Abstract:
A golf counter has an entirely mechanical mechanism which includes a first lever actuated by a first pushbutton provided at its end with a nose coacting with a first star wheel carrying the movable member of the counter of the number of strokes per hole and subject to the action of a spring detent and a spiral spring. This mechanism includes a second lever whose first arm is subject to the action of a return spring and operationally connected to a second pushbutton, this first arm having a nose coacting with the teeth of the second star wheel carrying the movable member of the counter of the hole number. A second arm of the second lever actuates during its pivoting under the action of the second pushbutton the spring detent thereby freeing the first star wheel leading to its zero resetting by the spiral spring.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to golf counters and particularly to those of the type permitting displaying mechanically from pushers or other manipulating members, the number of holes played, the number of strokes per hole, and the total strokes per round. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Such counters are known, which operate electrically or electronically with stepping motors or integrated circuits. Such embodiments are cumbersome, large and complicated and do not lend themselves to the production of a high class product in small quantities. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The object of the present invention is to permit the production of golf counters of the mentioned type, which are purely mechanical and which, accordingly, can be made in small quantities and of high quality. 
     Another object of the present invention is to permit the production of a mechanical module of a golf counter, which can be integrated into a preferably mechanical wristwatch, between the movement and the dial of this watch. 
     The present invent has for its object a mechanical golf counter. 
     The present invention has for its object a mechanical golf counter which is distinguished by the characteristics set forth in claim 1. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The accompanying drawings illustrate schematically an embodiment of the golf counter according to the invention. 
     FIG. 1 shows a wristwatch provided with a golf counter according to the invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a plan view of the mechanism of the golf counter according to the invention. 
     FIG. 3 is a cross-section on the line A—A of FIG.  2 . 
     FIG. 4 is a cross-section on the line B—B of FIG.  2 . 
     FIG. 5 is a cross-section on the line C—C of FIG.  2 . 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     As is seen in FIG. 1, the golf counter comprises a case  1  enclosing a mechanism and the movement of a watch whose dial  2  carries a graduation  3  for time display, coacting with an hour hand  4  and a minute hand  5 , driven by the watch movement. 
     The dial  2  moreover carries two counting graduations, one graduation  6  forming with a hand  7  the display of the number of the hole played, and the other graduation  8  forming with a hand  9  the display of the number of strokes taken for the hole displayed on the counter  6 ,  7 . 
     The dial  2  also comprises a window  10  through which the numerals carried by the display discs can appear, this window and these discs forming a totalizing counter of the number of strokes taken. 
     The case  1  comprises a winding stem  11  and two pushbuttons P 1  and P 2  actuating correcting levers p 1  and p 2  acting on the mechanism of the golf counter as will be described hereafter. 
     In the illustrated example, the case  1  enclosing the watch movement and the golf counter mechanism, located between said movement and the dial  2 , is fixed on a watch strap  12 . 
     It is evident that in a simplified embodiment, the case  1  could enclose only the golf counter, the dial  2  then not bearing any time graduations. 
     In other modifications, the case need not be fixed on a watch strap and could comprise for example a disc permitting it to be suspended from a cord or a chain permitting carrying the golf counter as a pocket watch or a pendant. 
     FIGS. 2 to  5  show in detail the mechanism, which is purely mechanical, of the golf counter, permitting actuating the displays  6 ,  7 ;  8 ,  9  and  10  with the help of pushbuttons P 1  and P 2  and the winding crown  11 . 
     This mechanism comprises a second star wheel  13  with eighteen teeth pivoted on a base plate  14  of the golf counter module. The axle  15  of this eighteen-toothed star wheel  13  bears the hand  7  of the counter displaying the number of the hole being played. The angular position of this eighteen-tooth star wheel  13  is maintained by its successive stepwise actuations, by a spring detent  16 . 
     This mechanism also comprises a first twelve-tooth star wheel  17  also pivoted on the base plate  14  of the golf counter module, whose axle carries the hand  9  of the counter  8 ,  9  totalizing the number of strokes taken for a given hole. This twelve-toothed star wheel has a stop finger  18  coacting with a pin  19  set into the base plate  14  to define the 0 position of the needle  9  of the counter of the number of strokes per hole. This twelve-toothed star wheel is subjected to the action of a spiral return spring  20 , and a spring detent  21  maintains its angular position between its successive actuations. 
     The shaft p 2  of the pushbutton P 2  bears at its end a pin  23  acting on one of the arms of a second lever  24  pivoted at  25  on the base plate  14 . This first arm of the second lever  24  ends in a nose  26  adapted to coact with the teeth of the second eighteen-tooth star wheel  13 . This first arm of the second lever  24  is subjected to the return action of a spring  27  fixed on the base plate  14 , comprising two legs, of which the first bears on the pin  23 . This first leg of the spring  27  tends to maintain the shaft of the pushbutton P 2  in its inactive position. 
     The second arm of the lever  24  bears with its end  28  on the spring detent  21  of the first twelve-toothed star wheel  17 . 
     The shaft p 1  of the pushbutton P 1  bears on a projection of a first lever  30  pivoted at  31  on the base plate. This first lever  30  is subjected to the return action of the second leg of the spring  27 . 
     The other end of the first lever  30  comprises an actuating surface  32  and a control nose  33  adapted to act on the teeth of the first twelve-tooth star wheel  17 . This control nose  33  enters into contact only with the lower half of the teeth of the twelve-toothed star wheel  17 . This first twelve-toothed star wheel  17  comprises a tooth  34  whose thickness is reduced and accordingly cannot coact with the nose  33 . 
