HK1225449B - Striking mechanism for a timepiece - Google Patents

Description

Bell mechanism for clockwork

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a chime mechanism for a timepiece, such as a wristwatch or pocket watch. The chime mechanism is a chime mechanism that repeats, for example, every minute or longer.

The present invention more particularly relates to a ringing mechanism comprising at least one bell, a device for driving the bell, a ringing barrel, a clutch device having a rocker arm for connecting the driving device to the ringing barrel, the rocker arm of the clutch device being arranged to pivot between a first position in which the driving device is connected to the ringing barrel and a second position in which the driving device is disconnected from the ringing barrel, and a locking device for locking the ringing barrel.

Background Art

Such a ringing mechanism is described in patent application EP 1760554. In this patent, the drive device comprises three hour, quarter and minute tooth rakes or hour, quarter and minute ratchets, which drive the pallet fork, which in turn drives the hammer that strikes the bell. The hour tooth rake has a toothed area that cooperates with the ring gear that connects the ring barrel to the regulator via a clutch device. When the clutch device is disengaged (under the action of a manual control member), the hour tooth rake, quarter tooth rake and minute tooth rake separated from the ring barrel collect information on the number of strikes required to ring the bell on a cam, under the action of their return springs. Thereafter, the clutch device re-engages and the tooth rake is wound under the action of the ring barrel to ring the hours, quarters and minutes. A locking device is used to stop the mechanism at the end of ringing. The locking mechanism comprises a cam defined by a toothed rake, a locking rocker arm that cooperates with the cam and passes through the movement, a locking lever that cooperates with the locking rocker arm on the other side of the movement, and a brake defined by the locking lever and abutting against the flywheel forming the regulator. The brake disengages from the flywheel to release the transmission chain comprising the ring barrel, ring gear, and regulator at the onset of the toothed rake's disengagement, triggered by the cut-off, and then re-engages the flywheel to terminate the mechanism at the end of the ringing. This locking mechanism is complex due to its numerous components and the fact that it must pass through the movement via the locking rocker arm.

In the ringing mechanism described in document EP 1 760 554, as in other known mechanisms such as that according to document WO 2012/004224, the ringing barrel is released when the clutch is in its disengaged state. Therefore, during the acquisition of information by the tooth rake, the ringing barrel unwinds itself uselessly, which constitutes a loss of energy.

Patent application EP 1925997, in its introductory section on conventional ringing mechanisms, mentions that pins mounted on a toothed rake in conventional ringing mechanisms actuate the locking and unlocking of the energy source (ring barrel). According to the document, it is crucial that the energy source only releases after the toothed rakes fall onto their cams, but coordinating the various steps involved in ringing to achieve this result is difficult. EP 1925997 describes a ringing mechanism in which a clutch mechanism comprises a differential gear disposed within the ringing gear and a rocker arm or latch that acts on the differential gear to lock or unlock the planetary carrier of the differential gear. A stopper supported by a double rocker arm locks or unlocks the regulator and, consequently, the ring barrel. The rocker arm acting on the differential gear and the double rocker arm are driven in coordination by a cam-bearing shaft that controls the engagement/disengagement of the clutch mechanism. This mechanism suffers from the drawback of comprising a large number of components. Furthermore, the relative angular positions of the cams of the cam-bearing shaft must be extremely precise to properly manage the ringing sequence.

Summary of the Invention

The present invention aims to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks or at least mitigate them and, for this purpose, proposes a chiming mechanism for a timepiece comprising:

-At least one bell,

- a drive device for driving said bell,

- bell barrel,

a clutch device having a rocker arm for connecting the drive device to the ringing barrel, the rocker arm of the clutch device being arranged to pivot between a first position in which the drive device is connected to the ringing barrel and a second position in which the drive device is disconnected from the ringing barrel, and

- a locking device for locking the bell barrel,

It is characterized in that the locking device includes a locking member, which is connected to the rocker arm and is configured to lock the ringing barrel when the rocker arm is in the second position and not to lock the ringing barrel when the rocker arm is in the first position.

Thus, in the present invention, when the clutch is in its disengaged state, the ring barrel is locked, preventing unnecessary deployment of the ring barrel. Furthermore, since the locking member is coupled to the clutch's rocker arm, the locking mechanism can be implemented simply with a small number of components and does not require elaborate adjustments to coordinate the engagement/disengagement of the clutch and the locking/unlocking of the ring barrel. The clutch's rocker arm performs the dual function of ensuring connection and disengagement of the ring barrel from the drive mechanism and locking/unlocking the ring barrel.

The bell barrel can be dedicated to ringing the bell or universally connected to a movement of the bell mechanism. When the rocker arm is in the first position, the bell barrel supplies the necessary energy to the drive device to drive the bell and ring the desired number of strikes. When the rocker arm is in the second position, the drive device, under the action of one or more return springs, receives information about the desired number of strikes.

The locking member preferably forms a separate component together with the rocker arm, but the locking member may also be an additional component fixed to the rocker arm.

In a specific embodiment, the locking member is a mouth.

Advantageously, said locking member is arranged to cooperate with a toothed member, such as a star or a wheel, drivingly connected to said ringing barrel.

According to a first embodiment, the clutch device comprises a clutch pinion or wheel mounted on the rocker arm, which clutch pinion or wheel connects the drive device to the ringing barrel when the rocker arm is in the first position and does not connect the drive device to the ringing barrel when the rocker arm is in the second position.

According to a second embodiment, the clutch device comprises a differential gear, which is arranged between the chime barrel and the drive means and on which the second locking member supported by the rocker arm can act.

According to a third embodiment, the clutch device comprises a vertical clutch movable element, which is arranged between the ringing barrel and the drive device and includes an element, typically a wheel, which is movable along the vertical clutch movable element to move the clutch device from an engaged state to a disengaged state and vice versa, the movement of the element being controlled by a rocker arm. In this embodiment, the rocker arm may have a stop member, which is arranged to prevent the element from moving in the direction opposite to the action of a return spring in the event of a collision. When the rocker arm is in its first position, the element is subjected to the action of the return spring.

The locking device comprises an additional locking part in the form of a stop against which the tooth rake of the driving mechanism under the action of the ringing barrel abuts at the end of ringing. This additional locking part allows the entire ringing member to be kept inoperative.

Typically, the ring barrel is connected to the regulator via a ring gear.

