CH711900B1 - Piton holder with secure mounting. - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a holding and support assembly (1) of a timepiece spiral spring, comprising a stud (7) and a cock (2) on which is fixed a stud holder (4), characterized in that said piton holder (4) comprises holding means (5) provided with a housing (53) for accommodating the piton (7) therein and clamping means (6), at least said clamping means (66 ) being movable relative to the holding means (5) in order to block the bolt (7) in its housing (53). The invention allows a simplified mounting or dismounting of the peg (7) and a good maintenance of the latter. The holding means (5) and clamping (6) are then in the form of annular parts mounted for rotation on a protuberance.

Description

The present invention relates to a retaining or support assembly for a timepiece spiral spring, comprising a stud 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 internal end of the balance spring is fixed to a ferrule provided on the pivot axis of the balance. In order to fix and position the outer end of the hairspring, it is known to use a piton holder housing a piton, in combination with a clamping screw making it possible to clamp the piton against the portion of the hairspring engaged in the piton holder.

In such an assembly, the piton holder is conventionally fixed to a cock also serving to fix one of the ends of the pendulum axis. The rooster is designed to integrate a kitten equipped with an anti-shock device for the pendulum axis. A known piton holder uses two rings. These two rings are mounted so as to rotate in rotation at the level of the kitten. Each ring includes an extension in the form of a tuning fork or Y, this Y fork thus forming a housing.

A first ring is then used so that the peg is housed there and fixed via a screw while the second ring is used so that an adjusting element is housed there. This adjustment element makes it possible to adjust the limitation of the balance spring to regulate the speed and therefore the frequency of the balance spring.

However, such a device has the drawback 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 bolt to maintain it makes this operation delicate and then requires adjustment steps.

Summary of the invention

The invention aims to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art by proposing to provide a set for holding or supporting a timepiece spiral spring which allows a simplified mounting or dismounting of the stud and a good maintenance of it.

To this end, the present invention relates to a set for holding or supporting a timepiece spiral spring, comprising a piton and a cock on which is fixed a piton holder, characterized in that said holder piton comprises a holding means provided with a housing for accommodating the piton therein and a clamping means, at least said clamping means being movable relative to the holding means in order to lock the piton in its housing.

The advantage of the invention is to allow, during the after-sales service, to dismantle the whole "silicon balance-spring bridge" easily. By unlocking the piton through the clamping means, one can simply remove the "balance - hairspring - piton" part from the "balance bridge - piton holder - shock absorber" part without risk of breakage of the hairspring.

In a first advantageous embodiment, the holding means and the clamping means are in the form of an annular part arranged to be mounted for rotation on a protuberance 8.

In a second advantageous embodiment, the retaining means are in the form of a retaining ring 50 comprising means for receiving the stud 51 comprising two protuberances 52 projecting from said retaining ring 50 and being spaced between them to form a housing 53 in which the stud 7 can be housed.

In a third advantageous embodiment, the retaining means are in the form of a retaining ring 50 comprising means for receiving the stud 51 having a protrusion 52 ́ protruding from said retaining ring 50, said protuberance being provided with an opening forming a housing 53 ́ in which the stud 7 can be housed.

In a fourth advantageous embodiment, the clamping means are in the form of a ring 60 which further comprises an elastic arm 62 extending from the clamping ring 60 in a direction substantially similar to that of the curvature of said clamping ring so as to form a space 64 between the clamping ring 60 and said arm 62, said space 62 allowing the peg to be inserted therein and to be pressed into its housing (53, 53 ́) by said elastic arm.

In a fifth advantageous embodiment, the holding means are in the form of a holding ring 500 comprising an elastic arm 512 extending from said ring and forming, with it, a housing 514 to accommodate the piton.

In a sixth advantageous embodiment, the clamping means are in the form of a clamping ring 600 comprising a frame 604 on which a pad 602 is arranged, the frame and the pad being arranged so that the rotation of the clamping ring relative to the retaining ring causes the appearance of a stress exerted by said stud on said elastic arm in order to lock the mounting of the stud.

In a seventh 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 be inserted therein so that the rotation of said locking ring relative to the retaining ring causes a deformation of said arm in order to lock the mounting of the stud.

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

In another advantageous embodiment, the clamping ring and the retaining ring each comprise a positioning extension (56, 66) extending radially and allowing its gripping by a tool of tweezer type to rotate the clamping ring and retaining ring.

In another advantageous embodiment, the positioning extension of the clamping ring and one of the arms of the frame form only one and the same piece.

In another advantageous embodiment, the positioning extensions (56, 66) of the clamping ring and the retaining ring are arranged to be opposite one another when the stud is locked so as to allow their simultaneous gripping to effect an angular adjustment of the position of the piton relative to the cock.

