Time-setting mechanism for clock movement with perpetual julian date

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6295250
  • Patent Number
    6,295,250
  • Date Filed
    Monday, December 27, 1999
    24 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, September 25, 2001
    22 years ago
Abstract
A time-setting mechanism for a clock movement with perpetual Julian date comprising a device for driving a date indicator including driving means for moving forward said indicator by one jump every twenty-four hours. The movement has an adjusting device for automatically moving said indicator by a number of steps taking into account months with 28, 29 or 30 days, said device comprising a rotary cam driven by at least one step every twenty-four hours, said cam having a profile for steering a sensor bringing about: the oscillating movement of a moving mechanism provided with a pawl system for moving forward the date indicator by the required additional number of adjusting steps; and for moving forward said cam by a number of steps equal to the number of said indicator adjusting steps so as to make it move one complete cycle per year.
Description




This invention concerns a mechanism for setting the hour, date, month and year of a perpetual date calendar movement, which includes at least devices for display of the hour, date, month and year. In particular, the invention concerns such a mechanism that allows rapid correction of the information on the displays mentioned above.




Perpetual date mechanisms of an exclusively mechanical type are generally associated with mechanical movements, and in particular with automatic timepiece movements whose operation stops either when they are not manually wound (simple mechanical movement), or when they are not carried by a user (automatic mechanical movement).




Thus, when watches containing such movements are sold, it is often necessary to correct information about time, that is, setting the hour, date, month and possibly the year, since sales are usually made after stocking the watches in a warehouse for several months after they are received from the factory or the wholesaler.




Currently, this correction activity is complicated and is difficult to understand both for the uninformed user and the seller. This type of difficulty often results in aborting the sale. This correction operation is done by means of the conventional time-setting stem and by a combination of correcting pushing devices, which are active only for a period of the day, each indication of the date having its correcting pushing device (date, months, years).




Thus, the goal of this invention is to remedy this disadvantage by supplying a time-setting mechanism for the date, month and year of a perpetual date movement, whose correction operations may be carried out simply and quickly, essentially by manipulation of the conventional time-setting stem.




To that end, the purpose of this invention is a mechanism for setting time in a perpetual date timepiece movement which includes a driving device for driving a date display including driving means that can advance that indicator by jumps once every 24 hours, this movement also including an adjusting device that allows this indicator to make adjusting steps to automatically take account of months with 28, 29 or 30 days, said device including a rotary cam which is moved at least one step every 24 hours, this cam having a profile suitable for operating a sensor, causing:




on the one hand, the oscillating movement of a mobile assembly with a pawl system to make the date display of the required additional adjusting step or steps advance, and




on the other hand, the advancement of this cam to make it carry out a number of steps equal to the number of the adjusting steps of this indicator in order to have it make one complete turn per year, characterized in that it comprises means for disengaging the sensor to disengage it from the profile of that cam, and means for coupling the indicator with that cam, said coupling means being operated by said disengaging means which are themselves controlled by a control stem.











Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the detailed description which follows, with reference to the attached drawings which are given only as examples and in which:





FIGS. 1

to


6


are top views of the movement according to the invention, and show the conditions of the movement before (FIGS.


1


and


2


), during (

FIG. 3

) and after (

FIGS. 4

,


5


and


6


) the change of a day, for example in the middle of a month, such as the 12th, to the next day;





FIGS. 7

to


9


are views similar to

FIGS. 1

to


6


, but show conditions of the movement before (FIG.


7


), during (

FIG. 8

) and after (

FIG. 9

) the change of a day at the end of a month with 30 days to the 1st of the next month;





FIGS. 10 and 11

are views similar to those in

FIGS. 7

to


9


, but show the conditions of the movement before (

FIG. 10

) and after (

FIG. 11

) the change from the 29th of the month to the first of the following month, for a February month of 28 days (not a leap year);





FIG. 12

is also a top view of the movement according to the invention, shown equipped with a device to display leap years





FIG. 13

is also a top view ef the movement according to the invention, on which the mobile flap system is seen, allowing February months of 29 days (leap years) to be taken into account;





FIGS. 14 and 15

show the condition of the movement after the change from the 29th to the 30th of the month in a leap year, before (

FIG. 14

) and after the change to the first of the following month (FIG.


15


),





FIGS. 16

to


19


are views of the top of the movement represented in

FIGS. 1

to


15


, equipped with a rapid time setting mechanism according to the invention and illustrating the different functions of this mechanism;





FIGS. 20

to


22


are views similar to

FIGS. 16

to


19


, and show more specifically the correlation between the normal time setting mechanism and the rapid time setting mechanism;





FIGS. 23 and 24

are top views of the movement and of the mechanism according to the invention, but which show only the means for correcting the days as linked to the time setting stem.











Referring now to

FIG. 8

, the general principle of a movement intended to be equipped with the mechanism according to the invention will be described below, this movement being designated by general reference


1


.




Movement


1


consists of a perpetual date calendar mechanism, including a date ring


2


that carries date information


4


. This information appears in a window


6


of a dial, which is not shown.




The ring


2


is associated with a driving device


8


, which consists of driving means composed of an elastic arm


10


integrated with a 24-hour wheel, reference The wheel


12


is engaged with a mobile device


14


, meshing with an hour cannon wheel


16


, which makes one turn in twelve hours.




