Motor Dust Containment via Segmented Exhaust Chambers
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing motor designs for semiconductor and flat display manufacturing environments face challenges in preventing dust from flowing out, as pressure differences can lead to air leaks and contamination, despite sealing mechanisms.
Innovation Solution
A motor design featuring a stator and rotor configuration with overlapping housing members, bearing support, and exhaust holes/grooves to uniformly suck air from specific gaps, ensuring reliable dust containment by managing pressure and air flow within sealed spaces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If air is sucked from both gaps (between clean side flange and operation shaft, and between unclean side flange and operation shaft) to prevent dust intrusion, then dust prevention is improved, but pressure distribution becomes unbalanced causing air leakage from unclean side to clean side
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the single air chamber into two separate air chambers: a first air chamber on the clean environment side and a second air chamber on the unclean environment side. This segmentation allows independent pressure control for each side, preventing cross-contamination while maintaining dust prevention on both sides. The operation shaft is correspondingly divided into a first operation shaft for the clean side and a second operation shaft for the unclean side.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a partition wall as an intermediary structure that separates the two air chambers while allowing controlled air flow through suction ports. The partition wall with its specific structure enables independent exhaust control for each chamber, acting as a mediator that prevents direct air leakage between clean and unclean environments while maintaining effective dust prevention.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If sealing devices suck air from multiple gaps to prevent dust, then dust prevention is improved, but the system complexity increases due to pressure distribution management
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the air chamber into two independent chambers, the patent simplifies pressure management. Each chamber can be exhausted independently through dedicated exhaust ports, eliminating the complex pressure distribution issues that would arise from trying to manage a single large chamber with multiple suction points. This segmentation makes the system easier to control and maintain.
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 motor effectively prevents dust from escaping, maintaining a clean environment and improving manufacturing yield by reducing the number of accuracy management items and allowing the use of mechanical bearings without external power sources.
Implementation Method 1
an exhaust hole which sucks and discharges air of the space through the second gap
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a motor capable of more reliably preventing dust generated therein from flowing to the outside. A motor includes a stator, a rotor, a rotor housing which rotates along with the rotor, a stator housing which fixes the stator thereto, includes spaces formed with respect to the rotor housing, and overlaps the rotor housing with first gaps interposed therebetween in the entire circumferential direction, annular members which overlap the stator housing with second gaps interposed therebetween in the entire circumferential direction inside the spaces, exhaust holes which suck and discharge air inside the spaces through the second gaps, and exhaust grooves.