Brief description of the figures

The objects, advantages and characteristics 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 : <tb> fig. 1 to 5 <SEP> represent a first embodiment of the holding assembly according to the invention; <tb> fig. 6 to 10 <SEP> represent a variant of the first embodiment of the holding assembly according to the invention; <tb> fig. 11 to 15 <SEP> represent a second embodiment of the holding assembly according to the invention; <tb> fig. 16 and 17 <SEP> represent a variant of the second embodiment of the holding assembly according to the invention;

detailed description

The present invention proceeds from the general idea of providing a holding or support assembly for a timepiece spiral spring allowing a simpler mounting / dismounting of the stud.

In FIG. 1 shows the holding or support assembly 1 according to the present invention. Such an assembly 1 is mounted on a rooster 2 and includes a piton holder 4 used to hold a piton 7.

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

In a first embodiment visible in FIGS. 1 to 5, the retaining means 5 are in the form of a retaining ring 50. This retaining ring 50 is closed or not and is dimensioned to be arranged at a protuberance 8. The cock 2 can be produced to include a pivoting device 80, this pivoting device 80 being able to be in the form 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 pendulum axis engages. The protuberance 8 could be this pivoting device 80. This protuberance is circular.

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 over the periphery of the stud 83 or the kitten 80 may be produced to avoid vertical displacement of the retaining ring 50. This retaining ring 50 further comprises means for receiving the stud 51. These reception means 51 comprise two protuberances 52 protruding, extending parallel towards the outside from the retaining ring 50. These two protuberances 52 are spaced apart in order to form a housing space 53 in which the stud 7 can be housed. It is then understood that the two protrusions protrude from the retaining ring 50 but also from the cock.

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 80 , like the retaining ring. This clamping ring 60 is therefore forcibly engaged at the level of the pivoting device 8. A groove extending over the periphery of the stud 83 or of the kitten 81, parallel to that of the retaining ring 50, may be produced 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 so as 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 approaches the piton. 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. Consequently, this obliges the operator in charge of 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 move apart. This results in a larger space for the insertion of the peak 7. When the peak 7 passes the free end 63 of the elastic arm 62 provided with the lug 64, said elastic arm 62 tends to return to its rest or initial position. In this case, it tends to exert a force on the piton. As the piton is in the housing 53 of the retaining ring 50, this force exerted by the elastic arm makes it possible to lock the position of the piton. 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 inadvertent rotation of the rings. Thus, by unlocking the bolt through the clamping means, one can simply remove the “balance - hairspring - piton” part from the “balance bridge - piton holder - shock absorber” part without risk of breakage of the hairspring.

In an advantageous variant visible in FIGS. 4 and 5, the piton 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 piton 72 being suitable to bear on the two protruding protrusions 52. The elastic arm which comes into contact with the piton at this conical profile then exerts a force perpendicular to the slope of the cone in order to press the piton in Z against the two protuberances 52 protruding and in X – Y in its housing. The housing 53 and / or the peg 7 may include dishes in order to have an angular locking.

In an advantageous variant visible in FIG. 2, the retaining 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 an extension extending radially, this extension allowing it to be grasped by a tweezer type tool. Cleverly, it will be provided that these extensions 56, 66 are arranged so that they are facing one another when the stud 7 is locked as visible in FIG. 3. This arrangement allows the clamping means 60 and the holding means 50 to be rotated at the same time.

In a variant of this first embodiment visible in FIGS. 6 to 10, the retaining ring 50 is produced so that the means for receiving the piton 51 are in the form of a single extension 52 ́ pierced by an opening forming a housing 53 ́ for the piton 7. In this case , the clamping ring is arranged under the retaining ring and the stud 7 sees its head 72 having an inverted cone profile 73 ́. In this configuration variant, the mounting 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 allows the pin 7 to be pressed in Z in its housing 53 ́ and in X – Y in its housing. The housing and / or the peg may include dishes in order to have an angular locking.

In a second embodiment visible in FIGS. 11 to 15, the retaining means 5 are in the form of a retaining ring 500. This retaining ring 500 is closed or not and is dimensioned to be arranged at the pivoting device 80, the latter being of substantially circular shape. This retaining ring is forcibly engaged at the pivoting device 80, that is to say at the level of the kitten 81 or of the stud 83. A groove extending over the periphery of the stud 83 or of the kitten 81 may be produced to avoid vertical displacement of the retaining ring 500. This retaining ring 500 further comprises means for receiving the stud 510. These reception means 510 comprise an elastic arm 512 extending from said ring and forming, with it, housing 514 to accommodate the piton.

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 80 , like the retaining ring 500. This clamping ring 600 is therefore forcibly engaged at the pivoting device 8. A groove extending over the periphery of the stud 83 or of the kitten 80, parallel to that of the retaining ring 500, can be performed to avoid vertical displacement 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. Indeed, the operating principle of this second embodiment uses this stud 602 to exert a stress on the elastic arm 512 in order to lock the stud 7 The clamping ring 600 is rotated so that the stud 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 results in its deformation and therefore the locking of the peak. The frame 604 therefore makes it possible to offset the stud 602. In a conventional manner, the frame 604 could be an arm 605 whose free end 605 ́ will be provided with said stud 602. The latter can be in one piece with the frame 604 or the free end 605 ́ will be provided with a hole so that the stud 602 is placed and fixed there.

