Classifications

• • 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
  • G04B37/00—Cases
  • G04B37/02—Evacuated cases; Cases filled with gas or liquids; Cases containing substances for absorbing or binding moisture or dust
• • 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
  • G04B1/00—Driving mechanisms
  • G04B1/26—Driving mechanisms driven by liquids or gases; Liquid or gaseous drives for mechanically-controlled secondary clocks
• • 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
  • G04B15/00—Escapements

Definitions

• the invention concerns timepieces, especially mechanical timepieces that do not rely on an electrical motor for driving the timepiece gears. More specifically, the invention concerns mechanical watches.
• a watch is a timepiece intended to be carried or worn by a person. It is designed to keep working despite the motions caused by the person's activities.
• a wristwatch is designed to be worn around the_wrist, attached by some kind of strap or bracelet.
• a conventional mechanical movement uses an escapement mechanism to control and limit the unwinding of the mainspring, converting what would otherwise be a simple unwinding into a controlled and periodic energy release.
• a conventional mechanical movement uses an escapement comprising a balance wheel together with a balance spring (also known as a hairspring) to control motion of the gear system of the watch.
• a conventional escapement transfers energy to the timekeeping element (the "impulse action") and allows the number of its oscillations to be counted (the "locking action").
• the impulse action transfers energy to the balance wheel to replace the energy lost to friction and other similar factors during its cycle and keep the timekeeper oscillating.
• the escapement is driven by force from the mainspring, transmitted through the timepiece's gear train.
• the instant invention is specifically concerned with mechanical movement timepieces that do not use a balance wheel/balance spring type escapement. Instead, the invention uses an escapement based on resistance to the flow of a fluid, especially a liquid.
• Liquid-driven escapements are known in the art. They are generally based on deriving equal incremental portions of liquid from a (continuous or discontinuous) flow of liquid, generally water, and counting the portions. The assumption is that the flow of liquid will be even and will not change with time, so that the number of portions will be in direct proportion with the passing of time. While the invention is based on a fundamentally different concept, this prior art will now be described in some more detail:
• US patent 3,540,208 discloses a watch with an oil-filled chamber housing a piston.
• the piston has a through-boring and is moved by a mainspring through the chamber, which causes the oil to flow through the boring. The speed of this flow determines the time it takes for the pistons to move through the chamber.
• the piston When the piston has reached the end of its travel path, it must be moved back into its starting position, and this interrupts the time measuring process.
• this watch is not capable of continuous uninterrupted time measurement.
• the invention departs from the idea of generating discrete, incremental portions of liquid, the number of which indicates the passing of time.
• the invention uses a precisely controlled flow of a fluid, which is preferably a liquid under the operating conditions of the timepiece, to control and regulate the unwinding of the timepiece’s power source, which is preferably a mainspring.
• the power source need not be a spring.
• the mainspring drives a pump which causes the flow of the liquid through a flow control device, such as a settable valve. This flow meets a certain flow resistance depending on the setting of the flow control device.
• the flow of the liquid corresponds to the performance of the pump, so that limiting the flow by setting the flow control device correspondingly limits the performance of the pump:
• the flow through the flow control device is reduced, the operation of the pump is correspondingly reduced, since the flow control device acts to brake the pump.
• Setting the flow control device to a specific flow rate of the liquid thus effectively controls the unwinding of the mainspring, since the mainspring is mechanically linked to the pump. If the flow is even and constant with time, it can be used to measure and display the passing of time, by monitoring the unwinding of the mainspring, e. g. by monitoring the action of the pump.
• the pump is preferably a continuous flow pump, i. e. it can maintain a continuous flow of the liquid, and therefore a continuous uninterrupted measurement of time, also during the necessary winding or setting steps.
• the invention can basically be defined as a timepiece with an escapement based on resistance to the flow of a fluid. Note that in this operation, it is not necessary to monitor or measure the amount of liquid passing the valve, as in the above- mentioned Chinese prior art. The flow rate of the liquid is irrelevant. The only relevant action is setting the flow control device to a flow rate at which the unwinding of the mainspring drives the clockwork at the right speed to correctly indicate the time.
• preferred embodiments of the inventive timepiece comprise a windable spring (i. e. a mainspring) as its main or sole power supply. Where necessary, two or more mainsprings can be used in a stacked arrangement., to increase the power reserve of the timepiece.
• the timepiece may have a fairly conventional crown arrangement for winding the spring, for setting the time display etc.
• the timepiece comprises a fluid, the flow resistance of which is used in the escapement.
• the fluid is a liquid over the complete set of conditions to which the timepiece may be exposed.
