JP2015179071A - Manufacturing method of balance spring, and balance spring - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a balance spring and manufacturing method of the balance spring that enable the balance spring to be fixed at an accurate position without tilting of the balance spring in a speed governor of a mechanical type timepiece, and attain a mechanical type timepiece high in reliability and high in stable clocking accuracy.SOLUTION: A balance spring comprises: a collet 3 that has a through-hole 3a for fitting with a rotating shaft body; a coil-shaped main spring unit 2 that is connected to the collet 3 and is winded around the collet 3 centering around the through-hole 3a; and a spring-holding stud 4 that is provided in an end of the main spring unit 2, in which the balance spring has a groove part 7 in one plane surface of the spring-holding stud. The balance spring is configured to have an adhesion agent provided in one part of one plane surface 4a having the groove part 7, and be adhered to other components.

Description

  The present invention relates to a hairspring for a mechanical timepiece and a method for manufacturing the same.

  In a conventional mechanical timepiece, a speed governor (balance balance) composed of a hairspring and a balance wheel (with a balance spring) is used in order to keep the operation of the machine regularly at a constant speed. The balance wheel regularly reciprocates by the expansion and contraction of the isochronous balance spring.

  The balance with the escapement composed of escape wheel and ankle is connected to the balance with the balance, and the energy is transmitted from the mainspring to maintain the vibration.

  Known balance springs are often formed by processing metal. For this reason, the shape as designed may not be obtained due to variations in processing accuracy or the influence of internal stress of the metal.

  Since the balance spring needs to regularly vibrate the balance with the balance, if the shape as designed is not obtained, the balance wheel also cannot move isochronously, resulting in a deviation in the rate of the watch. The rate of the watch indicates the degree of advance or delay of the watch per day.

  In recent years, attempts have been made to manufacture timepiece parts by etching a silicon substrate. It is said that it has the advantage that it can be made lighter than the manufacture of watch parts using conventional metal parts, and the advantage that it can be mass-produced at low cost. Thereby, it is expected that a small and lightweight watch can be manufactured.

  When etching a silicon substrate, a reactive ion etching (RIE) technique, which is a dry etching technique, has recently progressed. Among them, deep RIE (Deep RIE) technology has been developed, and etching with a high aspect ratio has become possible.

  According to this technology, since the etching does not go under the part masked with photoresist, the mask pattern can be faithfully reproduced in the vertical depth direction, and the watch part is designed when etching the silicon substrate. It has become possible to manufacture accurately with the street shape.

  In the first place, silicon has better temperature characteristics than metal. It has a feature that it is less likely to be deformed with respect to ambient temperature than a metal used as a material for a conventional hairspring. For this reason, it is considered to apply this technique to a speed adjusting mechanism of a timepiece (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  The hairspring manufactured in this way is inserted into a through-hole formed in the ball at one end and fitted, and the other end is fixed with an adhesive on the bend fixing component. Fixed.

  And many proposals are also seen about the adhesive agent which can be used for such a use (for example, refer patent document 2).

JP 2007-256290 A (page 4, FIG. 2) JP 2004-75832 A (2nd to 4th pages)

  However, when the hairspring disclosed in the prior art disclosed in Patent Document 1 is fixed to the beard fixing component, the hairspring and the beard fixing component often cannot be fixed at an appropriate position. That is, there are many cases where the hairspring is fixed while being shifted from a predetermined position, or fixed while being inclined. Even if the adhesive shown in Patent Document 2 is used, the same applies.

  If the hairspring is fixed by shifting or tilting from a predetermined position, there arises a problem that the hairspring comes into contact with other peripheral components and is damaged. In addition, unnecessary stress is applied to the hairspring, isochronous hairspring cannot be expanded and contracted, and a predetermined frequency cannot be obtained.

These problems occur because the contact surface of the hairspring of the hairspring with the whisker-fixing part has a flat shape.
For this reason, the position shift and inclination of the hairspring tend to become more prominent as the amount of adhesive applied increases. Therefore, it is difficult to manage the amount of adhesive applied, and productivity is reduced.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a hairspring that can be fixed at an appropriate position without tilting in a speed adjusting mechanism of a mechanical timepiece, and a method for manufacturing the same.

  A hairspring in the present invention for achieving the above-described object employs the following manufacturing method.

  A method for manufacturing a hairspring having a predetermined material as a main component and bonding to other parts with a beard, a step of forming a groove in a predetermined portion of the substrate having a predetermined material as a main component, and a substrate, A spiral ball having a through hole for fitting with the rotating shaft body, a coil-shaped mainspring portion connected to the whistle ball and wound around the whisker ball around the through hole, and An etching step for forming a hairspring having a whisker provided at the end, and a step of arranging an adhesive on a flat surface of the whistle having a groove and adhering to another part.

  According to such a manufacturing method, the hairspring can be fixed without being tilted to an appropriate position.

  The predetermined material may be silicon.

  With silicon, it is possible to form very fine and deep grooves using the dry etching technology used in semiconductor manufacturing, and to form grooves in very narrow areas like the balance of a hairspring. can do.

