Patent Application
20060187760
Tourbillon mechanisms for watches have initially been conceived and realised in order to stabilise the rate of the balance by averaging the effects of gravity on the unbalance of the balance. Today balances are well equilibrated, and above all in wrist watches the most important rate variations are caused by amplitude variations of the balance between its horizontal (or flat) and vertical (or pendant) positions. In fact, the amplitude of the oscillations of the balance depends on friction of its shaft in the bearings, the magnitude of these frictions depending on the spatial position of the balance shaft and varying in particular between its vertical and horizontal position.
In an attempt to reduce or average out the effects of the frictional forces acting on the pivots of the balance, new highly complex multiaxial tourbillon systems have been conjured up where the system regulating the watch is made to move within a space of several dimensions relative to a fixed reference system. The Swiss patent CH 693 047, for instance, refers to a watch where the regulating system is housed in a cage executing rotations about a first axis and about a second axis. The patent application EP 1 465 024 A similarly describes a biaxial tourbillon comprising a first conventional cage that contains the balance and the escape pinion, this cage being housed inside a second cage the rotation of which occurs about an axis perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the first cage. However, these tourbillon mechanisms involving two independent rotations of the regulating system remain highly complex and costly for the watch and clockmaker.
The present invention, to the contrary, in order to compensate for this phenomenon known as the “dial-up—pendant-up” difference, and thus minimise the rate variations, and do so in a simple way, proposes a watch including a tourbillon that is distinguished by the fact that it has a single cage holding the balance and turning in only one direction, and by the fact that the axis of rotation of the balance forms a large angle (that is, an angle of at least 45°) with the axis of rotation of the cage, thus producing the mean value of rates in the different positions relative to D.U. and P.U. The object of the invention is a watch including a movement incorporating a tourbillon mechanism according to claim 1. More particularly, the invention offers important advantages when this watch is a wrist watch, since this watch takes up different positions when worn on the wrist.
The invention has the further object of a tourbillon mechanism according to claim 10.
In one embodiment, die axis of rotation of the tourbillon cage forms an angle of 45° with the axis of the winding stem of the watch.
The axis of the balance forms a large angle of at least 45° with the axis of rotation of the cage. This angle, which remains unchanged while the mechanism is functioning, preferably is 90° (the two axes being perpendicular) or essentially close to 90°. Thanks to this important angle between the axis of the balance and the axis of rotation of the cage, a multidirectional displacement of the balance and of its pivots that is able to compensate for the “dial-up—pendant-up” phenomenon mentioned above is gained while only a single cage of rotation is used for the tourbillon.
The axis of rotation of the tourbillon cage forms any angle, that is, an angle going from 0° to 90°, thus comprising the values of 0° and 90°, with the plane of the watch movement into which it is mounted, but this angle is preferably zero or right, that is, parallel or perpendicular to this plane of the movement. This angle remains unchanged while the mechanism is functioning. The tourbillon mechanism of the present invention has only one cage.
The single FIGURE of the attached drawing schematically illustrates a partial section of a watch having a tourbillon arranged according to the present invention.
It is seen in the drawing that the watch according to the invention has a lower plate 2 serving as support for a bridge 1 on one side, and for a dial 3 on the other side. Plate 2 has two legs a, b extending perpendicularly to bridge 1 and to plate 2, the end of leg 2a resting on the top face of bridge 1.
The end of leg 2a has a bore 4 holding the hub 5 of a fixed wheel 6 which, in section, has the shape of a bell, and is fixed at bridge 2 with the aid of at least one screw 7. The teeth 8 of this fixed wheel 6 are sitting on the edge of the bell and extend in a plane perpendicular to dial 3 and bridge 1.
The hub 5 of this fixed wheel 6 is itself provided with a bore 9 holding a first bearing 10 formed by a pierced jewel.
The second leg 2b of plate 2 has a bore 11 at its end where a second bearing 12 also formed by a pierced jewel is housed.
