EP1321831B1 - Jump-dial watch and mechanism for quick update of time zone - Google Patents

Abstract

Analogue timepieces has a jumping hours mechanism that is based on a time zone corrector (38) positioned using a knob (10) that enable simultaneous rotation of two stars (20, 24) thus allowing simultaneous adjustment of an hour indication and the town appearing in a display.

Description

The present invention relates to a timepiece with analog display of the current time in a given time zone identifiable by the name of a city belonging to said time zone, said timepiece comprising a mechanism for making a quick change time zone and correct jumping time without risk of deterioration of said mechanism.

There are already timepieces, including wristwatches, providing all or part of the aforementioned functions by means of complex mechanisms and / or complicated manipulations to adjust without error a specific time difference or to perform a set time without risk of damaging the mechanism. Such wristwatches are not very suitable for a consumer who is reluctant to memorize complex manipulations and prefers a robust product of simple use. The U.S. Patent 3,871,169 , for example describes a mechanism in which a first indicator member makes it possible to display a reference city of a given time zone, and a second indicator member to display the time difference with respect to the reference time zone by acting on different positions. of the winding crown. The mechanism described in the patent CH 685 583 gives substantially the same indications as above by exerting pressure on a push button which moves a rocker acting on two stars which cause two non-concentric discs bearing indications of hours and cities necessarily in small print.

We know from the document CH 282 571 a timepiece comprising an external control means acting on a corrector formed by a lever with a single branch to rotate simultaneously stepwise indicator organs.

The present invention overcomes the disadvantages of this prior art by providing a timepiece that has a particularly simple mechanism, robust and easy to handle with a clear display and legible.

• lesdits organes indicateurs sont des organes rotatifs concentriques entraînés chacun pas à pas par une étoile;
• ledit dispositif d'entraînement comporte d'une part une liaison permanente entre l'aiguille des minutes et l'organe moteur, d'autre part une liaison intermittente entre ledit organe moteur et l'organe indicateur des heures, ladite liaison intermittente étant constituée par un premier secteur denté solidaire de la chaussée et délimitant un secteur échancré, ledit premier secteur denté étant prévu pour engrener avec le second secteur denté d'un râteau pivoté sur la planche et comportant un cliquet à ressort coopérant dans le sens antihoraire avec l'étoile de l'organe indicateur des heures pour la faire tourner d'un pas.

The subject of the invention is therefore a timepiece with an analogue display provided with a fast time zone and jumping hour changing mechanism comprising on the one hand a time base controlling a driving member for a training device. a minute hand secured to the roadway, a time indicator member and an indicator member of the corresponding time zone, and on the other hand a control mechanism disposed on a plate of the plate below the dial, said mechanism being provided to ensure the setting of the plate below the dial, said mechanism being provided to ensure the time setting and to adjust a desired match at will between said time indicator member and said indicator member of a time zone, this mechanism of control comprising an external control means acting on a corrector formed by a lever with a single branch for rotating simultaneously stepwise said indicator organs. The timepiece is characterized in that:

• said indicator members are concentric rotary members each driven step by step by a star;
• said drive device comprises on the one hand a permanent connection between the minute hand and the motor member, on the other hand an intermittent connection between said motor member and the hour indicator member, said intermittent connection being constituted by a first toothed sector secured to the roadway and delimiting a notched sector, said first tooth sector being provided to mesh with the second gear sector of a rake pivoted on the board and comprising a spring pawl cooperating counterclockwise with the star of the hour indicator organ to make it turn one step.

In a preferred embodiment, the intermittent connection further comprises a casing-shaped armature spring whose end is secured to the carriageway and whose free end extends beyond said toothed sector and remains in abutment against a pin fastened to the rake in front of the leading tooth, for rotating the roadway causing said rake to rotate until its leading tooth meshes with the leading tooth of the toothed sector.

With this arrangement, when the exhaust teeth of the toothed sector and the teeth of the rake separate, the rake is recalled to the rest position by advancing the star hours a step, his teeth passing in the sector notched in the road without the risk of damaging the teeth of the toothed sector.

• la figure 1 est une vue en plan de dessus, partiellement arrachée;
• la figure 2 est une vue en plan de dessus à une échelle légèrement agrandie, de la planche de mécanisme avec différents organes montés sur elle, ces organes étant supposés transparents pour une meilleure compréhension du mécanisme;
• la figure 3 est une vue en coupe en étoile, à une échelle encore agrandie, à gauche selon la ligne brisée AC, et à droite selon les lignes CB₁ et CB₂ de la figure 2;
• les figures 4, 5 et 6 représentent différentes phases de fonctionnement du mécanisme selon l'invention.