  The hairspring in the present invention for achieving the above-described object employs the following configuration.

  Provided at the end of the mainspring part, a whisker having a through-hole for fitting with the rotating shaft body, a coil-shaped mainspring connected to the whisker and wound around the whisker around the through-hole A hairspring having a beard, characterized in that a groove portion is provided on one plane of the beard, and an adhesive is provided on the one plane portion having the groove portion to be bonded to other components.

  By forming the groove on the whisker, the adhesive enters the groove, so that the hairspring is fixed to the proper position without the hairspring being pulled and moved by the adhesive flowing laterally. be able to.

  The hairspring is preferably formed of silicon.

  With silicon, it is possible to form very fine and deep grooves using the dry etching technology used in semiconductor manufacturing, and to form grooves in very narrow areas like the balance of a hairspring. can do.

  Further, the groove portion may penetrate from one plane of the whiskers to another plane facing the whiskers.

  When the groove penetrates, the adhesive can be supplied from the other plane side toward one plane which is a bonding surface, and the productivity is improved.

  Further, a plurality of groove portions may be provided on one plane of the whisker so that the groove portions have different depths.

  For example, a groove portion having a shallow depth can be used for bonding, and a groove portion having a deep depth can be used as a shape of a mark or a character, which can be used for information recognition.

  Moreover, you may make it the groove part comprise the geometric pattern or a character.

  The shape of the groove should be a combination of geometric patterns, letters, and the like.For example, information indicating the specifications of the hairspring, such as model number and serial number, etc. It is convenient to recognize them visually.

Since the hairspring can be fixed to an appropriate position without being shifted or tilted, it will not come into contact with other surrounding parts and will not be damaged.
Furthermore, by fixing the hairspring in an appropriate position, unnecessary stress is not applied to the hairspring, and a desired frequency as designed can be stably obtained.

It is a top view explaining the composition of the hairspring which is the 1st embodiment of the present invention. It is an expanded sectional view explaining the important section of the hairspring which is the 1st embodiment of the present invention in detail. The expanded sectional view explaining in detail the adhesion state of the hairspring of the hairspring which is the 1st embodiment of the present invention, and the state of fixation of the hairspring and the adhesion state of the conventional hairspring of the hairspring and the hairpin fixing part It is. It is an expanded sectional view explaining the principal part of the hairspring which is the 2nd Embodiment of this invention in detail. It is an expanded sectional view explaining in detail the adhesion state of the hairspring of the hairspring which is the 2nd embodiment of the present invention, and the hairpin fixing component. It is sectional drawing explaining the 1st manufacturing method of the hairspring which is the 3rd Embodiment of this invention, Comprising: It is a figure explaining to the process of forming a groove part. It is sectional drawing explaining the 1st manufacturing method of the hairspring which is the 3rd Embodiment of this invention, Comprising: It is a figure explaining to the process of forming a hairspring shape. It is sectional drawing explaining the 1st manufacturing method of the hairspring which is the 3rd Embodiment of this invention, Comprising: It is a figure explaining the process adhere | attached on a beard fixing component. It is sectional drawing explaining the 2nd manufacturing method of the hairspring which is the 3rd Embodiment of this invention, Comprising: It is a figure explaining the process of forming a groove part. It is sectional drawing explaining the 3rd manufacturing method of the hairspring which is the 3rd Embodiment of this invention, Comprising: It is a figure explaining the process of forming the groove part penetrated. It is sectional drawing explaining the 3rd manufacturing method of the hairspring which is the 3rd Embodiment of this invention, Comprising: It is a figure explaining the process adhere | attached on a beard fixing component.

  The hairspring has a through-hole having a through-hole for fitting with the rotating shaft body, a coil-shaped mainspring portion that is connected to the whistle ball and is wound around the through-hole around the through-hole, and the mainspring portion. And a groove portion is formed in one plane of the beard. Adhesive is provided on a flat surface portion having the groove portion of the whiskers and is bonded to the whistle fixing component which is another component.

  The adhesive does not flow laterally when the adhesive enters the groove provided in the beard. The adhesive that has entered the groove portion pulls the whiskers toward the bonding surface side with the whisker-fixing component, and therefore does not cause the displacement or inclination of the hairspring.

  In addition, since the adhesive enters the groove, even if the amount of the adhesive to be applied is slightly increased, it is possible to make it difficult to cause positional deviation and inclination.

  As described above, the groove portion provided in the bend holding portion, which is a characteristic portion of the hairspring, can be configured to be rectangular or circular in plan view. Further, in view of the positional relationship with the beard ball, the shape of the hairspring can be resisted when it is subjected to the expansion and contraction motion of the hairspring and the beard is pulled in the direction of the beard ball.

  The groove provided in the whisker can have various shapes, but the important point is that the contact surface of the whisker with the whisker fixing part does not become flat. If it does in this way, the contact area of an adhesive agent and a beard will also increase, and the fixing force with a beard fixing member will also increase.

