Stable torque output device, stable torque output method, and mechanical clock

Abstract

The application discloses a stable torque output device, method and mechanical clock, and the device comprises a barrel wheel provided with a spring, a friction assembly, a large wheel and a barrel shaft, the spring is detachably installed in a spiral groove of the spring barrel, the friction assembly comprises a fixed end, an elastic connecting rod and a contact end in a pressing state with the spring and arranged in the spiral groove, the spring releases elastic potential energy to drive the barrel wheel to rotate, the spring output torque becomes small, the friction torque generated by the friction assembly becomes small with the decrease of the friction arm of the contact end, and the overall output torque of the stable torque output device is the vector sum of the spring output torque and the friction torque. Through the friction consumption of the friction assembly, the overall output torque of the barrel wheel to other transmission system components of the mechanical clock reaches stability, and the problem that the driving speed of the transmission system is different due to the different elastic potential energy of the spring in the initial working stage and the later working stage of the mechanical clock, thereby causing the difference between the forward and backward running time of the clock is solved to a certain extent.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of mechanical clocks and watches, specifically to a stable torque output device, a stable torque output method, and a mechanical clock or watch using the device / method. Background Technology

[0002] In traditional mechanical clocks, the torque released by the mainspring gradually decreases over time. When the mainspring is wound tight, it undergoes elastic deformation and stores elastic potential energy, at which point the output torque is at its maximum. As energy is continuously released through the gear train, the deformation of the mainspring gradually decreases, and its output torque decreases accordingly. This change in torque output leads to uneven energy transmission from the escapement to the balance wheel, affecting the oscillation amplitude and period of the balance wheel, resulting in timekeeping errors.

[0003] Traditional mechanical watch structures often transfer or store energy through torque compensation or energy buffering to offset load changes and maintain stable torque output. This requires energy release and absorption processes to achieve torque balance, resulting in weak dynamic adjustment capabilities. While systems like the fusée-and-chain transmission, constant-force mainspring mechanism, and parallel double mainspring barrel design effectively improve mainspring torque fluctuations, their complex multi-stage transmission mechanisms and redundant energy storage components significantly reduce movement space utilization. The tapered sprocket of the fusée-and-chain requires vertical axial space, the auxiliary spring module of the constant-force mainspring increases planar layout area, and the series structure of the double mainspring barrels directly increases movement thickness. Using such structures in watchmaking would ultimately hinder the technological trend towards ultra-thin and integrated watches, and may also limit the diversity of watch designs. Furthermore, these structural designs are complex, have high manufacturing costs, and involve cumbersome assembly processes with low production efficiency. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a stable torque output device, a stable torque output method, and a mechanical clock, in response to the above-mentioned problems.

[0005] The stable torque output device according to an embodiment of the present invention is used in mechanical watches and clocks, and includes: a barrel wheel containing a mainspring, a friction assembly, a large steel wheel, and a bar arbor.

[0006] The barrel wheel includes a barrel and a ring of teeth around the outer side of the barrel. The surface of the barrel has a spiral groove, and the mainspring is detachably installed in the spiral groove. A first insertion hole is provided at the axial position of the barrel, and the barrel spool can rotate in the first insertion hole.

[0007] The friction assembly is disposed between the barrel wheel and the large steel wheel, and includes a fixed end, an elastic connecting rod and a contact end. The fixed end is fixedly connected to the large steel wheel. The elastic connecting rod is a strip-shaped component with its head end and tail end connected to the fixed end and the contact end respectively. The contact end extends from the tail end of the elastic connecting rod and is slidably placed in the spiral groove in a compressed state with the mainspring.

[0008] The side of the large steel wheel adjacent to the friction assembly is opposite to the side of the spring barrel with the spiral groove, and a second insertion hole is provided at the axle center of the large steel wheel;

[0009] The bar shaft passes through the first insertion hole and the second insertion hole and is fixedly connected to the large steel wheel.