The invention will be better understood on reading the following description of an exemplary embodiment given by way of nonlimiting illustration, with reference to the appended drawings in which:

• the figure 1 is a plan view from above, partially broken away;
• the figure 2 is a top plan view on a slightly enlarged scale of the mechanism board with different members mounted thereon, these members being assumed to be transparent for a better understanding of the mechanism;
• the figure 3 is a star-shaped sectional view, on a still enlarged scale, on the left along the broken line AC, and on the right along lines CB ₁ and CB ₂ of the figure 2 ;
• the Figures 4, 5 and 6 represent different operating phases of the mechanism according to the invention.

The timepiece represented at figure 1 is a wristwatch whose display system comprises a minute hand 14 continuous drive, moving on a dial 1, a record of hours 2 disposed under the dial 1 driven step by step every hour and whose hourly indications 3 are visible in a large window 4 placed at noon in the dial 1, and a disk of the localities 5. This one is step by step every hour and whose time indications 3 are visible in a large window 4 placed at noon in the dial 1, and a disk of the localities 5. This is also placed under the dial 1, door indications 6 giving the names of cities selected according to their geographical position, and can be operated as will be seen later to show the name of the desired city in a second window 7 located at six o'clock in the dial 1.

The timepiece described comprises in the housing 8 a movement that can be of any type, for example electronic motor and quartz timebase, or mechanical with a spring and a sprung-balance timebase. The setting of the indicator organs is normally done by means of a ring 9 mounted at three o'clock, which can have several axial positions according to the auxiliary functions it is called to fill. We will return later to the function of the pusher 10 located at two o'clock. The ring 9 and the pusher 10 alone ensure all the operations of setting the time and control of the time differences.

Referring now to figures 2 and 3 it can be seen that the mechanism according to the invention is entirely mounted between the dial 1 and a mechanism plate 17 fixed to the plate, the spacing between these two elements being provided for example in known manner by pillars integral with the board 17 in which come dial feet (not shown). The movement of the watch comprises a central roadway 11 which is connected by a gear 11a to the drive mechanism so that it performs one revolution per hour around its axis. The time-setting mechanism leading to the ring 9 is designed so that the roadway 11 is disconnected from the train during an adjustment maneuver. On the roadway 11 is mounted a second roadway 12, called the driving floor hours, the upper portion through a central opening 13 of the dial 1 and carries the minute hand 14. The driving floor hours 12 is rigidly coupled to the floor 11. It passes in a tube 15, chased into the mechanism board 17, and having a flange 16 for guiding the stars.

The fast time shift control mechanism comprises a display assembly formed of two stars 20, 24 and two concentric discs 2, 5.

A first star 20, called the star of hours, whose barrel is guided freely by the holding tube 15 and its flange 16, carries the hours disk 2 fixed by centering pins and screws, 22 and 23 on the barrel of the star 20. A second star 24, called the star of the cities, has the same outside diameter as the star 20, rotates freely thereon and carries the disk of the cities 5 fixed analogously by pins and screws (not shown) on the barrel of the star 24. The disc 2 extends in an annular recess of the disc 5, immediately below the dial 1. Its indications appear in the window 4. The disc 5, of larger diameter, shows its indications in the window 7, located closer to the periphery.

The teeth with triangular teeth of each star 20 and 24 are visible at the figure 2 , and represented at this point partially torn off. Two jumpers 28 and 29 fixed to the board 17 immobilize, under the action of "U" springs 26 and 27, the indicator members 2 and 5. The first of these members 2 is driven intermittently, at a rate of one step per hour by movement.

On the board 17 is mounted a pivoting rake 30 consisting of a board 31 and a toothing 32 separated by a cutout 33, the assembly being pivoted by a screw 34, being held by a spring 40 bearing against a stop at eccentric 41.

As seen on the cut ( Fig. 3 ), the toothing 32 has a lower thickness than the plate 31. To ensure good parallelism between the rake 30 and the mechanism board 17, there is provided a holding nail 37, driven into the board 17, whose head is flush the edge 33a of the toothing 32 on the side of the cut 33.

The toothed sector 32 is delimited by a first tooth 32a called "leading tooth" and by a last tooth 32e called "exhaust tooth", being provided in front of the leading tooth of a winding pin 36, the function of which will be explained later. The board 31 pivots by means of a screw 34 on a thick portion of the mechanism board 17. The board 31 of the rake 30 is equipped with a pawl 35 pivoting on a nail 21 being subjected to the action of a spring 35 which keeps it pressed against a stop 26. If necessary the board 31 may also include a retaining spring 27 to prevent the star 20 jumps by an additional step.

