US3599423A - Regulating device for a timepiece - Google Patents

Regulating device for a timepiece Download PDF

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Publication number
US3599423A
US3599423A US879129A US3599423DA US3599423A US 3599423 A US3599423 A US 3599423A US 879129 A US879129 A US 879129A US 3599423D A US3599423D A US 3599423DA US 3599423 A US3599423 A US 3599423A
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US
United States
Prior art keywords
balance
regulating device
springs
balance springs
wheel
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Expired - Lifetime
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US879129A
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English (en)
Inventor
Pierre Beguin
Pierre-Andre
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Portescap SA
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Portescap SA
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Publication date
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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G04—HOROLOGY
    • G04B—MECHANICALLY-DRIVEN CLOCKS OR WATCHES; MECHANICAL PARTS OF CLOCKS OR WATCHES IN GENERAL; TIME PIECES USING THE POSITION OF THE SUN, MOON OR STARS
    • G04B17/00—Mechanisms for stabilising frequency
    • G04B17/20—Compensation of mechanisms for stabilising frequency
    • G04B17/22—Compensation of mechanisms for stabilising frequency for the effect of variations of temperature
    • G04B17/222—Compensation of mechanisms for stabilising frequency for the effect of variations of temperature with balances

Definitions

  • the present invention comprises regulating device for a timepiece in the form of a balance wheel subject to the action of at least two balance springs which may serve various purposes, more especially, in the case of electric timepieces, the purpose of making possible the use of balance springs as conductors of power.
  • the aim of the present invention is, by the use of at least two balance springs, to improve the qualities of the regulating member, principally as regards its thermal compensation, that is to say, its insensitiveness to variations in temperature, and, to a' lesser degree, as regards its isochronism, that is to say, its insensitiveness to variations of amplitude.
  • the drawing shows, by way of example, one embodiment of the object of the invention, and one modification thereof.
  • FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the dispersion of the thermal coefficients of balance springs drawn from two different alloy casts.
  • FIG. 2 is a plan view of a first embodiment device for a timepiece.
  • FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view along line III-III in FIG. 2, and
  • FIG. 4 is a plan view of a detail of a modification.
  • the invention is based on the fact that, upon the casting of an alloy for balance springs for timepieces, the mean thermal coefficient of the balance springs obtained by means of the alloy seldom falls, between two determined temperatures, on the zero value desired.
  • the number N of parts involved is entered on the y-axis, while the thermal coefiicient CT, indicated in seconds per degree Centigrade, is entered along the x-axis.
  • the curves 1 and 2 embody the thermal coefficients of balance springs drawn from two alloy casts, of which one has a mean value of l.0 sec/ C., with a dispersion lying between 1 .5 and -0.5, while the other one is symmetrical with respect to the y-axis, with +1.0 as the mean, for a dispersion lying between +0.5 and +1.5.
  • ranges of temperatures within which thermal compensation has to be provided vary according to the intended purpose of the timekeeping unit. They generally amount to at least 30 C., between the extreme values of -50 C. and +100 C., for example from 50 to C., from 25 to +25 C., from +4 to +36 C., and from to +50 C.
  • the arrangement described has the advantage that, by arranging the balance springs in such a way that their center of gravity is shifted in two opposite directions in the course of their movements of expansion and contraction, in practice the radial pressures exerted by the balance springs on the balance shaft compensate each other. In other words, in practice, without using terminal curves, conditions are achieved which, but for that, would not be obtained except by means of balance springs of the Breguet type, which are considerably more expensive.
  • the first embodiment of the regulating device shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 comprises a balance 4 whose shaft 5 is pivoted between the plate of a clockwork movement, designated by 6, and its balance-cock, designated by 7.
  • This latter carries a cock endstone 8 on which is mounted a movablestud-holder 9 itself carrying, mounted thereon in such a way as to be able to turn without driving the stud-holder around the regulator, designated by 10.
  • the shaft 5 of the balance carries two collets 11 and 12 to which are fastened two balance springs de'signatedby l3 and 14 respectively.
  • balance spring 13 is secured at its outer end to a stud 15 carried by the balance-cock 7, while the other spring, balance spring 14, is secured to a stud 16 carried by a lug 9a of the stud-holder 9.
  • the curb pin and balance-spring boot designated by 17 and 18, respectively, and carried by a lug 10a of the index 10, act on the balance spring 14.
  • the balancing out of the radial pressures exerted on the shaft 5 by the balance springs is achieved, in the example shown, by using two balance springs coiled in the same direction, their outer pinning-points, that is studs 15 and 16, being at a relatively great distance from each other; it would be possible to consider the case in which the said studs would be diametrically opposite with respect to the center of the balance wheel. Further, though this condition is not absolutely obligatory, the inner pinning-points for the balance springs, designated by 19 and 20 respectively, are diametrically opposite.