[0010] In this process, the mainspring releases elastic potential energy to drive the barrel wheel to rotate, and the output torque of the mainspring decreases. The contact end of the friction assembly slides along the spiral groove from a position away from the axis of the barrel wheel to a position closer to the axis of the barrel wheel. The frictional torque generated by the friction assembly decreases as the frictional arm of the contact end decreases, so that the overall output torque of the stable torque output device is the vector sum of the output torque of the mainspring and the frictional torque.

[0011] In this way, through the frictional consumption of the friction components, the overall output torque of the barrel wheel to other transmission components of the mechanical watch reaches a stable level. This solves to some extent the problem that the elastic potential energy of the mainspring drives the transmission gear train to rotate at different speeds when the mainspring is at a different speed between the initial and later working stages, thus causing the watch to keep different times.

[0012] In some embodiments, a connector is also included, which is a rigid rod-shaped fixing element with a fixing function;

[0013] A third insertion hole is provided at the position of the large steel wheel off-center from the axis, and a fourth insertion hole is provided at the fixed end of the friction assembly;

[0014] The connector passes through the third and fourth insertion holes, fixing the friction assembly to the surface of the large steel wheel.

[0015] In this way, the friction assembly and the large steel wheel are fixedly connected, eliminating the need to fit them tightly together. Compared with traditional welding and other fixing methods, the introduction of connecting parts makes it simpler and easier to replace the friction assembly, the large steel wheel, or the connecting parts when they wear out.

[0016] In some embodiments, the large steel wheel drives the friction assembly to rotate synchronously via the bar shaft, and the contact end of the friction assembly slides along the spiral groove from a position close to the bar wheel axis to a position away from the bar wheel axis, so that the mainspring gains elastic potential energy.

[0017] In this way, before the mechanical clock starts working, the contact end of the friction component is placed at the position furthest away from the barrel wheel axis, so that the friction torque obtained when the mainspring output torque is at its maximum is also the maximum, and the overall output is achieved through friction consumption.

[0018] In some embodiments, the thickness of a single layer of the mainspring is slightly less than the width of the spiral groove, and when the mainspring is placed in the spiral groove, there is a gap between it and the inner wall of the spiral groove.

[0019] Thus, after the contact end is inserted into the spiral groove, the elastic connecting rod of the friction component undergoes elastic deformation. The tendency of the elastic connecting rod to return to its original state causes compression between the contact end and the inner wall of the spiral groove, which in turn causes friction between the contact end and the spring during the sliding process in the spiral groove.

[0020] In some embodiments, the contact end is placed in the gap and has at least one contact point with the mainspring. The contact end continuously exerts a frictional force on the mainspring at the contact point, wherein the frictional torque is the product of the frictional force and the frictional arm, and the value of the frictional arm is the radius of curvature of the contact point.

[0021] In some embodiments, when the contact end slides along the spiral groove from a position away from / closer to the axis of the carton wheel to a position closer to / away from the axis of the carton wheel, the elastic link deforms, and the radius of curvature of the contact point decreases / increases accordingly, wherein the elastic link is made of a tough material.

[0022] In this way, through the frictional consumption of the friction components, the overall output torque of the barrel wheel to other transmission components of the mechanical watch reaches dynamic balance. To a certain extent, this solves the problem that the different elastic potential energy of the mainspring during the initial and later working stages of a mechanical watch leads to different rotational speeds of the drive transmission gear train, resulting in inconsistent timekeeping.

[0023] In some implementations, it also includes:

[0024] The barrel wheel contacts the other gear trains of the mechanical watch and outputs the overall output torque of the stable torque output device. The other gear trains are located at distances from the barrel wheel, including the center wheel assembly, the third wheel assembly, the second wheel assembly, and the escapement wheel assembly, from closest to farthest.

[0025] In this way, the barrel wheel comes into contact with other gear trains in the mechanical watch, ultimately achieving overall output torque control of the mechanical watch by the stable torque output device, thus ensuring the stability and accuracy of the watch's timekeeping.