Hereinafter, the hairspring will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
In the description, first, the structure of the machine part will be described as the first and second embodiments, and then the manufacturing method will be described as the third embodiment.

First, as a first embodiment, the schematic configuration of the hairspring will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, and then, the detailed configuration of the bonding portion of the hairspring will be described with reference to FIG. 3. A description will be given in comparison with the structure of the bonding portion of the conventional hairspring.
Next, as a second embodiment, a schematic configuration of a hairspring having a groove portion penetrating the beard using FIG. 4 will be described, and further, the hair will penetrate to the beard using FIG. 5. A detailed configuration of the bonding portion of the hairspring provided with the groove portion will be described.
And as 3rd Embodiment, the 1st manufacturing method of a hairspring is demonstrated using FIGS. 6-8, Furthermore, the 2nd manufacturing method of the hairspring is demonstrated using FIG. A third method for manufacturing a hairspring will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11.

In the description, a schematic diagram showing only necessary portions is shown, and portions not related to the invention are omitted. Further, the same number is assigned to the same configuration, and the description is omitted.

[Description of the configuration of the hairspring: FIGS. 1 and 2]
A first embodiment of the hairspring will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.
FIG. 1 is a plan view for explaining the hairspring, FIG. 1A shows the whole hairspring, and FIG. 1B shows an enlarged state of the hairspring portion. FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the hairspring and the mainspring portion, and is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a cross section taken along a cutting line AA ′ shown in FIG. 1.

  In FIG. 1, a hairspring 1 is wound around a whisker ball 3 having a through-hole 3a having a through-hole 3a for fitting with a spring which is a rotating shaft body (not shown) at the center, and the through-hole 3a as a center. The coil-shaped mainspring portion 2 is designed so as to be configured, and the whisker 4 is connected to the winding end of the mainspring portion 2. A groove 7 is formed in the whiskers 4. Moreover, the winding start of the mainspring part 2 and the whisker ball 3 are connected by the connection part 3b.

  The hairspring 1 can be made of a material mainly composed of quartz, ceramics, silicon, silicon oxide film, or the like. If the material of the hairspring 1 is silicon, it is convenient to construct a light hairspring.

  If the material constituting the hairspring 1 is silicon, the manufacturing and processing of the hairspring 1 can use the deep RIE technique performed on the silicon semiconductor substrate, which is the same as that for manufacturing a semiconductor device. The manufacturing technology can be used.

  In the following description, an example will be described in which the material of the hairspring 1 is silicon having a feature that it can be easily processed lightly.

  As described above, the hairspring 1 is formed by dry etching a silicon semiconductor substrate serving as a base material. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, the mainspring portion 2 of the hairspring 1, the hairball 3, and the hairspring 4 Are integrally formed.

  As described above, FIG. 1A shows a state in which the entire hairspring 1 is viewed in plan from the axial direction of a rotating shaft body (not shown). FIG. 2 shows the hairspring along the cutting line AA ′. It is sectional drawing which expands and shows two parts of the holding | maintenance 4 and the mainspring part 2. FIG.

  The mainspring portion 2 is integrally formed as described above, and has a shape that is wound around the hair ball 3. The part of the cutting line AA ′ is the outer peripheral part of the mainspring part 2. The mainspring portion 2 is a single structure as described above, but as shown in FIG. 2, the names of the mainspring arms 20a and 20b are provided at two portions corresponding to the respective laps when viewed in cross section for easy explanation. Will be given.

  As shown in FIG. 1A, two grooves constituting the groove 7 are provided on one plane 4 a of the whiskers 4. These two grooves are given the numbers 7a and 7b. The two groove portions 7a and 7b have the same shape in plan view.

  Although the groove part shown to Fig.1 (a) has a shape substantially equal to the distance of the longitudinal direction of 4 parts of a whisker in planar view, of course, the shape is not limited to this. This will be described later with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 1A and FIG. 2, an example in which two groove portions 7a and 7b arranged in parallel with the whiskers 4 are provided. However, the number of groove portions is not limited to two. It can be a book or 3 or more.
Further, when a plurality of groove portions 7a and 7b are provided, they are not necessarily arranged in parallel, and may be arranged so as to be displaced in a plane. You can arrange it freely.

Further, the grooves 7a and 7b may have a shape such as a triangle, a polygon, a circle or an ellipse when viewed from one plane 4a of the whiskers 4. This is shown in FIG.
FIG. 1B illustrates five examples of the shape of the groove 7. Three examples of geometric patterns composed of figures, one example of characters, and one example of combining geometric patterns and characters are shown.

  The example of the geometric pattern in the shape of the groove part 7 shows an example in which the groove part 7 is a triangle, an example in which it is a parallelogram, and an example in which a circle and an ellipse are combined as representative shapes. Of course, a shape combining these three examples may be used. Further, this geometric pattern may be a mark or a company emblem having a specific meaning.

  The example of the character in the shape of the groove portion 7 is “A-1-2”, and the character to be formed is, for example, a character indicating the specifications of the hairspring 1 such as a model number or a manufacturing number, or a specific meaning. If a certain character is used, it is convenient that it can be recognized visually when assembling.