  • FIG. 4 A similar effect can be obtained with shown in FIG. 4, in which the two balance springs, designated by 21 and 22, respectively, are coiled in opposite directions, their outer pinning-points, that is studs 23 and 24, respectively, being located very close to each other, and their inner pinning-points coinciding with each other, when seen in a plan view, as is indicated by the arrow 25; it is also possible to consider the case in which the studs 23 and 24 would be situated on one and the same radius with respect to the center of the balance wheel.
  • one of the balance springs in the present instance that designated by 21, has its active length limited by the curb pin and boot l7 and 18, the exact point of the balance spring 21 which should be located op posite the stud 24 is situated between the boot l8 and the stud 23, substantially as shown in the drawing.
  • the balance springs cannot the arrangement residual radial pre erit- ⁇ is "seen-taste be located in one and the same plane, so that it follows that a' till acting .5 unit or grilles fill" aw lowest, the closer to each other the balance springs areplaced and the greater the distance between the bearings for the shaft.
  • the conformation of the balance wheel does not play any role. It may be formed from a single or from several wheels, or from bars; it could be asymmetrical or could carry one or more mechanical or electromechanical organs, such as screws, inertia blocks, coils or magnets being parts of a transducer device.
  • the inner end of the balance springs could be secured to the balance shaft by any conventional means, such as by collet means, as in the examples described and shown here, or also by adhesive techniques, by riveting, by brazing or by other means, while the outer end of the balance springs could be secured to the frame by means of studs, as in the examples shown here, or without the intervention of these latter, by pinning, by pinching, by adhesive means, by brazing, by riveting or by other means.
  • the fact that it acts on only one of the balance springs makes possible slight adjustments to the daily rate which are more accurate than in the case in which the regulating member includes only a single balance spring.
  • the present invention makes it possible to safeguard one important property of balance springs, that is keeping them of an adequate length.
  • the shorter is a balance spring the more it absorbs energy when is rnak ing a balance wheel oscillate in given conditions of am litp e areas-m f enemy. tear.
  • the increase in frequency also has the following consequence:
  • the thermal coefficient of a timepiece equipped with a regulating device consisting of a balance wheel and a balance spring is the result of the thermal coefficients of these two ele- 1 ments, as well as of the influence'of temperature on the oils, on the operations of the escapement, on the frictions, etc.
  • a monometallic balance wheel produces an increase in its moment of inertia which would produce a certain lower losing rate if other influences did not exist.
  • a noncompensating balance spring produces a losing rate some ten times greater.
  • the role of the compensating balance spring is particularly to neutralize the sum of these two losing rates.
  • the perfect compensation for a given balance wheel and balance spring exists only at a determined frequency, because the effect of the balance with respect to that of the balance spring decreases when the frequency increases.
  • the result is that a single balance spring connected successively to balance wheels with decreasing moments of inertia, for obtaining increasing frequencies, yields thermal coefficients tending towards a gain in the presence of heat.
  • the influence on the thermal coefficient is a gain of a fraction of a second a day for each degree Centigrade when applied to an increase of the frequency from 18,000 to 36,000 vibrations an hour.
  • this phenomenon may be taken into account when the balance springs are paired, this being carried out by selecting their thermal coefficient in such a way that their mean tends also to compensate for effects due to the balance wheel, to the oils, to the operation of the escapement and to other causes, as well.
  • the present regulating device may comprise more than two balance springs, the couples of which would not necessarily be equal, each playing its part, according to its possibilities, in compensating for the effects of one or other of the causes of inaccuracy.
  • a regulating device for a timepiece comprising:
  • balance springs formed from alloys having approximately the same thermal compensation and having coefficients equal thermally but of opposite signs for compensating each other
  • the balance springs of the pair being arranged for the shifting of their centers of gravity in diverging directions during their movements of expansion and contraction for compensating for the radial pressures exerted on the balance shaft.
  • the means thermal coefficient of the balance springs compensates for the effects due to the balance and to the oils and to the escapement device operation.
  • the temperature range for optimum compensation being at least thirty degrees Centigrade and between the extreme temperatures of 50 and+l00 C.
  • the balance springs being coiled in opposite directions, their outer pinning poihtsabein'g loated st1bstaiiti'a'lly or? the same radius with respect to the axis of oscillation of the balancti wheel.
  • the balance springs being coiled in the same direction, their outer pinningpoints being substantially diametrically opposite with respect to the axis of oscillation of the balance wheel.
  • the frequency of the oscillations of the balance wheel being higher 6.
  • the active 5 than 2l6O0 vibrations per hour' length of one of the balance springs being adjustable by means

