US3142955A - Power clutch for the main spring of watch movements and the like - Google Patents

Power clutch for the main spring of watch movements and the like Download PDF

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Publication number
US3142955A
US3142955A US91676A US9167661A US3142955A US 3142955 A US3142955 A US 3142955A US 91676 A US91676 A US 91676A US 9167661 A US9167661 A US 9167661A US 3142955 A US3142955 A US 3142955A
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United States
Prior art keywords
cam
arbor
clutch
wheel
click
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Expired - Lifetime
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US91676A
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English (en)
Inventor
Rene A Fiechter
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Individual
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Individual
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Publication date
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Priority to US91676A priority Critical patent/US3142955A/en
Priority to CH212162A priority patent/CH403652A/fr
Priority to FR889254A priority patent/FR1317494A/fr
Priority to GB7710/62A priority patent/GB955318A/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of US3142955A publication Critical patent/US3142955A/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
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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
    • G04B11/00—Click devices; Stop clicks; Clutches
    • G04B11/006—Clutch mechanism between two rotating members with transfer of movement in only one direction (free running devices)
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
    • F16D—COUPLINGS FOR TRANSMITTING ROTATION; CLUTCHES; BRAKES
    • F16D41/00—Freewheels or freewheel clutches
    • F16D41/06—Freewheels or freewheel clutches with intermediate wedging coupling members between an inner and an outer surface
    • F16D41/064—Freewheels or freewheel clutches with intermediate wedging coupling members between an inner and an outer surface the intermediate members wedging by rolling and having a circular cross-section, e.g. balls
    • 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
    • G04B1/10—Driving mechanisms with mainspring
    • G04B1/18—Constructions for connecting the ends of the mainsprings with the barrel or the arbor
    • G04B1/20—Protecting arrangements against rupture or overwinding of the mainspring located in the barrel or attached to the barrel