[0026] In some embodiments, a backstop mechanism is also included to prevent the large steel wheel from reversing by abutting its teeth.

[0027] In this way, the anti-reverse mechanism prevents the loss of elastic potential energy stored in the mainspring due to the reverse rotation of the mainspring wheel when the mechanical clock stops working.

[0028] The mechanical clock of the present invention includes a stable torque output device according to the present invention.

[0029] The present invention also discloses a method for stabilizing torque output, implemented by the stabilizing torque output device described in the above embodiments, comprising:

[0030] The spring releases its elastic potential energy to drive the barrel wheel to rotate, thus reducing the output torque of the spring.

[0031] The contact end of the friction assembly moves along the spiral groove from a position away from the axis of the carton wheel to a position close to the axis of the carton wheel, and the frictional torque generated by the friction assembly decreases as the frictional lever arm of the contact end decreases.

[0032] The overall output torque of the stable torque output device is the vector sum of the spring output torque and the friction torque.

[0033] In this way, through the frictional consumption of the friction components, the overall output torque of the barrel wheel to other transmission components of the mechanical watch reaches dynamic balance. To a certain extent, this solves the problem that the different elastic potential energy of the mainspring during the initial and later working stages of a mechanical watch leads to different rotational speeds of the drive transmission gear train, resulting in inconsistent timekeeping.

[0034] Additional aspects and advantages of embodiments of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of embodiments of the invention. Attached Figure Description

[0035] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on the provided drawings without creative effort:

[0036] Figure 1 This is a plan view of the stable torque output device in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0037] Figure 2 This is another planar schematic diagram of the stable torque output device in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0038] Figure 3This is an exploded view of the stable torque output device in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0039] Figure 4 This is another exploded view of the stable torque output device in the embodiments of the present invention;

[0040] Figure 5 This is a plan view of various working states of the stable torque output device in the embodiments of the present invention;

[0041] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram showing the connection between the stable torque output device and the transmission gear system in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0042] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the spring output torque curve and friction torque curve in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0043] Main markings: 1. Mainspring, 10. Barrel wheel, 11. Mainspring barrel, 12. Gear tooth, 13. Spiral groove, 14. First insertion hole, 20. Friction assembly, 21. Fixed end, 22. Elastic connecting rod, 23. Contact end, 24. Fourth insertion hole, 30. Large steel wheel, 31. Second insertion hole, 32. Third insertion hole, 40. Bar spool, 50. Connector. Detailed Implementation

[0044] To facilitate understanding of the present invention, a more complete description will be given below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Typical embodiments of the invention are shown in the drawings. However, the invention can be implemented in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete.

[0045] It should be noted that when a component is said to be "fixed to" another component, it can be directly attached to the other component or there may be an intervening component. When a component is said to be "connected to" another component, it can be directly connected to the other component or there may be an intervening component. The terms "upper," "lower," and similar expressions used in this document are for illustrative purposes only.

[0046] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains. The terminology used herein in the description of the invention is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention.

[0047] The terms "first," "second," and other ordinal numbers used in this specification may be used to describe various constituent elements, but these constituent elements are not limited by these terms. The purpose of using these terms is solely to distinguish one constituent element from others.

[0048] In traditional mechanical clocks, the torque released by the mainspring gradually weakens over time, affecting the accuracy of the timekeeping. Therefore, a torque compensation device is needed to maintain torque stability. Traditional mechanical clocks typically use active or passive compensation mechanisms to transfer or store energy to offset load changes, resulting in weak dynamic adjustment capabilities. Furthermore, external torque compensation devices are not only structurally complex and costly, but also increase the thickness of the movement, limiting the integration and design diversity of mechanical clocks.