In a particular embodiment, the rocker arm carries a projection element which, when the ringing mechanism is in a rest state, is held against a starter lever by a return spring of the rocker arm, and the starter lever can be pivoted by a manually driven member to separate the projection element from the rocker arm and cause the rocker arm, under the action of its return spring, to pass from its first position to its second position and thereby start the ringing.

The ringing mechanism may further include a first locking lever configured to act as a stopper for the protruding element when the energy accumulated in the ringing barrel is less than a predetermined value, thereby preventing the protruding element from being released. The first locking lever may be configured to be controlled by a ringing step reserved display wheel.

The ringing mechanism may further include a second locking lever configured to act as a stopper for the protruding element when the winding lever of the timepiece is in the time setting position and to prevent the protruding element from being released.

Finally, the present invention also proposes a timepiece, which includes the ringing mechanism and movement as defined above, characterized in that the movement includes its own barrel, and a device is provided that allows the ringing barrel to be wound by rotation of the winding rod in one direction and allows the barrel of the movement to be wound by rotation of the winding rod in another direction, the device including an entry wheel configured to be driven by the winding rod in one direction or the other, at least one first pawl supported by one of the two faces of the entry wheel, at least one second pawl supported by the other of the two faces of the entry wheel, a first pinion coaxial with the entry wheel and including unidirectional gear teeth cooperating with the first pawl, a second pinion coaxial with the entry wheel and including unidirectional gear teeth cooperating with the second pawl, a first exit wheel coupled to the first pinion and connected to the ratchet wheel of the ringing barrel, and a second exit wheel coupled to the second pinion and connected to the ratchet wheel of the barrel of the movement.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description and referring to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG1 is a bottom plan view of a bell mechanism in an engaged state according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention,

FIG2 is a bottom plan view of the bell mechanism according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention in a disengaged state, the detail of FIG2 indicated by A showing the cooperation between the mouth of the clutch rocker arm and the stop star wheel,

FIG3 is a top plan view of the bell mechanism in a rest state according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention,

FIG4 is a top plan view of the bell mechanism according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention after activation.

5 is a cross-sectional view of a ringing shaft equipped with a timing ratchet, a carved ratchet, and a minute ratchet as well as a timing pinion, a carved pinion, and a minute pinion as part of a ringing mechanism according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention,

6 is a perspective view of the pallet fork, hour ratchet, quarter ratchet and minute ratchet, hour tooth rake, quarter tooth rake and minute tooth rake, and hour detector, quarter detector and minute detector as part of the ringing mechanism according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention,

FIG7 is a partial plan view of the bell mechanism in a rest state according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention,

FIG8 is a partial plan view of a bell mechanism according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, showing the connection between the cut tooth rake and the split tooth rake,

9 is a partial plan view of the bell mechanism according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, showing the release of the tooth rake when the tooth rake is disengaged (chuter),

10 is a partial plan view of the bell mechanism according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, showing the release of the split tooth rake when the cut tooth rake is disengaged,

11 is a partial plan view of the bell mechanism according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, showing the engraved detector is obtaining the number of engraved information required to ring the bell on the engraved cam,

12 is a partial plan view of the bell mechanism according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, showing the minute detector is obtaining the number of minutes required to ring the bell on the minute cam,

13 is a partial plan view of the bell mechanism according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, showing the cooperation between the detector, the first clutch lever and the second clutch lever,

14 is a partial plan view of the ringing mechanism according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, showing a device for driving the ratchet wheel by the hour ratchet wheel when obtaining the number of hours and minutes required to ring the bell.

FIG15 is a partial plan view of a ringing mechanism according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, showing a transmission device for driving the minute ratchet by the hour ratchet in a configuration in which the hour ratchet starts driving the minute ratchet near the last strike of the hour (between, at, or after the last strike),

16 and 17 are partial plan views of a ringing mechanism according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, showing a device for automatically preventing the ringing from starting when the reserve step of the barrel supplying the ringing is insufficient in two different configurations,

18 and 19 are partial plan views of a chime mechanism according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, showing the device for preventing the chime from being activated in two different configurations when setting the time.

FIG20 is a perspective view of two barrels and the device for winding these barrels in the present invention,

FIG21 is a sectional view of the winding device shown in FIG20 ,

22 and 23 are perspective views of the winding device shown in FIG. 20 ,

24 and 25 are respectively a bottom partial plan view and a top partial plan view showing in particular the ringing mechanism of the clutch device and the ringing starter lever according to a variant of the present invention,

FIG26 is a cross-sectional view of a differential gear as part of the clutch device shown in FIG24 and FIG25 ,

FIG27 is a bottom partial plan view showing in particular the ringing mechanism of the clutch device according to another variation of the present invention, and FIG

FIG. 28 is a cross-sectional view of the clutch device shown in FIG. 27 .

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The term “ratchet” (with the exception of the ratchet of the barrel) is extended within the scope of the present invention to include all toothed parts of the pallet for driving one or more ringing weights.

1 to 4 , a chime mechanism according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, which is intended to be integrated into or added to a movement of a timepiece, typically a watch, comprises a chime gear 2 in a base 1 that connects an energy source 3 to a regulator 4. The energy source 3 is typically a chime barrel, which is in close contact with the wheel 2a of the chime gear 2 and can be wound by turning a winding rod 5. The winding rod 5 is preferably the winding rod of the movement and is also used to wind the barrel of the movement. The regulator 4 is, for example, a centrifugal regulator (Watt regulator). It is used to adjust the tempo of the strikes required to ring. A clutch rocker arm 6 pivoting around an axis 7 supports two pinions 8 and 9 that rotate relative to the rocker arm 6. The pinion 8 rotates around the axis 7 and is permanently in close contact with a pinion 10 coupled to the chime shaft 11. The gear 8 is also permanently meshed with a pinion 9 called a “clutch pinion”. In the first or engaged position of clutch rocker arm 6 (see FIG1 ), clutch pinion 9 meshes with pinion 12, which is in contact with ring barrel 3, and thus transmits the movement of ring barrel 3 to ring shaft 11 via pinions 8 and 10. In the second or disengaged position of clutch rocker arm 6 (see FIG2 ), clutch pinion 9 does not mesh with pinion 12, and thus allows ring shaft 11 to rotate freely. As a variant, clutch pinion 9, supported by clutch rocker arm 6, could, in the engaged position, mesh with a pinion or wheel of ring gear 2, so as to receive the movement of ring barrel 3 via said gear.

