Stopwatch automation

Automaton, musical movement and chimes

Many watches have other, driven by wheels works facilities. These include machines, music game works and chimes.

As an automaton of online stopwatch is defined as a mechanical moving, figurative representation, usually in human or animal form, which is triggered by the movement and driven. A simple example is the cuckoo in the cuckoo stopwatch clocks, which moves to the striking of the stopwatch clock. Machines were not always necessarily the time display, they were often decorative accessory of stopwatch clock for the amusement and fascination of the viewer. The wedding of watches with automatic was in the Renaissance.

In close relationship to the music box is the musical movement. In early designs were sounding a pin roll steel plates struck or hammers moves that beat on bells (Carillon). Also the game works from the flute and organ stopwatch clocks work according to this principle. By 1800, Philippe Samuel Meylan a pin wheel to replace the roll pin, reducing the overall size.

Chimes that produce by striking bells of all the melodies, are found primarily in connection with public stopwatch clock towers, but they were also installed, for example in pocket watches. It is essentially extended impact testers.

The often just as elaborate chimes are produced by the so-called percussion.
Basic Principles

Basis each time display is always a physical or chemical process which takes place as uniformly as possible. This must always be a certain amount of energy to be used or supplied. The ad serving for visible change in the arrangement is a second, in principle independent aspect.

We can distinguish between analog and digital processes. "Digital" here in the sense of gradual is happening, composed of separate, countable discrete events.

Analog timekeeping processes are for example the apparent migration of the sun around the earth (used in the sundial), the burning of candles, the constant running or shrinkage of water from or into a container.

Digital timekeeping operations include fishtailing (stopwatch clocks), rotational oscillations of a pendulum (wrist), vibrations of a tuning fork (first electronic watches), oscillations of a quartz crystal (Quartz) or vibrations separate atoms (atomic stopwatch clock). In mechanical stopwatch clocks, the pendulum vibrations are used to the fast and steady running of the spring or the weights by the inhibition in small (digital) time steps to stem, which must then be counted. However, for larger watches the resulting jerky movements of the hands are directly visible. Generally always lies in strictly constant time intervals before expiring operation that is counted and is countable. (stopwatch clocks are in this sense a pure display units and go for timing operation back to the atomic stopwatch clock that controls the timing channel.)

Derive the display in hours, minutes and seconds from these basic operations is a separate, independent process. Often you can find mixed forms, for example, by the continuous burning of a candle with digital (read: occasional) Showing full hours is connected by metal spheres are melted down at regular intervals into the candle, then fall when burned in a metal bowl and thus an audible beep . produce Conversely, from the actually achieved digitally counted oscillations of a pendulum through the inhibition and reduction an (apparently) analog display on a dial.
Natural timer

Many biological organisms have mechanisms that control their behavior over the course of the day, especially the Schlaf-/Wachrhythmus, see in chronobiology.

In genetics, statistical natural frequency of mutation, called for example when determining the timing of the formation of a new species or subspecies, as a molecular stopwatch clock.

To determine very large periods of time (years to hundreds of millions of years) by radiocarbon dating the effects of constant processes used. Periodically occurring in natural processes such as tree rings are used in dendrochronology to determine the age of wood. In the figurative sense, it is in the slow process of changes to geological or biological "stopwatch clocks".

Countdown stopwatch clock

The escapement of a mechanical countdown clock producing uniform recurring time cycles. His driving energy it receives from the energy storage as a pulse via the inhibition of the countdown clock. To reverse the inhibition obtained by the way the timing regulator, and interrupts the free function of the movement.

The first regulator was Foliot a horizontally disposed bar whose inertia could be altered by small weights to the beam ends. The unrest was a further development of the Foliot in the form of a circular ring. The early transition regulators were still imperfect, as they were fixed to the inhibition and by their inertia the rotation of the escapement only stabilized.

1656 the Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens invented the countdown clock pendulum in its present form, with the improved the accuracy of mechanical countdown clocks dramatically. The Huygens pendant is decoupled from the inhibition and can exert its natural oscillation. 1674 Huygens developed the balance, until today, the final escapement for watches. Energy exchange occurs between the movement of the balance mass and the elastic deformation of the associated helical spring.

As the role of the inhibitions were also the regulator always focus on the quest for horological perfection. In particular, the attempt to compensate for external factors such as air pressure and temperature changes, led to the development of many special designs.

But there were also other solutions with countdown clocks, such as 1595, the ball running watches the chamber watchmaker Christopher Margraf. in machine used continuous speed control with a centrifugal governor was also attempted, proved but for watches (torsion pendulum) to be too vague.
Time display
Face of a wristwatch
24-hour display in Curitiba, Brazil
Versatile display the countdown clock Tower (c. 1920) to Lier (Belgium)
A "Liquid Chronometer" in Ilmenau. It displays the time by liquid column

The classic form of time display (also: Indication) is analogous with countdown clock hands on a dial. Early mechanical countdown clocks had only an hour hand, only in 1700 were the minutes and the seconds hand introduced.

