EP4390555A1 - Konstantkrafthemmungsmechanismus für uhrwerk - Google Patents

Konstantkrafthemmungsmechanismus für uhrwerk Download PDF

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Publication number
EP4390555A1
EP4390555A1 EP22215169.8A EP22215169A EP4390555A1 EP 4390555 A1 EP4390555 A1 EP 4390555A1 EP 22215169 A EP22215169 A EP 22215169A EP 4390555 A1 EP4390555 A1 EP 4390555A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
wheel
reset
teeth
escape
rotation
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Pending
Application number
EP22215169.8A
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English (en)
French (fr)
Inventor
Stephen Forsey
Robert Greubel
Florian Corneille
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Greubel Forsey SA
Original Assignee
Greubel Forsey SA
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Greubel Forsey SA filed Critical Greubel Forsey SA
Priority to EP22215169.8A priority Critical patent/EP4390555A1/de
Priority to PCT/EP2023/086118 priority patent/WO2024132952A1/fr
Publication of EP4390555A1 publication Critical patent/EP4390555A1/de
Pending legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • GPHYSICS
    • G04HOROLOGY
    • G04BMECHANICALLY-DRIVEN CLOCKS OR WATCHES; MECHANICAL PARTS OF CLOCKS OR WATCHES IN GENERAL; TIME PIECES USING THE POSITION OF THE SUN, MOON OR STARS
    • G04B15/00Escapements
    • G04B15/10Escapements with constant impulses for the regulating mechanism
    • GPHYSICS
    • G04HOROLOGY
    • G04BMECHANICALLY-DRIVEN CLOCKS OR WATCHES; MECHANICAL PARTS OF CLOCKS OR WATCHES IN GENERAL; TIME PIECES USING THE POSITION OF THE SUN, MOON OR STARS
    • G04B15/00Escapements
    • G04B15/12Adjusting; Restricting the amplitude of the lever or the like