     This mechanism also comprises a first crown  35 , having internal teeth, actuated conventionally by the winding stem  11  when the latter is in its intermediate position. The first crown  35  carries a second crown  37  also comprising internal teeth, these internal teeth coacting with the actuating surface  32  of the lever  30 . 
     The mechanism also comprises a disc  38  of units, provided on its upper face with numerals 0 to 9 uniformly spaced about its circumference, which numerals appear successively in the red portion of the window  10  of the dial. This units disc  38  is secured to an axle  39  pivoted on the base plate  14 , this axle also carrying a units star wheel  40  comprising nine truncated teeth and a single entire tooth  41 , as well as a pinion  42  subjected to the action of a spring detent  43 . The teeth of this pinion  42  are disposed in the path of the internal teeth of the second crown  37 . 
     Finally, this mechanism comprises a tens disc  44  carrying on its upper surface the numerals 0 to 9 disposed so as to appear successively in the left portion of the window  10  of the dial  2 . This tens disc  44  is secured to an axle  45  pivoted on the base plate  14 , this axle carrying a tens star wheel  46 , whose six teeth coact with the tooth  41  of the units start wheel  40 , and a pinion  47  subjected to the action of a spring detent  48 . 
     The units disc  38  and the tens disc  44  are tangential and disposed so as to be able to cause two numerals to appear in the window  10  of the dial, each of these numerals being carried by one of said discs. 
     The operation of this golf counter mechanism is as follows: 
     In the initial or 0 position, the hand  7  faces the numeral 1 of the graduation  6  thereby indicating that it is the first hole of the course which is to be played. A hand  9  indicates 0 on the graduation  8 , indicating that no stroke has been taken for hole number 1. Finally, the window  10  of the dial shows the indication 00, meaning that the total number of strokes played is 0. 
     The player can then enter the number of strokes necessary to reach the first hole. At each stroke, he pushes on the pushbutton P 1 , which swings the first lever  30 , its nose  33  engages with the teeth of the twelve-tooth star  17 , advancing it one step, which places the hand  9  on the numeral 1 of the graduation  8  of the dial  2 . Simultaneously, the actuating surface  33  of this first lever  30  enters into contact with the teeth of the second crown  37  and moves the latter one step, resulting in driving the pinion  42  by one step, and hence the units disc  38  of the totalizing counter, which now indicates  01 . 
     As with each push on the pushbutton P 1 , the player increments by one point the display  8 ,  9 , indicating the number of strokes to the first hole and on the other hand the totalizing counter  10 . 
     The maximum value of the display  8 ,  9  of the counter of the number of strokes per hole, is limited in the illustrated example to eleven. If nevertheless the user pushes a second time on the pushbutton P 1 , the nose  33  of the lever  30  does not drive the twelve-tooth star wheel  17 , this nose passes beside the truncated tooth  34  of this star wheel  17 . It is thus avoided that the capacity of the spiral spring  20  will be exceeded and that the spring will not be damaged. 
     Of course the maximum value of the counter  8 ,  9  depends on the number of teeth of the first star wheel  17  and on the number of marks of the graduation  8 . This maximum capacity can therefore be chosen as desired. 
     When the pushbutton P 1  is actuated for the second consecutive time, the tooth  41  of the units star wheel drives the tens star wheel by one step. This repeats each time the pushbutton P 1  is actuated for the tenth consecutive time. Thus the totalizing counter is incremented from 0 to 99 at most, for each push on the pushbutton P 1 . 
     The first hole being completed, the player presses once on the pushbutton P 2 , which causes a pivoting of the second lever  24  and the displacement of the spring detent  21  by the bearing surface  28  of the second arm of this lever  24 . As soon as the spring detent  21  is raised, the twelve-tooth star wheel  17  is driven counterclockwise by the spiral return spring  20 , to its initial position defined by the stop finger  18  and the pin  19 . The hand  9  of the counter of the number of strokes per hole is thus reset to 0. Upon releasing the pushbutton P 2 , the nose  26  of the first arm of the lever  24  engages, under the action of the spring  27 , with a second eighteen-tooth star wheel  13  and causes its rotation by one step, moving the hand  7  to the numeral  2  of the graduation  6  indicating the number of the hole played. 
     These 0 reset functions of the counter of the number of strokes  8 ,  9  per hole, and the incrementation of the counter  6 ,  7  of the number of the hole, do not in any way influence the totalizing counter  10 . 
     These operations are repeated to the end of the round, namely the totalization of the number of strokes taken for the 18th hole on the counter  8 ,  9  and the total number of strokes of the player on the totalizing counter  10 . 
     Before the beginning of a new round, the player resets to 0 the totalizing counter by placing the winding stem  11  in the intermediate position if it is a watch provided with a golf counter, then by actuating with the help of this crown  11  the first crown  35  which, driving the crown  37 , permits a manual 0 resetting of the totalizing counter. 
     The mechanism described is of interest because it is simple, and comprises only a few pieces that are easy to be machined. Such a mechanism is particularly much less complicated than a mechanism which would comprise cores for 0 resetting of the counters, as is found in chronographic mechanisms. 
     Many variations of the mechanism described are possible. It has already been mentioned that it could be integrated or not into a watch and that the maximum value of the counter  8 ,  9  for the number of strokes per hole is changeable as desired. The same is true for the maximum value of the counter  6 ,  7  of the hole number. Thus, it suffices to modify accordingly the number of teeth of the eighteen-tooth star wheel and of the marks of the graduation  6 . 
     A simplified version could also be made, of the mechanism, which would not comprise any totalizing counter. 
     Moreover, the counters  6 ,  7  of the number of the hole played, and  8 ,  9  of the number of strokes for the played hole, could comprise, instead of a hand, a rotating disc provided with numeral on its upper surface, which numerals would be visible one by one through a window of the dial.