Power transmission body of timepiece and method of manufacturing power transmission body of timepiece

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10303121-B2
Application number	US-201615555648-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 1, 2016
Priority date	Mar 11, 2015
Publication date	May 28, 2019
Grant date	May 28, 2019

Abstract

A power transmission body of a timepiece in which a fixed portion between an arbor and a power transmission member is hardly damaged is provided without increasing the number of components. A transmission wheel (one example of power transmission body) includes a gear and a pinion (one example of arbor). A hole formed in a center portion of the gear includes a regular octagon with a rotation center as a center. An insertion portion formed in the pinion includes a gear-like portion including a tooth bottom and a tooth tip. The hole includes eight portions that are positioned in a circumference direction about the rotation center and contact the insertion portion. The hole includes a portion that is positioned in front of the eight portions in a clockwise direction (specific rotation direction) about the rotation center and has a distance from the rotation center longer than a distance from the rotation center to each of the eight portions.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A power transmission body of a timepiece, comprising:
a power transmission member provided with a hole in a center portion of the power transmission member, the hole having distances from a rotation center to an inner edge, and the distances being different in accordance with angular positions about the rotation center; and
an arbor including an insertion portion fitted into the hole, the insertion portion having distances from the rotation center to an outer edge, and the distances being different in accordance with angular positions about the rotation center, wherein
the hole includes at least two portions that are positioned in a circumferential direction about the rotation center and contact the insertion portion, and a portion that is positioned in front of the two portions in a specific rotation direction about the rotation center and has a distance from the rotation center longer than a distance from the rotation center to each of the two portions,
the insertion portion is a gear-like portion having a distance ra from the rotation center to an outermost projecting edge,
the hole has distances Ra, Rb from the rotation center to the inner edge, the distance Ra being different from the distance Rb, and
the distance ra, the distances Ra, Rb of the hole, and an angle θ satisfy a following inequation where the angle θ is an angle between a line connecting the rotation center and a center of a tooth bottom of a tooth of the gear-like portion and a line connecting the rotation center and the outermost projecting edge:
Rb<ra<Rb /(cos θ)≤ Ra.

2. The power transmission body of a timepiece according to claim 1 , wherein
the hole includes vertexes,
the number of the vertexes is a divisor of the number of teeth of the gear-like portion of the insertion portion excluding one, and
the hole is a regular polygon including an inscribed circle having a radius from the rotation center as the distance Rb.

3. The power transmission body of a timepiece according to claim 1 , wherein
the hole includes vertexes,
the number of the vertexes is a multiple of the number of teeth of the gear-like portion of the insertion portion, and
the hole is a regular polygon including an inscribed circle having a radius from the rotation center as the distance Rb.

4. The power transmission body of a timepiece according to claim 1 , wherein the gear-like portion of the insertion portion has a same sectional shape as a portion of a gear formed in the arbor from the rotation center to the distance ra.

5. The power transmission body of a timepiece according to claim 1 , wherein an adhesive agent is applied to contact portions between the insertion portion and the hole.

6. The power transmission body of a timepiece according to claim 1 , wherein the power transmission member is made from a brittle material.

7. A method of manufacturing a power transmission body of a timepiece,
for connecting an arbor and a power transmission member, the arbor including an insertion portion having distances from a rotation center to an outer edge, the distances being different in accordance with angular positions about the rotation center, the power transmission member including a hole having a contour, the hole being larger than the insertion portion at a specific angular position about the rotation center, and the contour including at least two portions having a distance shorter than a maximum distance of the insertion portion at angular positions different from the specific angular position, the method comprising:
inserting the insertion portion in the hole at the specific angular position; and
connecting the power transmission member and the arbor by rotating at least one of the power transmission member and the arbor relative to the other of the power transmission member and the arbor such that the insertion portion contacts the hole at the two portions.

Assignees

• Citizen Watch Co Ltd

Inventors

• Fukuda Tadahiro
• Fukaya Shinpei
• Ono Yoshiki

Classifications

• G04B13/022

  with parts made of hard material, e.g. silicon, diamond, sapphire, quartz and the like · CPC title

• G04B13/02

  Wheels; Pinions; Spindles; Pivots (bearings G04B31/00 {; chain wheels, spindles for chain wheels, also chains and driving weights G04B1/08}) · CPC title

• G04B13/026 Primary

  Physics · mapped topic

• G04B1/16 Primary

  Barrels; Arbors; Barrel axles (arrangements facilitating the removal of the mainspring G04B33/14) · CPC title