US3815353A

US3815353A - Universal time watch

Info

Publication number: US3815353A
Application number: US00407367A
Authority: US
Inventors: J Rinaldi; P Wuthrich; R Reder
Original assignee: Timex Corp
Current assignee: Timex Group USA Inc
Priority date: 1973-10-17
Filing date: 1973-10-17
Publication date: 1974-06-11
Anticipated expiration: 1991-06-11

Abstract

A horological device with a regular hour hand and including an auxiliary hour hand for indicating a different time zone than the local time. The auxiliary hour hand is connected to a ratchet coupling member permitting relative rotation between the regular hour hand and the auxiliary hour hand when the crown is rotated in one direction and permitting normal setting of the hour hand and minute hand, with the auxiliary hour hand moving in unison, when the crown is rotated in the opposite direction. The coupling member is normally driven by the hour wheel through a first oneway ratchet, and is held in place during setting of the auxiliary hour hand by a second one-way ratchet utilizing weak radial spring arms.

Description

United States Patent [1 1 Wuthrich et al.

[ June M, 1974 UNIVERSAL TIME WATCH [75] Inventors: Paul Wuthrich, Watertown; Rodney W. Reder; Joseph Rinaldi, both of Waterbury, all of Conn.

[73] Assignee: Timex Corporation, Waterbury,

- UNITED STATES PATENTS Primary Examiner-George H. Miller, Jr.

[ 57] ABSTRACT A horological device with a regular hour hand and including an auxiliary hour hand for indicating a different time zone than the local time. The auxiliary hour hand is connected to a ratchet coupling member permitting relative rotation between the regular hour hand and the auxiliary hourhand when the crown is rotated in one direction and permitting normal setting of the hour hand and minute hand, with the auxiliary hour hand moving in unison, when the crown is rotated in the opposite direction. The coupling member is normally driven by-the hour wheel through a first one-way ratchet, and is held in place during setting of the auxiliary hour hand by a second one-way ratchet utilizing weak radial spring armsv 3,279,165 10/1966 Burg 58/425 3,6! 1,703 10/1971 Borel 58/42. 5 7- Claims, 7 Drawing Figures ,4 t? Z! y /i f'# r 7:: /Z

V M ,ln /0 PATENT 04m: n ma 3.8151353 SHEETBOF 3 FIG.6

FIGA

UNIVERSAL TIME WATCH BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to horological devices, and more particularly to a time zone setting mechanism utilizing the same crown and stem assembly to change time zone, as well as to set the regular time on the horological device.

Time zone watches with auxiliary hour hands on dials are well known in the art, and various mechanisms have been proposed for setting the auxiliary hands or dials.

Exemplary of the prior art are U.S. Pat. No. 2,674,085 issued Apr. 6, 1954 to Israel; U.S. Pat. No. 2,777,281 issued Jan, 15, 1957 to Berry; U.S. Pat. No. 3,276,201 issued Oct. 4, 1966 to Peacock; U.S. Pat. No. 3,279,165 issued Oct. 18, 1966 to Burg; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,611,703 issued Oct. 12,1971 to Borel. In the foregoing patents, complicated mechanisms have been used in the setting mechanism, or two separate crowns have been necessary, or frictional drives have been used between the regular and auxiliary hour hands SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Briefly stated the invention comprises first and second coaxially mounted hour hand spindles carrying the regular and auxiliary hour hands, an hour wheel connected to drive one of the spindles, a ratchet coupling member comprising a disk with one way ratchet means engaging the hour wheel, and a spring stop member with flexible radial spring arms engaging and forminga second one-way ratchet connection with the ratchet coupling member.

DRAWINGS Other objectives and advantages of the invention will best be understood by reference to the appended drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a horizontal cross section through the hour hand drive and setting mechanism,

FIG. 2 is a view of a time zone watch,

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the spring stop member,

FIG. 4 is a partial plan view of the ratchet coupling member,

FIG. 5 is an enlarged horizontal cross-sectional view of the same ratchet coupling member, viewed along line VV of FIG. 4,

FIG. 6 is a partial plan view of the hour wheel, and

FIG. 7 is an assembled plan view of the auxiliary and regular setting mechanism.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to FIG. 1 of the drawings, only the parts necessary to an understanding of the present invention are shown, the remainder of elements being conventional. The hand drive and setting mechanism, shown generally as l, is carried on a bridge member 2. Power to drive the hands enters through the sweep second staff 3 carrying a sweep second hand 4, staff 3 is journaled at one end in a bearing 5 and inside a fixed spindle 6 attached to bridge 2. Power is transmitted from staff 3 through a gear train (not shown) to crown gear 7 which includes time setting and time zone setting crown teeth 8. The crown teeth 8 are engageable through conventional mechanism (not shown) by means of an external crown and'stem assembly 9 when the stem is retracted and rotated in either direction. Crown gear 7 is connected to a minute pinion 10 and also journaled in bridge 2.

