Motor-Driven Piston Pump Lubricator with Swash Plate
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing lubrication systems face challenges in providing a controlled and timely supply of lubricant, particularly under varying back pressures and temperature conditions, which can lead to either starvation or over-lubrication of machinery, potentially causing damage.
Innovation Solution
A portable lubricator with a piston pump mechanism driven by a small DC motor, utilizing a swash plate and check valve system, and electronic controls for regulating lubricant discharge, allowing for adjustable pressure and temperature compensation, ensuring consistent lubricant delivery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a gas generating cell or spring-driven system is used to deliver lubricant, then the device can operate portably without external power, but the delivery time becomes uncontrolled and excessive (taking several days to overcome line resistance)
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces passive mechanical systems (spring-driven, gas-generating) with an active motor-driven piston pump system. The DC motor provides controlled mechanical power to the piston pump, enabling rapid lubricant delivery (seconds instead of days) while maintaining portable operation. This substitution of passive elastic/pneumatic energy storage with active electromechanical energy conversion resolves the contradiction between portability and delivery speed.
Solution Approach 2:
The piston pump operates through periodic reciprocating motion driven by the rotating cam mechanism. The motor rotates the cam shaft continuously or intermittently, causing the piston to reciprocate and deliver lubricant in controlled pulses. This periodic action enables precise control over lubricant delivery timing and quantity, solving the uncontrolled delivery time problem while maintaining portable operation.
2Loss of time
If high pressure is used to overcome line resistance and deliver lubricant quickly, then delivery time is reduced, but the system becomes sensitive to back pressure variations and temperature changes causing either starvation or over-lubrication
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates a check valve system that provides feedback control on lubricant delivery. The check valve monitors discharge conditions and prevents backflow, ensuring that the lubricant quantity delivered is controlled and consistent despite variations in back pressure or temperature. This feedback mechanism maintains reliability by preventing both starvation (insufficient delivery) and over-lubrication (excessive delivery).
Solution Approach 2:
The piston pump system allows dynamic adjustment of operating parameters including pressure, flow rate, and delivery timing through motor speed control and pump displacement adjustment. By changing these parameters adaptively, the system can maintain controlled quantity delivery across varying back pressure and temperature conditions, resolving the contradiction between fast delivery and reliable control.
3Productivity
If a motor-driven piston pump is used to deliver lubricant quickly and controllably, then delivery speed and control are improved, but the device complexity increases compared to simple spring or gas-driven systems
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the pump system into distinct functional modules: motor, cam mechanism, piston, pump chamber, and check valve. This modular segmentation allows each component to perform a specific function efficiently, simplifying the overall design while achieving high productivity. The segmented architecture makes the complex system more manageable and maintainable compared to integrated simple systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a cam mechanism with curved profiles to convert rotational motor motion into reciprocating piston motion. The curved cam surface provides smooth, continuous control over piston displacement and timing, enabling controlled high-speed lubricant delivery. This curved geometric solution achieves productivity improvements while keeping the mechanical complexity manageable through elegant geometric conversion rather than complex valve trains or linkages.
4Device complexity
If compressed air or gas generating cartridges are used as driving force, then the system can be simple and portable, but substantial time may elapse before lubricant reaches the machinery under high back pressure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces passive elastic/pneumatic driving mechanisms with an active motor-driven piston pump. The DC motor provides direct mechanical power to the piston, enabling rapid lubricant discharge (high speed) while maintaining relative simplicity through direct-drive or single-stage gearing. This substitution resolves the contradiction by providing active controlled power instead of passive energy storage.
Solution Approach 2:
The piston pump system can be pre-charged or pre-positioned to deliver lubricant immediately when activated. The motor can be pre-powered (battery-charged) and the pump mechanism pre-configured, so that upon activation, lubricant delivery begins instantly at high speed without the delay experienced by gas-generating systems that must first build pressure or generate gas volume.
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 system provides a controlled and efficient delivery of lubricant, maintaining consistent performance across a range of conditions, reducing the risk of damage from under or over-lubrication, and allowing for easy refilling and extended battery life.
Implementation Method 1
The drive shaft may be in axial alignment with the piston, the swash plate being set obliquely on the drive shaft to revolve when the motor is activated to give reciprocating motion to the piston in a direction parallel to the drive shaft
Implementation Method 2
A check valve may be mounted on the lubricant outlet, to check the discharge of lubricant from the lubricator when the piston pump is not driven
Implementation Method 3
The piston pump may include a pump chamber adapted to receive lubricant from the main lubricant chamber. The lubricator may include a main chamber piston biased in the housing to urge the lubricant from the main lubricant chamber into the pump chamber
Implementation Method 4
The piston may be biased in the pump chamber against the swash plate, so that the swash plate rides on the piston
Data Source
AI summary
In various embodiments, the invention provides a lubricator comprising a housing defining, a main lubricant chamber adapted to contain a fluid lubricant. A piston pump in fluid communication with the main lubricant chamber may be adapted to be driven to discharge the lubricant from a pump changer through a lubricant outlet in the housing. A check valve may be mounted on the lubricant outlet, to check the discharge of lubricant from the lubricator. The lubricator may include a motor having a drive shaft adapted to rotate a swash plate to act as a cam to drive reciprocating motion of the pump piston in the pump chamber. The drive shaft may be in axial alignment with the piston, the swash plate being set obliquely on the drive shaft to revolve when the motor is activated to give reciprocating motion to the piston in a direction parallel to the driven shaft. The piston may be biased in the pump chamber against the swash plate, so that the swash plate rides on the piston.