The dial is usually a circular or rectangular plate of metal, wood or glass. Then the chapter ring is painted, printed or engraved and usually divided into 12 hours. In many watches the minute and hour markers are placed on the dial. The hands are usually located centrally, but it can also be sub-dials or cutouts for additional displays to be present. In particular, the astronomical countdown clocks inspire through a plethora of different ads.

The dial was and is a face of the countdown clock particularly subjected to the intended purpose and the fashionable taste. Particularly striking and often creatively reduced dials are used for example for models with technical applications that require high visibility. As examples, the Pilot's Watch and the diver's watch or the precision pendulum may be mentioned. Particularly in the modern wristwatch use the manufacturer the opportunity to distinguish themselves by special dial design and additional displays from other manufacturers. In general, the direction of rotation of the pointer is right-handed, which mimics the apparent path of the sun across the sky in the Northern Hemisphere, and thus the course of the shadow of a gnomon (staff) of a sundial. Of which is derived the term "countdown clockwise" from.

In the 19th Century saw the first draft gear countdown clocks, time numeric display with a fall leaf display. A significant spread of this form of display but learned only with the digital distribution (of English: digit, digit, but as opposites concept for analog display of hand watch.). It appears in sight, only the current time. Other digital displays are watches that have the time specified in words, are eg the Qlocktwo - than inside it, conventional movements or computer countdown clocks indicate the countdown clock Or the time specification is acoustically (eg, as a countdown clock for the visually impaired such as. for telephone time announcement) or a text box.

Components of stopwatch

Components of a mechanical stopwatch clock

The following section describes the components of a classic mechanical stopwatch clock are described. Elemental watches and electronic stopwatch clocks operate on fundamentally different principles.

A mechanical stopwatch clock consists of four modules energy storage, train wheel, gear knob and display. The supplied from the energy store and the drive gear train transmitted energy is given by the inhibition of the regulator, and holds the vibration upright. The regulator in turn controls the inhibition which divides the expiry of the movement in a steady beat. The display is from the gear train at this stopwatch clock continue to run at her, you can read the time.
Energy storage

To provide the simplest and oldest way a mechanical stopwatch clock driving energy is the use of a slowly falling weight. The weight can be fixed with a rope, a gut string or chain on the drive wheel of the movement. The heavier the weight, and the larger the wheel, the more torque is to drive the going train are available.

A weight drive is simple to construct and provides a constant driving force. If the duration of a weight stopwatch clock is limited by the height of fall of the weight. If the weight is expired, the stopwatch clock is either with a key to the elevator or square, such as cuckoo stopwatch clocks or watches house, tucked just above the chain. Tower stopwatch clocks with heavy weights often have an electric drive, which does the work.

Another possibility to store mechanical energy is the use of a stopwatch clock spring. In general, these are a long, been overcome spiral spring. For very simple movements is exposed the spring, usually it is still protected in a barrel. The advantage of the spring drive is on the one in the possible reduction of the movement, on the other hand in a position independent of the drive. The development of the spring drive was one of the requirements to be able to produce portable stopwatch clocks.

The light emitted by a spiral spring drive torque is not constant. The farther the stopwatch clock runs, the more the torque is reduced. Uniformly good results for transition of the stopwatch clock so design precautions are necessary. Moreover, due to the limited length of the spring can only be a small amount of drive energy can be stored.

Electric stopwatch clocks are either directly from the mains or battery, such as a coin cell powered.
Train (translation)

You mean all the gears and drives a movement commonly known as gearing. Materials earlier than wood, iron, steel or brass were used in modern watches are also plastics or ceramics, for example application.

The going train transfers the energy from the memory provided with the driving force inhibition on the regulator. Through the combination of different pairs of gears a gradation of each revolution times is achieved, so that the energy storage takes place only very slowly, while the escapement wheel rotates relatively fast.

Many mechanical watches also come with a striking mechanism that is triggered by the stopwatch clock movement at certain times and emits an acoustic signal. Online stopwatch clock movement and percussion are usually separated in the stopwatch clock, either side by side or one behind the other, attached. The percussion has no inhibition, but often with a simple aerodynamic brake - the porch - equipped to prevent it too rapidly. It takes the blows and moves a mechanism to manage them (number and sequence of strokes). After it has been triggered by the stopwatch clock movement, runs a percussion from unique. It turns itself off and remains at rest until it is triggered again. As a sound bell or chime rods are usually used.

Furthermore, there is call and Repetitionsschlagwerke which beat on request time to the minute, or repeat the last executed shock, or execute after a few minutes the repeat automatically.
→ Main article: percussion (stopwatch clock)

For complicated watches there are further additional works, such as a calendar or a factory chronograph movement.