HK1067969B - Timepiece with a device for the display of two time zones - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a watch part with a display device for two different time zones.

The disadvantage of most of the devices is that they are difficult to read. The advantage of such devices is that they allow you to quickly know the legal time in another time zone. Since in the vast majority of cases the time difference is full hours, more going east and less going west, the mere indication of the time makes the reading clearer, as the minutes are the same in both time zones.

A multi-time zone display device is described in CH 54 533 Each display device indicates the hours and minutes of a time zone and the time difference between the display devices is fixed and cannot be changed.

The purpose of the present invention is to meet the above requirements as best as possible by means of a simple mechanism and an easy to use and read one.

For this purpose, the present invention concerns a watch part fitted with a two-time zone display device as claimed 1.

The advantage is that the time-indicators of the two time zones are combined with step-by-step drive mechanisms, which makes it easy to read, with the hour indicators only showing the full hours in successive leaps from one time zone to another, while the minute indicator only shows the minutes common to the two time zones.

Preferably, the display units shall each have a dial and a hand, the axes of rotation of the three hands being aligned with the axis of rotation of the minute hand between the axes of rotation of the hour hands, the respective edges of the two dials of the display units of the two time zones extending within the dial of the minute unit.

This arrangement, in which the hour hands are placed on top of the minute hands, brings the hour hands closer to the minute hands and makes it easier to combine the hour and the minute hands.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, which is based on the attached drawings, which illustrate, schematically and by way of example, a form of execution of the watch part covered by the present invention. Figure 1 is a plan view of the display of the watch part;Figure 2 is a real plan view of this display mechanism;Figure 3 is a plan view of the display mechanism showing this mechanism through transparency;Figure 4 is a cut-out view according to line IV-IV of Figure 3;Figure 5 is a cut-out view according to line V-V of Figure 3.

The display device shown in Figure 1 has three separate display units, one minute display unit, and two hour display units, 2, 3. Each of these display units has a graduation 4, 5, 6, 60 minutes for the minute display unit and 12 hours for each of the minute display units, respectively. A 7, 8, 9 hour indicator hand is pivoting up the centre of each of the graduations 4, 5, 6.

Each display unit of the 2.3 hour display should preferably have a window 10, 11 to distinguish between daytime and nighttime hours as explained below.

The drive mechanism of this display device is illustrated in particular by Figures 3-5 and consists of a 12 track mounted on the axis of the centre wheel (not shown) of the finishing gear of the watch movement, as in all mechanical watches.

A false track 13 is mounted, free to turn, on the track 12 of the timing gear and is connected to it by a one-way drive device which comprises a ring 14 attached to track 12, on which a clicker 15 is pivoted and pressed into a gear 16 attached to track 13 by a spring 17.

The false track 13 is driven by a reference 18 which in turn drives a wheel 19 in conjunction with a toothed sector 20. The trajectory described by this by rotating in the direction of the watch hands cuts the trajectory of a toothed sector 21a in conjunction with a swing 21 pivoted around an axis 22. This swing carries a clutch 23 pressed in the direction of the watch hands by a spring 39 booster. The angular displacement of this clutch 23 by the spring 39 booster is limited by a 23a wedge engaged in an opening 21b of the swing 21.The trajectory of this 23 clutch cuts that of a 12-toothed 24-wheel star positioned by a spring-spring 25 spring. This 24-wheel star is solidary to the 7 o'clock hand of the 2 o'clock display unit. It is also solidary to a gear 26 which drives with a 27 return which in turn drives with a 28 wheel solidary to a 29 day/night disc (Figure 2) appearing through the 10 knot of the display device (Figure 1). The gear ratio between gear 26 and the 28 wheel is 1/2, so that the disc when making a 24 star wheel revolution makes two of them.The 24-wheeled star wheel with 12 teeth makes one turn in 12 hours, so the day/night disk makes one turn in 24 hours.

The second swing 21 carries a second 21c gear sector which is coupled with a free spring 30, in conjunction with one end of a spring 31 of a spiral spring. The second swing 32c gear sector, arranged symmetrically to the swing 21 in relation to the free swing 30, is coupled with the swing 21 to drive a second wheel 33 of a star 33 in conjunction with the other 9 hour hand, via a 38 knob coupled with a spring 40 of a spring 40. Like the wheel 24 of a star 33 this wheel 33 is coupled with a spring 46 of a star 33 which allows it to move forward step by step and is coupled with a 34 gear to drive a 35e wheel 36 of a star 33 in conjunction with the other hand 9 hours (Figure 11 to Figure 2).

