Patents by Inventor Pascal Winkler
Pascal Winkler 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).
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Patent number: 9785116Abstract: A timepiece regulating mechanism including an escape wheel set subjected to a drive torque, and at least one resonator including a rigid structure connected to a plate by an elastic return and carrying at least one inertia arm cooperating with this escape wheel set via magnetically and/or electrically charged tracks comprised both in this inertia arm and in this escape wheel set, to form a synchronizing device between the escape wheel set and the resonator, and the synchronizing device is protected from loss of synchronization in the event of an accidental torque increase by a mechanical anti-desynchronization mechanism including mechanical escapement stops carried by the escape wheel set, and at least one mechanical inertia arm stop, carried by the inertia arm, and together arranged to maintain stopped in abutment in such event.Type: GrantFiled: July 26, 2016Date of Patent: October 10, 2017Assignee: ETA SA Manufacture Horlogere SuisseInventors: Pascal Winkler, Jean-Jacques Born
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Patent number: 9772604Abstract: A timepiece movement including, fixed on a same plate, a gear train subjected to a torque in a timepiece movement, and an energy storage to deliver a torque to the gear train for actuating a mechanical mechanism synchronizing rotational speed of the gear train with a resonator having a given natural resonant frequency included in the timepiece movement. The resonator is an annular resonator including a ring disposed around an axis. The ring is arranged to be periodically deformed under an action induced by motion of a drive member, included in this mechanism, and the drive member is driven in a pivoting motion, directly or indirectly, by the gear train.Type: GrantFiled: December 8, 2014Date of Patent: September 26, 2017Assignee: ETA SA Manufacture Horlogere SuisseInventors: Pascal Winkler, Jean-Luc Helfer
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Patent number: 9746829Abstract: An escapement mechanism including an escape wheel subjected to a rotational torque and a resonator integral with a pivotally mounted regulating wheel set. The escape wheel includes plural actuators regularly spaced on a periphery thereof, each arranged to cooperate directly with at least a first track of the regulating wheel set. Each actuator includes a first magnetically, or respectively electrically charged, or ferromagnetic or respectively electrostatically conductive surface, to cooperate with the first track which is magnetically, or respectively electrically charged, or ferromagnetic or respectively electrostatically conductive, to repel or attract each first surface of the actuator, and each actuator includes a mechanical stop member to cooperate, in an end-of-travel stop arrangement, with at least a first complementary stop surface included in the regulating wheel set to constitute therewith an autonomous escapement mechanism.Type: GrantFiled: December 8, 2014Date of Patent: August 29, 2017Assignee: Nivarox-FAR S.A.Inventors: Marc Stranczl, Pascal Winkler, Gianni Di Domenico, Jean-Luc Helfer
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Publication number: 20170227930Abstract: Watch or movement including a timepiece resonator movement including two RCC flexural pivots mounted in series about an intermediate rotary support and having the same virtual pivot axis, each comprising two straight flexible strips of the same length, whose clamping points opposite to this pivot axis are at the same distance with respect to this axis, and which define linear directions, forming angles, in pairs, with this virtual pivot axis, whose value expressed in degrees is comprised between: 109.5+5/[(D/L)?(2/3)] and 114.5+5/[(D/L)?(213)], or more particularly between 107+5/((D/L)?(2/3)) and 112+5/((D/L)?(2/3)), this timepiece resonator mechanism is in an advantageous variant a one-piece temperature-compensated silicon resonator.Type: ApplicationFiled: January 19, 2017Publication date: August 10, 2017Applicant: The Swatch Group Research and Development LtdInventors: Gianni DI DOMENICO, Dominique LECHOT, Jean-Luc HELFER, Pascal WINKLER
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Publication number: 20170220002Abstract: Timepiece resonator mechanism with a pivoting weight pivoting about a virtual axis, and comprising a flexure pivot mechanism and a first and second fixed support to which is attached, by a first resilient assembly and respectively a second resilient assembly which together define the virtual axis, a rotary support carrying the pivoting weight, this flexure pivot mechanism is planar, the first resilient assembly includes, on either side of the virtual axis, a first outer flexible strip and a first inner flexible strip, joined to each other by a first intermediate strip stiffer than each of the latter, together defining a first direction passing through the virtual pivot axis, and the second resilient assembly includes a second flexible strip defining a second direction passing through the virtual pivot axis.Type: ApplicationFiled: January 6, 2017Publication date: August 3, 2017Applicant: ETA SA Manufacture Horlogere SuisseInventors: Jean-Luc HELFER, Gianni DI DOMENICO, Pascal WINKLER
