阅读说明：本技术 钟表活动部件的几何检测设备 (Device for detecting the geometry of a mobile part of a timepiece ) 是由 F·甘吉恩 E·韦尔茨 于 2019-12-16 设计创作，主要内容包括：钟表活动部件的几何检测设备(100),其包括公共底座(3)上的头架(1)和尾架(2),该头架(1)支承限定第一旋转轴线(D1)的第一心轴(10),该尾架(2)限定第二旋转轴线(D2),该头架(1)或该尾架(2)可以相对于该公共底座(3)在与第一旋转轴线(D1)平行的公共方向(D)上移动,该设备(100)包括可互换的微定心装置(5),该第一心轴(10)和/或该第二心轴(20)包括接纳装置(30),该接纳装置(30)布置成同轴地容纳可移除定心装置(5),该头架(1)和/或该尾架(2)包括牵拉装置(40),该牵拉装置(40)布置成与将头架(1)和尾架(2)分开的空间(90)远离地沿着公共方向D非接触地轴向拉动微定心装置(5)。(Geometrical detection apparatus (100) of a timepiece moving part comprising a headstock (1) and a tailstock (2) on a common base (3), the headstock (1) supporting a first spindle (10) defining a first axis of rotation (D1), the tailstock (2) defining a second axis of rotation (D2), the headstock (1) or the tailstock (2) being movable with respect to the common base (3) in a common direction (D) parallel to the first axis of rotation (D1), the apparatus (100) comprising interchangeable micro-centering means (5), the first spindle (10) and/or the second spindle (20) comprising receiving means (30), the receiving means (30) being arranged to coaxially house the removable centering means (5), the headstock (1) and/or the tailstock (2) comprising pulling means (40), the pulling means (40) being arranged to be remote from a space (90) separating the headstock (1) and the tailstock (2) in the common direction D without contact The micro-centring device (5) is pulled axially.)

1. A geometric checking device (100) for a timepiece moving part, comprising a headstock (1) and a tailstock (2) arranged on a common base (3), said headstock (1) supporting a first rotating arbour (10) and having a first hole (101) defining a first rotation axis (D1), said tailstock (2) supporting a second arbour (20) and defining a second rotation axis (D2), at least said headstock (1) and/or said tailstock (2) being translationally movable with respect to said common base (3) along an alignment guide (4) in a common direction (D) parallel to said first rotation axis (D1) with at least one degree of freedom, said device (100) comprising means arranged to ensure or set the coaxiality of said second rotation axis (D2) with respect to said first rotation axis (D1), characterized in that said second spindle (20) comprises a second hole (102) of the same diameter as said first hole (101), and in that said apparatus (100) comprises a plurality of movable and interchangeable micro-centering devices (5), each arranged to be inserted indifferently in said first hole (101) or in said second hole (102), and each comprising a peripheral shoulder (590) of such diameter as to enable it to be tightly slidingly engaged with said first hole (101) or in said second hole (102), each of said micro-centering devices (5) comprising or being constituted by a ferromagnetic or magnetic pole-core (42), said pole-core (42) being arranged to be in attractive engagement with a pole (41) comprised in said headstock (1) and/or in said tailstock (2), and being defined around said first hole in a space (90) separating said headstock (1) and said tailstock (2) A magnetic field in the form of a revolution of the axis of rotation (D1).

2. The apparatus (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that said tailstock (2) comprises an elastic return mechanism (21), said elastic return mechanism (21) tending to push said tailstock (20) towards said headstock (1) and damping the retreat of said tailstock, said elastic return mechanism being calibrated to 0.2N.

3. The apparatus (100) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein at least one micro-centring device (5) constitutes a cylindrical piece comprising a tubular body (43) with an external diameter arranged so as to be in close sliding fit with said first hole (101) or said second hole (102), the tubular body (43) housing a ferromagnetic or magnetic pole piece (42).

4. The apparatus (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein at least one of said micro-centering devices (5) comprises means for concentrating an axial magnetic field which concentrates, at a second end towards said space (90), an axial magnetic field around said common direction (D) which said at least one micro-centering device (5) is subjected to and/or generated by said at least one micro-centering device (5) at a first axial end opposite to said space (90).

