JP7612362B2 - clock - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a timepiece having a frame supporting a governor, usually a (cylindrical) wheel, which controls the operation of the timepiece. The timepiece further comprises a lever for controlling the governor. The timepiece further comprises a casing with a (push) button, which is activated when the button is pressed.

A governor is any part of a watch that manages certain operations of the watch, such as starting/stopping/resetting the stopwatch (chronograph watch), correcting the time for a particular time zone relative to standard time, adjusting the date, and synchronizing the watch based on a particular GPS location.

An example of such a watch is the chronograph watch, which has been known for decades. A very detailed description of its construction is given in the non-patent document 1.

In a traditional chronograph watch, the column wheel is a multi-layered wheel that determines the position and movement of all other parts in the chronograph. It is activated by pressing a button, which pulls a ratchet latch downwards, thereby rotating the column wheel. As it rotates, the teeth of the column wheel come into contact with the first lever, which moves outward (this first lever is the horizontal clutch, engaging the seconds wheel with the chronograph gear). At the same time, the rotation of the column wheel causes a second lever to move inward (this second lever is the brake lever, which is released to allow the chronograph hands to begin moving).

Finally, a spring with a hook is used to prevent the column wheel from moving back and forth. Essentially, this structure provides a stable position for the column wheel.

To stop the chronograph, the button must be pressed again, which moves the latch down and rotates the column wheel further, disengaging the horizontal clutch and acting on the brake lever.

Conventional chronograph watches have several drawbacks. In particular, the mechanism consists of many parts (>20) and requires assembly. Furthermore, the column wheel is a multi-layered component and is difficult to manufacture. Finally, the assembled system with the column wheel, frame and lever is non-planar, which makes the thickness of the chronograph watch relatively large.

Other operations possible on a watch and which are started or stopped by a push button acting on a lever pose similar problems: functions such as starting/stopping/resetting a stopwatch (chronograph watch), correcting the time of a specific time zone with respect to standard time, adjusting the date, synchronizing the watch based on a specific GPS location, etc.

The patent document 1 discloses a timepiece comprising a casing and a frame within the casing that supports a governor, such as a wheel, that governs the operation of the timepiece. The timepiece further includes a lever for controlling the governor. The casing is provided with a button for actuating the lever, the lever being connected to the frame by at least one intermediate flexure that is configured to have a preferred position to which the lever automatically returns after being deflected.

European Patent No. 0498212

https://www.watchprosite.com/a.-lange-and-s%C3%B6hne/how-column-wheel-chronographs-work-notably-the-lange-l951-movements-/10.1026673.7293393/

According to the invention, a watch is proposed having the features according to one or more of the appended claims.

A first aspect of the timepiece of the invention is characterized in that the lever, the at least one flexible body and the frame form a single part. This is advantageous from the point of view of the manufacture and assembly of the timepiece.

Preferably, the lever is connected to the frame by at least two intermediate flexures, which provides a more robust structure to withstand shocks and vibrations, and which can create a virtual bearing around which the lever can rotate.

Preferably, the two intermediate flexures are provided in-plane.

In another aspect of the invention, the governor is connected to the frame and is provided with at least two stable positions with respect to the frame, and the governor is movable between said at least two stable positions by operation of a lever. Such a governor can perform the function of a conventional column wheel in a chronograph watch, greatly simplifying its construction. The governor may be used, for example, to move a gear from an inoperative position to an operative position in the watch.

In general, it is advantageous for the governor to be connected to the frame by at least two flexible bodies, the at least two flexible bodies being arranged in a first position and a second position, the first position and the second position corresponding to at least two stable positions for the governor.

In one suitable embodiment of the watch of the present invention, when in the first position, at least two flexible bodies are relaxed, and when in the second position, at least two flexible bodies are bent.

In another suitable embodiment of the timepiece of the present invention, the at least two flexible bodies bend in a first direction when in a first position, and the at least two flexible bodies bend in a second direction opposite to the first direction when in a second position.

