Balance Bar Shake Adjustment via Coaxial Screws
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing mechanical timepieces face challenges in efficiently adjusting the shake of a rotating part, such as a balance, due to complex and costly systems that increase the size and complexity of the timepiece movement, limiting the arrangement of the balance bar and requiring large dimensions for the base.
Innovation Solution
A device with a single adjusting screw that varies the distance between the balance bar's base and the bottom plate, allowing for efficient adjustment of the balance shake without increasing the size of the bar or limiting its peripheral arrangement, featuring a coaxial arrangement of the tightening screw and adjusting screw that can be actuated from the top face of the bar.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a complex adjusting system with multiple regulating screws is used to adjust the balance shake, then the adjustment precision is improved, but the device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The adjusting system is segmented into two functional components: a tightening screw that secures the balance bar base to the movement plate, and an adjusting screw that modifies the distance between the base and plate. This segmentation allows independent optimization of each component's function, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining adjustment precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The tightening screw serves a dual function: it both secures the balance bar base to the movement plate and provides an access hole through which the adjusting screw can operate. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate securing and adjusting mechanisms, reducing the number of parts and simplifying the overall system.
2Adaptability or versatility
If three regulating screws are arranged at the periphery of the tightening screw to adjust the balance shake, then the adjustment capability is improved, but the base dimensions must be increased
Solution Approach 1:
The adjusting screw operates through the tightening screw's access hole, transitioning the adjustment mechanism from a peripheral planar arrangement to a vertical axial arrangement. This dimensional change allows the adjusting screw to be positioned centrally rather than at the periphery, reducing the required base area while maintaining full adjustment capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The adjusting screw is nested within the tightening screw's access hole, with the adjusting screw passing through the base and being actuated from the top surface. This nesting arrangement allows both screws to occupy the same spatial footprint, eliminating the need for additional peripheral space that would be required for separate adjusting mechanisms.
3Measurement precision
If two cylindrical parts with inner and outer threading are used to adjust the balance shake, then the adjustment precision is improved, but the device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The complex dual-threading cylindrical system is replaced by extracting only the essential adjusting function: a single adjusting screw with external threading that passes through the base and is actuated through the tightening screw's access hole. This extraction eliminates unnecessary cylindrical components and complex threading arrangements, simplifying manufacturing while preserving adjustment precision.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of having the adjusting mechanism come from underneath the balance bar base (as in conventional systems), the adjusting screw is inverted to be actuated from the top surface through the tightening screw's access hole. This inversion simplifies the structure by eliminating the need for underlying cylindrical components and allows direct access to the adjusting mechanism.
4Ease of operation
If peripheral clearance is provided for adjusting nuts to be rotated, then the adjustment functionality is improved, but the balance bar size and movement arrangement flexibility are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The adjusting mechanism is inverted from a peripheral lateral arrangement to a central axial arrangement. The adjusting screw is actuated from the top surface through the tightening screw's access hole rather than from the periphery, eliminating the need for lateral clearance and allowing the balance bar to be positioned more flexibly within the movement.
Solution Approach 2:
The adjustment access is moved from the horizontal peripheral dimension to the vertical axial dimension. By actuating the adjusting screw from the top surface through the access hole, the system eliminates the need for peripheral clearance space, allowing more compact balance bar arrangements and greater flexibility in movement layout.
Data Source
AI summary
The timepiece includes means for adjusting the shake of a rotating part or wheel set, in particular a balance one bearing of which is arranged in a bar (4). This bar comprises a base (18) associated with a adjusting screw (34) one end (36) of which rests on the bottom plate. Rotating this adjusting screw varies the distance between the base and the bottom plate (14). The center of the adjusting screw is pierced for the passage of a tightening screw (32) for fixing the bar to the bottom plate. This adjusting screw is arranged in a hole (42) passing through the base (18) and can be rotated through the hole from the top face (46) of the bar in order to adjust the balance shake.