Peristaltic Pump Roller Wheel Segmentation for Hose Maintenance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing peristaltic pumps face challenges in hose replacement and cleaning due to complex designs and spring-loaded components, which complicate maintenance and increase the risk of mechanical failures, particularly in the roller wheel drive.
Innovation Solution
A design where the roller wheel can be swiveled or guided linearly with a spring for easier hose replacement and is separated from the working space by an elastic membrane for cleaning, featuring a robust drive with fewer moving parts and reliable sensor monitoring using permanent magnets and Hall sensors or optical methods.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the hose bearing is spring-loaded to compensate for dimensional tolerances, then the tolerance compensation is improved, but the ease of hose replacement and cleaning deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The hose bearing is segmented into a stationary bearing body and a movable roller wheel assembly. The roller wheel can be separated from the bearing body, allowing the hose to be removed and replaced without disassembling the entire spring-loaded bearing structure. This segmentation enables easy hose replacement while maintaining the spring-loaded tolerance compensation mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The roller wheel is extracted as a separate, removable component from the hose bearing assembly. This allows the hose to be accessed and replaced independently, and also enables the roller wheel to be removed for cleaning the work area, directly addressing the ease of operation requirement while preserving the reliability of the spring-loaded bearing.
2Ease of operation
If the roller wheel is spring-mounted to facilitate hose replacement, then the ease of operation is improved, but the device complexity and failure risk increase
Solution Approach 1:
The roller wheel is designed as a separate, self-contained unit that can be removed from the bearing assembly. This segmentation simplifies the overall design by isolating the spring-loading mechanism to only the bearing body, while the roller wheel itself remains a simple rotating element with minimal internal complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The roller wheel is extracted as a removable component, which simplifies the design by allowing the spring-loaded bearing body to be a separate, standardized unit. The roller wheel can be removed for cleaning or replacement without affecting the bearing assembly, reducing the complexity of maintaining a fully integrated spring-mounted system.
3Reliability
If the roller wheel is mounted in a spring-loaded manner to compensate for tolerances, then the reliability is improved, but the drive complexity and failure probability increase
Solution Approach 1:
The drive mechanism is segmented into a motor assembly and a roller wheel assembly that are coupled through a belt or direct drive. The spring-loaded bearing body remains separate from the drive mechanism, allowing the drive to be simplified while the bearing body continues to provide tolerance compensation through its spring-loaded design.
Solution Approach 2:
The roller wheel is extracted as a separate component from the drive mechanism, allowing the drive to be designed independently with fewer moving parts. The spring-loaded bearing body can be coupled to the drive through a simple connection, reducing the overall drive complexity while maintaining the reliability of the spring-loaded tolerance compensation.
4Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If electrical sensors are used to monitor the roller drive function, then the monitoring capability is improved, but the probability of failure increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex electrical sensor systems with simpler mechanical or optical monitoring mechanisms. For example, a Hall effect sensor or optical sensor can detect the position and rotation of the roller wheel through magnetic or light field interactions, providing reliable monitoring without the complexity and failure risks of traditional electrical sensors.
Solution Approach 2:
An intermediary field (magnetic or optical) is introduced between the roller wheel and the sensor. This intermediary allows for non-contact monitoring of the roller wheel's position and rotation, eliminating the need for complex electrical sensors in direct contact with moving parts and reducing the probability of failure.
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
Facilitates hose replacement and cleaning while ensuring high reliability and low costs for the pump drive with reduced mechanical complexity and improved monitoring of the roller wheel's operation.
Implementation Method 1
a spring (13) locally compresses the tube (1) arranged between the rollers (2) and the bearing (11)
Implementation Method 2
The roller wheel (10) is separated by a membrane (4) from the working space (5)
Implementation Method 3
the angle of rotation and angular velocity of the roller bearing are measured by a very robust combination of permanent magnets on the roller wheel and a Hall sensor on the guide
Implementation Method 4
Peristaltic pumps are known and are preferably used for conveying pasty media
Data Source
Figure 1~2
AI summary
1. Title: Metering pump for conveying pasty products with high requirements for hygiene and operational reliability. 2. Abstract a. Object: This invention aims to facilitate the replacement of the hose and the cleaning of the working chamber in a peristaltic pump. Furthermore, a robust design of the impeller is intended to achieve very high reliability of the pump drive at low cost. Finally, the trouble-free operation of the impeller is to be monitored by reliable sensors. b. Solution: Rollers (2) are mounted in a rotating impeller (10), wherein a spring (13) pushes the movable axis of the impeller (10) towards the hose (1), and wherein the impeller (10) is separated from the working chamber (5) by a diaphragm (4). c. Application: The pump according to the invention can be used in medical technology and in the healthcare sector for conveying and metering highly viscous or pasty media.