HK1125192B - Chronograph watch - Google Patents

Description

Time-piece

Technical Field

The invention concerns the field of timepieces. More particularly, the invention relates to a chronograph watch equipped with a counter mechanism with an instant digital display.

Background

The digital display mode for the measurement time interval provides better reading comfort than the analog mode, especially during the performance of a physical activity. Timepieces with digital displays are known to those skilled in the art. They generally comprise a chronograph mechanism comprising a chronograph train (train) carrying a measuring time second hand or hour hand and a counter mechanism with a disc. The display of the measurement time by the disc is of a continuous or instantaneous type. Continuous display means display caused by slow movement of numbers through the aperture, and instantaneous display means display by jumping from one unit or ten to the next.

An example of a chronograph watch with a continuous digital display is given in french patent application No 2097126. It concerns a chronograph watch equipped with a measuring time second hand, a minute indicator disc visible through a first aperture and an hour indicator disc visible through a second aperture. The energy for driving the disc is supplied by the barrel of the basic movement via a detachable transmission train. The drive is continuous, so that the energy consumption of the counter mechanism is low. The barrel of the basic movement is therefore sufficient to supply the movement and the timing mechanism with energy. However, the continuous display is inconvenient and means that the measurement time cannot be read at a glance.

A chronograph watch with an instantaneous digital display is proposed in european patent No 1498788. Said watch comprises a basic movement driven by a first energy source, and a chronograph mechanism provided with a measuring time seconds hand and three indicator disks for units of minutes, tens of minutes and hours, respectively. Each of the disks is positioned by a jump spring and the spring force must be overcome at each jump to drive it through the steps. Therefore, the mechanism is energy intensive and cannot be derived from the energy source of the basic movement. To overcome this disadvantage, the chronograph mechanism has three additional energy sources, each driving an indicator disk. This solution considerably increases the complexity and space requirements of the timing mechanism and therefore increases the manufacturing costs.

Disclosure of Invention

The aim of the invention is to propose a counter mechanism for a chronograph watch with an instantaneous digital display, driven by a barrel provided by the basic movement. The invention therefore relates to a chronograph watch comprising a chronograph mechanism, comprising:

-a timing train, and

-a counter mechanism kinematically connected to said train of wheels and comprising a first and a second set of wheels respectively of the first and second display members, said first set of wheels being angularly positioned using the positioning member to rotate in steps.

According to the invention, the second set of wheels is angularly oriented by the first set of wheels.

The use of the first wheel set to position the second wheel set saves the use of resilient positioning members for the second wheel set. The counter mechanism thus arranged does not use much energy and can be driven using the barrel of the basic movement.

Drawings

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will become clearer upon reading the following detailed description of an example embodiment of a chronograph watch according to the invention, given purely by way of non-limiting illustration with reference to the attached drawings, in which:

figure 1 is a top view of a chronograph watch according to the invention,

figure 2 is a partially schematic view of the movement of the watch,

FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 are respectively an exploded perspective view and a cross-sectional view of the counter mechanism of the watch, an

Fig. 5, 6, 7 and 8 are top views of the counter mechanism in various positions.

Detailed Description

The chronograph watch shown in fig. 1 comprises a case 10, the case 10 housing a movement (not visible) on which a dial 12 is mounted. The movement carries in a conventional manner a minute hand 14 and an hour hand 16, respectively, a permanent second hand 18, a chronograph second hand 20 and a chronograph minute hand 22. The permanent second hand 18 moves within a first sub-dial 24 at 9 o 'clock, while the minute hand 22 moves within a second sub-dial 26 at 3 o' clock. The timepiece further includes an upper linked crown 28 and two keys 30 and 32 for activating the time control mechanism and the time reset mechanism in a conventional manner.

According to the invention, dial 12 comprises an aperture 34 at 6 o' clock, through which aperture 34 two display disks 36 and 38 are visible for the hours units and tens, respectively.

The movement of the chronograph watch according to the invention is visible in particular in figure 2. The movement comprises a base plate 39, on which base plate 39 is mounted, on the bridge side, a barrel 40, the barrel 40 driving a going train 42. Said going train 42 comprises, in a conventional manner, a central wheel group 44, the central wheel group 44 meshing on the one hand with the barrel 40 and on the other hand with a third wheel group 46, the third wheel group 46 itself meshing with a seconds wheel 48 carrying the permanent seconds hand 18.

