Rope Drum Coupling with Separated Gearing and Bearing Loads
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing couplings for lifting devices, particularly those connecting a gear box and a rope drum, face challenges of high stress due to small contact areas, leading to increased costs and wear.
Innovation Solution
A coupling design that incorporates a gearing and a bearing with external and internal parts, where the external parts are integral to or seated in the outer coupling support element, and the internal parts are integral to or seated on the inner coupling support element, allowing for large swiveling angles and reduced stress.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If a coupling with small contact areas between barrel and support components is used, then the coupling can be compact in dimensions, but the stress levels become very high and wear increases
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling is divided into separate functional components: an inner coupling part with a barrel, an outer coupling part with support components, and a bearing element. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized for its specific function, distributing stresses across multiple contact areas rather than concentrating them in a single small region.
Solution Approach 2:
A bearing element is introduced as an intermediary component between the inner and outer coupling parts. This bearing element increases the contact area and distributes the mechanical stresses, resolving the contradiction between compact dimensions and high stress levels by providing an intermediate structure that handles the load transmission.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the coupling allows swiveling of inner and/or outer coupling support element from the mutual axis of rotation, then the degree of freedom is increased, but the structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The bearing element is designed with spherical geometry, allowing the inner and outer coupling parts to swivel relative to each other while maintaining continuous contact. The spherical shape naturally accommodates angular movements in multiple directions without requiring complex mechanical joints or additional degrees of freedom mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The bearing element serves multiple functions simultaneously: it supports radial loads, accommodates axial movements, and enables swiveling motion. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate components for each function, thereby limiting the increase in structural complexity while providing the required adaptability.
3Quantity of substance
If the external part of the gearing and bearing are integral part of or seated in the same structural element, then the number of parts is reduced, but the manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The external part of the gearing and the external part of the bearing are merged into the same structural element (either integral or seated together). This merging reduces the total number of parts and simplifies the assembly process, while the modular design allows for standardized manufacturing of the combined component.
Solution Approach 2:
While merging external parts, the coupling remains segmented into inner and outer parts that can be assembled separately. This segmentation allows for pre-manufacturing and quality control of each module before final assembly, thereby managing manufacturing precision requirements through modular production rather than requiring high precision in a single monolithic component.
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 solution provides a robust and compact coupling that can handle large swiveling angles, reducing wear and stress by decoupling transmission functions between the bearing and gearing, thus extending the degree of freedom in rope drum design and reducing the number of parts.
Implementation Method 1
the bearing being configured to transmit radial and axial forces from the rope drum to the gear box
Implementation Method 2
the gearing being configured to transmit rotation and torque from the gear box to the rope drum
Data Source
AI summary
A coupling for a connection between a gear box and a rope drum of a lifting device, wherein the coupling comprises an inner coupling support element and an outer coupling support element, wherein the inner coupling support element and the outer coupling support element are configured to rotate around a mutual axis of rotation, wherein the coupling is configured to allow a swiveling of the inner coupling support element and/or the outer coupling support element from the mutual axis of rotation. To improve the coupling, the coupling further comprises a gearing and a bearing with the gearing being configured to transmit rotation and torque from the gear box to the rope drum and the bearing being configured to transmit radial and axial forces from the rope drum to the gear box.