EP2038708B2 - Musical module of a movement of a watch - Google Patents

Abstract

A musical module for a watch movement, said module comprising a barrel (11), at least one part (5) having pins (12), a comb (13) with a number of tines, a regulating system (7, 8, 9, 10), and a control device (16, 17, 21). The part (5) or each part (5) is a toothed disc driven by the barrel (11) via at least one pinion (6). The or each toothed disc (5) with said pins (12) on at least one face is able to be positioned over or underneath the comb (13) so that the pins (12) act on the tines of the comb (13) to play a tune. The control device (16, 17, 21) is designed to trigger a rotation of the toothed disc or discs (5) in order to start the tune. The regulating system (7, 8, 9, 10) maintains a constant rotation of the toothed disc or discs (5).

Description

The present invention relates to the field of watchmaking, more particularly to a musical module of a watch movement including a wristwatch, and a watch comprising the musical module.

It is already known from the state of the art of watches comprising a musical module adapted to a watch movement. CA 966705 describes a musical module comprising the basic elements of the music box, namely a cylinder, a cylinder, a keyboard and a cruise control. These elements have been adapted so as to be as compact as possible in order to be integrated in a watch case.

The main disadvantage of this module lies in the fact that it can play only one melody. The size and the geometry of the cylinder does not allow, on this scale at least, the positioning of several cylinders.

We also know of the document CH 8,631 a watch comprising a musical module according to the preamble of claim 1 of the patent.

We still know the document US 287104 a watch comprising a musical module comprising a drum cooperating with a keyboard in which the drum is associated with control means of the on-off type.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a musical module comprising at least one toothed musical disc provided with pins, said disc replacing the cylinder thereby saving space, the musical module may optionally include several discs, the latter may be alternately positioned on the keyboard in order to play several melodies.

According to the invention, this object is achieved by means of a musical module of a watch movement according to claim 1 of the patent.

• la figure 1 représente une vue de dessus du module musical comportant un carrousel pourvu de quatre bras à l'extrémité desquelles un disque musical doté de goupilles est agencé,
• la figure 2 représente une vue intermédiaire de dessous du module musical,
• la figure 3 représente une vue de dessous du module musical.

The characteristics of the invention will appear more clearly on reading a description of an embodiment given solely by way of example, in no way limiting with reference to the schematic figures, in which:

• the figure 1 represents a top view of the musical module comprising a carousel provided with four arms at the end of which a musical disk with pins is arranged,
• the figure 2 represents an intermediate view from below of the musical module,
• the figure 3 represents a view from below of the musical module.

According to the main embodiment of the present invention, the musical module comprises a carousel (1) provided with four arms (2) disposed around a central axis (3). Towards its end, each arm (2) has an axis (4) around which is arranged one of the four toothed musical discs (5). A central gear (6) is freely arranged around the central axis (3) of the carousel (1) in order to be able to simultaneously drive the four musical discs (5) and on the other hand a first wheel (7). a gear train (7, 8, 9) collaborating with a flywheel (10). The gear train (7, 8, 9) and the flywheel (10) constitute the regulating organ of the musical module ( Figure 2 ). The central gear (6) can be driven by the barrel (11).

Each of the musical discs (5) has on its underside pins (12) for lifting the blades of a keyboard (13) when the four discs (5) are positioned in turn thereon. The positioning of the pins (12) varies from one disc (5) to another in order to assign to each of the musical discs (5) a distinct melody.

The musical module comprises a control device intended to trigger on the one hand the rotation of the disks (5) and on the other hand the rotation of the carousel (1) by 90 °. To do this, a rotatable member (14) comprising a finger (14a), is integrally arranged with the first wheel (7) of the gear train (7, 8, 9), the finger (14a) being arranged to drive a cross Malta (15) secured to the central axis (3) of the carousel (1). The primary circumference of the music discs (5) is identical to that of the first wheel (7) so that the rotation of the carousel (1) is engaged by the finger (14a) only when the disc (5) is positioned on the keyboard (13). ) performed a complete rotation and that the melody is over.

The rotary member (14) has an annular groove (18) whose inner side has a projection (19). This ensures the locking of the carousel (2) by means of a first locking pin (16a) integral with a locking lever (16). It is capable of actuating a lever (22) ( Figure 1 ) which keeps the carousel (1) in a stable position when the playback of a musical disc (5) is performed. The outer side of the groove (18) has a notch (20) inside which is positioned a second locking pin (17a) integral with a stop lever (17) for stopping the flywheel. inertia (10) so as to keep the music module stopped.

These two levers (16, 17) can be actuated by a rocker (21) to respectively release the carousel (1) and the flywheel (10) as described below.

The action of the rocker (21) disengages on the one hand the first locking pin (16a) of the locking lever (16) of the projection (19), said lever (16) actuating the lever (22). to unlock the carousel (1), and on the one hand the second pin (17a) of the notch (20) to release the flywheel (10) thus unlocking the gear train (7, 8, 9) and the central pinion (6) which is immediately driven by the barrel (11).

