Stud-holder Anti-jamming Arm for Balance Spring
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing stud-holders in mechanical watches fail to completely prevent the outer coils of the balance spring from jamming behind the stud during impacts, leading to disruptions in the oscillation of the balance and the rate of the regulating member.
Innovation Solution
A stud-holder design featuring an arm extending from the stud, directed at a non-zero angle under the main body, which retains the outer coils of the balance spring when they deform perpendicular to the plane of the balance spring, preventing them from jamming underneath the stud.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the stud has a conical end to allow coils to slide, then the coils can pass back under the stud, but the disruption to the regulating member's rate lasts until the balance spring returns to its normal position
Solution Approach 1:
The invention introduces a third dimensional element by adding an arm that extends perpendicular to the stud axis and passes beneath the balance spring. This arm creates a physical barrier in a new spatial dimension that prevents coil migration around the stud, eliminating the time-dependent rate disruption while maintaining reliable coil retention
2Reliability
If a longer wall is added to the stud to hinder coil passage, then coil jamming is prevented, but the balance may hit this wall during impact
Solution Approach 1:
The arm acts as an intermediary element between the stud and the balance spring. Instead of extending the stud wall directly (which would contact the balance), the arm provides indirect protection by retaining coils beneath the spring, preventing them from migrating to jamming positions while eliminating the risk of balance-wall impact
3Reliability
If the arm extends far enough to retain coils, then jamming is prevented, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The arm is integrated with the stud as a single unified component rather than a separate attachment. This merging of functions allows the stud to simultaneously serve its original purpose of holding the balance spring while the integrated arm provides coil retention, eliminating the need for additional separate parts and reducing overall device complexity
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 effectively prevents the jamming of balance spring coils, ensuring uninterrupted chronometric performance by maintaining the oscillation of the balance and the rate of the regulating member, even during impacts.
Implementation Method 1
the balance spring can deform transversely to the operating plane, and have one or more outer coils which pass beneath the stud
Implementation Method 2
the arm retains the outer coils of the balance spring when they deform in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the balance spring
Data Source
AI summary
A stud-holder (1) for a regulating member (10) of a horological movement, the regulating member (10) including an inertial mass, for example a balance (23), a balance spring (25) including a strip (2) wound about itself in several turns, and a balance cock (22), the stud-holder (1) including a main body (31) intended to be mounted on the balance cock (42), and a stud (34) mounted on the main body (31) in a first direction, wherein the stud-holder (1) includes an arm (5) extending from the stud (34), the arm (5) being directed in a second direction under the main body (31), the second direction forming a non-zero angle with the first direction, so as to pass at least in part beneath a balance spring (25) held by the stud (34), when the stud-holder (1) is mounted on the regulating member (10).