With Attachment Means For Spring Patents (Class 368/144)
  • Patent number: 10935931
    Abstract: A method for production of a horology assembly of two components, includes (i) supplying a first component (2) being a spring, and including at least one element made of elastic material provided with a tongue (20); supplying a second component (3) provided with at least one cut-out or opening (31, 32); permanently assembling the two components. The two components cooperate by an obstacle to create the assembly, and in particular the tongue is accommodated in the at least one cut-out or opening (31, 32).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 2, 2021
    Assignee: ROLEX SA
    Inventors: Sylvain Farine, Philippe Vaucher, Vincent Von Niederhäusern
  • Patent number: 9448533
    Abstract: The invention relates to a barrel spring (2) including: an inner end (5) and an outer end; a first portion (50) having a first height (H); a second portion (52) having a second height (h) that is smaller than the first height (H) and being located near the inner end (5); and, at the second portion, e.g. at the inner end, a first attachment element (51) suitable for being attached to the barrel shaft, wherein the second portion is to be inserted into a circumferentially extending groove provided on the barrel shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 4, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 20, 2016
    Assignee: ROLEX SA
    Inventors: Jean-Louis Bertrand, Albert Bortoli, Thomas Gyger, Vincent Von Niederhäusern
  • Patent number: 9291999
    Abstract: A ratchet for winding a barrel, including an axial passage for fitting the ratchet onto an arbor carrying pivotal drive mechanism. The ratchet includes, in the axial passage, a strip spring permitting fitting of the ratchet onto the arbor, and exerting a bearing force on the pivotal drive mechanism, wherein the at least one strip spring forms a complementary drive for pivotally driving the arbor. A timepiece barrel for pivotal assembly between a bottom plate and a bridge includes a spring housed between a pivoting drum and a ratchet and hooked between, at an outer end thereof, the drum, and at an inner end thereof, an arbor, the arbor pivoting integrally with the ratchet about a pivot axis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2016
    Assignee: ETA SA Manufacture Horlogere Suisse
    Inventors: Laurent Kaelin, Arthur Queval, Martin Vautherot
  • Patent number: 9285772
    Abstract: A barrel for timepiece movement, comprising a barrel shaft (20) around which is arranged, in a rotationally mobile manner, an assembly comprising a drum (30) and a cover (40) delimiting a housing (50) for receiving a barrel spring (51), the drum (30) and the cover (40) each having a wall (31, 41) extending from a peripheral end (34, 44) of the barrel to a central end of the barrel at the level of the barrel shaft (20), wherein at least a part of at least one of said walls (31, 41) has a variable thickness which increases continually with distance away from the peripheral end of the barrel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2016
    Assignee: ROLEX SA
    Inventors: Florent Millet, Julien Saglini
  • Patent number: 9164484
    Abstract: A timepiece assembly including a balance spring stud fixed to a plate, and a balance spring wound into coils between an inner end fixed to a collet and an outer end fixed to the balance spring stud. The balance spring stud and/or the collet includes a braking mechanism cooperating with a first coil during accelerations by contraction or expansion of the balance spring higher than set values, to modify a resulting rigidity of the balance spring when the first coil is locally coupled to the braking mechanism, arranged on a first inner lip and a second outer lip included in the balance spring stud and/or in the collet, which includes a first inner lip and a second outer lip each including the braking mechanism.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 4, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 20, 2015
    Assignee: Nivarox-FAR S.A.
    Inventors: Marc Stranczl, Marco Verardo
  • Patent number: 8573832
    Abstract: Barrel for a self-winding timepiece including a drum of axis AA provided with an internal lateral wall having friction surfaces alternating with locking structures forming salient or inward edges at the boundary of the friction surfaces and a mainspring forming a winding including an outer coil, which is friction coupled to said internal lateral wall and free to slip against said internal lateral wall in the event of overwinding of the mainspring, characterized in that said friction surfaces are demarcated, downstream relative to the direction in which said outer coil slips, by a rounded salient edge or an inward edge.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 2011
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2013
    Assignee: ETA SA Manufacture Horlogère Suisse
    Inventor: Serge Nicoud
  • Patent number: 8147127
    Abstract: A method is disclosed for making an isochronous balance-wheel-and-spring assembly for a horological movement in which one spring out of a series of springs is paired with a balance wheel. The spring has characteristics that vary by comparison with other springs of the series, and the spring is designed to be mounted on the staff of the balance wheel via a collet. One collet out of a set of collets of different sizes is selected on the basis of the spring's characteristics. The collets of different sizes have connection points for attachment of the spring that are located (after assembly) at different distances from the center of the balance staff, the choice of the collet of the most appropriate size facilitating the adjustment of the balance-wheel-and-spring assembly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2008
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2012
    Assignee: Manufacture Roger Dubuis S.A.
    Inventor: Sergio Silva
  • Patent number: 7318669
    Abstract: A spring-barrel arrangement for a timepiece includes a fixed plate-like component with a circular cutout. A spring barrel is rotatably mounted in said circular cutout by its corresponding circular outer contour. A barrel core is coaxially rotatably mounted relative to the spring barrel and is enclosed by a helical tension spring. An inner end of the spring is connected to the barrel core and its outer end connected to the spring barrel. A crown wheel with a toothed ring is fixed to the spring barrel and a first wheel of a wheel train of the timepiece is fixed to the barrel core. The circular cutout is formed through the plate-like component and the spring barrel has two supporting regions which extend radially beyond the diameter of the circular cutout and are each in abutment against one of the mutually opposite side surfaces of the plate-like component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 2004
    Date of Patent: January 15, 2008
    Assignee: Lange Uhren GmbH
    Inventor: Jens Schneider
  • Patent number: 6587401
    Abstract: The transmission device disclosed is inserted between a rotating oscillating weight and an electric micro-generator in order to drive the generator rotor from the oscillating weight by multiplying the rotational speed. Its intermediate wheel and pinion includes a barrel (27) whose central shaft (24) is coupled to the drum (41) of the barrel by a spiral spring (30). The inner end of the spring has a bent portion (34) which engages via resilience in any one of a number of hollows (51) in the shaft and can be released by sliding over a slanting side (52) when the shaft exerts too great a torque in the given rotational direction. This arrangement prevents damage resulting from shocks, in particular in the case of a watch, without using a friction system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 1, 2003
    Assignee: ETA SA Fabriques d'Ebauches
    Inventors: Jean-Philippe Rebeaud, Denis Burdet
  • Patent number: 6441516
    Abstract: The device includes a barrel (2) inserted in the kinematic chain between the rotor (11) of the generator (1) and the oscillating weight (3). The barrel includes a spiral coiled spring (4) and a sliding strip (6), wound in the same direction as the spiral coiled spring over the length of a turn, without any mechanical connection with the spring, but forming a protective envelope in the open position in case of shock. The shockproof device can be applied to the generator of a wristwatch.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2000
    Date of Patent: August 27, 2002
    Assignee: Eta Sa Fabriques D'ebauches
    Inventors: Laurent Kaelin, Jean-Philippe Rebeaud