• Such conditions preferably include conditions of above 10 KPa pressure and above 220 K., and up to 500 MPa and up to 400 K.
• Suitable liquids comprise basically all liquids which meet the above conditions and are sufficiently stable over extended time periods, without exhibiting relevant chemical and/or physical change to their properties. Specifically, suitable liquids will show no chemical decomposition or other reaction, under the conditions prevailing in the timepiece, over years or even decades, even when exposed to light.
• the most preferred such liquids are silicone oils, especially silicone oils with no reactive functional groups.
• a silicone oil is any liquid polymerized siloxane with organic side chains. Since in the invention, reactivity should be as reduced as possible, the siloxanes forming the liquid will have inert side chains showing as little reactivity as possible.
• One example of a preferred silicone oil is PSF-20cSt Pure Silicone Fluid, a polydimethylsiloxane oil available from Clearco Products.
• the timepiece of the invention uses the flow resistance of the fluid, preferably liquid, in its escapement.
• the timepiece in order to create the required flow, internally comprises a pump arranged for pumping the liquid.
• the pump is driven by the windable mainspring, usually through a set of gearwheels to create the optimum power supply for the pump.
• the pump is preferably a mechanical pump and most preferably a gear pump.
• the pump can be a piston pump, a membrane pump, a bellows pump or any other suitable type of pump, that is capable of continuous operation, said operation being uninterrupted as long as the driving force provided by the mainspring is sufficient to drive the pump.
• the timepiece preferably comprises a, preferably adjustable, flow control device arranged to limit the flow of the fluid therethrough.
• the liquid is pumped through the flow control device by the pump, which is driven by the unwinding of the mainspring.
• the flow control device limits the flow of the liquid and thereby acts as a brake on the pump.
• the running speed of the pump is determined by the flow of the liquid through the flow control device., irrespective of the power reserve stored in the mainspring.
• the pump can be connected to the flow control device via a pressure reduction device, which makes sure that the input pressure of the flow control device is suitable and constant.
• the flow control device determines the speed with which the mainspring unwinds and keeps this speed constant.
• the running speed of the pump since the running speed of the pump depends on the flow rate of the fluid through the flow control device, the running speed of the pump can be directly used to measure and indicate the passing of time.
• the time measuring and displaying functions can be realized in that the fluid exiting the flow control device is conducted to a drive unit driven by the fluid and the running speed of the drive unit is used to indicate the passing of time.
• the drive unit can e. g. comprise a rotor, which is driven by the output flow from the flow control device.
• the flow control device is a valve, preferably a valve arranged for adjustable throughput of fluid, and most preferred a needle valve with adjustable aperture.
• the valve especially needle valve, can be arranged such that it can be set or adjusted from the outside without having to open the timepiece. It is e. g. contemplated to have an inbuilt connector that extends to the exterior of the timepiece and permits such adjustment, comparable to the known crown device which permits setting of the time hands, and winding the mainspring.
• the flow control device will have a temperature compensation feature, to ensure that the flow rate of the liquid through the flow control device is independent of the liquid’s temperature.
• the temperature compensation can be based on selecting at least one material with a thermal expansion performance that compensates for changes in the liquid’s temperature. This can be achieved by selecting a homogenous material, e. g. a polymeric material, or a non-homogenous material, e. g. a bimetallic material, with said characteristics.
• the flow control device is a needle valve
• the needle can be made from a suitable polymeric material and arranged in a holder, to automatically compensate for the temperature fluctuations to which a timepiece is usually exposed (say, between 5°C and 65°C).
• Such arrangements are basically known e. g. from hydraulic suspension controls and can easily be adapted for use in the invention.
• the timepiece is internally substantially, preferably completely, filled with the fluid, which is preferably a liquid.
• the fluid which is preferably a liquid.
• the invention uses preferably a hatching“ movement with all its mechanical parts completely immersed in the liquid that also serves to provide the escapement function. This has several advantages, e. g. in that no sophisticated seals are needed, even when the timepiece is intended to be exposed to very high external liquid pressures, such as in deep diving operations, since there is no relevant difference in compressibility between the liquid, such as silicone oil, in the timepiece, and the external liquid such as seawater.
• the pump supplying liquid to the flow control device may simply take the liquid in from the liquid fill in the timepiece, and the flow control device may release the flow of liquid back into the interior of the time piece in basically any desired fashion. Except for the connection between the pump outlet and the flow control device inlet, there is no need for any special pressure-resistant or pressure- proof conduits.
• the timepiece When the timepiece is completely filled with liquid, thermal expansion of the liquid may pose a problem beyond affecting the flow control device.