.The gear train between staff 3 and crown gear 7 also drives via wheel 30 by conventional means a cannon pinion ll journaled on fixed spindle 6 and carrying a minute hand 12.

The minute pinion 10 drives an hour wheel 13 attached to hollow spindle 14 which is rotatably journaled on cannon pinion ll'and carrys a-regular hour hand 15. The foregoing described portions of the watch are conventional.

In accordance with the present invention, a second hollow spindle 16 is rotatably mounted coaxially with spindle 14 and carrys an auxiliary hour hand 17 on one end and a special ratchet coupling member 18 on its other end. Coupling member 18 is engageable through a first ratchet connection on one side with hour wheel 13, and through a second ratchet connection on the other side with a spring stop member 19. Member 19 is carried beneath and fixed to the dial face 20 of the watch. I

Referring to FIG. 2 of the drawing a typical watch is seen, indicating the arrangement of second hand 4, minute hand 12 and hour hand 15, which are conventional, and the auxiliary hour hand 17 showing the time in a zone three hours ahead of local time. v

FIG. 3 of the drawing is a perspective view of the spring stop member 19 illustrating the construction. A ring 21 has upstanding tabs 22 on its inner periphery which lock the member 19 to the dial face by means of notches 28 (see FIG. 1). Extending from the outer periphery are radial spring arms 23 which are relatively flexible and which are engageable with the ratchet coupling member 18 beneath raised tabs '24.

FIGS. 4 and 5 are views of the ratchet coupling member 18 showing it to comprise a disk having raised tabs 24 uniformly spaced around its outer periphery and depressed tabs 25 uniformly spaced around an intermediate portion thereof.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the hour. wheel 13 having teeth'26 engageable with the minute pinion and having a series of uniformly spaced openings 27 centered at the same radius from the axis as depressed tabs 25 on the coupling member. Openings 27 are preferably 30 apart, or at one hour intervals'on a 12 hour dial.

In FIG. 7, the assembly of hour wheel 13, ratchet coupling member 18, and spring stop member 19 are shown with the dial face removed. The mechanism is shown during setting of the auxiliary hour hand, rather than'during normal driving of the regular and auxiliary hour hands. In this position, radial spring arms 23 are engaged beneath tabs 24 on the ratchet coupling member 18, thereby preventing rotation of member 18 in a counterclockwise direction, since spring stop member 19 is fixed to the dial 20 through tabs 22. However,

OPERATlON In order to set the auxiliary hour hand relative to the regular hour hand, crown assembly 9 is retracted and rotated so as to turn hour wheel 13 counterclockwise. Radial spring arms 23 engage beneath raised tabs 24 on the coupling member 18 as it attempts to rotate with the hour wheel and hold it in place. Ratcheting is performed by tabs 25, so as to rotate spindles l4 and 16 relative to one another. Therefore the regular hour hand can be moved relative to the fixed auxiliary hand to indicate the time difference of a particular time zone.

For normal setting of the hands, the crown assembly 9 is rotated in the opposite or normal driving direction to rotate hour wheel 13 clockwise. Tabs 25 on coupling 18 engage the radial sides of recesses 27, thereby moving both regular and auxiliary hands together, while the fixed radial arms 23 disengage from and pass over tabs 24. When the minute pinion is driving the hour wheel during normal running of the watch mechanism, the hands are driven together, again through the engagement of tabs 25 with the sides of recesses 27. Since the radial arms 23 are very flexible, they do not interfere materially and consume little additional power because of the very weak ratcheting action.