[0049] Based on the above, please refer to Figure 1 This invention provides a stable torque output device 100 for use in mechanical watches, comprising: a barrel wheel 10 containing a mainspring, a friction assembly 20, a large steel wheel 30, and a bar arbor 40, such as... Figure 2 As shown, the barrel wheel 10 includes a barrel 11 and a ring of teeth 12 surrounding the outer surface of the barrel 11, as... Figure 3 As shown, the surface of the mainspring barrel 11 has a spiral groove 13, and the mainspring 1 is detachably installed in the spiral groove 13. The mainspring barrel 11 has a first insertion hole 14 at the axial position. The friction assembly 20 is disposed between the barrel wheel 10 and the large steel wheel 30, including a fixed end 21, an elastic connecting rod 22 and a contact end 23. The fixed end 21 is fixed to the large steel wheel 30. The elastic connecting rod 22 is a strip-shaped component whose head end and tail end are respectively connected to the fixed end 21 and the contact end (23). The contact end 23 extends from the tail end of the elastic connecting rod 22 and is slidably placed in the spiral groove 13 in a compressed state with the mainspring 1.

[0050] like Figure 3 As shown, the fixed end 21, elastic connecting rod 22, and contact end 23 of the friction assembly 20 are integrally formed, constituting the friction assembly 20. The fixed end 21 of the friction assembly 20 is fixedly connected to the large steel wheel 30 in any way; a detachable connection can be achieved by introducing connecting parts, such as threaded connections, tension fits, etc., or a non-detachable connection such as ordinary welding. The contact end 23 of the friction assembly 20 is under pressure with the spring under compression. The magnitude of the pressure is related to the degree of deformation of the elastic connecting rod 22, that is, the elastic potential energy stored when the elastic connecting rod 22 deforms. Among these factors, the magnitude of the pressure further affects the magnitude of the frictional force between the contact end 23 and the spring during the sliding process in the helical groove 13.

[0051] It should be noted that the fixed connection mentioned in this invention refers to the absence of relative movement between the two structures after they are connected, and does not restrict the connection between the two structures to be fixed and inseparable.

[0052] like Figure 3As shown, the side of the large steel wheel 30 adjacent to the friction assembly 20 is opposite to the side of the spring box 11 with the spiral groove 13. The large steel wheel 30 has a second insertion hole 31 at its axial position. The bar shaft 40 passes through the first insertion hole 14 and the second insertion hole 31 and is fixedly connected to the large steel wheel 30.

[0053] The bar shaft 40 can rotate in the first socket 14. The first socket 14 can be designed as a circular hole slightly wider than the cross-section of the bar shaft 40, or other shapes that allow the bar shaft to rotate freely therein. The specific shape of the first socket 14 is not limited. In particular, in order to ensure the stability of the stable torque output device, the bar shaft 40 needs to maintain a fixed vertical relative position during the rotation of the first socket 14.

[0054] Furthermore, to prevent the fixing between the bar shaft 40 and the large steel wheel 30 from loosening during rotation, the cross-sectional shape of the bar shaft 40 is the same as that of the second insertion hole 31. For example... Figure 2 In the illustrated embodiment, the cross-section of the bar 40 and the second socket 31 can both be designed as rounded quadrilaterals. Although the specific shape of the cross-section of the bar 40 and the second socket 31 is not limited in the embodiments of the present invention, they should be designed as circular as possible to avoid relative sliding between the bar 40 and the first socket 14 or the second socket 31.

[0055] In some embodiments, after the mechanical clock starts working, the mainspring 1 gradually unwinds, releasing its elastic potential energy to drive the barrel wheel 10 to rotate, thus reducing the mainspring output torque. The contact end 23 of the friction assembly 20 slides along the spiral groove 13 from a position away from the axis of the barrel wheel 10 to a position closer to the axis of the barrel wheel 10. The frictional torque generated by the friction assembly 20 decreases as the frictional arm of the contact end 23 decreases. The overall output torque of the stabilizing torque output device is the vector sum of the mainspring output torque and the frictional torque.

