Patent Grant
8724432
This application claims priority from European Patent Application No. 10187896.5 filed Oct. 18, 2010, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The invention relates to a timepiece with an analogue display, including a timepiece movement, provided with a mechanical output located on an arbour of said movement, and a display assembly, provided with at least one time display device driven by said mechanical output, wherein the display assembly is separate from the timepiece movement and linked to a fixed part of said movement by support means, which enables said display device to take several different positions around the output arbour of the movement.
In order to achieve rational production of different watch models, manufacturers use the same timepiece movement model (also called a “calibre”) in a known manner, in combination with various display assemblies. Each of these assemblies includes the desired display members (hour, minute and seconds hands, date indicators, chronograph hands, etc.) and the gear trains necessary for driving these members from one or several mechanical outputs of the movement. This assembly is commonly called a “module”, because it is often meant to be able to be replaced by a different module in the same timepiece movement, called the “basic movement”.
For the purpose of varied production, the use of a distinct display module for the basic movement means, in particular, that an off-centre display device, for example a small seconds display, can be used, or the module can be changed to change the display type, for example a retrograde hand, or to add a display device, for example a 24 hour display, without the requirement to develop a new movement each time.
However, this type of module is devised for one or several predefined display functions and, if one wishes to produce a modified watch model, the display module evidently has to be modified, which involves re-engineering the module and complicating production and storage by increasing the number of component references.
It is an object of the present invention to overcome all or part of the aforecited drawbacks by proposing a modular display system for timepieces and, particularly for watches, offering increased modularity so as to allow one or several display devices of different types to be mounted on a single basic movement model, the output of which drives the display assembly. The display system according to the invention, which may be called “configurable”, maintains a modular design while providing additional flexibility as regards the positioning of the display devices, and the diversity and combination thereof.
The invention therefore relates to a timepiece with an analogue display including a timepiece movement, provided with a mechanical output located on an arbour of said movement, and a display assembly, provided with at least one display device driven by said mechanical output, wherein the display assembly is separate from the timepiece movement and linked to a fixed part of said movement by support means, which enables said display device to take several positions around the output arbour of the movement. The invention is characterized in that the support means for the display assembly includes an intermediate support, which is secured to the fixed part of the timepiece movement and provided with support members allowing said at least one display device to be mounted in several positions on the intermediate support.
The addition of an intermediate support, capable of being fixed by conventional means onto the fixed part of the basic movement, offers a large number of assembly positions for one or several display devices. Further, the display devices may be of different types and be formed by individual elements devised to be secured to multi-purpose support members incorporated in the intermediate support. The system thus allows a multitude of display variants without changing any mechanical parts on the same basic movement. Advantageously according to the invention, it is clear that the presence of control and/or correction means such as, for example, a crown, is no longer an obstacle to the positioning of display members on the timepiece.
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 indication, with reference to the annexed drawings, in which:
The example embodiment illustrated in
A calendar display is also provided, including a date disc here, which appears in an aperture D in the dial. As is usual, the designer may place this aperture in any position on the periphery of the dial. Of course, it is also possible to display the date using another type of display member, such as, for example, a hand.
As mentioned hereinbefore, the timepiece, in the case described here a watch, includes a a common type of basic movement 1, and various display devices which are driven by said movement 1 but can be arranged in various configurations in order to make watches having different display members with the same mechanical components. Basic movement 1 may be any mechanical or electromechanical timepiece movement, such as, for example, a quartz movement.
Basic movement 1 thus includes a mechanical output with a geometrical arbour 2, in general a cannon-pinion and, in the Figures presented hereinbefore, a seconds arbour inside the cannon-pinion. Among the elements of basic movement 1 which appear in a first embodiment illustrated in
Consequently, the seconds arbour 11 and cannon-pinion 13 form the mechanical output for driving the time display. In the example of
In
The current time is indicated by means of a time display assembly 30 (indicated in
In the example of
Preferably, the intermediate support is formed by an at least partially circular rail 34 which is centred relative to arbour 2 and fixed to fixed part 10 by screws 35. Rail 34 has a flat shape here. In addition to top and lateral surfaces, the support members include, in this case, twelve staged orifices 36 able to receive screw feet 37 for fixing at least one display device to rail 34 in various positions, as the designer chooses. In the example of
In the example of
Of course, if the designer wished to have a larger number of possible positions for the devices, he could simply use a rail with a larger number of orifices 36 having a pitch P of less than 30° or give the orifices an oblong shape, offering an infinite number of positions. Further, he could provide another method of fixing some devices, for example if a device has a frame overlapping the rail and has a lateral screw grip, with or without notches on the rail. It will also be noted that rail 34 could be discontinuous, i.e. include one or several sections in the arc of a circle, so as to free some spaces, for example for the passage of a functional connection between a display device and control stem 16 or the calendar driving member of basic movement 1.
