Magnetic Eccentric Screw Pump for Hygienic Cleanability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing eccentric screw pumps face challenges in maintaining high hygiene standards due to difficult-to-clean areas where germs can settle, such as undercuts and axle passages, which complicates cleaning and requires specialized expertise.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a non-contact power transmission system using magnetic field forces between the drive device and the eccentric screw or elastic element, eliminating direct contact and allowing for easy disassembly and cleaning, with a magnetic or magnetizable core covered by a coating to prevent liquid contact and a coil-based drive device that is low-wear and low-maintenance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional mechanical contact drive is used, then reliable power transmission is achieved, but cleaning becomes difficult due to undercuts and axle passages where germs can settle
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the traditional mechanical contact drive system with a magnetic field-based non-contact drive system. The drive device generates a magnetic field that acts on the rotor mounted on the eccentric screw, eliminating the need for physical contact components like axles and gears. This substitution removes undercuts and axle passages that trap germs, making the pump easy to clean while maintaining reliable power transmission through the magnetic field.
2Ease of operation
If non-contact magnetic drive is used, then cleaning ease is improved, but device complexity increases due to magnetic components
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the drive mechanism from the liquid-contacting area by mounting the rotor on the eccentric screw outside the liquid path. The magnetic field acts through non-magnetic walls, allowing the drive components to be separated from the hygiene-critical zones. This extraction simplifies cleaning procedures while the magnetic drive components remain contained in non-contact areas.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs non-magnetic walls or diaphragms that allow magnetic field penetration while separating the magnetic drive components from the liquid. These thin film barriers enable the magnetic field to transmit power through them without direct contact between the drive mechanism and the liquid, maintaining both drive functionality and hygiene.
3Power
If magnetic components are exposed to liquid, then direct actuation is achieved, but hygiene is compromised due to potential germ settlement on magnetic parts
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces non-magnetic walls or diaphragms as intermediary barriers between the magnetic drive components and the liquid. These intermediaries allow the magnetic field to pass through and actuate the rotor while preventing direct contact between magnetic components and the liquid, thereby eliminating germ settlement risks on magnetic parts while maintaining drive efficiency.
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 solution results in a pump that is extremely easy to clean, reducing the risk of germ settlement and allowing users to maintain the device without specialized training, with a simplified assembly and reduced parts complexity, ensuring a hygienic operation and low maintenance costs.
Implementation Method 1
non-contact power transmission between the drive device and the eccentric screw or the elastic element exclusively via magnetic field forces
Implementation Method 2
The drive device is designed as a coil... Coils for generating variable magnetic fields are provided in the stator. In engagement with magnets or soft-magnetic parts in the rotor, these magnetic fields cause a torque on the rotor.
Implementation Method 3
The eccentric screw or the elastic element then optionally having a magnetizable or magnetic part, through which the magnetic field forces are transmitted by the drive device
Data Source
Figure 1~2
AI summary
The pump (1) has an eccentric screw (5) and a flexible element (4) encompassing the eccentric screw and a driving device that is designed as a coil. The eccentric screw or the flexible element exhibits a magnetic/magnetizable part (8), such that a power transmission between the driving device and the eccentric screw or the flexible element is made by magnetic field forces. The magnetic/magnetizable part of the eccentric screw and/or the flexible element is not stayed in contact with a liquid to be conveyed, and is protected with a plastic coating against a direct contact with the liquid.