The holes of the jewels forming the first and second bearings 10, 12 are aligned and located on an axis X-X parallel to dial 3, to plate 1, and hence to the plane of the watch or clock movement. This axis X-X defines the axis about which the tourbillon cage rotates and, in this embodiment, the angle it forms with the plane of the movement is essentially zero. The axis of rotation X-X of the cage thus is in a plane parallel to plate 2 and/or to dial 1 if the movement has a dial, which is not necessary in all realisations. The angle formed by the axis of rotation X-X of the cage thus is zero relative to the plane of the movement in this embodiment. In variants of embodiments of the mechanism, this axis X-X of rotation of the tourbillon cage may form any angle with the plane of the watch movement into which it is mounted, but this angle will always remain unchanged while the mechanism is functioning. In a particular variant, this angle between axis X-X of the cage and the plane of the movement may be essentially 90°.
The tourbillon has a support 13 provided with two pivots 13a, 13b one situated in the extension of the other, the ends of which are pivoted in bearings 10, 12, respectively. The middle part of this support holds the lower bearing 14 of the sprung balance 15, 16. The upper bearing 17 of sprung balance 15, 16 sits on an intermediate tourbillon bridge 18 fixed on support 13.
Pallets 19 and the escape wheel and pinion 20, 21 are pivoted between the inter-mediate tourbillon bridge 18 and an upper tourbillon bridge 22 fixed on the tourbillon support 13.
Thus, in the example illustrated the tourbillon cage consists of the support 13 and of the intermediate 18 and upper 22 tourbillon bridges.
The escape wheel and pinion 20, 21 are formed of an escape wheel 20 cooperating with the anchor pallets 19, and of an escape pinion 21 engaged with the teeth 8 of fixed wheel 6.
In the example illustrated, the axis of sprung balance 15, 16 is perpendicular to the axis X-X of rotation of the tourbillon's cage, but in variants this axis of sprung balance 15, 16 could form a different angle, still always large or important, that is, an angle that may have a value of 45 to 90° with this axis X-X of rotation of the cage of the tourbillon in accordance with the invention. In all cases, the angle formed by the axis of the sprung balance, both with the axis of rotation X-X of the tourbillon cage and with the plane of the movement into which the mechanism is mounted, remains unchanged while the mechanism is functioning.
Pivot 13b of the support 13 holds a drive pinion 23 engaged with the teeth 24 of a bell-shaped drive wheel 25 fixed to an axis 26 pivoted between plate 2 and bridge 1 of the movement. This drive axis 26 holds a second wheel 27 engaged with the train of the watch.
So as to secure a better efficiency of the gears, the drive wheel 25 and the drive pinion 23 preferably have conical teeth. This also holds for the fixed wheel 6 cooperating with the escape pinion 21.
In such a configuration, cage 13, 18, 22 of the tourbillon rotates about an axis X-X forming a constant angle with the plane of the movement while the sprung balance (as well as its pivots) oscillates in a plane that forms an important angle with the axis of rotation of the tourbillon cage. In this way the dial-up—pendant-up differences or variations of rate are reduced, since both in a horizontal position of the watch and in a vertical position of the watch, the rate variations of the sprung balance caused by friction of its bearings are averaged out, as the sprung balance never oscillates in a constant plane. This compensation is most efficient in the case where the axis of rotation of the sprung balance is essentially perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the single tourbillon cage, which is most efficient for the axis of rotation of the sprung balance to be found in various spatial positions for any given position of the watch while this is worn on the wrist. Thus, when the tourbillon cage rotates about an axis parallel to the plane of the watch movement, the tourbillon for instance passes through successive positions CH-3H-CB-9H during one period of rotation, where
CH=watch horizontal, face/dial up
3H=watch vertical, face/dial to the left
CB=watch horizontal, face/dial down
9H=watch vertical, face/dial to the right
which provides all compensations to the dial-up—pendant-up, in a manner much less complicated than in the multiaxial tourbillons moving in several dimensions that have been described in the past. Moreover, this compensation is achieved with a very simple mechanism.
This tourbillon mechanism can be incorporated into a watch with or without dial, this dial if it exists being situated in a plane parallel to the plane of the watch movement.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 00138/05 | Jan 2005 | CH | national |