  An example of a combination of a geometric pattern and characters in the shape of the groove portion 7 is a combination of a plurality of wave shapes and characters. The character groove portion is given reference numeral 70, and the illustrated character is a single character “A”, but may be composed of a plurality of characters.

  Further, the groove portion 7 and the groove portion 70 may have different groove depths. For example, the groove 7 may be shallow and the groove 70 may be deep. When the groove part 70 is used for predetermined information such as a model number or a manufacturing number, it becomes easier to recognize by increasing the depth of the groove part 70.

  In forming the groove portions having different depths, for example, the groove portion 7 and the groove portion 70 are first formed by etching so as to have the same depth, and then an anti-etching mask covering the groove portion 7 is applied to form the groove portion 70. A known method can be used, for example, further etching is performed so as to have a predetermined depth.

  In addition, as will be described in detail later, the groove portion 7 may penetrate, but for example, the groove portion 70 may not be penetrated, and conversely, conversely, the groove portion 7 is not penetrated but the groove portion 70 is penetrated. Also good.

  In addition, when bonding the other parts to the beard 4 described later with an adhesive, the adhesive is put into the groove portion 7 of the geometric pattern, and the adhesive is not put into the groove portion 70. It may be applied. That is, the shallow groove portion 7 can be used for bonding, and the deep groove portion 70 can be used for information recognition. Of course, the depth of the groove is determined according to the type of adhesive to be used because the distance to enter the groove is determined by the type and viscosity of the adhesive used.

Further, during operation, the hairspring 1 is expanded and contracted around a through hole 3a that is fitted to a spring (not shown). Since the whiskers 4 are fixed to other whiskers fixing parts (not shown in FIG. 1), the whiskers 4 receive a force pulled in the direction of the whistle balls 3 during the expansion and contraction of the hairspring 1.
The groove portion 7 may have a groove shape having a long shape in a direction orthogonal to the direction of the force so as to resist this force, for example. In this case, the shape may be determined in advance in view of the shape and specifications of the timepiece mechanism to which the hairspring 1 is assembled.
The groove 7 is

[Explanation of bonding part of beard: FIG. 3]
Next, the structure which adhere | attaches other components with the adhesive for the hairspring of a hairspring is demonstrated using FIG.
FIG. 3 (a) is a view showing an adhesion state of the hairspring 1 according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 3 (b) is a known conventional hairspring used for explaining the present invention in more detail. It is the figure which showed the adhesion state of. In the description, a cross section showing a beard and two mainspring arms will be described. 3 is a diagram showing a portion equivalent to the portion shown in FIG. 2, but FIG. 3 (a) is upside down on the drawing with respect to FIG. Is at the bottom of the drawing.

  The hairspring 1 according to the present embodiment shown in FIG. 3A is provided with two grooves 7 a and 7 b on a flat surface 4 a of the hairspring 4 of the hairspring 1, and arranged in line with the hairspring 4. The mainspring arm is formed with 20a and 20b. The flat surface 4a in which the groove portions 7a and 7b of the whiskers 4 are formed is bonded via an adhesive 5 to the bonding surface 6a of the whiskers fixing component 6 which is a component for fixing the hairspring.

  3 (b), the hairspring 4 'corresponds to the hairspring 4 of the present embodiment, and the spring arms 20a' and 20b 'correspond to the spring arms 20a and 20b of the present embodiment. It is. Then, it is connected to the adhesive surface 6 a of the beard fixing component 6 via the adhesive 5.

  In many cases, the adhesive 5 is a timepiece adhesive in which a phenol resin and a polyamide resin are combined. The main component is an epoxy thermosetting adhesive or a resin obtained from an insect generally called a rack. You may use the adhesive which we did.

  Since the hairspring 1 of the present embodiment shown in FIG. 3A is provided with the groove portions 7a and 7b on the flat surface 4a of the beard 4 which is the bonding surface, the adhesive 5 is applied to the groove portions 7a and 7b by capillary action. I can get in. When the adhesive 5 enters the groove portions 7a and 7b, the whisker 4 is pulled toward the bonding surface 6a of the whisker fixing component 6, and therefore, one flat surface 4a of the whisker 4 and the bonding surface 6a of the whisker fixing component 6 However, the whisker 4 can be bonded to a predetermined position of the whisker fixing component 6 without causing a positional shift.

  On the other hand, in the conventional hairspring shown in FIG. 3 (b), since the groove portions 7 a and 7 b are not provided in the beard 4, the adhesive 5 does not stay on the bonding surface 6 b of the beard fixing component 6 and flows laterally. . For this reason, the whiskers 4 ′ are attached to a position shifted from a predetermined position by the adhesive 5, or are inclined and bonded.

