Patent Application
20240085853
The present invention relates to an actuating mechanism for a flexible display hand.
The present invention relates to flexible display hands. Such hands, which are already known in the prior art, comprise a first drive pipe connected to a first end of a first flexible arm, and a second drive pipe connected to a first end of a second flexible arm. At their second end, the first and second flexible arms are connected to one another by a tip. In a non-stressed, free state of the flexible display hand, the first and second drive pipes are spaced apart. Conversely, an operating position in which the flexible display hand has a defined shape and length is a stressed position in which the first drive pipe and the second drive pipe are arranged coaxially around the same axis of rotation. In this stressed position, the first drive pipe is mounted at a defined first prestressing angle, and the second drive pipe is mounted at a defined second prestressing angle in the opposite direction to that of the first drive pipe. The flexible display hand is arranged to change shape and length in a desired manner as the angular position of the second drive pipe varies relative to the angular position of the first drive pipe by pivoting about the axis of rotation. To this end, the first flexible arm of the flexible display hand undergoes an angular rotation θ1 which is applied by a horological movement to the flexible display hand in order to display the information. For the second flexible arm, since the angular rotation θ1 applied by the horological movement to the flexible display hand is modulated by an angle of rotation φ by an actuating mechanism, this angle of rotation φ, applied to the second flexible arm of the flexible display hand, determines the rotation and change in shape and length of the flexible display hand.
Mechanisms for actuating a flexible, variable-length display hand are already known in the prior art. These various actuating mechanisms are all based on the same operating principle: an angular rotation θ1, applied to an input of the actuating mechanism by the horological movement, is modulated by an angle of rotation φ by this actuating mechanism, this angle of rotation φ, which is applied in an opposite direction to the first and second flexible arms of the flexible display hand, determining the rotation and change in shape and length of the flexible display hand.
With these prior art drive mechanisms, the flexible display hands trace paths of various shapes (circular, oval, triangular etc.) in a single revolution; in other words, from a given starting point, the flexible display hands make a complete revolution, deforming themselves in the desired way, then return to their starting point and the process starts all over again.
The purpose of the present invention is to provide an actuating mechanism for a flexible display hand enabling the paths traced by such a flexible display hand to be varied when the flexible display hand is driven by such an actuating mechanism.
To this end, the present invention relates to a mechanism for actuating a flexible display hand comprising a first drive pipe connected to a first end of a first flexible arm, and a second drive pipe connected to a first end of a second flexible arm, the first and second flexible arms being connected to one another by a tip at their second end, the first pipe being mounted at a defined first prestressing angle, and the second pipe being mounted at a defined second prestressing angle in the opposite direction to that of the first pipe, so that the elastically prestressed flexible display hand constantly maintains the entire actuating mechanism under tension during normal operation of the actuating mechanism, the actuating mechanism comprising a first cannon-pinion onto which the first drive pipe of the flexible display hand is driven, this first cannon-pinion being driven by a horological movement, this first cannon-pinion driving an intermediate wheel set which in turn drives a second cannon-pinion onto which the second drive pipe is driven, the flexible display hand moving between an initial position and a final position in which it makes a jump to return to its initial position, the flexible display hand changing shape and length in a desired way during this movement, which induces additional elastic tension induced by the change in angular position of the second drive pipe relative to the first drive pipe, which is added to the elastic tension induced by the mounting of the first and second drive pipes on the respective first and second cannon-pinions, the kinematic link between the intermediate wheel set and the second cannon-pinion being momentarily interrupted at the time when the flexible display hand makes its jump, the second cannon-pinion then being temporarily free to rotate about itself and disconnected from the rest of the actuating mechanism, so that the additional elastic tension is released, causing the second cannon-pinion to pivot, the first and second cannon-pinions then being directly engaged via the pin, which precisely positions the second cannon-pinion relative to the first cannon-pinion 14, so that the first cannon-pinion drives not only the second cannon-pinion, but also the intermediate wheel set, until such time as the second cannon-pinion is again engaged with the intermediate wheel set. The position of the pin ensures that the drive is resumed correctly, preventing the tips from mutually blocking one another.
According to particular embodiments of the invention:
where
Thanks to these features, the present invention provides an actuating mechanism arranged to drive a flexible display hand through, for example, two complete revolutions, the second revolution having a different geometry to the first. From a given initial starting point, the flexible display hand makes a first revolution, then a second revolution after the first before returning to its initial starting point and repeating the path again. The actuating mechanism according to the invention is also distinguished by its simplicity and low height.
According to particular implementations of the invention, the actuating mechanism comprises a friction clutch intended to be arranged between a hand-setting mechanism capable of being controlled by a winding button, and the first cannon-pinion, the hand-setting mechanism and the winding button being comprised in the horological movement, the friction clutch being configured such that, when the winding button is in a hand-setting position and is operated in order to move the flexible display hand in the clockwise direction, it transmits a torque to the first cannon-pinion in order to drive said flexible display hand in the clockwise direction.
According to particular implementations of the invention, the friction clutch is configured such that, when the winding button is operated, when it is in the hand-setting position, in order to move the flexible display hand in the counter-clockwise direction, it slides when it is subjected to a torque above a predefined threshold.
According to particular implementations, the first and second cannon-pinions are directly engaged via the pin, which precisely positions the second cannon-pinion relative to the first cannon-pinion, so that the first cannon-pinion drives not only the second cannon-pinion, but also the intermediate wheel set until such time as the second cannon-pinion is again engaged with the intermediate wheel set, the position of the pin ensuring that the drive is resumed correctly, preventing the tips from mutually blocking one another.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will be better understood upon reading the following detailed description of one embodiment of the actuating device according to the invention, said example being provided for the purposes of illustration only and not intended to limit the scope of the invention, given with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:
The present invention was drawn from the general inventive idea consisting of procuring, in a horological movement, an actuating mechanism for a flexible display hand that allows the paths traced by such a flexible display hand to be varied. More specifically, the actuating mechanism according to the invention is designed to drive a flexible display hand such that this flexible display hand, starting from an initial starting point, successively makes a first, then a second revolution, the geometry whereof is different to that of the first revolution, before returning to its initial starting point at the end of its second revolution and repeating the same path again. One of the advantages of the present invention lies in the fact that different value ranges for the variable displayed on each of the first and second revolutions can be displayed. The actuating mechanism according to the invention is also very simple and occupies very little height.
The embodiment of the actuating mechanism according to the invention which will be described hereinbelow merely by way of a non-limiting example, can allow a 24-hour time indication to be displayed. One typical example involves the display of the current time, where the midnight-midday time slot can be displayed during the first revolution, and the midday-midnight time slot during the second revolution.
Referred to as a whole by the general reference numeral 1, a flexible display hand capable of being driven by an actuating mechanism according to the invention is illustrated in
Conversely, an operating position in which the flexible display hand 1 has a defined shape and length is a stressed position in which the first drive pipe 2 and the second drive pipe 6 are arranged coaxially around an axis of rotation D (see
Referred to as a whole by the general reference numeral 12, one embodiment of a mechanism for actuating the flexible display hand 1 according to the invention is illustrated in
The first cannon-pinion 14 thus plays a driving role in the operation of the actuating mechanism 12. More specifically, this first cannon-pinion 14 drives a first intermediate wheel 16 of an intermediate wheel set 18 in the counter-clockwise direction. This intermediate wheel set 18 further comprises a second intermediate wheel 20 rotationally coupled with the first intermediate wheel 16 and which thus also rotates in the counter-clockwise direction. Finally, the actuating mechanism 12 comprises a second cannon-pinion 22 rotationally driven in the clockwise direction by the second intermediate wheel 20. This second cannon-pinion 22, which is mounted such that it can rotate freely on the arbor 15 of the first cannon-pinion 14, comprises an arbor 24 onto which the second drive pipe 6 is driven. It will be understood that the meshing between the first and second cannon-pinions 14, 22 on the one hand, and the intermediate wheel set 18 on the other, can take place directly or via additional wheels and pinions.
The actuating mechanism 12 is further characterised in that the second cannon-pinion 22 is provided with a pin 26 which projects into a slot 28 cut into the plate of the first cannon-pinion 14. This slot 28, which is in the shape of an arc of a circle centred on the centre of the first cannon-pinion 14, is delimited at its two ends by a first and a second back 30 and 32 respectively, and extends over an angular sector of 162.5° in the non-limiting example shown in the drawing. This angular sector value is determined by the desired change in shape and length of the flexible display hand 1, to which an additional angular sector must be added to take account of the overall dimensions of the pin 26, for example 20°, as well as a safety margin, typically equal to 2.5°. The drawing further shows that the second intermediate wheel has a toothless sector 34 at one place on its perimeter. The role of these different elements will be described in detail hereinbelow.
By way of illustration only, let us now assume that the first cannon-pinion 14 is driven by the horological movement in the clockwise direction at a rate of one revolution per day. In turn, the first cannon-pinion 14, engaged with the first intermediate wheel 16, rotationally drives the latter in the counter-clockwise direction, which also causes the second intermediate wheel 20 to rotate in the counter-clockwise direction. Finally, the second intermediate wheel 20 drives the second cannon-pinion 22 in the clockwise direction.