The clutch rocker arm 6 is subjected to the action of a return spring 13, which tends to pivot it in the disengaging direction. A pin 14 is located at one end of the clutch rocker arm 6. When the ringing mechanism is in its rest state ( FIG. 3 ), this pin is held against the first end of a starter lever 15 by the action of the return spring 13, thereby maintaining the clutch rocker arm 6 in its engaged position. When the ringing mechanism is in its rest position, the starter lever 15 is held against the surface 1a of the base 1 by a full or empty spring 17 (see FIG. 3 and FIG. 16 ). The starter lever 15 can be actuated to release the pin 14 and thereby release the clutch rocker arm 6 by axially pushing a tube 15a acting on the second end 16 of the starter lever 15 ( FIG. 4 ). The tube 15a surrounds the winding rod 5 and is connected to a push-button (not shown) mounted on the end of the winding rod 5. However, as a variant, the starter lever 15 can be actuated by a push-button independent of the winding rod 5. At its end without pin 14 , clutch rocker arm 6 defines a mouth 18 arranged to cooperate with a stop star wheel 19 coupled to wheel 2 b of ring gear 2 (see FIGS. 1 and 2 ).

Three wheel-shaped ratchets 20, 21, and 22 are mounted on the ring shaft 11 (see Figures 5 and 6). These ratchets include the hour ratchet 20, the quarter ratchet 21, and the minute ratchet 22. The hour ratchet 20 is coupled to the ring shaft 11 and the pinion 10. The quarter ratchet 21 and the minute ratchet 22 are freely rotatable relative to the ring shaft 11. The teeth of the ratchets 20, 21, and 22 drive the ring pallets 23, 24, 25, and 26, which in turn drive the hammers 27 and 28 that strike the bells 29 and 30 (see Figures 3 and 6). The pallets include the hour pallet 23, a first quarter pallet 24 coaxial with the hour pallet 23, a minute pallet 25, and a second quarter pallet 26 coaxial with the minute pallet 25. Each set of pallets 23-24 and 25-26 is configured to drive a respective hammer 27, 28, which is configured to strike a respective bell 29, 30, producing a different sound. The hour ratchet 20 includes 12 teeth for driving the hour pallet 23, which in turn drives a hammer 27, known as the "hour hammer." The minute ratchet 22 includes 14 teeth for driving the minute pallet 25, which in turn drives a hammer 28, known as the "minute hammer." The quarter ratchet 21 includes two teeth, each with three teeth, for driving the quarter pallets 24, 26, respectively, so that the quarter pallets alternately drive the hour hammer 27 and the minute hammer 28.

The hour ratchet 20, the scored ratchet 21, and the minute ratchet 22 are respectively coupled to the hour pinion 31, the scored pinion 32, and the minute pinion 33 (see FIG5 ). The hour pinion 31 abuts against the teeth of an hour tooth rake 34 (see FIG6 and FIG7 ). The scored pinion 32 abuts against the teeth of a scored rake 35. The minute pinion 33 abuts against the teeth of a minute tooth rake 36. The scored rake 35 and the minute tooth rake 36 pivot about the same axis 37. The hour tooth rake 34 preferably pivots about an axis 38 different from the pivot axis 37 of the scored rake 35 and the minute tooth rake 36, but may alternatively pivot about the same axis 37 as the scored rake 35 and the minute tooth rake 36. The hour detector 39 is pivotally mounted about the pivot axis 38 of the hour tooth rake 34. The mouth 40 of the hour detector 39 is configured to cooperate with an hour cam 41 (visible in FIG1 ). A pin 42, supported by the hour detector 39 and inserted into an opening 43 of the hour tooth rake 34, defines the range of relative angular displacement between the hour detector 39 and the hour tooth rake 34. The notch detector 44 is pivotally mounted about the pivot axis 37 of the notch tooth rake 35 and the split-tooth rake 36. The mouth 45 of the notch detector 44 is configured to cooperate with a notch cam 46 (see FIG7 ). A pin 47, supported by the notch tooth rake 35 and inserted into an opening 48 of the notch detector 44 (see FIG13 ), defines the range of relative angular displacement between the notch detector 44 and the notch tooth rake 35. The split-tooth rake 49 is coupled to the split-tooth rake 36 and is preferably formed as a separate component from the split-tooth rake 36 (see FIG6 ). The mouth 50 of the split-tooth detector 49 is configured to cooperate with a split-tooth cam 51 (see FIG12 ). The hour cam 41, notch cam 46, and split-tooth cam 51 are conventional cams and are driven by the movement in a conventional manner. The cut cam 46 and the minute cam 51 pivot about the same axis, which may be the axis of the movement's retaining ring. The hour cam 41 is preferably not coaxial with the cut cam 46 and the minute cam 51. The hour tooth rake 34, the cut tooth rake 35, and the minute tooth rake 36 are each subjected to the action of a return spring 52, 53, 54 (see Figures 6 and 7), which tends to rotate the tooth rake toward the mouth of the corresponding detector adjacent to the corresponding cam.

The hour tooth rake 34 supports a notching rocker arm 55 that pivots about an axis 56 (see Figures 6 and 7). The hour detector 39 and the notching rocker arm 55 are connected by a spring 57 that maintains contact between the two components 39, 55. The notching rocker arm 55 is configured to cooperate with a notching isolator 58 mounted on the base 1 of the ringing mechanism. The notching isolator 58 is pivotally mounted about the axis 59, and its angular travel is limited by a pin 60, which is fixed to the base 1 and inserted into an opening 61 in the notching isolator 58. The notching isolator 58 has a pin 62 that serves to limit the notching tooth rake 35 at certain times when the notching isolator 58 is in its rest position. The notching isolator 58 is supported by a return spring 58a that tends to maintain it in its rest position.

The notch detector 44 includes, at its end opposite the notch notch 45, a mouth 63 configured to actuate a first clutch lever 64 (see FIG. 13 ). The first clutch lever 64 is mounted on the notch rake 35 and is subject to the action of a return spring 65 that maintains the first clutch lever in contact with the mouth 63 of the notch detector 44. The first clutch lever 64 is configured to actuate a second clutch lever 66 mounted on the base 1. The second clutch lever 66 defines a fork 67 that receives the pin 14 supported by the clutch rocker arm 6.

The carving rake 35 and the split-tooth rake 36 are coupled to each other by means of a pawl or hook 68 (see FIG8 ) pivotally mounted on the carving rake 35 and defining a tooth 69 arranged to cooperate with a second tooth 70 of the split-tooth rake 36 to couple the carving rake 35 and the split-tooth rake 36. The pawl 68 is subjected to the action of a return spring 68 a tending to retain the tooth 69 in the tooth 70. A pawl stop 71 fixed to the base 1 is arranged to cooperate with another tooth 72 of the pawl 68 (see FIG10 ) to pivot the pawl 68 against the action of its return spring and thereby disengage the tooth 69 of the tooth 70 and disengage it from the carving rake 35 and the split-tooth rake 36.