In the case of the conventional hairspring shown in FIG. 3 (b), it is also important to manage the amount of adhesive on the bonding surface 6a of the bend fixing component 6, and if the amount of adhesive becomes too large, 4 'may tilt further. This is also related to the shape of the adhesive deposited on the bonding surface 6a of the beard fixing component 6.
In any case, such a problem is mainly caused by the fact that the facing surface between the whisker and the bonding surface 5a is flat.

As described above, since the hairspring 1 can be bonded to the flat surface 4a of the beard 4 and the bonding surface 6a of the bend fixing component 6 so as to face each other without being inclined, it can be bonded to a predetermined position without being displaced. There is little risk of damage due to contact with other surrounding parts. In addition, since the hairspring 1 can be bonded to the bend holding component 6 without being inclined, unnecessary stress is not applied to the hairspring, and the balance spring can be expanded and contracted in an isochronous manner as desired. It is easy to obtain the frequency of.

Further, by providing the grooves 7a and 7b on the one plane 4a of the whiskers 4, the contact area with the adhesive 5 can be increased, so that there is an advantage that the adhesive strength is increased.
Since the adhesive 5 enters the grooves 7a and 7b, even if the amount of the adhesive 5 is somewhat increased, the whisker 4 is not inclined and bonded as in the prior art. Also have.

[Description of the configuration of the hairspring having a groove penetrating the whisker: FIG. 4]
A second embodiment of the hairspring will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a hairspring and a mainspring portion of a hairspring provided with a groove penetrating the hairbearing, and is a view showing a portion equivalent to the portion shown in FIG. The planar shape of the hairspring is the same as the planar shape shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the balance spring 4 of the present embodiment has two groove portions 17 a and 17 b that constitute a groove portion 17 that penetrates from one plane 4 a to the opposite other plane 4 b. It is provided.

In FIG. 4, although the example which provided the two groove parts 17a and 17b penetrated and arranged in parallel with the whisker 4 was given, the number of groove parts is not restricted to two, and even one is provided. Three or more can be used.
Further, when a plurality of through-groove portions 17 are provided, the grooves 17 do not necessarily have to be arranged in parallel, and may be arranged so as to be displaced in a plane, and within one plane 4 a of the whiskers 4. In this case, it can be arranged freely.

  Further, the through-groove portion 17 may have a shape such as a triangle, a polygon, a circle, or an ellipse when viewed from one plane 4a of the whiskers 4.

[Explanation of adhesive part of beard: FIG. 5]
Next, the structure which adhere | attaches other components with the adhesive with the whisker provided with the groove part which penetrated of this invention is demonstrated using FIG. FIG. 5 is a view showing an adhesion state of the hairspring according to the second embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the hairspring 4 of the present embodiment is provided with two groove portions 17 penetrating from one plane 4 a toward the other plane 4 b facing each other. The flat surface 4a on which the groove portion 17 is formed is bonded via an adhesive 5 to the bonding surface 6a of the beard fixing component 6 which is a component for fixing the hairspring.

  Even if the groove part 17 formed in the beard 4 penetrates like this embodiment, the adhesive agent 5 enters the groove part 17 by capillary action. Since the adhesive 5 enters the groove portion 17, the beard 4 is pulled toward the bonding surface 6 a side of the beard fixing component 6, so that the beard 4 is placed at a predetermined position of the beard fixing component 6 without causing a positional shift. Can be glued.

Moreover, when the groove part 17 has penetrated, it also has the following advantages.
That is, if the groove portion 17 is penetrated, the flat surface 4a of the whisker 4 and the adhesive surface 6a of the whistle fixing component 6 are aligned to face each other, and then the opening is made from the other flat surface 4b of the whistle 4. The adhesive 5 can be injected toward the groove 17. In this way, the work can be performed while confirming the amount of the adhesive 5 and the place where the adhesive 5 is dropped, so that workability is improved. As a result, the tact time required for production can be shortened, so that productivity can be improved and the cost of the watch can be reduced.

  In the above description, an example in which one flat surface 4a of the beard 4 and the bonding surface 6a of the beard fixing component 6 are bonded to each other is shown, but the other flat surface 4b of the beard 4 and the bend fixing component 6 are shown. It goes without saying that the adhesive surface 6a may be adhered.

Next, a hairspring manufacturing method will be described as a third embodiment with reference to process drawings.
The first manufacturing method will be described mainly with reference to FIGS. The second manufacturing method will be described mainly with reference to FIG. The third manufacturing method will be described mainly with reference to FIG. The fourth manufacturing method will be described mainly with reference to FIG.

  The manufacturing method is a technique for forming the entire hairspring, but in order to make it easy to see the groove provided on the hairspring, which is a feature of the present invention, the cross-sectional view of FIG. I will explain. Therefore, please refer to FIG. Further, an example will be described in which the balance spring material is silicon and the adhesive material is a timepiece adhesive in which a phenol resin and a polyamide resin are combined.

[Description of First Manufacturing Method: FIGS. 3, 6, 7, and 8]
First, the 1st manufacturing method of a hairspring is demonstrated.
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a first method for manufacturing a hairspring, and is a view for explaining a process up to forming a groove. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a first method for manufacturing a hairspring, and is a view for explaining a process up to forming a hairspring shape. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a first method for manufacturing a hairspring, and is a view for explaining a process for bonding to a beard holding component.

