Chronograph watch

The watch comprises a conventional timepiece movement driving the hours-hands, the minutes-hands and the seconds-hands, to which is added a chronograph module the frame of which, having the shape of a bell, covers the movement of the timepiece. The chronograph is autonomous, i.e. its indicators are not driven by the basis movement but by electric motors situated around the central movement, fed by a battery and piloted by a quartz oscillator, the frequency divisions being effected by an integrated circuit. The printed circuit associated with this whole comprises an annular plate surrounding the timepiece movement. An intermediary plate ensures the connection between the timepiece movement and the chronograph module. The transformation of a conventional timepiece movement into a chronograph watch is thus very easy, the chronograph module being able to be applied to very different timepiece movements, only the intermediary plate having to be different.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
(a) Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to a chronograph watch. 
(b) Description of the Prior Art 
One of the difficulties for the realization of chronograph watches lies in 
the fact that each timepiece movement or clockwork must be designated per 
se and that, due to the relatively restricted number of chronograph 
watches, their cost is thereby greatly increased. 
The same way, the manufacturer who contemplates transforming an existing 
watch movement so as to adapt thereto a chronograph mechanism, generally 
associated with auxiliary indicators of minutes and of hours for instance, 
is obliged to adapt his construction to the type of clockwork or movement 
which he has chosen, whereby the study and the realization, especially the 
tooling, suit only one type and must be repeated for each type of movement 
which has to be equipped with the chronograph mechanism. 
Here again, the cost is greatly increased thereby. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The object of the present invention is to furnish a means permitting to 
adapt easily a chronograph mechanism to a timepiece movement, the 
chronograph mechanism being able to be applied, without substantial 
modifications, to any clockwork or movement. 
That permits the realization of chronograph modules in series production, 
since they are usable on many different clockworks for timepieces. 
This object is achieved by the fact that the chronograph watch according to 
the present invention comprises, besides a timepiece movement driving the 
conventional time indicators, an autonomous chronograph movement 
comprising a source of energy, a timekeeper and at least one indicator, 
this chronograph movement comprising an annular frame surrounding the 
frame of the timepiece movement. 
The various features of the invention will be apparent from the following 
description, drawings and claims, the scope of the invention not being 
limited to the drawings themselves as the drawings are only for the 
purpose of illustrating ways in which the principles of the invention can 
be applied. Other embodiments of the invention utilising the same or 
equivalent principles may be used and structural changes may be made as 
desired by those skilled in the art without departing from the present 
invention and the purview of the appended claims.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
The watch represented, generally designated by 1, comprises a conventional 
clockwork or movement 2, which is round in the present case, driving the 
conventional hands, i.e. an hour-hand 3, a minute-hand 4 and and a central 
seconds-hand 5. 
It is a conventional clockwork, mechanical or electronic, the winding and 
the resetting of which, respectively the resetting alone, are effected by 
means of a stem 6 (FIG. 3) carrying a control crown 7 (FIG. 1). 
The casing of this watch comprises a casing body made of one piece with a 
bezel 8, a glass 9 and a bottom 10 (FIG. 4). 
The watch 1 moreover comprises a chronograph mechanism carried by a frame 
in dependent from the frame of the timepiece movement 2. The frame of this 
chronograph movement or module is diagrammatically represented in FIG. 2 
where have only been represented the plates of this frame, to the 
exclusion of the parts constituting distance pieces like pillars or 
columns. 
This frame comprises a base-plate 11 and an upper plate 12 as well as an 
annular bridge 13 and has the general shape of a bell, which covers the 
clockwork or movement 2, the annular part of this frame surrounding the 
movement 2. An intermediary plate 14 which ensures the connection between 
the timepiece movement 2 and the chonograph module is interposed between 
them. The relief of its lower face will correspond to that of the plate of 
the timepiece movement 2. This way, only this intermediary plate 14 has to 
be modified for permitting to apply the chronograph module to any 
clockwork of any type. 
The intermediary plate 14 to which is secured the base plate 11 of the 
frame of the chronograph module will be secured to the base-plate of the 
timepiece movement 2 in lieu of the dial thereof and by the same means, 
for instance by means of feet it will present to this effect. These feet 
can also serve to the positioning (centering, orientation) of the 
intermediary plate on the base-plate of the movement 2 only, the securing 
itself being effected by means of screws screwed in holes of the 
base-plate of the movement provided for the members which secure the 
movement in the casing. Then, it will be the base-plate 11 or 12 of the 
frame of the chronograph module which will carry the members securing the 
whole in the casing. 
The chronograph module comprises three indicators, i.e. a chronograph 
center hand 15, advancing step by step at a rate of 1/5 of second at each 
step, a hand 16 counting the hours, rotating opposite a hours division 17 
of the dial of the watch designated by 18, and a hand 19 for the counting 
of the minutes, rotating opposite a division 20 of minutes provided on the 
dial 18. This dial, appearing on the base-plate 12 (FIGS. 4, 5 and 6), is 
secured by means of feet 21 which are prolongated up to the level of the 
plates 11 or 12 (FIG. 3). 
