Orbital Shaker Balancing Device for Variable Load Compensation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current orbital shakers lack the ability to adaptively balance variable loading conditions, leading to undesirable vibrations, increased wear, noise pollution, and limited maximum shaking frequencies, which are critical for bioengineering processes requiring high frequencies for oxygen supply and mixing.
Innovation Solution
An orbital shaker with a balancing device featuring freely movable compensation masses, a rotational damping mechanism, and a guide system allowing the rotor to move within a plane perpendicular to the rotational axis and tilt around two axes, enabling automatic compensation of imbalance forces and moments without the need for sensors, actuators, or control units.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual adjustment of compensating masses is implemented, then balancing capability is improved, but device complexity and ease of operation deteriorate due to partial disassembly requirements and technical know-how demands
Solution Approach 1:
The compensating masses are designed to move automatically based on centrifugal forces generated during rotation, eliminating the need for manual adjustment. The system self-regulates the balancing state through the natural movement of compensating masses along guide rails, transforming a complex manual operation into an automatic self-service process.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the manual mechanical adjustment system with an automatic mechanical system driven by centrifugal forces. The compensating masses move along guide rails under the influence of rotation-induced forces, substituting human operation with a purely mechanical automatic adjustment mechanism.
2Adaptability or versatility
If active automatic positioning with sensors and control units is implemented, then adaptability is improved, but device complexity and reliability deteriorate due to electronic components and failure risks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent eliminates sensors, actuators, and control units by using a purely mechanical system. Compensating masses move automatically along guide rails under centrifugal forces during rotation, replacing electronic active control with passive mechanical self-positioning, thereby improving reliability while maintaining adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts and removes all electronic components (sensors, control units, actuators) from the balancing system, leaving only the essential mechanical elements (compensating masses, guide rails, rotation mechanism). This extraction eliminates failure points associated with electronics while preserving the core balancing function.
3Ease of manufacture
If compensating masses are fixed in position, then device complexity is reduced, but adaptability deteriorates as balancing cannot be adjusted for variable loading conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the static fixed-position compensating masses into dynamic elements that can move freely along guide rails during rotation. The compensating masses automatically adjust their positions based on the centrifugal forces generated, enabling the system to adapt to variable loading conditions while maintaining mechanical simplicity.
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 solution allows for higher shaking frequencies, reduced wear and noise, and precise adherence to the shaking path, enhancing oxygen supply and mixing while eliminating electronic components for improved operational reliability.
Implementation Method 1
a rotational damping mechanism, which is set up in such a way that, when there is a deviation between the rotational speed of the compensating masses and the rotational speed of the rotor around the rotational axis, a moment acts on the compensating masses
Implementation Method 2
several freely movable compensation masses arranged in each orbit; a rotational damping mechanism, which is set up in such a way that, when there is a deviation between the rotational speed of the compensating masses and the rotational speed of the rotor around the rotational axis, a moment acts on the compensating masses
Data Source
AI summary
An orbital shaker with a balancing device that automatically and passively compensates, without supply of external energy, forces and moments which are caused by imbalance and arise during operation, in particular as a result of a possible variable loading (mass, geometry of the containers, properties of the contents) and variable operating parameters (speed of rotation and shaking radius). The balancing device can be designed such that only the unbalance forces (static balancing) and/or the unbalance moments (dynamic balancing) are compensated.