Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G04—HOROLOGY
  • G04B—MECHANICALLY-DRIVEN CLOCKS OR WATCHES; MECHANICAL PARTS OF CLOCKS OR WATCHES IN GENERAL; TIME PIECES USING THE POSITION OF THE SUN, MOON OR STARS
  • G04B47/00—Time-pieces combined with other articles which do not interfere with the running or the time-keeping of the time-piece
  • G04B47/06—Time-pieces combined with other articles which do not interfere with the running or the time-keeping of the time-piece with attached measuring instruments, e.g. pedometer, barometer, thermometer or compass
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B63—SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; RELATED EQUIPMENT
  • B63C—LAUNCHING, HAULING-OUT, OR DRY-DOCKING OF VESSELS; LIFE-SAVING IN WATER; EQUIPMENT FOR DWELLING OR WORKING UNDER WATER; MEANS FOR SALVAGING OR SEARCHING FOR UNDERWATER OBJECTS
  • B63C11/00—Equipment for dwelling or working underwater; Means for searching for underwater objects
  • B63C11/02—Divers' equipment
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G04—HOROLOGY
  • G04B—MECHANICALLY-DRIVEN CLOCKS OR WATCHES; MECHANICAL PARTS OF CLOCKS OR WATCHES IN GENERAL; TIME PIECES USING THE POSITION OF THE SUN, MOON OR STARS
  • G04B47/00—Time-pieces combined with other articles which do not interfere with the running or the time-keeping of the time-piece
  • G04B47/06—Time-pieces combined with other articles which do not interfere with the running or the time-keeping of the time-piece with attached measuring instruments, e.g. pedometer, barometer, thermometer or compass
  • G04B47/066—Time-pieces combined with other articles which do not interfere with the running or the time-keeping of the time-piece with attached measuring instruments, e.g. pedometer, barometer, thermometer or compass with a pressure sensor
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G04—HOROLOGY
  • G04G—ELECTRONIC TIME-PIECES
  • G04G21/00—Input or output devices integrated in time-pieces
  • G04G21/02—Detectors of external physical values, e.g. temperature

