JP6612673B2 - Clock gear - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a timepiece gear.

A movement of a mechanical timepiece, which is one of movements for a timepiece, includes a power source, a gear train mechanism, an escapement, and a speed governor (a balance), and the power generated by the power source (for example, the mainspring) is a plurality of gears. Is transmitted to the balance via the escapement from the train wheel mechanism constituted by meshing the gears. The escapement is composed of an escape wheel and an ankle, and controls the driving of the gear train mechanism at a cycle arranged with a balance with a balance.
When energy is transmitted between the gears constituting the train wheel mechanism or between the escape wheel and the ankle constituting the escapement, both slide and generate friction. In order to reduce energy loss and wear due to friction, it is desirable to retain lubricating oil on the sliding surface.

  In response to such needs, in the escapement, by forming a stepped portion recessed in the thickness direction at the tip of the escape tooth of the escape wheel, and further providing a groove extending to the sliding surface in the stepped portion, There is known a structure in which lubricating oil held by a step portion smoothly flows to a sliding surface (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Also, by providing a donut-shaped oil retaining portion around the shaft of the gear, and by connecting the concave portions constituting the oil retaining portion radially to the tooth bottom between each tooth, via the tooth bottom A structure for supplying oil to the sliding surface is also known (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

  In addition, it prevents the leaked lubricant from sticking between the inner surface of the case and the facing surface of the gear surface, meshes with the rotor pinion for the purpose of smooth rotation of the train wheel and thinning of the watch machine body. A structure in which a large number of protrusions for diffusing the lubricating oil leaked between the facing surfaces of the two surfaces are provided as lubricating oil diffusing means on at least one of the surface of the driving vehicle and the inner surface of the case facing the surface. Is known (see, for example, Patent Document 3).

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2015-152498 (first page, FIG. 4) CD-ROM (first page, FIG. 1) of Japanese Utility Model Application No. 4-32648 (Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 5-92775) JP-A-9-127263 (first page, FIG. 2)

  However, in the structure of the timepiece gear of Patent Document 1 described above, it is necessary to supply lubricating oil for every escape tooth, and the oiling process becomes complicated. In addition, since each escape tooth is refueled, the amount of lubricating oil in each tooth varies, and the friction generated between the escape wheel and the ankle varies for each escape tooth, making it difficult to obtain a stable balance of the balance. Met.

  In the structure of the timepiece gear of Patent Document 2, the area of the oil retaining portion is large, and depending on the posture of the timepiece gear, the retained lubricating oil may be biased by gravity, and the amount of oil supplied to each tooth may be constant. Have difficulty. In addition, the groove for supplying lubricating oil is connected to the tooth bottom, has a special tooth shape like an escape wheel, and if applied to a watch gear whose tooth bottom and sliding surface are not smoothly connected, tooth sliding It becomes difficult to spread the lubricant on the surface.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is possible to keep the amount of lubricating oil uniform on the sliding surfaces of all teeth, reduce the number of times of oiling, simplify the oiling process, and An object of the present invention is to provide a timepiece gear that does not cause unevenness of the lubricating oil caused by a difference in the attitude of the gear.

The timepiece gear according to the present invention is
A plurality of oil retaining grooves provided on the outer peripheral side along the circumference of the disc-shaped gear provided with teeth on the outer peripheral portion;
Have a, and the oil supply groove that connects the oil retaining groove and the sliding surface of the tooth, further,
It has the groove | channel which cross | intersects the said some oil holding groove | channel respectively, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

A plurality of oil supply grooves may be provided for one tooth.
The oil supply groove may be formed so as to branch and connect to the end face of the tooth.

  According to the timepiece gear according to the present invention, it is possible to hold the lubricating oil on the sliding surfaces of all teeth with at least one lubrication, and the lubrication process can be simplified. In addition, the amount of lubricating oil for each tooth is made uniform and the unevenness of the lubricating oil caused by the posture of the timepiece gear can be prevented, enabling stable energy transfer between the train wheels and improving the performance of the timepiece. It becomes possible to make it.

