A shaft connector for connecting a rotating basket of a vegetable washing machine to a drive shaft

Abstract

The present application belongs to the technical field of food cleaning equipment, and discloses a shaft connector for connecting a rotating basket and a driving shaft of a vegetable washing machine. The connector is composed of a first connecting piece arranged at the end of the driving shaft and a second connecting piece arranged at the rotating basket seat. The first connecting piece is located inside the outer cylinder of the rotating basket, and the second connecting piece is located outside the outer cylinder of the rotating basket. The two are fastened to each other through a fixing structure penetrating through the outer cylinder to form clamping reinforcement for the outer cylinder. The first and second connecting pieces are respectively provided with shaft holes for the driving shaft and the rotating basket shaft to penetrate through to realize connection and power transmission. The shaft hole of the first connecting piece is provided with a first sealing gasket cavity, and a first sealing gasket with a wall-sealing part is arranged in the cavity to continuously seal the shaft hole and the inner space of the outer cylinder when the shaft connector rotates. The structure realizes internal and external opposite reinforcement and rotary sealing, improves the coaxiality, and reduces leakage and maintenance difficulty.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of food cleaning equipment technology, and in particular to a through-tube connection and sealing structure for the transfer basket and drive shaft of a vegetable washing machine. Background Technology

[0002] In food cleaning equipment, vegetable washing machines typically use a motor to drive a rotating basket to spray, agitate, and filter the food. To transmit the power output from the motor to the rotating basket, the drive shaft needs to pass through the outer cylinder of the basket and connect to the basket shaft. This part passing through the cylinder is not only a critical node for power transmission but is also directly exposed to a complex working environment containing cleaning fluid, suspended impurities, and tiny particles. Therefore, it places high demands on the long-term reliability of its rotary seal and the ease of assembly and maintenance.

[0003] In existing technologies, the connection between the rotating basket and the drive shaft through the cylinder often adopts a single-sided fixing and single-stage sealing scheme: a single-sided gland or flange structure is set on one side of the outer cylinder, which carries the shaft hole, and a single O-ring, flat gasket or single-lip oil seal or other sealing element is arranged around the shaft hole to achieve sealing; the connecting parts are fixed to the thin-walled outer cylinder from one side by welding or screws. However, the above scheme has significant drawbacks in practical applications.

[0004] First, the single-sided fixed structure easily leads to uneven stress on the outer cylinder. The thin-walled outer cylinder is prone to localized deflection under clamping force, causing increased deviations in the coaxiality and roundness of the shaft and hole, which in turn leads to uneven wear of the seals and exacerbates the risk of leakage. Second, the single-stage sealing design lacks redundancy. Individual sealing elements are prone to wear and failure under long-term scouring, temperature fluctuations, and particle abrasion. Once failed, problems such as leakage of cleaning fluid or internal contaminant ingress occur, making it difficult to meet the stringent cleanliness and contamination prevention requirements of food processing equipment. Third, existing seals (such as flat gaskets or ordinary O-rings) can only withstand pressure in one direction. When faced with minor runout at the shaft end, minor defects on the outer cylinder wall, or assembly errors, the wall-fitting seal is insufficient, easily forming leakage channels. Furthermore, the single-sided assembly structure requires disassembling the entire machine to replace the seals, and the lack of independent internal and external replacement design makes maintenance cumbersome, with long downtime and high costs. Finally, the lack of an independent receiving cavity in the sealing area allows the grease (sealing butter) used to reduce friction and assist sealing to be easily washed away by the cleaning fluid, shortening the service life of the seals.

[0005] Furthermore, the surfactants and fine solid impurities contained in the food cleaning solution, combined with the vibration generated by the rotation of the basket and the periodic load changes, will amplify the micro-oscillation of the shaft end. If the sealing structure is only set on one side (such as only the outer side or only the inner side), it is easy for the cleaning solution on the inner side to leak out or for external moisture to invade into the shell, which will lead to bearing corrosion, increased equipment noise, and even secondary contamination of food. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The purpose of this invention is to propose a novel shaft connection and sealing solution. This solution should be able to seal the shaft hole and the inner and outer spaces respectively by coordinating fixation on both sides at the position where it passes through the outer cylinder of the rotating basket, and form a transition isolation zone between the two seals. At the same time, the sealing element should have the characteristics of following the wall and can be provided with a dedicated sealing cavity to accommodate sealing grease, so as to maintain a reliable seal on the shaft hole and the inner and outer spaces for a long time under rotation conditions, thereby solving the problems of sealing failure, maintenance difficulties and high risk of contamination in the prior art.

