Segmented Brush Power Feeding Apparatus Wear Compensation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Contact type power feeding apparatuses face premature termination due to reduced contact area between the brush and the cylinder body as the brush wears out, leading to inefficient electric current flow and shortened lifespan.
Innovation Solution
A contact type power feeding apparatus with a brush comprising alternating first and second brush pieces with tapered side surfaces, biased by coil springs to maintain contact even as they wear, ensuring continuous electrical conduction between the axis and cylinder bodies, and incorporating fluid passages to circulate coolant and remove wear dust.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a single brush is disposed on the inner cylinder body, then the structure is simple, but the contact area decreases as the brush wears out, leading to premature termination
Solution Approach 1:
The brush is divided into multiple brush pieces (first brush pieces and second brush pieces) arranged alternately around the inner cylinder body. Each brush piece independently contacts the outer cylinder body, ensuring that even if some pieces wear out, others maintain adequate contact area for reliable electrical conduction.
2Reliability
If a coil material brush is used, then electrical conduction is improved, but the radial thickness cannot be secured, resulting in premature lifetime
Solution Approach 1:
The brush pieces are designed with optimized material composition and dimensional parameters, specifically increasing the radial thickness parameter compared to conventional coil brushes. This parameter change allows the brush to maintain adequate thickness throughout its service life while preserving good electrical conduction properties.
3Reliability
If brush pieces are disposed alternately with tapered side surfaces, then contact is maintained during wear, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The brush pieces are designed with asymmetric tapered side surfaces rather than symmetric cylindrical shapes. This asymmetric geometry allows the brush pieces to self-adjust and maintain contact with the outer cylinder body as they wear, with the taper angle specifically optimized to compensate for wear while maintaining structural simplicity.
4Reliability
If biasing means are added to urge brush pieces apart, then contact pressure is maintained, but the device complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The biasing means provides dynamic contact pressure maintenance, allowing the brush pieces to automatically adjust their contact force with the outer cylinder body. This dynamic adjustment compensates for wear and operational variations without requiring complex assembly procedures, as the biasing mechanism is integrated into the brush assembly design.
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 ensures efficient electric current flow and prolonged apparatus lifespan by maintaining contact between the axis and cylinder bodies through wear compensation and fluid circulation, reducing wear and enhancing radial thickness for increased durability.
Implementation Method 1
biasing (urging) means disposed between at least the adjoining first brush pieces or the adjoining second brush pieces so as to give a biasing (urging) force to, and in a direction to move away from each other, the first brush pieces or the second brush pieces
Implementation Method 2
as a result of rotation of the outer cylinder body, the inner peripheral surface of the outer cylinder body gets slid to thereby electrically conduct the two together
Implementation Method 3
the coolant from the outlet port on the other end of the inner cylinder body is allowed to flow through the space between the inner cylinder body and the outer cylinder body
Implementation Method 4
not only can the target be cooled
Data Source
AI summary
There is provided a contact type power feeding apparatus in which, even if a brush Br disposed in a space between the axis body and the cylinder body that are disposed concentric with each other wears out as a result of sliding, contact can be surely secured between the brush and the axis body as well as the cylinder body, thereby efficiently causing electric current to flow between the two. A brush Br has first brush pieces each having an inner wall surface to make surface-contact with an outer peripheral surface of the axis body; and second brush pieces each having an outer wall surface to make a surface-contact with an inner peripheral surface of the cylinder body. The brush is constituted by alternately arranging, in the circumferential direction, the first brush pieces and the second brush pieces in a state of keeping them in surface-contact with each other. The side wall surfaces of the first brush pieces and the second brush pieces are respectively formed into a tapered shape which is inclined relative to the radial direction. Coil springs are disposed between the second brush pieces that are adjacent to each other, in order to give a biasing force in a direction to move the second brush pieces away from each other.