Planetary Gear Baffle Unit with Separable Weir for Oil Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing planetary gear devices in aircrafts face increased production costs and operational challenges due to the need for a customizable weir design to reduce lubricant oil stirring resistance, which complicates the assembly process and affects the efficient lubrication of the ring gear.
Innovation Solution
A planetary gear device design featuring a separable weir member and a baffle unit with a ring gear oil supply hole, allowing for the collection and discharge of lubricant oil to reduce stirring resistance while facilitating the design change of the weir according to specific device specifications, and enabling easier assembly by allowing the front plate to be mounted without the weir member.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If the weir is integrated with the baffle, then the structure is simplified, but the design flexibility and adaptability are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The baffle is divided into two separate components: the baffle body and the weir member. This segmentation allows the weir member to be independently designed and adjusted according to different specifications and usage environments, while the baffle body maintains its structural integrity. The separable design resolves the contradiction by providing both structural simplicity through modular assembly and design flexibility through independent weir customization.
Solution Approach 2:
The weir member is designed to be detachable and replaceable, transforming the static integrated structure into a dynamic configurable system. This allows the weir design to be changed without replacing the entire baffle assembly, enabling adaptability to different operational requirements while maintaining the simplicity of the overall structure through standardized mounting interfaces.
2Reliability
If the weir covers the outlet, then lubricant oil collection is improved, but assembly processability is degraded
Solution Approach 1:
The baffle body is prepared in advance with the outlet structure and mounting features for the weir member, but the weir member itself is installed separately during the final assembly stage. This preliminary preparation allows the outlet to be properly formed and positioned before the weir is attached, ensuring reliable lubricant oil collection while maintaining assembly processability through staged installation.
Solution Approach 2:
The separation of the weir member from the baffle body allows the outlet structure to be independently formed and verified before weir installation. This segmentation enables the outlet to be properly configured for reliable oil collection, while the weir member can be attached as a separate component without interfering with the outlet formation process, thereby maintaining assembly processability.
3Reliability
If the weir design is customized for different specifications, then lubrication efficiency is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The customization of the weir design is isolated to the weir member component, which is separate from the standard baffle body. This segmentation allows different weir designs to be developed and optimized for specific lubrication requirements without complicating the overall baffle structure. The standardized baffle body maintains simplicity while the customizable weir member provides the necessary design variation for different applications.
Data Source
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AI summary
A planetary gear device includes: a sun gear having external teeth; a plurality of planet gears having external teeth and meshed with the sun gear; a ring gear having internal teeth and meshed with the planet gears; and a baffle unit disposed between the planet gears adjacent to each other and configured to collect lubricant oil into a collection chamber. The baffle unit includes: a discharge outlet to discharge a portion of the lubricant oil collected in the collection chamber in an axial direction; and a ring gear oil supply hole to discharge another portion of the lubricant oil in a radially outward direction and supplied to the ring gear, and a weir member separable from the baffle unit and configured to cover a portion of the discharge outlet to reserve the lubricant oil to be discharged through the ring gear oil supply hole.