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a diving watch for a diver to measure depth fluctuations when performing a decompression stop at a determined depth.
• This parameter is related to the depth stability of the diver when performing a decompression stop.
• the nitrogen contained in the air breathed by the divers is absorbed by the body, in particular by the blood, and this in proportions even greater than the ambient pressure and the duration of immersion are higher.
• this nitrogen must be eliminated by the body before the diver returns to the open air. In the absence of this elimination, the diver runs serious dangers that can lead to death.
• the problem of eliminating this nitrogen has been solved by requiring divers to have very slow ascent rates to the surface and, above all, to observe stations still called decompression stops at certain depths.
• the present invention aims to meet this demand by providing a mechanical or electromechanical diving watch comprising hour and minute hands, this watch being characterized in that it further comprises a depth indicator needle and a needle indicator of variation of depth, the depth indicator needle providing the diver an indication of the instantaneous value of the depth to which he is when diving, the depth variation indicating needle being at that time blocked at zero, the depth indicator needle being in turn blocked when the plunger reaches a decompression stop to be performed and the indicator needle of the depth variation being released to indicate to the plunger any variations in its depth relative to the depth of the decompression stop, the indicator needle of the depth variation is then reduced to zero and blocked while the pointer of the depth is released and again indicates the exact depth of diving when the diver resumes its ascent.
• the present invention provides a diving watch which provides the diver with indications relating to the fluctuations of its depth relative to a set point which corresponds to the depth of the decompression stop which it must carry out.
• the pointer indicating depth variation oscillate on either side of a zero value the diver can thus, at a glance, see that he is climbing up or down relative to at the depth of the level corresponding to the decompression stop which it must respect and can move up or down to stabilize at the required depth. In doing so, the diver is assured of performing in optimal conditions his decompression stop before resuming his ascent, which substantially improves the safety of said diver.
• the pressure sensor when immersed, causes the rotation of an input wheel of a differential mechanism, a first output formed by a depth variation wheel carrying the indicator pointer of variation of depth is blocked, so that a second output of the differential mechanism formed by a depth mobile carrying the depth indicator needle rotates while, during a decompression stop, the depth mobile is blocked and the mobile of depth variation is free and rotates, the depth variation wheel being again blocked and the depth mobile is again free to turn when the diver has completed his decompression stop and resumes its recovery to the surface.
• the present invention provides a dive watch equipped with a simple and robust differential mechanism and whose operation is reliable.
• Other features and advantages of the present invention will emerge more clearly from the following detailed description of an embodiment of the present invention. dive according to the invention, this example being given for purely illustrative and nonlimiting purposes only in connection with the attached drawing in which:
• FIG. 1 is a plan view of the dial of the dive watch according to the intention on which are visible the depth indicator needle and the depth variation indicator needle;
• FIG. 2A is a sectional view of the watch case shown in Figure 1 before switching on the watch diving, that is to say in the open air;
• FIGS. 3A and 3B are sectional views similar to those of FIGS.
• Figures 4A and 4B are sectional views similar to those of Figures 3A and 3B respectively, the diver being performing a decompression stop.
• FIG. 1 is a plan view of a dial of a diving watch according to the invention. Designated as a whole by the general reference numeral 1, this main dial has on its outer circumference hours and minutes index 2.
• a switch formed by an hour hand 4, a minute hand 6 and a hand of 8 seconds is arranged in the center of the dial 1 and moves classically above it.
• the dial 1 is surrounded by a telescope 10 on which is shown a scale of the depths 12 which, in the example shown in the drawing, is graduated five meters in five meters.
• a depth indicator needle 14 whose role will be described in detail below cooperates with the depth scale 12 to give the diver an instant indication of the depth at which it is located.
• the diving watch according to the invention further comprises a needle 16 which is driven by the depth indicator needle 14 and which indicates the maximum depth reached by the diver during his dive.
• a dial 18 of smaller dimensions which carries a scale of depth variation 20 graduated in meters and centered on zero.
• a pointer 22 indicative of the depth variation whose role will be described in detail below cooperates with the depth variation scale 20 to indicate to the diver its depth fluctuations with respect to the level corresponding to the depth of the bearing he must perform.
• a first solution would be to scale the scale for example between -3 meters and +3 meters, a negative depth value meaning that the diver is below the depth of the decompression stop, while a positive depth value would signal to the diver that it is above the depth of the decompression stop.
• the depth variation scale 20 extends, when read in the clockwise direction, between "3" and “0” and between “0” and “3". It is completed by two arrows 24A and 24B which point respectively downwards and upwards and which indicate to the diver that he is below or above the level of the decompression stop of a value given by the reading of the number of the scale 20 on which the needle 22 points.
• a window 26 through which the numbers of a meter five minutes scroll.
• the diving watch according to the invention comprises a push button 30 whose role will be described in detail below.
• the switch formed by the hour hand 4, minutes 6 and seconds 8, the depth indicator needle 14, the needle 16 indicating the maximum dive depth and the indicator needle 22 of the variation depth are coaxially mounted in the center of the dial 1.
