Eta Sa Manufacture Horlogere Suisse

The Swatch Group Research and Development Ltd

Asulab S.a.

Nivarox-far S.a.

The Swatch Group Management Services Ag

Pascal Winkler

Gianni Di Domenico

Jean-Luc Helfer

Baptiste Hinaux

Dominique Lechot

Jean-Jacques Born

Jerome Favre

Laurent Klinger

Pierre Cusin

Thierry Conus

Michel Willemin

Marc Stranczl

Lionel Tombez

Lionel Paratte

Olivier Matthey

Yves Winkler

Jean-Claude Martin

Francois Gueissaz

Alexandre Haemmerli

Alex Gandelhman

Mohammad Hussein Kahrobaiyan

Donald William Corson

Jérôme Favre

Jean-Bernard Peters

Daniel Mallet

Raphael Courvoisier

Patrick Ragot

Yves-Alain Cosandier

Fanel Piccini

Davide Sarchi

Joachim Grupp

Yvan Ferri

François Gueissaz

Raphaël Courvoisier

David Benjamin Kraehenbuehl

Gian-Carlo Poli

Thierry Altenhoven

Daniel Gruenig

Ahmad Odeh

Emile Grosjacques

Grégory Musy

Florent Cosandier

Dominique Léchot

Dominique LÉCHOT

A regulating member () for a horological movement including a balance, a balance spring including a flexible strip () coiled on itself in several turns, the strip () having a predefined rigidity to enable the balance to perform a rotary oscillatory movement, the strip including an outer end (). The regulating member () includes a resilient device for compensating the direction of gravity with respect to the regulating member (), the resilient device adapting its stiffness according to gravity to compensate for the effect of gravity on the regulating member, the resilient device including a resilient element () connecting the outer end () to a first non-movable support () with respect to the horological movement, as well as prestressing means () for applying a variable force or torque on the resilient element () according to the direction of gravity with respect to the regulating member ().

Timepiece regulating member with a balance spring provided with means for gravity compensation

A timepiece oscillator structure includes at least one divisible unit, which includes at least one component which includes at least one flexible blade or at least one blade with necks, joining two main units, each more rigid than the flexible blade or blade with necks, where the divisible unit includes at least one protection unit adjacent to at least one main unit to which it is connected by at least one divisible linkage which is designed in order to make possible the detachment of this protection unit from the component when the component is fixed, with at least the particular main unit which is adjacent to the protection unit, to a more rigid external element than the flexible blade or than the necks of the blade with necks.

Timepiece oscillator structure with a divisible element

A horological resonator mechanism, including a structure carrying, via a flexible suspension, an anchor unit from which is suspended an inertial element oscillating about a pivot axis extending in a first direction Z, in a first degree of rotational freedom RZ, under the effect of the return forces of a flexure pivot including longitudinal elastic strips, each fixed to the inertial element and to the anchor unit, the flexible suspension allowing the anchor unit to move in five degrees of freedom, this resonator is a composite assembly made of at least two different materials, on the one hand for the flexure pivot, and on the other hand for the flexible suspension.

Shock protection of a resonator mechanism with rotary flexure bearing

A flexible guide for a rotating resonator mechanism, in particular of a horological movement, the guide including a fixed support, an element that is capable of moving relative to the fixed support, at least one main flexible blade allowing the movable element to move relative to the fixed support by bending the one or more main flexible blades via a rotary motion about a centre of rotation, the flexible guide being arranged substantially in one plane, and includes at least one translation table joined to one end of the main flexible blade, the main flexible blade and the translation table forming a pair connected to the fixed support, to the movable element, or to an intermediate movable part, such that the translation table is configured to move in translation at least in part under the effect of the bending of the main flexible blade.

Flexible guide with translation table for a rotating resonator mechanism, in particular for a horological movement

A timepiece resonator mechanism (), including a structure () carrying, by a flexible suspension (), an anchoring block () from which is suspended an inertial element () oscillating about a pivot axis (D) extending in a first direction Z, according to a first rotational degree of freedom RZ, under the action of return forces of a flexible pivot () including elastic longitudinal strips () each fixed to said inertial element () and to said anchoring block (), the resonator mechanism including a viscous substance () arranged at least partly around the flexible suspension (), the viscous substance () being configured to at least partly dissipate the energy due to a shock.

Shock-resistant protection provided with a viscous substance for a resonator mechanism with rotary flexible guide

A timepiece resonator including an inertial element moveable in relation to a fixed structure, and suspended to a flexible guide including flexible strips crossed in projection on a plane XY at a single crossing zone ZC, each one deformable in a plane parallel to the plane XY each one extending in a ribbon on either side of a neutral surface perpendicular to the plane XY and joining the first recess with the structure and the second recess with the inertial element, and including at least one rib asymmetrical in relation to its neutral surface, and, at the crossing zone ZC, either each flexible strip does not include any rib, or each rib is asymmetrical in relation to its neutral surface.

Timepiece resonator including at least one flexible guide

A horological resonator mechanism, including a structure and an anchoring unit from which is suspended at least one inertial element arranged to oscillate along a first degree of freedom in rotation RZ about a pivoting axis extending along a first direction Z, the inertial element being subjected to return forces exerted by a virtual pivot including a plurality of substantially longitudinal elastic strips, each fastened, at a first end to the anchoring unit, and at a second end to the inertial element. Each elastic strip is deformable essentially in a plane XY perpendicular to the first direction Z. The anchoring unit is suspended from the structure by a flexible suspension arranged to allow the mobility of the anchoring unit along a plurality of degrees of freedom including at least two in the plane XY, along a direction X and along a direction Y orthogonal to the direction X.