[0007] To achieve the above-mentioned objectives, the present invention provides a shaft connector for connecting the rotating basket of a vegetable washing machine to the drive shaft, the technical solution of which includes: a first connector and a second connector; The first connector is located inside the outer cylinder of the rotating basket, and the second connector is located outside the outer cylinder of the rotating basket. The first connector and the second connector are connected by a fixing structure passing through the outer cylinder of the rotating basket to clamp the outer cylinder of the rotating basket. The first and second connectors are respectively provided with shaft holes, through which the coupling passes to achieve the connection between the two. The coupling is connected to the drive shaft and the basket shaft. The first connector has a first sealing gasket cavity around the shaft hole, and a first sealing gasket is provided inside the first sealing gasket cavity. The first sealing gasket has a wall-fitting sealing part to maintain the seal between the shaft hole and the internal space of the outer cylinder of the rotating basket when the shaft connector rotates.

[0008] Preferably, a sealing gasket ring is provided on the outer periphery of the first sealing gasket cavity.

[0009] Preferably, a second sealing gasket cavity is provided around the shaft hole of the second connector, and a sealing gasket ring is provided inside the second sealing gasket cavity.

[0010] Preferably, the second sealing gasket cavity contains a second sealing gasket, which is used to maintain a seal between the shaft hole and the outer space of the outer cylinder of the rotating basket when the shaft connector rotates.

[0011] Preferably, a third sealing gasket is further provided between the first and second sealing gasket cavities, the third sealing gasket being used to maintain a seal between the first and second sealing gasket cavities. The angle between the middle section of the L-shaped cross-section and the vertical direction is α, and 5° < α < 15°.

[0012] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following significant advantages: The first and second connectors, which are clamped on both the inner and outer sides, form a rigid reinforcement on the thin-walled area of ​​the outer cylinder of the rotating basket, effectively suppressing the deflection deformation of the outer cylinder caused by unilateral fixation. The coaxiality error of the shaft hole can be controlled within 0.1mm, ensuring the stability of the shaft system during power transmission and reducing the risk of uneven wear of the seals due to eccentricity.

[0013] The inner first seal, the intercavity third seal, and the outer second seal constitute a triple sealing barrier, which, compared with the existing single-stage sealing solution, can meet the long-term sealing requirements of food cleaning equipment under conditions containing surfactants, suspended particles, and temperature fluctuations.

[0014] The L-shaped profile of the first sealing gasket is designed with an included angle α (5° < α < 15°), which gives it good elastic deformation capability. Under the condition that the radial runout at the shaft end is ≤ 0.2 mm and the axial runout is ≤ 0.1 mm, it can still maintain a stable fit with the shaft hole wall, which solves the leakage channel problem caused by insufficient wall fit of traditional flat gaskets or O-rings.

[0015] The sealing grease forms a stable lubricating-sealing medium layer within the surrounding sealing cavity, reducing the coefficient of friction. Meanwhile, the separate inner and outer connecting parts design allows for individual disassembly of the inner or outer sealing unit for seal replacement without disassembling the entire machine. This reduces maintenance time to one-third of traditional solutions, significantly lowering equipment downtime costs.

[0016] The double-sided clamping structure of this invention is compatible with rotating basket outer cylinders of different thicknesses. The sealing gasket material can be selected from corrosion-resistant materials according to the characteristics of the cleaning fluid to ensure the safety of food contact parts. It is suitable for household and commercial drum / rotating basket vegetable washing machines and similar food cleaning equipment.

[0017] In summary, this invention systematically solves the structural stability and sealing reliability problems of the connection between the vegetable washing machine's rotating basket and the drive shaft through the cylinder by integrating double-sided clamping rigid reinforcement, multi-level zoned sealing, follow-up sealing geometry, and lubrication and sealing coordination. Attached Figure Description

[0018] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the overall appearance of the vegetable washing machine.

[0019] Figure 2 A cross-sectional view of a vegetable washing machine (AA).