All these indicators, chronograph hand and counters, are driven per se, 
that is to say independently from the timepiece movement 2, the 
chronograph module, which is electric, being autonomous. Its running and 
its stopping are controlled by a pusher 22. 
To this effect, the annular bridge 13 of the frame of the chronograph 
module carries three electric motors 23, 24 and 25 driving respectively 
the three hands 15, 16 and 19. These three motors 23, 24 and 25 are 
controlled by a quartz oscillator 26 and are fed by a common battery 27 
(FIG. 3), the frequency divisions as desired being produced by an 
integrated circuit 28. The module comprises a printed circuit 29 the plate 
of which, which is annular, is superposed to the annular bridge of the 
frame of this module. 
This way, the three motors, the quartz oscillator, the battery, the 
integrated circuit with, moreover, a trimmer, indicated at 30 in FIG. 3, 
are all situated around the timepiece movement 2. 
The chronograph-hand 15 is driven by the motor 23 as follows: 
The rotor of the motor 23, designated by 31 (FIGS. 3 and 5) is rigid with a 
pinion 32 driving, through the intermediary of two wheels and pinions 33 
and 34, a wheel 35 connected, through the intermediary of a friction 
coupling comprising a cumbered washer 36, to a pinion 37 meshing with a 
wheel 38 rigid with a sleeve or cannon 39 surrounding the cannon 
hour-wheel, designated by 40, of the timepiece movement 2 (FIGS. 2 and 4). 
This cannon 39 carries the chronograph hand 15. The whole gearing 
connecting the rotor of the motor 23 to the hand 15 is thus carried by the 
central part of the frame of the chronograph module, covering the 
timepiece movement 2, and not by the annular portion of this frame, 
surrounding the movement. 
The friction between the wheel 35 and the pinion 37 has for purpose to 
permit the manual resetting to zero of the hand 15 without the rotor of 
the motor be sollicited. 
In view of this resetting to zero, the wheel 33 rigid with the cannon 39 is 
meshing with a wheel 41 (FIG. 3) rigid with a resetting heart 42 with 
which cooperates a resetting hammer 43, a very short portion of which only 
has been represented in FIG. 3, controlled by a resetting pusher 44 acting 
on a portion 43a, which has been bent at right angle, of the lever which 
is provided with the hammer 43 (FIGS. 1 and 4). It is to be noted that the 
resetting of the hand 15 could not be made easily electronically, through 
the intermediary of the driving motor 23, due to the fact that, since this 
hand rotates step by step at rate of 1/5 of second at each step, the 
resetting operation would then be much too long. On the contrary, if the 
mechanism would be arranged in such a way that the hand 15 runs step by 
step by reason of steps of one second each, then an electronic resetting 
could be provided. 
The hand 19 of the minutes counter is driven by the motor 25 as follows: 
The rotor, designated by 48 (FIG. 6), of the motor 25 is rigid with a 
pinion 49 driving, through the intermediary of a wheel and pinion 50 a 
wheel 51 the shaft of which, designated by 52, carries the hand 19. 
The hand 16 of the hours counter is driven by the motor 24 as follows: 
The rotor, designated by 53 (FIG. 3), of the motor 24 is rigid with a 
pinion 54 driving, through the intermediary of a wheel and pinion 55, a 
wheel 56 the shaft of which, designated by 57, carries the hand 16. The 
resetting to zero of the hand 16 of the hours counter and 19 of the 
minutes counter will be effected electronically, controlled by the pusher 
44. Thus, the resetting of the different chronograph indicators is mixed, 
the chronograph hand 15 being mechanically, resetted and the counters 
hands 16 and 19 being electronically resetted. It is to be noted that the 
resetting of the counters could also be effected mechanically, by means of 
hearts which would then be operated by hammers which could be constituted 
by supplementary panes of the same lever as the lever provided with the 
hammer 43. 
The watch as disclosed and represented moreover comprises a date indicator 
constituted by a hand 58 rotating opposite a division of the dates 59 of 
the dial 18 and an indicator of the phases of the moon constituted by a 
disc 60 visible through a window 61 of the dial. 
These two indicators are driven by the movement 2 from the hour cannon 
wheel 40 which drives a wheel 62 (FIG. 3) rigid with two pinions 63 and 64 
meshing with two coaxial wheels 65 and 66, respectively. The wheel 62 and 
the wheels 65 and 66 are carried by the intermediary plate 14. The wheel 
65 carries the hand 58 of the dates while the wheel 66 carries the disc 60 
of the phases of the moon. The intermediary plate 14 could still carry 
other indicators. 
It is to be noted that the term "annular" used for designating the special 
shape of the frame of the chronograph module does not imply that this 
frame be obligatorily circular. As a matter of fact, the basis movement of 
the timepiece could be of a shape other than round, the annular frame of 
the chronograph module being then of corresponding a shape so as to 
surround the timepiece movement. 
Owing to the present arrangement, the basis movement 2 does not receive any 
other modifications, when being equipped with a chronograph, than the 
prolongation of the cannon 40 of the hour wheel, of the cannon pinion, 
designated by 67, carrying the hand 4 of the minutes, and of the stem 68 
of the central seconds hand 5.