Patent Application
20150131413
This application claims priority from European Patent Application No. 13192757.6 filed Nov. 13, 2013, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The invention concerns a timepiece comprising a decoupling between the means of transmitting energy to a resonator and the counting means of a timepiece.
In conventional watch movements, a going barrel provides mechanical energy to a going train meshing with a Swiss lever type escapement system which cooperates with a sprung balance resonator. Thus, conventionally, the escapement system makes it possible to transmit energy to the resonator, to count the back-and-forth movements of the resonator and to be highly resistant to shocks.
However, conventional timepiece movements do not permit the use of any type of oscillator or resonator and are intrinsically restricted to a frequency of a few hertz.
It is an object of the present invention to overcome all or part of the aforementioned drawbacks by offering a timepiece that remains resistant to shocks whilst offering great technological freedom as regards the oscillator and the means of transmitting energy from the mechanical energy source.
To this end, the invention concerns a timepiece comprising a timepiece movement cooperating with a display device, the timepiece movement comprising a mechanical energy source and a system of transmitting energy from the energy source to at least one resonator, said energy transmission system including a first distribution device periodically transmitting mechanical energy from the mechanical energy source to said at least one resonator via the movements of said at least one resonator characterized in that the timepiece also comprises a counting system mounted between said at least one resonator and the display device, said counting system including a second distribution device cooperating with the display device and counting the movements of said at least one resonator in an independent manner relative to said first distribution device so as to render the energy transmission system totally independent of the counting system.
Advantageously, it is understood that the invention makes it possible to optimise the maintenance function separately from the counting function. Thus, the same movements of said at least one resonator are detected and used in two different locations in the timepiece, on the one hand, to periodically transmit power from the going barrel to the said at least one resonator by means of the first distribution device and, on the other hand, in a totally independent manner, to count said movements of said at least one resonator by means of the second distribution device. The timepiece may therefore include a great variety of technologies for the first distribution device, said at least one resonator or the oscillator (i.e. where the first distribution device and said at least one resonator are structurally inseparable).
It is in particular noted that the first distribution device may be directly or indirectly engaged with the mechanical energy source and that the technological freedom enjoyed by the device does not restrict the type of said at least one resonator with regard to its nature and frequency. Thus, even if the first distribution device is sensitive to shocks and temporarily fails to transmit energy to said at least one resonator, it is understood that, in the worst case, the mechanical energy source will be temporarily “emptied” into the energy transmission system without affecting the time display since, entirely independently, the second distribution device of the counting system will continue to count the movements of the said at least one resonator for transmission to the display device. This is why the counting system is preferably chosen for its shock resistance.
In accordance with other advantageous features of the invention:
Other features and advantages will appear clearly from the following description, given by way of non-limiting illustration, with reference to the annexed drawings, in which:
As shown in
Timepiece movement 3 comprises a mechanical energy source 7 and system 9 of energy transmission from mechanical energy source 7 to at least one resonator 11. The energy transmission system 9 includes at least one distribution device 10 controlled by said at least one resonator 11, that is to say that the movements of said at least one resonator 11 allow energy to be selectively received from mechanical energy source 7.
Advantageously according to the invention, timepiece 1 also includes a counting system 13 which is independent from transmission system 9 and mounted between said at least one resonator 11 and display device 5. Counting system 13 includes at least a second distribution device 12 which is independent from said at least one first distribution device 10 but still controlled by said at least one resonator 11, that is to say that the movements of said at least one resonator 11 are also selectively counted by second distribution device 12. Further, second distribution device 12 cooperates with display device 5 to decouple the means of energy transmission to said resonator 11 from the counting means from said at least one resonator 11, that is to say to render them totally independent of each other.
It is therefore understood that the same movements of said at least one resonator 11 are detected and used in two different locations in timepiece 1, on the one hand, to periodically transmit energy from the going barrel to said at least one resonator 11 by means of said at least one first distribution device 10 and, on the other hand in a totally independent manner, to count said movements of said at least one resonator 11 by means of said at least one second distribution device 12.
Advantageously according to the invention, it is understood that, even if first distribution device 10 is sensitive to shocks and temporarily fails to transmit energy to said at least one resonator 11, in the worst case, mechanical energy source 7 will be temporarily “emptied” into energy transmission system 9 without affecting time display 5 since, entirely independently, second distribution device 12 of counting system 13 will continue to count the movements of said at least one resonator 11 for transmission to the display device 5.
As a result, timepiece 1 may comprise a great variety of technologies for first distribution device 10 (type of cooperation with said at least one resonator 11, with or without contact, etc.), for said at least one resonator 11 (type, number, frequency, etc.) or for the oscillator (that is to say where first distribution device 10 and said at least one resonator 11 are structurally inseparable).