[0020] Figure 3 Enlarged schematic diagram of a portion of the shaft connector.

[0021] Figure 4 This is a partially enlarged schematic diagram of the first sealing gasket. Detailed Implementation

[0022] like Figure 1 As shown in the figure, this embodiment discloses the overall structure of a rotating basket vegetable washing machine, which mainly consists of a cleaning and collection unit 100, a circulating water circuit 200, a drive and transmission unit 300, an electrical and control system, and auxiliary function modules.

[0023] The circulating water system 200 is the core system for realizing the recycling of cleaning fluid. It mainly consists of a circulating cleaning water tank 201, a circulating pump set 202, and a spray system 203. The circulating water tank 201 has a volume of not less than 50L and is made of food-grade stainless steel. It is equipped with a filling port 2011 with a filter screen on the top and a drain valve 2012 and an overflow pipe at the bottom, which can be flexibly connected to the ground drainage pipe or a mobile water bucket.

[0024] The drive and transmission unit 300 is used to drive the rotating basket 110 to rotate and dehydrate the food. It mainly includes a drive assembly and a transmission system. The drive assembly 301 is located on one side of the washing chamber and consists of a drive motor 3011, a coupling 3024 and a motor bracket 3013. The motor is fixed to the bracket 3013 inside the machine body by bolts. The bottom of the bracket is equipped with a vibration damping rubber pad 3015 to effectively reduce operating noise.

[0025] The electrical and control system mainly realizes the operation control, human-machine interaction and safety protection of the equipment. Specific functions include: receiving user commands through the operation panel (not shown in the figure, such as switches and program selection buttons) and controlling the circulation pump 2021, drive motor 3011 and other actuators to run according to the preset program; integrating sensors such as water level sensor and temperature sensor and door cover interlock device to realize safety functions such as water shortage protection, over-temperature shutdown and power cut-off when the cover is opened.

[0026] The above functions are based on conventional electrical control logic (such as PLC or microcontroller control), sensor detection technology and human-machine interaction design. They are well-known technologies in the field of food cleaning equipment. The specific circuit topology, program code and other details are not the innovation of this invention, so there is no need to elaborate.

[0027] like Figure 3 As shown, a through hole 1011 is provided on the side wall of the outer cylinder 101 of the rotating basket. The first connecting member 1012 is disposed inside the outer cylinder 101 of the rotating basket, and the second connecting member 1013 is disposed on the outside. The two connecting members are clamped relative to each other by a fixing structure 1014 passing through the outer cylinder 101 of the rotating basket, so that the outer cylinder wall of the rotating basket is clamped by the two opposing members and forms a reinforcing zone to prevent local deformation of the thin wall.

[0028] Furthermore, the fixing structure 1014 is a riveting component such as a blind rivet, rivet nut, or rivet stud; in situations requiring quick assembly and disassembly, 1014 can be clamped using a clamp / quick-lock fastener.

[0029] The first connecting member 1012 and the second connecting member 1013 are respectively provided with coaxial shaft holes 1015. The size of the shaft holes 1015 matches the outer diameter of the coupling 3024, and allows the basket shaft 102 and the drive shaft 3016 to be inserted into the two ends of the coupling 3024 respectively. The coupling 3024 passes through the two shaft holes 1015 and is connected to the drive shaft 3016 and the basket shaft 102 to complete torque transmission.

[0030] A first sealing gasket cavity 1016 is integrally machined around the shaft hole of the first connector 1012. The cavity is a groove structure that surrounds the shaft hole in the circumferential direction, and a first sealing gasket 10161 is installed inside the cavity.

[0031] The first sealing gasket 10161 is made of food-grade silicone rubber and has an L-shaped cross-section. One radial leg 10163 fits against the bottom surface of the gasket cavity, and the other axial leg 10164 forms a wall-adhering sealing part 10165, which is inclined towards the outer circle of the coupling 3024 at an included angle α of 6°. After assembly, the wall-adhering sealing part generates a stable radial preload on the outer circle of the coupling 3024, realizing a follow-up wall-adhering seal. When the coupling 3024 rotates, it continuously blocks the fluid passage between the shaft hole 1015 and the internal space of the outer cylinder 101 of the rotating basket. To reduce friction and enhance the secondary seal, food-grade sealing grease is uniformly applied to the contact surface between the first sealing gasket 10161 and the coupling 3024.

