Indicating the organization

Abstract

To provide a display mechanism which makes it possible to display the date, the day of the week and the month on a single line of a single aperture configured to be as large as possible without superimposition of discs.SOLUTION: The present invention relates to a display mechanism for a timepiece movement comprising a first display wheel (110; 120) and a second display wheel (130; 140) that are arranged to be coplanar, the first and second display wheels (110; 120; 130; 140) being arranged to be pivoted relative to one another via at least one ball bearing.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5a

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a display mechanism of a watch, and more particularly, to a simple or permanent date display mechanism, preferably a display mechanism capable of displaying a date, a day of the week, and a month.

[0002] One of the problems caused when displaying the date of a watch, especially a wristwatch, is visibility. In fact, when arranging 31 displays across the display wheel (date disk), in many cases, the size of the displays becomes extremely small and may be too small to read comfortably. This problem is the same for the display of week numbers including 51 displays.

[0003] As a plurality of solutions to this problem, in order to assist reading, it is conceivable to provide an optical magnifying means such as a magnifying glass on the glass, or to separate the units digit and the tens digit into separate wheels, and thus the size of these digits can be significantly enlarged.

[0004] A date mechanism using the latter method is generally called "Large Date" and is well-known. Swiss Patent No. 310,559 describes, for example, a date display section in which a date is displayed by two juxtaposed disks or disks on the same plane, one having the tens digit and the other having the units digit. Other arrangements of the units digit and tens digit disks are also possible. European Patent No. 0,529,191 and European Patent No. 1,070,996 describe date displays in which the units digit disk and the tens digit disk are superimposed. Swiss Patent No. 690,515, German Patent No. 102005010602, and Swiss Patent No. 688,671 describe date display sections having units digit and tens digit disks on the same plane and coaxial.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

[0006] These mechanisms have several drawbacks. On the one hand, when these mechanisms overlap, the difference in level between the tens digit disc and the units digit disc impairs the readability and appearance of the date display. On the other hand, whether they are on the same plane or not, when the tens digit disc and the units digit disc are coaxial, there are constraints related to the pivoting motion of their respective supports: namely, friction due to the pivoting motion of the bearings or stones, and friction due to the pivoting motion between the interacting spindle and wheel. For some reason of these constraints, the discs may brake against each other or, at inappropriate moments, be driven by friction. Furthermore, these mechanisms require considerable torque to overcome these constraints and pivot the two discs simultaneously when the units and tens digits of the date change. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to present a display mechanism including two coplanar display discs, particularly a mechanism for displaying the date, that overcomes the aforementioned drawbacks. One particular object of the present invention is to present a display mechanism that enables the display of the date, day of the week, and month on a single line of the largest possible single aperture without the need for disc superposition.

[0008] The present invention relates to the display mechanism described in claim 1, and to the movement and clock described in claims 10 and 11, respectively.

[0009] The attached figure schematically and illustratively shows one embodiment of the display mechanism according to the present invention. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] This figure shows a display mechanism according to one embodiment of the present invention, which enables the display of the date, day of the week, and month. [Figure 2] This is a version of Figure 1 without the day of the week and month indicators. [Figure 3] This figure shows the state without the day of the week and month indicators or discs shown in Figure 1. [Figure 4a] Figure 1 is a perspective view of the display wheel of the display mechanism. [Figure 4b] This is a side view of the display wheel of the display mechanism shown in Figure 1. [Figure 5a] Figure 1 is a perspective view of the ball bearings in the display mechanism. [Figure 5b] This is a cross-sectional view of the ball bearing in the display mechanism shown in Figure 1.

[0011] The present invention relates to a display mechanism intended for use in a watch movement. In the illustrated embodiment, the display mechanism is capable of displaying the date, day of the week, and month.

[0012] In detail, the illustrated display mechanism comprises a tens digit indicator 11 and a units digit indicator 12, as well as a day of the week indicator 13 and a month indicator 14, which together form a date display.