The movement also includes a chronograph train 50 mounted on the grip plate side, the chronograph train 50 including a chronograph seconds wheel 52 carrying a chronograph seconds hand 20. Chronograph seconds wheel 52 meshes with a first intermediate wheel 54, first intermediate wheel 54 meshes with an intermediate chronograph minute wheel 56. The intermediate minute wheel 56 is in mesh with a second intermediate wheel 58, the second intermediate wheel 58 itself being in mesh with a minute wheel 60 carrying the minute wheel 22.

The swing pinion 62 serves as a separating member between the going train 42 and the chronograph train 52. Thus, pinion 62 oscillates between a free position and a disengaged position in which pinion 62 kinematically connects chronograph seconds wheel 52 to seconds wheel 48. A chronograph control mechanism of conventional type, not shown, causes, through the action of push-button 30, the oscillating pinion 62 to change from its free position to its disengaged position or vice versa.

The movement also includes a counter mechanism 64 mounted on the dial side to count and display the number of hours of elapsed time. The counter mechanism includes a snail shaped cam 66 carried by the intermediate minute wheel 56. A heart-piece 67 is located below the cam 66, fixed to the cam 66 and to the intermediate cannon-pinion 56. The control lever 68 is pivotally mounted on the spindle 70. It comprises a first arm 72 forming a sensor cooperating with the cam 66 and a second arm 73 provided with a pawl 74 positioned using a jumper spring 76. The control lever 68 is held in abutment against the cam 66 using a resilient member 77. In one direction of rotation and by means of the pawl 74, the lever activates a first display wheel set 78 mounted free to rotate on the spindle 80, and the first display wheel set 78 itself cooperates with a second display wheel set 82 mounted free to rotate on the spindle 84. First display wheel set 78 is also positioned using jumper spring 86.

The display wheel sets 78 and 82 are shown in detail in fig. 3 and 4. The moving member (mobile)78 is formed by stacking a star wheel 87 having ten teeth, a friction device 88, a stop finger 90, a heart 92, and the last hour display disk 36. Stop finger 90 includes a locking surface 94 and a tab 96 that form a portion of a circle in a conventional manner. The function of these parts will be explained below. The display disk 36, heart 92 and stop finger 90 are mounted fixed to one another for free rotation on the spindle 80. The star 87 is mounted for free rotation on the spindle 80. It is activated for rotation by control lever 68 and is positioned by jumper spring 86. Friction device 88 is selected such that the friction between stop finger 90 and star 87 is less than the positioning force of jumper spring 86.

The wheel set 82 is formed by stacking a Maltese cross 98 with ten branches 97 and ten grooves 99, a friction device 100, a heart 102 and an hourly tens display disc 38. The heart-piece 102 and display disk 38 are mounted to rotate freely on the spindle 84, but they are fixed to each other. Maltese cross 98 is also mounted to rotate freely on arbour 84 at the same height as stop finger 90 to cooperate with locking surface 94 and projection 96. Thus, the branches 97 of the maltese cross 98 comprise concave tips in a conventional manner, while the grooves 99 are substantially open. When the locking surface 94 or a portion of the locking surface 94 is oriented towards the maltese cross 98, it matches the curvature of the tip of the branch 97, thus blocking the rotation of the maltese cross 98 by the action of the geometrical projection 96 also being arranged to engage in the groove 99 when the locking surface 94 is released from the tip of the branch 97. The projection 96 thus drives the maltese cross 98 in rotation.

A Hammer (Hammer), not shown, is used to orient the heart-pieces 92, 102 and 67 by action of the keys 32.

Reference will now be made to fig. 5, 6, 7 and 8, which illustrate the operation of the counter mechanism of the chronograph watch of the present invention.

