control lever 92 includes a spring 94 adapted to push the peak of the first arm in the direction of the column wheel 88.

[0080] Furthermore, the free end of the second arm carries a pin 96 that engages in a slot within an arm 98 of the control movable part 100. The pin 96 rotates freely about an axis of rotation that coincides here with the axis of rotation of the chronograph second counter 2 with respect to the frame of the time movement. The control movable part 100 is fixed to the frame by three screws 102 that engage in curved slots in the central plate of the control movable part 100. One skilled in the art will not particularly have difficulty in providing means that enable (by any one of at least one screw, or an eccentric, or one or more members that cooperate therewith to rotate it) to define the extreme angular positions of the control movable part 100 without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

[0081] When progressing from one of the start state or the stop state to the other, the column wheel 88 pivots the intermediate control lever 92 between a first start position and a second stop position, and itself pivots the control movable part 100 between a first start position and a second stop position.

[0082] The control movable part 100 includes a second arm that carries a clutch wheel 104 that can occupy two different positions, namely, a clutch engagement position and a clutch non-engagement position, according to the position of the control movable part 100.

[0083] The clutch wheel 104 is part of a clutch device, and the structure and function of the clutch device can be seen more clearly by referring to FIG. 5.

[0084] The clutch device includes a clutch movable part 106 having two wheels constrained to rotate together, one of the two wheels being permanently engaged with the drive movable part 10 of the clock movement, and the other being able to engage or not engage with the clutch wheel 104 according to the position of the control movable part 100.

[0085] The clutch device is coaxial with the clutch movable part 106 and further includes an additional wheel 108 identical to the second wheel of the clutch movable part 106. The additional wheel 108 is permanently engaged with the second wheel 8 of the second counter 2.

[0086] Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, when the control movable part 100 is in its starting position, the clutch wheel 104 is engaged simultaneously with the clutch movable part 106 and the additional wheel 108 so as to create a kinematic coupling between the drive movable part 10 and the second wheel 8 and guide the second wheel 8.

[0087] When the control movable part 100 goes to its stop position (by turning in the counterclockwise direction of rotation as seen in FIG. 4), the clutch wheel 104 no longer engages with either the clutch movable part 106 or the additional wheel 108. Then, the kinematic coupling between the drive movable part 10 and the second wheel 8 is interrupted, and the second wheel 8 is no longer driven.

[0088] Of course, those skilled in the art can use a clutch of a conventional structure other than that described without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

[0089] In FIG. 6, the reset control unit 84 is shown more visibly together with the intermediate control lever 92.

[0090] The reset control unit 84 includes a reset member 110 and a reset lever 112, both of which are fixed to the frame so as to be rotatable by screws 114, act on the reset lever 112, and include a rotary latch 116 that is actuated by the reset member 110 to generate an "all or nothing" type function.

[0091] More precisely, the reset member 110 carries a first pin 118 adapted to cooperate with the latch 116 to rotate it, and a second pin 120 adapted to deform a spring 122 carried by the reset lever 112 when the reset member 110 is actuated, while the latch 116 prevents the rotation of the reset lever 112.

[0092] The latch 116 includes a notch 124, and when the notch 124 faces the peak 126, the peak 126 integral with the reset lever 112 can be engaged.

[0093] Therefore, before reaching a specific threshold value predetermined by the configuration, when the user releases the corresponding button, the reset control unit 84 resumes its rest state (shown in FIG. 6) without affecting the function of the chronograph mechanism 1. When the reset member 110 turns sufficiently so that the notch 124 faces the peak 126, the peak 126 is inserted into the notch 124, and the spring 122 can release the energy accumulated during its deformation. The reset lever 112 then turns suddenly, and a finger 128 carried by the reset lever 112 can act on the intermediate control lever 92 to pivot the reset lever 112 in the clockwise rotation direction as seen in FIG. 6.

[0094] Returning to FIG. 4, regardless of the starting position of the intermediate control lever 92, the actuation of the intermediate control lever 92 by the reset control unit 84 leads to the rotation of the control movable part 100 to the third or reset position, which is intended to reset the chronograph counter. It is worth noting that this is the case.

[0095] For this purpose, the control movable part 100 particularly takes the form of two slots 132 and 134 in the first lug 130 and a slot 138 in the second lug 136, and includes a device for disabling the jumpers of various chronograph counters.

[0096] The slot 132 cooperates with the second hand jumper 40 and, as shown in FIG. 4, rotates in the clockwise direction so as to move the double peak 42 of the second hand 8 away from it when the control movable part 100 moves towards its reset position. Thus, it enables its return movable part to return to its initial position and, as described above, drives the return of the second counter 2 to its zero position.

[0097] It should be noted that the entrance of the slot 132 preferably defines the contact with the second hand jumper 40 when the control movable part 100 is in its stop position and prevents the second hand jumper 40 from rotating in the clockwise direction of rotation as shown in FIG. 4. Thus, it is shaped to fix the position of the second hand 8 when the time measurement is stopped.

[0098] The second slot 134 of the first lug 130 is adapted to cooperate with the minute counter 4. More precisely, the device for disabling the minute jumper further includes a minute disabling lever 140 that is rotatably mounted on the frame and carries a pin 142 disposed in the second slot 134. The minute disabling lever 140 includes two consecutive parts, namely, a first part related to the starting and stopping positions of the control movable part 100 and the first angular direction of the minute disabling lever 140, and a second part related to the reset position of the control movable part 100 and the second angular direction of the minute disabling lever 140. The second angular direction is occupied by the minute disabling lever 140 after rotating in the counterclockwise direction as shown in FIG. 4.

[0099] The minute invalidation lever 140 includes a first branch portion 144 adapted to invalidate the minute jumper 44 by turning in the clockwise direction of rotation as seen in FIG. 4 when the control movable portion 100 is turned to its reset position. When the minute wheel 22 is released, the minute return movable portion can thus return to its initial position as described above and return the minute counter 4 to its zero position.

[0100] The minute invalidation lever 140 includes a second branch portion 146 adapted to hold the minute pawl 60 away from the minute wheel 22 when it is reset.

[0101] The slot 138 of the second lug 136 is adapted to cooperate with the time counter 6. More precisely, the time jumper invalidation device further includes a time invalidation lever 150 pivotally mounted on the frame and carrying a pin 152 disposed within the slot 138. The time invalidation lever 150 includes two consecutive portions, namely, a first portion associated with the start and stop positions of the control movable portion 100 and a first angular direction of the time invalidation lever 150, and a reset position of the control movable portion 100 and a second portion associated with a second angular direction of the time invalidation lever 150, the second angular direction being occupied by the time invalidation lever 150 after rotating in the clockwise direction of rotation as seen in FIG. 4.

[0102] The time invalidation lever 150 includes a first branch portion 154 adapted to invalidate the time jumper 46 by turning in the counterclockwise direction of rotation as seen in FIG. 4 when the control movable portion 100 is turned to its reset position. Thus, when the time wheel 30 is released, the time return movable portion can resume its initial position as described above and return the time counter 6 to its zero position.