5. The apparatus (100) according to claims 3 and 4, characterized in that said tubular body (43) constitutes said means for concentrating said axial magnetic field.

6. Device (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that at least one of said micro-centering means (5) comprises, on the side of said space (90), a gripper (51), said gripper (51) being arranged to cooperate by mechanical contact with an axial end of a timepiece moving part, so as to rotate said axial end when said micro-centering means (5) is subjected to a rotation exerted thereon by said headstock (1) or said tailstock (2).

7. Device (100) according to claim 6, characterised in that said holder (51) comprises a conical bearing tooth (58) of convex or concave shape, said conical bearing tooth (58) being arranged to cooperate with an axial end of a timepiece moving part to rotate said moving part.

8. The apparatus (100) according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the gripper (51) has a roughness Ra, at the location of its surface for driving the movable part, comprised between 2 and 5 microns.

9. Device (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterised in that at least one said micro-centring means (5) comprises, on the side of said space (90), a ferromagnetic or magnetic pole piece (52), said ferromagnetic or magnetic pole piece (52) being arranged to cooperate magnetically attractably or repulsively with a magnetic or ferromagnetic axial end of a timepiece moving part, said pole piece (52) being juxtaposed or incorporated with said pole piece (42).

10. Device (100) according to claim 9, characterised in that said pole piece (52) is arranged to transmit a rotary driving torque to a magnetic or ferromagnetic axial end of a timepiece moving part.

11. Device (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterised in that at least one of said micro-centring means (5) comprises, on the side of said space (90), a bearing block (53), said bearing block (53) being made of a harder material or ruby than the timepiece movement to be detected, arranged to limit the axial travel of the axial end of the timepiece movement.

12. Apparatus (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that at least said headstock (1) comprises first motorization means (19) arranged to rotate said first spindle (10) about said first rotation axis (D1), and comprises first coupling means (18) of the cardan or similar type between said first motorization means (19) and said first spindle (10) to ensure that the rotation of said first spindle (10) is not limited.

13. The apparatus (100) according to claim 12, characterized in that at least said tailstock (2) comprises second motorization means (17) arranged to rotate said second spindle (20) around said second rotation axis (D2) and able to synchronize with said first motorization means, and comprises second coupling means (16) of the cardan or similar type between said second motorization means (17) and said second spindle (20) to guarantee unrestricted rotation of said second spindle (20).

14. The apparatus (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the second spindle (20) is free to rotate.

15. The apparatus (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that said apparatus (100) comprises means (60) for micrometric setting and/or measurement of the relative position of said tailstock (2) with respect to said headstock (1) along said common direction (D).

16. The apparatus (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 15, characterized in that the apparatus (100) comprises means (70) for setting the position of the second rotation axis (D2) transversely with respect to the first rotation axis (D1).

17. The apparatus (100) according to any of the claims from 1 to 16, characterised in that the bodies of said headstock (1), said first spindle (10), said tailstock (2) and said second spindle (20) are made of non-magnetic material so as not to scatter the magnetic flux from said common direction (D).

18. The apparatus (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 17, wherein said headstock (1) and/or said tailstock (2) comprise at least one strain gauge for measuring an axial force along said common direction (D) and/or for comparing with a set value of said axial force.

19. Device (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 18, characterised in that said device (100) comprises a main frame (50), said main frame (50) being arranged to directly or indirectly support said common base (3) and to support viewing means (80), said viewing means (80) being arranged to view and/or measure a timepiece movement held in said space (90) by said two micro-centring means (5), said device (100) comprising position setting means (81) of said viewing means (80).

20. Device (100) according to claim 19, characterised in that said main frame (50) is arranged to indirectly support said common base (3) via at least one rotating plate (500), said rotating plate (500) being arranged to bring said timepiece movement in different positions in the gravitational field.

21. The plant (100) according to claim 19 or 20, characterized in that said plant (100) comprises means (1010) for analyzing images and/or measurements on setpoint values produced by said observation means (80), means (1020) for calculating deviations and coupling means (1030), said coupling means (1030) being coupled with an integrated product quality management system (1040) and/or production management system (1050) to correct settings of said production means according to said deviations.