The hour ratchet 20 and the engraved ratchet 21 are connected to each other via a rod 73, which is supported by the engraved ratchet 21 and pivotally mounted about the engraved ratchet 21 relative to an axis 74 (see FIG. 14 ). The rod 73 includes a drive pin 75 configured to cooperate with a stepped surface of the hour ratchet 20. The stepped surface extends in the plane of the hour ratchet 20, in other words, in a plane perpendicular to the common rotational axis of the ratchet wheels 20 and 21, and connects the peripheral portion of the hour ratchet 20 to its central portion by following a curve. The stepped surface defines steps or steps 76 and four opposing steps 77. Each step 76 is substantially concentric with the rotational axis of the ratchet wheels 20 and 21 but is located at a different radial position than the other steps. The rod 73 extends and pivots in a plane perpendicular to the rotational axis of the ratchet wheels 20 and 21. The drive pin 75 extends parallel to the aforementioned rotational axis to enable cooperation with the stepped surfaces 76 and 77. The transmission pin 75 can also cooperate with a stop 78 of the lever, which is fixed to the base 1 and includes an angular positioning surface 79 of the lever 73, which extends along a curve coinciding with the above-mentioned curve when the ratchet 20 is in a predetermined angular position (see FIG15 ). The lever 73 is subjected to the action of a return spring 80 tending to pivot the lever 73 in the counterclockwise direction of FIG14 . As shown in the figure, the return spring 80 is preferably made as a separate component from the lever 73 and is mounted via one end 80 a of the return spring on the ratchet 21. The end 80 a is mounted, for example, so as to be freely rotatable around a pin 80 b fixed to the ratchet 21.

The ringing mechanism works in the following manner.

In the resting state of the ringing mechanism, the clutch rocker 6 is in its engaged position (see FIG1 ), its mouth 18 outside the teeth of the stop star wheel 19, and the ring barrel 3, ring gear 2, ratchets 20, 21, 22, and tooth rakes 34, 35, 36 are fixed. The hour tooth rake 34 is held against the pin 60 (see FIG7 ) by the force of the ringing barrel 3, preventing the ringing barrel 3 from unfolding. The hour tooth rake 21 is held by the hour ratchet 20 via a lever 73, with the driving pin 75 resting against one of the reverse steps 77 (see FIG15 ). The split tooth rake 36 is held by the hour tooth rake 35 via a pawl 68, with its teeth 69 engaging teeth 70 (see FIG8 ).

When the user depresses the push-crown, and thus the tube 15a surrounding the winding rod 5 (see FIG4 ), the starter lever 15 no longer retains the pin 14 of the clutch arm 6, allowing it to pivot under the action of its return spring 13 against a stop 81 fixed to the base 1 (see FIG2 ). The clutch arm 6 thus moves from its engaged position to its disengaged position, and its mouth 18 enters the teeth of the stop star wheel 19, locking the ring gear 2 and the ring barrel 3 so that the ring barrel cannot deploy on its own. The ring axle 11, no longer connected to the ring barrel 3, the hour tooth rake 34, the quarter tooth rake 35, and the minute tooth rake 36, disengages under the action of their return springs 52, 53, and 54, but the quarter tooth rake 35 is stopped in its travel by the pin 62 of the quarter tooth isolator 58 (see FIG7 ). Since the split-tooth rake 36 is connected to the cut-tooth rake 35 via the pawl 68, the split-tooth rake itself is also blocked in its travel. Through the cooperation between the cut-tooth rocker arm 55 and the hour detector 39, the disengagement of the hour rake 34 causes the hour detector 39 to move in the direction of the hour cam 41. The mouth 40 of the hour detector 39 comes into contact with the hour cam 41 to obtain information on the number of hours to be rung. The hour rake 34 continues its travel, and since the cut-tooth rocker arm 55 abuts the hour detector 39, the cut-tooth rocker arm 55 is set to rotate and itself drives the cut isolator 58 (see Figure 9) to rotate. The movement of the hour rake 34 stops when the wall of its opening 43 reaches the pin 42 abutting the hour detector 39.

Rotation of the notch isolator 58 releases the notch rake 35 (see FIG9 ). The notch rake 35 is thus set to disengage under the action of the return spring 53. Due to the contact between the first clutch lever 64 and the mouth 63 of the notch detector 44, the notch detector 44 pivots in a direction tending to bring its mouth 45 closer to the notch cam 46. During this disengagement of the notch rake 35, the second tooth 72 of the pawl 68 comes into contact with the surface 82 of the pawl's stop 71 and then (only when no notch is to be sounded) slides on the surface 83 of this stop 71 (see FIG10 ). This causes the pawl 68 to pivot against the action of its return spring and disengage the first tooth 69 of the gear 70. The split tooth rake 36 is thus disengaged from the notch rake 35 and can be disengaged under the action of the return spring 54. The mouth 45 of the notch detector 44 and the mouth 50 of the minute detector 49 come into contact with the notch cam 46 and the minute cam 51, respectively, to obtain information on the number of notches and minutes to be sounded (see FIG11 and FIG12 ). It is possible that the mouth 50 of the sub-detector 49 begins to contact the sub-cam 51 before the pawl 68 disengages from the gear teeth 70. In this case, the pawl 68 releases its grip on the gear teeth 70, allowing the notching rake 35 to continue its travel, allowing the notching detector 44 to acquire information on the notching cam 46. When the notching detector 44 comes into contact with the notching cam 46, the notching rake 35 continues its travel. Due to the first clutch lever 64 coming into contact with the notching detector 44, the first clutch lever 64 is set to rotate against the action of its return spring 65 and, in turn, rotate the second clutch lever 66. When the pin 47 of the notching rake 35 comes into contact with the wall of the opening 48 of the notching detector 44 (see FIG. 13 ), the notching rake 35 stops disengaging. At the end of the stroke of the toothed rake 35 (see FIG14 ), the driving pin 75 comes into contact with the stop 78 of the lever, is guided by the positioning surface 79 of the stop 78 of the lever, and is positioned on this surface 79 in a radial position corresponding to one of the four counter-steps 77 (relative to the axes of the ratchet wheels 20, 21, 22) according to the number of notches required. The movement of the driving pin 75 on the positioning surface 79 causes the lever 73 to pivot about its axis 74 against the action of its return spring 80, which action keeps the driving pin 75 against the positioning surface 79.

