Device for winding watches, in particular manually-wound watches
A device for winding watches, particularly manually-wound watches, comprising a containment structure which accommodates a motor, transmission means and a motor controller. The transmission means transfer the rotation of the motor, provided with power supply means, to a coupling which can be associated with the crown of the watch to be wound. The rotation is controlled by the controller. The device comprises a seat for stably accommodating the watch to be wound, the seat being defined on a surface of the containment structure.
1. A device for winding watches comprising:
a containment structure accommodating a motor; a coupling which can be associated with a crown of a watch to be wound to transmit rotation thereof to the watch crown;
transmission means that connect the motor to said coupling to produce rotation of the coupling about a rotation axis thereof;
a motor controller that comprises a program for identifying by means of a suitable algorithm a sufficient winding value of a watch at which rotation applied to said crown is stopped, the sufficient winding value corresponding to a maximum value of the second derivative of the trend of the current absorbed by said motor; and
a seat for stably accommodating the watch to be wound, said seat being defined on an upper surface of said containment structure and having a shape suitable to provide shape mating with the case of the watch to be wound and align a rotation axis of the crown of the watch to be wound with the rotation axis of said coupling upon placement of the watch in said seat, and wherein said seat comprises a memory medium that contains information related to a rotation to be applied to the coupling in order to perform a sufficient winding of a specific model of watch to be wound and in accordance with the sufficient winding value identified by said program, said containment structure being provided with means for reading said information.
2. The device according to claim 1 , wherein said seat is defined on a support which can be associated with said surface of said containment structure, said support being provided with sliding means for its guided translation on said surface of said structure and for its at least partial removal from the containment structure.
3. The device according to claim 1 , wherein said seat comprises a recess suitable to accommodate and lock the case of the watch to be wound, said recess having a surface contour such as to provide the shape mating between the watch case and the recess with ensuing stable and precise centering of the watch inside said seat upon placing of the watch in said seat.
4. The device according to claim 1 , wherein said seat is made of elastomeric and/or ductile material.
5. The device according to claim 1 , comprising means for detecting the position of said seat with respect to said containment structure.
6. The device according to claim 1 , wherein power supply means of said motor are accommodated inside said containment structure.
7. The device according to claim 1 , wherein power supply means of said motor are arranged outside said containment structure, said power supply means being connected to said motor by wiring and/or inductive coupling.
8. The device according to claim 1 , wherein said coupling is made of elastomeric and/or ductile material.
9. The device according to claim 1 , wherein said coupling is interchangeably coupled with said transmission means, the coupling coupled with said transmission means being selected so as to be a most suitable coupling for a specific crown of a watch to be wound.
10. A method for winding watches, particularly manually-wound watches, by means of a device according to claim 1 .
11. A device for winding watches comprising:
a containment structure accommodating a motor; a coupling which can be associated with a crown of a watch to be wound to transmit rotation thereof to the watch crown;
transmission means that connect the motor to said coupling to produce rotation of the coupling about a rotation axis thereof;
a motor controller that comprises a program for identifying by means of a suitable algorithm a sufficient winding value of a watch at which rotation applied to said crown is stopped; and
a seat for stably accommodating the watch to be wound,
wherein said seat is defined on a support which can be associated with an upper surface of said containment structure and has a shape suitable to provide shape mating with the case of the watch to be wound and align a rotation axis of the crown of the watch to be wound with the rotation axis of said coupling upon placement of the watch in said seat, and
wherein said seat comprises a memory medium that contains information related to a rotation to be applied to the coupling in order to perform a sufficient winding of a specific model of watch to be wound and in accordance with the sufficient winding value identified by said program, said containment structure being provided with means for reading said information.