The present invention concerns a gear for watch movement, in particular a gear used in a day of the month display mechanism for watch movement, in particular a high-number day of the month display mechanism.
In this description and in the claims, gear will be used to designate any system allowing a movement or a force to be transmitted between two toothed organs. The teeth of the driving organ penetrate between the teeth of the driven organ to transmit their movement. The gear organs can be constituted by rotating organs, for example wheels, pinions, ratchets, star wheels, rings with inner, external or axial gear teeth, etc. or by racks to transmit rectilinear movements.
The movements of mechanical watches and the movements with analogue displays, in particular, comprise a large number of gears. A train of gears actuated one by the other is sometimes called a gear train. In a watch movement, one can for example find a counting gear train, a time setting gear train, a reduction gear train for driving the hands of a quartz watch, etc.
In most gear trains, the relative angular position of the driving organ and of the driven organ matters little; one is thus not concerned to know which tooth of the driving organ actuates each tooth of the driven organ. During assembly of the gear, the two organs are thus mounted on their respective staffs so that their teeth interpenetrate mutually but without their angular position being controlled.
The angular position of the two organs of the gear can furthermore be sometimes modified. In the case of a shock, it can thus happen that a tooth of the driving organ is driven with sufficient energy to skip over a tooth of the driven organ without moving it. Besides, it also happens that the angular displacement by one step of the driving organ causes a greater indentation of the driven organ; this circumstance occurs notably when the linear pitch of the two gears is not identical, for example when the teeth of the driven organ are not separated from one another by the linear pitch of the driving organ and the driving organ is actuated with great energy.
Following these circumstances, the relative angular position of the two organs is modified. When the gear train serves only to multiply or reduce an angular movement, the consequences are generally insignificant, so that most conventional gears do not have any means to remedy this inconvenience.
This risk can also be reduced by providing a jumper to absorb and limit the rotation energy of the driven organ. A jumper thus allows the risk of the driven organ being driven beyond the desired indentation position to be reduced. This risk is however not entirely eliminated.
When the two organs of a gear each actuate a mobile with indications, it is sometimes important for the relative angular position of both organs to remain constant. For example, in the case of a display for high-number dates, it is frequent for the date's unit to be displayed by a first mobile whilst the tens are displayed by a second mobile driven by the first one. When the tens' mobile displays 0, the units' mobile runs through the sequence from 1 to 9. When the tens' mobile displays 1 or 2, the units' mobile must run through the sequence from 0 to 9. Finally, when the tens' mobile displays 3, the units' mobile must display the sequence 0 to 1 to display the 30th and 31st days of the month.
If the relative angular position of both mobiles is modified, for example after a shock or an excessively energetic time setting, the correspondence between the tens and the sequences of units can be corrupted. In this case, the date displayer could display combinations of tens and units that do not exist, for example the days of the month 32, 33, 34 etc. or skip valid digit combinations. A relative angular position of both mobiles can be re-established only by dismantling the gear and displacing one of the two gear organs to re-establish manually the relative angular position of both mobiles.
A similar problem arises notably in perpetual or semi-perpetual day of the month devices.
Patent application CH680630A3 describes for example a horological piece comprising a perpetual date mechanism each with two wheels having teeth of a first height and teeth of a second height, only the higher teeth of the driving wheel being capable of driving only the highest teeth of the driven wheel.
One aim of the present invention is to resolve the prior art problems mentioned here above.
Another aim is to propose a gear wherein each tooth of the driving organ always drives the same tooth of the driven organ.
Another aim is to propose a gear wherein each tooth of the driven organ is always driven by the same tooth of the driving organ.
Another aim is to propose a gear wherein, whatever the shocks sustained, certain teeth of the driving organ never gear with certain teeth of the driven organ.
Another aim is to propose a gear wherein the relative angular position of both organs can be re-established, if possible automatically, after a shock or an acceleration causing this relation to change.
Another aim is to propose a day of the month display for watch movement wherein at least certain days of the month are displayed with the aid of two mobiles and wherein the relative angular position of both mobiles is automatically corrected after accidental modifications.
Another aim is to prevent such accidental modifications of the relative angular position.
According to the invention, these aims are achieved by means of a gear and of a day of the month display mechanism comprising the characteristics of the claims of corresponding type, particular embodiments being further indicated in the dependent claims.
