Bearing component for flow sensor, flow metering unit and domestic appliance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Flow sensors, particularly impellers, in domestic appliances like continuous-flow heaters experience high stress and reduced service life due to poor water quality, which leads to increased wear and abrasion.
Innovation Solution
A bearing component designed as a single part with two interconnected elastic limbs, which securely mounts the flow sensor, preventing direct contact with the appliance's housing and reducing friction and abrasion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the flow sensor is mounted directly in the housing of the domestic appliance, then the assembly is simple and direct, but the flow sensor experiences rapid abrasion and reduced service life due to poor water quality
Solution Approach 1:
A bearing component is introduced as an intermediary element between the flow sensor and the housing. This bearing component has a bearing shell that receives the flow sensor and is designed to be resiliently mountable in the housing, thereby isolating the flow sensor from direct contact with abrasive water and housing surfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The bearing component is designed with resilient/elastic properties, allowing it to deform and adapt during assembly. The bearing shell can elastically expand to engage with the housing while providing a protected mounting environment for the flow sensor, changing the mechanical parameters of the mounting system.
2Ease of operation
If the bearing component uses resilient/elastic material to enable easy assembly, then the assembly process is simplified, but the material must withstand high stress and abrasion from poor water quality
Solution Approach 1:
The bearing component is made from resilient/elastic material that can be designed to withstand abrasion and chemical exposure. This may involve selecting specific elastomer compounds or composite materials that combine flexibility with resistance to poor water quality conditions, high stress, and abrasion.
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 bearing component effectively isolates the flow sensor from the abrasive effects of poor water quality, enhancing its service life and maintaining reliable operation by minimizing friction and wear.
Implementation Method 1
The two limbs are designed to be elastic, such that the spacing between the axle mounts can be increased in order to insert the flow sensor between the axle mounts
Data Source
AI summary
A flow sensor of a domestic appliance has an axle that is substantially perpendicular in the installed state to the flow direction of a fluid channel of the domestic appliance. The bearing component is designed as a single part and has at least two interconnected limbs, each limb having an axle mount for one end of the axle of the flow sensor, wherein the two axle mounts are mutually spaced apart in such a way that they correspond in a relaxed condition of the bearing component to an extension of the axle of the flow sensor. The two limbs are designed to be elastic such that the spacing between the axle mounts can be increased in order to insert the flow sensor between the axle mounts.