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Patent number: 9715217Abstract: There is provided a device for regulating the operation of a horological movement, including a magnetic escapement, which includes a resonator and a magnetic escapement mobile turning about an axis. The mobile includes at least one magnetic track with a plurality of magnets having an angular dimension that is greater than their radial dimension. The resonator includes at least one magnetic element for coupling to the magnetic track. The coupling element extends radially relative to the axis of rotation, and has a contour with a portion oriented substantially angularly when the resonator is in the rest position. When the mobile is driven in rotation, each magnet penetrates beneath the coupling element and gradually accumulates some potential magnetic energy. The magnet then exits from beneath the coupling element through the portion and the coupling element receives a pulse located around its rest position.Type: GrantFiled: December 22, 2014Date of Patent: July 25, 2017Assignee: The Swatch Group Research and Development LtdInventors: Gianni Di Domenico, Pascal Winkler
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Patent number: 9665067Abstract: An escapement mechanism including a stop member including a first actuator cooperating with a resonator and a second actuator cooperating with an escape wheel set subjected to a drive torque lower than a nominal torque. The first actuator includes a magnetically or electrically charged pole piece, the resonator includes a magnetically or electrically charged track, and the pole piece and/or the track create, in an air gap between the pole piece and the track, a magnetic or electrostatic field having an intensity ensuring relative driving of the stop member and of the resonator when the torque is lower than the nominal torque. The stop member and/or the resonator include an arresting mechanism limiting relative movement between the actuator and the resonator when the torque is greater than the nominal torque.Type: GrantFiled: December 9, 2014Date of Patent: May 30, 2017Assignee: Nivarox-FAR S.A.Inventors: Marc Stranczl, Gianni Di Domenico, Pascal Winkler
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Patent number: 9651920Abstract: A timepiece resonator including a mobile component ring-shaped about an axis and capable of oscillation about an axis, and a drive member subjected to a torque inside a timepiece movement. The resonator is an annular magnetic or electrostatic resonator whose mobile component is periodically excited under action induced by motion of the drive member. The drive member can exert a contactless effort on the mobile component. The mobile component includes a first quantity of first pole pieces magnetically or electrically charged at a first pitch angle, and the drive member includes a second quantity of second pole pieces magnetically or electrically charged at a second pitch angle different from the first pitch angle, arranged to cooperate in attraction or in repulsion with the first pole pieces, such that the mobile component and the drive member together form a speed reducing or increasing mechanism.Type: GrantFiled: December 9, 2014Date of Patent: May 16, 2017Assignee: Nivarox-FAR S.A.Inventors: Marc Stranczl, Gianni Di Domenico, Pascal Winkler
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Publication number: 20170123380Abstract: A watch including a movement including itself an isochronous timepiece oscillator mechanism including a fixed support bearing a crosspiece carrying N primary resonators each including a weight carried by a rotating flexible bearing fixed to this crosspiece. Each primary resonator has a center of mass which, at rest, is on the virtual pivot axis of its rotating flexible bearing and is arranged to oscillate in rotation about this virtual pivot axis. The primary resonators are arranged in rotational symmetry of order N about a main axis parallel to the virtual pivot axes, and oscillating motions of any two primary resonators are phase shifted by the value of the central angle formed by their respective virtual pivot axes with the main axis.Type: ApplicationFiled: January 26, 2016Publication date: May 4, 2017Applicant: ETA SA Manufacture Horlogere SuisseInventors: Pascal WINKLER, Jean-Luc HELFER, Gianni DI DOMENICO, Thierry CONUS
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Publication number: 20170123379Abstract: A timepiece mechanism including a first component and a second component configured to cooperate with each other in a relative motion on a trajectory in an interface area, wherein a first path of the first component includes magnetic and/or electrostatic actuation components, configured to exert a contactless stress on complementary magnetic and/or electrostatic actuation components included in a second path belonging to the second component. Throughout a monotonous relative movement of the second path with respect to the first path, interaction energy between the first component and second component has a variable gradient with at least one position of discontinuity of the gradient, which corresponds to a variation in the contactless stress, the position of discontinuity of the gradient corresponding, in a variant, to an abrupt variation in the contactless stress.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 19, 2015Publication date: May 4, 2017Applicant: The Swatch Group Research and Development LtdInventors: Gianni DI DOMENICO, Jean-Luc HELFER, Pascal WINKLER, Jerome FAVRE