The elastic arm


10


comprises, at its free end, a hook


18


intended to engage with interior toothing


22


of the date ring


2


, in order to make it advance once every 24 hours, when the hook


18


engages with a tooth of this toothing


22


.




A jumper spring


24


maintains the date ring


2


in fixed position until the hook


18


, made to rotate by the wheel


12


, engages on a tooth, for example D


1


, and winds the elastic arm


10


until it overcomes the force of the jumper spring


24


and almost instantaneously moves the date ring


2


by one jump, for the movement from one day to the next.




It should be noted that device


8


is designed so that after changing to the next day, as explained above, the hook


18


disengages from the toothing


22


in order to allow, if necessary, an additional advancement of the ring


2


so that it can carry out one or more adjusting steps and to take account of months with less than 31 days, with the aid of an adjustment device which will be described below.




The driving device


8


is a conventional device, which will not be described in detail.




Movement


1


consists of an adjustment device with a rotary cam


26


driven at least one step every 24 hours and making one complete turn per year.




The cam


26


is guided in rotation, for example on the surface of the movement, by means not shown and it has a profile


28


intended to guide a sensor


30


.




The sensor


30


controls the oscillating movement of a mobile device


32


which is provided with a pawl system


34


intended to make ring


2


advance by the required adjusting step or steps.




The sensor


30


also controls the advancement of the cam


26


in order to make it take a number of steps equal to the number of adjusting steps of the ring


2


.




The cam


26


is driven by a gear train connected to the hour wheel


16


. More precisely, the hour cannon wheel


16


(hereafter called the hour wheel) has a pinion


36


, which engages with wheel


38


of a first mobile element. This first mobile element comprises a finger


40


integrated with the wheel


38


. The gearing-down ratio between the pinion


36


and the wheel


38


is such that the wheel


38


makes one rotation in 24 hours. The finger


40


interacts with the toothing of a wheel


42


with 31 teeth, belonging to a second mobile element whose pinion


44


drives the cam


26


.




It will be noted that the finger


40


is positioned on the assembly so that it makes contact with the toothing of the wheel


42


after the driving device


8


has allowed ring


2


to jump.




The cam


26


has an annular shape surrounding the mobile assembly


32


and the driving device


8


. The cam


26


and the hour wheel


16


have the same axis of rotation R.




The cam


26


has an internal toothing


46


that works together with the pinion


44


to drive this cam in rotation.




The sensor


30


, which has the general shape of an anchor, includes a first arm


48


, which rests, under the action of a return spring


50


, on the profile


28


of the cam


26


by a pallet pin


52


.




The pallet pin


52


, which is in permanent contact with the profile of the cam


26


, has a semi-spherical shape and is located in the vicinity of the free end of the arm


48


. This pallet pin


52


is preferably made of a synthetic ruby




The sensor


30


has a second arm


54


, which is connected to the first arm


48


by a junction piece


56


. This second arm


54


is coupled to the mobile assembly


32


by its free end which is fork-shaped


58


and whose teeth are engaged, in the example shown, with a pin


60


that is integrated with the mobile assembly


32


.




The sensor


30


includes a third arm


62


extending from the junction piece


56


essentially in the prolongation of the first arm


48


, whose end interacts with the spring


50


in order to push the pallet pin


52


in the direction of the profile of the cam


26






To do this, the sensor


30


is set up pivoting by its junction piece


56


, via a pivot pin


64


, on the movement, tor example on a bottom plate (not shown).




The axis


64


of the sensor


30


is connected to an eccentric


66


that allows the final adjustment of the pallet pin


52


in relation to the profile


28


of the cam


26


.




In the example shown, the sensor


30


and the spring


50


generally extend under the cam


26


.




The mobile assembly


32


is also associated with a mobile lever


68


which is linked by one of its free ends to the pin


60


, this lever


68


being controlled by the sensor


30


. The other free end of the lever


68


has a tip


70


engaged with a sawtooth wheel


72


. This wheel


72


is integrated with the wheel


44


belonging to the mobile element driving the cam


26


. The lever


68


is kept engaged with the wheel


72


through a leaf spring


74


, which rests laterally on the back of the tip


70


, in a radial direction of the wheel


72


.




Furthermore, it will be specified that the wheels


72


and


42


, which belong to the mobile element driving the cam


26


, are kept in position between each step by a jumper


76


, actuated by a spring


78


.




The assembly


32


has a base plate


80


mounted in rotation around the axis R, around the hour wheel


16


. The base plate


80


extends from the center of the movement in a radial direction toward the ring


2


. This plate


80


carries the pawl


34


, which is mounted in rotation on it by means of a pivot


82


.




The pawl


34


is composed, on the one hand, of a tip


84


intended to engage with the toothing


22


of the ring


2


and on the other hand, of an elastic arm


86


which extends to the top of the plate


80


. In this example, the arm


86


extends in the direction of the center of the movement.




The pawl


34


also has a spring


88


acting on the tip


84


to make it enter into the toothing


22


of the ring


2


. In the example illustrated, the spring


88


has the general shape of an L which partially surrounds the pivot


82


, one branch of which rests against one side of the tip


84


, while the other branch rests against a pin


90


integrated with the plate


80


.




