Vacuum Pump Rotor with Grooves for Torque Shock Absorption
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Vacuum pumps used in high-vacuum applications face issues with unexpected breakage due to instantaneous torque spikes, leading to unpredictable maintenance challenges and increased production costs, as existing dampening mechanisms may fail to absorb stress effectively.
Innovation Solution
A vacuum pump design featuring a rotor body with strategically placed grooves that reduce mechanical strength at specific locations, allowing for controlled rupture and planned shock absorption when high torque is applied, enabling consistent maintenance and cost-effective processing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the mechanical strength of the entire vacuum pump is increased to prevent unexpected breakage, then reliability is improved, but production cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The rotor body is designed with non-uniform thickness, featuring a thinner first rotor body portion and a thicker second rotor body portion. This local quality variation allows the rotor to have reduced mechanical strength at specific locations (where thinner sections are) to enable controlled rupture for shock absorption, while maintaining sufficient strength in other areas, thereby avoiding the need to increase the mechanical strength of the entire vacuum pump system.
2Reliability
If a dampening mechanism is provided to absorb torque spikes, then reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The shock absorption function is merged into the rotor body structure itself through the non-uniform thickness design. The rotor body's thinner first portion acts as an integrated rupture mechanism that absorbs torque shocks, eliminating the need for a separate dampening mechanism and thereby reducing device complexity while maintaining reliability.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the rotor body is designed to rupture at unexpected locations, then shock absorption occurs, but maintenance time increases due to unpredictability
Solution Approach 1:
The rotor body is pre-designed with specific geometric features (non-uniform thickness distribution) that determine predetermined rupture locations before any shock event occurs. When torque spikes happen, the rotor consistently ruptures at these pre-designed locations (the thinner first rotor body portion), making maintenance predictable and reducing maintenance time.
4Reliability
If the mechanical strength of the rotor body is uniformly increased, then reliability is improved, but the ability to absorb shock through controlled rupture is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The rotor body employs non-uniform thickness design where the first rotor body portion is intentionally made thinner to create a localized weak point for shock absorption, while the second rotor body portion is thicker to maintain overall structural integrity and reliability. This local quality differentiation resolves the contradiction between uniform strength increase and shock absorption capability.
Data Source
AI summary
A vacuum pump includes: a casing formed with an inlet port or outlet port; a stator disposed inside the casing; and a rotor enclosed in the casing and including a shaft rotatably supported on the stator, and a rotor blade formed in a cylindrical shape with a plurality of blades arranged in multiple stages on an outer circumferential portion thereof, and secured to the shaft such as to be integrally rotatable therewith. The rotor blade is provided with a rupture location control groove as a rupture location control means that locally reduces rigidity of the rotor blade to control a location where the rotor blade ruptures.