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

The escape wheel, pallet and balance will be found to run quite uniform at from 0.02 mm. to 0.03 mm. freedom for end shake and from 0.0075 mm. to 0.0125 mm. for side shake.

From Rules and Practice for Adjusting Watches by Kleinlein, Walter J.

With four pins in the escape wheel and a suitably proportioned verge the escape wheel advances in steps of 45� and beats eighths of a second.

From The Auburndale Watch Company First American Attempt Toward the Dollar Watch by Battison, Edwin A.

Our object will be to explain the whys and wherefores of this escapement, and we will at once begin with the number of teeth in the escape wheel.

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

The great point, as far as practical results go, is to determine if it takes place at or near the time the escape wheel meets the greatest resistance from the hairspring.

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