In an advantageous version, the frame comprises at least two arms 605a, 605b extending radially from the ring 600, these arms 605 being connected together by a beam or cross member 606. This beam 606 is provided with a protuberance at the level of which the stud is arranged. This configuration provides better rigidity than a frame comprising a single arm.

In this frame configuration visible in FIG. 11, it is expected that the spacing of at least two arms 605 is sufficient to allow the stud 7 to be housed 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 retaining ring 500. This configuration then forms a possibility for the operator pinches the arms 605 and the extension 516 via tweezers to angularly modify the position of the two rings 500 and 600. This thus offers a possibility of angular adjustment without modifying the locking of the stud 7.

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

It will be conceivable that the stud 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 shown in fig. 14.

In a variant of the second embodiment visible in FIGS. 16 and 17, the frame 604 comprises an arm 609 whose free end 609 ́ ends in 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. Consequently, during the rotation of the tightening ring 600 carrying the frame 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 therefore 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 described above without departing from the scope of the invention defined by the appended claims.

For example, we can imagine that the hairspring is of a diameter less than the size of the piton holder so that it is protected by said piton holder. Indeed, it has become common to use silicon hairsprings, this material has interesting non-magnetic properties. However, silicon is a fragile material which breaks during too strong shocks. By configuring the piton holder and the hairspring to have a space-saving hairspring than the piton holder, the piton holder is used as protection of the silicon hairspring against possible shocks which may occur during the adjustment of the watch or in after sales service.

Claims (12)

1. Support and support assembly (1) of a timepiece spiral spring, comprising a piton (7) and a cock (2) on which is fixed a piton holder (4), said piton holder comprising holding means (5) provided with a housing (53, 53 ́, 514) for accommodating the stud therein and clamping means (6), at least said clamping means being movable relative to the holding means in order to block the peg in its housing, characterized in that the holding means (5) and the clamping means (6) are in the form of annular parts arranged to be mounted for rotation on a protuberance (8). 2. Assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that the holding means are in the form of a holding ring (50) comprising means for receiving the stud (51) comprising two protuberances (52) projecting from said retaining ring (50) and being spaced apart to form the housing (53) in which the stud (7) can be housed. 3. An assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that the holding means are in the form of a holding ring (50) comprising means for receiving the stud (51) comprising a protrusion (52 ́) projecting from said retaining ring (50), said protuberance being provided with an opening forming the housing (53 ́) in which the stud (7) can be housed. 4. Assembly according to one of claims 2 and 3, characterized in that the clamping means are in the form of a clamping ring (60) further comprising an elastic arm (62) extending from said ring clamp (60) in a direction substantially similar to that of the curvature of said clamp ring to form a space (64) between the clamp ring (60) and said elastic arm (62), said space (64) allowing the piton to be inserted therein and to be pressed into its housing (53, 53 ́) by said elastic arm. 5. Assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that the holding means are in the form of a holding ring (500) comprising an elastic arm (512) extending from said ring and forming, with it, a housing (514) to accommodate the piton. 6. Assembly according to claim 5, characterized in that the clamping means are in the form of a clamping ring (600) comprising a frame (604) on which a stud (602) is arranged, the frame and the stud being arranged so that the rotation of the clamping ring relative to the retaining ring (500) causes the appearance of a stress exerted by said stud (602) on said elastic arm (512) in order to lock the mounting the piton. 7. The assembly of claim 5, characterized in that the clamping means are in the form of a clamping ring (600) comprising a frame (604) on which a structure (610) provided with a groove (612 ) is arranged, the groove being arranged so that the elastic arm can be inserted therein so that the rotation of said clamping ring relative to the retaining ring causes a deformation of said elastic arm in order to lock the mounting of the stud. 8. An assembly according to claim 6, characterized in that the armature (604) comprises at least two arms (605) extending radially, interconnected by a crosspiece (606), the at least two arms being separated so to allow the piton to be placed and locked without risk of contact with said arms. 9. Assembly according to one of claims 4, 6, 7 and 8, characterized in that the clamping ring and the retaining ring each comprise a positioning extension (56, 66) extending radially and allowing its gripping by a tweezer-type tool for rotating the clamping ring and the retaining ring. 10. An assembly according to claims 8 and 9, characterized in that the positioning extension of the clamping ring and one of the arms of the frame form only one and the same piece. 11. Assembly according to one of claims 9 and 10, characterized in that the positioning extensions (56, 66) of the clamping ring and the retaining ring are arranged to be opposite one of the other when the piton is locked so as to allow their simultaneous gripping to effect an angular adjustment of the position of the piton relative to the cock. 12. Watch movement comprising a plate on which is mounted an energy source supplying energy to the transmission cogs, these cogs cooperating with an exhaust system via an escape wheel whose rotation is regulated by an anchor of the exhaust system, the pulses of which are supplied by a balance spring, said balance spring being mounted on a holding assembly according to one of claims 1 to 11.