One-piece regulating member and method of manufacturing the same
AssigneeNivarox-FAR S.A.
InventorsPierre-André Bühler, Marco Verardo, Thierry Conus, Jean-Philippe Thiebaud, Jean-Bernard Peters, Pierre Cusin
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Abstract
The invention relates to a one-piece regulating member including a balance cooperating with a hairspring made in a layer of silicon-based material and including a balance spring coaxially mounted on a collet. According to the invention, the collet includes one extending part that projects from the balance spring and which is made in a second layer of silicon-based material and is secured to the balance.
Claims23
A one-piece regulating member including:
- (a) a balance made in a first layer of silicon-based material and cooperating with a hairspring, wherein the hairspring is made in a second layer of silicon-based material and includes a balance spring coaxially mounted on a collet;
- and,
- (b) a part forming a spacer that is made in a third layer of silicon-based material and is secured between the collet and the balance in order to form the regulating member in a one piece manner.
A method of manufacturing a one-piece regulating member, wherein the method includes the following steps:
- (a) providing a substrate including a top layer and a bottom layer of silicon-based materials;
- (b) selectively etching at least one cavity in the top layer to define the pattern of a first part of a collet, and to define a first part of a balance made of silicon-based materials, of the one-piece regulating member;
- (c) joining by silicon fusion bonding an additional layer of silicon-based material to the etched top layer of the substrate;
- (d) selectively etching at least one cavity in the additional layer to continue the pattern of the first part of the collet and the first part of the balance, and to define a pattern of a balance spring, made of silicon-based material, of one-piece regulating member;
- (e) selectively etching at least one cavity in a bottom layer to define a last part of the balance made of silicon-based material, of the one-piece regulating member;
- and
- (f) releasing the one-piece regulating member from the substrate.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.