[0103] The time invalidation lever 150 includes a second branch portion 156 adapted to hold the time pawl 72 away from the time wheel 30 when resetting.

[0104] When the reset control unit 84 is released, the chronograph mechanism 1 returns to its pre-activation state, i.e., its start or stop state, according to the state of the column wheel 88 by the action of the spring 94 of the intermediate control lever 92. Therefore, here, when the active mode during reset of the chronograph mechanism 1 is the start mode, the measurement of time can be resumed immediately when the reset button is released, so a flyback-type function is adopted.

[0105] Thanks to the above description, it is clear how it is possible to manufacture a flyback-type chronograph mechanism for a timepiece mechanism with a simplified structure. In particular, thanks to the use of a central control movable part that enables starting or stopping the measurement of time and simultaneously resetting the chronograph counter, all of these functions are controlled from a single lever arranged to define the position of the control movable part using two separate control members (associated with each button). Furthermore, the conventional spatial distribution of the chronograph counter makes it possible to ensure good transmission of the force between the lever arms using long lever arms. Furthermore, the operating principle and structure of the reset device enable limiting the force that the user must apply to the corresponding button to operate the reset device, which improves its ergonomics. Furthermore, this structure also enables limiting the movement and operating force of the control buttons associated with this chronograph mechanism to operate its various functions, in particular, improving the ergonomics and design of these buttons by improving their integration towards the center. Specifically, this makes it possible to manufacture buttons with reduced operating characteristics, from a typical movement on the order of 0.8 - 1 mm to a reduced movement on the order of 0.3 mm, and / or from a typical operating force on the order of 8 - 12 N to a reduced operating force on the order of 1.5 - 2.5 N (therefore, for example, it is possible to manufacture mechanical buttons similar to the electromechanical buttons used on mobile phones).

[0106] The above advantages can be obtained, in particular, by the structure of the reset device according to the invention, which enables a highly reliable and accurate reset of the chronograph counter without using a conventional hammer.

[0107] Furthermore, the structure according to the invention makes it possible to permanently maintain the seconds counter under tension and thus prevent the oscillation of the associated chronograph second hand when triggering the measurement of time.

[0108] Furthermore, the energy normally lost by friction is here utilized by charging the return moving part, and this energy is used to reset the counter or to increment the minutes and hours counters of the chronograph. Thus, the structure according to the invention provides better efficiency than conventional structures.

[0109] The various components of the chronograph mechanism according to the invention can also have very diverse shapes without impairing their functionality, which clearly gives watch movement manufacturers great flexibility when distributing the various components in operation, including the components of the associated watch mechanism.

[0110] Next, with reference to FIGS. 7 to 15, a second variant of the chronograph mechanism 201 according to a preferred embodiment of the invention will be described. The description of this second variant focuses mainly on its differences compared to the first variant already described in detail above.

[0111] For the sake of simplicity of understanding, some components already described with reference to the first variant, and components having only differences in secondary configurations when moving onto the second variant, have the same reference signs in the two variants.

[0112] FIGS. 7, 8a - 8b, 9 and 10a - 10c show various partial front views of the seconds counter 2, the minutes counter 4, and the hours counter 6 according to the second variant, and their general operating principle remains the same as that of the first variant and will therefore not be described in detail again.

[0113] Specifically, FIGS. 7 and 9 show the seconds counter 2 having a seconds wheel 8 and its pinion 12 with a set of chamfered teeth, and its return movable part having a rack 14 cooperating with the pinion 12.

[0114] FIGS. 8a and 8b particularly show the minutes counter 4 and its return movable part. The minutes counter 4 has a minutes wheel 22 and its pinion 24 with a set of chamfered teeth, and the return movable part has a rack 26 cooperating with the pinion 24. FIGS. 8a and 8b also show the hours counter 6 having an hours wheel 30 and its pinion 32 with a set of chamfered teeth and its return movable part. The return movable part has a rack 34 cooperating with the pinion 32.

[0115] The kinematic couplings between the various counters are also shown in FIGS. 7, 8a and 8b. FIG. 7 shows how a first transmission lever 50 couples the seconds counter 2 and the minutes counter 4, and FIGS. 8a, 8b show how a second transmission lever 62 articulating about the axis of rotation 162 couples the minutes counter 4 and the hours counter 6.

[0116] The shape of the various components and the structure of the couplings between the return movable parts and the transmission levers are slightly changed compared to the first variant. In particular, a new layout of the elastic return members 20 for the seconds counters 2 and 28 and the minutes counter 4 can be seen. In fact, it is clear from FIG. 7 that the elastic return member 20 acts on the return movable part of the seconds counter 2 via the first transmission lever 50 and acts on the pin 164 carried by the first transmission lever 50. Similarly, it is clear from FIGS. 8a and 8b that the elastic return member 28 acts on the return movable part of the minutes counter 4 via the second transmission lever 62 and acts on the pin 166 carried by the second transmission lever 62.

[0117] These features enable the use of a lever arm that, compared to the first variant, allows for smoother torque variations exerted by each elastic return member on the counter between its minimum load state and its maximum load state. Thus, the influence of the load variations of these elastic return members on the function of the corresponding timepiece movement is reduced, for example, with respect to the amplitude of the vibrations of the template.

[0118] More precisely, considering the situation of the elastic return member 20 of the seconds counter 2, in the case of the oscillator of the associated timepiece movement including the template, the elastic return member 20 may have a loss (or consumption) of amplitude of up to 30 degrees, i.e., when the elastic return member 20 is in its maximum load state during time measurement, the level of amplitude loss can be provided as a reference in a conventional timepiece movement using a chronograph mechanism. In a standard design, this consumption is the result of a friction spring to prevent the vibration of the chronograph second hand, but here this consumption is due to the preload of the elastic return member 20 on the return moving part, and the return torque applies a return torque equal to the friction torque of a standard chronograph mechanism to the seconds counter 2. Thus, the return moving part is able to apply tension to the seconds counter 2 and, therefore, prevent the vibration of the associated chronograph second hand.

[0119] When the chronograph mechanism 201 is operating (in the start mode), in order to keep the consumption as constant as possible, the elastic return member 20 is preferably arranged further along the kinematic chain, preferably on the first transmission lever 50, to apply as constant a torque as possible to the seconds return moving part. In fact, when the pinion 12 of the seconds counter 2 rotates 360°, the return moving part rotates approximately 30° and the first transmission lever 50 rotates approximately 5°. Thus, the load variations of the elastic return member 20 are much smaller than its initial preload. This also enables the elastic return member 20 to have a higher force with respect to the equivalent torque applied to the seconds counter 2 than when the elastic return member 20 acts directly on the return moving part. Thus, the corresponding spring part is larger, allowing for a reduced sensitivity of the system to manufacturing tolerance variations while ensuring good reproducibility with respect to consumption.

[0120] Furthermore, it should be noted that the tooth profiles of the pinion 12 and the rack 14 are preferably such that the system is completely reversible. Therefore, whatever the movement of the pinion 12 and the rack 14 from the initial position, the rack 14 can return the second counter 2 to its zero position (or the predetermined position in the case of a countdown mechanism) in a reverse manner due to the effect of the elastic return member 20.