[0056] In the above embodiments, through the friction consumption of the friction component 20, the overall output torque of the barrel wheel 10 to other transmission system components of the mechanical watch reaches a stable level. This solves to a certain extent the problem that the elastic potential energy of the mainspring drives the transmission gear train to rotate at different speeds when the mechanical watch is different between the initial and later working stages, thus causing the watch to keep different times.

[0057] In some implementations, please refer to Figure 4 The stable torque output device of the present invention further includes a connector 50, which is a rigid rod-shaped fixing element with a fixing function. It can be a pin, screw or other rigid rod-shaped fixing element, and is not limited here.

[0058] Furthermore, a third insertion hole 32 is provided at an off-center position on the large steel wheel 30, and a fourth insertion hole 24 is provided at the fixed end 21 of the friction assembly 20. The aforementioned pin or other connecting member 50 passes through the third insertion hole 32 and the fourth insertion hole 24 in sequence, fixing the friction assembly 20 to the surface of the large steel wheel 30, thereby achieving a fixed connection between the friction assembly 20 and the large steel wheel 30. Alternatively, the connecting member 50 may first pass through the fourth insertion hole 24 and the third insertion hole 32; the order of penetration is not limited.

[0059] Thus, the fixed connection between the friction assembly 20 and the large steel wheel 30 no longer requires them to be tightly fitted together. Compared with traditional fixing methods such as welding, the introduction of the connector 50 makes it simpler and easier to replace the friction assembly 20, the large steel wheel 30, or the connector 50 when they wear out.

[0060] In some implementations, such as Figure 3 As shown, the large steel wheel 30 drives the friction assembly 20 to rotate synchronously through the bar shaft 40. The contact end 23 of the friction assembly 20 slides along the spiral groove 13 from the position close to the axis of the bar wheel 10 to the position away from the axis of the bar wheel 10, and the mainspring obtains elastic potential energy.

[0061] Specifically, a mechanical watch needs to be wound before it can start working. The winding process is the process by which the mainspring gains elastic potential energy. During winding, the mainspring wheel 30 rotates, causing the barrel spool 40, which is fixed to the mainspring wheel 30, to rotate synchronously. In this invention, the friction assembly 20 is fixedly connected to the mainspring wheel 30 via the barrel spool 40. Therefore, rotating the mainspring wheel 30 to wind the watch causes the friction assembly 20 to rotate synchronously. Since the fixed end 21, the elastic connecting rod 22, and the contact end 23 of the friction assembly 20 are integrated, as the friction assembly 20 rotates along the mainspring wheel 30, the contact end 23 of the friction assembly 20 also slides along the spiral groove 13 from a position close to the axis of the barrel wheel 10 to a position away from the axis of the barrel wheel 10. When the mainspring gains maximum elastic potential energy, the contact end 23 of the friction assembly 20 reaches the position in the spiral groove 13 furthest from the axis of the barrel wheel 10.

[0062] Thus, before the mechanical clock starts working, the contact end 23 of the friction component 20 is placed at the position furthest from the axis of the barrel wheel 10, so that the friction torque obtained when the mainspring output torque is at its maximum is also the maximum, and the overall output is achieved through friction consumption.

[0063] In some embodiments, the thickness of a single layer of the mainspring 1 is slightly less than the width of the spiral groove 13, so that when the mainspring is placed in the spiral groove 13, there is a gap between it and the inner wall of the spiral groove 13. The width of the gap is just enough to allow the contact end 23 of the friction assembly 20 to be inserted, and there is compression between it and the inner wall of the spiral groove 13.

[0064] Thus, after the contact end 23 is inserted into the spiral groove 13, due to the elastic deformation of the elastic connecting rod 22 of the friction assembly 20, the tendency of the elastic connecting rod 22 to return to its original state causes the contact end 23 to be squeezed with the inner wall of the spiral groove, thereby generating friction between the contact end 23 and the spring during the sliding process in the spiral groove 13.