Technical Field

The invention concerns a device for geometrical detection of a mobile timepiece component, comprising a headstock and a tailstock arranged on a common base, the headstock carrying a first unfixed or motorized arbour and defining a first rotation axis, the tailstock carrying a second unfixed or motorized arbour and defining a second rotation axis, at least said headstock and/or said tailstock being movable in translation with at least one degree of freedom along an alignment guide in a common direction parallel to said first rotation axis with respect to the common base, the device comprising means arranged to ensure or set the coaxiality of said second rotation axis with respect to said first rotation axis.

The present invention relates to the field of metrology tools, and more particularly to the field of in-process inspection tools, for the particular case of dimensional and geometrical inspection of the moving parts of a timepiece.

Background

The dimensional and geometric checking of the timepiece components is difficult to carry out, because the dimensions of the components are very small and the tolerances are extremely low, the amplitude of which is generally significantly less than the resolution of a conventional multifunction measuring device, such as a three-dimensional measuring centre or the like. Thus, in-process testing typically requires sampling and passage in a testing or laboratory to perform time-consuming and expensive validation, or indeed specialized, non-versatile and very expensive tools.

The gripping of the movable part is particularly discreet since, due to its small diameter, the spindle securing part cannot include an internal center as in normal mechanics to perform bench checks between points, and the external shoulder is usually too short to provide satisfactory rotational guidance. Therefore, the detection of such movable parts is often performed on V-blocks, which limits the detection to spatial levels, which are not generally representative of the operating position; furthermore, the height setting of the V-block is often difficult to perform correctly. It has been difficult to perform correctly in static mode, and detection is more complicated when it is necessary to rotate the movable part for dynamic detection, or to measure very simply warping, flats or other areas of incorrect mounting. The air flow drive is not suitable for all moving part geometries and it is difficult to use the known bow and bearing wire drive mechanisms due to problems of irreproducibility of the wire tension, inclination of the wire, ageing of the wire and its torsion pawl, wear thereof up to breakage, contamination carried by the wire, etc. only as a major drawback.

The known devices are not versatile and therefore not suitable for the production of the manufacturing variations of the numerous references.

The double problem of holding and rotating the timepiece movable part with a length less than 4 mm is that the diameter of the arbour securing part is close to a tenth of a millimeter and therefore remains unsolved, the detection of which is still a difficult and expensive operation.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention proposes to provide an industrial solution to this double problem and to define a mechanism that is easy to use, interchangeable and adaptable to production variations, so as to make the detection of new products both easy and economical in terms of material investment and detection time, and to guarantee the required accuracy and repeatability of the measurements.

To this end, the invention relates to a device for detecting the geometry of a movable part of a timepiece according to claim 1.

Drawings

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description and upon reference to the drawings in which:

figure 1 schematically shows, in a perspective view, a device according to the invention, in a compact alternative embodiment, constituting a standard support means, here shown in a non-limiting embodiment, with a headstock, fixedly mounted on a base, and supporting a spindle in which an interchangeable movable centering means is inserted; on the same base there are stud guides which guide the alignment of the tailstock with the headstock, which together define an air gap into which the mobile part to be detected is inserted; the tailstock is equipped, in the same way as the headstock, with a spindle in which another interchangeable mobile centering device is inserted; the micrometer enables the axial position of the tailstock with respect to the headstock to be set accurately; this alternative embodiment is motorized and includes a drive for rotating the head spindle;

figure 2 shows, in a similar way to figure 1, an alternative embodiment without the drive of figure 1;

fig. 3 schematically shows the apparatus of fig. 2 in a sectional view through the common axis of the headstock and tailstock when they are correctly aligned, in a close position before they are separated to reveal and insert the movable part to be detected;

figure 4 is a detail view of the central portion of figure 3 and shows the arrangement of each interchangeable mobile centering device in a particular non-limiting alternative embodiment, in which the outer tubular portion comprises a cylindrical outer surface that fits as closely as possible with the hole comprised in the corresponding spindle; the tubular portion surrounds a ferromagnetic or magnetic pole piece supported on or virtually immediately adjacent to a magnet supported by a head or tail frame on opposite sides of the air gap, the pole piece being arranged to direct the magnetic field lines near the common axis; the tubular portion here supports, without limitation, the clamp on the air gap side; the drive motor indirectly drives the head spindle via a gimbal assembly, carriage or any similar working drive;

figures 5 to 9 show various advantageous combinations of the movable centring devices according to the invention:

FIG. 5 comprises flat ruby bearing blocks on both the headstock and tailstock sides on the air gap side, behind which ferromagnetic or magnetic pole blocks keep the moving part completely magnetically suspended along the axis;

-next to fig. 6 of fig. 5, on the headstock side, comprises ruby comprising a centering concave cone, while the micro-centering means of the tailstock are flat ruby;

fig. 7 comprises, on both the headstock and tailstock sides of the air gap, grippers comprising a concave bearing cone with a concave conical toothing for mechanically gripping the end of the movable part; these micro-centering means, also denoted here as ferromagnetic or magnetic pole pieces, can also independently keep the moving part completely magnetically suspended along the axis;

fig. 8 is opposite to fig. 7, the two grippers here comprising a convex conical toothing;

figure 9 shows a configuration adapted to the specific shape of the movable part to be measured, with different diameters on the headstock and tailstock sides;

figure 10 is a detailed view of the female conical toothing shown in figure 7;

figure 11 is a detailed view of the convex conical toothing shown in figure 8;

FIG. 12 is a double-section view of two non-limiting alternative embodiments of the micro-centering device; the tubular housing has a constant calibrated diameter from one centering device to the other, which guarantees interchangeability of headstock and tailstock, wherein the mandrel comprises identical holes;

the top section of fig. 12 represents a centering device having a gripper supported on an internal pole piece, which in turn is supported on a magnet of the headstock or tailstock;

in the bottom section of fig. 12, a non-magnetic support block, usually made of ruby or similar, is located before a ferromagnetic or magnetic intermediate pole block, which is supported on the pole core and, when this intermediate pole block is magnetic, guides the magnetic field or intensifies the axial magnetic field;

figure 13 schematically shows in front view a movable part on which semi-static dimensional checks are to be made, for example the length of the cutting part and the diameter of the different shoulders; it can be seen that the proximal and one end of the cutting member make gripping difficult with conventional methods;

figure 14 schematically shows, in a front view, another movable part on which a geometrical check, in this case a dynamic backlash check, is to be made, for example a simple backlash of the external diameter of the gear with respect to the two end shoulders on either side of the gear, and of one tooth face of the gear with respect to the two identical shoulders; here, too, the proximal side and one end of the gearwheel make clamping difficult with conventional methods;

figure 15 shows the use of the device according to the invention for clamping the mobile part of figure 14, in which the centering means are cleaned in front of them to better direct the magnetic flux towards the axis of the mobile part, to be detected when the head is rotating;

figure 16 shows the clamping of a further movable part, held in micro-points, facing the viewing means, in particular the camera, comprised in the device according to the invention; the rectangles near the larger diameter represent examples of the viewing area of the camera, as shown in fig. 17 below; the narrow rectangle perpendicular to the axis shows other examples of optical monitoring zones, in particular for detecting the absence of jitter, as shown in fig. 17 and 18 below;

figure 17 shows the clamping of another movable part between the centring ruby and the flat ruby, facing the camera, to detect when the head frame is rotated;

fig. 18 shows the clamping of another moving part, held by two conical internal teeth, facing the camera, to detect when the head is rotating;

fig. 19 shows a particularly difficult situation of clamping the average pinion, held by two conical internal teeth, facing the camera, to detect when the head is rotating;

fig. 20 schematically shows, in a perspective view, an apparatus according to the invention comprising a frame supporting a rotating plate arranged to receive the mechanism of fig. 1 or 2, or to constitute its supporting base, another structural element facing the rotating plate supporting a camera and its setting means;

FIG. 21 is another opposite angular view of the device in FIG. 20;

fig. 22 schematically shows, in a partial perspective view, the whole apparatus, the common base of headstock and tailstock of the mechanism of fig. 1 being mounted on the rotating plate of fig. 20 in four different angular positions, corresponding to four different positions of the movable part to be measured in the gravitational field;

FIG. 23 is a block diagram representing such an apparatus with means for analyzing the images and/or measurements produced by the observation means with respect to the set-points, means for calculating deviations and coupling means coupled to an integrated product quality management system and/or production management system to correct the settings of the production means according to the deviations;

fig. 24 shows a further alternative embodiment of the invention in a similar way to fig. 4.

