escape wheel

American  

noun

Horology.

1. a toothed wheel for regulating a going train to which it is geared, engaging intermittently with the pallets of a pendulum or balance mechanism in such a way as to cause the mechanism to oscillate rhythmically, and in so doing free the going train for part of each oscillation.

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escape wheel British  

noun

1. Also called: scapewheel.  horology a toothed wheel that engages intermittently with a balance wheel or pendulum, causing the mechanism to oscillate and thereby moving the hands of a clock or watch

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Etymology

Origin of escape wheel

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

Chopard’s L.U.C 8HF, also released this year, uses silicon for certain escapement components, including the escape wheel.

From New York Times • Nov. 23, 2012

We are now ready to commence delineating our escape wheel and a set of pallets to match.

From Watch and Clock Escapements A Complete Study in Theory and Practice of the Lever, Cylinder and Chronometer Escapements, Together with a Brief Account of the Origin and Evolution of the Escapement in Horology by Anonymous

In this case the power conveyed from the mainspring to the escape wheel is to be conveyed to the lever, and by the lever transmitted to the balance.

From Watch and Clock Escapements A Complete Study in Theory and Practice of the Lever, Cylinder and Chronometer Escapements, Together with a Brief Account of the Origin and Evolution of the Escapement in Horology by Anonymous

For a medium sized escape wheel with a primitive diameter of 7.5 mm., the center distance AB is 4.33 mm.

From An Analysis of the Lever Escapement by Playtner, H. R.

We take ten and one-half degrees in the dividers, and from the point b establish the point c, which embraces the arc of the escape wheel which is utilized by the pallet action.

From Watch and Clock Escapements A Complete Study in Theory and Practice of the Lever, Cylinder and Chronometer Escapements, Together with a Brief Account of the Origin and Evolution of the Escapement in Horology by Anonymous