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to the field of watchmaking. It concerns, more particularly, a constant force escapement mechanism.
  • the exhaust mechanism which is the subject of the present invention is based on that initially revealed by the document CH353679 and developed further in the document CH704275 . Furthermore, an escapement of this type was also used in a piece produced by Fabrication de Montres Normandes in 2009 (see https://forumamontres.forumactif.com/t68941-fabrication-de-montres-normandes ).
  • the escape wheel is coaxial with a reset wheel, which appears at first glance to be an additional escape wheel.
  • the reset wheel is integral in rotation with a wheel or pinion which receives the torque coming from the barrel, while the escape wheel is mounted loosely around the same geometric axis. These two wheels are connected to each other via an elastic return element, such that the escape wheel is rotated by the latter.
  • the escape wheel cooperates with an anchor in a conventional manner, and also cooperates with a blocking rocker which has two levels of pallets, of which the pallets of a first level cooperate with the teeth of the escape wheel while the pallets of a second level cooperate with those of the reset wheel in order to block and release them alternately when it moves from one of its stable positions to the other.
  • the reset wheel advances in steps in synchronism with the escapement wheel, which ensures that the force provided by the elastic element remains substantially constant and that the escapement is not not subject to torque variations when the mainspring disarms. Since the advances of the reset wheel take place between those of the escape wheel with an angular and temporal offset, the latter take place when the anchor is not cooperating with the balance, which minimizes or eliminates the disturbance of the latter.
  • a first disadvantage of this system is that the moment of release of the locking lever relative to that of the escape wheel is predetermined by the geometry of the blocking lever (including its pallets) as well as by the positioning of its pivot axis. Consequently it is impossible to adjust the release moment of the reset wheel (and therefore its phase shift relative to the escape wheel) other than by modifying the geometry of the locking rocker. Secondly, the angular movements of the locking rocker adversely affect the operation of the escapement. Indeed, when the seesaw reaches its stop, shocks occur which cause the latter to bounce back.
  • the aim of the invention is therefore to provide a constant force escape mechanism in which the aforementioned defects are at least partially overcome.
  • said escape mechanism further comprises a control wheel mounted integral in rotation with said escape wheel and angularly adjustable relative to the latter, said control wheel having a plurality of teeth and being arranged to cooperate with said locking rocker in order to make it move between one of its stable positions to the other.
  • said profile of all of said teeth is identical, and each wheel has the same number of teeth, but this does not necessarily have to be the case.
  • the exact moment of release of the locking lever can be modified by the watchmaker to optimize the operation of the escapement mechanism for each escapement individual, thus improving performance and/or walking.
  • said control wheel is arranged between said escape wheel and said reset wheel, which represents the simplest solution to implement, but other configurations of the three wheels are also possible.
  • said reset wheel is integral in rotation with a pinion arranged to be rotated by said driving source, said pinion being extended by an axis around which is mounted free to rotate an assembly comprising said control wheel and said wheel. 'exhaust.
  • said escape wheel is made integral in rotation with said control wheel via at least one adjustment screw or by friction using a friction element.
  • said locking rocker has a plurality of pallets arranged to cooperate with on the one hand the reset wheel, and on the other hand the control wheel, each pallet having a trapezoidal section. This allows the same standard pallets to be used for each pallet.
  • the teeth of the escape wheel, the reset wheel and the control wheel are substantially identical, or alternatively simply have the same number of teeth but different profiles.
  • said reset wheel has the same number of teeth as said control wheel, but a lower number of teeth than said escape wheel.
  • the teeth of the reset wheel and the control wheel are regularly distributed around each wheel and have the same theoretical tooth pitch as the escape wheel, but certain teeth have been omitted. In doing so, the blocking rocker is triggered after a predetermined number of steps of the escape wheel instead of each step of the latter.
  • said locking rocker cooperates with a flywheel.
  • This flywheel increases the effective inertia of the locking rocker and makes it possible to smooth its movements, which improves the operation of the escapement compared to those of the prior art cited above.
  • said flywheel is a plate mounted in rotation, typically on a frame element. This can in particular allow the use of standard components already available, in particular balance plates.
  • said plate comprises a pin which cooperates with a fork which comprises said blocking rocker.
  • said locking rocker takes the form of an anchor. Again, this allows the use of standard components that are already available.
  • FIG 1 illustrates a first embodiment of an exhaust mechanism 1 according to the invention
  • FIG 2 illustrates the particular arrangement of the wheels that mechanism 1 comprises.
  • This mechanism 1 comprises an escape wheel 3 pivotally mounted around an axis A1 and arranged to maintain in oscillation a balance oscillator 5 - balance spring 7 arranged in such a way that said balance spring 7 exerts a restoring torque on said balance 5 of such as to make the latter oscillate around a neutral point, in a known manner.
  • the escape wheel 3 cooperates with a Swiss-type anchor 9 pivotally mounted around an axis A2.
  • This escape wheel 3 is arranged to be blocked and released by the anchor 9, as well as to provide impulses to the balance 5 in a known manner.
  • a trigger system an Omega-Daniels exhaust or any other type of exhaust known to those skilled in the art can be used. In doing so, the escape mechanism 1 - balance 5 - hairspring 7 assembly forms a regulating system.
  • the escape wheel 3 is coaxial with a reset wheel 11, which has a plurality of teeth and is integral in rotation with a pinion 13 which serves as force input from the driving source (not shown, typically a barrel housing a driving spring in a known manner).
  • This pinion 13 acts as an exhaust pinion, and is kinematically connected to said driving source by an ad hoc gear train (typically called "finishing gear train").
  • the escape wheel 3 is integral in rotation with a control wheel 15, which can be angularly offset relative to the escape wheel 3.
  • adjustment screws 17 serve to make the two wheels 3, 15 integral in rotation, but by unscrewing them, the watchmaker can move one of these wheels 3, 15 angularly relative to the other for reasons which will appear more clearly later.
  • the two wheels 3, 15 can be mounted with smooth friction relative to each other, provided that the latter remain united in rotation during normal operation of the exhaust 1. Any type of known friction connection between wheels 3 and 15 can be considered, to the extent that the friction torque is dimensioned accordingly.
  • the assembly comprising the escape wheel 3 and the control wheel 15 is mounted free to rotate relative to the assembly comprising the reset wheel 11 and the pinion 13.
  • the pinion 13 is extended by an axis 13a which extends through the wheels 3, 15, and supports this assembly between first bearings 18.
  • the assembly comprising the wheels 3, 15 is mounted free to pivot around this axis 13a by means of second bearings 19 which surround the latter.
  • the reset wheel 11 is linked to the escape wheel 3 via a return element 21, here a spiral spring, which is preloaded in order to provide sufficient torque to pivot the escape wheel 3 and maintain the oscillator 5, 7.