It is a top view showing an escape wheel & pinion in an embodiment of the present invention. It is a top view which shows a part of escape wheel in embodiment of this invention, Comprising: It is an enlarged view of the A section of FIG. It is a top view which shows a part of escape wheel in embodiment of this invention, Comprising: It is an enlarged view of the A section of FIG. It is a top view which shows a part of escape wheel in embodiment of this invention, Comprising: It is an enlarged view of the A section of FIG. It is a perspective view for demonstrating the effect | action of the timepiece gear in embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view showing a part of second wheel & pinion in the embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a plan view of an escape wheel & pinion 100 which is an example of a timepiece gear in the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of an escape tooth 101 (portion A surrounded by a dotted line in FIG. 1). An escape wheel & pinion 100 shown in FIG. 1 has a plurality of oil retaining grooves 102 provided along the circumference of the escape wheel & pinion 100 which is a disc-shaped gear, and a plurality of oil supply ports connecting the end surfaces of the escape teeth 101 and the oil retaining grooves 102. And a groove 103.

  The oil retaining groove 102 is a groove for retaining lubricating oil supplied to the sliding surface of the escape tooth 101, and in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, four oil retaining grooves are arranged along the circumference of the escape wheel 100. An example in which 102 is formed is shown. The number of the oil retaining grooves 102 to be formed is appropriately determined according to the specifications of the gear such as the amount of lubricating oil retained and the area where the grooves can be formed. The plurality of oil retaining grooves 102 may be formed concentrically with the escape wheel 100, may be formed in a wavy line or a broken line, and may have a shape along the outer periphery of the escape wheel 100 that is a disc-shaped gear. That's fine.

As shown in FIG. 3, by providing grooves 106 that intersect with a plurality of oil retaining grooves 102 provided along the circumference of the escape wheel & pinion 100, the amount of lubricating oil retained in the oil retaining grooves 102 is increased. At the same time, the distance over which the lubricating oil flows from the oil retaining groove 102 to the end face 104 of the escape tooth 101 can be shortened. In FIG. 3, an example in which the groove 106 intersecting the oil holding groove 102 is orthogonal to the oil holding groove 102 is shown, but a groove having an angle not orthogonal to the oil holding groove 102 may be used.

  The oil supply groove 103 is a groove for supplying the lubricating oil held in the oil holding groove 102 to the end face 104 of the escape tooth 101. FIGS. 1 and 2 show an example in which four oil supply grooves 103 are formed. Yes. The number of oil supply grooves 103 is not particularly limited, and the size and number are appropriately determined in consideration of the amount of lubricating oil supplied to the end face 104.

  The shape of the oil retaining groove 102 and the oil supply groove 103 can be a curved shape or a broken line shape in addition to a linear shape, and the cross-sectional shape can be selected from a square, a semicircle, a V groove, and the like. .

  Further, it is preferable to select a sliding surface as the end surface of the escape tooth 101 supplied by the oil supply groove 103. For example, the sliding surface of the escape tooth 101 of the escape wheel & pinion 100 is the end surface 104, and as shown in FIG. The oil supply groove 103 is formed so as to connect the oil holding groove 102 and the end face 104 to each other.

  FIG. 4 is a modification of the oil retaining groove 102 and the oil supply groove 103 according to the first embodiment, and is an example in which a region 105 surrounded by the oil retaining groove 102 and the oil supply groove 103 is formed in a hexagonal shape. Further, the region 105 surrounded by the oil retaining groove 102 and the oil supply groove 103 is not limited to a hexagon, but may be another polygon or a circle. With this structure, the lubricating oil held in the oil holding groove 102 can be supplied to the end face 104 of the escape tooth 101 at a short distance.

  The oil retaining groove 102 and the oil supply groove 103 provided in the escape wheel & pinion 100 in this embodiment may be provided not only on one surface of the escape wheel & pinion 100 but also on the other surface.

  The escape wheel & pinion 100 in the present embodiment is formed of a metal material or a semiconductor material such as silicon, and the oil retaining groove 102 and the oil supply groove 103 can be formed by using a laser process or a semiconductor process using photolithography. It is.