When the swing pinion 62 is in the free position, the chronograph train 50 and the counter mechanism 64 are stopped. In the initial position, display panels 36 and 38 show 0 and 0, respectively. The star wheel 87 and maltese cross 98 may have any angular orientation because these elements have a ten-order symmetry. This is not the case for stop finger 90. In the initial position, a first end of the locking surface 94 cooperates with a branch 97, referenced 97a, of the maltese cross 98, the branch 97a being delimited in the clockwise and anticlockwise directions by grooves referenced 99 a and 99 β, respectively. The projection 96 is located opposite the groove 99 α. In addition, the cam 66 is oriented such that the sensor 72 abuts the minimum radius of the snail cam 66. The hour hand 22 then displays 0. Fig. 5 illustrates the initial position.

When the oscillating pinion 62 is in the coupled position, the chronograph seconds wheel 52 rotates at an angular speed of one revolution per minute and the intermediate minute wheel 55 and the chronograph minute wheel 60 rotate at an angular speed of one revolution per hour. The cam 66 mounted on the intermediate minute wheel 56 rotates at an angular velocity of one clockwise revolution per hour. The increased radius of the cam 66 causes the control lever 68 to slowly pivot in a counterclockwise direction about its spindle 70. The pivoting of lever 68 does not drive star 87 in rotation because of the combined action of pawl 74 and jumper spring 86, which withdraws the tooth referenced "a". When one hour has elapsed, the control lever 68 is abruptly tilted because of the abrupt change in the radius of the cam 66. The tilting of the control rod 68 in the clockwise direction drives the star 87 through one step by the action of the pawl 74 on the tooth referenced "a". The entire wheel set 78 is driven through one step by the friction device 88 and the display disc 36 now displays 1. This position is illustrated in fig. 6.

When swing pinion 62 is in the coupled position, wheel set 78 rotates at a rate of one step per hour. When 9 hours have elapsed, the rotation of wheel set 78 relative to wheel set 82 is illustrated by FIG. 7. The second end of the locking surface 94 cooperates with the branch 97a of the maltese cross 98, and the projection 86 is positioned opposite the groove 99 β in preparation for engagement therein. At the end of the tenth hour of elapsed time, the control lever 68 drives the moving member 78 through one step by the tooth referenced "B" adjacent to the tooth referenced "a". The projection 96 engages in the groove 99 β and drives the wheel set 82 through one step of rotation. The counter mechanism is then displayed 10, as illustrated in fig. 8.

It will be noted that the counter mechanism 64 thus described is particularly economical in energy. In practice, only the hour unit wheel set 78 is positioned using the resilient member and the ten hour mover 82 is positioned by the action of the geometry. Thus, lever 68 only has to overcome the spring force of jumper spring 86 to drive wheel set 78 to rotate and wheel set 82 to rotate during the time from one tens of hours to the next. Moreover, the energy taken from barrel 40 to overcome this elastic force is taken continuously during the time interval required for cam 66 to complete a revolution, i.e. during an hour. The power consumed by the counter mechanism 64 is therefore practically constant and low and does not exceed the maximum power provided by barrel 40.

The counter mechanism 64 thus described is reset to 0 by a hammer, not shown, to orient the heart-pieces 82, 102 and 67.

A heart 67 is fixed to the cam 66. The heart 67 is oriented to position the cam 66 relative to the lever 68 such that the sensor 72 resides on the smallest diameter of the cam 66. The orientation of the cam 66 resets the hands 20, 22 for the second and minute counts, respectively, to 0.

Heart 92 is secured to stop finger 90 and display member 36, while heart 102 is secured to display member 38. When the hammer is activated by the button 32, the assembly of the heart 102-display member 38 is angularly oriented independently of the maltese cross 98 stopped by the locking surface 94. The separation between the assembly of heart piece 102-display member 38 is achieved by friction device 100. Similarly, the assembly of stop finger 90-heart 92-display member 36 is angularly oriented independently of star 87 due to the combined action of friction device 88 and jumper spring 86. The use of the friction device 88 to disengage the star 87 from the rest of the movers 78 and 82 means that it is not necessary to provide a disengagement system for the control lever 66 to reset to 0. The counter mechanism 64 is thus space-saving and achieves simplicity.

It will be noted that when the stop finger 90 is oriented, it may, in some configurations, drive the maltese cross 98 in rotation. This does not affect resetting display member 38 to 0 because friction device 100 disengages maltese cross 98 from display member 38. Furthermore, the final orientation of maltese cross 98 is not important.