Definitions

  • the isochronism of the system can only be guaranteed when the variations of amplitude of the balance wheel are small.
  • These var ations are directly affected by the force applied to the balance wheel by the escapement. That force derives from the main spring. It is therefore essential that the main spring should produce as consistent an output of energy as possible.
  • FIG. 1 represents a detail plan view of the ratchet 3,14i2fi55 Patented Aug. 4., 1964 ice wheel, crown wheel, barrel, and center pinion portion of a watch movement, to which the new clutch mechanism has been added, parts being broken away;
  • FIG. 2 represents an axial section on the line II-II of FIG. 1, parts being broken away;
  • FIG. 3 is a graphic representation of a typical torque pattern of a watch spring
  • FIG. 4 represents a detail axial section, corresponding to the upper portion of FIG. 2, showing an alternative form of clutch
  • FIG. 5 represents a detail section taken on the line VV of FIG. 4;
  • FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 represent detail sections corresponding to the right hand end of FIG. 4, showing additional alternative clutch arrangements
  • FIG. 9 represents an axial section, similar to FIG. 2, showing a modified interconnection of parts similar to those shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;
  • FIG. 10 represents an axial section, similar to FIGS. 2 and 9, showing another modified interconnection of the parts of the clutch assembly, parts being broken away;
  • FIG. 11 represents a detail top plan view of the parts shown in FIG. 10;
  • FIG. 12 represents an enlarged elevation, partly in section, of a separate hub unit for use in the assembly of FIGS. 10 and 11;
  • FIG. 13 represents a top plan view of the hub unit shown in FIG. 12.
  • FIGS. 14, 15 and 16 represent axial sectional views of three alternative types of lubricant-holding composite rollers, suitable for use in the combinations of FIGS. 1, 2, 9, l0 and 11, the rollers shown being, respectively, a freely assembled two-part roller, a composite two-layer roller with lenticular inter-faces, and a three-layer composite roller with parallel inter-faces.
  • the barrel 1 containing the main spring 2 is mounted on the barrel arbor 3 in the usual manner, the barrel teeth engaging the center pinion 4 to drive the center wheel 5.
  • the barrel arbor is shown as being journaled in a barrel bridge 6, above which the arbor is squared, at 3', to engage tightly a square opening in the middle of the special ratchet '7.
  • the special ratchet 7 has an annular channel 8 in its upper face, the outer wall 9 of the channel being a cylindrical surface coaxial with the arbor 3 and being finely finished.
  • the special ratchet is provided around its periphery with teeth 10 engaged by the teeth of the crown wheel 11 to transmit the watchwinding force from a stern (not shown) to the special ratchet 7 in the usual manner.
  • the special ratchet is held firmly on the arbor by means of the wide headed screw 12. While the present invention eliminates the customary click and click spring, the word click is used in describing the click cam 13 and click plate 14 as an indication of their function.
  • the click cam 13 fits freely in the channel 8 of the special ratchet 7 and is provided with an upwardly projecting annular collar 13 which is press-fitted into an opening in the click plate 14.
  • the click plate is shaped to cover the whole of the channel 8 and is fixed in place by means of the click screw 15 (the screw on which the click or pawl is mounted in a normal watch movement), passing through a lateral extension from its otherwise generally circular body, as clearly shown in FIG. 1.
  • the click cam 13 is bounded peripherally by a series of cam surfaces 16 separated by stops in the form of teeth 17, the surfaces being generated by lines parallel to the axis of the barrel arbor, and each including a portion 16 which is coaxial with the wall 9 of the channel 8 and a portion 16" which lies at progressively decreasing radial distances from said wall.
  • the teeth 17 lie at 40 intervals so that there are nine teeth and nine cam surfaces.
  • Engagement between the special ratchet 7 and the click cam 13 is effected by means of rollers 18, of cylindrical form and having a diameter slightly less than the radial distance between the cam surface portion 16 and the wall 9,
  • rollers there being preferably one roller for each of the nine cam surfaces 16, and the rollers being preferably of jewel material.
  • the OY axis represents units of force of the spring
  • the area OABCD represents loss through friction
  • the line EF represents a desired uniform mean rate of increase (or decrease) of the actual torque force of the spring.
  • the roller clutching action is radial, between the cam surfaces 16 and the wall 9 of the channel 8.
  • forclutching action in an axial direction, as shown in FIGS. 4 to 8.
  • the barrel arbor 2t journaled in the barrel bridge 21 has a cam wheel 22 secured to its squared upper end by means of the screw 23.
  • the cam wheel 22 has teeth 24 which are engaged by the teeth of a crown wheel (not shown) for winding, and the under surface of the cam wheel is pro vided with an annular cam groove of undulating or ser- I balls 28 (preferably of jewel material) are disposed, one in each cam section of the groove. diameter slightly less than the distance from the cam portion 26' to the base '27.
  • the balls 23 could be replaced by rollers 30, as shown in FIG. 6; or by a ball 31 and a roller 32 as shown in FIG. 7; or by a plurality of balls 33, as shown in FIG. 8. Either the single ball arrangement of FIGS. 4 and 5 or the single roller of FIG. 6, is generally to be preferred.
  • FIGS. 1 and 2 When it is desired to take apart the click assembly shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, as for cleaning or repair, the screws 12 and 15 are removed and the plate 14 with click cam 13 fitted therein can be lifted off, exposing the rollers 18 and ratchet 7 which can also be lifted oif together or separately as desired. Since the rollers are very small there is some danger that one or more of them may be spilled or dropped into the movement (after the plate 14 and cam 13 have been removed) causing delays, inconvenience and possible damage.
  • FIG. 9 shows a modified arrangement designed to overcome this possible difficulty and to unite the cam, plate, ratchet and rollers into a subassembly which can be handled as a unit.