[0013] The tens digit indicator 11 is crown-shaped, with the sequence of digits 0, 1, 2, and 3 repeated five times counterclockwise.

[0014] The units indicator 12 is also in the form of a crown, with a series of digits 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 repeated twice counterclockwise.

[0015] Since the units and tens are shown on separate wheels, the date display is of the "large date" type, and thus can be of a suitable size for easy reading.

[0016] The day-of-week indicator 13 and the month indicator 14 are in the form of disks, having, respectively, seven indicators for the days of the week and twelve indicators for the months of the year arranged clockwise (in the figure, the indicators use the usual English abbreviations).

[0017] In the illustrated embodiment, the tens indicator 11 and the day-of-week indicator 13 are coaxial and in the same plane, with the tens indicator 11 surrounding the day-of-week indicator 13. Also, the units indicator 12 and the month indicator 14 are coaxial and in the same plane, with the units indicator 12 surrounding the month indicator 14. The four indicators 11, 12, 13, 14 are arranged to be in the same plane. In this way, the day of the week, the date, and the month can be displayed in a single large aperture on the same plane.

[0018] More precisely, the day-of-week indicator 13 is carried by a day-of-week disk 130. The day-of-week disk 130 is arranged to pivot with respect to a first fixed ring 15 that is coaxial with the day-of-week disk 130 and fixedly attached to the plate or bridge of the movement. The day-of-week disk 130 pivots inside the first fixed ring 15 by means of a first ball bearing (see FIGS. 5a and 5b) in which a first series of balls 161 are held at regular intervals by any suitable means (a cage) between the day-of-week disk 130 and the first fixed ring 15.

[0019] The tens digit indicator 11 is carried by a tens digit ring 110 coaxially attached to the day-of-the-week disk 130 and the first fixed ring 15, and is pivotally arranged with respect to the first fixed ring 15 by a second ball bearing (see FIGS. 5a and 5b) in which a second series of balls 162 are held at regular intervals by any suitable means (a cage) between the tens digit ring 110 and the first fixed ring 15.

[0020] The arrangements of the units digit indicator 12 and the month indicator 14 are similar. The month indicator 14 is carried by a month disk 140. The month disk 140 is pivotally arranged with respect to a second fixed ring 17 coaxial with the month disk thereof, and is fixedly attached to the plate or bridge of the movement. The month disk 140 pivots inside the second fixed ring 17 by a third ball bearing (see FIGS. 5a and 5b) in which a third series of balls 163 are held at regular intervals by any suitable means (a cage) between the month disk 140 and the second fixed ring 17.

[0021] The units digit indicator 12 is carried by a units digit ring 120 coaxially attached to the month disk 140 and the second fixed ring 17, and is pivotally arranged with respect to the second fixed ring 17 by a fourth ball bearing (see FIGS. 5a and 5b) in which a fourth series of balls 164 are held at regular intervals by any suitable means (a cage) between the units digit ring 120 and the second fixed ring 17.

[0022] Thus, four ball bearings are formed, firstly by the day of the week disc 130, the first fixed ring 15 and the first series of balls 161; secondly by the first fixed ring 15, the tens digit ring 110 and the second series of balls 162; thirdly by the month disc 140, the second fixed ring 17 and the third series of balls 163; and fourthly by the second fixed ring 17. These four ball bearings allow rolling friction between the day of the week disc 130, the tens digit ring 110 and the first fixed ring 15, and between the month disc 140, the units digit ring 120 and the second fixed ring 17, to replace sliding friction (between two bearings or stones on a spindle, or between tubes interacting inside the other).

[0023] Generally, the display mechanism according to the first embodiment is configured to drive the ones digit ring 120 (ones digit indicator 12) 30 times a month (not during the transition from 31 to 01, see below), the day of the week disc 130 (day of the week indicator 13) once a day, the tens digit ring 110 and tens digit indicator 11 four times a month, and the month disc 140 (month indicator 14) once a month.