Each of display devices 31, 32 includes a frame called a carriage or “chariot” here, because it can be positioned by movement along rail 34. This chariot, fixed to rail 34 by screws 38 engaging in screw feet 37, may be likened to a plate for the mechanical components which form each display device 31, 32.
Chariot 41 further includes a bearing carrying arbour 51 (visible in
Chariot 54 of display device 32 carries a bridge 55. This bridge 55 and chariot 54 are provided with two pairs of jewels for respectively carrying a small seconds arbour 56 and an intermediate wheel 58. As seen in the example of
For cases in which, in addition to the devices 31 and 32 described here, display device 30 has other display devices which might require correction, for example a second time zone display, calendar or moon phase display, a central corrector wheel 62 is rotatably mounted on cannon-pinion 13 of basic movement 1 and axially wedged using a spring 63 (referenced in
It is observed that the system combining the rail as intermediate support with several display devices not only allows the display members of these devices to be placed in different positions, without changing any components, but also allows one display device to be replaced by a different device so as to vary the manufacturer's range of products. It may be a device displaying another magnitude, but also a device displaying the same magnitude, but in a different way, for example with a disc, drum, retrograde hand or even with an ordinary seconds hand in order, for example, to display a time zone with a fixed time difference.
According to a second embodiment of the invention, an example of which is shown in
Preferably, movement 1 is the same as that of the first embodiment and it is also fitted with the same date display using two-staged ring 20, the top disc 22 of which carries the dates appearing in aperture D shown in
The elements of the time display assembly of the watch are mounted on frame 70 or, preferably, between frame 70 and at least one bridge 72. In the example illustrated in
Each bridge 72 and frame 70 are positioned and consequently fixed together to a fixed part 10, in this case the plate, by means of several screws 73, which each pass in succession through a hole 74 in bridge 72, a tubular strut (not shown) defining the space between each bridge 72 and frame 70, and a hole 76 in frame 70. Preferably, each screw 73 is held in plate 10 by being screwed into a threaded hole 77 in plate 10. The positions of holes 77 do not follow any particular arrangement. Thus, the positions should be preferably chosen in accordance with the available areas on fixed part 10 of movement 1.
According to the second embodiment, frame 70 and bridge 72 include several series of support members for mounting the mechanical elements of the display assembly. In the examples illustrated in
According to this arrangement, there is a crown of twelve pivot holes 87 in frame 70, on a circular of relatively large diameter, and vertical to said holes, a crown with twelve wider holes 88 in bridge 72. The wider diameter of holes 88 enables various elements to be received as required, particularly an arbour, or a bush type bearing or watch jewel, as will be seen hereinafter.
On a circle of smaller diameter, a second series of six pivot holes 89 is further provided in frame 70, arranged substantially in a crown shape and vertical thereto, there is a second crown of six wider holes 90 in bridge 72. Preferably, the second series of holes 89 is mounted in a quincunx arrangement with the first series of holes 87 and is closer to output arbour 2.
Similarly on bridge 72, the second series of holes 90 is mounted in a quincunx arrangement with the first series of holes 88 and is closer to output arbour 2. It is thus clear that a wheel mounted using one of the pairs of holes 89 and 90 can mesh with a wheel set carried by one and/or the other of the two adjacent pairs of holes 87 and 88.
As illustrated in
The mechanical output of basic movement 1 is more particularly shown in
Frame 70 and bridge 72 carry two time display devices 111 and 112 driven by the output of movement 1 described hereinbefore. In the example illustrated in
The hour and minute wheel sets 100, 96 of the display device 111 are connected by a motion work wheel set 102 having a motion work arbour 103 rotatably mounted in a guide tube 104 driven into a hole 91 in bridge 72. Arbour 103 carries a motion work pinion 105 meshed with wheel 100, a top plate 106 in mesh with the toothing of the top cannon-pinion 96, and a hub 107 integral with a bottom plate 108 which is in mesh with top drive wheel 94 of cannon-pinion 13 of basic movement 1. The two plates 106 and 108 are identical, to simplify fabrication, and form a double intermediate wheel playing the same part as double intermediate wheel 50 of the first embodiment.
Of course, the motion work transmission ratio between the top cannon-pinion 96 and wheel 100 is preferably equal to 1:12. However, if hour hand H were required to make a revolution in only 24 hours, the diameters of wheel 100 and pinion 105 would simply need to be altered.
In the example illustrated in
Small seconds pinion 114 is connected to the drive wheel 95 via an intermediate wheel 116, whose arbour 117 pivots in one of holes 89 in frame 70 and a bearing 119 (bush or jewel) driven into one of holes 90 in bridge 72. Drive wheel 95 and pinion 114 preferably have the same diameter, in order to rotate at the same speed.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated in
It is observed that the two time display devices 111 and 112 respectively perform the same functions as the two display devices 31 and 32 of the first embodiment and may also each occupy twelve distinct positions, shifted by 30° steps from each other over the circumference of the watch dial. Simple solutions may also allow other positions. For example, in the second embodiment, more or fewer holes 74, 76 can be provided in bridge 72 and frame 70, so as to increase or decrease the number of securing screws 73. By way of example, the play could then be shifted by 15 degrees (0.5·P) or 45 degrees (1.5·P) relative to the first embodiment.