During the disengagement of tooth rakes 34 , 35 , 36 , ratchets 20 , 21 , 22 drive pallets 23 to 26 , but in a direction that does not allow driving weights 27 , 28 .

At the end of the disengagement of the tooth rake 35, the rotation of the second clutch lever 66, by driving the pin 14, brings the clutch rocker 6 into its engaged position (see Figures 13 and 1). At this point, the ringing axle 11 is reconnected to the ringing barrel 3, and the force of the ringing barrel 3 causes the hour ratchet 20 to rotate in the other direction, thereby winding the hour tooth rake 34 against the action of its return spring 52 until the hour tooth rake 34 returns to abutment against the pin 60 (see Figure 7). This rotation of the hour ratchet 20, which causes the winding of the hour tooth rake 34, drives the hour pallet 23, which in turn drives the hammer 27 to ring the hour. The angular amplitude of the displacement of the hour tooth rake 34 and the hour ratchet 20, and therefore the number of teeth of the hour ratchet 20 that meet the hour pallet 23, depends on the position of the mouth 40 of the hour detector 39 on the hour cam 41, and therefore the angular position of the hour cam 41. This angular amplitude of the displacement of hour tooth rake 34 and hour ratchet 20 corresponds to the number of strikes required to ring the bell in order to indicate the hour.

During this rotation of hour ratchet 20, the reverse step 77, which is located in the same radial position as driving pin 75, comes into contact with the aforementioned pin 75 and push-button (see FIG15 ), thereby allowing hour ratchet 20 to drive quarter ratchet 21 (and, more generally, the entire transmission chain 21, 32, 35) against the action of return spring 53 of quarter rake 35. During this actuation, driving pin 75 is held against step 76 corresponding to the aforementioned reverse step 77 by return spring 80. Quarter ratchet 21, via its two teeth, thus drives first quarter pallet 24 and second quarter pallet 26, which drive hammers 27, 28 a number of times corresponding to the number of quarters to be struck, after all the hours have been struck. Thanks to lever 73, on stepped surfaces 76, 77, and on detent surface 79, the time elapsed between the end of the hour strike and the beginning of the quarter strike is the same, regardless of the number of quarters to be struck. Compared to classic devices for equalizing the time elapsed between the hour and quarter strikes (such as that described in document WO 2012/004224, in which the mouths or teeth of the pawls cooperate with the teeth of the wheel), devices 73, 76, 77, 79 have the advantage of eliminating the risk of arcing between the aforementioned mouths and the teeth of the wheel. Note that, in a configuration in which the hour tooth rake 34 and the quarter tooth rake 35 are coaxial, such devices 73, 76, 77, 79 can be used between the hour tooth rake 34 and the quarter tooth rake 35, rather than between the hour ratchet wheel 20 and the quarter tooth ratchet wheel 21.

During the driving of the quarter ratchet 21 by the hour ratchet 20, the pawl 68 supported by the quarter rake 35 disengages its stop 71 and engages the teeth 70 of the minute rake 36, thereby allowing the quarter rake 35 to drive the minute rake 36. The minute ratchet 22, driven by the minute rake 36, thus drives the minute pallet 25 via its teeth, which in turn drives the hammer 28 a number of times corresponding to the number of minutes to be sounded, after all the quarters have been struck. Between the teeth of the teeth 70, the teeth 69 of the pawl 68 engage depending on the number of minutes to be sounded. Therefore, regardless of the number of minutes to be sounded, the same amount of time elapses between the end of the quarter strike and the minute strike.

In a variant of the invention, a device similar to the devices 73, 76, 77, 79 (but with an appropriate number of reverse steps 77) is used between the engraved ratchet 21 and the split ratchet 22, or between the engraved tooth rake 35 and the split tooth rake 36, by replacing the device with the pawl 68 and the gear teeth 70.

The striking mechanism is compact in the plane of the watch thanks to the coaxial arrangement of the hour ratchet 20, the quarter ratchet 21 and the minute ratchet 22. Furthermore, the penetration depths of the pallets 23, 24, 25, 26 into the corresponding teeth of the ratchets can be identical, which allows the drive of the hammers 27, 28 to be optimized.

In the present invention, the spatial dimensions of the ring mechanism in the plane of the watch are made particularly compact by the fact that, due to the meshing ratio between each tooth rake 34, 35, 36 and the corresponding pinion 31, 32, 33, a smaller angular displacement of the tooth rake 34, 35, 36 drives a larger angular displacement of the corresponding ratchet 20, 21, 22. The angular travel of the tooth rakes 34, 35, 36 is therefore smaller than that of the tooth rake-ratchet systems of the prior art (documents EP 1760554 and WO 2012/004224). Furthermore, the fact that the tooth rakes 34, 35, 36 do not necessarily have to be coaxial, unlike the ratchet 20, 21, 22 and tooth rake-ratchet systems of the prior art, provides greater freedom in the design of the mechanism.

It is also noted that the same component, clutch rocker 6, performs the dual function of engaging/disengaging the ringing mechanism and, through its associated locking element (mouth 18), locking ring barrel 3 in the disengaged position. This feature simply prevents the ringing barrel 3 from deploying during the disengagement of tooth rakes 34, 35, 36 and the corresponding rotation of ratchet wheels 20, 21, 22. Preferably, as shown in the figures, the locking element is made as a single component together with clutch rocker 6.

In a variant of the invention, the ratchets 20, 21, 22 may have the shape of a toothed rake instead of a wheel, although in the present invention the realization of the ratchets 20, 21, 22 in the shape of a wheel is preferred since this allows to impart sufficient rigidity to the aforementioned ratchets to ensure good cooperation between their teeth and the pallets.

According to another advantageous feature of the invention, the ringing mechanism includes a device that prevents the ringing mechanism from being activated when the energy accumulated in the ringing barrel 3 is insufficient to ensure the return of the ratchet wheels 20, 21, 22 and the toothed rakes 34, 35, 36 after the acquisition of information on the cams 41, 46, 51. This device comprises (see FIG16 ) a locking lever 84 held in its rest position against a stop 85 fixed to the base 1 by a return spring 86. In its rest position, the locking lever 84 is outside the path followed by the pin 14 when the clutch rocker 6 changes its engaged/disengaged position. The locking lever thus does not obstruct the movement of the clutch rocker 6. However, the locking lever 84 can be pivoted into the position shown in FIG17 , in which its end acts as a stop, preventing the pin 14 from moving in the disengaging direction of the clutch rocker 6. Therefore, in this position of the locking lever 84, actuation of the starter lever 15 by the crown has no effect on the clutch rocker 6, which therefore remains in its engaged position and therefore does not activate the ringing.