As we see in figure 2 , the drive surface 12 comprises a toothed sector 42, delimited by a first tooth 42a called "leading tooth" and a last tooth 42e called "exhaust tooth", between which there is a free sector 43 constituted by a notch having no teeth. In the embodiment shown, the toothed sector 42 has 8 teeth angularly offset by 30 °. It is obvious that the number of teeth and their pitch may be different insofar as the free sector 43 is maintained.

The drive surface 12 further comprises a loop spring 44, of the "semi-inverted" type, one end of which is fixed on the roadway 12. The free end 46 of the spring 44 extends beyond the toothed sector 42 and bears on a pin 36 of the rake 30.

The two parts forming the intermittent drive mechanism are arranged such that the axis of rotation 34 of the rake 30 allows the toothing 32 to mesh with the toothed sector 42 of the driving surface 12, and that the pin of arming 36 is beyond the line of action of the toothed sector 42, so as to allow free play of the toothing 32 of the rake 30 in the free sector 43 of the driveway 12.

During each period of one hour, the rotation of the driving pavement 12 drives the rake 30 in a rotational movement that can be decomposed into three phases schematically represented in FIG. Figures 4 to 6 .

In a first phase represented in figure 4 the winding spring 44 drives the rake 30 by means of the pin 36 in rotation to a position where the leading tooth 42a of the toothed sector 42 engages under the attack tooth 32a of the rake, without the free end 46 of the spring 44 leaves the pin 36.

In an intermediate phase (not shown), when the driveway 12 continues its rotation, the winding spring 44 leaves the pin 36, the pawl 35 fades against a tooth of the hour star 20, and the rake 30 continues its rotational movement to the position shown in figure 5 where the exhaust tooth 42e of the toothed sector 42 is tip to point with the exhaust tooth 32e of the rake. When this position comes to be exceeded as shown in figure 6 , the free sector 43 of the roadway 12 is opposite the teeth 32 of the rake 30. The latter is then released and brought into abutment against the eccentric 41 under the action of the spring 40. In its race the rake 30 drives the pawl 35 which is then secured to the board 31 by the stop pin 26 and rotates the star 20 by one step.

The following time indication 3 then appears in the window 4. On the disc 2 the time indications 3 are marked in the clockwise direction and the rotation of the disc, commanded during the return movement of the rake 30, is carried out counterclockwise . This provision is important. It is the basis of the rapid jet lag system that will be described now.

As we see in figure 2 , the two stars 20 and 24 are superimposed, coaxial and provided with identical teeth which, in the embodiment described, are twelve teeth. A corrector 38, in the form of a lever with a single branch pivoting at 39 on the mechanism board 17 biased by a spring 48, is placed so as to be actuated by the pusher 10 and then to penetrate simultaneously into the teeth of the stars 20 and 24 to advance one step under the action of the jumpers 28 and 29. The direction of this rotation is the counterclockwise direction so that it can be ordered at any time. If the position of the rake 30 is such that the ratchet 35 is partially engaged in the toothing of the star 20 hours, this pawl disappears by arming the spring 25 and then takes its place.

Thus, each time the pushbutton 10 is pressed, the two indicator members 2 and 5 advance by one step in the counterclockwise direction, which makes the time indication 3 visible in the window 4 and, at the same time, a time zone advance by one hour. time indication 6 visible in box 7.

On its periphery, disc 5 bears the names of twelve cities selected around the globe and located in different time zones. The fact that the time indication given by the watch is a normal indication, that is to say ranging from 1 to 12, leads to a significant simplification both in the construction and in the operation of the mechanism. Indeed, as a pressure on the pusher 10 always causes a rotation of the indicator members in the counterclockwise direction, it is sufficient that the wearer knows if the time difference he wants to introduce is a positive offset (which is the case if the displacement that it undertakes is directed towards the west, for example from Geneva to London or New York), or if the shift is negative (for example from Geneva towards Cairo, Karachi or Sydney). In the first case the number of pressures to be exerted on the pusher 10 is equal to the number of the time difference to be introduced (for example 1 for London, 6 for New York) while in the second case the number of pressures corresponds to the difference between 12 and the time difference (11 for Cairo, 8 for Karachi, 3 for Sydney, etc.).

Since the disc 5 has 12 positions corresponding to the division at 12 of the disc 2, while the globe is divided into 24 time zones, it would be possible to write on each of these positions two indications of cities located in time zones offset by 12 hours on the surface of the globe. Although this arrangement is a possible option, the described embodiment which has a single city-by-position indication allows for an appropriate selection which simplifies the use of the watch. For example, you can choose the following cities: Paris (or Geneva), London, Sydney, Brasilia, Hong Kong, Bangkok, New York, Dhaka, Karachi, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Athens.