[0121] As in the first preferred variant, the minute counter 4 is an instantaneous jump type counter, rather than a semi-instantaneous or drag jump type, like many known calibrators. One basic principle of the present invention is to use the instantaneous return at each return of the second counter 2 to increment the minute counter 4, and utilize the energy stored in the minute elastic return member 20 via the second rack 14 and the first transmission lever 50. Therefore, this system enables high accuracy with respect to the jump moment without adding additional consumption when the minute changes.

[0122] Based on the same principle as the system of the second counter 2, the elastic return member 28 of the minute return movable part is arranged further along the kinematic chain on the second transmission lever 62 in order to limit its load fluctuations, be as constant as possible, and have a force that is as repeatable as possible.

[0123] Also, the jumper 44 of the minute counter 4 may advantageously have an off-center point so that it can be easily incremented in one direction, but it should be noted that there is a high holding torque in the other direction due to the operation of the minute return movable part to prevent the resetting of the minute counter 4.

[0124] When the hour counter is involved, its operating mode is again based on the same rack system as the second counter 2 and the minute counter 4. The movement of the minute rack 26 is used to gradually increment the hour counter 6 and is reflected in the "semi-dragging" display device of the hour counter 6.

[0125] In this case, it can be seen that the time elastic return member 36 acts directly on the time return movable part and does not act on the lever that reduces its angular movement as in the case of the second counter 2 and the minute counter 4. As a result, the torque fluctuation is larger here, and the corresponding spring part is smaller in terms of equivalent torque in the case of the time movable part than in the case of the minute movable part. However, the time counter 6 is much less sensitive to this problem than the second counter 2 and the minute counter 4, and there is no need to optimize the time counter 6.

[0126] Generally speaking, the shapes of the minute pawl 60 and the time pawl 72, as well as the shapes of the minute jumper 44 and the time jumper 46, are preferably optimized to limit the torque fluctuations associated with the interaction with the corresponding counter during time measurement.

[0127] In an advantageous variant, it is possible to prevent the time pawl 72 from contacting the teeth of the time wheel 30 during a part of the movement of the minute counter 4 compared to the duration of a complete rotation.

[0128] This kind of embodiment is described with reference to FIGS. 8a and 8b, which show the configurations of the time counter 6 at the start of the rotation of the minute counter 4 and when approaching the end of the rotation, respectively.

[0129] In FIG. 8a, it can be seen that at the start of the measurement of time (from zero and then at the start of each rotation of the minute counter 4), the time pawl 72 is slightly retracted relative to the teeth of the time wheel 30. When the minute counter 4 is driven in one-minute steps, the second transmission lever 62 pivots, and as shown in FIG. 8a, the time pawl 72 pivots in the clockwise direction of rotation about the axis of rotation 64. Thus, for the first few minutes, the time wheel 30 is not driven. The time pawl 72 contacts the teeth of the time wheel 30 after a few minutes and rotates gradually over time in accordance with the measured minutes. The time jumper 46 is moved away gradually by the teeth of the time wheel 30, and it can be advantageously provided that the peak of the time wheel jumper 46 and said teeth are in a point-on-point configuration a few minutes before the end of a complete rotation of the minute counter 4, for example, about 25 minutes later when the minute counter 4 makes a complete rotation in 30 minutes. When the tip or point of the tooth crosses the tip of the peak of the time jumper 46, the tip of the peak acts on the other side of the tooth to rotate the time wheel 30 to its next discrete position in the direction in which it is normally driven (here corresponding to the next half hour when the minute counter 4 rotates to completion in 30 minutes). Thus, this step may occur when the minute counter 4 moves from its 25-minute position to its 26-minute position, and the corresponding configuration is after the indexing of the time wheel 30 by the time jumper 46 shown in FIG. 8b. Next, it can be seen that the time pawl 72 is again at a distance from the teeth of the time wheel 30. During the subsequent movement of the minute counter 4, to complete the 30-minute rotation, the time pawl 72 continues its rotation to catch up with the teeth with which it was cooperating until the time jumper 46 takes over. When the minute counter 4 reaches 30 minutes, its return movable part pivots in the opposite direction compared to its normal driving direction, returns to its initial position, and also pivots the second transmission lever 62 in the reverse direction to retract the time pawl 72 at the passage of the next tooth and rotate it counterclockwise as seen in FIG. 8b to return the time pawl 72 to its initial position. Then, the same cycle can be repeated over a new rotation of the minute counter 4.

[0130] It should be noted that it is possible to provide a device for adjusting the position of the time pawl 72 in order to ensure the accurate positioning of the measurement time display member (since this display member does not move quickly, its inaccurate position can be easily detected by the observer). For example, eccentricity can be used between two parts of the second transmission lever 62 to enable adjustment of their relative angle in the region of the axis of rotation 162.

[0131] From the foregoing description, it is clear that the energy stored in the second elastic return member 20 is used to incrementally increase the minute counter 4 and the time counter 6 each time the second counter 2 makes a complete rotation. Thus, this energy must be sufficient to increase the minute counter 4 and the time counter 6 in the configuration where they consume the most energy, i.e., when the minute counter 26 and the time counter 34 are operating, but the time jumper 46 has not yet reached its equilibrium point.

[0132] FIG. 9 shows a simplified partial front view similar to FIG. 7, depicting the second counter 2 with its return movable part and the first transmission lever 50 carrying the minute pawl 60 in a configuration corresponding to substantially 30 seconds, i.e., approximately half a rotation of the second wheel 8.

[0133] Points P1 and P2 are identified in FIG. 9 as indicating the positions of the centers of mass of the second return movable part and the first transmission lever 50, respectively.

[0134] Generally speaking, the second-return movable part and the minute-return movable part can advantageously be balanced with their associated transmission levers. In practice, for example, it may be desirable to prevent information loss in the case of an impact up to 500 g, and thus, in such cases, it is necessary to reduce the sensitivity of the system to the imbalance of the rack and lever. For this purpose, it is possible to statically balance the return movable parts so that, regardless of the direction of the impact, the torque generated in the return movable parts and their transmission levers is canceled out.

[0135] The principle enabling static balancing can be based on the following methodology. This methodology is emphasized by adding direction lines and arrows in relation to the components of the second counter 2 in FIG. 9. - The assembly is arranged at the central position to average the balancing effect. - The direction from the center of rotation of the assembly to the center of mass is parallel. Therefore, since the direction of the impact is equivalent to the radial and axial components resulting from the impact between the assemblies, it is not relatively important. - The direction from the center of rotation of the assembly towards the center of mass enables subtraction rather than addition of the torque generated by the impact. - The force generated by the imbalance of the assembly must be canceled out at the contact point between the assemblies, taking into account the lever arm.

