Andy Wai
03-30-2009, 09:46 AM
Antique mechanical clock driven by steel ball, Xinhepu Culture and Art Hall (新河浦文化艺术馆), Guangzhou, China:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3606/3280651805_d677e6d672_o.jpg
The box just below the lion has a rack for steel balls. The balls are channeled into the track to the right of the clock face. A device at the bottom of the track takes the potential energy from the balls and run the clock. A "spent" ball is ejected into the lower drawer every half an hour.
Steel ball drive is a weight driving mechanism, but much more compact than the usual clock weights. The advantage of weight over spring is that the former is constant force while the latter varies depending on the state of charge of the spring. Steel ball drive is a way to achieve constant force drive in a very compact package. But somebody will have to move the used balls back to the upper rack frequently.
Xinhepu Culture and Art Hall is an exclusive private club in the Dongshan area of Guangzhou, the old city center. It's housed in an old mansion from turn of the century, but renovated to modern standard inside and furnished with antiques collected from all over China. My brother-in-law knows the owner so we got a guided tour from a lovely hostess :D
Andy
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3606/3280651805_d677e6d672_o.jpg
The box just below the lion has a rack for steel balls. The balls are channeled into the track to the right of the clock face. A device at the bottom of the track takes the potential energy from the balls and run the clock. A "spent" ball is ejected into the lower drawer every half an hour.
Steel ball drive is a weight driving mechanism, but much more compact than the usual clock weights. The advantage of weight over spring is that the former is constant force while the latter varies depending on the state of charge of the spring. Steel ball drive is a way to achieve constant force drive in a very compact package. But somebody will have to move the used balls back to the upper rack frequently.
Xinhepu Culture and Art Hall is an exclusive private club in the Dongshan area of Guangzhou, the old city center. It's housed in an old mansion from turn of the century, but renovated to modern standard inside and furnished with antiques collected from all over China. My brother-in-law knows the owner so we got a guided tour from a lovely hostess :D
Andy