[0032] Furthermore, the included angle α satisfies the range of 5° < α < 15°.

[0033] Furthermore, a sealing ring 10173 is provided on the outer periphery of the first sealing gasket cavity, and the sealing ring forms a second circumferential seal 10173.

[0034] A second sealing gasket cavity 1017, similar to the inner side, is formed around the shaft hole 1015 of the second connector 1013. A second sealing gasket 10171 is disposed within the second sealing gasket cavity 1017. The second sealing gasket 10171 is coaxially fitted with the outer circle of the coupling 3024. During operation, it rotates with the coupling 3024 to achieve a sliding seal, maintaining the seal between the shaft hole 1015 and the external space of the outer cylinder 101 of the rotating basket, preventing external moisture and impurities from entering the equipment. This contact surface is also coated with sealing grease to reduce wear and noise.

[0035] Furthermore, a sealing ring 10172 is provided around the second sealing gasket cavity. A third sealing gasket 1018 is installed between the first sealing gasket cavity 1016 and the second sealing gasket cavity 1017, that is, at the opposing surfaces of the two connecting parts and the outer cylinder wall. This gasket 1018 is continuously arranged circumferentially along the perforation and, after being tightened by the through bolts, seals the annular gap 1019 between the two sealing cavities, forming a three-stage sealing system of inner-middle-outer side. A thin layer of sealing grease is also applied to the contact area between the third sealing gasket 1018 and the adjacent metal surface to fill minor roughness gaps and prevent corrosion.

[0036] During operation, coupling 3024 drives the rotating basket shaft 102 to rotate. The inner L-shaped wall-mounted sealing part provides continuous follow-up sealing to the outer circle of coupling 3024, the second sealing gasket 10171 provides external sealing, and the third sealing gasket 1018 prevents cross-flow between the two cavities. Together, these three elements ensure reliable isolation between the inner and outer spaces and the shaft hole 1015. During regular downtime maintenance, the wear of the seals and the condition of the grease should be checked. If necessary, the second connecting piece 1013 can be removed on one side to replace the second sealing gasket 10171, or the first sealing gasket 10161 can be replaced through the inner inspection port, making maintenance convenient.

Claims

1. A shaft connector for connecting a rotating basket of a vegetable washing machine to a drive shaft, characterized in that, include: First connector and second connector; The first connector is located inside the outer cylinder of the rotating basket, and the second connector is located outside the outer cylinder of the rotating basket. The first connector and the second connector are connected by a fixing structure passing through the outer cylinder of the rotating basket to clamp the outer cylinder of the rotating basket. The first and second connectors are respectively provided with shaft holes, through which the coupling passes to achieve the connection between the two. The coupling is connected to the drive shaft and the basket shaft. The first connector has a first sealing gasket cavity around the shaft hole, and a first sealing gasket is provided inside the first sealing gasket cavity. The first sealing gasket has a wall-fitting sealing part to maintain the seal between the shaft hole and the internal space of the outer cylinder of the rotating basket when the shaft connector rotates.

2. The shaft connector of claim 1, wherein: A sealing ring is provided on the outer periphery of the first sealing gasket cavity.

3. The shaft connector of claim 1, wherein: The second connector has a second sealing gasket cavity around the shaft hole, and a sealing gasket ring is provided inside the second sealing gasket cavity.

4. The shaft connector of claim 3, wherein: The second sealing gasket cavity contains a second sealing gasket, which is used to maintain a seal between the shaft hole and the outer space of the outer cylinder of the rotating basket when the shaft connector rotates.

5. The shaft connector of claim 4, wherein: A third sealing gasket is provided between the first sealing gasket cavity and the second sealing gasket cavity, and the third sealing gasket is used to maintain the seal between the first sealing gasket cavity and the second sealing gasket cavity.

6. The shaft connector of claim 5, wherein: The first sealing gasket has an L-shaped cross-section, with the middle section of the L-shaped cross-section forming an angle α with the vertical direction, and 5° < α < 15°.

7. The shaft connector of claim 5, wherein: The contact areas between the first sealing gasket, the second sealing gasket, the third sealing gasket and the shaft connector are all coated with sealing grease.

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