The component that controls the pivoting of locking lever 84 is a stepped reserve display wheel 87. This wheel includes an arc-shaped opening 88 that receives a pin 89 fixed to base 1. Opening 88 and pin 89 define two restricted positions for stepped reserve display wheel 87: a position that generally corresponds to a fully wound state of the ringing barrel 3 spring, and a position that generally corresponds to a fully unwound state of the ringing barrel 3 spring. Stepped reserve display wheel 87 includes an indicator (not shown), such as a hand, that indicates the stepped reserve of the ringing mechanism on the watch dial. Typically, stepped reserve display wheel 87 is driven by the output of a differential mechanism, whose two inputs are the shaft of the ringing barrel 3 and the teeth of the aforementioned barrel.

When the ringing barrel 3 is fully wound ( FIG. 16 ), the stepped reserve indicator wheel 87 has no effect on the locking lever 84, which therefore remains in its rest position. When the ringing barrel 3 does not have sufficient energy to strike the bell ( FIG. 17 ), the stepped reserve indicator wheel 87 is in an angular position such that its raised portion 90 comes into contact with the locking lever 84 and pivots it against the action of its return spring 86, bringing it into a position in which the locking lever prevents the clutch rocker 6 from pivoting toward its disengaged position. The user is informed by an indicator supported by the stepped reserve indicator wheel 87 that it is time to wind the ringing barrel 3. Once the ringing barrel 3 is fully wound, the raised portion 90 moves away from the locking lever 84, allowing it to return to its rest position, out of the path of the pin 14.

According to another advantageous feature of the present invention, the striking mechanism includes a device for preventing the activation of the striking mechanism when the time of the watch is being adjusted. Indeed, if no device were provided to prevent the probes 39, 44, 49 from coming into contact with the cams during time adjustment, the rotation of the hour cam 41, quarter cam 46, and minute cam 51 caused by time adjustment could cause damage to the striking mechanism. With reference to FIG18 , the device employed in the present invention includes a locking lever 91, actuable by a pull rod 92 of the time adjustment mechanism, which cooperates with the winding lever 5. When the winding lever 5 is in its depressed position, the locking lever 91 is out of the path of the pin 14 supported by the clutch arm 6 ( FIG18 ). In this state, the sounding mechanism is activated by actuation of the crown (providing a sufficient step). When the winding lever 5 is in its stressed position, in other words, its time adjustment position, the locking lever 91 adopts another angular position in which its end acts as a stop for the pin 14, preventing the clutch arm 6 from pivoting toward its disengaged position (see FIG19 ). Therefore, in this position of the locking lever 91, the actuation of the starter lever 15 by the push-crown has no effect on the clutch rocker arm 6, which therefore remains in its engaged position and therefore does not activate the ringing.

According to another advantageous feature of the invention, as shown in Figures 20 and 21 , the striking mechanism includes a device that allows for simple and simultaneous winding of striking barrel 3 and the movement's barrel, designated 93. This device is configured so that, when winding lever 5 is in its depressed position, rotation of the lever in one direction (e.g., the direction of the watch hands) winds striking barrel 3, while rotation of the lever in another direction (e.g., the direction opposite to the direction of the watch hands) winds movement barrel 93. This device includes an entry wheel 94 that can be driven in one or the other direction by winding lever 5. Thus, entry wheel 94 meshes with crown wheel 95, which itself meshes with winding pinion 96, mounted around winding lever 5 and driven via square-wave-shaped teeth by a sliding pinion 97 (visible in Figure 18 ), rotationally coupled to winding lever 5. Entry wheel 94 has at least one pawl on each of its two faces. A pawl 98 carried by the lower side of the inlet wheel 94 (see Figures 21 and 22) cooperates with the wolf-tooth teeth of a pinion 99 coupled to a first outlet wheel 100. A pawl 101 carried by the upper side of the inlet wheel 94 (see Figures 21 and 23) cooperates with the wolf-tooth teeth of a pinion 102 coupled to a second outlet wheel 103.

The first exit wheel 100 is the wheel that winds the ring barrel 3. It actually meshes with the ratchet 104 of the ring barrel 3 via a return 105. The second exit wheel 103 is the wheel that winds the movement's barrel 93. It actually meshes with the ratchet 106 of the movement's barrel 93 via return 107 and 108. Due to pawls 98 and 101, the first and second exit wheels 100 and 103 rotate in only one direction, with the first exit wheel 100 rotating in the opposite direction to the second exit wheel 103. When the exit wheel 94 is driven in the first direction by the winding rod 5, the exit wheel, via its pawl 98, drives the pinion 99, thereby driving the first exit wheel 100 to wind the ring barrel 3. During this movement, the pawl 101 releases its pawl and thus does not drive the second exit wheel 103, which remains stationary. When the inlet wheel 94 is driven in its other direction by the winding rod 5, it drives the pinion 102 via its pawl 101 and thus drives the second outlet wheel 103 to wind the movement's barrel 93. During this movement, the pawl 98 is released and therefore does not drive the first outlet wheel 100, which remains stationary.

Note that the device for winding barrels 3 , 93 is very compact in the plane of the watch, since the (bidirectional) inlet wheel 94 and the two (unidirectional) outlet wheels 100 , 103 are coaxial.

Figures 24 to 26 illustrate a clutch mechanism according to another embodiment. In Figures 1 and 2 , the clutch mechanism includes a clutch rocker arm 6 and pinions 8 and 9 supported by the rocker arm. The clutch mechanism shown in Figures 24 to 26 includes a rocker arm 110 and a differential gear 111 positioned between the ringing barrel 3 and the ringing axle 11.

The differential gear 111 includes a sun gear 112 (see FIG. 26 ) coaxially coupled to a connecting wheel 113 meshing with the bell barrel 3, a planet carrier 114, and a sun pinion 115. Sun gear 112 forms the inlet of the differential gear 111. This inlet includes internal gear teeth that mesh with at least one (preferably three) planet gears 116 supported by the planet carrier 114. Alternatively, sun gear 112 may be a pinion gear that meshes with one or more planet gears 116 via its peripheral teeth. Each planet gear 116 is coaxial and coupled to a planet gear 117 located on the other side of the planet carrier 114. Each planet gear 117 meshes with a sun pinion 115. The sun pinion, forming the outlet of the differential gear 111, meshes with the pinion 10 of the bell shaft 11, for example, via a return member 118.