An eccentric buttress 37 cooperates with the swing 32 to limit the stroke. Given the desmodromic bond between this swing 32 and swing 21 by the free pin 30, this buttress 37 also serves to limit the stroke of swing 21 when the toothed sector 21a releases these swing 21 and 32 at the force of the spring 31 every hour.

Figure 2 shows the moment when the toothed sector 20, which rotates clockwise, comes into contact with the toothed sector 21a of the swing 21 to arm the spiral spring 31 to bring the swings 21, 32 back to the position shown in Figure 2. During their movement, the swings 21, 32 pull their two respective clicks 23, 38 clockwise. During this movement, these clicks 13, 38 rotate counterclockwise when they meet the gear teeth in the respective stars 24, 33. They are then brought back to the resting position illustrated by their respective pulling springs 39, 40, so that they pull the wheels in the respective steps 31, 31, 31, 31, when the swings 21, 32 are brought back to the spiral spring position shown in Figure 2.

The 33 star wheel can also be manually driven to adjust the position of the 9 o'clock hand relative to the 7 o'clock hand depending on the time zone to be displayed. To this end, a 41 swing, fitted with a 42 clicker similar to the 23 clicks, 38 of the 21 32 swing and recalled by a 43 spring, is applied against a 44 stop by a 45 booster spring. This 41 swing features a 41a arm intended to be in contact with a (not represented) actuation pusher through the watch case to allow the user to display the desired time zone.

Claims (8)

1. A timepiece equipped with an analog device for displaying two different time zones, comprising three distinct display units (1, 2, 3) each comprising an indicator member (7, 8, 9) and a time division (4, 5, 6), drive members (13-24; 30-33, 38, 40) for establishing a link between said indicator members (7, 9) and the minutes geartrain (12) of the timepiece, characterized in that two (2, 3) of said display units comprise only indicator members and divisions (5, 7, 6, 9) for indicating the hours of two respective time zones, one corresponding to the local time and the other to a determined time zone and the third (1) of said units comprising only an indicator member and a division (4, 8) for indicating the minutes corresponding to each of the two time zones and which timepiece also comprises control means (41) for modifying the time difference between said unit (2) for indicating the local time and the one (3) for indicating said determined time zone.
2. The timepiece as claimed in claim 1, in which the axes of rotation of the three hands of display units are aligned with the axis of rotation of the minutes hand (8) situated between the axes of rotation of the hours hands (7, 9), the respective edges of the two time divisions of the units for displaying the two time zones (5,6) extending within the time division (4) of the unit (1) for displaying the minutes.
3. The timepiece as claimed in one of the preceding claims, in which timepiece said drive members (13-24; 30-33, 35, 40) for establishing a link (7, 9) between said indicator members (7, 9) and the minutes geartrain (12) comprise a step-by-step drive mechanism (23-25; 33, 38, 46) for driving said indicator members, said control means (41) for modifying the time difference being designed to act directly on a step-by-step drive runner (33) bearing the indicator member (9) for indicating said determined time zone.
4. The timepiece as claimed in claim 3, in which a desmodromic link (21c, 30, 32c) connects said step-by-step drive mechanisms (13-21, 30, 32) of said means (7, 9) for indicating the hours together.
5. The timepiece as claimed in claim 4, in which timepiece each of said step-by-step drive mechanisms (13-21, 30, 32) comprises a lever (21, 32) for the step-by-step drive of said indicator members (7, 9) for indicating the hours, these levers (21, 32) being connected to one another by a desmodromic connecting member (30) subjected to elastic return means (31) and in which a drive member (20) actuated by the minutes geartrain (12) is designed to periodically move said levers (21, 32) against the force of said elastic return means (31) and to release them to the force of these elastic return means in order to drive said hour indicating means (7,9) by one step.
6. The timepiece as claimed in claim 5, in which timepiece said drive member (20) actuated by said minutes geartrain (12) is a toothed sector secured to a runner (19) connected to the minutes geartrain (12) to make one revolution in one hour and which is intended in each revolution to engage with a toothed member (21a) kinematically secured to said drive levers (21, 32).
7. The timepiece as claimed in one of the preceding claims, in which timepiece a one-way connection (15, 16) connects said minutes geartrain (12) with the drive mechanisms (13-21, 30, 32) that drive the two units (2, 3) displaying the two time zones.
8. The timepiece as claimed in one of the preceding claims, in which timepiece said means (5, 7, 6, 9) for indicating the hours in two time zones indicate the hours in cycles of 12 hours and are each connected to an indicator (29, 36) of the hours in the day and in the night.