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Metallurgy (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Springs (AREA)
US879129A 1968-11-29 1969-11-24 Regulating device for a timepiece Expired - Lifetime US3599423A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CH1787468A CH496977A (fr) 1968-11-29 1968-11-29 Dispositif régulateur pour pièce d'horlogerie

Publications (1)

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US3599423A true US3599423A (en) 1971-08-17

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Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US879129A Expired - Lifetime US3599423A (en) 1968-11-29 1969-11-24 Regulating device for a timepiece

Country Status (4)

Country Link
US (1) US3599423A (fr)
CH (2) CH496977A (fr)
DE (1) DE1960701A1 (fr)
FR (1) FR2024511B1 (fr)

Cited By (10)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3735586A (en) * 1971-09-27 1973-05-29 Golay Bernard Sa Hairspring assembly for oscillator
US5907524A (en) * 1997-10-21 1999-05-25 Eta Sa Fabriques D'ebauches Method for manufacturing a balance-spring obtained according to said method
US20040174775A1 (en) * 2001-10-10 2004-09-09 Frank Muller Watchland S.A. Spiral spring for time measuring device
US6877893B2 (en) * 1998-07-14 2005-04-12 Elmar Mock Timepiece with mechanical regulation
US20090168610A1 (en) * 2007-12-27 2009-07-02 Gigandet Christophe Horological movement comprising a high oscillation frequency regulating device
US20090236782A1 (en) * 2008-03-20 2009-09-24 Nivarox-Far S.A. One-piece double balance spring and method of manufacturing the same
US20110096636A1 (en) * 2009-10-26 2011-04-28 Gilles Pellet Regulating organ comprising at least two balances
CN102520605B (zh) * 2008-07-29 2014-02-26 劳力士有限公司 用于平衡轮/游丝谐振器的游丝
JP2016206179A (ja) * 2015-04-16 2016-12-08 モントレー ブレゲ・エス アー 等時性修正部を有する、微細加工可能材料から製造したひげぜんまい
RU2782164C1 (ru) * 2020-11-27 2022-10-21 Омега Са Спиральная пружина для часового резонаторного механизма, оснащенная средством для задания свободной длины спиральной пружины

