Rotating Machine Switch With Segmented Corrugated Seal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Mechanical switches used in rotating machines face challenges in achieving high sealing quality due to exposure to lubricant oil and moisture, leading to unstable operation, especially when the complex structures required for effective sealing result in high production costs and potential malfunctions.
Innovation Solution
A switch design featuring a casing with terminals, a rod with a cap, a carrier, and a seal that fluid-tightly isolates the interior, using separate springs for biasing the rod and conductor to maintain stable contact while allowing axial rotation and reducing frictional energy loss, and a seal with a corrugated shape to enhance durability and fluid tightness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If sealing means are provided to enclose the rod periphery, then fluid intrusion is reduced, but the rod in repetitious back-and-forth motion works like a pump and fluids still intrude into the interior
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing structure is divided into multiple seals positioned at different locations along the rod. Each seal handles a specific sealing zone, with the first seal at the rod tip and additional seals along the rod body. This segmentation prevents fluid intrusion at each stage rather than relying on a single complex seal.
Solution Approach 2:
A corrugated seal member is introduced as an intermediary element between the rod and the housing. This corrugated seal flexes with rod motion while maintaining fluid tightness, acting as a mediator that accommodates the pumping effect without allowing fluid intrusion into the switch interior.
2Reliability
If a complex sealing structure is used to prevent fluid intrusion, then sealing quality improves, but production costs increase and potential malfunctions occur
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing function is extracted from the main switch body and implemented as separate, modular seal members that can be independently manufactured and assembled. This includes a first seal at the rod tip and additional seals along the rod, each being simple components that are easier to manufacture than a single complex sealing structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The seal members, particularly the corrugated seal, are designed as flexible thin-walled structures that can deform with rod motion while maintaining sealing. This flexibility allows simple geometric forms that are easy to manufacture through standard forming processes rather than requiring complex rigid sealing mechanisms.
3Reliability
If multiple springs are used to bias the rod and conductor, then stable contact is maintained, but energy loss by friction increases
Solution Approach 1:
The biasing function is segmented into two separate springs: a first spring that biases the rod and a second spring that biases the conductor. This segmentation allows each spring to operate independently with optimized force characteristics, reducing the total frictional resistance compared to a single high-force spring system.
Solution Approach 2:
The spring constants and pre-load forces are optimized to provide the minimum necessary biasing force for reliable contact while minimizing friction. The separate spring arrangement allows independent tuning of biasing forces for the rod and conductor, reducing energy loss while maintaining contact stability.
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 stable and durable switching function with reduced energy loss and improved sealing, preventing fluid intrusion and maintaining reliable operation despite repetitive back-and-forth motion, thus addressing the instability and cost issues of existing designs.
Implementation Method 1
a seal intervening between the rod and the casing and fluid-tightly isolating an interior of the casing, the rod passing through the seal
Implementation Method 2
a first spring axially biasing the rod returning back to any one of the first position and the second position
Implementation Method 3
a second spring intervening between the carrier and the conductor to bias the conductor toward the contacts in a direction different from that of the first spring
Data Source
AI summary
A switch for a rotating machine is provided with: a casing supporting two or more terminals respectively having contacts so as to hold the contacts exposed on an inside of the casing; a rod having a rod body fitting in the casing axially movably from a first position to a second position; a first spring axially biasing the rod returning back; a carrier housed in the casing and combined with the rod body to follow axial motion of the rod body; a conductor carried by the carrier and exposed on a side face of the carrier toward the terminals and depart from the terminals at the second position; a second spring intervening between the carrier and the conductor to bias the conductor toward the contacts; and a seal intervening between the rod and the casing and fluid-tightly isolating an interior of the casing.