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EP-4049093-B1 - TIMEPIECE GENERATING SOUNDS

EP4049093B1EP 4049093 B1EP4049093 B1EP 4049093B1EP-4049093-B1

Inventors

  • BENOIST, Quentin
  • Geiser, Sylvain
  • LE GALL, ERIC
  • VANDINI, Alessandro

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20201023

Claims (11)

  1. A mechanical timepiece (1) comprising a case (2) having a middle (3), a back cover (4) and a bezel (5), a watch movement, a vibration-generating device for generating vibrations which are intended to produce at least one sound, which is accommodated in said case (2), a vibration-amplifying device (16) for amplifying the vibrations generated by said vibration-generating device, and a membrane (18) arranged to receive said amplified vibrations and generate a sound from the inside to the outside of the timepiece, the vibration-generating device being a rotary element (13) having a reading surface comprising at least one groove (15) with several coils or helical, arranged to generate sounds and extending over said reading surface, the timepiece comprising means for rotationally driving the rotary element (13), means for actuating said means for rotationally driving the rotary element (13), and a transmission member (28) arranged to cooperate with the rotary element (13) to transmit, to the vibration-amplifying device (16), the vibrations generated by the grooves (15) during rotation of said rotary element (13), the transmission member (28) and the rotary element (13) being arranged to be mobile with respect to each other such that the transmission member (28) moves over at least part of the reading surface of the rotary element (13) when said rotary element (13) performs more than one rotation, the vibration-amplifying device (16) comprising a lever (20) pivotally mounted on a support (22) in a pivoting plane non-parallel to the plane of the membrane (18), said lever (20) being integral with the transmission member (28) in order to be able to be actuated by the transmission member (28) to transmit, to said lever (20), the vibrations generated by the rotary element (13), said lever (20) being likewise integral with the membrane (18) translationally in the pivoting plane, the support (22) being isolated from the watch movement, characterised in that the point of actuation of the lever (20) by the transmission member (28), the pivoting point of the lever (20) and the point where the lever (20) is linked to the membrane (18) are positioned such that a movement of the transmission member (28), generated by the vibration of said transmission member (28) linked to the rotary element (13) and transmitted to the membrane (18) by way of the lever (20) actuated by said transmission member (28), generates an amplified movement of said membrane (18) by a mechanical lever arm effect, so as to generate an amplified sound.
  2. A timepiece according to Claim 1, characterised in that the vibration-amplifying device (16) comprises means for translationally guiding in a plane in parallel with the plane of the membrane (18), said means being arranged to enable said support (22) of the lever (20) to follow the movement of the transmission member (28) over at least part of the reading surface of the rotary element (13) when said rotary element (13) performs more than one rotation, and means for mobile coupling between the lever (20) and the membrane (18), said means being arranged to enable said lever (20) to remain linked with said membrane (18) as it is moving.
  3. A timepiece according to Claim 2, characterised in that the lever (20) has a first end (20a) pivotally mounted on the support (22) in a pivoting plane non-parallel to the plane of the membrane (18) and integral with the transmission member (28), in that said means for translationally guiding the vibration-amplifying device comprise a bearing element (50) integral with the case (2) and along which the support (22) of the lever (20) can bear and slide in a plane in parallel with the plane of the membrane (18), and in that the mobile coupling means comprise a fork (52) integral with the second end (20b) of the lever (20) and a stud (54) integral with the membrane (18), said fork (52) being engaged with the stud (54) in order to slide on either side of said stud (54) in a plane in parallel with the plane of the membrane (18), whilst being integral with the stud (54) translationally in the pivoting plane.
  4. A timepiece according to Claim 3, characterised in that the vibration-amplifying device (16) comprises articulated stabilising arms (58) which are integral with the lever (20).
  5. A timepiece according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterised in that it comprises a mechanism for bringing the transmission member (28) to an initial position corresponding to the beginning of the reading surface of the rotary element (13), prior to or simultaneously with the actuation of the means for actuating the means for rotationally driving the rotary element (13).
  6. A timepiece according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the means for actuating the means for rotationally driving the rotary element (13) comprise a slide, a push button or an engagement mechanism linked to a predetermined time and cooperating with the watch movement.
  7. A timepiece according to one of Claims 1 to 6, characterised in that the transmission member (28) is a needle arranged to follow the grooves (15) of the rotary element (13), said needle being integral with the vibration-amplifying device (16).
  8. A timepiece according to one of Claims 1 to 7, characterised in that the rotary element (13) is a flat disc or a cylinder.
  9. A timepiece according to one of Claims 1 to 8, characterised in that the grooves (15) provided on the rotary element (13) are arranged to generate sounds in the form of words or music.
  10. A timepiece according to one of Claims 1 to 9, characterised in that it comprises a compression chamber (40) which is arranged to amplify the sound which has been generated by the movement of the membrane (18) before it emerges to the outside.
  11. A timepiece according to the preceding claim, characterised in that the compression chamber (40) is closed by a wall disposed downstream of the membrane (18) and having at least one opening (42), the dimensions of which are selected in relation to the surface area of the membrane (18) as a function of the desired sound amplification.