[0024] To do this, the tens digit ring 110 has an external tooth array 111 which is driven four steps per month via a dedicated kinetic chain mechanism of the display mechanism, and a positioning tooth array 112 which cooperates with a jumper 113 for angular positioning.

[0025] The units digit ring 120 also has an external tooth array 121 which is driven 30 steps per month via a dedicated kinetic chain mechanism of the display mechanism, and a positioning tooth array 122 which cooperates with a jumper 123 for angular positioning.

[0026] The day of the week disc 130 is fixedly mounted to a day of the week star 30, which includes seven teeth arranged to be driven one step per day by a dedicated kinetic chain mechanism of the display mechanism, and its positioning is performed by a jumper 31.

[0027] Finally, the lunar disk 140 is also fixedly mounted to the lunar star 4, which has 12 teeth and is positioned to rotate once per year. The positioning of the lunar star 4 and, by extension, the lunar disk 140 is performed by the lunar jumper 41.

[0028] The display mechanism according to this embodiment preferably automatically takes into account the length of the days in a month (28, 29, 30, or 31), the transition from 31 to 01 at the end of the month, and leap years. Thus, it is a perpetual date display mechanism. The operation of such a perpetual calendar and the kinetic chain mechanism that constitutes it are not the subject of the present invention and will not be described in further detail herein.

[0029] The display mechanism described above may also include a correction mechanism for modifying the displayed date, day of the week, and month.

[0030] The display mechanism described above enables the display of the date, day of the week, and month, and furthermore, provides this display permanently. This is an example of one embodiment of the display mechanism according to the present invention.

[0031] As a modified form, the display mechanism according to the present invention may be a simple calendar, an annual calendar, or a perpetual calendar, or a display of the number of weeks, or a chronograph counter, or more generally, a display mechanism that enables the display of a single information item in a single aperture, or the display of multiple different information items in at least one aperture.

[0032] The embodiments described above are, in fact, a combination of several variations of the present invention, in which the units digit indicator and the tens digit indicator are placed side by side on the same plane, pivoted relative to each other by two ball bearings, and cooperate to display a single information item (date) in the same aperture, while the tens digit indicator and the day of the week indicator are coaxially located on the same plane, pivoted relative to each other by two ball bearings, and display two different information items (the tens digit of the date and the day of the week) in the same aperture.

[0033] The display mechanism according to the present invention generally comprises at least one first display wheel and a second display wheel, which are arranged on the same plane, either coaxially or side by side. The first and second display wheels are also arranged to pivot relative to each other by at least one ball bearing.

[0034] In the first variant, each of the first and second indicator wheels comprises at least a fixed portion and a movable portion arranged to pivot relative to the fixed portion by a first or second ball bearing, respectively. That is, each of the first or second series of balls is arranged between the movable portion and the fixed portion of the first indicator wheel, and between the movable portion and the fixed portion of the second indicator wheel, to form the first and second ball bearings, respectively. In this variant, multiple arrangements are possible for one indicator wheel, the other indicator wheel, or both indicator wheels, i.e., the movable portion is pivotally mounted inside or outside the respective fixed portion, and the movable portion is pivotally mounted between the first and second fixed portions by two ball bearings. Depending on the arrangement, the movable portion and the fixed portion can be disc-shaped or ring-shaped.

[0035] In another variant, the first and second indicator wheels are also coaxial, each having a movable part. According to the first variant, the movable part of the second indicator wheel pivots inside the movable part of the first indicator wheel by ball bearings, with the balls positioned between the movable parts of the first and second indicator wheels. According to this first variant, the first indicator wheel may further include a fixed part, and the movable part of the first indicator wheel may be arranged to pivot relative to the fixed part by another ball bearing. According to the second variant, the indicator mechanism further comprises at least one fixed part coaxial and coplanar with the first and second indicator wheels, the movable part of the first indicator wheel pivots outside of the fixed part by a first ball bearing, while the movable part of the second indicator wheel pivots inside of the fixed part by a second ball bearing. In this second alternative configuration, multiple arrangements are possible for one indicator wheel, the other indicator wheel, or both indicator wheels, namely, the indicator mechanism comprises a second central fixed part around which the movable part of the second indicator wheel pivots by another ball bearing, and the indicator mechanism comprises a third outer fixed part inside which the movable part of the first indicator wheel pivots by yet another ball bearing. As with the previously described variations, the movable and fixed parts can be in the form of a disc or a ring, depending on the selected arrangement.