• la bascule (21) actionne le levier de verrouillage (16) par l'intermédiaire d'une goupille (21 a) afin de désengager la première goupille d'arrêt (16a) de la saillie (19),
• le levier (22) est actionné par le levier de verrouillage (16) déverrouillant ainsi le carrousel (1),
• la bascule (21) actionne le levier d'arrêt (17) afin de désengager la deuxième goupille d'arrêt (17a) de l'encoche (20) libérant ainsi le volant (10),
• le train de rouage (7, 8, 9) est aussitôt libéré et entraîné par le pignon central (6), celui-ci étant entraîné par le barillet (11), ledit pignon (6) entraînant également simultanément les quatre disques musicaux (5),
• l'organe rotatif (14) est en rotation et entraîne par l'intermédiaire de son doigt (14a) la croix de Malte (15) qui actionne la rotation du carrousel (1) de 90°,
• un des disques (5), qui est toujours entraîné par le pignon central (6), se positionne sur le clavier (13) et actionne les lames de celui-ci afin de jouer une mélodie,
• la deuxième goupille d'arrêt (17a) se déplace le long du flanc externe de la gorge (18) qui fait office de came afin de maintenir le levier d'arrêt (17) désengagé du volant (10) durant la lecture d'un des disques musicaux (5),
• dès que le disque musical (5) a effectué un tour complet, la deuxième goupille d'arrêt (17a) se repositionne dans l'encoche (20), bloquant le volant d'inertie (10) par l'intermédiaire du levier d'arrêt (17) et la première goupille (16a) du levier de verrouillage (16) revient au contact de la saillie (19),
• le module est arrêté.

When the control device (16, 17, 21) is actuated, the sequence of the following movements is engaged:

• the rocker (21) actuates the locking lever (16) via a pin (21a) to disengage the first locking pin (16a) from the projection (19),
• the lever (22) is actuated by the locking lever (16) thereby unlocking the carousel (1),
• the rocker (21) actuates the stop lever (17) in order to disengage the second locking pin (17a) from the notch (20) thus freeing the flywheel (10),
• the gear train (7, 8, 9) is immediately released and driven by the central gear (6), the latter being driven by the barrel (11), said gear (6) also simultaneously driving the four musical discs (5). )
• the rotary member (14) is rotated and drives via its finger (14a) the Maltese cross (15) which actuates the rotation of the carousel (1) by 90 °,
• one of the disks (5), which is always driven by the central pinion (6), is positioned on the keyboard (13) and actuates the blades thereof in order to play a melody,
• the second locking pin (17a) moves along the outer side of the groove (18) which acts as a cam to hold the stop lever (17) disengaged from the flywheel (10) during the reading of a musical discs (5),
• as soon as the musical disk (5) has completed one revolution, the second locking pin (17a) is repositioned in the notch (20), blocking the flywheel (10) via the lever of stop (17) and the first pin (16a) of the locking lever (16) returns to contact with the projection (19),
• the module is stopped.

The musical module makes it possible to read a musical disk (5) by the action of a control pushbutton (not shown) actuating the rocker (21).

The musical discs (5) have the particularity of having a portion (23) devoid of pins (12) in order to be able to position each of them, in turn, on the keyboard (13) while avoiding that the pins (12) ) strike the blades of the latter during positioning.

The musical module further comprises a wheel (24) ( Figure 2 ) mounted on a rocker (25), said wheel (24) being arranged to drive the ratchet (26) of the barrel (11) when the rotation of the winding crown of the watch (not shown) is performed in the direction schedule. The wheel (24) is then driven via a first winding gear (27) and an intermediate gear (28).

A second winding gear (29) is arranged to perform the winding of the clockwork when the rotation of the winding crown is performed in the counterclockwise direction.

The time setting of the watch is performed by rotating the winding crown and pressing simultaneously on a time setting button (not shown). This pusher allows by means of a set of latches (30, 31, 32, 33, 25, 35) ( Figure 3 ) on the one hand to disengage the rocker (25) to avoid the reassembly of musical module and on the other hand to operate a rocker (35) acting on the watch movement in order to perform the time setting.

It goes without saying that the invention is not limited to the embodiment described above by way of example but embraces, on the contrary, all the embodiments defined by the claims. As an example, the musical module could be adapted for a minute repeater.