In another aspect of the invention, the governor, the frame and/or the lever form a single part, or these elements together form a single part. This makes the assembly of the watch less cumbersome or less expensive. It also improves the reliability and accuracy of the watch.

In a further aspect of the invention, the governor, frame and lever are arranged in-plane. This makes it possible to assemble and provide an ultra-thin watch.

A further preferred feature is that the governor comprises a slot adapted to cooperate with a resilient support beam connected to the frame, thereby ensuring a respective stable position for the governor.

Another noteworthy feature is that the lever is connected to a beam that is longitudinally displaceable by operation of the lever, and that, upon operation of the lever, couples to a contact surface of the governor to move the governor, thereby enabling the beam to move the governor from a first stable position to a second stable position or vice versa.

In a further preferred aspect,
- The regulator is the column wheel of a chronograph watch.
- The governor acts as a horizontal clutch when in use.
- The governor acts as a brake lever when in use.
- The governor acts as a horizontal clutch and brake lever when in use.

FIG. 1 shows a chronograph according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a top view of an embodiment of a chronograph timepiece of the present invention with a wheel, a frame and a lever. FIG. 13 is a top view of another embodiment of the chronograph timepiece of the present invention, which includes a wheel, a frame, and a lever. FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the suspension of, in particular, the wheels within the frame. FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment of the suspension of the wheels in the frame. FIG. 1 shows a system in which the wheel combines the functions of a column wheel, horizontal clutch and brake.

The present invention will now be further described with reference to drawings of exemplary embodiments of a chronograph watch according to the present invention, which are not intended to limit the scope of the appended claims. However, it should be noted that the specific examples of chronograph watches described below are not intended to limit the generality of the claims to these examples only. The claims apply to watches that have at least one or more of the functions of the appended claims and address various functions, such as starting/stopping/resetting a stopwatch (chronograph watch), correcting the time of a specific time zone in a normal watch with respect to standard time, adjusting the date in a normal watch, and synchronizing a normal watch based on a specific GPS location.

Whenever the same reference numbers are used in the figures, they refer to the same items.

With reference to Fig. 1 and Figs. 2.1 and 2.2, the basic operation of the chronograph watch shown in Fig. 1 will be described insofar as it is relevant to the present invention. All the remaining parts necessary for the operation of a chronograph watch are not shown because they correspond, or could correspond completely, to the structure of prior art (chronograph) watches, and therefore are not required for understanding the present invention.

Figure 1 shows that the watch has a casing with a push button A for actuating a lever 10 shown in Figures 2.1 and 2.2.

The casing has the wheel 3, the frame 2 and the lever 10, which are completed as a single part 1, as shown in Figures 2.1 and 2.2. It is also possible to configure only the wheel 3, only the frame 2 or only the lever 10 as a single part. It is also possible to combine these elements into one part.

When the button A in the upper right of Fig. 1 is pressed, the lever 10 (see Figs. 2.1 and 2.2) is pushed down and left, and the lever 10 rotates counterclockwise around its central axis because the single flexible body 12 in Fig. 2.1 and the flexible bodies 12, 13 in Fig. 2.2 connect the lever 10 to the frame 2. This movement causes the lever 10 to push the beam 11 longitudinally toward the contact surface of the wheel 3. When the beam 11 engages with the wheel 3, the wheel 3 rotates counterclockwise and snaps from the first stable position (shown in Figs. 2.1 and 2.2) to the second stable position. This can be imagined by a person skilled in the art from the structure shown in the figure.

The stiffness of the flexures 12, 13 causes the lever 10 to return to its original position, as long as the top right button A is not pressed. Pressing the top right button A again achieves the same sequence, only this time the beam 11, by virtue of its engagement with the wheel 3, rotates the wheel 3 clockwise, snapping it from the second stable position back to the first stable position, which is the position shown in Figures 2.1 and 2.2.

