EP3179315B1 - Stud support with secure mounting - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a holding or supporting assembly of a spiral clockwork spring, comprising a pin and a stud holder.

PRIOR ART

In a mechanical watch, it is customary to use a regulating member comprising a sprung balance device. Conventionally, the inner end of the hairspring is fixed to a ferrule provided on the axis of pivoting of the balance. In order to fix and position the outer end of the hairspring, it is known to use a peg holder housing a pin, in combination with a clamping screw for tightening the bolt against the portion of the hairspring engaged in the bolt carrier.

Document is known EP 2,887,154 , which shows the preamble of claim 1, a timepiece control device comprising an inertial balance having a balance shaft arranged to be pivotally mounted in the timepiece, a balance bridge supporting a bearing arranged to maintain a end of the balance shaft, a spiral having an inner end secured to the rocker and an outer end secured to a stud, and finally a piton fixing mechanism comprising a housing carried by the rocker arm and arranged to receive the peak while allowing to adjust the position of the latter longitudinally, the fixing mechanism further comprising an elastic arm arranged to press laterally on the stud so as to immobilize the stud against a wall of the housing.

In such an assembly, the bolt carrier is conventionally attached to a cock also serving to fix one end of the axis of the balance. The rooster is designed to integrate a kitten equipped with a shockproof device for the axis balance. A known stud holder uses two rings. These two rings are rotatably mounted at the level of the kitten. Each ring includes a tuning fork or Y-shaped extension, this y-fork thus forming a housing.

A first ring is then used so that the stud is housed and fixed via a screw while the second ring is used for a setting element is housed. This adjustment element makes it possible to adjust the limitation of the hairspring to adjust the step and therefore the frequency of the hairspring.

However, such a device has the disadvantage of being complicated to use during a maintenance or repair operation by the after-sales service. Indeed, the presence of a multitude of parts and the fact of having to screw the stud to maintain it makes this delicate operation and then requires adjustment steps.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the invention is to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art by proposing to provide a support or support assembly for a spiral watch spring which allows a simplified mounting or dismounting of the stud and a good maintenance of this one.

To this end, the present invention relates to a holding or supporting assembly of a spiral clockwork spring, according to claim 1, comprising a stud and a cock on which is fixed a stud holder, where said door -piton comprises a holding means provided with a housing for housing the pin and a clamping means, at least said clamping means being movable relative to the holding means to block the stud in its housing.

The advantage of the invention is to allow, during the SAV, to disassemble the assembly "balance bridge-spiral silicon" easily. By unlocking the bolt through the clamping means, you can simply remove the part "Pendulum - balance - pin" of the part "pendulum bridge - bolt carrier - damper" without risk of breakage of the hairspring.

According to the invention, the holding means and the clamping means are in the form of an annular piece arranged to be rotatably mounted on a protuberance 8.

According to the invention, the holding means are in the form of a retaining ring 500 comprising an elastic arm 512 extending from said ring and forming, with it, a housing 514 to accommodate the peak.

According to the invention, the clamping means are in the form of a clamping ring 600 comprising a frame 604 on which a pad 602 is arranged, the armature and the pad being arranged so that the rotation of the ring tightening relative to the retaining ring causes the occurrence of a constraint exerted by said stud on said elastic arm to lock the mounting of the stud.

In an advantageous embodiment, the clamping means are in the form of a clamping ring 600 comprising a frame 604 on which a structure provided with a groove is arranged, the groove being arranged so that the elastic arm can insert it so that the rotation of said locking ring relative to the retaining ring causes deformation of said arm to lock the mounting of the stud.

In another advantageous embodiment, the armature comprises at least two arms extending radially, interconnected by a cross member, the at least two arms being spaced apart so as to allow the bolt to be placed and locked without risk of contact with said arms.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

• Les figures 1 à 5 représentent un premier mode de réalisation de l'ensemble de maintien selon un exemple illustratif ;
• Les figures 6 à 10 représentent une variante du premier mode de réalisation de l'ensemble de maintien selon un exemple illustratif ;
• Les figures 11 à 15 représentent un second mode de réalisation de l'ensemble de maintien selon l'invention;
• Les figures 16 et 17 représentent une variante du second mode de réalisation de l'ensemble de maintien selon un exemple illustratif.