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Publication number: 20170068216Abstract: A timepiece regulating mechanism including, mounted to be movable, at least in a pivoting motion, with respect to a plate, an escape wheel configured to receive a drive torque via a gear train, a first oscillator including a first rigid structure, connected to the plate by a first flexible strip and a second flexible strip, crossed with each other, a second oscillator including a second rigid structure connected to the first rigid structure by a third flexible strip and a fourth flexible strip crossed with each other, and the second structure including a guide configured to cooperate with a complementary guide included in the escape wheel, synchronizing the first oscillator and the second oscillator with the gear train.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 22, 2015Publication date: March 9, 2017Applicant: ETA SA Manufacture Horlogere SuisseInventors: Pascal WINKLER, Davide SARCHI
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Publication number: 20170045861Abstract: The mechanical timepiece movement includes at least one barrel, a set of gear wheels driven at one end by the barrel, and an escapement mechanism of a local oscillator with a resonator in the form of a sprung balance and a feedback system for the timepiece movement. The escapement mechanism is driven at another end of the set of gear wheels. The feedback system includes at least one precise reference oscillator combined with a frequency comparator to compare the frequency of the two oscillators and a mechanism for regulating the local oscillator resonator to slow down or accelerate the resonator based on the result of a comparison in the frequency comparator.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 29, 2016Publication date: February 16, 2017Applicant: ETA SA Manufacture Horlogere SuisseInventors: Pascal WINKLER, Gianni DI DOMENICO, Thierry CONUS, Jean-Luc HELFER
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Publication number: 20170038730Abstract: A timepiece regulating mechanism including an escape wheel set subjected to a drive torque, and at least one resonator including a rigid structure connected to a plate by an elastic return and carrying at least one inertia arm cooperating with this escape wheel set via magnetically and/or electrically charged tracks comprised both in this inertia arm and in this escape wheel set, to form a synchronizing device between the escape wheel set and the resonator, and the synchronizing device is protected from loss of synchronization in the event of an accidental torque increase by a mechanical anti-desynchronization mechanism including mechanical escapement stops carried by the escape wheel set, and at least one mechanical inertia arm stop, carried by the inertia arm, and together arranged to maintain stopped in abutment in such event.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 26, 2016Publication date: February 9, 2017Applicant: ETA SA Manufacture Horlogere SuisseInventors: Pascal WINKLER, Jean-Jacques Born
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Patent number: 9557714Abstract: Timepiece movement including a date display drive device formed of a display disc including a toothing, said drive device including driving means and a drive source. The driving means includes a wheel set including pins, having a toothed wheel and a pinion including pins, and an engaging wheel engaging said toothed wheel. The pinion with pins includes a pair of pins configured to be positioned on either side of any tooth of the toothing. The toothed wheel of the pin wheel and the engaging wheel respectively have complementary non-circular profiles. When the two pins are oriented in a tangential direction to the toothing, these two wheels have a first gear ratio that is lower than a second gear ratio between them when the two pins are in perpendicular alignment to said tangential direction.Type: GrantFiled: March 14, 2016Date of Patent: January 31, 2017Assignee: ETA SA Manufacture Horlogere SuisseInventors: Daniel Gruenig, David Benjamin Kraehenbuehl, Pascal Winkler, Thierry Altenhoven
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Publication number: 20170003653Abstract: An escapement mechanism including an escape wheel subjected to a rotational torque and a resonator integral with a pivotally mounted regulating wheel set. The escape wheel includes plural actuators regularly spaced on a periphery thereof, each arranged to cooperate directly with at least a first track of the regulating wheel set. Each actuator includes a first magnetically, or respectively electrically charged, or ferromagnetic or respectively electrostatically conductive surface, to cooperate with the first track which is magnetically, or respectively electrically charged, or ferromagnetic or respectively electrostatically conductive, to repel or attract each first surface of the actuator, and each actuator includes a mechanical stop member to cooperate, in an end-of-travel stop arrangement, with at least a first complementary stop surface included in the regulating wheel set to constitute therewith an autonomous escapement mechanism.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 8, 2014Publication date: January 5, 2017Applicant: NIVAROX-FAR S.A.Inventors: Marc STRANCZL, Pascal WINKLER, Gianni DI DOMENICO, Jean-Luc HELFER
