Seiko Epson Corporation

Masatoshi Moteki

Osamu Takahashi

Tatsuo Hara

Tadahiro Mizutani

Fumio Takagi

Noriaki Ozawa

Hirokazu Sekino

Kinya Matsuzawa

Eiichi Nagasaka

Shoichi Nagao

Masao Takeuchi

Kazuhiro Tsuchiya

Nobuyuki Hirose

Masaaki Maejima

A method for producing a timepiece spring includes a step for producing, by casting, a metallic glass raw material constituted of a metallic glass; a step for heating the metallic glass raw material to achieve a superplastic state; and a step for rolling the metallic glass raw material in a superplastic state to produce a sheet material. A timepiece spring is characterized by being obtained by the method for producing a timepiece spring.

Method for producing timepiece spring, device for producing timepiece spring, timepiece spring, and timepiece

A timepiece having a movement, a substantially cylindrical case that houses the movement, a bezel that holds the outside edge part of a crystal and is fastened to the case, and a back cover that is fastened to the opposite side of the case as the side to which the bezel is disposed. The case has a plurality of movement fastening units for fastening the movement by means of screws, a plurality of bezel fastening units for fastening the bezel by means of screws, and a plurality of back cover fastening units for fastening the back cover by means of screws. The screws disposed to the movement fastening units, the bezel fastening units, and the back cover fastening units are substantially aligned with the axial direction of the case. The movement fastening units, the bezel fastening units, and the back cover fastening units are respectively disposed at different positions in the circumferential direction of the case, and are disposed to a fastener reference position substantially similar in shape to the shape of the outside of the movement facing the case.

Timepiece

A spring device having an inside-end wheel that moves in conjunction with the inside end of a mainspring; an outside-end wheel that moves in conjunction with the outside end of the mainspring; a torque return unit that transfers part of the output torque of the mainspring from one to the other of the inside-end wheel and outside-end wheel; a duration time indicating unit that operates in conjunction with both the inside-end wheel and outside-end wheel and indicates the number of winds in the mainspring; and a torque transfer clutch unit that disengages torque transfer between the inside-end wheel and outside-end wheel by means of the torque return unit when the mainspring unwinds and the duration time indicating unit indicates a predetermined reference number of winds.

Spring device and timepiece

A timepiece having a movement having a hammer and a hammer drive device that drives the hammer, a case that houses the movement, a sound source that produces sound by vibrating when struck by the hammer, and a striking force transmission member that can move bidirectionally between the hammer and the sound source, and transmits the striking force of the hammer to the sound source.

Timepiece and portable device

It is intended to provide a governor that is small, does not produce wear particles or noise, is low cost, is not affected by differences in attitude, is not affected by magnetism, and has outstanding durability. The governor has a rotor that rotates using energy supplied from an energy storage means through a power transfer means, a wing having wing surfaces perpendicular to the rotational axis of the rotor, and disposed movably to an outside circumference side radially to the rotor by means of centrifugal force produced by rotor rotation, a zigzag spring disposed between the rotor and wing for pulling the wing to the inside circumference side radially to the rotor, and an opposing member disposed to the outside circumference of the rotor and having an opposing surface located opposite and separated a predetermined gap from the wing surface when the wing moves to the outside circumference side radially to the rotor.

Governor and a power generating device and an apparatus using the governor

A timepiece has a timekeeping mechanism for keeping and displaying the time, a hammer, a bowl-shaped sound source that sounds when struck by the hammer, a sound source mounting member for fastening the bowl-shaped sound source to the timekeeping mechanism, and a striking control means for causing the hammer to operate. The bowl-shaped sound source has a bottom part and a side wall part. The hammer, the striking control means, and at least a part of the timekeeping mechanism are disposed in an internal space between the bottom part and the side wall part of the bowl-shaped sound source. The sound source mounting member is attached to the center of the bottom part of the bowl-shaped sound source, and fastens the bowl-shaped sound source to the timekeeping mechanism so that the bowl-shaped sound source can move a prescribed distance within a range not contacting the case of the timepiece or the timekeeping mechanism.

A rotary drive device is configured to be reduced in size while still delivering a prescribed torque. The rotary drive device has a base part with a vibrating body and a rotating body attached to the base part. The vibrating body has at least one piezoelectric element that vibrates an abutting part, which rotates the rotating body. Specifically, the rotating body has a contact part that is positioned at a prescribed distance from the rotational center and that is abutted against by the abutting part. When voltage is applied to the piezoelectric element, the vibrating body vibrates to repetitively press the abutting part against the contact part to rotate the rotating body. The vibrating body is positioned in a plane that intersects the rotational axis of the rotating body, and is disposed at least as close to the rotational axis of the rotating body as that of the contact part.

Drive apparatus and device with same

Rotary drive device

A liquid dischargerA has a baseA where a resilient tubeis disposed in a tube guide grooveA. A retainerA is rotatably provided at the baseA, with a plurality of ballsbeing mounted at the retainerA so that the balls can roll. The cross sectional shape of a surfacedefining the tube guide grooveA that contacts the tubehas an arc shape formed concentrically with the balls. The balls, which are held by the retainerA, roll on the tubewhile pressing and squashing a portion of the tubeas a rotorA rotates in order to discharge liquid inside the tube

Liquid discharger and apparatus including the liquid discharger

A mainspring used as a power source for a driving mechanism is made of an amorphous metal sheet, and has an S-shaped free-exploded shape. The curvature changing point, where the curving direction of the free-exploded shape changes is formed on the inner end side of a middle point between the inner end on the winding side and the outer end serving as the other end of the inner end. Because of the high tensile stress and a low Young's modulus, the amorphous metal permits increase in mechanical energy stored in the mainspring.

Spring, mainspring, hairspring, and driving mechanism and timepiece based thereon

A mainspring used as a power source for a driving mechanism is made of an amorphous metal sheet, and has an S-shaped free-exploded shape. The curvature changing point where the curving direction of the free-exploded shape changes is formed on the inner end side of a middle point between the inner end on the winding side and the outer end serving as the other end of the inner end. Because of the high tensile stress and a low Young's modulus, the amorphous metal permits increase in mechanical energy stored in the mainspring.

Spring, power spring, hair spring, driving mechanism utilizing them, and timepiece

An inside notch ( ) serving as an adjusting section is provided for a magnetic balancing adjustment between stators ( and ) and a rotor ( ). The inside notch acts to reduce cogging torque, thereby allowing the rotor to rotate using a slight torque. Therefore, the rotor can be more readily started without using a complicated structure, can be prevented from easily stopping due to an external disturbance, and can be made more reliable. In reducing the cogging torque, it is not necessary to reduce the number of magnetic flux lines by, for example, making a rotor magnet ( ) smaller, making it possible to maintain the efficiency with which electrical power is produced.

Electronic controlling type mechanical timepiece

A gap h between a rotor inertia disk and stators and is set so that the load torque between the components due to air viscosity resistance is equal to or less than 1/10 of the maximum output torque at a rotor. Since the load torque is thereby sufficiently reduced, it is possible to limit energy loss of a mainspring, and to extend the period of operation of a timepiece.

Electronically controlled mechanical timepiece

A generator of an electronically controlled mechanical timepiece comprises a mechanical energy source, a generator, a train wheel and an electronic circuit. The train wheel connects the mechanical energy source and the generator. The generator includes a rotor, a first plate-shaped stator, a second plate-shaped stator, a pair of semi-circular stator holes and at least a first coil.

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Shiojiri, Japan

Masatoshi Moteki