Ecole Polytechnique Federale De Lausanne

Sensoptic Sa

Csem Centre Suisse D'electronique Et De Microtechnique Sa&#x2014;recherche Et D&#xe9;veloppement

Rolex Sa

Societe Anonyme De La Manufacture D'horlogerie Audemars Piguet & Cie

Csem Central Suisse D'electronique Et De Microtechnique Sa—recherche Et Development

Kistler Holding Ag

Patek Philippe Sa Geneve

Manufacture D'horlogerie Audemars Piguet Sa

Ecole Polytechnique Féderale De Lausanne (epfl)

Simon Henein

Billy Nussbaumer

Charles Baur

Ilan Vardi

Axel Bertholds

Pere Llosas

Lennart Rubbert

Mohamed Zanaty

Mohammad Hussein Kahrobaiyan

Fabiano Colpo

Sylvain Jeanneret

François Barrot

Philippe Schwab

Thomas Fussinger

Ivar Kjelberg

Hubert Schneegans

Lisa Bonnefoy

Remy Fournier

Olivier Mathez

Laurent Giriens

Johan Kruis

Michal Smreczak

Benoît Dagon

Loïc Tissot-daguette

David Chabloz

Etienne Thalmann

Rémy Fournier

A mechanical isotropic harmonic oscillator including a frame, a mass configured to oscillate, and three flexure rods, each flexure rod connecting the mass to the frame.

General 2 degree of freedom isotropic harmonic oscillator and associated time base without escapement or with simplified escapement

Device and method for measuring contact force exerted by an object on a probe comprising a lever and said probe for contacting the object is provided. The lever is pivotably coupled to a body by a coupling module. The device comprising a fixed frame coupled to the body. The body is designed to be moved with respect to the object to put the probe in contact with the object to create force pivoting said lever with respect to the body around a pivot axis. The device comprising a sensor for measuring displacement of the lever with respect to the body upon pivoting. The coupling module comprises control stiffness module, so that when the probe contacts the object, the displacement of the lever is proportional to the force exerted by the probe on the object. Such control stiffness module is tunable so that accuracy and sensitivity of measured force is controlled.

Device for measuring a force exerted on an object

Sensor system comprising a frame supporting a force-sensing tip arranged to generate a signal based upon a force applied by said force-sensing tip to a material to be tested, the system further comprising:

Sensor system

A horological detent escapement for a horological movement arranged to transmit a torque from said horological movement to an oscillating regulating organ of said horological movement, the regulating organ comprising a first mobile body and the escapement comprising a second mobile body and an escapement wheel. Said escapement wheel being arranged so as to transmit, during a half-phase of each oscillation of the regulating organ, a torque to said regulating organ via a direct impulse. The second mobile body comprises an indirect impulse means arranged so as to be in contact with the escapement wheel during normal operation and be out of contact during the other half-phase of each oscillation of the regulating organ when the escapement wheel does not transmit torque to the regulating organ, so as to transmit torque to said regulating organ via an indirect impulse, following an inadvertent movement or inadvertent stoppage of the horological movement.

Automatically starting and secured detent escapement for a timepiece

The present invention relates to a A device for puncturing an object, in particular a bodily vein, comprising: a body defining an inner cavity with at least one opening and a perforating needle extending in the cavity and being movable in the cavity between a resting position and an active position where the needle extends at least partially through the opening outside the cavity, and actuating means arranged to move the needle between the resting and active positions. The actuating means comprises a tuneable multistable driving mechanism comprising at least a multistable element having a determined switching load, the multistable element being fixedly arranged between the needle and an inner wall of the cavity, and an actuator for transmitting energy to move the needle between the resting and active positions when the energy reaches the switching load.

Device for controlled puncturing of an object

A mechanical isotropic harmonic oscillator including a two rotational degrees of freedom linkage supporting an orbiting mass with respect to a fixed base with at least one spring element having isotropic and linear restoring force properties, such that a high degree of spring stiffness and reduced mass isotropy provides for reduced sensitivity to linear and angular accelerations.

General two degree of freedom isotropic harmonic oscillator and associated time base

A mechanical isotropic harmonic oscillator including a two translational degrees of freedom linkage supporting an orbiting mass with respect to a fixed base with springs having isotropic and linear restoring force properties.