The pin


90


carries a 24-hour wheel, designated


92


, that engages with a pinion


94


integrated with the hour cannon. The pin


90


also carries an inertial cam


96


that is driven by the wheel


92


, this inertial cam


96


periodically interacts with the end of the arm


86


to lock it against a pin


98


also supported by the base plate


80


.




As will be understood from the detailed description of the functioning of the movement, this arrangement consists of a locking system that, every two months, makes it possible to lock the movement of the arm


86


of the pawl


34


to interrupt it at the moment of the adjusting jump or jumps. Thus, this locking system, in a first position, maintains the tip


84


nearly stationary to ensure that the ring


2


is driven. In a second position, this locking system frees the tip


84


to assure its ratchet function for the ring


2


, when the ring is actuated, in particular by the driving device


8


.




The profile


28


of the cam


26


is composed of five contiguous sectors, designated as I to V, connected to each other by recesses forming notches E


1


to E


5


. The depth of these notches determines the radial displacement of the sensor


30


, and particularly the radial displacement of the pallet pin


52


to make the ring


2


carry out the number of adjusting steps at the end of months having less than 31 days.




The five sectors I to V form continuous ramps R


1


to R


5


that extend in the counterclockwise direction, from the bottom of a notch E


n


to the top of a following notch E


n+1


, from a first radius to a second radius greater than the first.




One of the notches, designated E


3


, is deeper than the other four notches E


1


, E


2


, E


4


and E


5


, which are of equal depth.




The notches E


1


, E


2


, E


4


and E


5


have depths that allow them to move the sensor


30


to control, via the mobile assembly


32


, the displacement of the ring


2


by one adjusting step at the end of months with 30 days (April, June, September, November), while the notch E


3


has a depth that allows it to move the sensor


30


to also control, via the mobile assembly


32


, the displacement of the ring


2


by two or three adjusting steps, respectively at the end of months with 29 and 28 days (February, leap year and non-leap year).




To this end, the depth of the notch E


3


is not constant. It is associated with a system


100


capable of varying its depth once every four years. This system


100


, seen in

FIG. 13

, consists of a mobile flap


102


mounted in rotation on the cam


26


by means of a pin


104


. The pin


104


carries a wheel


106


, which makes one turn every four years, this wheel being actuated on each complete rotation of the cam for a quarter turn. For this, the system


100


interacts, once a year, with a fixed finger of the movement, designated


108


. Thanks to this arrangement, the mobile flap


102


can close the notch E


3


once every four years in order to reduce its depth. This makes it possible to limit the displacement of the sensor


30


so that it only has the ring


2


make two adjusting steps at the end of the month of February in leap years.




Furthermore, the mobile flap


102


has a shoulder, which when the mobile flap closes the notch E


3


once, lengthens the ramp R


3


by a distance corresponding to a day.




The wheel


106


is maintained in position by an L-shaped jumper


110


, mounted in rotation by means of a pivot


112


which is supported by a crown


116


, forming a month ring and integrated with the cam


26


.




This jumper


110


interacts with a return spring


114


which acts on one of the branches of the L so that the other branch enters between two teeth of the wheel


106


, this second branch having an end provided for this purpose. Thus, the jumper


110


and its spring


114


turn with cam


26


at the rate of one complete turn per year.





FIG. 13

also shows a device for displaying leap years


120


, which can advantageously equip the movement


1


.




The device


120


consists of a star


122


carrying a year display hand (not shown), this hand pivoting on the movement


1


. The star


122


is maintained by a jumper spring


124


ensuring the position of the hand. In the example shown, the star


122


has eight branches and is driven by two driving teeth


126


integrated with the cam


26


. Thus the star


122


is controlled, once a year, by these two teeth to make a quarter turn at every complete rotation of the cam. This display is invaluable for showing leap years.




Referring to

FIGS. 1

to


15


, the functioning of the movement will be described below.




In

FIG. 1

the conventional date drive device is seen at 21:00 hours, that is at the start of its winding to trigger a normal jump, on changing from the 12th to the 13th of the month.




The hook


18


of the elastic arm


10


hits against a tooth D


1


of the toothing


22


. The pallet pin


52


is in the process of going up the ramp R


5


. The inertial cam


96


has not reached the end


86


of the pawl


34


. The tip


84


can thus rise slowly on the side of a tooth D


2


. The pawl


34


is therefore free and allows either the function of future changing of the date or a rapid resetting of the date by means of a device that is not described.




Furthermore, the end of finger


40


has not yet, at this time, reached one of the teeth of the 31-tooth wheel


42


.




In

FIG. 2

, the conventional date driving device is seen at 23:30 hours. The elastic arm


10


of the driving means has continued its winding without the ring


2


having moved as yet, it being held by the jumper spring


24


. The two 24-hour wheels, designated respectively


38


and


92


, have traveled through the complementary angle corresponding to the time that has elapsed between 21:00 and 23:30, without any other function taking place.




In

FIG. 3

, the conventional date driving device is seen at midnight, the ring


2


being ready to jump one step. The hook


18


has made the ring


2


advance during the half hour preceding midnight. The jumper spring


24


has risen during this short period. It still holds the ring


2


.




In

FIG. 4

, the driving device is seen just after the jump of the ring


2


, that is, after the change to the 13th day of the month. The elastic arm


10


of the driving means has returned to its shape at rest. The hook


18


starts to disengage from the toothing


22


to allow the future rotation of the ring


2


, at the end of months with less than 31 days.




In

FIG. 5

the condition of the movement is seen after the above-mentioned jump at 2:00 a.m. The hook


18


of the elastic arm


10


is completely disengaged from the toothing


22


. The end of the finger


40


drives a tooth D


3


of the 31-day wheel


42


, until the moment when the return force of the jumper


76


will be overcome by the movement of finger


40


and will end the driving function of this wheel


42


through the action of the spring


78


.




The pinion


44


, which is integrated with the wheel


42


, drives the cam


26


in rotation by means of the internal toothing


70


of this cam. Thus, the cam


26


which is integrated with the ring


116


will have taken an additional step of {fraction (1/372)}nd of a turn in the clockwise direction, thus causing the pallet pin


52


to rise on the ramp R


5


, slowly moving the sensor


30


in the counterclockwise direction, while the sensor


30


drives the mobile assembly


32


in its movement.




During this period, the point of the tip


84


has risen against the side of a tooth D


4


of the toothin


22


of the ring


2


. The arm


86


has moved angularly around its axis


82


, the end of this arm being pushed by the inertial cam


96


and removing the tip


84


from the toothing


22


.




The end of the arm


86


moves until the time when, by 24 hour rotation of the inertial cam


96


, the cam


96


will let the pawl


34


fall again into the toothing


22


, by the effect of the spring


88


. During this period, the ring


2


is free to turn, particularly from the effect of a rapid setting of the date.




The maximum displacement of the pawl


34


is reached, in this configuration, at about 4:00 a.m., as

FIG. 6

shows, presenting at that moment the position of the other mobile elements in movement.





FIG. 7

shows the movement under the same conditions as those previously described for

FIG. 3

, but this time before the adjusting step of ring


2


for the change from the 30th to the 31st of the month, for a 30 day month.




During the period that follows, the inertial cam


96


will position itself in front of the end of the arm


86


to lock it against the pin


98


in order to immobilize the pawl


34


with respect to the base plate


80


. At that time, the tip


84


of the pawl enters completely into the toothing


22


of the ring


2


.




At the same time, the articulated lever


68


is moved slowly by the action of the sensor


30


, via the pin


60


, to rise on the toothing of the wheel


72


. The head


70


, of this lever, came to settle in the next tooth gap of wheel


72


, through the effect of the spring


74


.




It will be noted that the pallet pin


52


remains on the edge of the notch E


1


of the cam


26


on the ramp R


1


.




As in

FIGS. 1

to


5


, the driving device


8


will be wound and, around midnight, will make the ring


2


turn for the jump from


30


to


31


, as seen in FIG.


8


.





FIG. 8

shows the movement's position at 2:00 a.m., just before it makes the adjusting step from the 31st to the 1st.




The hook


18


is completely disengaged from the toothing


2


. At this time, the pawl


34


, and more particularly its tip


84


, is immobilized on the base plate


80


by the inertial cam


96


, and the pallet pill which is on the edge of the notch E


1


is ready to fall into this notch.




The finger


40


then drives the wheel


42


by one step to advance the cam


26


by a corresponding step. The advance of the cam


26


leads to the fall of the pallet pin


52


into the notch E


1


, through, the effect of the spring


50


. In its course, the sensor


30


moves the mobile assembly


32


in rotation, which then advances the ring


2


by one adjusting step, thanks to the tip


84


which is immobilized by the inertial cam


96


(FIG.


9


).




It will be noted in this respect that during the adjustment step, the inertia of ring


2


is not controllable, the more so as the energy distributed by the sprint,


50


varies according to its winding, which itself depends on the depth of the notches E


1


to E


5


. The solution to this problem consists of locking the pawl


32


by the inertial cam


96


, as mentioned above. This locking takes place at the time when the adjusting jump takes place, thus maintaining the tip


84


in the toothing


22


of the ring


2


.




Thus after the ring


2


advances a step, the preceding tooth D


5


hits against the heel of the tip


84


, thus preventing the ring


2


from advancing an additional step




Furthermore, it will be specified that, given that the inertial cam


96


is always turning, the pawl


32


is free for most of the time and in particular at the time of the traditional change of date at midnight. However, if a rapid change of date should take place at the time when the cam is locking the elastic arm


86


, particularly between the period following the traditional jump to midnight and the adjusting jump at the end of the month, the elastic arm


86


has the flexibility necessary to pass over one or more teeth of the toothing


22


above the point of the pawl


84


.