[0036] The first and second display wheels each carry an indicator intended to work with at least one fixed aperture to display one or more information items. Preferably, the indicators work with the same single fixed aperture.

[0037] In this way, a display mechanism with coaxial or juxtaposed wheels on the same plane can be presented, that is, it is possible to overcome the limitations associated with the pivoting of wheels seen in the prior art while providing a readable and attractive (level-less) display. In fact, by pivoting two coaxial wheels using ball bearings, it is not necessary to rotate the wheels between stones or bearings, and if the wheels are coaxial, it is not necessary to rotate one tube or wheel inside the other. Thus, constraints due to sliding friction are eliminated. The wheels are truly independent of each other and there is no risk of interaction (a wheel driving another wheel due to excessive friction constraints). Finally, since rolling friction is less than sliding friction, the energy required to rotate the wheels is also greatly reduced, which is extremely useful in the case of the display mechanism described above, where a considerable number of wheels must be driven at the end of the month.

Claims

1. A display mechanism for a clock movement comprising a tens digit indicator (110), a units digit indicator (120), a day of the week indicator (130), and a month of the week indicator (140), each supporting a tens digit indicator (11), a units digit indicator (12), a day of the week indicator (13), and a month of the week indicator (14), respectively, The tens digit indicator (11) and the units digit indicator (12) together form a date display. The four indicators (11, 12, 13, 14) are arranged in a single aperture to display the day of the week, date, and month in a single row. The movable display parts (110, 120, 130, 140) are arranged such that the four indicators (11, 12, 13, 14) are on the same plane and the tens digit indicator (11) and the day of the week indicator (13) are coaxial, the tens digit indicator (11) surrounds the day of the week indicator (13), the units digit indicator (12) and the month indicator (14) are also coaxial, and the units digit indicator (12) surrounds the month indicator (14). The day of the week display movable part (130) is arranged to pivot with respect to a first fixing ring (15) which is coaxial with the day of the week display movable part (130) and fixedly attached to the plate or bridge of the movement, and the day of the week disc (130) pivots inside the first fixing ring (15) by a first ball bearing, The tens digit display movable part (110) is mounted coaxially with the day of the week display movable part (130) and the first fixing ring (15), and is arranged to pivot relative to the first fixing ring (15) by a second ball bearing. The month display movable part (140) is arranged to pivot with respect to a second fixed ring (17) which is fixedly attached to the plate or bridge of the movement and is coaxial with the month display movable part (140), and the day display movable part (140) pivots inside the second fixed ring (17) by a third ball bearing, The movable part (120) for the position indicator is mounted coaxially with the movable part (140) for the day of the week indicator and the second fixing ring (17), and is arranged to pivot relative to the second fixing ring (17) by a fourth ball bearing. A display mechanism characterized by the following:

2. The tens digit indicator (11) is crown-shaped, and the sequence of digits 0, 1, 2, 3 is repeated five times counterclockwise, and the units digit indicator (12) is also crown-shaped, and the sequence of digits 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 is repeated twice counterclockwise. The display mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that

3. The day of the week indicator (13) and the month indicator (14) are disc-shaped and each has seven indicators for the days of the week and twelve indicators for the months of the year, arranged clockwise. The display mechanism according to claim 2, characterized in that

4. The units digit indicator (12) is driven 30 times a month, the day of the week indicator (13) is driven once a day, the tens digit indicator (11) is driven 4 times a month, and the month indicator (14) is driven once a month. The display mechanism according to claim 3, characterized in that

5. A watch movement comprising the display mechanism described in any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. A clock comprising the movement described in claim 5.

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