Patent ID: 8514669

Claim:
A strike mechanism for a watch, the mechanism including: (a) a gong that is connected to a gong-carrier; (b) a hammer mounted on a plate for striking the gong at predetermined times; (c) a damping counterspring disposed to keep the hammer at a distance from the gong in an idle mode; (d) a drive spring disposed to drive the hammer, wherein the drive spring includes a fixed end and a second end that is free to move, and the drive spring is capable of winding to drive the hammer by a hammer shaft against the gong in a strike mode to produce an acoustic sound, and the second end is free to move rotatably about a first axis defined by the fixed end; and (e) a stop member located on a path of the drive spring of the hammer in a direction of the gong so that a rotational strike speed of the second end of the drive spring increases following contact of an intermediate part of the drive spring acting against the stop member prior to the hammer striking against the gong in the strike mode, wherein the stop member provides a point of contact for the intermediate part of the drive spring and the point of contact defines a second axis about which the second end of the drive spring rotates when the drive spring contacts the stop member in order to increase the rotational strike speed of the hammer against the gong.