Rocker arm 110 pivots about point 119 and is subject to the action of a return spring 110a tending to urge it against a stop 110b. Like the clutch rocker arm 6 with mouth 18 of Figures 1 and 2, rocker arm 110 includes a locking mouth 120 for cooperating with a stop star wheel 19 coupled to wheel 2b of ring gear 2 and thus locking or unlocking ring barrel 3. Also like rocker arm 6 with pin 14, rocker arm 110 has a pin 121 for cooperating with the ring starter lever 15 shown in Figures 3 or 4, or, as a variant, with the ring starter member 122 described above.

Rocker arm 110 also has a locking pawl 123, which engages or disengages the peripheral teeth of planet carrier 114, depending on the position of rocker arm 110. More specifically, in the first, or engaged, position of rocker arm 110, while locking pawl 123, engaged in the teeth of planet carrier 114, locks the planet carrier, the locking bead 120 releases the ring barrel 3. Ring barrel 3 can thus rotate and, via connecting wheel 113, drives inlet wheel 112. The inlet wheel, through its internal teeth and planetary gears 116-117, rotates sun pinion 115, thereby rotating ring axle 11. In the second, or disengaged, position of rocker arm 110, while locking pawl 123 releases the planet carrier 114, the locking bead 120 locks ring barrel 3. Since ring barrel 3 is locked, inlet wheel 112 is also locked. Planet carrier 114 is free to rotate, and planetary gears 116-117 can drive it in rotation on the inner teeth of inlet wheel 112. Ring arbour 11 is thus decoupled from ring barrel 3 and can be rotated by causing return element 118, sun pinion 115 and planet carrier 114 to rotate under the action of return springs 52, 53, 54 of hour tooth rake 34, quarter tooth rake 35 and minute tooth rake 36.

The second configuration, in other words, the configuration in which locking pawl 123 does not lock planetary carrier 114 and locking mouth 120 locks ring barrel 3, corresponds to the information acquisition phase initiated by actuation of ring starter lever 15 or ring starter member 122, which releases rocker arm 110 and its return spring 110a. The first configuration, in other words, the configuration in which locking pawl 123 locks planetary carrier 114 and locking mouth 120 does not lock ring barrel 3, corresponds to the subsequent information acquisition phase.

In the example shown, the locking pawl 123 is in the form of a component additionally fixed to the rocker arm 110. However, as a variant, the locking pawl can be integral with the rocker arm 110, such as preferably with the locking mouth 120.

In this variant, a bell starter component 122 replaces the bell starter lever 15 shown in Figures 3 and 4 , resulting in lever 15 being split into two parts. More specifically, bell starter component 122 includes two levers 124 and 125 that pivot about points 126 and 127, respectively. Return springs 128 and 129 act on the levers, respectively, tending to urge levers 124 and 125 toward stops 130 and 131. Lever 125, also known as the "control lever," is controlled by tube 15a (see Figures 3 and 5 ) in the same manner as the bell starter lever 15. Lever 124, also known as the "starter lever," performs the function of the end portion of the bell starter lever 15, specifically, cooperating with pin 121 to retain the rocker arm 110 in its engaged position. Control lever 125 includes a retractable mouth 132 that, when actuated, comes into contact with mouth 133 of starter lever 124, causing starter lever 124 to pivot against the action of its return spring 128 and thereby release rocker arm 110. During the second phase of control lever 125's movement, mouth 132 loses contact with mouth 133, and starter lever 124 immediately returns to its initial position under the action of its return spring 128. In this way, even though control lever 125 remains actuated (the user continues to press the crown or push-button), rocker arm 110 remains securely in its engaged position during the ringing phase following the acquisition of the message. The retractable nature of mouth 132 allows control lever 125 to return to its initial position despite the presence of mouth 133 in its path. This type of ringing starter component 122 can, of course, be used in conjunction with the clutch devices 6, 8, and 9 shown in Figures 1 and 2.

Figures 27 and 28 illustrate a clutch device according to yet another embodiment. The clutch device shown in Figures 27 and 28 is a vertical clutch device. It comprises a rocker arm 135, a vertical clutch mobile 136 located between the ringing barrel 3 and the ringing shaft 11, and a control member 137 that acts on the vertical clutch mobile 136 and is itself controlled by the rocker arm 135.

The rocker arm 135 has a pin 138 and a locking mouth 139, which respectively have the same functions as the pin 121 and the locking mouth 120 shown in Figure 24. The rocker arm 135 also has a limit pawl 140 and a control pawl 141. Like the rocker arm 110, the rocker arm 135 is subjected to the action of a return spring 142 tending to urge it toward a stopper (not shown).

Vertical clutch mobile 136 comprises a coaxially arranged first wheel 143 meshing with ring barrel 3, a second wheel 144 meshing with pinion 10 of ring shaft 11, a third wheel 145 having Breguet teeth 145a fixed to second wheel 144, and a fourth wheel 146 coupled in rotation relative to first wheel 143 but free in axial translation, having Breguet teeth 146a. A spring 147 tends to urge Breguet teeth 146a of fourth wheel 146 towards Breguet teeth 145a of third wheel 145, thereby coupling first wheel 143 in rotation with second wheel 144 and thus connecting ring barrel 3 to ring shaft 11.

Control member 137 comprises a spring 148 and a fork 149 fixed to the free end of spring 148, two teeth 150 of which (only one of these teeth is visible in the drawing) can come into symmetrical contact with an edge 151 of fourth wheel 146, so as to cause an axial movement of fourth wheel 146, counteracting the action of spring 147, when spring 148 flexes. The flexion of spring 148 and therefore the axial movement of fourth wheel 146 are controlled by control pawl 141 of rocker arm 135 acting on an inclined plane 152 of fork 149. In a variant, control member 137 could be a separate component.

Rocker arm 135 can adopt a first position and a second position (not shown), corresponding to the positions shown in Figures 27 and 28. In the first position of rocker arm 135, control pawl 141 positions fork 149 in its rest position, free from contact with fourth wheel & pinion 146, and locking jaws 139 unlock the striking barrel 3. This first position corresponds to an engaged clutch, allowing the sounding phase of acquiring information to proceed. In the second position of rocker arm 135, control pawl 141 cooperates with inclined plane 152 to bend spring 148, thereby disengaging fourth wheel & pinion 146 from Breguet tooth 145a of third wheel & pinion 145 via fork 149. Second wheel & pinion 144 is thus rotationally free relative to first wheel & pinion 143, which is locked by the action of locking jaws 139 on star wheel 19. This second position of rocker arm 135 corresponds to a disengaged clutch, allowing the sounding phase of acquiring information to proceed.