To comment further on the foregoing, it will be stated that during the successive days of 31-day months, the pallet pin


52


rises progressively along the length of the ramps R


1


to R


5


of the cam


26


. During this course which represents, in the case of the ramp R


1


, the interval between two months, the spring


50


has been progressively stretched by the arm


62


of the sensor


30


and has wound the sensor


30


so that it falls into the notch E


1


, when the finger


40


will have controlled the displacement of the cam


26


. When the sensor


30


moves along the ramp R


1


, it pivots around its axis


64


and causes an angular displacement of the mobile assembly


32


, via the pin


60


. When the sensor


30


goes up the ramp R


1


, it pivots in the clockwise direction and displaces the mobile assembly


32


angularly. At the time when the pallet pin


52


falls into the notch E


1


, the sensor


30


pivots around its axis


64


in the counterclockwise direction and displaces the mobile assembly


32


angularly in the clockwise direction, which makes the ring


2


take the adjusting step required. The tip


84


of the pawl


34


, which is immobilized by the inertial cam, then pushes the toothing


22


in the clockwise direction. Simultaneously, the rotational movement of the sensor


30


causes the rotation of the wheel


72


, by traction on the lever


68


. The wheel


72


being integrated with the pinion


44


, the traction movement of the lever


68


also causes the rotation of the cam


26


with the same adjusting step, so that this cam


26


remains in phase with the periods of the following months.





FIG. 9

shows the condition of the movement after the adjusting step when changing, from the 31st to the 1st, at the end of a 30-day month.




At the time of the step, when the sensor falls into the notch E


1


the articulated lever


68


by driving, its head


70


turns the mobile element of the wheels


42


,


72


, and


44


by one step. Thus the pallet pin


52


did not fall directly to the bottom of the notch E


1


, but at a distance from the vertical wall of the notch E


1


, this distance corresponding to one day at the end of a 30-day month.





FIG. 10 and 11

show the condition of the movement before and after the three adjusting steps, for the change from the 29th to the 1st, at the end of a month of 28 days.




The movement operates in a manner that is identical to what was described above, except that the number of steps is determined by the depth of the notch E


3


. This notch has a depth predetermined so that the displacement of the sensor


30


into this notch causes a displacement of ring


2


by three steps, thanks to an angular displacement corresponding, to the mobile assembly.




However, at the end of the month of February in leap years (see FIGS.


14


and


15


), the notch E


3


may be partially obstructed so as to lead to only a two step displacement of the ring


2


, one day later. The obstruction of this notch E


3


is done at the right time by means of the mechanism


100


described above and in particular by the flap


102


.




Referring now to

FIGS. 16

to


24


, the correction mechanism according to the invention is described.




This mechanism, like the movement


1


, is controlled by a conventional stem


150


, which can occupy several axial positions shown in the figures by P


0


, P


1


and P


2


.




In the first position P


0


(neutral), the stem


150


is used to wind up the spring barrel of the movement (not shown) if it is not equipped with an automatic winding system.




The condition of the correction mechanism according to the invention in the P


0


position of the stem


150


is shown in FIG.


16


. The different elements forming this mechanism are now described in association with this figure.




This correction mechanism consists of a setting lever


152


pivoted on the movement and operating together with the stem


150


in the conventional manner. One end of this setting lever


152


rests on a plate


154


held, for example by rivets, to a disengaging device


156


consisting of three arms


156




a


,


156




b


and


156




c.






The disengaging device


156


is mounted pivoting around an axis


158


attached, for example, to a bridge, not represented in the drawing. One end or head


160


of the arm


156




c


enters into a notch


162


of a clutch rocker


164


. This is mounted pivoting, by its opposite end, around an axis


166


also mounted, for example, in a bridge, not shown.




The rocker


164


has a wheel


168


that is mounted for free rotation on a central post


170


engaged with the rocker


164


. The wheel


168


is continuously engaged to the wheel


42


of the perpetual date device and in this position turns freely.




The mechanism also consists of a control star


172


with six branches that is pivoted on a bottom plate within the circle defined by the date ring


2


, so that the teeth of this star


172


may operate together with the toothing


22


of the ring.




The star


172


is integrated with a control pinion


174


with the same number of teeth as the star, which carries it and constitutes with it a mobile control element. This mobile control element is associated with a jumper spring


176


, which allows positioning it so that one of the branches of the star


172


is always positioned between two teeth of the toothing


22


.




Furthermore, the mechanism includes a return sprint


178


that comes into contact with a protuberance


180


provided on the rocker


164


, this spring


178


being attached to the bottom plate of the movement. In this example, the spring


178


has the shape of a thread spring configured as a U.




In the P


0


position of the setting lever


150


, the spring


178


, by its return force, returns the rocker


164


to its initial position at rest and moves it away from the mobile control element, so that the engaging wheel


168


is disengaged from the control pinion


174


.




By the linked connection of the rocker


164


with the disengagement device


156


, the return force of the spring


178


causes the rotation of that device in the clockwise direction, so that its arm


156




a


rests against a pin


182


.




The sensor


30


, and in particular its arm


48


, includes a pin


184


which projects outside of the plane of the arm


48


. The pin


184


is intended to engage with the arm


156




a


of the disengagement device


156


in position P


1


of the stem as will be described below in connection with FIG.


17


.




Thus, the arm


156




a


may flip between a first position (

FIG. 16

) in which it rests against the pin


182


when the stem is in P


0


position, and a second position (

FIG. 17

) in which it pushes the pin


184


to disengage the pallet pin


52


from the profile of the cam


26


when the stem


150


is in position P


1


.




Furthermore, the articulated lever


68


includes, next to its tip, a pin


186


that also projects beyond the plane of the lever. In the P


0


position of the stem, the disengagement device


156


does not interact with the pin


184


, so that the end of the lever


68


stays engaged with the sawtooth wheel


72


. In the P


1


position of the stem, the disengagement device


156


, which was tipped il the counterclockwise direction, pushes the pin


186


to disengage the tip of the level


68


of the toothing of the wheel


72


.





