Timepiece having a mechanical movement associated with an electronic regulator
US7016265B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 30, 2004 |
| Grant date | Mar 21, 2006 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 30, 2024 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG04C10/00
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
There is disclosed a timepiece having a mechanical clockwork-movement (10) driven by a barrel spring (14) and provided with a mechanical regulator, with a balance and a balance spring, which is associated, via electromagnetic coupling, with an electronic regulator driven by a quartz resonator. The rim of the balance (13) balance is provided with at least one pair of permanent magnets (38, 39). The electronic regulator includes a fixed coil (12) arranged for cooperating with said magnets via electromagnetic coupling, a rectifier (58) provided with at least one capacitor, and a circuit for enslaving the frequency of the mechanical regulator to the oscillator frequency by braking obtained by briefly short-circuiting the coil. In order to use a mechanical movement of a common type, in which only the balance is altered, the coil (12) is located on the side of the balance-cock (23) with respect to the balance rim. The pair of magnets (38, 39) is covered by a plate of magnetic material in order to close field lines on the side of the plate. Apart from the coil, all of the rest of the electronic module (11) is located outside the mechanical movement.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.