The objects, advantages and features of the invention will appear more clearly in the following detailed description of at least one embodiment of the invention given solely by way of nonlimiting example and illustrated by the appended drawings in which:

• The Figures 1 to 5 represent a first embodiment of the holding assembly according to an illustrative example;
• The Figures 6 to 10 represent a variant of the first embodiment of the holding assembly according to an illustrative example;
• The Figures 11 to 15 represent a second embodiment of the holding assembly according to the invention;
• The Figures 16 and 17 represent a variant of the second embodiment of the holding assembly according to an illustrative example.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention proceeds from the general idea of providing a support or support assembly of a spiral clock spring for mounting / dismounting of the simplest piton.

On the figure 1 the support or support assembly 1 is shown by way of example. Such a set 1 is mounted on a cock 2 and includes a bolt carrier 4 used to hold a bolt 7.

The bolt carrier 4 according to the invention comprises holding means 5 and clamping means 6. The holding means 5 are used to carry the bolt 7 while the clamping means 6 are used to lock the bolt position 7 at the level of the holding means 5.

In a first exemplary embodiment visible to Figures 1 to 5 , the holding means 5 are in the form of a ring of 50. This retaining ring 50 is closed or not and is dimensioned to be arranged at a protuberance 8. The cock 2 can be made to include a pivoting device 80, this pivoting device 80 can be presented under the shape of a kitten 81 provided with a pierced stone and stone against pivot 82 and a spring 83 or in the form of a stud 84 provided with a hole 85 in which the balance shaft engages. The protrusion 8 may be this pivoting device 80. This protrusion is circular.

This retaining ring is forcibly engaged at the pivoting device 8, that is to say at the level of the cattery 80 or the pad 83. A groove extending on the periphery of the pad 83 or the catty 80 can be realized. to prevent a vertical displacement of the retaining ring 50. This retaining ring 50 further comprises means for receiving the pin 51. These receiving means 51 comprise two projections 55 projecting, extending parallel outwards from the retaining ring 50. These two protuberances 52 are spaced apart to form a housing space 53 in which the peg 7 can be housed. It is understood that the two protrusions protrude from the retaining ring 50 but also the rooster.

In this first embodiment, the clamping means 6 are in the form of a clamping ring 60. This clamping ring 60 is closed or not and is dimensioned to be arranged at the pivoting device 8, as shown in FIG. holding ring. This clamping ring 60 is thus forcibly engaged at the level of the pivoting device 8. A groove extending on the periphery of the pad 83 or the cattery 80, parallel to that of the holding ring 50, may be made to avoid a vertical movement of the clamping ring. The clamping ring is then located above the retaining ring. This clamping ring 60 further comprises an elastic arm 62. This arm 62 extends from said clamping ring 60 and has a free end 63. This arm 62 extends from the clamping ring 60 in a direction substantially similar to that of the curvature of said clamping ring to form a space 64 between the clamping ring 60 and said arm 62.

For the operation of this device, the stud 7 is placed in the housing 53 of the retaining ring 50. The clamping ring 60 is then rotated so that the end 63 of the elastic arm 62 is close to the peak. The free end 63 of the elastic arm 62 is cleverly arranged to include a lug 65 so as to be partially in contact with the bolt. Therefore, this forces the operator responsible for the assembly to force slightly during the rotation of the clamping ring 60. The elastic arm 62, under the effect of this constraint, deforms so as to deviate. This causes a larger space for the insertion of the stud 7. When the stud 7 passes the free end 63 of the elastic arm 62 provided with the lug 64, said elastic arm 62 tends to resume its rest or initial position. In this case, it tends to exert a force on the peak. As the stud is in the housing 53 of the retaining ring 50, this force exerted by the resilient arm locks the position of the stud. The clamping ring 60 and the retaining ring 50 must be dimensioned so that the friction between them and the pivoting means 8 can allow rotation of the rings while avoiding a rotation of the rings inadvertently. Thus, by unlocking the bolt through the clamping means, one can simply remove the "pendulum - balance - bolt" part of the "bridge - bolt - damper - damper" without risk of breakage of the hairspring.

