Gear Pump Assembly With One-Sided Bearing Support Alignment

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing pump arrangements face challenges with uneven loading on bearing points and bending loads, requiring precise positional tolerances and complex assembly processes, which can lead to inaccuracies and inefficiencies.

Innovation Solution

A pump arrangement design featuring a housing with a base plate and cover element, where gears are aligned using centering pins and bearing bushes mounted on one side, reducing the complexity of assembly and improving precision by minimizing positional tolerances and load distribution.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If shafts are supported on bearings on both sides of the conveying means, then the conveying means are securely supported, but the position tolerances of the bearings must be precisely coordinated, leading to uneven loads on the bearings and bending loads on the shafts

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesupport stabilityVSAvoidposition tolerance coordination
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts the bearing support function from both sides of the conveying means and concentrates it on only one side. The shaft is supported exclusively by bearings arranged on one side of the conveying means, eliminating the need for precise coordination of position tolerances between bearings on both sides and avoiding uneven loads and bending loads on the shafts

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent applies asymmetry by arranging all bearings on only one side of the conveying means rather than symmetrically on both sides. This asymmetric configuration simplifies the support structure, reduces manufacturing precision requirements, and eliminates the problems of uneven loading and bending loads that arise from symmetric dual-sided support

Inventive Principle:
Principle #4Asymmetry

2Reliability

If shafts are supported on bearings on both sides of the conveying means, then the conveying means are securely supported, but this leads to bending loads on the shafts

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesupport stabilityVSAvoidshaft bending load
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSStrength

Solution Approach 1:

The patent removes the bearing support from one side of the conveying means, leaving support only on the other side. This extraction of the support function to a single side eliminates the bending loads on the shafts that occur when supports are present on both sides, while maintaining adequate support stability through proper bearing arrangement

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

3Reliability

If precise coordination of position tolerances is required for bearings, then support stability is improved, but the assembly complexity and time increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesupport stabilityVSAvoidassembly time
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

By extracting the bearing support to only one side of the conveying means, the patent eliminates the need for precise coordination of position tolerances between multiple bearings. This reduces assembly complexity and assembly time while maintaining support stability through the simplified bearing arrangement

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

Instead of the conventional approach of supporting shafts on both sides with multiple bearings requiring precise tolerance coordination, the patent inverts the approach by supporting the shaft on only one side with fewer bearings. This inverted configuration reduces assembly complexity and time while achieving the required support stability

Inventive Principle:
Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

Data Source

PatentEP3638882B1Pump assembly and method for producing a pump assembly
Publication Date: 2024.09.11 GKN SINTER METALS AG
  • EP3638882B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP3638882B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4

AI summary

The invention relates to a pump assembly (1) which comprises at least one housing (2) and two gears (6, 7) as transfer means. The housing (2) comprises at least one base (3) and a cover element (4) which can be connected together in order to form a pressure chamber (5). Each of the two gears (6, 7) has a toothing (8, 28) on the outer circumferential surface and engage into one another via the toothings (8, 28) in order to transfer a fluid. The gears (6, 7) are arranged in the pressure chamber (5) between the base (3) and the cover element (4) along an axial direction (9). The pressure chamber (5) is formed at least by two bores (30, 31) in the housing (2). The first gear (6) is arranged in a first bore (30), and the second gear (7) is arranged in a second bore (31). In order to align the bores (30, 31) and the gears (6, 7) relative to one another, a plurality of centering pins (34) are provided, wherein all of the centering pins (34) are arranged exclusively in the cover element (4) or exclusively in the base (3).