It is noted that first distribution device 10 may be directly or indirectly engaged with mechanical energy source 7 and that the technological freedom enjoyed thereby allows for a large number of different resonators 11. Thus, it is understood that energy transmission system 9 may optionally comprise a transmission train 8 mounted between energy source 7 and first distribution device 10.
Released from the counting function, energy transmission system 9 can therefore offer much greater freedom as to the choice of transmission train 8 used. In a first variant, transmission train 8 may, for example, be formed by at least two wheel sets cooperating mechanically in order to form reduction means. Thus, it is understood that such a first variant may comprise at least two wheel sets that cooperate differently from conventional going trains, for example, by friction, but meshing remains possible.
According to a second variant, transmission train 8 may be formed by a single reduction gear. This reduction gear may be, for example, a strain wave gear train 108 or an epicyclic gear train 208.
As shown in
As shown in
Of course, transmission train 8 should not be limited to the two variants described above. Thus, transmission train 8 may comprise the following alterations according to the intended application and/or comprise other types of energy transmission.
Advantageously according to the invention, first distribution device 10 comprises coupling means 21 making it possible, by the movement of said at least one resonator 11, to transmit part of the energy from energy source 7.
According to a first variant, coupling means 21 may be of the magnetic type. By way of example illustrated in
According to a second variant, coupling means 21 may be of the electrostatic type. By way of example illustrated in
According to a third variant, coupling means 21 may be formed by an escapement mechanism. The escapement mechanism may then be a Swiss lever, coaxial or detent escapement, and comprise an escape wheel that cooperates, directly or indirectly, with the energy source.
Of course, first distribution device 10 should not be limited to the first, second or third variants described above. Thus, distribution device 10 may comprise the following modifications according to the intended application and/or comprise other types of energy transmission.
Advantageously according to the invention, said at least one resonator 11 may be of the inertia-elasticity type. By way of example, said at least one resonator 11 of the inertia-elasticity type may be a sprung balance assembly 311, a vibrating strip or a tuning fork 211.
It is also understood that said at least one resonator 11 may also comprise several resonators coupled together. By way of example shown in
According to a specific alternative, it is also understood that first distribution device 10 and said at least one resonator 11 may also form a one-piece oscillator, that is to say that first distribution device 10 and said at least one resonator 11 are structurally inseparable. By way of example shown in
Of course, said at least one resonator 11, 111, 211, 311 or oscillator 420 are not limited to the examples and specific alternative cited above. Thus, said at least one resonator 11, 111, 211, 311 or oscillator 420 may comprise modifications according to the intended application and/or comprise other types of resonator or oscillator.
Preferably, according to the invention, counting system 13 is chosen for its resistance to shocks. It is therefore understood that counting system 13 may be poor with regard to the transmission of energy as not much energy is required to move display device 5. It is therefore preferred that any shocks suffered by the timepiece are not transmitted to said at least one resonator 11 by counting system 13.
It is observed that second distribution device 12 may be in direct or indirect contact with display device 5. Thus, it is understood that counting system 13 may optionally comprise a transmission train 14 mounted between display device 5 and second distribution device 12.
Counting gear train 14 is dedicated to counting and can be formed by at least two wheel sets cooperating mechanically in order to form reduction means. Of course, counting train 14 should not limited to at least two wheel sets. Thus, counting gear train 14 may comprise modifications according to the intended application and/or comprise other types of energy transmission.
Advantageously according to the invention, a great variety of technology may also be envisaged for second distribution device 12 (type of cooperation with said at least one resonator 11, with or without contact, etc.). Second distribution device 12 comprises counting means 23 making it possible to detect movements of said at least one resonator 11 without transmitting energy to said at least one resonator 11. Since counting system 13 is preferably chosen for its resistance to shocks, counting means 23 are preferably mechanical.
According to a first variant shown in
The use of a drive lever 160 makes it possible to go without a specific energy source and to directly use the force required to move the display device 105 by the oscillator, that is to say first distribution device 110 cooperating with the resonator 111. The transformation of the oscillations of balance 134 or 137 into rotation of constant direction is ensured by a click which is either a tipping or rotating click.
The operation of such a drive lever is explained notably in the work “Montres Electriques et Electroniques”, by Fédérations des Ecoles Techniques & Jaques Mermod, page 157, IDEA Editions, 1977, which is incorporated by reference into this description.
According to a second variant shown in
According to a third variant shown in
Of course, second distribution device 12, 112, 212, 312 should not be limited to the first, second and third variants described above. Thus, distribution device 12, 112, 212, 312 may comprise modifications according to the intended application and/or comprise other types of energy transmission.