In particular, these aims are achieved by means of a gear for watch movement, including a driving organ provided with z1 first teeth and z2 second teeth. The height of the second teeth is lower than the height of the first teeth. The gear's driven organ is provided with z3 third teeth and z4 fourth teeth. The height of the third teeth is greater than the height of the fourth teeth. The heights and shapes of the teeth are designed so that the z1 first teeth can drive the z3 third teeth as well as the z4 fourth teeth, whilst the z2 second teeth allow only the z3 third teeth but not the z4 fourth teeth to be driven.
Thus, the short z4 teeth are always driven by one of the z1 long teeth of the driving organ. It can thus be guaranteed that, after a certain number of indexing steps, the two gear organs find themselves in one of the predefined possible relative angular positions.
If the driving organ has a single long tooth and that the driven organ has a single short tooth, it can thus be guaranteed that after a sufficient number of steps, this short tooth will be driven at each turn by the same long tooth of the driving organ. The relative angular position of the two organs thus remains constant.
The invention will be better understood by reading the description of an embodiment illustrated by the attached figures, in which:
a shows a top view of the tens' disc in a variant embodiment of the invention.
b shows a top view of the units' disc in a variant embodiment of the invention.
In this embodiment, the teeth of the gear's organ 50 have the same pitch; the invention is also particularly useful in the case of gears with driven organs having irregular pitch and linear pitch.
The height and/or shape of the long tooth 120 of the wheel 12 allow the z3 long teeth as well as the short tooth 503 to be driven. Conversely, the height and/or shape of the z2 short teeth allow only the z3 long teeth but not the shorter tooth 503 to be driven. In the situation illustrated in
Furthermore, since a tooth is missing after the long tooth 120, the driven organ 50 could be actuated by this tooth 120 with sufficient energy to be indented by two steps. A jumper on the organ 50 could limit, though not eliminate, this risk. In such a case, the relative phase position of both organs would be modified; the driven organ 50 would be in advance by one tooth. However, at the latest after one revolution, the short tooth 503 would find itself opposite a tooth 121 instead of being opposite the only long tooth 120 capable of actuating it. In this case, the organ 50 would have to let the driving organ turn by one step before the tooth 503 can be actuated; the relative position of both organs is thus also re-established after z2 indexing steps.
The inventive gear can be used each time, in a watch movement, the relative angular (or phase) position of the driving organ and of the driven organ must remain constant, or when this position cannot take on arbitrary values. An application of this gear to a day of the month driving mechanism in a high-number date display will now be described with the aid of FIGS. 2 to 6.
The described date display mechanism uses two distinct mobiles 1 and 2, superimposed in
The first mobile 1, or units' disc, visible in
The second mobile, or tens' disc, is constituted by a second disc 2 turning concentrically over the units' disc 1, as can be seen in particular in
The date 3 displayed through the aperture or apertures 60 in the dial thus generally correspond to the combination of a ten displayed by the mobile 2 and of a unit printed on the mobile 1 and seen through a window 21. The days of the month 20, 30 and 31, in this example, are however constituted each of two digits printed on the same mobile 2. The inventive display mechanism is thus a combination between a high-number date display mechanism, with two digits borne by two distinct mobiles, and a conventional date of the month display mechanism for other dates, for which the single digit or the two digits of the day of the month are borne by the same mobile. The disadvantages of the display by two distinct mobiles can thus be avoided, at least for certain dates, without having to give up the display of high-number days of the month.
The mechanism for driving the two mobiles 1, 2 will now be described with the aid of
With reference more particularly to
It would also be possible within the frame of this invention to conceive mechanisms in which the change of date would not occur at midnight, as well as mechanisms in which the disc 1 performs a revolution during a period different from 31 days .
The units' disc 1 comprises teeth, formed in this example by driving bankings 120, 121 constituted by protruding portions of the disc 1, here portions folded back by stamping. Several close teeth can be constituted by a same folded-back portion. These bankings allow a gear element 50 to be indexed, in this embodiment a star wheel with six unequal teeth or branches, indexed by 60° at each contact with the bankings 120, 121. The bankings 120, 121 are placed radially on the disc 1 so that a banking actuates the star wheel 50 each time a rotation of the ten's disc 2 is desired. In the illustrated embodiment, the units' disc 1 comprises six irregularly spaced bankings 120, 121, to displace the tens' disc six times per month:
The linear pitch of the teeth 120, 121 on the units' disc is thus irregular and different from the linear pitch of the teeth of the star wheel 50; in this example, teeth are missing on the driving organ.
