Robot Joint Sealing Assembly With Sleeve-Guided Hygienic Rotation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sealing solutions for robot joints in food and drug industries face challenges in cleanliness, high manufacturing costs, and poor corrosion resistance, making them unsuitable for stringent hygiene standards.
Innovation Solution
A sealing assembly featuring a rigid abutting sleeve and a rotatory seal with a deformable portion that abuts the sleeve at an angle, integrated with a gasket for enhanced sealing and easy cleaning, using fewer parts and simpler assembly, and potentially made from self-lubricating and corrosion-resistant materials.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional radial sealing structures are used in robot joints, then sealing stability is maintained for normal industry processes, but the seals cannot meet stringent hygiene standards required for food and drug fields
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing assembly is divided into distinct functional components: a rigid abutting sleeve for structural support and positioning, a rotatory seal for dynamic sealing during rotation, and a gasket for static sealing. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized for its specific function while collectively meeting hygiene standards through smooth, cleanable surfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
Different materials and surface qualities are applied to different parts of the sealing assembly. The rigid abutting sleeve and rotatory seal use self-lubricating materials with smooth surfaces that resist contamination and facilitate cleaning. The gasket provides localized elastic sealing where needed, while maintaining overall surface smoothness for hygiene compliance.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If specially designed seals are used to meet food and drug industry standards, then hygiene protection performance is improved, but manufacturing costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple sealing functions are combined into a single integrated sealing assembly that includes the rigid abutting sleeve, rotatory seal, and gasket working together. This merger reduces the total number of separate components needed, simplifies assembly procedures, and lowers manufacturing costs while maintaining high hygiene protection performance through the coordinated action of all components.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing assembly is designed to serve multiple functions simultaneously: providing dynamic sealing during rotation, maintaining static sealing at interfaces, resisting corrosion, facilitating easy cleaning, and reducing friction through self-lubrication. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for multiple specialized components, thereby reducing manufacturing costs while meeting all hygiene requirements.
3Reliability
If complex sealing structures are used to achieve high sealing performance, then sealing reliability is improved, but the number of parts and assembly complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing assembly merges three essential sealing functions into one integrated structure: the rigid abutting sleeve provides structural support and positioning, the rotatory seal handles dynamic sealing during rotation, and the gasket provides elastic sealing at static interfaces. This consolidation achieves high sealing reliability with fewer discrete parts and simpler assembly compared to traditional multi-component sealing systems.
4Ease of manufacture
If traditional seal materials are used, then manufacturing simplicity is maintained, but corrosion resistance is insufficient for hygiene-critical applications
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing assembly utilizes composite material strategies where the rigid abutting sleeve and rotatory seal are made from self-lubricating, corrosion-resistant materials such as PTFE-based composites or stainless steel with lubricating coatings. These materials provide both the manufacturing simplicity of conventional seals and the enhanced corrosion resistance required for food and drug industry applications, eliminating the need for complex protective coatings or treatments.
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 enables easy cleaning of robot joints, improves corrosion resistance, and reduces manufacturing costs while maintaining high sealing performance, making robots suitable for food and drug industry standards.
Implementation Method 1
a deformable portion extending radially inward from the coupling portion to abut against an outer surface of the rigid abutting sleeve at an angle exceeding a predetermined threshold
Implementation Method 2
a gasket arranged between and axially compressed by the first component and the rigid abutting sleeve
Data Source
AI summary
A sealing assembly which includes a rigid abutting sleeve hermetically and fixedly arranged on an end of a first component of a robot and axially extending into a ring-shaped groove formed at an end of a second component of the robot. The second component is coaxially rotatable relative to the first component. A rotatory seal is arranged in the ring-shaped groove and axially extending beyond or flush with an end surface of the second component. The rotatory seal includes a coupling portion and a deformable portion.