EP1217470B1 - Device for displaying numeric information with two figures - Google Patents

Description

The present invention generally relates to a digital information display device and more particularly to such a display device for indicating two-digit digital information such as the date or the last two digits of a year. Such a device is more particularly intended to be integrated in a timepiece such as a wristwatch.

The two-digit digital information display devices used in wristwatches, for example to indicate the date, are mainly of two types. A first type comprises an annular disc bearing a series of numbers typically from 1 to 31, which correspond to 31 calendar days of the month. The disk is driven one step per day by a suitable mechanism and is visible through a window provided in a dial. The disadvantage of this type of this device lies in the fact that the numbers, which are relatively small, are poorly readable. To remedy this drawback it has been proposed a second type of display device comprising two disks respectively bearing the numbers of the units and the numbers of tens, these two disks being arranged either side by side, or concentrically. These devices have a better readability, but are however bulky and their use in wristwatches limits the possibilities of equipping these wristwatches other types of displays.

Patent is also known BE 449 669 a clock for a vehicle dashboard having a dial formed in three parts. A first movable central part is in the form of a disk bearing an index of hours and making a turn in 12 hours, a second part is in the form of a first ring carrying a circle of hours surrounding the central disk and a third portion formed of a ring bearing an index of minutes surrounding the first ring and making a turn in one hour.

The main object of the present invention is to overcome the drawbacks of the above-mentioned prior art by providing a display device for the indication of two-digit digital information that is simple and compact while maintaining good aesthetics and good readability. .

The invention also aims to provide a display device for the indication of two-digit digital information that can be easily integrated into small objects such as timepieces.

For this purpose, the subject of the invention is a display device for the indication of two-digit digital information, characterized in that it comprises a disk bearing a series of digits regularly distributed along its periphery, and in that it further comprises first and second independent pointers, at least two of these three elements being movable in rotation, said pointers being disposed respectively outside and inside the periphery of the disc to respectively indicate the tens digit and the units digit of the said information to be displayed.

The display device according to the invention makes it possible, thanks to the combination of the two pointers and the disk, to display a two-digit digital information using a single disk carrying a single series of digits and this of a original way. The display device obtained is thus very compact.

According to an advantageous characteristic, the series of digits comprises the digits from 0 to 9, the first pointer is fixed while the disk and the second pointer are rotatable about a common geometric axis.

• la figure 1 montre une vue de face d'une pièce d'horlogerie comprenant un dispositif d'affichage selon l'invention;
• la figure 2 montre une vue partielle en perspective et en coupe selon la ligne II-II du dispositif d'affichage selon l'invention, et
• les figures 3 et 4 représentent des vues de face du dispositif d'affichage de l'invention dans différentes configurations d'affichage de l'année et d'un quantième respectivement.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will appear in the following description of a preferred embodiment, presented by way of non-limiting example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

• the figure 1 shows a front view of a timepiece comprising a display device according to the invention;
• the figure 2 shows a partial view in perspective and in section along the line II-II of the display device according to the invention, and
• the Figures 3 and 4 represent front views of the display device of the invention in different display configurations of the year and a date respectively.

Referring to the figure 1 a front view of a calendar timepiece 1 comprising, in addition to display devices of the day of the week, the date and the month, a display device according to the invention indicating the two latest figures of the year, designated by general reference 2.

In the example shown, the display device 2 comprises a disk 4 carrying a series of numbers from 0 to 9 regularly distributed along its periphery. According to the invention these figures will serve as it will appear more clearly below to indicate both the units and tens of the two-digit number that is intended to display.

The disc 4 moves in rotation over a dial 6 and is driven by any suitable conventional means. The disc 4 moves next to a first pointer 8, fixed in the illustrated example. The pointer 8 is typically made by a decal made on the dial or by a patch on it. In this example, the pointer 8 is disposed outside the periphery of the disc 4, along a midi-six hour axis of the disc 4 and at noon. The pointer 8 indicates in this embodiment, and by convention, the digit of the tens of the two-digit digital information that one wishes to display. According to a variant, it is understood that the fixed pointer 8 could be disposed at any point along the periphery of the disk 4.

As is more particularly apparent from the figure 2 It should be noted that the disk 4 comprises a central hollow 10 which defines at its periphery a ring 12. Numbers 0 to 9 are applied at regular intervals on the surface of the ring 12. The disk 4 further comprises a central opening 14 for the passage of a drive 16 of a second pointer 18.