  • the hub portion 35 of the special ratchet (similar to 7) extends upward above the inner flange 36 of the click cam 13 sufliciently to permit its being riveted or staked outward, as shown, to overlie the inner edge of flange 36 rollers can easily be removed and replaced as a unit, the
  • the screw 38 is similar to the screw 12 in FIGS. 1 and 2, while the hub of the special ratchet 39 (similar to 7) extends upward through a central opening in the click plate 40, the upward extension being cut into segment 41 each having a beveled ridge 42 extending radially outward along its upper edge at a height such that the plate 40 is spaced the proper distance above the flat surface of the-ratchet to accommodate rotation by the engagement of two upward projections or prongs 44 with corresponding openings 45' in the plate 40; this engagement may, but need not, be a press fit.
  • the additional holes 46, 47 are used for indexing the plate'in a jig or other assembling device. 1
  • the top of the unit is divided into segments (41 in FIG. 11) by means of parallel saw cuts 51, 51, the segments thus formed having suflicient resiliency to permit snap-on assembly as described above.
  • the necessary resilency can be supplied by providing cuts, radial or otherwise, in the plate 40, extending outward from its central opening.
  • roller clutch device Since the smooth and accurate operation of this roller clutch device depends to an important degree on the proper lubrication of the parts, it is desirable to provide rollers which are capable of retaining adequate quantities of lubricant for long periods of time.
  • the roller In FIG. 14 the roller is shown as comprising an annular part 52 which fits loosely on the integrally formed hub 53' of a disk-shaped part 53. The inter-faces between the two parts provide capillary oil-retaining areas from which oil will circulate to adjacent surfaces.
  • the roller shown in FIG. 15 is formed from two parts 54, 54 having flat outer surfaces and lenticular inner facing surfaces, the parts being fixed on an axial metal pin 55.
  • the spacing of the facing surfaces may be sub-capillary in the center and super-capillary toward the edges, so that the lubricant 56 will tend to stay in the narrower areas but can be fed as needed (with the assistance of some centrifugal force when the roller is moving) to adjacent surfaces.
  • the composite roller of FIG. 16 is made up of three flat disks 57 fixed on an axial metal pin 58 with their interfaces spaced to provide capillary oil storage areas. A similar two-layer roller is shown at 59 in FIG. 10. It will be understood that such composite rollers represent a desirable refinement of the plain rollers 18 shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 9, and that corresponding modifications could also be used instead of the plain rollers 30 and 32 of FIGS. 6 and 7, the rollers in all instances being preferably of jewel material.
  • the teeth of the ratchet cannot be polished (in view of the cost consideration), and the click spring must be on the strong side to overcome the friction, the noise produced when winding is loud and disagreeable.
  • the feel of winding a cheap watch is uneven and the operation is noisy. The public thus tends to associate the noise of the winding with the cheapness of the watch.
  • the elimination of the noise provided by the present invention will tend to highlight the quality of the product having this construction, resulting not only in an improvement of timekeeper and isochronism, but in the feel the customer will have when he winds his time piece, giving him concrete audible proof that he has a better constructed and more valuable time piece.
  • the click plate 14 will also provide a clear space which can be decorated, polished, engraved, etc. thus putting the repair man on notice that the watch has improved qualities and giving him the trademark and/or other identifying symbols which will enable him to repair and service the watch properly by referring to his text books.
  • a watch movement having a frame, a coil spring, an arbor fixed to one end of said spring, a rotatable clutch element fixed to said arbor and having teeth engageable by the teeth of a crown wheel for winding, a cover plate removably fixed to the frame, a second clutch element fixed to the cover plate, one of said clutch elements having a cylindrical surface coaxial with the arbor and the other -of said clutch elements having cam surfaces which are generated by lines parallel to the arbor axis and which surfaces are spaced from and at least in part inclined toward said cylindrical surface, and at least one body of circular cross-section having a diameter less than the maximum distance between said cylindrical surface and the cam surfaces of said other clutch element, said body being located in the space between the cam surfaces of the respective clutch elements and being movable into and out of wedging relation to said cam surfaces, the cover plate being so positioned as to retain the body of circular cross-section in the space between the cam surface and the cylindrical surface.
  • each of the cam surfaces of said other clutch element includes a portion which is substantilaly coaxial with the cylindrical cam surface and is spaced radially from said cylindrical cam surface by substantially said maximum distance.
  • a clutch assembly comprising, a wheel removably engaging the arbor and having an annular recess in one face and a hub, the recess being bounded radially outwardly by a cylindrical wall coaxial with the arbor, a cam of generally annular form lying Within said recess, the periphery of said cam including a plurality of similar cam surfaces each generated by lines parallel to the axis of the arbor and including a portion coaxial with the said cylindrical wall and a portion tapering radially outwardly toward said wall, a cover plate adapted to be fixed to the frame, means interconnecting the cover plate, the wheel and the cam with the plate in a position to cover the annular recess in the wheel, and a plurality of bodies of circular cross-section at least in the plane perpendicular to the axis of the arbor, having a diameter less than the radial distance between the coaxial portion of the cam surface and the cylindrical wall and greater
  • each of the plurality of cam surfaces extends through at least approximately thirty degrees around the periphery of said cam.

