Eccentric Rotary Vane Vacuum Pump with Integrated Cooling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vacuum pumps face challenges in maintaining high volume, efficient, and continuous operation, especially in tight spaces, due to the compressibility of gases and the high demands on equipment, which can lead to installation complexities and inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
A vacuum pump assembly with a cylindrical internal pump chamber, eccentrically mounted rotary vane, and integrated components such as a rotary power source and electronics housing, which includes a cooling space and recirculation ports to manage heat and optimize gas flow, allowing for efficient operation and compact installation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a rotary vane vacuum pump is used to evacuate gas from a working space, then vacuum pumping capability is achieved, but the equipment requires significant installation space and complex hardware assembly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the rotary vane vacuum pump, power source, and control electronics into a single integrated assembly. The power source is mounted directly on the pump body with fluid communication between them, and electronics are housed within the pump housing, eliminating the need for separate mounting of multiple components and reducing installation complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The pump housing serves multiple functions: it contains the vacuum pump mechanism, houses the control electronics, provides mounting surfaces for the power source, and includes integrated fluid communication pathways. This multi-functionality reduces the number of separate components needed and simplifies installation.
2Productivity
If the rotary vane operates at high rotational speeds for extended periods to maintain vacuum, then continuous pumping capability is achieved, but the equipment generates excessive heat requiring cooling systems
Solution Approach 1:
The pump uses its own operating fluid to cool the power source. The fluid circulates from the pump chamber through cooling passages in the power source housing and back to the pump, creating a self-contained cooling system that eliminates the need for external cooling equipment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a fluid circulation system where pump fluid is directed through cooling passages to remove heat from the power source. This hydraulic cooling approach efficiently manages thermal loads during continuous high-speed operation.
3Volume of stationary object
If all hardware components are integrated into a single piece of equipment to minimize space, then installation space is reduced, but the internal structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The electronics housing is nested within the pump housing, and the power source is mounted on the pump body with cooling passages integrated into the same structure. This nested arrangement maximizes space utilization while organizing complex components in a hierarchical manner that manages internal complexity.
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
The solution enables robust, high-volume, and continuous vacuum pumping with reduced space requirements, improved efficiency, and simplified installation, suitable for applications like automotive brake boosting, by maintaining effective gas evacuation and cooling of the rotary power source.
Implementation Method 1
as the rotary vane is rotated a first of the plurality of vanes extends outwardly under centrifugal acceleration such that the distal leading edge of a first of the plurality of vanes abuts the internal circumferential surface of the internal pump chamber thereby dividing the internal pump chamber into a first abbreviated crescent shaped working space
Data Source
AI summary
In at least one embodiment the present invention provides a vacuum pump assembly having a vacuum pump body defining a cylindrical internal pump chamber housing a rotary vane rotatable about an axis radially removed from the center of the cylindrical internal pump chamber, an inlet, at least one outlet, a rotary power source abutting the vacuum pump body and having a proximal surface fluidly communicating with the internal pump chamber by way of the at least one outlet; the rotary power source having a rotating shaft operably connected to the rotary vane, and an electronics housing positioned adjacent the vacuum pump body such that as the rotary vane is rotated a first abbreviated crescent shaped working space is defined in communication with the inlet and as the rotary vane continues to rotate a second abbreviated crescent shaped working space is defined in communication with the at least one outlet.