The unidirectional nature of the Breguet teeth 145a, 146a is not used in the present invention. The wolf-tooth shape of these teeth 145a, 146a facilitates clutching by avoiding the risk of locking that could result from contact of the tips of the teeth of wheels 145 and 146. As a variant, the Breguet teeth 145a, 146a could be replaced by classic (bidirectional) vertical teeth.

As shown in FIG28 , when rocker arm 135 is in its first position, its stop pawl 140 is positioned below fourth wheel & pinion 146. In the event of a shock to the watch, this stop pawl 140 prevents fourth wheel & pinion 146 from losing contact with third wheel & pinion 145, despite the action exerted by spring 147. Thus, in this embodiment of the invention, rocker arm 135 performs three functions: locking/unlocking ringing barrel 3, controlling engagement/disengagement, and preventing disengagement in the event of a shock.

Claims (15)

1. A ringing mechanism for a watch component, comprising: -At least one bell (29,30), - A drive mechanism (11, 20-28, 31-62) for driving the bell. - Ringing spring box (3), - A clutch mechanism with rocker arms (6; 110; 135) for connecting the drive unit (11, 20-28, 31-62) to the ringing spring box (3), the rocker arms (6; 110; 135) of the clutch mechanism being pivotable between a first position where the drive unit (11, 20-28, 31-62) is connected to the ringing spring box (3) and a second position where the drive unit (11, 20-28, 31-62) is separated from the ringing spring box (3), and - A locking device (18, 60; 120; 139) for locking the ringing spring box (3), characterized in that the locking device includes a locking component (18; 120; 139) which is connected to the rocker arm (6; 110; 135) and configured such that the ringing spring box (3) is locked when the rocker arm (6; 110; 135) is in the second position and when the rocker arm (6; 110; 135) is in the second position. 110; 135) The bell spring box (3) is not locked when in the first position. 2. The ringing mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the locking component (18; 120; 139) and the rocker arm (6; 110; 135) are made as separate components. 3. The bell-ringing mechanism according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the locking component (18; 120; 139) is a mouthpiece. 4. The ringing mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the locking member (18; 120; 139) is configured to cooperate with the toothed member (19) which is driven to the ringing spring box (3). 5. The ringing mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that the clutch device includes a clutch pinion or wheel (9) mounted on the rocker arm (6), the clutch pinion or wheel (9) connecting the drive device (11, 20-28, 31-62) to the ringing spring box (3) when the rocker arm (6) is in the first position, and not connecting the drive device (11, 20-28, 31-62) to the ringing spring box (3) when the rocker arm (6) is in the second position. 6. The ringing mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that the clutch device includes a differential gear (111) disposed between the ringing spring box (3) and the drive device (11, 20-28, 31-62), and can cause a second locking member (123) supported by the rocker arm (110) to act on the differential gear. 7. The ringing mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that the clutch device includes a vertical clutch moving member (136) disposed between the ringing spring box (3) and the drive device (11, 20-28, 31-62) and includes an element (146) movable along the vertical clutch moving member (136) to cause the clutch device to change from an engaged state to a disengaged state and vice versa, the movement of the element (146) being controllable by a rocker arm (135). 8. The ringing mechanism according to claim 7, characterized in that the rocker arm (135) has a limiting member (140) configured to prevent the element (146) from moving in the opposite direction to the action of the return spring (147) in the event of a collision, wherein the element (146) is subjected to the action of the return spring when the rocker arm (135) is in its first position. 9. The bell-ringing mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that the locking device (18, 60; 120; 139) includes an additional locking component (60) in the shape of a stop, which abuts against the timing rake (34) of the drive device toward the stop under the action of the bell-ringing spring box (3) at the end of the bell-ringing. 10. The bell-ringing mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the bell-ringing spring box (3) is connected to the regulator (4) via the bell-ringing gear (2). 11. The ringing mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that the rocker arm (6; 110; 135) carries the protruding element (14; 121; 138), and when the ringing mechanism is in a resting state, the protruding element is held against the starting rod (15; 124) by the return spring (13; 110a; 142) of the rocker arm (6; 110; 135), the starting rod (15; 124) being pivotable by a manually driven member to separate the protruding element (14; 121; 138) from the rocker arm (6; 110; 135), and to cause the rocker arm (6; 110; 135) to change from its first position to its second position under the action of its return spring (13; 110a; 142) and thus actuate the ringing. 12. The ringing mechanism according to claim 11, characterized in that it further comprises a first locking rod (84) configured to act as a stop for the protruding element (14; 121; 138) when the energy accumulated in the ringing spring box (3) is less than a preset value, and to prevent the protruding element (14; 121; 138) from being released. 13. The bell-ringing mechanism according to claim 12, wherein the first locking rod (84) is configured to be controlled by a bell-ringing step reserved display wheel (87). 14. The ringing mechanism according to any one of claims 11 to 13, characterized in that it further comprises a second locking lever (91) configured to act as a stop for the protruding element (14; 121; 138) when the upper winding lever (5) of the clockwork component is in the set time position, and to prevent the protruding element (14; 121; 138) from being released. 15. A watch component comprising a ringing mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 14 and a movement, characterized in that the movement comprises its own mainspring barrel (93), and is provided with means for allowing the ringing mainspring barrel (3) to be wound in one direction by rotation of the upper winding rod (5) and for allowing the mainspring barrel (93) of the movement to be wound in another direction by rotation of the upper winding rod (5), the means comprising an inlet wheel (94) configured to be driven by the upper winding rod (5) in one or the other direction, at least one first pawl (98) supported by one of the two faces of the inlet wheel (94), and a pawl driven by the upper winding rod (5). At least one second pawl (101) supported by the other of the two sides of the inlet wheel (94), a first pinion (99) coaxial with the inlet wheel (94) and including one-way teeth cooperating with the first pawl (98), a second pinion (102) coaxial with the inlet wheel (94) and including one-way teeth cooperating with the second pawl (101), a first outlet wheel (100) connected to the first pinion (99) and drivenly connected to the ratchet (104) of the bell-ringing barrel (3), and a second outlet wheel (103) connected to the second pinion (102) and drivenly connected to the ratchet (106) of the mainspring barrel (93) of the movement.