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  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Mechanical Operated Clutches (AREA)
  • Braking Arrangements (AREA)
US91676A 1961-02-27 1961-02-27 Power clutch for the main spring of watch movements and the like Expired - Lifetime US3142955A (en)

Priority Applications (4)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US91676A US3142955A (en) 1961-02-27 1961-02-27 Power clutch for the main spring of watch movements and the like
CH212162A CH403652A (fr) 1961-02-27 1962-02-21 Dispositif de remontage d'un mouvement d'horlogerie
FR889254A FR1317494A (fr) 1961-02-27 1962-02-26 Dispositif de blocage unidirectionnel pour rochet de remontage
GB7710/62A GB955318A (en) 1961-02-27 1962-02-27 Improvements in or relating to a clutch for watch main springs and other precision instruments

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US91676A US3142955A (en) 1961-02-27 1961-02-27 Power clutch for the main spring of watch movements and the like
FR889254A FR1317494A (fr) 1961-02-27 1962-02-26 Dispositif de blocage unidirectionnel pour rochet de remontage

Publications (1)

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US3142955A true US3142955A (en) 1964-08-04

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US91676A Expired - Lifetime US3142955A (en) 1961-02-27 1961-02-27 Power clutch for the main spring of watch movements and the like

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US (1) US3142955A (fr)
CH (1) CH403652A (fr)
FR (1) FR1317494A (fr)
GB (1) GB955318A (fr)

Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4117664A (en) * 1976-02-18 1978-10-03 Bouchet-Lassale S.A. Pivoting device for a watch barrel
WO2009090044A1 (fr) * 2008-01-14 2009-07-23 Malcolm Tomlinson Roulement de roue libre/verrouillage retardé et douille de torsion non liée améliorée
CN114815563A (zh) * 2020-12-31 2022-07-29 梅科股份公司 用于控制时计的装置

Citations (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US822772A (en) * 1905-04-14 1906-06-05 George W Robinson Roller for washing, wringing, mangling, and other similar machines.
US1283476A (en) * 1918-05-21 1918-11-05 Illinois Watch Company Watch.
US2066199A (en) * 1933-08-30 1936-12-29 Renzo Simon Di Stop device for automobiles
US2563112A (en) * 1947-09-11 1951-08-07 Hill Charles Spring winding device
DE811937C (de) * 1949-11-24 1951-08-23 Heinz Goebeler Uhrwerkgesperre
US2581754A (en) * 1950-11-21 1952-01-08 William J Cosmos Contact wheel section
US2632993A (en) * 1948-05-18 1953-03-31 Hill Charles Spring winding device for watches

Patent Citations (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US822772A (en) * 1905-04-14 1906-06-05 George W Robinson Roller for washing, wringing, mangling, and other similar machines.
US1283476A (en) * 1918-05-21 1918-11-05 Illinois Watch Company Watch.
US2066199A (en) * 1933-08-30 1936-12-29 Renzo Simon Di Stop device for automobiles
US2563112A (en) * 1947-09-11 1951-08-07 Hill Charles Spring winding device
US2632993A (en) * 1948-05-18 1953-03-31 Hill Charles Spring winding device for watches
DE811937C (de) * 1949-11-24 1951-08-23 Heinz Goebeler Uhrwerkgesperre
US2581754A (en) * 1950-11-21 1952-01-08 William J Cosmos Contact wheel section

Cited By (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4117664A (en) * 1976-02-18 1978-10-03 Bouchet-Lassale S.A. Pivoting device for a watch barrel
WO2009090044A1 (fr) * 2008-01-14 2009-07-23 Malcolm Tomlinson Roulement de roue libre/verrouillage retardé et douille de torsion non liée améliorée
CN101918729A (zh) * 2008-01-14 2010-12-15 马尔科姆·汤姆林森 延时锁定/空转轴承以及改进的非粘合扭力衬套
US20110031084A1 (en) * 2008-01-14 2011-02-10 Malcolm Tomlinson Delayed lock up/freewheel bearing and an improved non-bonded torsion bush
CN114815563A (zh) * 2020-12-31 2022-07-29 梅科股份公司 用于控制时计的装置

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Publication number Publication date
GB955318A (en) 1964-04-15
FR1317494A (fr) 1963-02-08
CH403652A (fr) 1965-08-13

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