Claims (14)

1. Musical module for a watch movement, said module including a barrel (11), at least one element (5) provided with pins (12), a pin-barrel (13) provided with several tongues, a regulating member (10) and a control device (16, 17, 21), wherein the element (5) or each element (5) is a toothed disc driven by the barrel (11) via at least one pinion (6), the toothed disc or each toothed disc (5), carrying said pins (12) on at least one face, being able to be positioned above or below the pin-barrel (13) so that the pins (12) cooperate with the tongues of the pin-barrel (13) so as to play a melody, the control device (16, 17, 21) being arranged to trigger the rotation of the toothed disc(s) (5) so as to ensure that the melody starts, the regulating member (10) ensuring constant rotation of the toothed disc(s) (5), said musical module being characterized in that said control device includes at least one locking lever (17) acting to release the rotation of said at least one pinion (6) arranged between a toothed disc or each toothed disc and said barrel (11), in that said pinion (6) cooperates with a gear train (7, 8, 9), in that said pinion (6) and said gear train (7, 8, 9) extend in a parallel plane to the plane of the movement, in that said locking lever cooperates with the regulating member and in that said musical module comprises a karussel (1) comprising a central arbor (3) about which are arranged several toothed discs (5), each of the toothed discs (5) including on the lower face thereof said pins (12), the pinion (6) being freely fitted onto the central arbor of the karussel (1) in order, once the control device (16, 17, 21) is actuated, to drive, on the one hand, simultaneously the toothed discs (5), and on the other hand, the first wheel (7) of the gear train (7, 8, 9), a rotating member (14) provided with a finger-piece (14a) being arranged integral with said first wheel (7) so as to pivot the karussel (1) to position the toothed discs (5) in turns on the pin-barrel (13).
2. Musical module according to claim 1, characterized in that the regulating member (7, 8, 9, 10) is formed of a gear train (7, 8, 9) cooperating with a fly wheel (10).
3. Musical module according to claim 1, characterized in that the pitch circle of the first wheel (7) is substantially identical to that of the toothed discs (5), so that the finger-piece (14a) actuates the rotation of the karussel (1) only after the toothed disc (5) positioned on the pin-barrel (13) has made one complete rotation.
4. Musical module according to claims 1 to 3, characterized in that one part (23) of the toothed discs (5) is devoid of pins (12) so that each toothed disc (5) can be positioned in turn on the pin-barrel (13), thus preventing the pins (12) striking the pin-barrel tongues during positioning.
5. Musical module according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the control device (16, 17, 21) includes, on the one hand, a lever (16) for locking the karussel (1), and on the other hand, a stop lever (17) for locking the fly wheel (10), these two levers (16, 17) being able to be actuated by another lever (21) so as to release the locking of the karussel (1) and the fly wheel (10) thereby also unlocking the gear train (7, 8, 9) and the central pinion (6), which is immediately driven by the barrel (11), said pinion (6) simultaneously driving the toothed discs (5).
6. Musical module according to claim 5, characterized in that the rotating member (14) includes an annular groove (18), the inner flank of said groove (18) having a projecting portion (19) for locking the karussel (1) via a first stop pin (16a) integral with the locking lever (16), the latter being able to actuate a lever (22) arranged to maintain the karussel (1) in a stable position when a musical disc (5) is being read, the external flank of the groove (18) including a nick (20) inside which is positioned a second stop pin (17a) integral with the stop lever (17), the lever (21) of the control system (16, 17, 21), when actuated, disengaging, on the one hand, the first pin (16a) from the projecting portion (19) so as to disengage the lever (22) thereby releasing the karussel (1), and on the other hand, the second pin (17a) from the nick (20) so as to release the fly wheel (10), said musical module stopping as soon as the stop pins (16a, 17a) return respectively into contact with the projecting portion (19) and into the nick (20), after the finger-piece (14a) has made one complete revolution and driven the karussel (1) in rotation through an angle of 360°/N where N is equal to the number of toothed discs (5) carried by the karussel (1).
7. Musical module according to any of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the karussel (1) is provided with four arms (2) separated from each other by approximately 90° and arranged around the central arbor (3), each arm (2) including towards the end thereof one of the toothed discs (5), a Maltese cross (15) being integral with said central arbor (3) so as to actuate the rotation of the karussel by approximately 90° when said cross (15) is driven by the finger-piece (14a) of the rotating member (14).
8. Musical module according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that each rotating toothed disc (5) is provided with a toothing over the entire circumference thereof.
9. Musical module according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that each toothed disc (5) is arranged to mesh with a pinion (6) freely fitted onto the central arbor (3) of the karussel (1), said pinion (6) being meshed with the barrel (11) and the first wheel (7) of the gear train (7, 8,9).
10. Musical module according to claim 9, characterized in that a rotating member (14) is arranged integral with the first wheel (7) so as to allow the karussel (1) to rotate as soon as the drive device (6, 14a, 15) is actuated.
11. Musical module according to claim 7 or 10, characterized in that the rotating member (14) is provided with a finger-piece (14a) arranged to trigger the rotation of the karussel (1).
12. Watch including a musical module according to any of the preceding claims.
13. Watch according to claim 12, including a winding crown, characterized in that the musical module includes a wheel (24) mounted on a lever (25), said wheel (24) being arranged to drive the ratchet (26) of the barrel (11) when the winding crown is rotated clockwise, the wheel (24) being driven via a first winding pinion (27) and an intermediate pinion (28).
14. Watch according to claim 13, characterized in that a second winding pinion (19) is arranged to wind the timepiece movement when the winding crown is rotated anti-clockwise.

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