  • a return element 21 here a spiral spring, which is preloaded in order to provide sufficient torque to pivot the escape wheel 3 and maintain the oscillator 5, 7.
  • the inner end of the return element 21 is integral in rotation with the axis 13a (which is, as a reminder, integral in rotation with the reset wheel 11) , while its outer end is fixed to a pin 3a secured to the escape wheel 3. Consequently, the assembly comprising the two wheels 3, 15 is kinematically connected to the assembly comprising the reset wheel 11 and the pinion 13 via this return element 21, which ensures that the torque which is subjected to the escape wheel 3 remains substantially constant provided that the return element 21 can be recharged by the driving source .
  • control wheel 15 is interposed between the escape wheel 3 and the reset wheel 11, and although the construction illustrated is the simplest to implement, the stacking of the wheels 3, 11, 15 along axis A1 can be defined differently. Indeed, one or the other of the wheels 3, 11 can be located in the middle, and the control wheel 15 can be on one side or the other. To this end, provided that all of the wheels 3, 15 are connected to all of the reset wheel 11 and to the pinion 13 via the return element 21, the connection between these two sets can be arranged in an ad hoc manner, according to the needs of the manufacturer.
  • one of the ends of the return element 21 can be fixed to one or other of the wheels 3, 15, while its other end can be fixed to the wheel 3 directly or to the axle 13a, depending on the configuration chosen.
  • the return element 21 can alternatively be integrated into one or the other (or even several) of the wheels 3, 11, 15 (in particular the reset wheel 11 and/or the control wheel 15 ), being made up of flexible elements (such as flexible blades) arranged in an ad hoc manner.
  • a stud 23 carried by the escape wheel assembly 3 - control wheel 15 is provided, this stud 23 taking place in a slot 11a which the reset wheel has in order to limit the angular phase shift between the wheels 3 and 11 as well as to maintain the initial pre-arming of the element of reminder 21.
  • other arrangements make it possible to limit the angular difference between the two sets 11, 13 respectively 3, 15 are also possible in order to obtain the same result, for example that used in the document CH704275 .
  • a locking rocker 25 is arranged to block and release the reset wheel 11 under the control of the control wheel 15, which pivots depending on the escape wheel 3.
  • the locking rocker 25 is mounted in pivoting around an axis of rotation A3 (which can be a traditional physical axis or a virtual axis in the case where the locking rocker 25 is supported by flexible guidance), which is distinct from the axis A2, in such a way that it is arranged to pivot between a first and a second stable positions (extreme positions), and comprises two pairs of pallets 25a, 25b, located on two different levels in order to cooperate respectively with the reset wheel 11 and the control wheel 15.
  • the pallets 25a, 25b can take any ad hoc shapes, and can be made integrally with the locking lever 25 or be constituted by elements attached to the latter. In the non-limiting embodiment illustrated, they each take a conventional trapezoidal shape (that is to say a section perpendicular to the axis A3 which is trapezoidal), similar to that of a Swiss lever escapement. In other words, they each include straight sides linked by an end face forming an oblique impulse plane.
  • the pallets 25a of the first level have a sufficient length so that a right side of each pallet can block the teeth of the reset wheel 11 when the blocking rocker 25 is in a corresponding extreme angular position, a side of one pallets 25a thus being in the trajectory of the latter.
  • the pallets 25b are shorter than the pallets 25a (that is to say they extend less far from the blocking lever 25 than the latter), so that only their oblique ends can penetrate into the trajectory of the teeth of the control wheel 15 when the stop rocker 25 is in a respective extreme angular position.
  • the side of each pallet 25a, 25b, which is located upstream is shorter than that which is downstream, such that the end face is configured to pivot the locking rocker 25 when the teeth of the wheels 11, 15 cooperate with the end flanks of the pallets 25a, 25b.
  • the escape wheel 3 is blocked by a side of one of the pallets 9a of the anchor 9, and the reset wheel 11 is also blocked by a side of one of the pallets 25a of the first level.
  • the watchmaker can determine the moment in the cycle at which the locking lever 25 is pivoted in order to optimize the performance of the escapement mechanism 1, by optimizing the period of time between the release of the escape wheel 3 and that of the reset wheel 11. Since the control wheel 15 is integral in rotation with the escape wheel 3, the releases of the wheel reset 11 are always carried out as a function of the rotations of the escape wheel 3, even if it is the teeth of the control wheel 15 which control the pivoting of the locking rocker 25.
  • the latter takes the form of an anchor, the rod 25c of which carries a fork 25d which cooperates with a pin (not visible) of a plate 27 of a type which is well known in the context of a balance wheel, pivoted between standard bearings 28.
  • the latter acts as a flywheel and makes it possible to increase the effective inertia of the locking rocker 25 and to smooth its movements, which improves the operation of exhaust 1 compared to those in the documents CH353679 And CH704275 .
  • This flywheel makes it possible to counterbalance the dynamic effects of shocks during rebounds of the locking rocker, in particular when it abuts against the limiting pins 29 or during fork-ellipse contacts.
  • FIG. 3 illustrates another embodiment of an escape mechanism 1 according to the invention.
  • the latter differs from that of the figure 1 regarding the positioning of axis A2 relative to axis A1.
  • the angle between the straight lines connecting the axes A2-A1 and A3-A1 is obtuse, in that of the Figure 3 it is acute, so that the two axes A2, A3 are on the same side of the mechanism, considered in the plane of the latter.
  • the three wheels 3, 11, 15 can be substantially identical, or at least have substantially identical tooth shapes.
  • the anchor 9 and the locking lever 25 can also be identical, with the exception of an attached or thickened part to carry one of the pairs of pallets 25a, 25b. Even more, the pallets 9a, 25a, 25b can be of classic and identical shape, with the exception of the length of the pallets 25b. The number of different parts to be manufactured can thus be minimized.
  • the shape of the teeth of the control wheel 15 and/or the reset wheel 11 can be chosen as desired, and does not necessarily have to be conventional.
  • the reset wheel 11 and/or the control wheel 15 can be constituted by any type of element suitable for producing the operation described, such as for example a wheel with edge teeth, a wheel in which the teeth are made up of pins, fingers or the like, “teeth” therefore being understood in the broad sense to encompass all of the less common variations known to those skilled in the art.
  • the wheels 11, 15, or the wheels 3, 15, can also be made of material from one another, the connection between the two being by means of flexible elements, such as flexible blades. In the case where the wheels 11, 15 are made from material, the flexible elements connecting them can also serve as a return element 21.
  • the entire range of materials in contemporary watchmaking can be considered (metals, non-metals such as silicon, silicon compounds, synthetic diamond, sapphire, structurable glasses, ceramics, glass-ceramics, glasses metallic, polymers, composites, materials capable of additive manufacturing, etc.), and it should be noted that the pallets 9a, 25a, 25b can not only be separate parts attached to the anchor 9, respectively the rocker 25, but can be come from matter with the latter.
  • the escapement mechanism 1 is also compatible with an inclined balance wheel and is capable of being integrated into a tourbillon mechanism, whether of the mono-, bi- or triaxial type, but also in a carousel mechanism .

