Timepiece Escapement Wheel Structure for Compact Impulse Transmission
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing escapement devices for mechanical timepieces are bulky and have complex mechanisms, which affect their compactness, manufacturing complexity, and operational efficiency.
Innovation Solution
The escapement device features escape wheels with unique tooth configurations, including arm-shaped second teeth with extreme protrusions that minimize inertia and allow for a larger number of teeth, and a blocking mobile element that receives impulses indirectly from the escape wheels, reducing complexity and enhancing efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a natural escapement comprises two escape wheels with articulated anchor and impulse pallets, then the escapement can transmit impulses to maintain oscillations, but the device becomes bulky and complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the functions of the articulated anchor and impulse pallets into the escape wheels themselves. The escape wheels are designed with specific tooth configurations where the teeth directly engage with the balance, eliminating the need for separate articulated anchor and impulse pallets components. This integration reduces the number of parts while maintaining the impulse transmission function.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts and eliminates the articulated anchor and impulse pallets from the traditional escapement configuration. By removing these separate components and incorporating their functions directly into the escape wheels, the design achieves a simpler structure that is less bulky while maintaining operational reliability.
2Ease of manufacture
If traditional escape wheels have standard tooth configurations, then the mechanism is easier to manufacture, but the device cannot achieve compact size with high operating efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating escape wheels with non-uniform tooth configurations. Different portions of the escape wheel have different tooth characteristics - some teeth are designed with specific geometries to engage with the balance while other portions have optimized structures for compactness. This localized differentiation allows the device to achieve both manufacturability and compact size.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes dimensional changes in tooth geometry, where teeth are designed with varying profiles, angles, and engagement depths. By optimizing the three-dimensional configuration of the teeth, the design achieves compact escape wheel dimensions while maintaining sufficient tooth engagement for reliable impulse transmission and high operating efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to an escapement device of a timepiece that includes a first escape wheel, pivotally mounted about a first axis of rotation, comprising a toothing equipped with first teeth and with second teeth, and a second escape wheel, pivotally mounted about a second axis of rotation, comprising a toothing arranged to at least cooperate with the second teeth of the first escape wheel. Each second tooth of the first escape wheel has an arm shape comprising at least one extreme protrusion arranged to cooperate with the toothing of the second escape wheel.