Thus, chronograph watches with instantaneous digital display are proposed, the counter mechanism of which is driven by the going train barrel.

The invention is of course not limited to the embodiment that has just been described, and a person skilled in the art may conceive a number of simple modifications and variations that do not depart from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. In particular, it will be noted that the counter mechanism of the watch according to the invention counts hours and tens of hours. In this particularly advantageous embodiment, the counter mechanism can measure a time interval of up to 100 hours, which is considerable for a mechanical timer. In a variation of this embodiment, the counter mechanism may count minutes and tens of minutes.

Claims (18)

1. Chronograph watch comprising a barrel (40) provided by a basic movement and a chronograph mechanism comprising:

-a timing train (50), and

-a counter mechanism (64) kinematically connected to said train (50), the counter mechanism being driven by said barrel (40), and the counter mechanism (64) comprising a first and a second set of wheels (78, 82) provided with a first and a second display member (36, 38), respectively, said first set of wheels (78) being angularly positioned for rotation in steps using positioning means (86), characterized in that said second set of wheels (82) is angularly positioned by said first set of wheels (78).

2. Chronograph watch according to claim 1, characterized in that said second set of wheels (82) is angularly positioned by said first set of wheels (78) by the action of a geometrical shape.

3. Chronograph watch according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the second wheel group (82) comprises a maltese cross (98) provided with branches (97), and in that the first wheel group (78) comprises a locking surface (94) forming a rounded portion cooperating with the branches (97) of the maltese cross (98) to angularly block the cross.

4. Chronograph watch according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the first wheel set (78) is also arranged to drive the second wheel set (82) in rotation.

5. Chronograph watch according to claim 3, characterized in that the maltese cross (98) further comprises a groove (99) and in that the first wheel group (78) comprises a projection (96) for engaging in the groove (99) to drive in rotation the second wheel group (82).

6. Chronograph watch according to claim 5, characterized in that the projection (96) forms with the locking surface (94) a stop finger (90) rotationally fixed to the first display member (36).

7. Chronograph watch according to claim 6, characterized in that the counter mechanism (64) further comprises a control mechanism arranged to drive the first wheel set (78) through a step at the end of a given time unit.

8. Chronograph watch according to claim 7, characterized in that said control mechanism comprises a lever (68) cooperating with a cam (66) mounted on the chronograph train (50) to complete a revolution during said time unit, said lever (68) being arranged to take a substantially constant and non-zero power through said cam (66) during said time unit and to deliver said power to said first wheel set (78) at the end of said time unit.

9. Chronograph watch according to claim 8, characterized in that said lever (68) comprises a first branch (72) forming a sensor cooperating with said cam (66) and a second branch (73) provided with a pawl (74) cooperating with said first wheel set (78).

10. Chronograph watch according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that said first wheel group (78) comprises a star wheel (87) provided with branches cooperating with said bars (68) and positioned using said positioning means (86).

11. Chronograph watch according to claim 10, characterized in, that the said positioning means (86) are formed by an elastic member.

12. Chronograph watch according to claim 10, characterized in that said first wheel group (78) comprises a friction device (88) interposed between said star wheel (87) and said stop finger (90).

13. Chronograph watch according to claim 6, characterized in that said first wheel group (78) further comprises a first heart-piece (92) rotationally fixed to said stop finger (90) and to said first display member (36).

14. Chronograph watch according to claim 3, characterized in that said second wheel group (82) comprises a second heart (102) rotationally fixed to said second display member (38) and a friction device (100) interposed between said second heart (102) and said maltese cross (98).

15. Chronograph watch according to claim 7, characterized in that said first and second display members (36, 38) are disks associated respectively with the units and the tens of said time units.

16. The timepiece of claim 15 wherein said unit of time is an hour.

17. Chronograph watch according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it further comprises a going train (42) powered by an energy source (40), and in that said going train (50) is kinematically connected to said energy source (40) by a disconnecting member (62).

18. The timepiece recited in claim 1,

characterized in that said first display means (38) relate to the hours unit and said second display means (38) relate to the hours unit.