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  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Gears, Cams (AREA)
EP22215169.8A 2022-12-20 2022-12-20 Konstantkrafthemmungsmechanismus für uhrwerk Pending EP4390555A1 (de)

Priority Applications (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP22215169.8A EP4390555A1 (de) 2022-12-20 2022-12-20 Konstantkrafthemmungsmechanismus für uhrwerk
PCT/EP2023/086118 WO2024132952A1 (fr) 2022-12-20 2023-12-15 Mecanisme d'echappement a force constante pour mouvement horloger

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP22215169.8A EP4390555A1 (de) 2022-12-20 2022-12-20 Konstantkrafthemmungsmechanismus für uhrwerk

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP4390555A1 true EP4390555A1 (de) 2024-06-26

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EP22215169.8A Pending EP4390555A1 (de) 2022-12-20 2022-12-20 Konstantkrafthemmungsmechanismus für uhrwerk

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EP (1) EP4390555A1 (de)
WO (1) WO2024132952A1 (de)

Citations (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CH120028A (fr) * 1926-07-19 1927-08-16 Barbezat Bole Societe Anonyme Echappement à force constante de mouvement d'horlogerie.
FR1009853A (fr) * 1948-07-02 1952-06-04 Mécanisme d'échappement perfectionné
US2970427A (en) * 1957-03-28 1961-02-07 Gen Time Corp Constant torque escapement
CH353679A (fr) 1959-03-24 1961-04-15 Theurillat Xavier Echappement dit à force constante
CH703420A2 (it) * 2010-07-09 2012-01-13 Giovanni Cefis Scappamento per meccanismi ad orologeria.
CH704275A1 (fr) 2010-12-24 2012-06-29 Elsbeth Roesner Bascule pour un echappement dit a force constante d'une piece d'horlogerie.

Family Cites Families (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CH698435B1 (fr) * 2004-11-15 2009-08-14 Jerome De Witt Mouvement d'horlogerie et pièce d'horlogerie comportant un tel mouvement.
EP3489762B1 (de) * 2017-11-23 2020-09-09 Gfpi S.A. Betriebssystem für uhr

Patent Citations (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CH120028A (fr) * 1926-07-19 1927-08-16 Barbezat Bole Societe Anonyme Echappement à force constante de mouvement d'horlogerie.
FR1009853A (fr) * 1948-07-02 1952-06-04 Mécanisme d'échappement perfectionné
US2970427A (en) * 1957-03-28 1961-02-07 Gen Time Corp Constant torque escapement
CH353679A (fr) 1959-03-24 1961-04-15 Theurillat Xavier Echappement dit à force constante
CH703420A2 (it) * 2010-07-09 2012-01-13 Giovanni Cefis Scappamento per meccanismi ad orologeria.
CH704275A1 (fr) 2010-12-24 2012-06-29 Elsbeth Roesner Bascule pour un echappement dit a force constante d'une piece d'horlogerie.

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WO2024132952A1 (fr) 2024-06-27

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