Timepiece Train Wheel Holding Structure with Wear-Resistant Bushes
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing timepiece support members made of materials with lower wear resistance, such as resin, experience accelerated wear and durability issues, particularly when supporting different types of hand movements in a timepiece.
Innovation Solution
A train wheel holding structure with a first support member and a second support member, featuring two or more shaft holes for different positions, and a bush made of a more durable material like metal or ceramic to support the pointer hand wheel without looseness, ensuring proper operation and reducing wear.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a support member made of resin is used to reduce manufacturing costs, then manufacturing cost is reduced, but wear resistance deteriorates and durability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention uses a composite structure where a resin support member is combined with a metal insert. The resin provides cost-effective manufacturing and damping properties, while the metal insert embedded within provides the necessary wear resistance and structural strength at the critical shaft hole location. This composite approach resolves the contradiction by combining materials with complementary properties.
Solution Approach 2:
The support member is segmented into different material zones: a resin base material for the bulk structure and a metal insert for the specific high-wear area. This segmentation allows each material to perform its optimal function - resin for cost and damping, metal for wear resistance - thereby resolving the contradiction between manufacturing cost and durability.
2Reliability
If a support member made of metal is used to improve wear resistance, then wear resistance is improved, but manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of making the entire support member from expensive metal, the invention applies metal material locally only at the insert portion where wear resistance is critical (shaft hole area). The remaining bulk of the support member is made of cheaper resin. This local quality approach provides necessary wear resistance where needed while minimizing manufacturing cost.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a support member is designed to support both rotating and fan-shaped/sector hands, then versatility is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The support member is designed with multiple shaft holes of different sizes and positions that can accommodate both rotating hands and fan-shaped/sector hands. The standardized interface design with multiple hole configurations allows a single support member structure to serve multiple functions and be compatible with different hand movement types, thereby achieving versatility without requiring multiple specialized components.
Data Source
AI summary
A train wheel holding structure includes a main plate, a train wheel bridge, a pointer hand wheel or a pointe wheel supported by the main plate and the train wheel bridge, and a rotation hand movement train wheel or a fan-shaped/sector hand movement train wheel driving the pointer hand wheel, the train wheel bridge includes support holes corresponding to different two positions to support the pointer hand wheel, and between the two support holes of the train wheel bridge, a bush supporting the pointer hand wheel or the pointer hand wheel without looseness is provided in the support hole or the support hole by which the pointer hand wheel or the pointer hand wheel is supported and the bush is not provided in the support hole or the support hole by which the pointer hand wheel or the pointer hand wheel is not supported.