FIG. 17

shows the stem


150


in the position P


1


, which corresponds to the position that is generally used for setting the date of the day.




In this position, the setting lever


152


was tipped by the movement of the stem in the clockwise direction. The end of the setting level


152


, resting against a side


188


, concave in shape, of the plate


154


, this movement causes tipping, in the counterclockwise direction, of the plate


154


and the disengagement device


156


which is integrated with the plate.




In its movement, the arm


156




a


of the disengagement device leaves the pin


182


to come and push the pin


184


, which is integrated with the sensor


30


, to disengage the pallet pin


52


sufficiently from the profile of the cam


26


to allow its rotation in both directions, without interfering, with this pallet pin


52


.




In its tipping movement, the sensor


30


drives, with its arm


54


, the tipping of the mobile assembly


32


in the counterclockwise direction, this tipping causing the movement of the pawl


34


above the teeth of the toothing


22


of the ring


2


, without driving the ring


2


, since the return force of the spring


88


is weaker than that of the jumper spring


24


.




Thus the mobile assembly


32


will take a non-functional intermediate, but nevertheless well established.




In this position of the tipping of the mobile assembly


32


, the pawl


34


must be located so that the inertial cam


96


, during its rotation over 24 hours, always passes beside the end of the elastic arm


86


, the tip


84


of the pawl


34


being engaged in the toothing


22


of the ring


2


, as if the normal adjusting operation were to take place. This arrangement allows forward and backward time setting at whatever time the movement is stopped, since the inertial cam


96


always passes behind the end of the arm


86


without displacing it and consequently, without displacing the pawl


34


.




The tipping of the disengagement device


156


in the counterclockwise direction also allows the disengagement of the lever


68


, and more particularly of the tip


70


of the toothing of the sawtooth wheel


72


, in order to allow rotation of the wheel


72


in both directions, which is connected to the correction mechanism according to the invention, in position P


1


of the stem.




In order to do this, the arm


156




a


of the disengagement device


156


presents a rounded side


190


, which pushes the pin


186


, integrated with the lever


68


, The kinematics of this arrangement are specified so that the tip


70


is located in this tipping position outside of the field of the toothing of the wheel


72


.




The tipping of the disengagement device


156


also causes the tipping of the rocker


164


in the clockwise direction by the action of the end


160


of the arm


156




c


engaged in the notch


162


. This displacement of the rocker allows the meshing of the engagement wheel


168


with the control pinion


174


which is integrated with the control star


172


in contact with the toothing


22


of the ring


2


.





FIG. 18

shows the synchronization of the functions of correction, particularly of the rapid date setting, by means of the stem


150


which is located in the P


1


position.




In this position, the advance of the date ring is done by means of a wheel


192


integrated in the conventional manner in rotation with the stem


150


. This wheel


192


meshes with a sliding pinion


194


integrated with a rapid correction wheel


196


, for example with three pins. The number of pins determines the correction speed of the ring


2


and may be fewer or more than three.




This rapid correction wheel


196


is intended to drive the date ring


2


in the clockwise direction, while the stem


150


, in its P


1


position is turned in a negative rotation direction symbolized by the arrow SN (FIG.


18


).




During its rotation, the ring


2


drives the control star


172


with six branches in the example shown. At each movement from one tooth of the toothing


22


there corresponds a movement of one branch of the control star


172


.




The control pinion


174


, integrated with the control star


172


, thus also makes one sixth of a turn for a step of the date ring. It will be noted that, in this example, a step of the date ring


2


corresponds to one day.




Given that in P


1


position of the stem


150


, the control pinion meshes with the wheel


168


integrated with the rocker


164


, the advance of one sixth of a turn of the control pinion


174


drives the advance of a step of the wheel


168


.




The wheel


168


being engaged with the wheel


42


, integrated with the sawtooth wheel


72


, the advance of its tooth corresponds to the normal daily advance that the wheels


42


and


72


would have made driven by the finger


40


, which allows the driving of the cam


26


by {fraction (1/372)}nd of a turn by the pinion


44


, as described above.




Thanks to this arrangement, at the time of the operation of rapid correction, a synchronization function of the movement of the date rinse


2


is carried out with the movement of the cam


26


.




In this function, the date ring


2


controls the advance of the cam


26


, this ring being the leader.




At the time of the rapid correction by means of a corrector such as the one just described, it is common that the operator unintentionally passes by the day that he wanted to display in the window and displaces the date ring by one or more days beyond the desired position. With a conventional date device, this error in manipulation is not very bothersome, because the operator only has to give the date ring an additional turn to find the desired date position.




However, in the case of a perpetual date clock, this error in manipulation is much more harmful. After such all error, the operator must turn the stem to pass all the months of the four following years in order to find the desired date position.




According to the invention, there will be described below particularly in connection with

FIG. 19

, a device allowing the elimination of this disadvantage.




As will be understood, this device easily allows, at the time of such an error in manipulation, going back one or more steps to display the desired date without disturbing the synchronization of the different elements of the perpetual mechanism.




This device consists of a correction module


200


with a pawl equipped with a plate


202


that is mounted pivoting on the bottom plate, not shown, around an axis


204


. This plate


202


carries a pawl


206


mounted pivoting around an axis


208


projecting from the plate


202


.




