Mechanical movement watch with a force control mechanism

12045,012

17/476958

September 16, 2021

A watch has a mechanical movement with a force control mechanism arranged in a going train of the mechanical movement between an energy source and an escape wheel set connected to an oscillating oscillator to drive the escape wheel set always in the same direction of rotation. The escape wheel set meshes with a seconds wheel. A rotating locking element is arranged to cooperate with a stop member connected to this seconds wheel in order to lock this going train in a stop mode or to release this going train in a jump mode depending on the angular position of this seconds wheel. A flexure bearing with elastic strips is attached on the one hand to the seconds wheel and on the other hand to the movement support. The pre-wound flexure bearing is arranged to drive in rotation the seconds wheel and the escapement mechanism connected to the oscillator at each half-oscillation of the oscillator in the stop mode.

Montres Breguet S.A. (L'Abbaye, CH)

Montres Breguet S.A. (L'Abbaye, CH)

1. A mechanical movement watch with a force control mechanism, and of a jumping seconds type, the force control mechanism being arranged in a going train of the mechanical movement, which is arranged between an energy source and an escape wheel set comprised in an escapement mechanism connected to an oscillator intended to be set in oscillation in normal operation by a drive generated by said energy source to rotate said escape wheel set always in a single direction of rotation at each half-oscillation of the oscillator, said escape wheel set meshing with a seconds wheel, wherein said force control mechanism comprises a rotating locking element arranged to cooperate with a stop member in conjunction with said seconds wheel to lock said going train in a stop mode or release said going train in a jump mode, depending on the angular position of said seconds wheel, and a flexure bearing with elastic strips attached to the seconds wheel, and to a support of the watch movement, said flexure bearing with elastic strips being in a pre-wound state in the stop mode and arranged to drive in rotation the seconds wheel and the escapement mechanism connected to the oscillator at each half-oscillation of the oscillator in the stop mode, and the going train allowing the rotating locking element and a seconds-wheel pinion coaxial to said seconds wheel to rotate in order to make a one-second jump in the jump mode, and also allowing the flexure bearing with elastic strips to be rewound while allowing the rotating locking element and the going train to be locked for the stop mode following the jump mode.

2. The mechanical movement watch according to claim 1 , wherein the flexure bearing with elastic strips, once pre-wound, is arranged to gradually move the stop member in the stop mode to a position of release of the rotating locking element at the switch to the jump mode, and to drive in rotation the seconds wheel and to allow the escapement mechanism connected to the oscillator to be driven in the stop mode.

3. The mechanical movement watch according to claim 2 , wherein the stop member is a rack rotatably mounted about an arbor at a first end and comprising a locking part at a second end, a tooth-shaped edge portion arranged in a guide housing of a cam fixedly secured to the seconds wheel close to the centre thereof in order to be driven in rotation, and wherein a stop piece at the second end of the locking part, is arranged on a side opposite the edge portion and arranged to lock the rotating locking element in a stop mode.

4. The mechanical movement watch according to claim 1 , wherein the rotating locking element is a flirt, which is made by a LIGA or DRIE method.

5. The mechanical movement watch according to claim 1 , wherein the watch is a tourbillon watch, wherein an arbor of a tourbillon carriage containing the escapement mechanism connected to the oscillator is the seconds-wheel pinion, wherein in the stop mode with the going train locked, the seconds wheel is arranged to drive the escape wheel set in small steps in a first direction of rotation, at each half-oscillation of the oscillator by the action of the flexure bearing with elastic strips which is pre-wound and attached to the seconds wheel, and wherein, in the jump mode, when the going train is released, the seconds-wheel pinion is driven by a wheel of the going train to make an angular jump of one second corresponding to the number of small steps made to drive the seconds wheel in the stop mode, in a second direction of rotation opposite to the first direction of rotation, the tourbillon carriage, the escapement mechanism with the oscillator and the seconds wheel connected to the escapement mechanism being moved in rotation by an angle of 6° corresponding to one second in the jump mode, and the flexure bearing is rewound to start a successive stop mode with the going train locked.

6. The mechanical movement watch according to claim 5 , wherein the first direction of rotation is a rotation in the anticlockwise direction, while the second direction of rotation is a rotation in the clockwise direction.

7. The mechanical movement watch according to claim 3 , wherein the locking element is a flirt, which comprises a first locking shaft portion and a second locking shaft portion with respect to the centre thereof which comprises an axial locking pinion so as to make one half-revolution in the jump mode before being locked by the pallet stone of the rack in the stop mode.

8. The mechanical movement watch according to claim 1 , wherein the seconds wheel comprises a peripheral toothing meshing with a toothed escape pinion coaxial to said escape wheel set, a medium wheel of the going train having a peripheral toothing meshing with the seconds-wheel pinion coaxial to said seconds wheel, an intermediate wheel also comprised in said going train comprising an axial toothed intermediate pinion meshing with a peripheral toothing of the medium wheel, said intermediate wheel comprising a peripheral toothing for meshing with said axial locking pinion integral with said rotating locking element.