Detailed Description

The present invention proposes to define a detection mechanism that is easy to use, interchangeable and adaptable to production variations, so as to make the detection of new products easy and economical both in terms of material investment and detection time, and to guarantee the required accuracy and repeatability of the measurements.

To this end, the invention relates to a device 100 for detecting the geometry of a mobile part of a timepiece. As shown in particular in fig. 1 and 2, the apparatus 100 comprises a headstock 1 and a tailstock 2 arranged on a common base 3, the headstock 1 supporting a first unfixed or motorized rotating spindle 10, having a first hole 101 and defining a first axis of rotation D1, the tailstock 2 supporting a second unfixed or motorized spindle 20 and defining a second axis of rotation D2, at least the headstock 1 and/or the tailstock 2 being translationally movable with respect to the common base 3 in a common direction D parallel to the first axis of rotation D1 along an alignment guide 4 with at least one degree of freedom. For example, as shown, the headstock 1 is fixed, while the tailstock 2 can move along guide posts that constitute the alignment guides 4.

The apparatus 100 comprises means arranged to ensure or set the coaxiality of the second rotation axis D2 with respect to the first rotation axis D1. In the case of the figures, the alignment guide 4 ensures this coaxiality, and the lateral position of the tailstock 2 is not adjustable. In an alternative embodiment not shown, the tailstock 2 can be loaded on a transversal carriage along a direction orthogonal to the first rotation axis D1 and comprises micrometric transversal adjustment means.

According to the invention, the apparatus 100 comprises a plurality of interchangeable movable centering devices 5, and at least the first 10 and/or the second 20 spindle comprises receiving means 30, which receiving means 30 are arranged to coaxially house such movable centering devices 5.

At least the headstock 1 and/or the tailstock 2 comprise a pulling means 40, which pulling means 40 is arranged to contactlessly axially pull such movable centering means 5 in opposite common directions D to an air gap 90 separating the headstock 1 and the tailstock 2. More specifically, as shown, both the first mandrel 10 and the second mandrel 20 comprise such a receiving means 30, and both the headstock 1 and the tailstock 2 comprise a pulling means 40.

In a simple, precise and economical alternative embodiment, the receiving means 30 comprises a hole and may comprise axially abutting bearing surfaces.

In particular, the second mandrel 20 comprises a second hole 102 having the same diameter as the first hole 101, the apparatus 100 comprises a plurality of movable and interchangeable micro-centering devices 5, each micro-centering device 5 being arranged to be inserted indifferently into the first hole 101 or the second hole 102, and each micro-centering device comprises a peripheral shoulder 590 having a diameter such as to be able to be set in close sliding fit with the first hole 101 or the second hole 102. Each micro-centring device 5 comprises or is constituted by a ferromagnetic or magnetic pole core 42, this pole core 42 being arranged in attractive cooperation with a magnetic pole 41 comprised in the head-stock 1 and/or the tail-stock 2, and defining a magnetic field of revolution form about a first rotation axis D1 in an air gap/space 90 separating the head-stock 1 and the tail-stock 2 or formed by the pole core 42.

The invention is described herein in its simplest form with a single headstock 1 and a single tailstock 2, but it will be appreciated that the apparatus may comprise a plurality of tailstocks arranged to cooperate with the same headstock 1. However, the design of the present invention with interchangeable movable centering means 5 is so simple and easy to use that the device change of the detection device 100 is very quick and the shown configuration proves to be sufficient.

More specifically, the pulling means 40 comprise at least one magnetic pole 41, in particular at least one magnet, arranged to attract a ferromagnetic or magnetic pole piece 42 comprised in each movable centring device 5 to a rear abutment position on an abutment support surface, which may be the surface of the magnetic pole 41, or indeed the surface of the diaphragm that can substantially axially circulate the magnetic field emitted by the magnetic pole 41. The figure shows the invention with permanent magnets, such poles 41 naturally also comprising at least one electromagnet.

Fig. 3 and 4 illustrate the axial arrangement of the magnets 41, as shown on the headgear 1, the magnets 41 may be enhanced with a second magnet 430 to enhance the magnetic field.