The plate


202


comprises, in addition, a pin


210


on which there rests a spring


212


integrated with the bottom plate to return the plate to its initial position at rest shown in

FIG. 18

, position in which the correction module comes into contact with the head of a pusher


214


partially shown in the drawing.




The pawl


206


comprises, at one ends a tip


216


and at a second opposite end, a post


218


pressed fit within this pawl.




The plate


202


also carries a cylindrical stop


220


on which the pusher


214


rests.




The correction module


200


comprises, in addition, a pawl spring


222


that winds, on the one hand, around the stop


220


being attached to it and, on the other hand, around the axis


204


to rest by its free end against the post


218


which rests against an edge of the plate


202


.





FIG. 19

shows the operation of the correction module


200


, By applying pressure on the pusher


214


, for example with the aid of a pointed tool, such as the point of a ball point pen, the stop


220


is acted upon, causing the rocking of the plate


202


in the clockwise direction and leads the tip


216


to push a tooth of the wheel


42


in the counterclockwise direction.




The rotation of this wheel


42


in the counterclockwise direction causes the displacement by one step of the date rind in the inverse direction by means of the wheel


168


, of the control pinion


174


and the control star


172


which are connected kinematically in the P


1


position of the control stem


150


.




The date displayed may therefore be corrected backwards while retaining the synchronization of the perpetual mechanism with the ring


2


, as

FIG. 21

shows, since the wheel


42


, integrated with the pinion


44


correspondingly also drives the cam


26


in the inverse direction by {fraction (1/372)}nd of a turn.




By relaxing the pressure on the pusher


214


, the return spring


212


returns the module


200


to its initial position. During this movement, the tip


216


, thanks to the pivoting of the pawl, passes above a tooth of the wheel


42


which is kept immobile in position by the jumper


78


.




In

FIG. 20

, the correction mechanism is mounted with the stem


150


drawn into its P


2


position. This additional traction of the stem does not influence the position of the elements of the mechanism that were just described.




The end of the setting lever


152


has continued its rotation in the clockwise direction, with only the effect of displacing itself along the length of the concave side


188


of the plate


154


, without causing its additional displacement or that of the disengagement device


156


. This results from the fact that, in this position, the concave side


188


is centered on the axis of rotation of the setting lever


152


.




The complete traction of the stem


150


has the effect of disconnecting the wheel


192


from the rapid correction wheel


194


which takes a non-functional position.




According to the example shown in the P


2


position of the stem, the rotation of this stem


1550


in the negative direction SN allows the rotation of the hour and minute hands in the clockwise direction. In this position, all the functions of the basic movement, of its date and of its perpetual calendar with the rapid date setting, are retained.




The 24-hour wheel


12


carrying, the elastic arm


10


turns in the clockwise direction in this case by the manual control of the cannon wheel


16


to drive the ring


2


in the clockwise direction. Similarly, the cannon wheel


16


also controls the displacement of the finger


40


in the counterclockwise direction so that it drives the wheel


42


in the counterclockwise direction to maintain the synchronization of the perpetual date after the normal change of the date.




The wheel


42


drives the displacement of one step of the wheel


168


which, in the P


2


position of the stem, is engaged with the control pinion


174


. This displacement drives the rotation in the counterclockwise direction of the date ring by one of the branches of the control star


179


.




During the normal change of date or of adjustment, the pawl


34


remains free to pivot at the time of the displacement of the date ring


2


.





FIG. 20

shows the correction mechanism according to the invention in the period between midnight and 4:00 a.m., the stem


150


being in the P


2


position and being rotated in the negative direction. It can be noted that if the time setting is done during this period, the stop position of the pawl is such that the end of its arm


86


is driven by the inertial cam


96


during the rotation, so that the tip


84


of the pawl


34


moves away from the field of the toothing


22


of ring


2


.




In these conditions, if this position should remain after the rotation of the stem


150


in the negative direction, in the period from midnight to 4:00 a.m., the ring


2


would remain immobile when the mobile assembly


32


moves back.





FIG. 22

shows the operation of the time setting, by the rotation of the stem in the positive direction SP. In this case, it is noted that the end on the finger


40


turns in the clockwise direction and that the elastic assembly of this finger


40


allows its displacement in rotation without driving the 31-tooth wheel


42


which is kept in position by the jumper


76


.




As specified above, for the rotation of the stem in the negative direction, it is not advisable to set the time between midnight and 4:00 a.m. The inertial cam


96


that turns in the counterclockwise direction will come into contact with the end of the arm


86


of the pawl


34


and block its operation by ending up against the pin


98


.





FIG. 23

shows a day display device


250


, consisting of a star with seven branches


252


carrying a day display ring not shown in the drawing and mounted in rotation on the bottom plate. In the normal operating, mode of movement


1


, this star


252


is driven once a day by a 24-hour wheel, designated


254


, provided with an elastic arm


256


having a configuration that is analogous to the driving wheel


12


of the date ring (FIG.


20


). The wheel


254


is continuously engaged with the pinion


36


carried by the hour cannon wheel.




