Patents by Inventor Gérard Surmely

Gérard Surmely has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 11934150
    Abstract: A horological movement includes a resonator and an escapement wheel with flexible teeth, and an anchor formed of two mechanical pallets capable of abutting, when the anchor switches between its two rest positions, with any one of the flexible teeth depending on the angular position of the escapement wheel. Each flexible tooth is arranged to bend by undergoing an elastic deformation under a radial force that can be exerted by one of the two mechanical pallets abutting against this flexible tooth while the escapement wheel has an unfavourable angular position and the resonator is braked by the anchor. Each tooth has an elastic capacity to elastically absorb, in a radial direction, most of a maximum mechanical energy that the mechanical resonator may have during normal operation of the horological movement, to avoid breakage or deterioration of the escapement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 2, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2024
    Assignee: The Swatch Group Research and Development Ltd
    Inventors: Gianni Di Domenico, Gérard Surmely, Marc Stranczl
  • Patent number: 11586150
    Abstract: A watch formed by a mechanical movement incorporating a mechanical resonator, including a display displaying the actual time, a correction device formed by a device for detecting the passage of at least one hand through at least one reference time position and by an electronic correction circuit allowing an overall time error for the display to be determined, and a device for braking the mechanical resonator. The correction device is arranged such that it can correct the actual time displayed as a function of the overall time error (loss or gain) previously determined. For this purpose, the correction device is arranged such that the braking device can act on the mechanical resonator during a correction period to vary the running of the drive mechanism of the display, in order to correct the actual time displayed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 4, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 21, 2023
    Assignee: The Swatch Group Research and Development Ltd
    Inventors: Gérard Surmely, Matthias Imboden, Lionel Tombez
  • Publication number: 20230009341
    Abstract: A watch is formed by a mechanical movement incorporating a mechanical resonator. The watch comprises a display displaying the time and a correction device for correcting the displayed time, which is formed by a receiver for receiving an external correction signal which is supplied by an external electronic device (in particular a mobile phone), a braking device for braking the mechanical resonator and an electronic controller. The correction device is arranged such that it can correct the time displayed as a function of a time error (loss or gain) contained in the external correction signal. For this purpose, the correction device is arranged such that the braking device can act on the mechanical resonator during a correction period to vary the running of the drive mechanism of the display, in order to correct at least for the most part the time error in the time displayed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 13, 2020
    Publication date: January 12, 2023
    Applicant: The Swatch Group Research and Development Ltd
    Inventors: Matthias IMBODEN, Gérard SURMELY, Lionel TOMBEZ
  • Publication number: 20210356911
    Abstract: A horological movement includes a resonator and an escapement wheel with flexible teeth, and an anchor formed of two mechanical pallets capable of abutting, when the anchor switches between its two rest positions, with any one of the flexible teeth depending on the angular position of the escapement wheel. Each flexible tooth is arranged to bend by undergoing an elastic deformation under a radial force that can be exerted by one of the two mechanical pallets abutting against this flexible tooth while the escapement wheel has an unfavourable angular position and the resonator is braked by the anchor. Each tooth has an elastic capacity to elastically absorb, in a radial direction, most of a maximum mechanical energy that the mechanical resonator may have during normal operation of the horological movement, to avoid breakage or deterioration of the escapement.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 2, 2021
    Publication date: November 18, 2021
    Applicant: The Swatch Group Research and Development Ltd
    Inventors: Gianni DI DOMENICO, Gérard SURMELY, Marc STRANCZL
  • Publication number: 20210191334
    Abstract: A watch formed by a mechanical movement incorporating a mechanical resonator, including a display displaying the actual time, a correction device formed by a device for detecting the passage of at least one hand through at least one reference time position and by an electronic correction circuit allowing an overall time error for the display to be determined, and a device for braking the mechanical resonator. The correction device is arranged such that it can correct the actual time displayed as a function of the overall time error (loss or gain) previously determined. For this purpose, the correction device is arranged such that the braking device can act on the mechanical resonator during a correction period to vary the running of the drive mechanism of the display, in order to correct the actual time displayed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 4, 2020
    Publication date: June 24, 2021
    Applicant: The Swatch Group Research and Development Ltd
    Inventors: Gérard Surmely, Matthias Imboden, Lionel Tombez
  • Patent number: 5396139
    Abstract: The present invention concerns a polyphase electromagnetic transducer, the rotor (4) of which has a multipolar permanent magnet (10) including an even number of magnetic pole pairs (14) oriented along the direction of the rotation axis of such motor (4). First and second principal stator parts (22 and 24) extend respectively from either side of a rotor plane defined by the multipolar permanent magnet (10). The first principal stator part (22) defines at least three principal magnetic poles (30, 31 and 32) and secondary magnetic poles (38), these latter being defined by teeth (40) superposed onto the multipolar permanent magnet (10).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 1993
    Date of Patent: March 7, 1995
    Assignee: Eta SA Fabriques d'Ebauches
    Inventors: Gerard Surmely, Daho Taghezout