In an exemplary variant visible to Figures 4 and 5 the pin 7 has a body 71 arranged so that the hairspring can be attached and a head 72, said head having a conical profile 73 whose diameter is greater than that of the body 71. The head of the pin 72 being able to bear on the two protuberances 52 projecting. The elastic arm which comes into contact with the peak at this conical profile then exerts a force perpendicular to the slope of the cone in order to press the Z stud against the two protuberances 52 protruding and XY in its housing. The housing 53 and / or the peg 7 may include dishes to have an angular locking.

In an exemplary variant visible to the figure 2 , the holding ring 50 and the clamping ring 60 each have a positioning extension 56, 66. The clamping ring 60 and the retaining ring 50 therefore each comprise a radially extending extension, this extension allowing it to be grasped by a tweezers type tool. Cleverly, it will be expected that these extensions 56, 66 are arranged so that they are facing each other when the pin 7 is locked as visible to the figure 3 . This arrangement makes it possible to rotate the clamping means 60 and the holding means 50 at the same time.

In a variant of this first exemplary embodiment visible to Figures 6 to 10 , the holding ring 50 is made so that the receiving means of the stud 51 are in the form of a single extension 52 'pierced by an opening forming a housing 53' for the stud 7. In this case, the ring clamping is arranged under the retaining ring and the peg 7 sees its head 72 have an inverted cone profile 73 '. In this variant configuration, the assembly is similar so that the elastic arm 62 comes into contact with the cone 73 'of the peak 7 and generates a force perpendicular to the slope of the cone 73'. This force makes it possible to press studon 7 in Z in its housing 53 'and in XY in its housing. The housing and / or the piton may include dishes to have an angular locking.

In a second embodiment of the invention visible to Figures 11 to 15 , the holding means 5 are in the form of a retaining ring 500. This holding ring 500 is closed or not and is dimensioned to be arranged at the pivoting device 8, the latter being of substantially circular shape . This retaining ring is forcibly engaged at the pivoting device 8, that is to say at the level of the kitten 80 or the stud 83. A groove extending on the periphery of the stud 83 or the kitten 80 may be made to avoid a vertical displacement of the retaining ring 500. This retaining ring 500 further comprises means of receiving 510. These reception means 510 comprise an elastic arm 512 extending from said ring and forming, with it, a housing 514 to accommodate the peak.

In this second embodiment, the clamping means 6 are in the form of a clamping ring 600. This clamping ring 600 is closed or not and is dimensioned to be arranged at the pivoting device 8, as shown in FIG. holding ring. This clamping ring 600 is therefore engaged by force at the pivoting device 8. A groove extending on the periphery of the pad 83 or the catty 80, parallel to that of the retaining ring 500, may be made to avoid a vertical movement of the clamping ring 600. The clamping ring 600 is then located above the retaining ring 500.

This clamping ring 600 comprises a stud 602 mounted on a frame 604. In fact, the operating principle of this second embodiment uses this pad 602 to exert a stress on the elastic arm 512 in order to lock the pin 7. The ring clamp 600 is rotated so that the pad 602 comes into contact with the elastic arm 512. By continuing the rotation of the clamping ring, the stress exerted on the elastic arm 512 causes its deformation and thus the locking of the stud. The armature 604 thus makes it possible to off-center the stud 602. In a conventional manner, the armature 604 may be an arm 605 whose free end 605 'will be provided with said stud 602. This latter may be monoblock with the armature 604 or the free end 605 'will be provided with a hole so that the pad 602 is placed and fixed therein.

In an advantageous version, the armature comprises at least two arms 605a, 605b extending radially from the ring 600, these arms 605 being connected together by a beam or crossbeam 606. This beam 606 is provided with a protuberance at which the stud is arranged. This configuration makes it possible to have a better rigidity than a reinforcement comprising a single arm.

