Leaf Vane Rotary Pump With Oil-Film Bearingless Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Positive displacement rotary pumps and motors face issues with friction leading to heat buildup, part expansion, binding, efficiency loss, and high-pressure fluid leakage due to rigid vanes and traditional bearing systems.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a pump housing with rotating inner rings supported by an oil film, leaf vanes with bi-directional seals, and unidirectional flow control valves to reduce friction, heat, and leakage, utilizing an oil film for bearingless operation and minimizing backflow.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If rigid plate-like vanes are used to maintain sealing contact with the housing sleeve, then sealing performance is improved, but friction increases leading to heat buildup and binding
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces rigid plate-like vanes with flexible membrane vanes that can deform to maintain sealing contact with the housing sleeve while reducing friction. The flexible nature of the membrane allows it to conform to surface irregularities and maintain seal integrity without the high friction associated with rigid materials, thereby resolving the contradiction between sealing performance and friction reduction.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the material parameter of the vanes from rigid to flexible, fundamentally altering their mechanical properties. This parameter change enables the vanes to operate with lower friction while maintaining sealing effectiveness, as the flexible material can adapt to pressure variations and surface conditions without generating excessive heat or causing binding.
2Stability of the object's composition
If traditional bearing systems are used to support the rotating inner ring, then structural stability is maintained, but device complexity increases and noise is generated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the traditional bearing system from the pump assembly, extracting the component that provided structural stability through a different mechanism. Instead of using bearings to support the rotating inner ring, the design relies on the fluid pressure and the flexible membrane vanes to maintain stability, thereby eliminating the bearing components and reducing device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The rotating inner ring and membrane vanes are designed to operate without external bearing support, utilizing the fluid pressure and their own structural properties to maintain stability. The system becomes self-supporting, where the operational forces themselves provide the necessary stability without requiring additional bearing components.
3Object-generated harmful factors
If high-pressure fluid is allowed to leak past the vane sealing point, then friction is reduced, but efficiency is lost due to fluid loss
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible membrane vanes provide a sealing mechanism that prevents high-pressure fluid from leaking past the sealing point while maintaining low friction operation. The flexible nature of the membrane allows it to conform to the housing sleeve and create an effective seal without the high friction of rigid materials, thus preventing fluid loss while maintaining efficient operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs flexible membrane materials that combine sealing effectiveness with low friction characteristics. These composite or specialized materials provide both the necessary seal integrity to prevent fluid leakage and the low friction properties to maintain efficient operation, resolving the contradiction between preventing fluid loss and reducing friction.
4Productivity
If the rotor operates at high pressure, then pumping efficiency is improved, but heat buildup causes rotor expansion and potential binding
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible membrane vanes reduce frictional heat generation compared to rigid vanes, thereby reducing overall heat buildup in the rotor during high-pressure operation. This thermal management benefit helps prevent rotor expansion and binding while maintaining high pumping efficiency, as the flexible materials generate less frictional heat under operational conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the potential harm of frictional heat into a beneficial thermal management system. By using flexible membrane vanes that generate less friction, the system naturally manages heat better during high-pressure operation, converting what would be a harmful thermal effect into an acceptable operational parameter that prevents rotor expansion and binding.
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 design reduces friction and heat, enhances efficiency, and prevents high-pressure fluid backflow, improving performance and reducing torque in rotary pumps and motors.
Implementation Method 1
The design incorporates a pump housing with rotating inner rings supported by an oil film, utilizing an oil film for bearingless operation
Implementation Method 2
leaf vanes with bi-directional seals
Implementation Method 3
unidirectional flow control valves to reduce friction, heat, and leakage, utilizing an oil film for bearingless operation and minimizing backflow
Data Source
AI summary
A vane pump or motor assembly includes a housing having an inner cavity with an inner wall disposed about a first central axis. A rotor is disposed in the inner cavity and is rotatable about a second axis that is offset from the first axis to create a variable width space between the rotor and the inner wall. Vanes are moveably carried by the rotor and engage the inner wall to partition the variable width space into a plurality of chambers of increasing and decreasing volume in response to rotating the rotor. Each vane is in the form of a leaf vane having a mounting end formed with a hook portion and wherein the rotor includes corresponding recesses with latch portions that engage of each respective hook portion and supports the leaf vanes for outward swinging movement relative to the rotor for engaging the inner wall of the inner cavity.