Shockproof protection with banking of a rotary flexible guidance resonator mechanism

Timepiece () comprising at least one mechanical movement () including at least a main plate (), a resonator () and energy storage and distribution means () connected to an escape wheel set () by a going train (), wherein at least one of the wheel sets, comprised in the going train () or an escapement mechanism () to which the escape wheel set () belongs, and which cooperates with the resonator (), and which moves in a jerky or reciprocating motion during operation of the resonator (), is a display wheel set () which includes at least two distinct pictures or patterns (), which are arranged to move in succession before a fixed point of the main plate (), during operation of the resonator (), and to display thereon a sequence of animated images.

Mechanical timepiece with an animated display

A device for assembly and alignment on a first bridge, particularly a timepiece movement plate, arranged in a first plane, the device including a second bridge arranged in a second plane, the second bridge being intended to carry a component, in particular a moving component of a timepiece resonator mechanism, the device including a device for aligning the second bridge on the first bridge, the alignment device including at least two bearing faces of the second bridge arranged orthogonally to the second plane in two different directions, the alignment device further including at least two movable adjustment pieces connected to the first bridge, the adjustment pieces each being configured to contact with one of the bearing faces to position the second bridge in a position on the first bridge, the movable pieces defining a plurality of positions of the second bridge on the first bridge.

Assembly and alignment device, particularly for a timepiece resonator mechanism

A balance for timepieces includes a rim, a hub, and at least one arm connecting the hub to the rim. At least one portion of the balance is made of an at least partially amorphous metal alloy. The at least partially amorphous metal alloy is based on an element chosen from the group consisting of platinum, zirconium and titanium, and has a coefficient of thermal expansion comprised between 7 ppm/&#xb0; C. and 12 ppm/&#xb0; C. The balance can be manufactured by moulding. A resonator can include such a balance and a monocrystalline quartz balance spring.

Balance for timepieces and method for manufacturing the same

A flexible guide for a rotary resonator mechanism, in particular of a horological movement, the guide including a first support, an element movable relative to the first support, a first pair of flexible strips connecting the first support to the movable element, so that the movable element can displace relative to the first support by bending the strips in a circular movement about a centre of rotation, the flexible guide being arranged substantially in a plane, including a prestressing device, the prestressing device being configured to apply a force for buckling the flexible strips by bringing the first support closer to the movable element, so that the flexible guide includes two stable positions of the element movable relative to the first support for which the return moment is zero, the two stable positions having a predetermined angle of rotation therebetween.

Flexible guide and set of superimposed flexible guides for rotary resonator mechanism, in particular of a horological movement

Timepiece regulator comprising a detached lever escapement mechanism, and a resonator with a quality factor Q including an inertia element including an impulse pin cooperating with a fork of the lever, subjected to the return force of two flexible strips attached to the plate, defining a virtual pivot having a main axis (DP), the lever pivoting about a secondary axis (DS), and the lift angle (&#x3b2;) of the resonator, during which the impulse pin is in contact with the fork, is less than 10&#xb0;, and the ratio I/Ibetween the inertia Iof the inertia element with respect to the main axis (DP) and the inertia Iof the lever with respect to the secondary axis (DS) is greater than 2Q&#xb7;&#x3b1;/(0.1&#xb7;&#x3c0;&#xb7;&#x3b2;), where &#x3b1; is the lift angle of the lever corresponding to the maximum angular travel of the fork.

Rotating resonator with flexure bearing maintained by a detached lever escapement

A process for producing a metal alloy balance wheel by molding includes a) making a mold in the negative shape of the balance wheel; b) obtaining a metal alloy that has a thermal expansion coefficient of less than 25 ppm/&#xb0; C. and is able to be in an at least partly amorphous state when it is heated to a temperature between its glass transition temperature and its crystallization temperature; c) putting the metal alloy into the mold, the metal alloy being heated to a temperature between its glass transition temperature and its crystallization temperature so as to be hot-molded and to form a balance wheel; d) cooling the metal alloy to obtain a balance wheel made of the metal alloy; and e) releasing the balance wheel obtained in step d) from its mold. The process also includes a step for over-molding flexible centering components in the hub.

Process for producing a balance wheel for a timepiece

Timepiece regulator () comprising a detached lever () escapement mechanism (), and a resonator () including an inertia element (), which includes an impulse pin () cooperating with a fork () of the lever (), and which is subjected to the action of elastic return means () fixed to the plate () and is arranged to cooperate indirectly with an escape wheel set (), this resonator () is a resonator with a virtual pivot rotating about a main direction (DP), with a flexure bearing returned by flexible strips () attached to the plate (), defining a virtual pivot having a main axis (DP), the resonator () is attached to an elastic suspension strip () attached to the plate (), allowing displacement in the main direction (DP), the plate () comprising shock absorber stops (), in the main direction (DP), cooperating with at least one stiff element of the inertial element ().

A device for guiding a pivoting mass about an axis. A first support is fixed and a second support forms or supports the pivoting mass. The device is includes a first and second flexible leaf oriented in the same direction when the device is at rest, and an intermediate leaf having a rigidity notably greater than the flexible leaves and connecting the first flexible leaf to the second, the device including a first fixed link formed by the first support and a first end of the first leaf, a second fixed link formed by a second end of the first leaf and by a first end of the intermediate leaf, a third fixed link formed by a second end of the intermediate leaf and by a first end of the second leaf and a fourth fixed link formed by at least one second end of the second leaf, wherein the first and/or the fourth link is arranged substantially between the second and the third link in the direction when the device is at rest.

Device for guiding pivotally and horological resonator mechanism for a pivoting mass

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St.-Blaise, Switzerland

Pascal Winkler