[0065] In some embodiments, the contact end 23 is placed in the gap between the mainspring 1 and the spiral groove, and has at least one contact point with the mainspring 1. The contact end 23 and the mainspring 1 slide relative to each other at the contact point to generate frictional force, wherein the frictional torque is the product of the frictional force and the frictional arm, and the value of the frictional arm is the radius of curvature of the contact point.

[0066] Specifically, the contact end 23 of the friction assembly 20 is placed in the gap between the mainspring and the spiral groove 13. In order to achieve the function of balancing the torque of the mainspring, the contact end 23 needs to have at least one contact point with the mainspring so that pressure is generated between the contact end 23 and the mainspring, thereby generating friction. Figure 2 As shown, the contact end 23 is cylindrical. The cylindrical contact end 23 slides more smoothly between the spiral groove 13 and the mainspring, and the resulting friction is more stable. In some embodiments, the shape of the contact end 23 can also be a semi-cylinder, a cube, etc. In these cases, there is a contact surface containing multiple contact points between the contact end 23 and the mainspring. The shape of the contact end 23 is not particularly limited here.

[0067] In some embodiments, when the contact end 23 slides along the spiral groove 13 from a position away from / closer to the axis of the carton wheel 10 to a position closer to / away from the axis of the carton wheel 10, the elastic link 22 deforms, and the radius of curvature of the contact point decreases / increases accordingly.

[0068] In some implementations, the value of the friction arm is the radius of curvature of the contact point. See also... Figure 5 When the contact end 23 is far from the axis of the barrel wheel 10, the elastic potential energy of the mainspring is large, the speed of the barrel wheel 10 is high, and a larger frictional torque is needed to counteract the output torque of the mainspring. Figure 5 As shown in Figure a, at this point, because the contact end 23 is furthest from the axis of the barrel wheel 10, the radius of curvature of the contact point reaches its maximum, and therefore the value of the friction arm also reaches its maximum. Simultaneously, with the friction arm at its maximum, the elastic link 22 of the friction assembly 20 experiences maximum deformation. The elastic potential energy stored in the elastic link 22 causes it to tend to return to its original bent state, resulting in greater pressure between the contact end 23 and the mainspring. The magnitude of the frictional torque at this point is the product of the maximum friction arm and the maximum frictional force, and its direction is the same as the direction of the frictional force exerted by the contact end 23 on the mainspring.

[0069] Conversely, in the embodiment described above, when the contact end 23 is close to the axis of the barrel wheel 10, the elastic potential energy of the mainspring is small, and the rotational speed of the barrel wheel 10 is low. Figure 5 As shown in Figure b, this represents the relative position of the contact end 23 and the spiral groove 13 at a certain moment during the process of the contact end 23 approaching the axis of the carton wheel 10. Figure 5 As shown in Figure c, when the contact end 23 is closest to the axis of the barrel wheel 10, the radius of curvature of the contact point reaches its minimum, and therefore the value of the friction arm is also relatively small. When the friction arm is at its minimum, the elastic link 22 of the friction assembly 20 experiences minimal deformation, and the elastic link 22 has a smaller tendency to return to its original bent state. At this time, the pressure between the contact end 23 and the mainspring is also relatively small, and the frictional torque acting on the mainspring in the same direction as the frictional force from the contact end 23 is also relatively small.

[0070] In some embodiments, the elastic link 22 is made of a tough material, such as shape memory alloy or plastic. The specific tough material to be used is not limited here.

[0071] Thus, through the frictional consumption of the friction component 20, the overall output torque of the barrel wheel 10 to other transmission components of the mechanical watch reaches dynamic balance, which to a certain extent solves the problem that the different elastic potential energy of the mainspring during the initial and later working stages of the mechanical watch leads to different rotational speeds of the drive transmission gear system, resulting in uneven timekeeping.