• the timepiece must be able to accommodate increasing or decreasing liquid volumes without bursting or sucking external fluid in.
• the invention may in preferred embodiments therefore have a compensation device arranged to compensate for increasing or decreasing liquid pressure in the timepiece, preferably comprising a membrane or bellows arranged to expose its outer surface to the interior of the timepiece, while its interior surface is exposed to the ambient exterior of the timepiece.
• the bellows will be compressed when the liquid in the timepiece expands, and will expand when the liquid contracts.
• the compensation device can be arranged to expand and compress in the opposite direction.
• the inventive timepiece can correspond to a conventional mechanical watch. It can specifically have gearing, hands, a watch face etc. like any customary watch.
• the invention could thus be put into operation basically by replacing the escapement mechanism of a conventional mechanical watch with the escapement of the invention, and filling the watch with the invention’s liquid.
• the housing is filled with a liquid, such as a dimethicone oil. The movement is thus submerged in the liquid.
• the timepiece is powered by a mainspring 1, which drives the timepiece’s movement when it unwinds.
• the mainspring 1 drives a pump 3 through suitably arranged gearing 2.
• the pump 3 is a hydraulic pump such as a gear pump.
• the pump 3 When driven by the mainspring 1 through the gearing 2, the pump 3 sucks in liquid from the amount of liquid filling the housing.
• the pump 3 pumps the liquid into a duct 4, which connects the pump’s outlet to a valve 5.
• the valve 5 is adjustable such that its throughput can be set, and comprises a temperature compensation feature, which renders the valve’s throughput temperature independent.
• the throughput of the valve 5 controls the speed of the pump 3, since the pump 3 cannot run faster than the passage of liquid through the valve 5 permits. Since the pump 3 is mechanically connected to the mainspring 1 by gearing 2, the speed of pump 3 controls the unwinding of the mainspring 1.
• the timepiece will have hands or some other device for indicating time on a dial or clockface (not shown). These can be moved by connecting them, in a fashion known per se, to the movement, e. g. at the gearing 2 or the pump 3.
• the escapement shown in the Figure can replace the mechanical escapement in a known timepiece, connected thereto via suitable gearing.
• the timepiece is constructed basically as in the first embodiment.
• the gearpump of the first embodiment is however replaced by a continuous flow piston pump.
• the piston pump (6) comprises three expansion and compression chambers (8) which in this embodiment are formed by cylinders (30) housing pistons (80) reciprocatingly movable therein, said cylinders being arranged in a star-shaped configuration, as is schematically shown in Fig. 3
• the number of expansion and compression chambers can be different. Preferably, there are at least two such chambers, to avoid dead center problems.
• the pump may comprise membrane or bellows pump elements instead of the cylinder-and piston elements of the second embodiment.
• the arrangement may be other than star-shaped.
• the pistons (80) are commonly driven by a crankshaft (70) at the center of the pump (6), said crankshaft being driven by the mainspring of the watch through suitable gearing.
• the pistons (80) are connected to the crankshaft (70) by piston rods (40).
• Fig. 2 shows a single cylinder unit (7) of the type used in the second embodiment, but not combined with two other cylinders as in Fig. 3.
• the cylinder unit (7) has a cylinder head (10) which closes the cylinder (30) at the top end thereof.
• the cylinder covers houses an intake valve (90) and an exhaust valve (20) which serve to control the continuous flow of liquid in the expansion and compression chamber (8). Both valves (90,20) are spring-loaded so that they are normally closed (NC valves).
• the piston (80) is driven to reciprocate in the cylinder (30) by crankshaft (70) via piston rod (40).
• the intake valve (90) opens and lets liquid flow from the housing into chamber (8).
• the intake valve (90) closes.
• exhaust valve (20) opens and lets liquid flow out of chamber (8).
• the cylinder units do not have the bottom part and oil sump (60) shown in Fig. 2. Instead, they share a crankcase (50) which has the crankshaft (70) at its center, so that all cylinder units can be commonly driven by said crankshaft (70).
• Exhaust valve (20) lets the liquid flow into a duct (not shown) which connects all cylinder units to a valve, like valve (5) in the first embodiment.
• This valve thus receives all liquid exiting the cylinder units, and its setting controlls the back pressure building up at every exhaust valve (20).
• This back-pressure acts to controll the working speed of the cylinder units, similar to the function of the gearpump in the first embodiment.
• the ducts connecting all cylinder unit outlets to the common adjustable valve, cf. Fig. 1, valve (5), can e. g. be made of metal tubing, which has the mechanical strenght to bear the liquid pressure.

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• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Sustainable Development (AREA)
• Reciprocating Pumps (AREA)

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Citations (2)

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• 2018
  • 2018-09-13 DE DE102018007229.1A patent/DE102018007229B4/de not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 2019
  • 2019-01-16 WO PCT/EP2019/051047 patent/WO2019154601A1/en not_active Ceased
  • 2019-01-16 EP EP19701177.8A patent/EP3665533A1/de not_active Withdrawn

Patent Citations (2)

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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