JP-2025526961-A5 -

Dates

Publication Date

20260507

Application Date

20230705

Description

Figures 3A to 3F again show a second transmission member positioned to enable the animation cam 53 to control two animation members or retrograde hands 41, 43. The second transmission member comprises an animation lever 63 provided with a cam follower finger 64 positioned to cooperate with the contour of the animation cam 53. The animation lever 63 is pivoted on a spindle 67, and a leaf spring 55 or other spring means is again provided to return the cam follower finger 64 relative to the contour of the animation cam 53. An eccentric portion 89 is again seen, which is mounted on the frame of the device 14 for coordinated operation (typically the frame of a watch movement) and positioned to cooperate with a lug 87 on the animation lever 63. As shown in Figure 3E, the lug 87 can abut against the eccentric portion 89 to prevent the animation lever 63 from pivoting clockwise. The animation lever 63 carries a second pin 91 positioned to work in cooperation with the flank of the time rack 49 in order to drive the time rack 49 counterclockwise when the animation lever 63 pivots clockwise, that is, when the cam follower finger 64 falls onto the drop 54 of the contour of the animation cam 53. It can also be seen that the cam follower lever 61 carries a third pin 69 positioned to cooperate with the shoulder portion 68 of the animation lever 63. When the cam follower lever 61 crosses the tip of the contour of the cam 51 and falls into its discontinuity 52, the clockwise pivot of the lever 61 causes the pin 69 to pivot the animation lever 63 counterclockwise. The minute hand 43 pivots counterclockwise along the arc-shaped minute scale by the pinion 44 as the minute cam 81 raises the cam follower finger 85 and the minute rack 82 to which it belongs. Every 60 minutes, the cam follower finger 85 drops along one of the two drops of the minute cam 81, thereby returning the minute hand 43 to the zero position. In this way, the minute hand 43 moves alternately counterclockwise (gradually) and clockwise (rapidly), and the hour hand 41 moves gradually clockwise. During this time, the animation lever 63 is held at an angular position that does not act on either the hour pin 49 or the minute rack 82 by the pin 69 of the cam follower lever 61 (when the lever 61 is bearing at the bottom of the hour cam 51; Figures 3A-3C), or by the animation cam 53 (otherwise; Figure 3D). Shortly before noon or midnight (Figure 3D), for example, 1 to 3 minutes before noon or midnight, the cam follower lever 61 is positioned approximately at the tip of the hour cam 51, the cam follower finger 85 is positioned approximately at one of the two tips of the minute cam 81, and the hour and minute hands 41 and 43 are in a substantially vertical position, approaching each other at the approximately maximum value of the arc-shaped scale. In this configuration, the pin 69 supported by the cam follower lever 61 is not in the pivot path of the animation lever 63 and its shoulder 68. The cam follower finger 64 of the animation lever 63 , which had previously slid on the animation cam 53, falls into the discontinuity 54 under the action of its return spring 55 (Figure 3E), triggering the animation (automatic device, automaton). Specifically, the pin 91 of the animation lever 63 contacts the hour rack 49, causing it to pivot counterclockwise. Simultaneously, the operating finger 66 of the animation lever 63 contacts the arm 86 of the minute rack 82, causing the minute rack 82 to pivot clockwise. These displacements stop when the lug 87 of the animation lever 63 contacts the eccentric portion 89, moving the hour and minute hands 41 and 43 further toward each other from the arc-shaped hour and minute scales, giving the impression that the two are kissing. The displacement of the hour rack 49 by the pin 91 does not affect the position of the cam follower lever 61, which continues to resist the hour cam 51 under the action of its return spring 62, and the elastic arm 76 in contact with the pin 73 deforms to allow the displacement, as shown in Figure 3E. It will be understood that the eccentric portion 89 functions as a means of adjusting the relative angular positions occupied by the minute hand 41 and hour hand 43 at the peak of the animation, i.e., the moment of the kiss. Next (Figure 3F), after a time corresponding to the duration of the offset between the two cam followers 61 and 64 (typically 3 minutes, as already shown), the cam follower lever 61 drops onto the discontinuity 52 in the contour of the hour cam 51. During this drop, the pin 69 of the cam follower lever 61 acts on the shoulder 68 to raise the animation lever 63 and release it from interaction with the hour rack 49 and minute rack 82. In cooperation with the elastic arm 76, the pin 73 of the cam follower lever 61 drives the hour rack 49 clockwise. Simultaneously, the cam follower finger 85 drops onto one of the drops of the minute cam 81, which corresponds to the counterclockwise rotation of the minut