Moon Phase Jumping Mechanism With Multi-Increment Daily Drive
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing moon phase display mechanisms of the jumping type suffer from a significant 'display error' of up to 6.1° per day, which is not accurately reflective of the lunar body's actual state, and existing complex mechanisms to improve precision are costly and cumbersome.
Innovation Solution
A moon phase display mechanism that splits the daily driving pitch of the moon phase indicator into multiple increments, using a cam-driven phase lever system to increment the indicator by angles corresponding to the daily lunation period, thereby reducing the daily error to 6.1° without increasing complexity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a jumping drive mechanism with a 59-toothed star-wheel is used, then the mechanism is space-saving and inexpensive, but the display error accumulates to 6.1° per day
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the single daily jump of the moon phase indicator into multiple smaller increments (e.g., 2 increments per day). This segmentation reduces the angular error per increment while maintaining the same overall lunar cycle accuracy, thereby improving display precision without requiring a fundamentally more complex mechanism architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent modifies the gear ratio parameters of the existing jumping drive mechanism to achieve multiple increments per day. By adjusting the number of teeth on the star-wheel and the driving gear, the mechanism achieves finer resolution (e.g., 3.05° per increment instead of 6.1°) while maintaining the jumping drive topology, thus improving precision without proportionally increasing complexity.
2Measurement precision
If complex mechanisms with multiple gears and precise ratios are used, then the lunation precision approaches the theoretical value, but the mechanism becomes costly and cumbersome
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the daily moon phase progression into multiple discrete increments driven by a modified jumping mechanism. This achieves high lunation precision (29.53125 days) through simpler means by using fewer, larger gear components rather than multiple small gears working in sequence.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses periodic jumping action (e.g., twice daily) to drive the moon phase indicator through multiple increments. This periodic driving approach simplifies the mechanism compared to continuous dragging mechanisms while maintaining high precision through carefully calculated gear ratios and increment angles.
3Measurement precision
If a dragging type mechanism is used, then the display precision is improved with real-time movement, but the mechanism is costly and complex to produce
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the continuous dragging action with periodic jumping action (e.g., twice per day). This simplifies the manufacturing process by eliminating the need for continuous friction-based or constant-mesh gear systems, while still achieving high display precision through multiple controlled increments per lunar day.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the essential function of continuous moon phase tracking and implements it through discrete periodic jumps. This removes the complexity of continuous dragging mechanisms while preserving the core function of accurate moon phase display, making the mechanism easier to manufacture and more reliable.
Data Source
AI summary
A moon phase display mechanism for a timepiece capable of being driven by a horological movement, the operation whereof depends on the time division, the moon phase display mechanism including: a moon phase indicator carrying at least one representation of the moon; a jumping drive mechanism of the moon phase indicator capable of being driven by the horological movement and of driving, in jumps, the moon phase indicator; the moon phase display mechanism wherein the jumping drive mechanism is configured to rotate the moon phase indicator by n increments per day, n being greater than 1, each increment rotating the moon phase indicator by an angle α corresponding to the angle of rotation of a daily pitch divided by the number n of increments.