Figure 3 shows an embodiment in which the wheel 3 is connected to the frame 2 by at least two flexures 4, 5. The at least two flexures 4, 5 are arranged to assume a first position and a second position corresponding to at least two stable positions of the wheel 3. In the first position, the at least two flexures 4, 5 are relaxed (see the left part of the figure). In the second position, the at least two flexures 4, 5 are bent (see the right part of the figure).

Figure 4 shows another embodiment in which the wheel 3 is connected to the frame 2 by, in this case, four flexures 14-17. The four flexures 14-17 are arranged to assume a first position and a second position corresponding to at least two stable positions of the wheel 3. In the first position, the four flexures are bent in a first direction (see the left part of the figure), and in the second position, the four flexures 14-17 are bent in a second direction opposite to the first direction (see the right part of the figure).

Figure 5 shows another embodiment, where the wheel 3 not only sets the position of the horizontal clutch 25 and the brake lever 24, but these two levers are integrated into the wheel 3. The wheel 3 in this embodiment also has at least two stable positions to allow the gears of the running gear trains 21, 23 to mesh with the other gear train 22 of the chronograph, and to allow the brake lever 24 for the chronograph side 22 to be released.

Returning to Figures 2.1 and 2.2, the wheel 3 is provided with slots 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b which are arranged to cooperate with protrusions provided on the elastic support beams 6, 7 connected to the frame 2. Figure 2 shows that said protrusions on the support beams 6, 7 fit into the slots 8a and 9a to secure the wheel 3 in a first stable position. When the wheel 3 moves to a second stable position, the protrusions on the support beams 6, 7 fit into the slots 8b and 9b to secure it in the second stable position.

Although the present invention has been described above with reference to exemplary embodiments of the chronograph watch of the present invention, the present invention is not limited to these specific embodiments and can be modified in many ways without departing from the present invention. Therefore, the exemplary embodiments described above should not be used to strictly interpret the scope of the appended claims on this basis. On the contrary, the above-described embodiments are intended only to explain the wording of the appended claims, without intending to limit the scope of the claims to these exemplary embodiments. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention should be interpreted only according to the appended claims, and any ambiguities that may arise in the wording of the claims shall be resolved using these exemplary embodiments.

Claims (12)

A watch comprising a casing and a frame (2) supporting a governor (3) such as a wheel that controls the operation of the watch inside the casing, the watch having a lever (10) for controlling the governor (3), the casing being provided with a button (A) for operating the lever (10), the lever (10) being connected to the frame (2) by at least one intermediate flexible body (12, 13), the at least one intermediate flexible body (12, 13) having a selected position, the lever (10) being configured to automatically return to its original position after being deflected from the selected position, the watch being characterized in that the lever (10), the at least one flexible body (12, 13) and the frame (2) form a single part. 2. Timepiece according to claim 1, characterized in that the lever (10) is connected to the frame (2) by at least two intermediate flexures (12, 13). A watch according to claim 2, characterized in that two intermediate flexible bodies (12, 13) are provided in a plane. A timepiece according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the governor (3) is connected to the frame (2), the governor (3) has at least two stable positions with respect to the frame (2), and the governor (3) can be moved between said at least two stable positions by operating a lever (10). 5. A watch according to claim 1, characterized in that at least one of the governor (3), the frame (2) and the lever (10) form a single part (1) or that the permutations of these elements together form a single part. A watch according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the governor (3), the frame (2) and the lever (10) are arranged in a plane. A watch according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the governor (3) has slots (8a, 8b, 9a, 9b) adapted to cooperate with elastic support beams (6, 7) connected to the frame (2). A timepiece according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the lever (10) is connected to a beam (11) that is longitudinally displaceable by the operation of the lever (10) so as to drive the beam (11), and the beam (11) is connected to a contact surface of the governor (3) to move the wheel when the lever (10) is operated. The watch according to claim 8, characterized in that, by operating the lever (10), the beam (11) moves the governor (3) from a first stable position to a second stable position, or vice versa. A timepiece according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the governor (3) is a column wheel. A timepiece according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the governor (3) operates as a horizontal clutch (25) when in use. A timepiece according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the governor (3) acts as a brake lever (24) when in use.

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