Timepiece Component with Varying Depth Grooves for Stereoscopic Effect
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing timepiece components lack a design that imparts a stereoscopic impression, failing to enhance the aesthetic appeal by providing a three-dimensional visual effect.
Innovation Solution
A timepiece component featuring a base material with alternating first and second grooves of varying widths and depths, along with flat portions, is designed to create a pattern that provides a stereoscopic impression when viewed.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If shallow cut lines are formed on the front surface to create a boxwood pattern, then the manufacturing process is simple, but the pattern only provides a planar impression without stereoscopic effect
Solution Approach 1:
The invention transitions from a two-dimensional planar pattern to a three-dimensional stereoscopic pattern by varying the depth of grooves in the third dimension. The grooves have different depths (first depth for wide width portions, second depth for narrow width portions) while maintaining the same curvature radius, creating height variations that produce stereoscopic visual effects when light reflects off the surface.
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the grooves are given different local properties: wide width portions have greater depth while narrow width portions have lesser depth, but all grooves maintain the same arcuate curvature radius. This local differentiation in depth creates varying light reflection angles and intensities across the surface, enhancing the stereoscopic impression without requiring complex manufacturing.
2Shape
If alternating wide and narrow width portions with different depths are created in grooves, then a stereoscopic impression is achieved, but the manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes specific parameters of the groove structure: width (alternating wide and narrow portions) and depth (first depth for wide portions, second depth for narrow portions), while keeping the curvature radius constant. This parameter differentiation creates stereoscopic effects through controlled light reflection variations, and the constant curvature radius simplifies manufacturing by allowing the use of standardized cutting tools.
Solution Approach 2:
All grooves are formed with arcuate cross-sectional shapes having the same curvature radius, whether they are wide width portions or narrow width portions. This uniform curvature simplifies the manufacturing process by allowing the use of ball end mills with fixed radius, reducing the need for complex tool path programming while still achieving the desired stereoscopic visual effect through depth variations.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a timepiece component including a train wheel bridge, wherein the train wheel bridge includes a base material in which a first groove, a second groove, and a flat portion are formed along a first direction, in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, the flat portion is provided between the first groove and the second groove, in the first direction, in the first groove and the second groove, a wide width portion and a narrow width portion are alternately provided, in the second direction, the wide width portion and the narrow width portion are alternately provided, and a depth of the wide width portion is deeper than a depth of the narrow width portion.