[0072] like Figure 6 As shown, in some embodiments, the barrel wheel 10 contacts other gear trains of the mechanical watch, outputting the overall output torque of the stable torque output device. The other gear trains, from closest to farthest from the barrel wheel, include the center wheel component 101, the third wheel component 102, the second wheel component 103, and the escape wheel component 104.

[0073] Specifically, during the operation of a mechanical watch, the mainspring releases elastic potential energy, driving the barrel wheel 10 to rotate. The barrel wheel 10 contacts other gear train components of the mechanical watch, outputting the overall output torque, stabilized by the friction torque generated by the friction assembly 20, to the other gear train components. The barrel wheel 10 contacts the center wheel assembly 101, driving the subsequent three-wheel assembly 102, the seconds wheel assembly 103, and the escape wheel assembly 104 to rotate, thereby driving the escape fork 105 to reciprocate.

[0074] In this way, the barrel wheel 10 contacts other transmission gears of the mechanical clock, and finally realizes the overall output torque output by the stable torque output device to control the rotation of the mechanical clock, so as to achieve the stability and accuracy of the clock's timekeeping.

[0075] In some embodiments, the stabilizing torque output device also includes a backstop mechanism that abuts against the teeth of the large steel wheel 30 to prevent the large steel wheel 30 from reversing.

[0076] In this way, the anti-reverse mechanism prevents the loss of elastic potential energy stored in the mainspring due to the reverse rotation of the large steel wheel when the mechanical clock stops working.

[0077] The mechanical clock of the present invention includes a stable torque output device according to the present invention.

[0078] A method for outputting a stable torque according to the present invention is implemented by the stable torque output device described in the above embodiments, comprising:

[0079] The spring releases its elastic potential energy to drive the barrel wheel 10 to rotate, thus reducing the output torque of the spring.

[0080] The contact end 23 of the friction assembly 20 moves along the spiral groove 13 from a position away from the axis of the carton wheel 10 to a position close to the axis of the carton wheel 10. The frictional torque generated by the friction assembly 20 decreases as the frictional arm of the contact end 23 decreases.

[0081] The overall output torque of the stable torque output device is the vector sum of the spring output torque and the friction torque.

[0082] Specifically, such as Figure 7 As shown, let the output torque of the mainspring be M1 and the friction torque be M2. Figure 5 'a' shows the initial state after the mainspring is wound. As the number of coils released, 'n', the curves showing the changes in M1 and M2 are as follows: Figure 6 As shown. The vector superposition of the two is the overall output torque of the barrel wheel 10. Assuming the direction of the mainspring output torque is positive, the direction of the friction torque is negative, and the value of the friction torque is negative. That is, the formula for calculating the overall output torque M is: M = M1 - M2. From the beginning of the mainspring release to its complete release, the friction torque M2 cancels out the torque, making the change in the overall output torque M more stable than the mainspring output torque M1, ultimately achieving a stable torque output.

[0083] Thus, through the frictional consumption of the friction component 20, the overall output torque of the barrel wheel 10 to other transmission components of the mechanical watch reaches dynamic balance, which to a certain extent solves the problem that the different elastic potential energy of the mainspring during the initial and later working stages of the mechanical watch leads to different rotational speeds of the drive transmission gear system, resulting in uneven timekeeping.

