Mechanical Digital Display for Timepieces Using Continuous Supports
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional timepiece displays, especially in watches, face challenges in compactness and readability due to bulkiness, particularly when attempting to display both hours and minutes effectively.
Innovation Solution
A mechanical digital display mechanism utilizing chains or serrated belts with guide and drive means, allowing for a thin, readable alphanumeric segment display that can be integrated into a conventional watch case, featuring surfaces of different appearances to form numerals or letters, and enabling various displays such as hours, minutes, and date.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional discs with numbers are used for time display, then readability is improved, but the device becomes bulky and difficult to integrate into watches
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the display into multiple continuous supports, each displaying individual digits (hours, minutes, seconds) separately. This segmentation allows each digit to be displayed clearly while keeping the overall structure compact and suitable for watch integration.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from traditional two-dimensional disc displays to a multi-dimensional arrangement using multiple continuous supports that can be positioned in different spatial orientations. This allows compact integration while maintaining readability of all digits simultaneously.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple display elements are added to show both hours and minutes, then functionality is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The continuous supports serve multiple functions: they display digits, can be positioned in different orientations, and can represent different time units (hours, minutes, seconds). This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate specialized components for each display element.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines multiple display functions into a unified system of continuous supports that can simultaneously display hours, minutes, and seconds. This merging approach reduces overall structural complexity compared to using separate traditional disc mechanisms for each time unit.
3Volume of moving object
If digital display mechanisms are integrated into conventional watch cases, then compactness is improved, but the display readability and visual engagement are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
Each continuous support is designed with specific local characteristics optimized for its display function, such as appropriate digit spacing, size, and positioning. This local optimization ensures high readability for each digit while maintaining overall compactness within the watch case.
Data Source
AI summary
A digital display mechanism for the alphanumeric segment display of an integer magnitude whose instantaneous value is defined by an output of a timepiece movement, including a continuous display support guided along a particular trajectory by a guide device and driven in at least one direction of travel by a drive device, including at least a first display surface and a second display surface which are different from each other, each first surface or second surface forming only one part of an alphanumeric symbol, numeral or letter, and arranged to be visible to a user of the timepiece, each continuous display support being either a serrated belt driven by a serrated pinion complementary to the serration of the belt, or a chain driven by a pinion complementary to the articulation of the links of this chain.