In this frame configuration visible to the figure 11 , it is expected that the spacing of at least two arms 605 is sufficient to allow the pin 7 to lodge there without coming into contact with said arms during the rotation of the clamping ring. Advantageously, one of the arms 605 of the armature 604 will be arranged so that, when the stud 7 is locked, said arm is opposite a positioning extension 516 of the holding ring 500. This configuration then forms a possibility for the operator to pinch the arm 605 and the extension 516 via tweezers to angularly modify the position of the two rings 500 and 600. This thus provides a possibility of angular adjustment without modifying the locking of the bolt 7.

In a preferred configuration, the armature 604 comprises four arms 605. The spacing between the second arm 605 and the third arm 605 is chosen to accommodate the stud 7. The fourth arm 605 is arranged to be used in cooperation with an extension 516 to change the angular position of the two rings 500, 600.

It will be conceivable that the pin 7 has a body 710 arranged so that the hairspring can be attached and a head 720, said head 720 having a cylindrical profile 730. The body 710 further comprising a projection 740 forming a platform for the elastic arm 512 as visible to the figure 14 .

In a variant of the second embodiment visible to Figures 16 and 17 , and illustrated by way of example, the armature 604 comprises an arm 609 whose free end 609 'ends with a structure 610. This structure 610 is in the form of a part 611 having a groove 612 assimilated to a guide groove in which the elastic arm 512 of the retaining ring 500 is housed. The tension of the elastic arm 512 allows the latter to be in permanent contact with one of the walls of the groove 612 of the structure 610. Therefore, during the rotation of the clamping ring 600 carrying the armature 604, the elastic arm 512 guided by the groove of the structure 610 then deforms. This deformation allows the elastic arm 512 to tighten the stud 7 and thus to lock the position of the latter.

It will be understood that various modifications and / or improvements and / or combinations obvious to those skilled in the art can be made to the various embodiments of the invention set forth above without departing from the scope of the invention defined by the appended claims.

For example, it can be imagined that the hairspring is of a diameter smaller than the size of the peg holder so that it is protected by said peg carrier. Indeed, it has become common to use silicon spirals, this material has interesting non-magnetic properties. However, silicon is a fragile material that breaks during excessive shocks. By configuring the stud holder and the hairspring to have a hairspring of smaller size than the bolt carrier, the bolt carrier is used as protection for the silicon hairspring against possible shocks that may occur during the setting of the watch or after sales service.

Claims (4)

1. Assembly (1) for holding or supporting a timepiece balance spring, comprising a balance spring stud (7) and a balance cock (2) on which is fixed a balance spring stud-holder (4), said stud-holder comprising a holding means (5) provided with a housing (53, 53', 514) for housing the balance spring stud therein and a gripping means (6), at least said gripping means being movable with respect to the holding means in order to lock the balance spring stud inside its housing, wherein the holding means (5) and the gripping means (6) take the form of an annular piece arranged to be rotatably mounted on a protuberance (8),
   characterized in that the holding means take the form of a holding ring (500) comprising a resilient arm (512) extending from said ring and forming therewith a housing (514) for accommodating the balance spring stud, and in that the gripping means take the form of a gripping ring (600) comprising a frame (604) on which a stud (602) is arranged, the frame and the stud being arranged such that the rotation of the gripping ring with respect to the holding ring (500) results in the appearance of a stress exerted by said stud (602) on said resilient arm (512) in order to lock the balance spring stud assembly.
2. Assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that the gripping means take the form of a gripping ring (600) comprising a frame (604) on which is arranged a structure (612) provided with a groove (612), the groove being arranged such that the resilient arm can be inserted therein so that the rotation of said locking ring with respect to the holding ring causes a deformation of said arm in order to lock the balance spring stud assembly.
3. Assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that the frame (604) comprises at least two radially extending arms (605), connected to each other by a crosspiece (606), the at least two arms being spaced apart so as to allow the balance spring stud to be set in place and locked without the risk of any contact with said arms.
4. Timepiece movement comprising a main plate on which is mounted an energy source supplying energy to the transmission gear trains, said gear trains cooperating with an escapement system via an escape wheel whose rotation is regulated by a pallet lever of the escapement system whose pulses are provided by a sprung balance, said balance spring being mounted on a holding assembly according to any of the preceding claims.

Images