Mechanical timepiece with tourbillon mechanism
AssigneeSeiko Instruments Inc.
InventorsMuneo Tohkoku, Tsuyoshi Tanaka
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A mechanical timepiece comprises a tourbillon mechanism having a housing mounted for rotation about a rotational axis, an escape wheel mounted in the housing for rotation, a balance wheel mounted in the housing for undergoing rotational vibration, and a pallet-fork for transmitting the rotational force of the escape wheel to the balance wheel. The housing has a first plate, a second plate and connecting members for connecting the first and second plates in spaced-apart relation. The second plate has a gear formed on an outer peripheral surface thereof. A drive train is connected to the gear of the second plate of the housing for rotationally driving the housing.
Claims20
A mechanical timepiece comprising:
- a tourbillon mechanism having a cage mounted for rotation and a timed annular balance, a pallet-fork and an escape wheel mounted in the cage for rotation therewith, the cage having an upper plate, a lower plate and a plurality of connecting members directly connecting the upper plate and the lower plate in spaced-apart relation, the lower plate having a gear on an outer periphery thereof;
- and a gear train having a train wheel connected to the gear of the lower plate of the cage for rotationally driving the cage.
A mechanical timepiece comprising:
- a tourbillon mechanism having a housing mounted for rotation about a rotational axis, an escape wheel mounted in the housing for rotation, a balance wheel mounted in the housing for undergoing rotational vibration, and a pallet-fork for transmitting the rotational force of the escape wheel to the balance wheel, the housing having a first plate, a second plate and a plurality of connecting members for connecting the first and second plates in spaced-apart relation, the second plate having a gear formed on an outer peripheral surface thereof;
- and a drive train connected to the gear of the second plate for rotationally driving the housing.
A mechanical timepiece comprising:
- a tourbillon mechanism having a housing mounted for rotation about a rotational axis, a base plate for rotationally supporting the housing, an escape wheel mounted in the housing for rotation, an escape pinion mounted integrally and coaxially with the escape wheel, a balance wheel mounted in the housing for undergoing rotational vibration, a pallet-fork for transmitting the rotational force of the escape wheel to the balance wheel, and a pallet bridge for pivotally supporting the pallet-fork, the housing having a first plate, a second plate and a plurality of connecting members for connecting the first and second plates in spaced-apart relation, the second plate having a gear formed on an outer peripheral surface thereof;
- an internal tooth gear integrally connected to the base plate and in meshing engagement with the escape pinion so that when the housing is rotated, the escape pinion and the internal tooth gear undergo planetary movement and the escape wheel undergoes rotation and revolution;
- and a drive train connected to the gear of the second plate for rotationally driving the housing.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.