[0136] Furthermore, it should be noted that the speed at which the various counters are reset is directly linked to the return torque they receive, as well as the inertia of their moving parts and their display hands (or other types of display members). Deductively, only the seconds counter 2 has a sufficient reset speed to guarantee, according to the specific requirements that a person skilled in the art may have in this regard, due to its play inertia being greater than the play inertia of the minutes counter 4 and the hours counter 6, and those parts can be reset substantially instantaneously. In this case, by making the second hand and the seconds wheel 8 out of titanium, the inertia of the seconds moving parts can probably be reduced, since the mass per unit volume is approximately twice smaller than that of the commonly used copper-based materials. Furthermore, as will become apparent below, the second variant incorporates the use of an obstacle-type system for braking the seconds counter 2, which provides high impact resistance. Thanks to this, it is no longer necessary to use a balanced second hand in order to resist impacts in the stop mode of the chronograph mechanism 201. This makes it possible to reduce the inertia of the second hand by reducing the dimensions of this balance sector, and the function becomes essentially aesthetic.

[0137] Here, FIGS. 10a, 10b and 10c enable a detailed explanation of the configuration of the seconds jumper 240 according to the second preferred variant, which functions as an obstacle-type braking system as described above and has an excellent ability to maintain the position of the seconds wheel 8 in case of impact.

[0138] More precisely, the seconds jumper 240 preferably includes teeth that can be machined, for example, by spark erosion, and enables the locking of the seconds wheel 8 by an obstacle rather than by friction.

[0139] These teeth are designed to minimize the jump of the second hand when the teeth of the second jumper 240 and the second wheel 8 come into contact. For this purpose, the second jumper 240 has three teeth separated from each other by a pitch different from that of the teeth of the second wheel 8. Thus, these teeth are distributed such that the second wheel 8 can be indexed in three different angular directions as shown in FIGS. 10a, 10b, and 10c. Here, since the second wheel 8 has 160 teeth and the pitch is 2.25°, the second jumper 240 enables the fixing of the second wheel 8 every 2.25 / 3 = 0.75°, which corresponds to a potential jump of the second hand of + / - 0.375°.

[0140] The comparative tests of FIGS. 10a, 10b, and 10c enable an understanding of how each of the three teeth of the second jumper 240 can cooperate with the teeth of the second wheel 8 in three adjacent groups of teeth, depending on the angular position of the second wheel 8 when the teeth of the second jumper 240 reach the location of the teeth of the second wheel 8.

[0141] Such comparative tests also reveal that it is preferable for the three teeth to have a pitch p2 that is strictly greater than the pitch p1 of the driving teeth and strictly less than (3*p1) / 2 in order to limit the potential jump of the second hand of the chronograph as advantageously as possible.

[0142] Furthermore, the teeth of the second jumper 240 also have a specific feature of a withdrawal gradient, such as a return prevention click. As a result, the second jumper 240 can be automatically locked by the action of the return torque applied to it by the second counter 2. This second jumper 240 then remains in place and can prevent the second counter 2 from moving backward even in the absence of a preload.

[0143] More precisely, as will become more apparent from the remainder of this specification, here the seconds wheel 8 is intended to be rotationally driven in the counterclockwise direction of rotation by the timepiece movement during the measurement of time, as seen in FIGS. 10a to 10c. Such rotation induces an increase in the load of the elastic return member 20 and thus tends to rotate the seconds wheel 8 in the clockwise direction of rotation via the rack 14 and the pinion 12. As long as the seconds hand 8 is driven, in the start mode it is maintained under tension by the clutch wheel in the counterclockwise direction of rotation and by the return movable part in the clockwise direction of rotation. When the chronograph mechanism enters the stop mode, the connection between the seconds wheel 8 and the clutch wheel is broken, and then, in the absence of any countermeasures, the return movable part can rotationally drive the seconds wheel 8 in the clockwise direction of rotation. Next, the seconds jumper 240 can perform a braking function by an obstacle rather than by friction. As disclosed above, as soon as its tooth is disposed within the reach of the seconds wheel 8, its ramp locks the seconds wheel 8 almost immediately, i.e., with a maximum movement of the second hand of + / -0.375°, as soon as the tooth abuts.

[0144] FIGS. 11a, 11b and 11c represent simplified partial overall front views of the chronograph mechanism 201 according to a second preferred variant in three different respective configurations to disclose its general operating principle. More precisely, the chronograph mechanism 201 is shown in the stop mode of FIG. 11a, the start mode of FIG. 11b, and the reset mode of FIG. 11c (here operated from the start mode and thus of the flyback type).

[0145] As in the case of the first variant, a second preferred variant is advantageously provided, which does not limit the invention and has a start / stop control unit (reference numerals 82, visible in FIGS. 12a and 12b) and a reset control unit (reference numeral 84, visible in FIG. 15).

[0146] Figures 12a and 12b show the interaction between the start / stop control unit 82 and a control member which, here too, takes the form of a column wheel 88. More precisely, Fig. 12a shows the start / stop control unit 82 and the column wheel 88 in their rest positions, and Fig. 12b shows the device when the start / stop control unit 82 is at the end of its movement after having caused the column wheel 88 to rotate by one step.

[0147] When at rest, the start / stop control unit 82 is positioned by its return spring which presses the start / stop control unit 82 against a joint (not shown), and then its pawl 86 is disengaged from the column wheel 88 which is indexed by its jumper 90.

[0148] When the user applies pressure to a button adapted to actuate the start / stop control unit 82, the start / stop control unit 82 begins to rotate in the clockwise direction until the pawl 86 comes into contact with the teeth of the column wheel 88, as can be seen in Figs. 12a and 12b. If the user's action continues, the column wheel 88 begins to rotate and its jumper 90 rises until it reaches the top of the teeth of the column wheel 88. When the top of the tooth in question passes the tip of the jumper 90, the jumper 90 applies a force to the tooth to push it and pivots the column wheel 88 in the counterclockwise direction of rotation, as can be seen in Figs. 12a and 12b. If, during the jump caused by the jumper 90, the teeth of the column wheel 88 come into contact with the detent 86, the pawl 86 pivots on the start / stop control unit 82 and enables the column wheel 88 to pivot directly to its next equilibrium position instead of remaining instantaneously fixed in an intermediate position.

[0149] Further movement of the button makes it possible to ensure the passage of the function by driving the start / stop control unit 82 and its pawl 86 to their maximum positions, as shown in Fig. 12b. When the user releases the pressure on the button, as shown in Fig. 12a, the return spring of the start / stop control unit 82 returns it to its initial position and the pawl 86 retracts as it passes the teeth of the column wheel 88 during this movement.

[0150] Thanks to this structure, for example, a 0.3 mm button movement and the use of a force between 1.5 N and 2 N are possible, ideally having a release of at least 1 N of net force at the end of the movement, so as to have qualitative feedback and a satisfactory "click" effect for the user.

[0151] Returning to FIGS. 11a - 11c, the column wheel 88 cooperates with the clutch device via the articulated intermediate control lever 202 it contains. The intermediate control lever 202 is arranged so as to be able to cooperate with the clutch lever 204 and it can be seen that it moves between a clutch disengagement position and a clutch engagement position according to the kinematics shown in FIGS. 13a, 13b and 13c corresponding to the passage from the stop mode to the start mode.

