Eta Sa Manufacture Horlogere Suisse

Omega Sa

Benjamin Krähenbühl

Thierry Conus

Philippe Marmy

Marc Lippuner

Michael Reber

A micro-mechanical part made of insulating material, such as a silicon balance spring () for a timepiece movement, tends to adhere to a neighboring part when it is in movement, such as the balance cock (). This drawback is removed by carrying out, over all or part of the surface, a thin deposition of a layer of conductive material, such as a metal, which is preferably non-oxidizing and non-magnetic, such as gold, platinum, rhodium or silicon.

Micro-mechanical part made of insulating material and method of manufacturing the same

The mobile element includes a central rigid zone () provided with arms () extending radially from the central zone () towards a peripheral zone including teeth (). The arms () are flexible to allow a small tangential and/or radial movement of the teeth () in order to absorb shocks. The invention is characterized in that the arms () are curved and bend gradually towards an orientation tangential to the rotation of the mobile element, in that the thickness of the arms gradually decreases, and finally, in that the ends of the arms form the teeth.

Growing community of inventors

Bettlach, Switzerland

Benjamin Krähenbühl