However, other choices are possible and one could provide a set of different disks 5 to mount in the watch depending on the different markets to which a particular production is intended.

Of course, if the wearer of the watch is considering a move from his place of residence to one of the cities on the disc 5 it is not even necessary for him to know the number of the time difference to introduce since he just press the pusher 10 as many times as is necessary to display the destination in the window 7.

An embodiment has been described above with the 12-hour time indication and the 12-position time zone indication, with the result that each position of the disc 5 corresponds to two diametrically opposite time zones on the globe surface. . In another embodiment, it is also possible to provide the indications of time and zones in 24 positions. However, in this case the visible face of the watch would be a less aesthetic presentation and a more complicated reading. Indeed, the indication of time by means of a jumping disc with 12 signs allows a large dimensioning of the hour counter by giving a particular look to the signs, for example as Roman numerals as we see in the figure 1 . For the presentation of the indicator said "cities" also all kinds of variants are possible, that the skilled person can imagine.

Finally it follows from the above description that the watch can be easily provided with known additional or auxiliary mechanisms, such as central seconds hand, calendar mechanism, etc.

Claims (9)

1. Analogue display timepiece including, on the one hand, a time base that controls a motor member for a device driving a minute hand (14) that is secured to the cannon-pinion (12), a time indicator member (2) and a corresponding time zone indicator member (5), and, on the other hand, a control mechanism arranged on a plate (17) of the bottom-plate below the dial (1), said control mechanism being provided to set the time (hour, minute), and to adjust any selected correspondance between said time indicator member (2) and said time zone indicator member (5), said control mechanism including external control means (10) that act on a corrector (38) to rotate said indicator members (2, 5) simultaneously, step-by-step, the timepiece being characterized in that:

   - said indicator members (2, 5) are concentric rotating members each driven step-by-step by a star-wheel (20, 24),

   - said drive device includes on one hand a permanent connection between the minute hand (14) and the motor member, and on the other hand an intermittent connection between said motor member and the time indicator member (2), said intermittent connection being formed by a first toothed sector (42), which is secured to the cannon-pinion (12) and delimits an indented sector (43), said first toothed sector (42) being intended for meshing with the second toothed sector (32) of a rack (30) that pivots on the plate (17) and including a spring pawl (35) that cooperates anti-clockwise with the star-wheel of the time indicator member (2) to rotate said star-wheel through one step.
2. Timepiece according to claim 1, characterized in that the intermittent connection further includes a loop-shaped winding spring (44), one end (45) of which is secured to the cannon-pinion (12) and the free end (46) of which extends beyond the toothing of said toothed sector (42) and remains abutting against a pin (36) secured to the front of the attack tooth (32a) of the rack (30) to drive the latter by rotating the cannon-pinion to a position where the attack tooth (32a) thereof meshes with the attack tooth (42a) of the toothed sector (42) of the cannon-pinion (12).
3. Timepiece according to claim 2, characterized in that the toothed sector (42) of the cannon-pinion and the toothed sector (32) of the rack each include 8 teeth.
4. Timepiece according to claim 1, characterized in that said star-wheels (20, 24) have 12 teeth, and said indicator members (2, 5) thus have 12 positions.
5. Timepiece according to claim 1, characterized in that the indicator members (2, 5) are discs, which, on an external crown, bear time (3) and time zone (6) indications that are visible through the apertures (4, 7) of a dial (1).
6. Timepiece according to claim 1, characterized in that each of said time (2) and time zone (5) indicator members is held in a stationary position by a jumper spring (28, 29) mounted on the mechanism plate (17) and engaged in the toothing of the star-wheel (20, 24) of an indicator member (2, 5).
7. Timepiece according to claim 1, characterized in that one end position of the rack (30) is a rest position determined by a return spring (40) and an eccentric stop member (41) for precisely adjusting the gearing of the attack teeth (32a, 42a) of the toothed sectors (32, 42).
8. Timepiece according to claim 1, characterized in that, between the toothed sector (32) and the pivoting screw (34) of the rack (30), there is a cut out portion (33) for guiding the end of the rack (30) by means of a nail (37) driven into the mechanism plate (17), the head of which is flush with the edge (33a) of the cut out portion (33) on the side of the toothing (32).
9. Timepiece according to claim 1, characterized in that the rack (30) further includes a retaining spring (27) that prevents the hour star-wheel from rotating by more than one step at each displacement of said rack (30).

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