Movement (clockwork)

When movement is defined as the entire mechanism inside a clock. It ensures that the time is displayed correctly.

Other devices may include a movement, as measured Schreiber, short- timers, time bombs, exposure timers, music boxes and others.

There are movements in purely mechanical and electromechanical form with more or less gears. Electronic movements have no wheels and only a minimum of moving mechanical parts. Digital watches with electro-optical digital display have (except quartz crystal ) no moving parts more.

At the elementary watches like the hourglass, sundial and the water clock, the term movement is not applied.

A purely mechanical movement is most visible at a great historical mechanical clock. It covers everything from energy storage (usually a weight-driven ) across multiple gear -gear stage ( gear train ) and an inhibition to the regulator (usually a pendulum). From the gear wheel gear a branch leads from the outside ends pointers located. This so-called Movement is with the exception of the pointer in the interior of a clock, but is often - as the lift weights too - not counted as clockwork.

• 2.1 Mechanical movements with electric lift
• 2.2 Synchronous and stepper motor works

Mechanical movements

Mechanical movements are multi-stage gear, rotate the wheels at a constant angular velocity. They receive their operating power from a mechanical energy storage. The stored potential energy is released in a controlled and a rotational movement of the display device (usually hand shaft ) are reacted.

Components of the mechanical movement

Each mechanical movement consists of one or more wheels works. The main gear train is called the clock movement which must have each movement. The movement may also have one or more additional wheels works, but which are controlled by the clock movement.

• A clock movement consists of: Drive device with associated Lift ( feather work, Gewichtszug )
• Display device with pointer or Spring numbers ( Movement )
• Inhibition
• Vibrating system ( transition) by means of balance, ball, pendulum or rotating pendulum

• Striking mechanism
• Spielwerk
• Alarm movement
• A timing mechanism

Drive

Mechanical movements are applied with a wrench (for spring works, some weight drives), a chain with weights, a crown ( with manual winding pocket watches and wristwatches ), a crank or an electric motor. Spring plants often have to avoid " over-revving " a Maltese barrage, which limits the number of revolutions. The start and end loops of the spring are unlike the rest of the spring, which is made of tempered steel, annealed - Although breakage is usually possible only by extreme force, but older spring material tended to fracture in the region of the inner, smaller bend radius of the spring on transition to hardened spring.

Wrist watches with automatic winding feature a Federzaum that can slip through the mainspring fully wound.

See also: Month runners years clock

Display

Simple movements have only one hour and a minute hand on a clock face. In more complex movements functions as second hand, date, day, alarms, stopwatch, moon phase, etc. are added. There are also other types of display, such as only one (hour ) hand in hand watch or the display using rotating disks with a cutout at the Scheibenuhr. Additional indications are achieved by the Veerwendung of Kadraturen with additional complications.

Striking mechanism

The percussion is an independent mechanism in a mechanical clock with which the time is additionally informed acoustically. The acoustic signal is generated by circular gong rod gong, bell, whistle, gong or game can plant.

Alarm movement

The alarm is set with a further pointer ( alarm hand ). The alarm hand is sitting in purely mechanical Weckwerken usually on a control disc ( Weckeinstellrad ). The hour tube has an additional projection ( Weckauslösenocke ) and is urged by a flat spring ( Weckauslösefeder ) forward against the control disc. If the alarm time is reached, the survey of the hour pipe falls into the corresponding well of the control disc and the hour hand jumps visible closer to the minute hand. This movement is caused by the Weckauslösefeder. The loose end of the Weckauslösefeder usually moves due to the leverage further than the hour hand and gives himself over this motion the mechanism of Weckwerkes free or triggers an electrical contact. About a skew to the Weckauslösenocke or the deepening of Weckeinstellrades is moved back over the progression of the movement of the hour hand, the hour tube against the force of the flat spring back to its normal position. This is done in a simple alarm clocks typically in 30 to 90 minutes. Only when the loose end of Weckauslösefeder the mechanism of Weckwerkes again blocked alarm function can be raised again without immediately expire. Due to the circulation of the hour to 360 ° in 12 hours alarm function normally triggers twice in 24 hours. Rarely there are also alarm clock with 24 -hour Weckzifferblatt that awaken only once in 24 hours. With digital alarm clocks, the distinction after 24 hours is common.

In mechanical Weckwerken often affects the Weckwerkfeder with the associated spring wheel on a Weckersteigrad. The Weckersteigrad causes the alarm to anchor a movement that beats a hammer against a bell or the housing of the alarm via a lever arm. The combination Weckersteigrad and alarm clock anchor escapement wheel and anchor the look of a mechanical Gehwerkes with pendulums often grossly similar but have completely different optimization criteria. At the end of the Weckwerkfeder takes this more and more space in the movement, and thus hinders the movement of the retaining lever, which often forms a single component with Alarm Clock and hammer anchor. From a certain impairment of the movement of the clock anchor the other end of the Weckwerkes is inhibited and the alarm event will be terminated automatically.

Watches with an alarm usually have a second energy storage (mostly spring mechanism ) for the alarm. Special case, for example, the use of a spring campaign for both the going train, as well as for the alarm function of an alarm clock. Easily recognizable is this version in that only a single elevator possibility of the same rearing clock movement and alarm.