  As shown in FIG. 6A, a silicon substrate 200 having at least an area and a thickness that allow the hairspring 1 to be taken out is prepared. In consideration of the productivity of the hairspring, it is preferable that the substrate 200 has a size that allows a large number of hairsprings 1 to be taken out.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 6B, in order to form the groove portions 7a and 7b of the hairspring 4 of the hairspring 1 on the substrate 200, a mask 8 having an opening corresponding to the groove portions is generally widely used. It is formed by a known photolithography technique. The mask 8 is a silicon oxide film, for example. Although not particularly limited, the mask 8 is formed with a film thickness of 1 μm.

Then, as shown in FIG. 6C, by using the mixed gas 30 (SF ₆ + C ₄ F ₈ ) while controlling the processing time, the substrate 200 is dry-etched by the RIE technique, so that a predetermined width and depth are obtained. The groove portions 7a and 7b are formed.

  Thereafter, only the mask 8 is removed to obtain the substrate 200 in which the groove portions 7a and 7b as shown in FIG. The removal of the mask 8 is performed, for example, by immersing the substrate 200 in a known etching solution mainly containing hydrofluoric acid.

  When the depths of the groove portions 7a and 7b are different from each other, for example, an etching resistant mask that covers only the groove portion 7a is applied thereafter, and further etching is performed so that the groove portion 7b has a predetermined depth. Just do it.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7A, the mainspring arm 20a to be the mainspring portion 2 of the substrate 200,
A mask 9 is formed by a known photolithography technique so as to cover a portion corresponding to the width of 20b and a portion corresponding to the width of the whiskers 4 (groove portions are covered). As described above, the mask 9 has a shape that forms the entire hairspring 1 although not shown. The mask 9 is, for example, a silicon oxide film. Although not particularly limited, the mask 9 is formed to have a thickness of 2 μm from the surface of the substrate 200.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 7B, the substrate 200 is deep-digged and dry-etched by a RIE technique using a mixed gas 30 (SF ₆ + C ₄ F ₈ ). As a result, the mainspring arms 20 a and 20 b and the whiskers 4 are separated from the substrate 200. In this state, although not shown, the hairspring 1 is cut out independently from the substrate 200, and the through-hole 3 a of the whistle ball 3 also penetrates.

  Thereafter, by removing only the mask 9, the shape of the hairspring 1 is obtained as shown in FIG. The removal of the mask 9 is performed, for example, by immersing the substrate 200 in a known etching solution mainly containing hydrofluoric acid.

Next, a method for bonding the beard 4 to the beard fixing component 6 will be described.
First, as shown in FIG. 8A, an appropriate amount of the adhesive 5 is dropped from the dispenser 11 onto the adhesive surface 6 a of the beard fixing component 6. In the present embodiment, the air pulse type dispenser 11 is used to drop the adhesive 5, but a mechanical type dispenser 11 or a tubing type dispenser 11 may be used.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 8 (b), the contact surface 6a of the whisker 4 is brought into contact with the adhesive surface 6a of the whistle fixing component 6 on which the adhesive 5 has been dropped, while being brought into close contact with each other. Let
At this time, it is preferable that the hairspring 1 is brought into contact with the whisker fixing component 6 while using a jig or the like for fixing the whole hairspring 1 so as not to bend the mainspring portion 2.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 3A, the adhesive 5 is sucked up by the capillary force into the groove portions 7a and 7b provided in the one plane 4a of the whiskers 4. Since this capillary force works in the direction perpendicular to the bonding surface 6a, the lateral flow phenomenon in which the adhesive 5 flows in the horizontal direction of the bonding surface 6a can be suppressed. As a result, it is possible to prevent a positional shift in which the whiskers 4 are moved by the adhesive 5, and the whiskers 4 can be bonded to predetermined positions of the whiskers fixing part 6.

  The curing method of the adhesive 5 varies depending on the type of the adhesive 5, but in the case of the watch adhesive in which the phenol resin and the polyamide resin used in this embodiment are combined, the adhesive 5 is thermally cured at a specified temperature and heat application time. Just do it.

  The first manufacturing method described above is a technique of providing and bonding grooves 7a and 7b that do not penetrate the flat surface 4a of the whiskers 4. If this first manufacturing method is used, the first manufacturing method is shown in FIG. The depth of the groove portions 7a and 7b can be arbitrarily adjusted by adjusting the processing time in the step of deep digging the groove portions 7a and 7b. It is desirable that the depth is such that the adhesive 5 is filled in the grooves 7a and 7b without any gaps.

  Further, according to the first manufacturing method, since the groove portions 7a and 7b are formed only on one plane 4a of the whiskers 4, there is also an advantage that it is easy to discriminate the surface on which the hairspring 1 is bonded. If the surface on which the groove portions 7a and 7b are formed on the whiskers 4 is a surface to be bonded, it is easy to discriminate using visual or known shape recognition means using optical means. As a result, workability is improved.

[Description of Second Manufacturing Method: FIGS. 3 and 9]
Next, the second manufacturing method will be described.
FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a second method for manufacturing a hairspring, and is a view for explaining a step of forming a groove. This manufacturing method is a manufacturing method in which the groove portions 7a and 7b are formed simultaneously with the formation of the mainspring arms 20a and 20b and the whiskers 4. If this 2nd manufacturing method is used, since a manufacturing process can be reduced, it is a manufacturing method suitable when it is desired to improve productivity.

  First, a silicon substrate 200 having at least an area and a thickness that allow the hairspring 1 to be taken out is prepared. Next, as shown in FIG. 9A, a portion corresponding to the width of the mainspring arms 20 a and 20 b to be the mainspring portion 2 of the substrate 200 and a portion corresponding to the width of the whiskers 4 are covered. Further, a mask 10 having an opening corresponding to a groove portion for forming the groove portions 7a and 7b of the hairspring 4 of the hairspring 1 is formed by a generally well-known photolithography technique. The mask 10 is a silicon oxide film, for example. Although not particularly limited, the mask 10 is formed with a film thickness of 2 μm.

  The second manufacturing method is characterized in that the width of the opening corresponding to the groove is narrowed. In this embodiment, the opening is formed in the shape of a groove having a width of 10 μm.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 9B, the mainspring arms 20a, 20b and the whisker 4 are separated from the substrate 200 by the deep digging using the mixed gas 30 (SF ₆ + C ₄ F ₈ ) by the RIE technique. Dry etch until cut off. The dry etching processing time is preferably such that it ends immediately after the mainspring arms 20a, 20b and the beard 4 are disconnected.

  On the other hand, since the etching rate (the rate of etching per unit time) is slow at the opening portions of the groove portions 7a and 7b that are narrowly opened with a width of 10 μm at the time when the processing is completed, the processing ends without penetrating. This is because if the widths of the groove portions 7a and 7b are narrow, the supply of the mixed gas is reduced (the etching gas hardly reaches the bottom of the groove portions).

  In the present embodiment, when the substrate 200 having a thickness of 100 μm is etched, when the mainspring arms 20a and 20b and the whiskers 4 are separated, the groove portions 7a and 7b do not penetrate and the groove shape has a depth of 90 μm. Could be formed.

  Thereafter, only the mask 10 is removed to obtain the shape of the hairspring 1. The removal of the mask 10 is performed, for example, by immersing the substrate 200 in a known etching solution mainly containing hydrofluoric acid.

  Since the subsequent bonding step is bonded to the whisker-fixing component 6 in the same manner as the method described in the first manufacturing method already described, the description thereof is omitted.

  According to the above manufacturing method, the groove portions 7a and 7b are formed on the one plane 4a of the whisker 4 equivalent to that shown in FIG.

  In the second manufacturing method, as the width of the grooves 7a and 7b is narrowed, the etching rate becomes slower. Therefore, when the depth of the grooves 7a and 7b is desired to be reduced, the width of the grooves is reduced. That's fine.

[Description of Third Manufacturing Method: FIGS. 5, 9, 10, and 11]
Next, the third manufacturing method will be described.
FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a third method for manufacturing a hairspring, and is a view for explaining a step of forming a through groove. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a third method for manufacturing a hairspring, and is a view for explaining a process for bonding to a whisker holding component. Since this manufacturing method can reduce the number of manufacturing steps as in the second manufacturing method, there is a merit that it is suitable for improving productivity.

  First, a silicon substrate 200 having at least an area and a thickness that allow the hairspring 1 to be taken out is prepared. Then, next, as in the second manufacturing method described above shown in FIG. 9A, the portion corresponding to the width of the mainspring arms 20a and 20b to be the mainspring portion 2 of the substrate 200 and the width of the whisker 4 The mask 10 in which the portions corresponding to the groove portions for forming the groove portions 17a, 17b of the hairspring 4 of the hairspring 1 are opened so that the portion corresponding to the hairspring 1 is covered by a generally well-known photolithography technique. Form. The mask 10 is a silicon oxide film, for example. Although not particularly limited, the mask 8 is formed with a film thickness of 2 μm.

  In the third manufacturing method, it is desirable that the width of the opening corresponding to the groove is wider. This is because if the width of the opening corresponding to the groove is narrow, the etching rate becomes slow and the processing time becomes long in the dry etching process performed in the subsequent process described later. In this embodiment, the opening is formed in the shape of a groove having a width of 20 μm.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 10, the mainspring arms 20a and 20b and the whisker 4 are separated from the substrate 200 by deep digging using the mixed gas 30 (SF ₆ + C ₄ F ₈ ) by the RIE technique. At the same time, dry etching is performed until the grooves 17a and 17b penetrate.

  Thereafter, only the mask 10 is removed to obtain the shape of the hairspring 1. The removal of the mask 10 is performed, for example, by immersing the substrate 200 in a known etching solution mainly containing hydrofluoric acid.