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Publication number: 20160370766Abstract: A mechanical clock movement includes a resonator, an escapement linked to the resonator, and a display of at least one item of time information. The display is driven by a mechanical drive device via a counter wheel train, the work rate of which is set by the escapement. At least the resonator is housed in a chamber, in which a reduced pressure in relation to atmospheric pressure prevails. The escapement is a magnetic escapement including an escape wheel coupled directly or indirectly to the resonator via a non-contact magnetic coupling system, wherein the magnetic coupling system is formed so that a non-magnetic wall of the chamber runs through the magnetic escapement so that a first part of the escapement is located inside the chamber whereas a second part of the escapement is located outside the chamber.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 18, 2014Publication date: December 22, 2016Applicant: ETA SA MANUFACTURE HORLOGERE SUISSEInventors: Pascal WINKLER, Jean-Luc HELFER, Thierry CONUS, Gianni DI DOMENICO, Jean-Jacques BORN
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Publication number: 20160357149Abstract: An escapement mechanism including a stop member including a first actuator cooperating with a resonator and a second actuator cooperating with an escape wheel set subjected to a drive torque lower than a nominal torque. The first actuator includes a magnetically or electrically charged pole piece, the resonator includes a magnetically or electrically charged track, and the pole piece and/or the track create, in an air gap between the pole piece and the track, a magnetic or electrostatic field having an intensity ensuring relative driving of the stop member and of the resonator when the torque is lower than the nominal torque. The stop member and/or the resonator include an arresting mechanism limiting relative movement between the actuator and the resonator when the torque is greater than the nominal torque.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 9, 2014Publication date: December 8, 2016Applicant: Nivarox-FAR S.AInventors: Marc STRANCZL, Gianni DI DOMENICO, Pascal WINKLER
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Publication number: 20160357155Abstract: There is provided a device for regulating the operation of a horological movement, including a magnetic escapement, which includes a resonator and a magnetic escapement mobile turning about an axis. The mobile includes at least one magnetic track with a plurality of magnets having an angular dimension that is greater than their radial dimension. The resonator includes at least one magnetic element for coupling to the magnetic track. The coupling element extends radially relative to the axis of rotation, and has a contour with a portion oriented substantially angularly when the resonator is in the rest position. When the mobile is driven in rotation, each magnet penetrates beneath the coupling element and gradually accumulates some potential magnetic energy. The magnet then exits from beneath the coupling element through the portion and the coupling element receives a pulse located around its rest position.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 22, 2014Publication date: December 8, 2016Applicant: THE SWATCH GROUP RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT LTDInventors: Gianni DI DOMENICO, Pascal WINKLER
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Publication number: 20160327908Abstract: A timepiece movement including, fixed on a same plate, a gear train subjected to a torque in a timepiece movement, and an energy storage to deliver a torque to the gear train for actuating a mechanical mechanism synchronizing rotational speed of the gear train with a resonator having a given natural resonant frequency included in the timepiece movement. The resonator is an annular resonator including a ring disposed around an axis. The ring is arranged to be periodically deformed under an action induced by motion of a drive member, included in this mechanism, and the drive member is driven in a pivoting motion, directly or indirectly, by the gear train.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 8, 2014Publication date: November 10, 2016Applicant: ETA SA Manufacture Horlogere SuisseInventors: Pascal WINKLER, Jean-Luc HELFER
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Patent number: 9483026Abstract: The invention concerns a device for regulating the relative angular speed between a magnetic structure and a resonator magnetically coupled to each other and forming an oscillator which defines a magnetic escapement. The magnetic structure includes at least one annular magnetic path at least partially formed of a magnetic material of which one physical parameter is correlated to the magnetic potential energy of the oscillator, the magnetic material being arranged along the annular path so that the physical parameter varies angularly in a periodic manner. The annular path includes, in each angular period, an area of accumulation of magnetic potential energy in the oscillator, radially adjacent to an impulse area. The magnetic material, in each accumulation area, is arranged so that the physical parameter of said magnetic material gradually increases angularly or gradually decreases angularly.Type: GrantFiled: December 22, 2014Date of Patent: November 1, 2016Assignee: The Swatch Group Research and Development Ltd.Inventors: Gianni Di Domenico, Pascal Winkler, Jerome Favre, Jean-Luc Helfer, Baptiste Hinaux, Dominique Lechot, Patrick Ragot, Fanel Piccini