Mechanical movements on the size

Watch Movements ( bracelet and pocket watch movements )

Watch Movements are also called caliber. Except for the "big ones" in the industry (such as Mont Blanc, A. Lange & Söhne, Audemars Piguet, Blancpain, Breguet, Ebel, Glashutte Original, IWC, Omega SA, Patek Philippe, Rolex, Seiko, Zenith ) and some small manufacturers (such as D. Dornblüth & son, Lang & Heyne, Nomos Glashütte ) use the most watch manufacturers today, more or less edited foreign base caliber. These are in millions of units, for example, ETA (Swatch Group) ( ETA2824, ETA2894, Valjoux7750 ) or Ronda manufactured and installed (for example, in Baume & Mercier, Breitling SA, Longines, Panerai, sense). In many low-cost mechanical watches, there are also the base caliber manufacturer Miyota (Citizen) and Seiko.

In high-quality small movements gemstones are used as jewel bearings for moving parts, as between steel and stone less friction than between two steel components. This reduces wear and increases by uniform force transmission, the gear accuracy. Are used today synthetic stones such as rubies.

Automatic movement, caliber 2824- A2, ETA SA

Watch movement, chronograph, Tianjin Seagull

Movement of a local museum Kutschenuhr Friedberg

Clock Movements ( residential and industrial movements )

In contrast to a portable watch movements, the term " large clock " a general term for all major stationary clocks. Works for such watches, depending on the function can be quite different.

Weight -driven movement for historical spatula to Chenonceau Castle

Movement of a parking meter Kienzle

Movement of a Konstatieruhr

Tower Movements

Movements for large public clocks on buildings like the town hall, school, castle, church or monastery ..

Tower clock with hours reference work

Astronomical Astronomical Clock Movement

Movement in the clock tower of the Palace of Westminster in London

Electromechanical Movements

Mechanical movements with electric lift

Among other things, electric motors or solenoids have been used for the automated elevator conventional movements, including for tower clocks.

Magnetic elevator ( Hettich )

Magnetic elevator ( company Rensie )

Engine lift, tower clock Weule JF, 1877, Church Lüdenscheid

Clock Tower Villa Haas electro-mechanical lift (from Perrot )

Synchronous and stepper motor works

The clock of the synchronous clock is a synchronous motor which drives the display elements pointer numbered gears or falling platelets via a transmission. Similar in function clock systems daughter watches that are related by a master clock pulses and thus drive a stepper motor or synchronize their motor-driven pointer. For battery-operated watches -power engines like the Lavet stepper motor to apply.

Synchronized clocks are also included in electromechanical, running as an adapter plug timers.

Day - Timer with 10steinigem balance Movement and motor lift for network operation; Power reserve 50 hours, 1987, VEB Ruhla watches works

Industrial time switch

Lavet stepper motor movement as a daughter watch, T & N

Electronic Movements

In electronic movements a partial function, or the entire function of the movement is realized electronically.

While magnetic or motorized lift the power transmission in the movement as the conventional mechanical clock from the energy storage is transferred through the Movement to inhibition ( oscillating system ) and thus very high requirements placed on accuracy and strength of the gears, is in direct electronic actuation of the oscillating system, the energy flow reversed. Thus, a further significant simplification of the gear train is allowed to make and save energy.

Various oscillating systems of electronic watches

• Mechanical vibrations an inductively excited tuning fork (frequencies 300-720 Hz ) in the tuning fork.
• A pendulum or balance wheel, these permanent magnets carry and held electromagnetically by an electronic circuit, the blocking oscillator in motion (pendulum or balance wheel is the time base and cause even here the isochronous drive of the movement ); before the introduction of the quartz watch, there were those according to the electrodynamic principle working watches, such as the ATO -MAT of Junghans
• An electrically excited piezoelectric body in the form of a clock crystal. Usual, the tuning fork shape and frequencies of 32.768 kHz to MHz. The vibrations of quartz watches are routed via frequency divider and then either digitally counted or used to directly drive a stepper motor which drives a pointer ( analog display ). Digital indication, for analog display on a liquid crystal display or for generating a time signal, the oscillations are counted and processed with the aid of software. Most bracelet and living room Watches today use quartz crystals as the clock source.

• Radio watches receive electromagnetic waves from time signal transmitters ( DCF77).
• The time displays of mobile phones or computers to synchronize over the wireless network or transmitted over the Internet time signals.

• Atomic clocks use the energy differences of electron levels ( for example, the cesium atomic clock )
• Vibrational states of molecules (often also referred to as atomic clocks )

Blocking oscillator working Junghans

First quartz wristwatch movement caliber 35A, No. 00234 Seiko 1969 German Watch Museum

Clock movement with alarm, antenna (top right) and battery compartment ( bottom right)

Battery Movements

Battery Movements can be both electro-mechanically and electronically. Today, almost exclusively quartz movements and radio-controlled movements are used.

Before there was the possibility inexpensive to manufacture quartz movements, there were methods such as blocking oscillator, which reached a compact design and battery operation with acceptable runtimes and gear accuracy.

Battery Movements combined several advantages.

• The automated lift, so that the spring mechanism is no longer needed, for example, hold a week but possibly only a few minutes.
• This allowed for a simplification of the movements and thus a cost reduction of the mechanical part.
• The battery change was required less frequently compared to the pulling by hand.
• In many movement types, the accuracy is not completely decoupled from the driving force, was therefore reduced by the frequent electric lift and the clock error.

Battery Movements strucked inexpensive comparatively good accuracy and comfort.

Contactless electro- dynamically driven with balance coil with magnets

Wall movement ( back); electrodynamic balance - drive

Battery powered wall movement