The star wheel 50 drives at each rotation a wheel 52 mounted on the same staff, which itself actuates a wheel 53. The wheel 53 is mounted on the staff of a wheel 54 gearing with the internal gear teeth 22 of the tens' disc 2. The gearing ratio between the wheels 50 and 53 is chosen so that the indexing angle of the tens' disc 2 caused by a displacement of the star 50 corresponds to the angular distance between two tens' digits.
The star wheel 50 is held by a jumper 51 pressing against the interstice 502 between two teeth 501 of the star 50 by a spring 510. The jumper makes it possible to prevent the star wheel 50 from turning freely, in particular when it is driven by a tooth 120, 121. The construction and operation of the jumper will be described in more detail further below in relation with
As can be seen in particular in
The mechanism for correcting the relative angular position of the two mobiles 1 and 2 will now be described with the aid of
During shocks or very energetic rewinding or resetting, it can happen that a banking 120, 121 or tooth of the units' disc 1 drives the star wheel 50 with an energy such that despite the jumper 51 and the pin 511, the star wheel is indented by several steps. This risk could be limited, though not entirely eliminated, by using a stronger jumper spring to press on the teeth 50. This solution would however have the disadvantage o requiring considerably power and energy, which could prejudice the watch's power reserve and the size of its motor organs.
Following such an incident, the relative angular position of the tens' disc 2 is shifted relatively to that of the units' disc 1. Consequently, the sequences of units run through no longer correspond to the tens displayed opposite; the movement for example will run the dates 31, 32, 33, 34 etc. or jump directly from the 1st to the 11th of the month. If no correction mechanism were provided, it would be necessary in order to remedy this unfortunate situation to dismantle the movement and replace manually the star wheel 50 in the desired angular position.
According to the invention, the teeth 120, 121 of the units' mobile have the heights h1, h2 and possibly different shapes or positions, as can be seen more particularly in
In fact, in the illustrated example, the size of the catches 120 and 121 is possibly identical, but their distance to the center of the disc is different. The height h1, h2 of the teeth 120, 121 thus depends on the summit of their projection on a plane parallel to the movement's bottom; a tooth 120 is considered high because it passes close to the center of the star wheel 50 than the teeth 121.
Similarly, the teeth of the star wheel 50 have heights h3 and h4 and shapes that vary, the teeth 501 being higher than the tooth 503.
As explained above, the catches 120, 121 are placed in the illustrated embodiment at irregular distances in order to gear the star wheel 50 only on the days where an indentation of the tens' disc is necessary. The linear pitch between the existing catches 120, 121 is furthermore preferably variable in order to obtain an optimum contact angle between any combination of teeth 120 or 121 and the portions 5012, 5013 of the teeth 501, 503. The catches 120, 121 are thus not placed at angular positions separated by multiples of the gear pitch.
The height h2 of the short teeth 121 does not allow them to gear with the single short tooth 503 of the star wheel 50. In this manner, when the star wheel 50 and the tens' disc 2 are accidentally incremented by one of the catches 121 of two steps instead of a single one, the short tooth 503 finds itself facing a short catch 121. In this position, not represented, the star wheel 50 is no longer driven. The tens' disc 2 can only be actuated when, after a sufficient number of incrementations of the units' disc, a driving high tooth 120 finds itself opposite a driven tooth 503. This arrangement thus makes it possible to ensure that the short tooth 503 will always be driven by the long tooth 120 rather than by another other tooth 121. It is thus possible to re-establish the relative angular position of the two organs 1 and 50 simply by letting the units' disc 1 turn sufficiently long or by turning it manually by means of the date correction stem.
Resting on the rear side 5010 makes it possible to prevent the star wheel from turning in the opposite direction from that which is desired; resting on the front side 5011 allows the jumper 51 to be raised when the star wheel is driven in rotation by the units' disc 1. The jumper rests on three adjacent teeth, or possibly on two non-adjacent teeth even when one or several teeth opposite the jumper are of lower height.
In the indexing position illustrated in
A pin 511 perpendicular to the plane of the jumper and the movement's bottom moves in a slide way 500 (represented in
The examples described here above concern gears with driving and driven organs comprising each two distinct tooth heights; the invention is however not limited to this embodiment and the one skilled in the art will understand the advantages that can be achieved with gear organs having more than two tooth heights. For example, it would be possible to use three tooth heights on each wheel with different possibilities of mutual gearing.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2003CH-1094 | Jun 2003 | CH | national |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | PCT/EP04/51053 | Jun 2004 | US |
Child | 11315798 | Dec 2005 | US |