  The operation of the escape wheel & pinion 100 of the present embodiment configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. 5 which is an enlarged perspective view of the periphery of the plurality of escape teeth 101. When the lubricating oil is dropped on the portion X surrounded by the dotted line in FIG. 5, not only flows through the oil supply groove 103a by capillary action and reaches the end face 104a of the escape tooth 101a, but also flows into the oil holding grooves 102a and 102b. It reaches the oil supply groove 103b of the adjacent escape tooth 101b. Similarly, the lubricating oil that has reached the oil supply groove 103b reaches the end face 104b, flows in the oil holding groove 102c, and further reaches the adjacent oil supply groove 103c. Thereafter, such a flow of the lubricating oil is repeated, and finally the lubricating oil is supplied to the end faces 104 of all the escape teeth 101. The lubricating oil supplied in this way can reduce the friction between the escape teeth 101 and the parts sliding with the escape teeth 101, and enables stable operation over a long period of time.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 1, the position where the oil holding groove 102 is formed is formed not on the center side of the escape wheel 100 but on the outer peripheral side, so that the distance from the oil holding groove 102 to the end face 104 of the escape tooth 101 is reached. That is, the length of the oil supply groove 103 can be minimized, the amount of lubricating oil retained can be minimized, and the end surface 104 can be smoothly supplied with oil.

  As described above, the timepiece gear of the present invention includes the plurality of oil retaining grooves 102 provided along the circumference of the escape wheel 100 that is a disc-shaped gear, the end surface 104 of the escape tooth 101 and the oil retaining grooves. 102, and the oil supply grooves 103 of all the hook teeth 101 are connected in a network form by the oil holding grooves 102, so that at least one oil supply point may be provided, and the oil supply process of the timepiece movement Can be simplified.

Further, since the lubricating oil spreads evenly due to the nature of the capillary phenomenon, the lubricating oil amount of the end faces 104 of all the escape teeth 101 is kept uniform, and the uneven lubricating oil caused by the posture of the escape wheel 100 does not occur. The friction between all the hook teeth 101 and the ankle sliding with the hook teeth 101 becomes equal, and the balance of the balance with hairspring is stabilized and the performance of the watch can be improved.
In the above-described embodiment, the escape wheel has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this and can be applied to other gears constituting the gear train mechanism.

  FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an example in which the present invention is applied to the second wheel as another disk-shaped gear. FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of a part of the center wheel & pinion 200. Similar to the configuration of the escape wheel & pinion 100 described in the above embodiment, a plurality of oils provided along the circumference of the center wheel & pinion 200. A holding groove 102 and a plurality of oil supply grooves 103 connecting the end face 204 of the tooth 201 and the oil holding groove 102 are provided.

  Three oil retaining grooves 102 for retaining the lubricating oil supplied to the end surface 204 of the tooth 201 are formed along the circumference of the center wheel & pinion 200, and a groove 106 intersecting with the oil retaining groove 102 is formed. It is formed so as to gather in the oil supply groove 103.

  The oil supply groove 103 for supplying the lubricating oil held in the oil holding groove 102 to the end face 204 of the tooth 201 is formed so that the oil supply groove 103 connected to the oil holding groove 102 branches to connect to the end face 204 of the tooth 201. Has been.

  The shape and size of the oil retaining groove 102 and the oil supply groove 103 are appropriately determined as necessary in the same manner as described with the escape wheel 100 shown in FIG. The operation is the same as that described with the escape wheel 100.

  As described above, even when the present invention is applied to various gears such as the second wheel and the third wheel, the oil supply grooves 103 provided in all the teeth 201 are connected in a network by the oil holding grooves 102. The oil supply location may be at least one, and the oil supply process of the timepiece movement can be simplified.

  Further, since the lubricating oil spreads evenly due to the nature of the capillary phenomenon, the amount of lubricating oil on the end surfaces 204 of all the teeth 201 is kept uniform, and the unevenness of the lubricating oil caused by the posture of the second wheel and third wheel, etc. Therefore, the friction between all the teeth 201 and the gears sliding with the teeth 201 becomes equal, and the balance of the balance with the balance is improved and the performance of the timepiece can be improved.

100 escape wheel 101 escape gear 102 oil retaining groove 103 oil supply groove 104 end face 200 second wheel 201 tooth 204 end face

Claims (2)

A plurality of oil retaining grooves provided on the outer peripheral side along the circumference of the disk-shaped gear provided with teeth on the outer peripheral portion,
Have a, and the oil supply groove that connects the oil retaining groove and the sliding surface of the tooth,
further,
A timepiece gear having a plurality of grooves each intersecting with the oil retaining grooves . A plurality of oil retaining grooves provided on the outer peripheral side along the circumference of the disk-shaped gear provided with teeth on the outer peripheral portion,
An oil supply groove connecting the sliding surface of the tooth and the oil holding groove;
2. The timepiece gear according to claim 1, wherein the oil supply groove is formed so as to be branched and connected to an end face of the tooth.

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