Motorized Draft Shield Base Body Access Design
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing laboratory balances with motorized draft shields lack an optimal design for easy access and servicing of the drive aggregates, which complicates maintenance and exchange processes.
Innovation Solution
The motor units for the draft shield are located in the base body with dedicated openings and cavities for easy access, minimizing interference with the weighing chamber and allowing independent operation of the motor units, thus facilitating servicing and reducing the risk of contamination.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If the motor units are mounted on wall surfaces of the balance housing or inside the draft shield, then the draft shield can be motorized to enable hands-free operation, but the motor units become difficult to access for servicing and exchange
Solution Approach 1:
The motor units are extracted from the housing interior and relocated to the exterior base body of the balance. This extraction allows the motor units to be easily accessible for servicing while still enabling motorized operation of the draft shield through transmission elements that extend into the weighing chamber.
Solution Approach 2:
Transmission elements such as belts or gears act as intermediaries between the motor units located in the base body and the draft shield walls. These intermediaries transmit the driving force from the accessible motor units to the draft shield components without requiring the motors to be mounted inside the housing or on the draft shield walls.
2Device complexity
If the motor units are located inside the weighing chamber or on the draft shield, then direct drive is achieved, but convective air currents from the motors can contaminate the weighing cell
Solution Approach 1:
The motor units are extracted from the weighing chamber environment and positioned in the base body exterior. This spatial separation eliminates the source of convective air currents from the sensitive weighing area while maintaining the drive function through transmission elements that pass through or near the weighing chamber without introducing contamination.
Solution Approach 2:
The direct mechanical connection between motor and draft shield is replaced with a transmission system using belts or gears. This substitution allows the motor to be positioned away from the weighing chamber, eliminating thermal and convective interference while still achieving the desired mechanical motion of the draft shield walls.
3Volume of stationary object
If the motor units are mounted on the housing interior surfaces, then space is utilized efficiently, but access for maintenance requires disassembly of the housing
Solution Approach 1:
The motor units are extracted from the housing interior and repositioned in the base body. This extraction creates accessible maintenance points on the exterior of the balance while the transmission elements efficiently utilize the available space within the housing structure, achieving both goals simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The motor units are relocated from the vertical interior space of the housing to the horizontal exterior base body. This dimensional relocation provides easy front-access for maintenance while the transmission elements bridge the spatial gap, effectively utilizing the three-dimensional space available in the overall balance structure.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This arrangement enhances the accessibility and maintainability of the motor units, reduces the impact of convective air currents, and prevents contamination of the weighing cell, ensuring precise and reliable high-precision weighing operations.
Implementation Method 1
reduces the impact of convective air currents
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
A laboratory balance (1) has a base body (2) with an upper side (20) facing a weighing pan (14) and an underside (21) facing in the opposite direction of the upper side (20), and further has, mounted on the upper side (20) of the base body (2), a draft shield (5) with a top wall (6), a first sidewall (7), a second sidewall (8) arranged parallel to the first sidewall (7), and a front wall (9), wherein the first sidewall (7) is operated by a first motor unit (25). According to the invention, the first motor unit (25) is located in the base body (2), and the underside (21) of the base body (2) has a first opening (37) providing access to the first motor unit (25).