  Next, a method for adhering the whisker 4 to the whisker fixing component 6 in the third manufacturing method will be described.

  First, as shown in FIG. 11 (a), the beard 4 is placed at a predetermined position of the beard fixing component 6 in a state where the flat surface 4 a of the beard 4 is opposed to the bonding surface 6 a of the beard fixing component 6. To place.

  After that, as shown in FIG. 11 (b), the dispenser 11 moves from one plane 4 a of the whiskers 4 toward the openings of the grooves 17 a and 17 b on the other plane 4 b side that is not opposed to the bonding surface 6 a of the whiskers 4. Then, an appropriate amount of the adhesive 5 is dropped. As shown in FIG. 11B, the adhesive 5 is dropped for each groove portion by moving the dispenser 11. In the present embodiment, the air pulse type dispenser 11 is used to drop the adhesive 5, but a mechanical type dispenser 11 or a tubing type dispenser 11 may be used.

  The adhesive 5 dripped toward the grooves 17a and 17b is sucked into the groove by capillary action and reaches the bonding surface 6a of the beard fixing component 6, and as shown in FIG. 6 is fixed by the adhesive 5. In this embodiment, a timepiece adhesive in which a phenol resin and a polyamide resin are combined as the adhesive 5 is used, and the adhesive is thermally cured at a specified temperature and a heat application time.

  When the third manufacturing method described above is used, bonding is performed after aligning the beard 4 to a predetermined bonding position. Therefore, it is easy to perform positioning by using a known position recognition unit using visual observation or optical unit. There is an advantage that the accuracy of the position can be increased. As a result, more stable adhesion is possible.

  The embodiment described above does not limit the present invention, and modifications can be made without departing from the gist.

  For example, the groove portion may extend from one plane of the whisker to the side surface. As a result, the adhesive wraps around the groove on the side surface and the surface area of the beard increases, so that the beard fixing component can be more firmly bonded.

  In addition, in the second embodiment in which the groove portion penetrating the whisker is provided, the shape of the groove portion in plan view is used in order to easily recognize the position of the whisker and the groove portion when the adhesive is dropped. May be a mark shape such as “+”. If it does so, it will become easier to discriminate | determine using the well-known shape recognition means using visual observation or an optical means.

Further, another groove portion may be provided on the other flat surface of the beard. That is, a groove portion that does not penetrate in one plane of the whisker is provided, and a groove portion is provided in the other plane.
At this time, the shape of the groove provided on the other plane can be identified as, for example, an identifiable pattern made of a geometric pattern or letters, a model number or a serial number, a mark or a company emblem with a specific meaning. For example, even after the hairspring is bonded to the hair holding component, it is convenient to visually recognize the specifications and features of the hairspring from the other plane side.

  Moreover, although the example which provided the groove part only in the whisker was shown in description, you may extend a groove part to a mainspring arm. As a result, the cross section of the mainspring arm changes from a square to a polygon, and the rigidity increases as the corners increase, causing an unexpected impact on the mechanical watch and even if the hairspring comes into contact with other parts. Destruction can be prevented.

  The present invention is suitable for a mechanical timepiece having high reliability and stable high timepiece accuracy because the speed control mechanism of the mechanical timepiece can fix the hairspring in an appropriate position without tilting.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Hairspring 2 Spring part 3 Hair ball 3a Through-hole 3b Connection part 4 Beard 4a One plane 4b Other plane 5 Adhesive 6 Beard fixing component 6a Adhesive surface 7, 7a, 7b, 17, 17a, 17b, 70 Groove part 8 , 9, 10 Mask 11 Dispenser 20a, 20b Mainspring arm 30 Mixed gas 200 Substrate

Claims (7)

It is a method for manufacturing a hairspring that has a predetermined material as a main component and adheres to other parts with a beard,
Forming a groove in a predetermined portion of the substrate having the predetermined material as a main component and the whiskers;
A whisker having a through-hole for etching the substrate and fitting with a rotating shaft body, and a coil-shaped mainspring part connected to the whistle and wound around the whisker around the through-hole And an etching step for forming the hairspring having the hairspring provided at an end of the spring body, and
Placing the adhesive on one plane of the beard having the groove and bonding it to another component;
A method of manufacturing a hairspring.   The method for manufacturing a hairspring according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined material is silicon. A hair ball having a through hole for fitting with a rotating shaft body, a coil-shaped mainspring portion connected to the whisker ball and wound around the hair ball around the through hole, and A hairspring having a beard provided at the end,
Having a groove in one plane of the beard;
A hairspring, characterized in that an adhesive is provided on a flat portion having the groove and is bonded to another component. The hairspring according to claim 3, wherein the hairspring is made of silicon. The hairspring according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the groove portion penetrates from the one plane of the whisker to another plane opposed to the one. The hairspring according to claim 3 or 4, wherein a plurality of the groove portions are provided on the one plane of the beard, and the depth of the groove portions is different from each other. The hairspring according to any one of claims 3 to 6, wherein the groove portion forms a geometric pattern or a character.

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