9. The mechanical movement watch according to claim 1 , wherein the escapement mechanism is a Swiss lever escapement mechanism of the mechanical movement, and wherein said oscillator is a balance/balance spring intended to be set in oscillation by a drive generated by a mainspring forming said energy source in normal operating mode.

10. The mechanical movement watch according to claim 3 , wherein the pallet stone of the rack is made of a hard material to reduce friction.

11. The mechanical movement watch according to claim 1 , wherein the flexure bearing comprises at least one fixed portion, at least one movable portion, and elastic strips connecting the fixed portion to the movable portion.

12. The mechanical movement watch according to claim 11 , wherein the fixed portion is arranged to be secured to a movement support, and wherein the movable portion is arranged to be secured to the seconds wheel.

13. The mechanical movement watch according to claim 12 , wherein the fixed portion comprises at least one opening for the passage of a means of attachment to the movement support, and wherein the movable portion comprises at least one opening for attaching the seconds wheel.

14. The mechanical movement watch according to claim 13 , wherein the fixed portion and the movable portion of the flexure bearing are both connected by several elastic strips, in that each of the elastic strips connects a peripheral end of each fixed portion and each movable portion, in that two through openings are provided in the fixed portion for attachment to a movement support, and wherein two through openings are provided in the movable portion for attachment to the seconds wheel.

15. The mechanical movement watch according to claim 13 , wherein one fixed portion is provided, whereas two movable portions are each arranged in a respective V-shaped housing of the fixed portion and symmetrically opposite one another, in that the two movable portions are also connected by several elastic strips in conjunction with an intermediate portion close to the axial opening of the flexure bearing, in that two through openings are made in the fixed portion and wherein one through opening is made per movable portion.

16. The mechanical movement watch according to claim 11 , wherein the flexure bearing comprises a fixed portion arranged in a wide V-shaped housing of the movable portion, which comprises an axial opening, in that two through openings are provided in the fixed portion and arranged on the same line with the axial opening, in that two through openings are provided in the movable portion and arranged practically on the same line with the axial opening, in that four successive elastic strips connect a first inner side of the movable portion to a first inner side of the fixed portion, wherein two first elastic strips from the first movable portion are connected by a first central intermediate portion, whereas two second elastic strips from the fixed portion are connected by a second central intermediate portion, the two intermediate strips being connected by a first peripheral intermediate portion, in that four successive elastic strips connect a second inner side of the movable portion to a second inner side of the fixed portion, wherein two first elastic strips from the movable portion are connected by the same first central intermediate portion, whereas two second elastic strips from the fixed portion are connected by the same second central intermediate portion, the two intermediate portions being connected by a second peripheral intermediate portion.

17. The mechanical movement watch according to claim 11 , wherein the fixed portion is arranged inside a housing with a wide V-shaped opening in the movable portion, which comprises an axial opening, which is coaxial to the axis of seconds-wheel pinion, in that two through openings are provided in the fixed portion and arranged on the same line with the axial opening, in that two through openings are provided in the movable portion and arranged practically on the same line with the axial opening, in that five successive elastic strips connect a first inner side of the movable portion to a first inner side of the fixed portion, in that a first elastic strip from the movable portion is connected to a first central intermediate portion, in that a second elastic strip from the first central intermediate portion is connected to a first peripheral intermediate portion, in that a third elastic strip from the first peripheral intermediate portion is connected to a second central intermediate portion, in that a seconds elastic strip from the second central intermediate portion is connected to a second peripheral intermediate portion, in that a fifth elastic strip from the second peripheral intermediate portion is connected to a second inner side of fixed portion, in that five successive elastic strips connect a second inner side of the movable portion to a second inner side of the fixed portion, in that a first elastic strip from the movable portion is connected to the same first central intermediate portion, in that a second elastic strip from the same first central intermediate portion is connected to the same first peripheral intermediate portion, in that a third elastic strip from the first peripheral intermediate portion is connected to the same second central intermediate portion, in that a seconds elastic strip from the second central intermediate portion is connected to the same second peripheral intermediate portion, and wherein the fifth elastic strip from the same second peripheral intermediate portion is connected to a first inner side of fixed portion.

18. The mechanical movement watch according to claim 1 , wherein the watch comprises a conventional mechanical movement without a tourbillon, wherein the seconds wheel pivots on the seconds-wheel pinion, which is connected by one or two rotating planet wheels to a first crown forming a differential gear not secured to the seconds wheel, wherein the flexure bearing with crossed elastic strips is connected to another stop member, which is connected to a second crown mounted on the seconds wheel and coaxial to the axis of rotation, wherein the flexure bearing comprises a fixed base portion attached by an attachment means to a watch movement support, and a movable portion which can be the second crown itself, connected to the stop member, in that the crossed elastic strips are attached at one end thereof to the second crown.

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Combined Chinese Office Action and Search Report issued Aug. 24, 2023, in corresponding Chinese Patent Application No. 202111174508.X (with English Translation of Category of Cited Documents), 8 pages. cited by applicant
European Search Report issued Apr. 30, 2021 in European Application 20208925.6, filed on Nov. 20, 2020 (with English Translation of Categories of cited documents), 3 pages. cited by applicant

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