The important aspect is to direct the magnetic field near the common axis D. To this end, the movable centering means 5 are arranged to direct the magnetic flux at least along this direction, either moving it closer to the geometric axis D, as shown in fig. 15, or, as will be given below, intensifying the magnetic field by means of a series arrangement of ferromagnetic or magnetic pole pieces 52.

In particular, therefore, the at least one movable centring device 5 comprises means for concentrating the axial magnetic field around the common direction D, which it is subjected to and/or generated by the at least one movable centring device 5 at a first axial end opposite to the space 90, at a second end towards the space 90. Thus, fig. 15 shows the clamping of the moving part, the centering device 5 being cleaned at its front to better direct the magnetic flux towards the axis D of the moving part for detection when the head frame 1 is rotating. Document EP28887007B1 held by montes BREGUET SA describes a stent with such a flux concentrator.

In particular, the at least one micro-centring device 5 constitutes a cylindrical piece comprising a tubular body 43, wherein the outer diameter is arranged so that it is in close sliding fit with the first hole 101 or the second hole 102, the tubular body 43 containing a ferromagnetic or magnetic pole piece 42.

Naturally, if the device 100 according to the invention is advantageously designed to clamp ferromagnetic or similar components, it is also able to handle the case of non-magnetic materials. Moreover, more specifically, at least one movable centring device 5 comprises, on the side of space 90, a holder 51, which holder 51 is arranged to cooperate by mechanical contact with an axial end of a timepiece moving part. Such mechanical contact may replace or supplement the magnetic interaction. More specifically, such a gripper 51 is arranged to rotate the axial end of the timepiece movement when the movable centring device 5 is subjected to a rotation exerted thereon by the headstock 1 or the tailstock 2.

More specifically, as shown in fig. 7, 8, 10, 12, 19, the holder 51 comprises a conical bearing tooth 58, convex or concave, the conical bearing tooth 58 being configured to cooperate with an axial end of a timepiece movement in order to rotate the movement. Thus, the conical tooth 58 holds, centers and drives the movable part to be detected when it is non-magnetic.

The holder 51 may be made of different materials, in particular and without limitation hardened steel, stainless steel, sintered materials such as tungsten carbide or other materials. Advantageously, the gripper 51 has a constant roughness Ra of between 2 and 5 microns at the level of its surface for driving the movable part, in order to frictionally drive the movable part satisfactorily.

For some applications, the holder 51 may also comprise a simple convex or concave smooth cone.

In a particular embodiment, at least one movable centring device 5 comprises, on the side of the space 90, a ferromagnetic or magnetic pole piece 52, this ferromagnetic or magnetic pole piece 52 being arranged to cooperate magnetically attractable or repulsively with a magnetic or ferromagnetic axial end of the timepiece movement. More specifically, the pole piece 52 is arranged to apply or transmit a rotary driving torque to a magnetic or ferromagnetic axial end of the timepiece moving part.

In another particular embodiment, at least one movable centring device 5 comprising such a ferromagnetic or magnetic pole piece 52 also comprises, on the side of the space 90, a bearing block 53, the bearing block 53 being arranged to limit the axial travel of the timepiece movable part. Fig. 5 includes such flat ruby bearing blocks 53 on both the headstock 1 and tailstock 2 sides, on the air gap 90 side, behind which ferromagnetic or magnetic pole blocks 52 keep the moving parts perfectly magnetically suspended along the axis. Document EP2450758B1 by monthes BREGUET SA discloses magnetic pivoting of the movable part. More specifically, the support block 53 is made of ruby or the like.

In a particular embodiment, the tailrack 2 comprises an elastic return mechanism 21, the elastic return mechanism 21 being arranged to push the second spindle 20 or the movable centering device 5 supported by the second spindle 20 back towards the space 90. In particular, the elastic return mechanism 21, which is a spring or the like, in particular and without limitation designated 0.2N, tends to push the tailstock 2 towards the headstock 1 and damps the retraction of the tailstock.

More specifically, at least the headstock 1 comprises a first motorization means 19 arranged to rotate the first spindle 10 about a first rotation axis D1, and a first coupling means 18 of the cardan joint or similar type is included between the first motorization means 19 and the first spindle 10 to ensure that the rotation of the first spindle 10 is not restricted and to avoid any motor alignment failure. As shown in fig. 4, the first spindle 10 of the head 1 is driven by means of its magnet 41, so the drive is indirect, with the advantage that backlash or motor alignment errors do not affect the spindle rotation.