Description

The present invention relates to a timepiece, and more specifically a mechanical wristwatch comprising a case having a case middle, a back and a bezel, a vibration-generating device intended to produce at least one sound, housed in said case, a device for amplifying the vibrations generated by said vibration-generating device, and a membrane arranged to receive said amplified vibrations and generate a sound from the inside to the outside of the timepiece, and more specifically of the wristwatch. In this description the expression "mechanical timepiece or wristwatch" means that the timepiece or wristwatch comprises only mechanical elements to perform its various functions, and more specifically that the sound and its amplification are produced solely by means of mechanical elements. One such timepiece is, for example, a striking wristwatch (such as a minute repeater, grande sonnerie, petite sonnerie, or alarm clock) in which the vibration-generating device is a gong arranged to be struck by a hammer when the striking mechanism is activated. This gong generates vibrations to produce a sound. A striking watch typically includes two gongs, one for a low-pitched sound and the other for a high-pitched sound. Even if the two gongs are used and alternated to chime the hours differently from the quarters or minutes, the striking watch is limited to only two distinct sounds, one for each gong. The document FR990766 A describes a talking or sounding acoustic mechanism comprising one or more movable discs, each containing a series of phonographic-type engravings. Furthermore, a pocket watch capable of telling the time verbally is known, as described in the patent. CH 4918 The pocket watch includes a stylus and a disc with 48 concentric grooves. The stylus is The stylus is positioned above its assigned groove, corresponding to the time to be announced. The disc is lifted to make contact with the stylus and begins to rotate so that the stylus reads the time to be announced from the groove. The sound produced is therefore very short, lasting only a few seconds, just long enough to announce the time. According to a first aspect, the present invention aims to remedy these drawbacks by proposing a wristwatch that makes it possible to generate a combination of more than two different sounds, making it possible to reproduce, for example, music or speech in the limited volume of a wristwatch. According to another aspect, the present invention aims to provide a timepiece capable of generating sounds for a sufficiently long period to allow the reproduction of a piece of music or a speech, for example. Another objective of the present invention is to enable the generated sounds to be amplified significantly, and preferably while limiting, or even eliminating, background noise. For this purpose, the present invention relates to a mechanical timepiece according to the attached claim 1. According to the invention, the vibration-generating device is a rotating element comprising a reading surface including at least one groove arranged to generate sounds, and the mechanical timepiece includes means for driving the rotating element in rotation, means for actuating said means for driving the rotating element in rotation, as well as a transmission member arranged to cooperate with the rotating element to transmit to the amplification device the vibrations generated by the groove during a rotational movement of said rotating element. Advantageously, the rotating element may include at least one groove of several helical turns extending over its reading surface, the transmission member and the rotating element being arranged to be movable relative to each other so that the transmission member moves over at least a part of the reading surface of the rotating element when said rotating element makes more than one rotation. Advantageously, the vibration amplification device includes a lever pivotally mounted on a support in a pivot plane not parallel to the plane of the membrane and arranged to be actuated by the transmission member to transmit the vibrations to said lever, said lever also being fixed to the membrane at least in translation in the pivot plane so that a displacement of the transmission member generated by the vibration of said transmission member in connection with the rotating element and transmitted to the membrane via the lever actuated by said transmission member generates an amplified displacement of said membrane, so as to generate an amplified sound. Thus, the present invention makes it possible to generate combinations of several sounds, and preferably over a period of several seconds, preferably at least ten seconds, and more preferably at least one or even several minutes, making it possible to reproduce a piece of music, or lyrics, the sound being significantly amplified while limiting, or even eliminating, background noise, in the restricted volume of a mechanical wristwatch. Advantageously, the vibration-generati