The example illustrated in
It will also be noted that bridge 72 could be replaced by a different bridge cooperating with the same frame 70, as required, or even by several distinct bridges, without this resulting in a large increase in the number of ebauches stored by the manufacturer. Likewise, the possible use of two frame models as required would not greatly complicate the manufacture and storage of parts, compared to the prior solution which consisted in manufacturing and storing a plurality of complete display devices.
Those skilled in the art will understand that, in the second embodiment of the invention, the time display device 111 can easily be altered so as to form a device displaying the hour, minute and second in the conventional manner with coaxial hands H, M, S at the centre, i.e. the configuration in
Likewise, by retaining small seconds display device 112, a conventional hour and minute display device can be provided in an off-centre position on arbour 101, without any change to motion work wheel set 102. Arbour 101 simply needs to be changed so that it acts as a pivot for a cannon-pinion meshing with plate 106 and carrying around it the pipe of hour wheel 100. The configuration of
As explained for the second embodiment hereinbefore, it is important to note that all of the configurations shown in
According to a second example illustrated in
In another example illustrated in
In the
Further, advantageously according to the invention, it is also clear that, for a given orientation of the display, the designer may choose to place control stem 16 and crown 16a thereof in twelve different directions without any alteration to basic movement 1, or to the display assembly, i.e. without changing any of the mechanical parts.
The description hereinbefore demonstrates that the present invention allows numerous different configurations of a time or other display with a very limited set of parts. Those skilled in the art will understand that the invention offers the same advantages for other types of display, driven from a basic movement, particularly chronograph, calendar, power reserve or moon phase displays. It also makes it easy to combine a common type of basic movement with special types of display, for example with retrograde hands, without transforming the main mechanical components of the watch.
Further, in order to limit the number of ebauches and in accordance with a third embodiment, it would also be possible to use a thicker intermediate support like a frame 70′ that simultaneously includes the features of frame 70 and bridge 72 of the second embodiment. A non-limiting example of this third embodiment is shown in
For improved comprehension of the example of
In the example illustrated in
According to this arrangement, a crown with twelve positioning holes 87′ is provided in the bottom part of frame 70′, which each open onto a wider hole 88′ in the top part of frame 70′. Holes 88′ thus also form a crown with twelve wider holes 88′. The diameter of holes 87′, 88′ can receive various elements as required as in the second embodiment.
On a circle of smaller diameter, a second series of twelve positioning holes 89′ is further provided in the bottom part of frame 70′, also arranged substantially in a crown-shape. In the example of
By way of example, as illustrated in
Consequently, as in the first and second embodiments, owing to holes 87′, 88′ and 89′, the third embodiment also provides great modularity and/or adds functionalities to the display devices as is explained hereinbefore.
Further, according to a variant of the invention and in the three embodiments, it is possible to envisage one part of display assembly 30 forming a single-piece with fixed part 10 of movement 1. Thus, it is possible to imagine intermediate part 34, 70, 72 and/or 70′ of display assembly 30 being totally or partially integral with the fixed part 10 used for mounting display assembly 30 such as, for example, the plate of movement 1. Moreover, the fixed part 10 of movement 1 is not limited to the plate thereof but may also be a bridge or even a part of the drive mechanism for the calendar display member.
It should also be noted that, advantageously according to the invention, in the three embodiments the symmetry of the intermediate means 34, 70, 72, 70′, combined with that of securing holes 76, 76′ also allows the position of the display members to be altered without altering the assembly of display devices 31, 32, 111, 112. Thus, in order to screw the display assembly into a new position, screws 35, 73 simply need to be removed and then display assembly 30 has to be rotated relative to timepiece movement 1. Consequently, more threaded holes 77 may be provided, also in the fixed part 10 of timepiece movement 1 to allow more possible positions.
Finally, the calendar element is not limited to a date ring 20 with two annular discs 21 and 22 connected by pillars 23. It is important simply to make a space relative to the plane of the drive mechanism of basic movement 1. This space substantially corresponds to the thickness of display assembly 30 so that said calendar display is presented as close as possible to said analogue display, i.e. in the case of
Consequently, according to an alternative of the invention, the date element may be a cylinder whose internal diameter includes a toothing able to mesh with said drive mechanism of basic movement 1 and the height of which extends into said space. It is also possible to hollow out a portion of the cylinder as illustrated in
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10187896 | Oct 2010 | EP | regional |
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| Number | Date | Country | |
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| 20120092967 A1 | Apr 2012 | US |
