Low-Profile Winch Transfer Mechanism for Compact Vacuum Chambers
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Solution Overview
Problem
In controlled environments such as ultra-high vacuum or high-pressure chambers, the use of rigid transfer mechanisms necessitates larger chamber sizes to accommodate the mechanism, increasing time and cost to achieve the desired environment.
Innovation Solution
A low-profile winch system with a wire arrangement and gravity-activated tools allows for vertical object transfer within the chamber, reducing the need for extensive vertical displacement outside the device and minimizing chamber size.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If a rigid transfer mechanism is used to move objects in and out of the device, then the mechanism can accommodate forces to move a variety of objects, but the mechanism size becomes on the order of the device or larger, increasing chamber size requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the rigid mechanical transfer mechanism with a magnetic field-based transfer system. Objects with magnetic properties are transferred using magnetic fields generated by magnets on the mechanism, eliminating the need for large rigid mechanical structures while maintaining force accommodation capability through magnetic attraction and repulsion
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the fundamental parameter of force transmission from mechanical contact forces to magnetic field forces. This allows the transfer mechanism to exert sufficient force on objects without requiring a large physical structure, as magnetic fields can extend through space without physical contact
2Ease of operation
If multiple chamber sections are used to accommodate the transfer mechanism and device, then the transfer mechanism can be housed, but the time and expense to bring the chamber to the desired controlled environment increases
Solution Approach 1:
By replacing the large rigid mechanical transfer system with a compact magnetic field-based system, the patent reduces the number of chamber sections needed to house the mechanism, thereby reducing the time and expense required to assemble and prepare the chamber for controlled environment operations
Solution Approach 2:
The magnetic transfer mechanism is designed to be compact and multi-functional, capable of transferring various objects with magnetic properties using the same basic mechanism, eliminating the need for multiple specialized chamber sections and reducing overall chamber preparation requirements
3Volume of moving object
If the chamber size is reduced using a low profile transfer mechanism, then the space and time to establish controlled environment is reduced, but the mechanism must still transfer objects effectively
Solution Approach 1:
The magnetic field-based transfer system provides efficient object transfer within a compact chamber by using magnetic attraction and repulsion to move objects quickly and precisely, maintaining high productivity despite the reduced chamber size enabled by the compact mechanism design
Solution Approach 2:
The magnetic transfer mechanism uses dynamic magnetic field control to adjust transfer forces and speeds, enabling efficient object transfer within the constrained space of a reduced-size chamber while maintaining high productivity through optimized magnetic field sequences
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 approach reduces the space and time required to establish a controlled environment within the chamber, while enabling efficient transfer of objects without the limitations of rigid mechanisms.
Implementation Method 1
the tool and the object are thereby lowered under the influence of gravity into the portion of the controlled environment disposed inside the device
Implementation Method 2
a spring configured to bias the sliding block toward the housing and thereby, via the coupler, bias the floating element away from the neutral position
Data Source
AI summary
A system for transferring objects into a device inside a controlled environment includes a winch, tool and carousel. The winch includes a drum, and wire arrangement configured to be reversibly wound onto the drum by a first drive. The tool is suspended below a distal end of the wire arrangement and configured to suspend an object. Both the tool and the object are sized to fit inside a device located below the winch. The carousel is connected to a second drive configured to rotate the carousel around a vertical axis, and includes a storage space centered at a first horizontal angle and a pass-through opening at a different second horizontal angle. The pass-through opening being large enough to pass the tool and the object as the wire arrangement is unwound from the drum thereby lowering the tool and object inside the device.