[0152] FIG. 13a shows the configuration when the chronograph mechanism 201 is in the stop mode and the clutch device is in the clutch disengaged state.

[0153] The peak of the intermediate control lever 202 abuts against one column of the column wheel 88. In this position, the intermediate control lever 202 acts on the clutch lever so as to position the clutch lever 204 in a first extreme position following a clockwise rotation as seen in FIG. 13a, and this position is its clutch disengagement position. One or more abutments 206 rigidly attached to the frame 80 of the clock movement can advantageously be provided to define this extreme position of the clutch lever 204 and, furthermore, as is the case here, to define its second clutch engagement extreme position. For this purpose, the abutments 206 engage in appropriate slots 208 in the clutch lever 204 and at least one of the slots 208 is closed at both ends.

[0154] Furthermore, as a non - limiting illustration in FIGS. 13a - 13c, it can be seen that the intermediate control lever 202 carries an actuator 210, preferably in the form of a linear spring here, which is made integrally with the intermediate control lever 202. The actuator 210 is adapted to cooperate with the second hand jumper 240 as will be described later.

[0155] The return spring 212 is also provided in a conventional manner so as to tend to push the peak of the intermediate control lever 202 in the direction of the column wheel 88.

[0156] In the stop mode shown in FIG. 13a, the clutch lever 204 is in its clutch disengaged position, and thus its clutch wheel 214 that permanently meshes with the drive movable part 10 of the clock movement is not engaged with the driven second wheel 8. Here, as described above, when it is not driven, the second wheel 8 potentially receives a return torque applied thereto by the second rack 14 of its return movable part if it is not in its zero position, and this torque tends to rotate it in the clockwise direction of rotation, as can be seen in FIGS. 13a to 13c. Therefore, in order to prevent such rotation of the second wheel 8 in the stop mode, the teeth of the second jumper 240 are preferably arranged within the passage of the teeth of the second wheel 8. This is the reason why the actuator 210 is arranged in its actuated position and gently pushes the second jumper 240 in the counterclockwise direction of rotation, moving it towards the second wheel 8 and locking the second jumper 240, as can be seen in FIGS. 13a to 13c.

[0157] When the start / stop button (not visible in the figures) is actuated by the user, the start / stop control unit 82 rotates the column wheel 88 in the counterclockwise direction of rotation, as can be seen in FIGS. 13a to 13c, which has the effect of positioning the gap between two columns in front of the peak of the intermediate control lever 202, as shown in FIGS. 13b and 13c.

[0158] The intermediate control lever 202 begins to drop between the columns of the column wheel 88 in the configuration of FIG. 13b, particularly due to the action of its return spring 212. At the same time, the clutch lever 204 begins to pivot in the counterclockwise direction of rotation, as can be seen in FIG. 13b, and finally reaches its clutch engaged position shown in FIG. 13c, where the clutch wheel 214 engages with the second wheel 8 and drives it in rotation in the counterclockwise direction.

[0159] Also, by rotating in the counterclockwise direction, the intermediate control lever 202 drives the actuator 210 to the non-operating position in the same direction, thus moving the actuator 210 away from the second hand jumper 240, and thus it can be seen that the second hand jumper 240 is released. When the teeth of the second hand jumper 240 are disengaged so that the second hand jumper 240 does not oppose the driving of the second hand wheel 8 by the clutch wheel 214, the fact that the second hand jumper 240 is released by the actuator 210 may, in some cases, allow it to come into full contact with the teeth of the second hand wheel 8 in the start mode, which is more favorable from the perspective of energy loss due to friction than when the jumper remains in permanent contact with the second hand wheel 8.

[0160] The perspective view of FIG. 14 shows the relative arrangement of the wheels of the drive movable part 10 of the timepiece movement, the clutch wheel 214, and the second hand wheel 8, and clarifies how the clutch device according to the second preferred embodiment behaves in the changing state in relation to the diagrams of FIGS. 13a - 13c.

[0161] The rotation axis of the drive mobile 10 is fixed like the second hand wheel 8 of the chronograph. The clutch wheel 214 is carried by a shaft 216 to which it is firmly attached, and the shaft 216 is accommodated between two fixed bearings (not shown) carried by the frame 80 of the timepiece movement, and can move axially by sliding within the bearings (over a distance that can be, for example, between about 0.1 - 0.4 mm, preferably between 0.2 - 0.3 mm). In particular, in the thickness direction of the timepiece movement, the relative positions of the wheels of the drive movable body 10 and the second hand wheel 8, and their respective thicknesses, are such that the clutch wheel 214 can occupy a first clutch disengagement axial position where it engages only with the drive movable part 10 and a second clutch engagement axial position where it engages with both the drive movable part 10 and the second hand wheel 8.

[0162] Also in FIG. 14, it can be seen that the clutch wheel 214 can have its toothing with an oblique angle in order to prevent it from remaining in tooth-on-tooth bearing engagement with the seconds wheel 8 when moving in the direction passing from the clutch release position to the clutch engagement position.

[0163] A comparative study of FIGS. 13a to 13c shows that the clutch device includes a clutch spring 218 adapted such that it tends to act on the shaft 216 of the clutch wheel 214 and axially push it in a given direction. Here, it is advantageous for the clutch spring 218 to act on the clutch wheel 214 so as to push the clutch wheel 214 in the direction of the clutch engagement position. Thus, the action of the clutch spring 218 on the shaft 216 generates more friction in the stop mode than in the start mode, which overall makes it possible to move in a direction to balance the respective loads on the drive movable part 10 in the two operating modes, and thus balance any disturbance received by the oscillator of the associated timepiece movement. In fact, when shifting from the stop mode to start, the load due to the clutch spring 218 is significantly reduced, but a new load associated with the driving of the chronograph wheel set is simultaneously applied to the drive movable body 10. Further, the addition of the load on the shaft 216 by the clutch spring 218 allows the clutch wheel 214 not to vibrate in this operating mode since it remains in a tensioned state with the wheel of the drive movable part 10 in the stop mode.

[0164] Furthermore, the clutch lever 204 is adapted to act on the command on the shaft 216 of the clutch wheel 214 against the action of the clutch spring 218. Thus, in the stop mode shown in Figure 13a, the clutch lever 204 is in a position such that it provides an appropriate abutment (invisible, having an inclined surface in a manner similar to the pincers of a conventional vertical clutch) for pushing towards the front of the figure against the shaft 216 of the clutch wheel 214 in such a way that the clutch wheel 214 is in the clutch release position, i.e., does not engage with the seconds wheel 8. The shaft 216 can advantageously have a small inclined surface at its end that cooperates with the abutment of the clutch lever 204.

[0165] When the column wheel 88 operates to release the peak of the intermediate control lever 202 and allow it to drop between the two columns, the clutch lever 204 pivots in the counterclockwise direction of rotation as seen in Figure 13b. Then, its abutment begins to disengage from the shaft 216 of the clutch wheel 214, which can start to move in the direction of its axis of rotation due to the action received from the clutch spring 218, and approaches the axial level of the seconds wheel 8. Thus, this movement is towards the rear of the figure in Figure 13b.

