Musical Comb Grooves for Timepiece Vibration Isolation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional musical combs for timepiece striking mechanisms suffer from vibration transfer between tines, leading to dissonant sounds due to uneven stress distribution and combined bending and torsion modes, resulting in reduced acoustic quality.
Innovation Solution
The musical comb features grooves in the heel extending between tines, ensuring symmetry at the point of attachment and individual machining of tines with a cylindrical milling cutter to maximize the first bending mode and prevent vibration transfer, thereby isolating actuated tines and reducing stress on adjacent ones.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a round or cylindrical milling cutter is used to machine tines from the heel, then the manufacturing process is simplified, but the tines experience combined bending and torsion modes causing vibration transfer and dissonant sound
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies asymmetry by positioning the milling cutter offset from the centerline of the heel. Specifically, the cutter is positioned at a distance of 0.05 to 0.15 times the thickness of the heel from the centerline, creating an asymmetric machining approach that eliminates combined bending and torsion modes while maintaining manufacturing simplicity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements local quality by creating a specific asymmetric geometry at the root of each tine where it connects to the heel. The offset positioning of the milling cutter creates a localized asymmetric stress distribution pattern that optimizes vibration characteristics at the critical connection point without affecting the overall tine geometry
2Device complexity
If multiple tines are connected to the same heel, then the musical comb structure is compact and efficient, but stress from one tine can prestress adjacent tines causing them to vibrate unintentionally
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary element in the form of an offset machining position that acts as a mediator between adjacent tines. By positioning the milling cutter offset from the centerline, a neutral zone is created in the heel material between tines that prevents stress transfer while maintaining the compact one-piece structure
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design enhances sound purity by maximizing vibration amplitude and acoustic level, eliminating dissonance and ensuring each tine vibrates independently, producing a clear and enhanced melody.
Implementation Method 1
each tine is obtained by machining with a symmetry between points of connection on the heel relative to a bending plane of each tine to be actuated... the first bending mode is not properly actuated and dampening is more pronounced
Implementation Method 2
there is a vibration transfer from an actuated tine to another adjacent tine... the musical comb includes grooves in the heel each extending in the extension of each space between the adjacent tines
Data Source
AI summary
A musical comb for a striking mechanism of a timepiece includes several tines connected to a heel for securing the comb inside the timepiece. The musical comb further includes grooves in the heel each extending into the extension of each space between the adjacent tines in order to eliminate any dissonance during actuation of the tines.