Suction Roll Seal Setup for Bidirectional Rotation Lubrication
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing suction rolls in fiber web production lines are designed for unidirectional rotation, lacking a seal setup that effectively lubricates and supports bidirectional rotation, which is necessary for modern tissue web production lines to reduce spare roll requirements and improve operational efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A suction roll with a rotatable outer shell and a seal setup featuring symmetrical, wide, lubricated seals that extend axially and have mirror-image configurations, allowing for bidirectional rotation, and a lubrication system with grooves and channels to ensure proper lubrication and simplified seal changes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a suction roll is designed for unidirectional rotation with asymmetric seal configuration, then the seal setup is optimized for one rotation direction, but the suction roll cannot be used for bidirectional rotation requiring mirror-image seal setups
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies asymmetry in reverse - it deliberately creates symmetry in the seal setup to enable bidirectional rotation. The seal holders and seals are configured identically on both sides of the suction box, creating a symmetrical arrangement that allows the suction roll to rotate in either direction without requiring different seal configurations. This symmetrical design resolves the contradiction by making the device adaptable to both rotation directions while maintaining consistent seal setup complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The symmetrical seal setup makes the suction roll universal for bidirectional rotation applications. The same suction roll can be used on either side of the machine (drive side or non-drive side) without requiring different seal configurations, enabling one suction roll to perform multiple functions and replace what would traditionally require two different suction rolls for opposite rotation directions.
2Ease of operation
If a suction roll uses narrow seals with single lubrication points, then the seal structure is simple, but the seals cannot be properly lubricated during bidirectional rotation
Solution Approach 1:
The seal structure is segmented into multiple functional zones with separate lubrication points. Each seal has at least two lubrication points positioned at different locations, allowing independent lubrication delivery to different segments of the seal surface. This segmentation enables effective lubrication during bidirectional rotation by ensuring that regardless of rotation direction, lubrication medium can reach the appropriate seal areas through the distributed lubrication points.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds a dimensional aspect to seal lubrication by incorporating lubrication grooves that extend axially along the seal surface and positioning lubrication points at different radial and axial locations. This multi-dimensional lubrication approach ensures that lubrication medium can reach the seal interface effectively regardless of the direction of rotation, resolving the limitation of single-point lubrication in unidirectional designs.
3Productivity
If a suction roll is designed with asymmetric seal widths for unidirectional rotation, then the seal setup is optimized for one direction, but spare rolls cannot be universally used across machines with opposite drive sides
Solution Approach 1:
The symmetrical seal setup creates a universal suction roll design that can be used on any machine regardless of drive side configuration. The identical seal holders and seals positioned symmetrically on both sides of the suction box allow the same suction roll to be installed on machines with opposite rotation directions, maximizing spare roll utilization and eliminating the need for direction-specific suction rolls.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of designing asymmetric seals to optimize for one direction (the conventional approach), the patent inverts the logic by designing symmetric seals that are equally effective in both directions. This inversion of the design philosophy allows a single suction roll design to serve dual purposes, improving productivity through better spare roll utilization while maintaining manufacturing simplicity through standardized symmetrical components.
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
Enables the use of a single spare suction roll for sister machines with opposite drive sides, reducing spare roll needs and enhancing operational efficiency by ensuring proper lubrication and easy seal maintenance for bidirectional rotation.
Implementation Method 1
the seals are by lubrication medium lubricated seals and extend in axial direction of the suction roll
Implementation Method 2
One known type of seals for suction rolls is so called water lubricating axial seal, in which typically water as lubrication medium is guided between the seal and the inner surface of the rotating outer shell of the suction roll through the seal
Data Source
Figure 1A~1C
Figure 2A
Figure 2B~2C
AI summary
The invention relates to a suction roll (30), which comprises a rotatable outer shell (31), which has a plurality of openings (32) arranged spaced apart along the circumference of the outer shell (31), and an inside the rotatable outer shell (31) arranged in axial direction of the suction roll (30) extending stationary suction box (33), which comprises two side walls and a lower wall extending between the side walls, and a setup of seals (34, 35) configured to seal the suction box (33) against inner surface of the rotatable outer shell (31) by the seals (34, 35) of the seal setup, which seals (34, 35) are by lubrication medium lubricated seals and extend in axial direction of the suction roll (30) and are located on the side walls of the suction box (33) at edges of the side walls pointing towards the inner surface of the rotatable outer shell (31) of the suction roll (30). The outer shell (31) of the suction roll (30) is rotatable in both rotation directions (S30) and that the seals (34, 35) are similar and located in the seal setup as mirror images to each other. The invention also relates to a seal setup of a suction roll.