In a particular embodiment not shown, at least the tailrack 2 comprises a second motorization 17 arranged to rotate the second spindle 20 about a second rotation axis D2, and comprises a second coupling means 16 of the cardan joint or similar type between the second motorization 17 and the second spindle 20 to ensure that the rotation of the second spindle 20 is not restricted.

More specifically, as shown in fig. 1, 2, 3 and 22, the apparatus 100 comprises a micrometric setting and/or measuring device 60 of the relative position of the tailstock 2 with respect to the headstock 1 along a common direction D.

In a particular embodiment not shown, the apparatus 100 comprises lateral setting means 70 of the position of the second rotation axis D2 with respect to the first rotation axis D1.

More specifically, the bodies of the headstock 1, the first mandrel 10, the tailstock 2 and the second mandrel 20 are made of a non-magnetic material, such as brass (in particular rhodium-plated brass) or the like, so as not to scatter the magnetic flux from the common direction D.

In a particular embodiment, not shown, the headstock 1 and/or tailstock 2 comprise at least one strain gauge to measure the axial force along the common direction D, or to compare with a set value.

Fig. 24 shows an alternative embodiment, in which the head 1 comprises two guide bearings 61 and 62, between which a spring 63 is arranged, which spring 63 is arranged to compensate for the axial and radial play of these bearings. The tailstock 2 comprises a spring 21, which spring 21 is located at the rear of the second pole piece 42 and can damp at the level of the tailstock.

More specifically, as shown in fig. 20 and 21, the device 100 comprises a main frame 50, the main frame 50 being arranged to directly or indirectly support the common base 3 and to support viewing means 80, the viewing means 80 being arranged to view and/or measure the timepiece movement held in the space 90 by the two interchangeable mobile centring devices 5, the device 100 comprising position setting means 81, such as a screw or the like, of the viewing means 80.

Advantageously, the main frame 50 is arranged to indirectly support the common base 3 via at least one rotating plate 500, which rotating plate 500 is optionally motorized to place the timepiece movement in different positions in the field of gravity.

More specifically, the apparatus 100 comprises analysis means 1010 for analyzing images and/or measured values generated by the observation means 80 with respect to set-point values, calculation means 1020 for calculating deviations and coupling means 1030, the coupling means 1030 being coupled with an integrated product quality management system 1040 and/or a production management system 1050 for correcting settings to the production means according to the deviations.

In summary, the movable centering device 5 according to the invention is in fact a micro-centering device due to its small end dimensions in the horizontal position of the movable part to be detected, which movable centering device 5 is simple, inexpensive, easy to interchange, very suitable for various needs, and suitable for various measuring tools (in particular, but not limited to, optical measuring tools). The magnets contained in the headstock and tailstock perform two functions:

-magnetically attracting each micro-centering device on the respective mandrel; and

-inducing a magnetic field in the micro-centring device which also concentrates the magnetic flux in the vicinity of the axis of the mobile part to be detected.

The invention thus constitutes a microtechnical device to hold and rotate micro components between a system consisting of spindles and corresponding spindles. Each mandrel is configured so that the micro-centering device can be inserted and easily and quickly secured therein by magnetic attraction. If the component is ferromagnetic, it will be held by the same magnetic field. If the components are non-magnetic, they can be held between the micro-centring means of the spindle and of the corresponding spindle by mechanical centring. The so-called drive spindle has a dual magnetic action while providing a perfect circumferential rotation of the components. As such, the corresponding spindle remains fixed against rotation, rotates unfixed, or is motorized in synchronization with the spindle, depending on its manner of execution. In the case of ferromagnetic and/or non-pivoting parts, the particular micro-centring device easily ensures the retention, alignment and rotation of the part in question.

This device represents an innovation in the watchmaking field, which represents the only system related to play, positioning or dimensional measurement for holding and rotating micro-components of any kind and of any material.

Finally, as shown in fig. 20 and 21, the whole device is very compact (about 200 cubic millimeters) and therefore very easy to integrate in a production line. Furthermore, the accessibility of the automated manipulator is very good.