• the dial 1 of the diving watch provides the following information: the diver has been standing for three minutes at a landing depth of five meters, the maximum diving depth he has reached during his dive is nineteen meters and his deviation from the depth of landing is zero.
• FIG 2A is a sectional view of the box of the diving watch according to the invention before use, that is to say in the open air.
• this watch case designated as a whole by the general reference numeral 32, consists of the aforementioned telescope 10 which carries a lens 34 below which the dial 1 extends at a distance. All of these parts are fixed on a middle part 36.
• a bottom 38 is screwed on an intermediate part 40 which itself is
• the intermediate part 40 carries a pressure sensor 42 on the other hand.
• This pressure sensor 42 is a sensor which is capable of being mechanically deformed under the effect of pressure. It may be, for example, a membrane sensor as shown in Figure 2A or a tube sensor Bourdon.
• FIG. 2B is a sectional view of the differential mechanism equipping the dive watch according to the invention before operation, that is to say in the open air.
• This differential mechanism generally designated by the general numerical reference 46, essentially comprises a differential input wheel 48 which can be rotated by the pressure sensor 42 when it is deformed under the effect a pressure difference between the side of said sensor 42 in contact with the water and the side of the same sensor 42 in contact with the air enclosed in the box 32 of the diving watch according to the invention.
• the differential input wheel 48 is rotatably mounted on a differential axis 50 via a shoulder bushing 52 which is held axially on a bridge 54 of the movement by its shoulder 56.
• a pin 58 driven into the wheel differential input 48 carries a satellite mobile 60 whose wheel 62 meshes with a pinion 64 driven on the differential shaft 50 and whose pinion 66 meshes with an intermediate mobile 68 composed of a wheel 70 and a pinion 72 mounted in rotation free on the differential axis 50.
• the pinion 72 meshes in turn with a depth variation mobile 74 whose structure will be detailed below.
• the differential mechanism 46 finally comprises a differential output wheel 76 which can be made of material with the differential axis 50 or be driven thereon and which meshes with a mobile depth indicator 78 whose structure will be detailed below. .
• FIGS. 3A and 3B on which the state of the watch according to the invention is represented while the diver is performing a dive.
• Figure 3A it will be noted that the protective cap 44 has been removed, so that the water can pass through the openings 38 'formed in the bottom 38 of the box 32 of the diving watch.
• the pressures are no longer balanced on either side of the pressure sensor 42, so that it deforms mechanically.
• said pressure sensor 42 rotates the input wheel 48 of the differential mechanism 46 which starts to rotate about the differential axis 50.
• the differential input wheel 48 drives with it. the axis 58 which carries the mobile satellite 60.
• the depth variation mobile 74 is blocked.
• the depth variation mobile 74 consists of a core 80 driven on an axis 82 mounted free to rotate on a shaft 84 and at one end of which is driven the indicator needle 22 of the depth variation.
• the shaft 82 is blocked.
• the depth variation wheel 74 also comprises a depth variation wheel 88 driven on the axis 82 and which meshes with the pinion 72 of the intermediate mobile 68.
• the variation wheel the depth 88 is also, as well as the pinion 72 and the wheel 70.
• the satellite wheel 62 will rotate the differential output wheel 76 via the differential axis 50 and the pinion 64
• the differential output wheel 76 will rotate the elevator indicator wheel 78 which consists of a depth indicator wheel 90 driven on the shaft 84 and locking means 92 of the wheel 90 such as only a clamp.
• These locking means 92 are capable of blocking the depth indicator wheel 90.
• this wheel 90 is free to rotate so that, driven by the differential output wheel 76, it drives the shaft 84 and therefore the indicator needle depth 14.
• This needle 14 is moving next to the depth scale 12 and instantly gives the diver the value of the depth at which it is. Meanwhile, the depth variation indicator needle 22 remains stationary, centered on the scale of variation of the depth.
• the pressure sensor 42 will deform mechanically, rotating the differential input wheel 48.
• the differential output wheel 76, the differential axis 50 and the pinion 64 are also blocked. Therefore, the satellite pinion 66 will drive the depth variation wheel 88 via the intermediate mobile 68.
• This wheel 88 will be allowed to rotate because the hammer 86 no longer blocks the heart 80 and therefore the axis 82 on which the heart 80 is driven, so that the indicator needle 22 of the depth variation can rotate.
• the diver When the diver has completed his decompression stop, he will be able to resume his movement up to the surface. At this time, it will exert a new pressure on the push-button 30, pressure under the effect of which the clamp 92 will again deviate from the depth indicator wheel 90, thus again allowing the indicator needle 14 depth to rotate, while the hammer 86 will again block the heart 80 and thus the pointer 22 indicator of the depth variation.
• the hammer 86 allows this needle 22 to reposition itself in the center of the dial 18 which carries the scale 20 for indicating the depth variation.

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• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Ocean & Marine Engineering (AREA)
• Electromechanical Clocks (AREA)
• Electric Clocks (AREA)
• Liquid Crystal (AREA)

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Publications (2)

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• 2006
  • 2006-04-25 EP EP06008493A patent/EP1850194A1/de not_active Withdrawn
• 2007
  • 2007-04-05 AT AT07720070T patent/ATE460692T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2007-04-05 CN CN2007800152820A patent/CN101432668B/zh active Active
  • 2007-04-05 ES ES07720070T patent/ES2342023T3/es active Active
  • 2007-04-05 JP JP2009506885A patent/JP5155299B2/ja not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2007-04-05 US US12/298,655 patent/US7869308B2/en active Active
  • 2007-04-05 EP EP07720070A patent/EP2018602B1/de active Active
  • 2007-04-05 KR KR1020087026181A patent/KR20090009831A/ko not_active Ceased
  • 2007-04-05 DE DE602007005246T patent/DE602007005246D1/de active Active
  • 2007-04-05 WO PCT/CH2007/000173 patent/WO2007121597A1/fr not_active Ceased

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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