Isotropic harmonic oscillator and associated time base without escapement or with simplified escapement

A needle for invasive medical use includes a long extended cylindrical needle shaft having an axis and an outer surface area, with a short shaft end at a first end of the shaft with a beveled tip with a pointed end, and a needle hub attached to a second end of the shaft including a device to indicate the location of the shaft end during use inside a body. The needle has a flexible joint with a notch within the shaft at the beginning of the shaft end. The device is a displacement sensor for detecting a displacement of the shaft end relative to the rest of the shaft resulted from a force applied to the shaft end when the needle hub is moved and a signal conductor to transmit the detected signals. The invention further describes a needle assembly comprising such a needle and a syringe attached to said needle hub, whereas an evaluation unit is connected to the signal conductor.

Needle for invasive medical use and needle assembly

An optical force sensing element for microsurgical instruments and methods measures force F in three orthogonal directions and includes a monolithic cylinder structure, a cylindrical surface and a top surface that absorbs and transmits the force F. Three punch-like notches, all being parallel to the y-direction, are spaced apart along the z-axis and form two blades between the first and second notch and between the second and the third notch. Three channels parallel to the z-axis extend from the bottom surface to the top surface and cross the first notch while bypassing the other two notches. Three optical fibers, each fixed in one of the three channels, all entering the structure from the bottom surface, cross the first notch and end at or near the top surface while being interrupted in the first notch and forming two surfaces of each fiber that define a Fabry-Perot interferometric cavity.

Optical force sensing element and microsurgical instrument

A method for fabricating a micromechanical part from a substrate in which the part is fabricated by providing a plurality of fasteners between the part and the substrate, the fasteners being sacrificial, characterized in that the fasteners include at least one hinge at the end of each fastener located beside the part, and in that the method includes a step of breaking the sacrificial fasteners. The micromechanical parts employing this type of sacrificial fastener are also described.

Method for freeing a micromechanical part and a micromechanical part comprising sacrificial fasteners

The invention relates to a rotating oscillator for a timepiece comprising a support element designed to allow the oscillator to be assembled on a timepiece, a balance, a plurality of flexible blades connecting the support element to the balance and able to exert a return torque on the balance, and a felloe mounted secured to the balance. The plurality of flexible blades comprises at least two flexible blades, including a first blade positioned in a first plane perpendicular to the plane of the oscillator, and a second blade positioned in a second plane perpendicular to the plane of the oscillator and intersecting the first plane. The geometric oscillation axis of the oscillator is defined by the intersection of the first plane and the second plane, said geometric oscillation axis crossing the first and second blades at &#x215e;th of their respective lengths.

Timepiece oscillator

The invention relates to an immobilizing device for a toothed wheel suitable for the field of horology where it can be part of a direct- or indirect-impulse escapement, in particular in a wristwatch. This immobilizing device () comprises: &#x2014;a base (); &#x2014;an immobilizer () comprising two arms () each provided with a pallet () intended to come into contact with a tooth of the toothed wheel (); &#x2014;a first and a second elastic element () each having an end connected to the immobilizer () and another end connected to the base (); &#x2014;a third elastic element () connected to the immobilizer (), and it has the particular feature that it is in one piece or in one piece apart from at least one of the pallets (). The invention also relates to a timepiece and to a method for assembling such a timepiece.

Immobilizing device for a toothed wheel

A mechanical oscillator isochronism corrector comprising a frame (), a flexible blade () integral with the frame to act on a mechanical oscillator at a contact portion () presented by the blade, and a first element for adjusting the pre-stress of the flexible blade including a pre-stress finger () acting on the flexible blade, the first adjustment element being integral with the frame.

Isochronism corrector for clockwork escapement and escapement provided with such a corrector

An optical measuring element measures forces in at least one direction. The measuring element has a single-piece structure. There is an outside wall with notches introduced therein. Each notch defines parallel edges, and the notches define more or less elastically flexible zones in the structure and constitute the only connection between a first region and a second region of the structure. For optical distance measurements between the two regions of the structure, one or more optical fibers are each attached with one end thereof to a region of the structure such that reflective surfaces are located close to the ends. The reflective surfaces are firmly connected to another region. The optical fibers are disposed on the outside wall.

Growing community of inventors

Neuchâtel, Switzerland

Simon Henein