While there has been described what is considered at present to be the preferred embodiment of the invention, it is desired to secure in the appended claims all modifications which fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What we claim is 1. Regular and auxiliary hour hand driving and setting mechanism for a horological device having a dial comprising:

a first rotatably mounted spindle carrying a regular hour hand,

a second spindle rotatably and coaxially mounted on said first spindle and carrying an auxiliary hour hand,

an hour wheel connected to drive said first spindle;

a ratchet coupling member connected to drive said second spindle and coaxially mounted adjacent said hour wheel,

a fixed spring stop member disposed adjacent said coupling member, said hour wheel and said coupling member cooperatively associated in a first one-way ratchet connection preventing rotation of said coupling counterclockwise with respect to said hour wheel, and said spring stop member and said coupling member cooperatively associated in a second weak one-way ratchet connection preventing counterclockwise rotation of said coupling member with respect to the spring stop member.

2. The combination according to claim l, wherein said ratchet coupling member comprises a disk having uniformly spaced raised tabs on its outer periphery and having uniformly spaced depressed tabs around an intermediate portion thereof.

3. The combination according to claim 1, wherein said fixed spring stop member comprises a ring having flexible spring arms uniformly spaced and extending radially therefrom.

4. The combination according to claim 1, wherein said second one-way ratchet connection comprises a plurality of flexible radial arms on the spring stop member arranged to engage a plurality of raised tabs on the periphery of said coupling member.

5. The combination according to claim l, wherein said first one-way ratchet connection comprises a plurality of tabs extending in a circumferentialdirection from said coupling member and arranged to enter a plurality of uniformly spaced recesses on said hour wheel.

6. The combination according to claim 5, wherein said recesses are spaced by an angular spacing of 30.

7. Regular and auxiliary hour hand driving and setting mechanism for a horological device having a dial comprising:

a first rotatably mounted spindle carrying a regular hour hand,

an hour wheel connected to drive said first spindle and having uniformly spaced recesses around an intermediate portion thereof,

a ratchet coupling member connected to drive said second spindle, said coupling member comprising a disk coaxially mounted adjacent said hour wheel and having a plurality of raised tabs uniformly spaced about its periphery and having a plurality of depressed tabs spaced about an intermediate portion thereof forming a first one-way ratchet connection with the recesses in said hour wheel,

a fixed spring stop member disposed adjacent said coupling member.

Claims

1. Regular and auxiliary hour hand driving and setting mechanism for a horological device having a dial comprising: a first rotatably mounted spindle carrying a regular hour hand, a second spindle rotatably and coaxially mounted on said first spindle and carrying an auxiliary hour hand, an hour wheel connected to drive said first spindle; a ratchet coupling member connected to drive said second spindle and coaxially mounted adjacent said hour wheel, a fixed spring stop member disposed adjacent said coupling member, said hour wheel and said coupling member cooperatively associated in a first one-way ratchet connection preventing rotation of said coupling counterclockwise with respect to said hour wheel, and said spring stop member and said coupling member cooperatively associated in a second weak one-way ratchet connection preventing counterclockwise rotation of said coupling member with respect to the spring stop member.

2. The combination according to claim 1, wherein said ratchet coupling member comprises a disk having uniformly spaced raised tabs on its outer periphery and having uniformly spaced depressed tabs around an intermediate portion thereof.

5. The combination according to claim 1, wherein said first one-way ratchet connection comprises a plurality of tabs extending in a circumferential direction from said coupling member and arranged to enter a plurality of uniformly spaced recesses on said hour wheel.

6. The combination according to claim 5, wherein said recesses are spaced by an angular spacing of 30*.

7. Regular and auxiliary hour hand driving and setting mechanism for a horological device having a dial comprising: a first rotatably mounted spindle carrying a regular hour hand, a second spindle rotatably and coaxially mounted on said first spindle and carrying an auxiliary hour hand, an hour wheel connected to drive said first spindle and having uniformly spaced recesses around an intermediate portion thereof, a ratchet coupling member connected to drive said second spindle, said coupling member comprising a disk coaxially mounted adjacent said hour wheel and having a plurality of raised tabs uniformly spaced about its periphery and having a plurality of depressed tabs spaced about an intermediate portion thereof forming a first one-way ratchet connection with the recesses in said hour wheel, a fixed spring stop member disposed adjacent said coUpling member and connected to said dial, said spring stop member having a plurality of flexible arms extending radially and forming a second one-way ratchet connection with the raised tabs on the coupling member.