[0084] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, and not to limit them; although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some of the technical features; and these modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A stable torque output device for mechanical clocks, characterized in that, include: The barrel wheel (10) containing the spring (1), the friction assembly (20), the large steel wheel (30), and the bar spool (40). The barrel wheel (10) includes a barrel (11) and a ring of teeth (12) around the outer side of the barrel (11). The surface of the barrel (11) has a spiral groove (13). The mainspring (1) is detachably installed in the spiral groove (13). The barrel (11) has a first insertion hole (14) at the axial position. The bar shaft (40) can rotate in the first insertion hole (14). The friction assembly (20) is disposed between the bar wheel (10) and the large steel wheel (30), and includes a fixed end (21), an elastic connecting rod (22) and a contact end (23). The fixed end (21) is fixedly connected to the large steel wheel (30). The elastic connecting rod (22) is a strip-shaped component whose head end and tail end are respectively connected to the fixed end (21) and the contact end (23). The contact end (23) extends from the tail end of the elastic connecting rod (22) and is slidably placed in the spiral groove (13) in a compressed state with the mainspring (1). The side of the large steel wheel (30) adjacent to the friction assembly (20) is opposite to the side of the spring box (11) with the spiral groove (13), and the large steel wheel (30) is provided with a second insertion hole (31) at the axial position. The bar shaft (40) passes through the first insertion hole (14) and the second insertion hole (31) and is fixedly connected to the large steel wheel (30); In this process, the mainspring (1) releases elastic potential energy to drive the barrel wheel (10) to rotate, and the output torque of the mainspring decreases. The contact end (23) of the friction assembly (20) slides along the spiral groove (13) from a position away from the axis of the barrel wheel (10) to a position close to the axis of the barrel wheel (10). The frictional torque generated by the friction assembly (20) decreases as the frictional arm of the contact end (23) decreases, so that the overall output torque of the stable torque output device is the vector sum of the output torque of the mainspring and the frictional torque.

2. The stable torque output device according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes a connector (50), which is a rigid rod-shaped fixing element with a fixing function; A third insertion hole (32) is provided at a position off-center from the axis of the large steel wheel (30), and a fourth insertion hole (24) is provided at the fixed end (21) of the friction assembly (20). The connector (50) passes through the third socket (32) and the fourth socket (24) to fix the friction assembly (20) on the surface of the large steel wheel (30).

3. The stable torque output device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The large steel wheel (30) drives the friction assembly (20) to rotate synchronously through the bar shaft (40). The contact end (23) of the friction assembly (20) slides along the spiral groove (13) from the position close to the axis of the bar wheel (10) to the position away from the axis of the bar wheel (10), and the spring (1) gains elastic potential energy.

4. The stable torque output device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The thickness of a single layer of the spring (1) is slightly less than the width of the spiral groove (13).

5. The stable torque output device according to claim 4, characterized in that, The contact end (23) is placed in the gap between the mainspring (1) and the spiral groove (13) and has at least one contact point with the mainspring (1). The contact end (23) and the mainspring (1) slide relative to each other at the contact point to generate frictional force. The frictional torque is the product of the frictional force and the frictional arm. The value of the frictional arm is the radius of curvature of the contact point.

6. The stable torque output device according to claim 5, characterized in that, When the contact end (23) slides along the spiral groove (13) from a position away from / closer to the axis of the carton wheel (10) towards / away from the axis of the carton wheel (10), the elastic link (22) deforms, and the radius of curvature of the contact point decreases / increases accordingly. The elastic link (22) is made of a tough material.

7. The stable torque output device according to claim 6, characterized in that, Also includes: The barrel wheel (10) contacts the other gear trains of the mechanical clock and outputs the overall output torque. The other gear trains are located at distances from the barrel wheel, from closest to farthest, including the center wheel component (101), the third wheel component (102), the second wheel component (103), and the escape wheel component (104).

8. The stable torque output device according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes a backstop mechanism that abuts against the teeth of the large steel wheel (30) to prevent the large steel wheel (30) from turning backward.

9. A mechanical clock, comprising the stable torque output device as described in any one of claims 1-8.

10. A method for outputting stable torque, implemented by the stable torque output device according to any one of claims 1-8, characterized in that, include: The spring (1) releases elastic potential energy to drive the barrel wheel (10) to rotate, thereby reducing the output torque of the spring; The contact end (23) of the friction assembly (20) moves along the spiral groove (13) from a position away from the axis of the carton wheel (10) to a position close to the axis of the carton wheel (10), and the friction torque generated by the friction assembly (20) decreases as the friction arm of the contact end (23) decreases; The overall output torque of the stable torque output device is the vector sum of the spring output torque and the friction torque.

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