US 7,458,717 B2Granted

Detent escapement for timepiece

AssigneePeter Baumberger

InventorsPeter Baumberger, Jean-François Mojon

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Abstract

An escapement for a timepiece movement includes a toothed escape wheel, a balance and a detent respectively pivoted on rotation axes. The detent supports a pallet lock that interacts with the first tooth of the escape wheel along a certain length of penetration in order to block it in an idle phase during which the balance executes a free arc of oscillation. An impulse pallet rotationally driven by the balance interacts with a second tooth when the detent is pivoted in order to release the escape wheel, this wheel turning by a forward pitch before being blocked again by the pallet lock by interaction with the second tooth. The escapement also includes a limiting plate, which is coaxial and rotationally secured to the balance, has a periphery including a substantially circular main portion and a cutout positioned facing the pallet lock in the release phase.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A detent escapement for timepiece comprising

a toothed escape wheel, pivoted on a first axis (X1),
a balance, pivoted on a second axis (X2) and whereto an impulse pallet is coaxial and secured,
a detent supporting a locking pallet designed to cooperate with a first tooth of said escape wheel, along a certain length of penetration, to block said first tooth in a locking phase,
said detent being pivoted on a third axis (X3) to be capable of freeing said first tooth in an unlocking phase,
said impulse pallet being designed to cooperate with a second tooth of said escape wheel to receive an impulse from the latter after said unlocking phase,
said first and second teeth being adjacent and arranged on either side of a center straight line (L) joining said first (X1) and second (X2) axes in said locking phase,
wherein it also comprises a limiting plate, coaxial and rotationally secured to said balance, having a periphery comprising a substantially circular main portion as well as a cutout arranged so as to be positioned across from said locking pallet in said unlocking phase, and
wherein said limiting plate is dimensioned so as to define a security distance, separating said locking pallet from said circular main portion when they are positioned facing each other, less than said length of penetration.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.