Timepiece Shock Absorber Spring Radial Fixing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing shock absorber bearings for timepieces face challenges in minimizing stiffness and ensuring a constant load on the endstone, particularly when materials or dimensions are modified, which affects the mechanical response to shocks experienced by the balance staff and its pivots.
Innovation Solution
A shock absorber spring with a design featuring multiple spring-fixing elements, pressing elements, and connecting elements that provide radial and orthoradial extensions, allowing for a closed-loop configuration that minimizes stiffness and maintains a consistent load on the endstone, integrated with a bearing body having symmetrical studs and fixing surfaces to optimize the mechanical response.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the spring is designed with conventional configurations (closed loop or open shape with lugs), then the shock absorber bearing can damp the movement of the staff, but the stiffness of the spring cannot be minimized and the load on the endstone varies
Solution Approach 1:
The spring is divided into multiple functional elements: pressing elements (for contact with endstone), connecting elements (for structural linkage), and fixing elements (for mounting to bearing body). This segmentation allows independent optimization of each element's function, enabling minimized stiffness while maintaining reliable shock absorption and constant load on the endstone.
Solution Approach 2:
The fixing elements incorporate fixing surfaces oriented radially relative to the spring's axis of symmetry, introducing a radial dimension to the fixing mechanism. This radial orientation allows the spring to be constrained in a way that minimizes stiffness while maintaining proper positioning and constant load on the endstone during shock events.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the materials or dimensions of the staff are modified, then the mechanical response to shocks changes, but the load on the endstone becomes inconsistent
Solution Approach 1:
The spring design with radially oriented fixing surfaces and separated functional elements creates a universal shock absorption mechanism that maintains consistent load on the endstone regardless of staff material or dimension variations. The radial fixing surfaces provide a standardized interface that ensures proper constraint and load distribution across different staff configurations.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention allows for parameter changes in staff materials and dimensions while maintaining consistent endstone loading through the specific geometric configuration of the spring elements. The radial orientation of fixing surfaces and the distribution of pressing elements enable the system to adapt to varying physical parameters of the staff without compromising load consistency.
3Reliability
If the spring has radial fixing surfaces oriented towards the axis of symmetry, then the stiffness is minimized and load on endstone is constant, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the spring into pressing elements, connecting elements, and fixing elements with radially oriented fixing surfaces, the design achieves constant load on the endstone. While this segmentation increases manufacturing complexity compared to simple closed-loop springs, it enables precise control over stiffness and load distribution that cannot be achieved with conventional configurations.
Solution Approach 2:
The radial fixing surfaces are applied locally to the fixing elements rather than the entire spring structure. This localized application of radial orientation provides the necessary constraint for constant endstone loading while minimizing the overall complexity of the spring fabrication process.
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
The solution effectively reduces the stiffness of the spring while maintaining a consistent load on the endstone, enhancing the mechanical response to shocks and adapting to varying material stresses and dimensions, thereby improving the shock absorption efficiency in timepiece mechanisms.
Implementation Method 1
a spring arranged at the interface between the bearing body and the endstone, so as to damp the movement of the staff in the event of a shock that the timepiece might experience, and return the staff to its initial position after the shock
Data Source
AI summary
A shock absorber spring (1) for a timepiece (200), extending substantially in a plane (P1) and having a first axis of symmetry (A1) perpendicular to the plane (P1), the spring including at least two first spring-fixing elements (11, 11′, 11″), these first fixing elements each comprising at least a first fixing surface (11a, 11b, 11a′, 11b′, 11a″, 11b″) oriented at least substantially radially relative to the first axis (A1) and towards the first axis (A1).