Finally, mechanical energy sources 7, 107, 207, 307, 407 and second mechanical energy sources 16, 316 may comprise means for accumulating energy by elastic deformation and/or by pneumatic storage. By way of example, the accumulation means may take the form of a metallic strip mounted in a pivoting drum to form a going barrel.
Four non-limiting embodiments will now be explained to better demonstrate the advantages of this invention with reference to
According to a first embodiment shown in
The system 109 of energy transmission from energy source 107 to double resonator 111 includes a transmission train 108 and a first distribution device 110 controlled by said double resonator 111. First distribution device 110 comprises electrostatic coupling means 121 formed by at least one electret 124 which is mounted on one of balances 131, 137 of double resonator 111 and which synchronises without contact a selectively polarised wheel 125 cooperating with energy source 107 through transmission train 108 formed by a strain wave gear train.
Double resonator 111 is of the inertia-elasticity type and comprises two sprung balance assemblies. More specifically, the double resonator comprises a first balance 131 cooperating with a first balance spring 133 and a second balance 137 cooperating with a second balance spring 139. Each sprung balance resonator is constructed to have a different frequency and is synchronised with the other by means of a third helical spring formed by a first spiral spring 134 connected to the first resonator and is extended by a raised outer coil 135 to a second spiral spring 136 that is connected to a second resonator.
Counting system 113 is mounted between double resonator 111 and display device 105. Counting system 113 includes a second distribution device 112 controlled by double resonator 111 and comprising mechanical counting means 123 which are formed by at least one drive lever 160 cooperating with double resonator 111 and driving a wheel 162 cooperating with display device 105 via counting train 114.
According to a second embodiment shown in
The system 209 of energy transmission from energy source 207 to double resonator 211 includes a transmission train 208 and a first distribution device 210 controlled by resonator 211. First distribution device 210 comprises magnetic coupling means 221 formed by at least one permanent magnet 224 mounted on resonator 211, synchronising without contact a wheel 225 cooperating with energy source 207 via transmission train 208 formed by an epicyclic train.
Resonator 211 is of the inertia-elasticity type and is formed by a tuning fork. More specifically, tuning fork 211 comprises two vibrating strips 250, 252 connected to a fixed base 251. Each strip 250, 252 is coupled to one of distribution devices 210, 212 of movement 203.
Counting system 213 is mounted between resonator 211 and display device 205. Counting system 213 includes a second distribution device 212 controlled by resonator 211 and comprising mechanical counting means 223 which are formed by at least one click 260 cooperating with resonator 211 and driving a ratchet wheel 262 cooperating with display device 205 via counting gear train 214. It can also be seen that, to avoid any undesired rotation of ratchet wheel 262, a retention ratchet 261 also cooperates with ratchet wheel 262.
According to a third embodiment shown in
The energy transmission system 309 from the energy source 307 to the resonator 311 only includes a first distribution device 310 controlled by the resonator 311, that is to say without a driving gear train. The first distribution device 310 comprises magnetic coupling means 321 formed by at least one permanent magnet 324 mounted on the balance 331 of resonator 311 synchronising without contact a wheel 325 cooperating directly with the energy source 307. The resonator 311 is of the inertia-elasticity type and is formed by a balance 331 coupled with a spring 333.
The counting system 313 is mounted between the resonator 311 and the display device 305. Counting system 313 comprises mechanical counting means 323 which are formed by at least one Swiss lever escapement mechanism 360 cooperating with resonator 311 and driving an escape wheel 362 cooperating, via counting gear train 314, with display device 305 and a second mechanical energy source 316.
Finally, according to a fourth embodiment shown in
The system 409 of energy transmission from energy source 407 to the 411 is inseparable from resonator 411 in that it has not transmission train and in that first distribution device 410 is contained inside resonator 411. It is therefore understood that first distribution device 410 and resonator 411 form a one-piece oscillator 420. In
Counting system 413 is mounted between one-piece oscillator 420 and display device 405. Counting system 413 includes a second distribution device 412 controlled by oscillator 420, such as, for example, its vibrating strip 441, and comprising mechanical counting means 423 which are formed by at least one click 460 cooperating with oscillator 420 and driving a ratchet wheel 462 cooperating with display device 405 via counting gear train 414. It can also be seen that, to avoid any undesired rotation of the ratchet wheel 462, a retention ratchet 461 also cooperates with the ratchet wheel 462.
Of course, this invention is not limited to the illustrated examples but is capable of various variants and modifications that will appear to those skilled in the art. In particular, the coupling means may be of a different type and notably piezoelectric. In a similar manner, the counting means may also be different and notably of the magnetic, electrostatic or piezoelectric type.
Further, the different variants, alternatives and/or embodiments may of course be combined or subject to adaptations according to the intended applications.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13192757.6 | Nov 2013 | EP | regional |
