Patent US3942848A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US3942848A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Shock absorbing pivot bearing for rotary watch parts
Assignee: Seitz AG
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Filing: 1974-04-08
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Granted: 1976-03-09
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Expires: 1994-04-08
Abstract
Abstract The pivot 28 is journalled in a bearing member 38 molded in one piece with a resilient web 39 fixed at its periphery to a body member 41 by a hard metal ring 42. Due to the resilience of web 39, member 38 may be shifted into member 41 and tilt about a diameter of its edge connected to web 39, thus protecting pivot 28 against impacts occuring in any direction. Ring 42 constitutes abutting means which limit the amplitude of the displacements of shaft 1 under the action of impacts.
Inventors
- 👤 Francois Voumard
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-08 06:26
CPC Classifications
G; G04; G04B; G04B31/00; G04B31/02
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 12
Claim 1
Independent Claim
284 words
A shock-absorbing pivot bearing for a rotary watch part, especially the balance wheel, having a shaft ending in a pivot tip, comprising, in combination: a rigid and fixed hollow body member; a flat resilient member substantially perpendicular to the pivot axis of said pivot tip and having a peripheral portion secured to said body member and a circular inner portion normally resting in an unstressed central position within said body member, said inner portion being freely and resiliently yieldable away from said centered position in an axial direction and in a tilting direction about any one of its diameters; a bearing member carried by said resilient member and projecting substantially perpendicularly from the inner portion thereof away from the watch part pivoted in the bearing, said bearing member having an inner surface surrounding a space for receiving said pivot tip and adjacent shaft portion, said inner surface being more splayed than the shaft portion entering the space it surrounds, in order that the frictional engagement between the pivot and its bearing occurs substantially exclusively at a point of the pivot tip and a point of said inner surface of the bearing member remote from said resilient member; and radial abutting means comprising the wall of a circular opening which surrounds and is spaced from said shaft section, a radial impact thus causing the pivot tip and the part of the bearing member remote from the resilient member to move together in a direction substantially perpendicular to the bearing axis, the inner portion of said resilient member tilting about its diameter which is perpendicular to the direction of the impact, said resilient member being bent only until said shaft section engages said radial abutting means.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
284 words
A shock-absorbing pivot bearing for a rotary watch part, especially the balance wheel, having a shaft ending in a pivot tip, comprising, in combination: a rigid and fixed hollow body member; a flat resilient member substantially perpendicular to the pivot axis of said pivot tip and having a peripheral portion secured to said body member and a circular inner portion normally resting in an unstressed central position within said body member, said inner portion being freely and resiliently yieldable away from said centered position in an axial direction and in a tilting direction about any one of its diameters; a bearing member carried by said resilient member and projecting substantially perpendicularly from the inner portion thereof away from the watch part pivoted in the bearing, said bearing member having an inner surface surrounding a space for receiving said pivot tip and adjacent shaft portion, said inner surface being more splayed than the shaft portion entering the space it surrounds, in order that the frictional engagement between the pivot and its bearing occurs substantially exclusively at a point of the pivot tip and a point of said inner surface of the bearing member remote from said resilient member; and radial abutting means comprising the wall of a circular opening which surrounds and is spaced from said shaft section, a radial impact thus causing the pivot tip and the part of the bearing member remote from the resilient member to move together in a direction substantially perpendicular to the bearing axis, the inner portion of said resilient member tilting about its diameter which is perpendicular to the direction of the impact, said resilient member being bent only until said shaft section engages said radial abutting means.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
21 words
The pivot bearing of claim 1, in which said bearing member and said resilient member are made integrally in one piece.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
86 words
A pivot bearing as claimed in claim 2, in which the piece constituting said bearing and resilient members is made of plastics, the pivot bearing further comprising a metallic ring secured to said body member and having a central opening having a diameter large enough to receive a shaft end portion with free play, said ring serving as said radial abutting means by cooperating with the shaft end for limiting the amplitude of the axial and the transverse displacements thereof under the action of an impact.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
21 words
In the pivot bearing as claimed in claim 2, said resilient member being thinner than the wall of said bearing member.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
58 words
In the pivot bearing as claimed in claim 2, said resilient member being provided with a row of cut-outs regularly staggered around the bearing axis and leaving narrow radial arms between them, an annular continuous central portion and an annular continuous peripheral portion, said radial arms extending from said central to said peripheral portion and connecting them together.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
30 words
In the pivot bearing as claimed in claim 2, the inner surface of said movable member having a conical portion accommodated for receiving a pivot having a conical outer surface.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
58 words
In the pivot bearing as claimed in claim 6, the conical portion of the inner surface of said bearing member being adapted for receiving a conical pivot having an apex angle comprised between 10° and 40°, the apex angle of said conical inner surface being 5° to 20° larger than the apex angle of the pivot side surface.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
65 words
In the pivot bearing as claimed in claim 6, the pivot having a spherical tip surface being tangent to the pivot conical outer side surface, the inner surface of said bearing member having a spherical portion with a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the spherical tip surface of the pivot, said spherical portion being tangent to the conical portion of said bearing member.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
41 words
The pivot bearing of claim 2, in which said one piece is made of plastics, the pivot bearing further comprising a metallic ring secured to said body member and comprising said radial abutting means and axial abutting means for said shaft.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
184 words
A shock-absorbing pivot bearing for supporting a rotary shaft to which a pivot member is fixed, comprising: a rigid body member; movable pivot support means, including a substantially planar resilient web portion having inner and outer substantially annular rings connected by substantially radial arm portions, and a cap portion connected to said inner annular ring and extending substantially coaxially with the axis of said shaft and having a hollow interior of a shape complementary to that of said pivot member, the dimensions of said hollow interior being larger than the corresponding exterior dimensions of said pivot member, the end portion of said pivot member opposite said shaft normally contacting the innermost end of said hollow interior; said outer annular ring being fixed to an axially extending annular wall of said rigid body member; said inner annular ring and said cap portion being unsupported except by said outer annular ring and radial arm portions in a normally unstressed condition to permit substantially free movement of said cap portion both axially and tiltingly about the point of contact of said cap portion and said pivot member.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
184 words
A shock-absorbing pivot bearing for supporting a rotary shaft to which a pivot member is fixed, comprising: a rigid body member; movable pivot support means, including a substantially planar resilient web portion having inner and outer substantially annular rings connected by substantially radial arm portions, and a cap portion connected to said inner annular ring and extending substantially coaxially with the axis of said shaft and having a hollow interior of a shape complementary to that of said pivot member, the dimensions of said hollow interior being larger than the corresponding exterior dimensions of said pivot member, the end portion of said pivot member opposite said shaft normally contacting the innermost end of said hollow interior; said outer annular ring being fixed to an axially extending annular wall of said rigid body member; said inner annular ring and said cap portion being unsupported except by said outer annular ring and radial arm portions in a normally unstressed condition to permit substantially free movement of said cap portion both axially and tiltingly about the point of contact of said cap portion and said pivot member.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1979-03-09 | 1979-09-08 | 1980-03-09 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1983-03-09 | 1983-09-08 | 1984-03-09 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1987-03-09 | 1987-09-08 | 1988-03-09 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |