Integrated Pump Assembly for Engine Drive Trains
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle drive trains with multiple pumps and motors face challenges in simplifying application, assembly, operation, and serviceability, as pumps are often external and require complex connections to the engine, limiting flexibility and ease of maintenance.
Innovation Solution
A drive train design where pumps are integrated as part of the engine assembly, sharing oil with the engine and featuring a novel configuration with swash plates and trunnions for independent control, allowing for simplified assembly and serviceability, with the pumps being driven by the engine's crankshaft through a gear system or belt and pulley mechanism.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If pumps are external to the engine assembly, then installation flexibility is improved, but device complexity and connection requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates the pumps directly into the engine assembly, combining previously separate components (engine and pumps) into a unified structure. This eliminates external connections and reduces system complexity while maintaining installation flexibility through the integrated design.
2Adaptability or versatility
If pumps are external to the engine assembly, then independence of components is improved, but ease of repair and serviceability worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The integrated pump assembly is designed as a modular unit within the engine assembly, allowing the pumps to be serviced as a group while maintaining their functional independence. This segmentation enables easier repair compared to fully external installations while preserving component autonomy.
3Device complexity
If pumps share oil with the engine assembly, then system complexity is reduced, but oil contamination risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
The engine assembly's oil system is designed to serve multiple functions simultaneously - lubricating the engine and powering the pumps. This multi-functional oil system reduces overall system complexity by eliminating separate hydraulic systems while implementing filtration and protection mechanisms to manage contamination risks.
Data Source
AI summary
A pump assembly includes a pair of rotatable pumps located in a housing and engaged to a pump support disposed on a support surface on which the rotatable pumps are mounted. The pump support may include a pair of parallel side walls and a pair of bearing supports for a pair of pump shafts. Each pump shaft is driven by a separate pump gear, and a distance between an axis of rotation of a first pump shaft and an axis of rotation of a second pump shaft is less than a sum of: (a) a minor radius of the first pump gear, and (b) a minor radius of the second pump gear.