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A balance wheel, or balance, is the timekeeping device used in mechanical watches and small clocks, analogous to the pendulum in a pendulum clock.It is a weighted wheel that rotates back and forth, being returned toward its center position by a spiral torsion spring, known as the balance spring or hairspring.
An escapement is a mechanical linkage that delivers impulses to the timepiece's balance wheel, keeping it oscillating back and forth, and with each swing of the balance wheel allows the timepiece's gear train to advance a fixed amount, thus moving the hands forward at a steady rate. The escapement is what makes the "ticking" sound in mechanical ...
Its advantages are (1) it is a "detached" escapement, in which (unlike the cylinder or duplex escapements) the balance wheel is only in contact with the lever during the short impulse period when it swings through its centre position and swings freely the rest of its cycle, increasing accuracy; and (2) it is a self-starting escapement, so if ...
Pallet fork with jewel pallets (pink) The pallet fork is above the balance wheel in this watch movement. The pallet fork is a component of the lever escapement of a mechanical watch. [1] The pallet fork and the lever form one component that sits between the escape wheel and the balance wheel. Its purpose is to lock the escape wheel, and release ...
The fourth wheel also drives the escape wheel of the lever escapement. The escape wheel teeth alternately catch on two fingers called pallets on the arms of the pallet lever, which rocks back and forth. The other end of the lever has a fork which engages with an upright impulse pin on the balance wheel shaft. Each time the balance wheel swings ...
The verge escapement consists of a wheel shaped like a crown, called the escape wheel, with sawtooth-shaped teeth protruding axially toward the front, and with its axis oriented horizontally. [ 13 ] [ 36 ] In front of it is a vertical rod, the verge, with two metal plates, the pallets, that engage the teeth of the escape wheel at opposite sides.
The balance spring is a fine spiral or helical torsion spring used in mechanical watches, alarm clocks, kitchen timers, marine chronometers, and other timekeeping mechanisms to control the rate of oscillation of the balance wheel. The balance spring is an essential adjunct to the balance wheel, causing it to oscillate back and forth. The ...
Another escapement also called a "pin pallet escapement", unrelated to the Roskopf above, is the Brocot escapement, invented in 1823 by Louis-Gabriel Brocot [7] and improved by his son Achille, and used in 19th century French pendulum clocks. It is a variation of the anchor escapement in which the pallets are semicircular pins. The escapement ...