In the example illustrated, the second pointer 18 is also mobile in rotation and moves relative to the disk 4 opposite the numbers carried by the latter. The movable pointer 18 is disposed inside the periphery of the disc 4. In the illustrated example, the moving pointer 18 comprises a disc 20 on which is affixed an index 22. More precisely, the disc 20 has a substantially smaller diameter. to that of the recess 10 and is disposed in the latter. The disc 20 is connected to the drive shaft 16 which passes through the central opening 14 of the disc 4. Preferably, the upper surfaces of the crown 12 and the disc 20 are coplanar ( figure 2 ). In this embodiment and by convention, the pointer 18 indicates via the index 22 the digit of the units of the two-digit digital information that is to be displayed.

In the case where it is desired to display the last two digits of the year, the disc 4 is associated with first drive means (not shown) which increment it by one unit every ten years while the pointer mobile 18 is associated with second drive means (not shown) which increment a unit every year. For example, these drive means may be formed of a gear train driven by mechanical means or by a stepper motor controlled by a microprocessor programmed appropriately.

To the figure 3 three configurations of the display device according to the invention, representing the last two digits of the years 2008, 2009 and 2010, are represented by way of illustration. For the year 2008, the fixed pointer 8 points in the direction of the number of tens, namely 0 while the mobile pointer 18 points through the index 22 in the direction of the units digit, the number 8. For the year 2009, the disc 4 has remained stationary so that the fixed pointer 8 points always in the direction of 0, the number of tens has not changed. The moving pointer 18 has advanced one step clockwise to come to point to the digit 9 representing the number of units. For the year 2010, the fixed pointer 8 now points to the number 1, that is to say that the disc 4 has advanced one step counterclockwise to bring the fixed pointer 8 in front of the number 1 representing the tens digit, while the index 22 of the moving pointer 18 points to the digit 0.

According to a second application, the display device according to the invention illustrated in FIG. figure 4 the latter can indicate a date. In this case the disk 4 is associated with first drive means (not shown) which increment it to bring the numbers 1, 2, 3 and 0 opposite the fixed pointer 8, respectively at the end of the 9, 19, 29, 30 and if necessary 31st days, while the second pointer is associated with second drive means (not shown) which increments it by one unit per day.

For purposes of illustration, it has also been shown figure 4 the display device according to the invention in several display configurations of the last two digits of a date. The reading principle is the same as that described above in connection with the figure 3 .

The invention is of course not limited to the embodiment described above and different embodiments can be envisaged. In particular, it should be noted that it is possible, according to a first variant, for the disc 4 to be stationary and for the pointer 8 to be carried by a member movable in rotation along the periphery of the disc 4. It is also possible, according to a second variant, that the pointer 18 is fixed, and that the pointer 8 and the disc 4 are both rotatable. Of course, the movable pointers mentioned above and formed by disks can be replaced by needles or any other appropriate means of indication.

Furthermore, in the foregoing description, it has conventionally been chosen to indicate the number of the tens by the pointer lying outside the periphery of the disc 4 and to indicate the number of the units by the pointer at the end of the disc. interior of its periphery and more particularly on the side of the inner edge of the crown 12 but it is understood that the opposite can be envisaged.

It will be understood that other modifications and / or adaptations may be made to the display device which has just been described without departing from the scope of the invention defined by the appended claims.

Claims (6)

1. Display device (2) for indicating digital information with two figures, characterized in that it includes a disc (4) bearing a series of figures regularly distributed along the periphery of the disc, and in that it further includes first (8) and second (18) independent pointers, at least two of these three elements (4, 8, 18) being mobile in rotation, said pointers (8, 18) being arranged respectively outside and inside the periphery of the disc (4) to indicate respectively the tens figure and the units figure of said digital information to be displayed.
2. Display device (2) according to claim 1, characterized in that said series of figures includes the figures from 0 to 9.
3. Display device (2) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the first pointer (8) is stationary and in that the disc (4) and the second pointer (18) are mobile in rotation about a common geometrical axis.
4. Display device (4) according to claim 3, for indicating the last two figures of a year, characterized in that the disc (4) is associated with first drive means, which increment said disc by one unit every ten years and in that said second pointer (18) is associated with second drive means, which increment said disc by one unit every year.
5. Display device (2) according to claim 3 for indicating the date, characterized in that the disc is associated with first drive means, which increment said disc to bring the figures 1, 2, 3 and 0 opposite the stationary pointer (8) respectively at the end of the 9th, 19th, 29th, 39th and where appropriate 31 st days and in that the second pointer (18) is associated with second drive means, which increment said disc by one unit per day.
6. Timepiece (1), in particular a wristwatch or pocket watch, characterized in that it includes a display device (2) according to any of claims 1 to 5.

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