[0166] As shown in Figure 13c, when the clutch lever 204 releases the clutch wheel 214, the clutch wheel 214 reaches the axial clutch engagement position so as to engage with the seconds wheel 8 to be rotationally driven due to the movement of the drive movable body 10.

[0167] Note that it is advantageous for the bearing of the clutch wheel 214 located on the side of the clutch spring 218 to be such that the clutch spring 218 can abut against the clutch spring and does not contact the shaft 216 of the clutch wheel 214 when the clutch wheel 214 occupies the clutch engagement position. Thus, in this case, the clutch spring 218 no longer loads the wheel set to the start mode and thus no friction occurs.

[0168] The clutch lever 204 is preferably, but optionally, configured to carry a locking pin 220 arranged above the clutch wheel 214 when the clutch wheel 214 moves to the clutch engagement position, as shown in FIG. 13c. In fact, the preload of the clutch spring 218 is not sufficient to hold the clutch wheel 214 in this position in case of a severe shock, for example a 500 g shock in the component in the direction of the thickness of the watch movement. Therefore, the locking pin 220 makes it possible to prevent the clutch from disengaging during a shock by restricting the axial movement of the clutch wheel 214.

[0169] From this, it is clear that the clutch device according to the second preferred variant combines the advantages of the conventional horizontal and vertical clutches without their drawbacks.

[0170] Furthermore, it should be noted that controlling the two functions with the same components, namely the clutch device and the seconds jumper 240, and in particular linking to an actuator 210 having a function equivalent to that of a conventional brake, enables complete control of the synchronization of the two related functions. More precisely, this configuration makes it possible to ensure complete synchronization between the moment when the clutch wheel 214 starts to drive the seconds wheel 8 and the moment when the seconds jumper 240 releases it (in particular, it is necessary to prevent the seconds jumper 240 from releasing the seconds wheel 8 too early, otherwise it could be driven backwards by the effect of the movement of its return movable part), and in particular, when the drive of the clutch wheel 214 stops as it transitions from the start mode to the stop mode, it makes it possible to ensure the correct moment locking of the seconds wheel 8 by the jumper 240. Furthermore, this synchronization is combined with the cut of the teeth of the seconds jumper 240 to prevent any possibility of a backward jump of the chronograph second hand when passing from the stop mode to the start mode, such as can occur in a conventional chronograph mechanism, especially one having a horizontal clutch.

[0171] The transition from the start mode to the stop mode is brought about by reversing the above-described steps. A new rotation by one step of the column wheel 88 positions one column facing the peak of the intermediate control lever 202 and simultaneously drives the movement of the actuator 210 in the direction of the seconds jumper 240 and the movement of the clutch lever 204 in the clockwise direction, as seen in FIGS. 13a to 13c. During this movement, the contact portion of the clutch lever 204 returns to a position facing the shaft 216 of the clutch wheel 214 and pushes the clutch wheel 214 out of the reach of the seconds wheel 8 against the action of the clutch spring 218.

[0172] Returning to FIGS. 11a to 11c, the reset device according to the second preferred modification will be described below with reference to FIG. 15 showing the details of its configuration.

[0173] As in the case of the first preferred modification, the principle of reset here consists, in the context of the second preferred modification, of releasing all of the chronograph counters 2, 4, and 6 simultaneously from the forces locking them, since they can be reset independently of each other by the movement of their return movable parts, and this simultaneous release is carried out by an all-or-nothing control system that is robust and provides feedback similar to that of the start / stop control unit.

[0174] This control system particularly includes a control movable part 250 intended to cooperate with a command and having all the jumpers and claws adapted to lock the various chronograph counters when transitioning from the start / stop position to the reset position.

[0175] FIG. 15 shows the control movable part 250 and its operating mechanism separately for ease of understanding. The operating principle of the operating mechanism in this second preferred modification is the same as that of the operating mechanism in the first preferred modification.

[0176] The actuating mechanism comprises a reset member 252 adapted to receive a pulse in response to a user's action on a suitable external control member (not shown), and is fixed on the clock movement frame 80 so as to be rotatable about a rotational axis coinciding with the axis of its fixing screw 254. The reset member 252 is held in its initial stationary position by the action of a return spring 256 formed integrally with the reset member 252 here by way of non-limiting illustration. Reception of the pulse drives the reset member 252 to rotate in the clockwise direction of rotation as seen in FIG. 15, induces the control movable part 250 to rotate in the counterclockwise direction of rotation, and shifts it from its start / stop position to its reset position.

[0177] The latch 258 is rotatably mounted on the clock movement frame, is arranged to face the peak 260 of the control movable part 250 in the initial state, and prevents the control movable part 250 from rotating. A return spring 262 made integrally with the latch 258 and abutting against the fixed pin 264 provides the initial state position of the latch 258.

[0178] The reset member 252 carries a trigger pin 266 adapted to rotate the latch 258 in the counterclockwise direction of rotation as seen in FIG. 15 when the reset member 252 rotates (clockwise). The reset member 252 also carries an actuator pin 268 adapted to cooperate with and load a reset spring 270 as long as the latch 258 maintains the lock of the control movable part 250.

[0179] When the latch 258 rotates sufficiently to release the peak 260 of the control movable part 250, the reset spring 270 can suddenly release its energy, causing the control movable part 250 to rotate in a counterclockwise direction as seen in FIG. 15 towards its reset position, entraining in rotation with its first arm 272, second arm 274, third arm 276, fourth arm 278, fifth arm 280 and sixth arm 282, and these arms define a disabling device similar to that already described with respect to the first preferred variant.

[0180] When the reset member 252 is released, while the latch 258 remains initially fixed, due to the action of its return spring 256, the peak 260 of the control movable part 250 is on its return path, so the reset member 252 rapidly returns to its rest position. The reset member 252 entrains the control movable part 250 by the action of its actuator pin 268 on its rigid part, and when the peak 260 releases the control movable part 250, the latch 258 returns to its rest position.

[0181] From the above description, it is clear that in this second preferred variant, the control movable part 250 has two different angular positions, a first stop (or start) position common to the start mode and the stop STOP mode of the chronograph mechanism 201, and a second reset position for the reset operation mode.

[0182] Thus, in FIGS. 11a and 11b, the control movable part 250 is shown in its first (start / ) stop, and these positions partially show the chronograph mechanism 201 in its stop mode and its start mode respectively.

[0183] FIG. 11c illustrates the reset mode and shows how the chronograph mechanism 201 behaves when the reset member 252 is actuated while the time measurement is in progress, i.e., in the start mode corresponding to a function generally called "flyback".

[0184] The peak of the intermediate control lever 202 still lies between the two columns of the column wheel 88, and thus it can be seen that the clutch device should potentially be able to occupy its clutch engaged state. However, the control movable part 250 acts on the clutch lever 204 via its first arm 272, rotating the clutch lever 204 in the clockwise direction of rotation, transitioning from the configuration of Fig. 11b to the configuration of Fig. 11c, and thus seemingly pushing the clutch lever 204 into its clutch release position. This is also evident from the position of the peak of the intermediate control lever 202, which has moved away from the column wheel 88, during the transition from the configuration of Fig. 11b to the configuration of Fig. 11c.