Thus, when the cannon wheel


16


rotates in the clockwise direction, the pinion


36


drives the wheel


254


in the counterclockwise direction, which in turn drives the star


252


in the clockwise direction, by a hook


258


situated at the end of the arm


256


. This star is held in position by a jumper spring


260


.




Referring also to

FIG. 24

, a description will now be given of how the day display device


250


can be put into phase with the current time.




In order to do this, the correction mechanism also includes a rocking lever


270


linked to a pivot


272


integrated with the bottom plate.




This lever


270


comprises a swan's-neck first arm


274


whose free end is intended to interact with the star


252


to make it advance by steps. The lever


270


has a second arm


276


whose free end is intended to interact with a two-fingered wheel


278


, integrated with the wheel


192


.




The lever


270


is returned to a position of rest, disengaged from the toothing of the star


252


, by means of a return spring, for example a leaf spring, designated


280


, fixed in the bottom plate by a post


282


and by a screw


284


.




When the stem is withdrawn into the P


1


position, as shown in

FIG. 24

, and the stem


1550


is put in rotation in the positive direction, wheels


192


and


278


are driven in rotation in the clockwise direction, displacing, the rocking, bar


196


into an inactive position, shown in the figure, in which it is outside of the field of the toothing


22


of the ring


2


.




Thus, at each half turn of the wheel


278


in the clockwise direction, one of the fingers rocks the lever


270


and the free end of the arm


274


makes the star


252


advance by one step, each step representing a day of the week.




In

FIG. 23

, it will be noted that the end


258


of the elastic arm


256


includes on a side opposite the first face which normally drives the star


252


, a ramp


288


allowing the arm


256


to retract, at the time of setting the hands in the negative direction, without involving the star


252


, the flexibility of the arm


258


being greater than the moment of maintenance of the jumper


260


.



Claims
  • 1. Time setting mechanism of a perpetual date clock movement (1) which includes a drive device (8) tor driving a date indicator (2) comprising driving means (10) that can advance said indicator (2) by a jump once every 24 hours this movement (1) further comprising an adjustment device allowing this indicator (2) to make adjusting steps to take account automatically of months with 28, 29 or 30 days, said device including a rotating cam (26) driven by at least one step every 24 hours, this cam having a profile (28) suitable for driving a sensor (3) causing:on the one hand, the oscillating movement of a mobile assembly (32) provided with a pawl system (34) to make the date indicator (2) advance by the additional step or steps required, and on the other hand, the advance of this cam (26) in order to have it make a number of steps equal to the number of adjusting steps of this indicator (2), in order to make it carry out one complete turn per year, characterized in that it comprises means (156) for disengaging the sensor (30) to disengage it from the profile (28) of that cam (26), and means for coupling the indicator with said cam, said coupling means (164) being driven by said disengagement means (156) which are controlled by a control stem (150).
  • 2. Mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that said disengagement means (156) are driven by a setting lever (152) associated with the stem (150).
  • 3. A mechanism according to one of the claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the coupling means (164) consists, on the one hand, of a correction star (172) continuously engaged with the indicator (2) and on the other hand of a wheel (168) connected to a rocker (164) which is controlled by said disengagement means (156), this wheel (168) being continuously engaged with a mobile element (42, 72) controlling the rotation of the cam (26).
  • 4. Mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the disengagement means (156) comprises a device mounted pivoting on the movement and consisting of three arms (156a, 156b, 156c).
  • 5. Mechanism according to claim 4, characterized in that, in a pulled position (P1, P2) of the stem, the first arm (156a) of the device is set to push the sensor (30), the second arm (156b) is set to push an adjusting lever (68) to disengage from the toothing (of a wheel of a mobile element (42, 72) controlling, the rotation of the cam (26), and the third arm (156c) is set to control the coupling system (164).
  • 6. Mechanism according to claim 5, characterized in that the coupling means (164) consists of a clutch rocker pivoted on the movement by one of its ends, and in that the third arm (156c) includes a head (160) which enters into a notch (162) provided for at the other end of this rocker.
  • 7. Mechanism according to claim 1, further comprising a pawl-actuated corrected module (200) provided with a pivoting plate (202) carrying a pawl (206) mounted pivoting around an axis (208) connected to this plat, this pawl including a tip (216) capable of pushing a tooth of a wheel of a mobile element (42, 72) controlling, on the one hand, the rotation of the cam (26) in the counterclockwise direction and on the other hand, the rotation of the date ring (2) in the counterclockwise direction, by the coupling means (164), in a withdrawn position (P1) of the stem (150), in response to a pressure exercised by a pusher (214) on this pawl (206).
  • 8. Mechanism according to claim 1, further comprising a rocking lever (270) including a first arm (274) set to make a day star (252) advance by steps and a second arm (276) interacting with a wheel (278) with two fingers engaged with a rocking bar pinion (196) in a withdrawn position (P1) of the stem (150).
Priority Claims (1)
Number Date Country Kind
744 97 Mar 1997 CH
PCT Information
Filing Document Filing Date Country Kind 102e Date 371c Date
PCT/CH98/00110 WO 00 12/27/1999 12/27/1999
Publishing Document Publishing Date Country Kind
WO98/44394 10/8/1998 WO A
US Referenced Citations (3)
Number Name Date Kind
3716983 Tanaka et al. Feb 1973
4026100 Kume et al. May 1977
6118734 Ray et al. Sep 2000