Families Citing this family (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE2902810C2 (de) * 1979-01-25 1981-01-15 Erich Prof. 5000 Koeln Schiebuhr Unruh für zeithaltende Geräte
EP2485096A1 (fr) * 2007-11-20 2012-08-08 Richemont International S.A. Mouvement de montre mécanique

Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CH45160A (de) * 1909-05-31 1909-10-16 Montres Invar Comp D Verbesserte Uhrhemmung für Taschenuhren
US3084316A (en) * 1960-10-05 1963-04-02 United States Time Corp Tunnel diode drive device for electric watches
US3186157A (en) * 1961-08-24 1965-06-01 United States Time Corp Balance wheel assembly for an electric timepiece

Patent Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CH45160A (de) * 1909-05-31 1909-10-16 Montres Invar Comp D Verbesserte Uhrhemmung für Taschenuhren
US3084316A (en) * 1960-10-05 1963-04-02 United States Time Corp Tunnel diode drive device for electric watches
US3186157A (en) * 1961-08-24 1965-06-01 United States Time Corp Balance wheel assembly for an electric timepiece

Cited By (17)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3735586A (en) * 1971-09-27 1973-05-29 Golay Bernard Sa Hairspring assembly for oscillator
US5907524A (en) * 1997-10-21 1999-05-25 Eta Sa Fabriques D'ebauches Method for manufacturing a balance-spring obtained according to said method
US6877893B2 (en) * 1998-07-14 2005-04-12 Elmar Mock Timepiece with mechanical regulation
US20040174775A1 (en) * 2001-10-10 2004-09-09 Frank Muller Watchland S.A. Spiral spring for time measuring device
US7018092B2 (en) * 2001-10-10 2006-03-28 Franck Muller Watchland S.A. Spiral spring for time measuring device
US8342739B2 (en) * 2007-12-27 2013-01-01 Chopard Technologies Sa Horological movement comprising a high oscillation frequency regulating device
US20090168610A1 (en) * 2007-12-27 2009-07-02 Gigandet Christophe Horological movement comprising a high oscillation frequency regulating device
US8628234B2 (en) 2007-12-27 2014-01-14 Chopard Technologies Sa Horological movement comprising a high oscillation frequency regulating device
US8662741B2 (en) 2007-12-27 2014-03-04 Chopard Technologies Sa Horological movement comprising a high oscillation frequency regulating device
US20090236782A1 (en) * 2008-03-20 2009-09-24 Nivarox-Far S.A. One-piece double balance spring and method of manufacturing the same
US9459589B2 (en) * 2008-03-20 2016-10-04 Nivarox-Far S.A. One-piece double balance spring and method of manufacturing the same
CN102520605B (zh) * 2008-07-29 2014-02-26 劳力士有限公司 用于平衡轮/游丝谐振器的游丝
US20110096636A1 (en) * 2009-10-26 2011-04-28 Gilles Pellet Regulating organ comprising at least two balances
US8668378B2 (en) 2009-10-26 2014-03-11 Societe Anonyme De La Manufacture D'horlogerie Audemars Piguet & Cie Regulating organ comprising at least two balances
JP2016206179A (ja) * 2015-04-16 2016-12-08 モントレー ブレゲ・エス アー 等時性修正部を有する、微細加工可能材料から製造したひげぜんまい
US9594350B2 (en) 2015-04-16 2017-03-14 Montres Breguet S.A. Balance spring made of micromachinable material with isochronism correction
RU2782164C1 (ru) * 2020-11-27 2022-10-21 Омега Са Спиральная пружина для часового резонаторного механизма, оснащенная средством для задания свободной длины спиральной пружины

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
DE1960701A1 (de) 1970-08-27
FR2024511B1 (fr) 1973-03-16
CH1787468A4 (fr) 1970-06-15
CH496977A (fr) 1970-06-15
FR2024511A1 (fr) 1970-08-28

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