[0185] At the same time, from a comparative study of Figs. 11b (or 11a) and 11c, it is clear that the other arm of the control movable part 250 is moved to actuate various jumpers and claws, transitioning from the configuration of Fig. 11b (or 11a) to the configuration of Fig. 11c.

[0186] More precisely, the second arm 274 of the control movable part 250 cooperates with the jumper 44 of the sub-counter 4 to push the sub-counter 4 away, enabling the counter to rotate freely, while the third arm 276 cooperates with the claw 60 of the sub-counter 4 to ensure that it is not positioned on the tooth track of the sub-wheel 22 during reset. Thus, the sub-counter 4 is released from any load and can be returned to its zero position (its initial position, different from 0 in the case of the countdown mechanism) by the operation of its return movable part.

[0187] The fourth arm 278 of the control movable part 250 cooperates with the second jumper 240 to define at least the contact part, prevent the jumper from turning in the direction of the second wheel 8, release the second counter 2 of any load, and enable it to return to the zero position (or the initial position in the case of a countdown mechanism) for the operation of its return movable part. Generally speaking, during reset, the fourth arm 278 can gently push aside the second jumper 240 facing the actuator 210. Such an operation is necessary in any case when the reset is started from the stop mode, and the second jumper 240 is positioned relative to the second wheel 8.

[0188] Finally, the fifth arm 280 of the control movable part 250 cooperates with the jumper 46 of the time counter 6 to push it out and enable the counter to rotate freely, while the sixth arm 282 cooperates with the pawl 72 of the time counter 6 to ensure that it is not located on the tooth track of the time wheel 30. Therefore, the time counter 6 is released from any load and can be returned to its zero position (or the initial position in the case of a countdown mechanism) for the operation of its return moving body.

[0189] When the reset member 252 is released, the control member 250 can turn in the clockwise direction as seen in Fig. 11c and is returned to its stop (or start) position by its return spring 256 as described above. Then, the jumper and the pawl are also released by the various arms of the control movable part 250 and can return to the positions they occupied before the reset was activated. When the reset is operated from the start mode, a new measurement of time starts immediately after the reset member 252 is released.

[0190] Note that the reset can also be performed in the same manner after the time measurement has been stopped, i.e., when the chronograph mechanism 201 is in the stop mode. In this case, the second to sixth arms of the control movable part 250 cooperate in the same manner as the various jumpers and claws of the various counters described above, while the first arm 272 is disposed near the clutch lever 204, and then, considering that the first arm 272 is already in the clutch release position, it will not push it away.

[0191] Also, note that the control movable part 250 according to the second preferred modification has only two different positions (while the control mobile 100 of the first modification had three different positions), and has a stop (e.g., or start) position related to the start mode and stop mode of the chronograph mechanism 201, and a reset position related to the reset mode of the chronograph mechanism 201. The transition from the start mode to the stop mode of the chronograph mechanism 201 and vice versa are performed independently of the control movable part 250.

[0192] The description of the second modification simplifies and makes it clearer how the present teachings can be adapted in the context of manufacturing a flyback type chronograph mechanism for a watch movement with a reliable and robust structure. On the one hand, in particular, it limits the force that the user has to apply to the corresponding button to operate it, thereby improving its ergonomics. Furthermore, as already described above, this configuration also limits the movement and operating force of the buttons related to the chronograph mechanism and enables its various functions to be operated, in particular, by strengthening their integration towards the center, it is possible to improve the ergonomics and design of these buttons.

[0193] The foregoing description has been directed to explaining one particular mechanism by way of non-limiting example (a chronograph mechanism, although the countdown mechanism can equally benefit from the advantages of the present invention), and the present invention is not limited to the use of the particular configurations merely described, such as for example, the shape of the return movable parts, or the shape of the levers enabling their interconnection, the start / stop and reset architecture, or the fact that some of the elastic members are manufactured integrally with specific components of the mechanism. In fact, the various elastic members of the chronograph mechanism described above can be configured differently (in particular, by reversing their embedding direction). For example, it should be noted that the return movable parts shown in the attached drawings have a preferred but optional configuration, that they are in a balanced state from the point of view of the mass distribution, and that each rack is associated with a counterweight in order to limit the risk of damage to the mechanism in case of impact. However, a person skilled in the art can select to balance these various components in a manner adapted to specific requirements without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined by the set of appended claims.

Claims

1. A mechanism (1; 201) for a watch movement for measuring time, comprising a time unit counter, intended to drive a display member of time units by a command so as to be rotationally driven from a predetermined position in a predetermined rotational direction throughout the time measurement, and a display movable part adapted to be kinematically connected to a drive movable part (10) of the watch movement, a return movable part mounted on a frame element (80) and intended to pivot between an initial position associated with the predetermined position of the display movable part and a final position, an elastic return member (20) acting on the return movable part and adapted to contribute to returning the return movable part to the initial position, comprising: the display movable part and the return movable part are configured such that when the display movable part rotates substantially one revolution from the predetermined position, the return movable part pivots from the initial position to the final position, the display movable part further includes teeth meshing with teeth of the return movable part, the teeth of the display movable part include a cutout portion, and the cutout portion is intended to temporarily separate between the display movable part and the return movable part when the return movable part reaches the final position for each complete rotation of the display movable part, and to be able to drive the return movable part in the reverse direction to the initial position by the action of the elastic return member (20), mechanism (1; 201).

2. a jumper (40; 240) configured such that when the measurement of the time is paused, the mechanism can cooperate with the display movable part to prevent rotation of the display movable part in at least a rotational direction opposite to the predetermined rotational direction, an invalidation device (132; 278) operable according to a command and configured to enable the return of the display movable part to the predetermined position by the action of the elastic return member (20) on the return movable part, The mechanism (1; 201) according to claim 1, further comprising.

3. the display movable part includes a plate having drive teeth, the drive teeth enable the display movable part to be kinematically connected to the drive movable part (10) of the watch movement, the jumper (40; 240) includes three teeth configured to cooperate with the drive teeth to prevent rotation of the display movable part in at least a rotational direction opposite to the predetermined rotational direction, The mechanism (1; 201) according to claim 2, wherein the three teeth have a pitch p2 that is strictly greater than the pitch p1 of the drive teeth and strictly less than (3 * p1) / 2.

4. The time unit counter is a second counter (2) configured such that the display movable part makes a complete rotation in 60 seconds. The mechanism (1; 201) for measuring the time further includes a minute counter (4) for the minutes of the measured time, which is intended to drive a minute display member for the minutes of the measured time and includes a minute display movable part. The return movable part cooperates with the minute display movable part and is kinematically connected to the minute pawl (60), and is configured to rotate the minute counter (4) to increase or decrease it for each complete rotation of the display movable part. The mechanism (1; 201) according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. The mechanism (1; 201) according to claim 4, wherein the elastic return member (20) is configured to act on the return movable part via a first transmission lever (50) that carries the minute pawl (60).