Due to the gear ratios between the first and second cannon-pinions 14, 22 and the first and second intermediate wheels 16, 20 which have been chosen here to illustrate the actuating mechanism 12 according to the invention, the second cannon-pinion 22 makes less than one revolution per day (0.799). This causes the first and second flexible arms 4, 8 of the flexible display hand 1 to move away from one another, whereas the pin 26 begins to move into the slot 28. The angular distance φ separating the pin 26 from the first back 30 represents the phase angle applied to the first and second flexible arms 4, 8 of the flexible display hand 1 by the actuating mechanism 12 actuated by the horological movement (see
When, at the end of the second revolution of the flexible display hand 1, the toothless sector 34 of the second intermediate wheel 20 comes to face the second cannon-pinion 22, as illustrated in
It goes without saying that, when rotating, the first cannon-pinion 14 drives not only the second cannon-pinion 22, but also the first and second intermediate wheels 16, 20. At some point, the second cannon-pinion 22 thus comes into contact with the second intermediate wheel 20. A change in the driving of the second cannon-pinion 22 thus occurs at this point: the second cannon-pinion 22 goes from being directly engaged with the first cannon-pinion 14, to being once again driven in the standard manner by the second intermediate wheel 20.
Adjusting the position of the pin 26 is crucial because it ensures that, when the drive is resumed, the second cannon-pinion 22 meshes with the second intermediate wheel 20 without the tips mutually blocking one another.
It is important to note that the driving torque supplied by the horological movement is applied to the first cannon-pinion 14 with which the first flexible arm 4 of the flexible display hand 1 is associated. As a result, considering the bisector of the first and second flexible arms 4, 8 which extends between the axis of rotation D of the first and second drive pipes 2 and 6, when they are in the operating position, and the tip 10 of the flexible display hand 1, the angle αAig formed by this bisector with the direction of the bisector when the flexible display hand 1 is in its initial position which, in the purely illustrative and non-limiting example shown in the drawing, corresponds to the 6 o'clock-12 o'clock axis, does not coincide exactly with the angular rotation θ1 applied by the horological movement to the first flexible arm 4 of the flexible display hand 1. In other words, the mathematical relationship between the angle αAig and the angle 81 is given by:
where
It goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described hereinabove and that various simple alternatives and modifications can be considered by a person skilled in the art without leaving the scope of the invention as defined by the accompanying claims.
In the example described hereinabove, from its starting point to the time at which it makes its jump back to its initial position, the tip 10 of the flexible display hand 1 traces a spiral path over two revolutions (see
It goes without saying that, as shown in
As a result of the elastic tension of the hand, any attempt to move the flexible display hand 1, when setting the hands, in order to make a jump to move from the initial position to the final position, i.e. to make the jump in the counter-clockwise direction when referring to
In order to prevent such a situation from occurring, the actuating mechanism 12 comprises a friction clutch 41 intended to be arranged between the first cannon-pinion 14 and a hand-setting mechanism 42 comprising a dial train controlled by a winding button 43. These features are diagrammatically shown in
The hand-setting mechanism 42 and the winding button 43 are comprised in the horological movement in which the actuating mechanism 12 according to the invention is intended to be arranged and are known as such to a person skilled in the art.
In a known manner, the winding button 43 is capable of controlling the hand-setting mechanism 42, i.e. of acting thereon, when it is in a hand-setting position.
After the winding button 43 is operated when it is in the hand-setting position, in order to move the flexible display hand 1 in the clockwise direction, the friction clutch 41 is configured to transmit, to the first cannon-pinion 14, all or part of a torque to which it is subjected by the hand-setting mechanism 42, in order to drive the flexible display hand 1 in the clockwise direction. This scenario is shown in
When the winding button 43 is operated, when it is in the hand-setting position, in order to move the flexible display hand 1 in the counter-clockwise direction, the friction clutch 41 is configured to slide when it is subjected to a torque above a predefined threshold, in order to prevent a too high torque from being transmitted to the first cannon-pinion 14. The torque reaches this predefined threshold when the flexible display hand 1 is in its initial position and when the winding button 43 is operated in order to drive the hand to make the jump to its final position.
Thus, the friction clutch 41 allows a torque to be transmitted from the winding button 43 to the first cannon-pinion 14 in order to move the flexible display hand 1, in the counter-clockwise direction, from its final position to its initial position, however interrupts this transmission of torque when it is in its initial position. This arrangement thus prevents the actuating mechanism 12 from becoming blocked or from breaking in any way, which would happen if the flexible display hand 1 attempted to make a jump from its initial position to its final position. This scenario is shown in
The friction clutch 41 can be formed by any clutch known to a person skilled in the art, such as a metal foil, a clutch with arms, a friction drive wheel, etc., and is arranged in the dial train. In particular, the friction clutch 41 is located between a sliding pinion and the first cannon-pinion 14 and is thus not actuated when the movement is wound manually, which involves a winding pinion through to a ratchet wheel known as such to a person skilled in the art.
In a manner known to a person skilled in the art, the horological movement further includes a hand-setting clutch, not shown in the figures, intended to be arranged between the first cannon-pinion 14 and a going train. Such a hand-setting clutch allows, when setting the hands, the first cannon-pinion 14 to be uncoupled, beyond a certain torque threshold, from the going train so as not to damage the going train or a kinematic escapement connected to the going train.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 22194637.9 | Sep 2022 | EP | regional |