6. The minute display movable part further includes teeth that engage with a minute return movable part that is attached to a frame element (80) and is intended to pivot between an initial position and a final position. Both the initial position and the final position are associated with a predetermined position of the minute display movable part. The minute counter (4) is configured to act on the minute return movable part and further includes a minute elastic return member (28) that contributes to returning the minute return movable part to the initial position. The teeth of the minute display movable part and the minute return movable part are configured such that when the minute display movable part makes a complete rotation from a predetermined position, the minute return movable part pivots from the initial position to the final position. The teeth of the minute display movable part include a cut shape portion. The cut shape portion is intended to temporarily separate between the display movable part and the return movable part when the return movable part reaches the final position for each complete rotation of the minute display movable part, and can be driven in the reverse direction to return the minute return movable part to the initial position by the action of the minute elastic return member (28). The mechanism (1; 201) according to claim 4 or 5.

7. The sub-counter (4) is configured such that the sub-display movable part makes a complete rotation in 60 seconds, more preferably in 30 seconds. The mechanism (1; 201) for measuring the time further includes a time counter (6) for the time being measured, which includes a time display movable part intended to drive a time display member with respect to the time being measured. The sub-return movable part cooperates with the time display movable part and is kinematically connected to a time pawl (72), and is configured to rotate the time display movable part to increase or decrease the time counter (6) every complete rotation of the sub-display movable part. The mechanism (1; 201) according to claim 6, characterized in that.

8. The mechanism (1; 201) according to claim 7, characterized in that the sub-elastic return member (28) is configured to act on the sub-return movable part via a second transmission lever (62) carrying the time pawl (72).

9. The time display movable part further includes teeth that engage with a time return movable part that is attached to a frame element (80) and is intended to pivot between an initial position and a final position. Both the initial position and the final position are associated with a predetermined position of the time display movable part. The time counter is configured to act on the time return movable part and further includes a time elastic return member (36) that contributes to returning the time return movable part to the initial position. The teeth of the time display movable part and the time return movable part are configured such that when the time display movable part makes a complete rotation from a predetermined position, the time return movable part pivots from the initial position to the final position. The teeth of the time display movable part include a cut shape portion, and the corresponding shape portion can temporarily separate between the time display movable part and the time return movable part when the time return movable part reaches the final position every complete rotation of the time display movable part, and is intended to be reversely driven to the initial position by the action of the time elastic return member (36). The mechanism (1; 201) according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that.

10. A time jumper (46) that acts on the time display movable part to rotate the time display movable part only in the normally driven direction during the progress of time measurement. An invalidation device (134; 274) that is operable according to a command and is configured to enable the return of the time display movable part to a predetermined position by the action of the time elastic return member (36) on the time return movable part, and The mechanism (1; 201) according to claim 9, further comprising

11. A minute jumper (44) that acts on the minute display device during the progress of time measurement to rotate the minute display movable part only in the normally driven direction, and An invalidation device (134; 274) that is operable according to a command and is configured to enable the return of the minute display movable part to a predetermined position by the action of the minute elastic return member (28) on the minute return movable part, and The mechanism (1; 201) according to any one of claims 6 to 10, further comprising

12. A control movable part (100; 250) adapted to pivot between at least one stop position and one reset position according to a command, When the control movable part (100; 250) moves from the stop position to the reset position, an invalidation device (132; 278) that invalidates the jumper (40; 240) and an invalidation device (134; 274) that invalidates the minute jumper (44) are configured with respect to the control movable part (100; 250) such that the invalidation devices (132; 278) and the invalidation device (134; 274) can act on their respective jumpers (40, 44; 240) substantially simultaneously for invalidation. The mechanism (1; 201) according to claim 2 or 3 and claim 11.

13. When the control movable part (100; 250) moves from the stop position to the reset position, an invalidation device (138; 280) that invalidates the time jumper (46) is configured with respect to the control movable part (100; 250) such that all the invalidation devices (132, 134, 138; 278, 274, 280) can act on their respective jumpers (40, 44, 46; 240) substantially simultaneously for invalidation. The mechanism (1; 201) according to claim 10 and claim 12.

14. The control movable part (100; 250) further carries a clutch wheel (104) adapted to occupy a clutch engagement position or a clutch disengagement position, The clutch engagement position is associated with an additional starting position of the control movable part (100), establishing a kinematic connection between the control movable part and the drive movable part (10) in the clockwise movement, The clutch disengagement position is associated with the stop position and the reset position of the control movable part (100), and the mechanism (1; 201) according to claim 12 or 13, characterized by preventing a kinematic coupling.

15. A control member (88) adapted to move between a first starting state and a second stop state according to a command and to pivot the intermediate control lever (92) between a first starting position and a second stop position is included. The mechanism (1; 201) according to claim 14, characterized in that the intermediate control lever (92) is adapted to actuate the control movable part (100) to pivot between a starting position and a stop position when moving from one position to another.

16. A reset member (110) configured to act on the intermediate control lever (92) to enable the intermediate control lever (92) to move from one of a first position and a second position to a third reset position is included. The mechanism (1; 201) according to claim 15, characterized in that at the third reset position, the intermediate control lever (92) actuates the control movable part (100) to pivot to the reset position.

17. The mechanism (1; 201) according to claim 15 or 16, characterized by including a spring (94) configured to contribute to arranging the intermediate control lever (92) in a first position.

18. According to a command, A clutch engagement state in which the clutch wheel (214) occupies a clutch engagement position, establishing a kinematic connection between the display movable part and the drive movable part (10) in the clock movement, A clutch disengagement state in which the clutch wheel (214) occupies a clutch disengagement position, preventing the kinematic connection, A clutch device including a clutch wheel (214) adapted to move between them is included. The mechanism (1; 201) according to claim 12 or 13, characterized in that the control movable part (100; 250) acts on the clutch device moving from a stop position to a reset position, and is adapted to advance or hold the clutch device in a clutch disengagement state.

19. including an actuator (210) movable between an operating position and a non-operating position, in the operating position, the actuator (210) cooperates with the jumper (240) to arrange at least one of the teeth within a range reachable by the drive teeth of the plate of the display movable part, in the non-operating position, the actuator (210) freely moves all of the teeth of the jumper (240) outside the range reachable by the drive teeth, the clutch device further includes a mechanism (1; 201) according to claims 3 and 18, characterized in that it is adapted to cooperate with the actuator (210) to move the actuator (210) to the operating position in the clutch disengaged state and to the non-operating position in the clutch engaged state.

20. the clutch device includes an intermediate control lever (202) configured to act on the clutch wheel (214) to define a position, the mechanism (1; 201) according to claim 19, characterized in that the intermediate control lever (202) carries the actuator (210).

21. a timepiece movement including a mechanism (1; 201) for measuring time according to any one of claims 1 to 20.

22. the timepiece movement according to claim 21, characterized in that the mechanism (1; 210) for measuring time is a chronograph mechanism.

23. a timepiece including the timepiece movement according to claim 21 or 22.

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