Valve Shaft Coupling with Pre-Centering for Offset Compensation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing valve assemblies with Oldham couplings allow limited dynamic adaptation of the valve shaft and drive shaft positions, leading to increased internal friction, stress, and impaired tightness due to the need for precise fitting, complicating assembly.
Innovation Solution
A valve assembly with a coupling element that includes a centering pin engaging in an oblong hole to compensate for axial and angular offsets between the drive shaft and valve shaft, allowing for increased degrees of freedom in relative movement and reducing internal friction, while simplifying assembly through pre-centering.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a transverse tongue engages in a transverse groove to permit lateral offset, then the valve shaft can be displaced laterally, but the displacement is limited to one direction and assembly requires exact fitting
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling element is pre-centered with respect to the drive shaft or valve shaft using the centering pin and oblong hole mechanism before final assembly, which considerably facilitates the assembly process and eliminates the need for exact fitting during assembly
Solution Approach 2:
The coupling element with transverse grooves and tongues allows dynamic adaptation of the valve shaft position in multiple directions, enabling the system to adjust to different operational conditions while maintaining reliable connection
2Device complexity
If the valve shaft position is fixed relative to the drive shaft, then assembly is simplified, but stresses increase and internal friction rises
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling element enables dynamic position adjustment between the valve shaft and drive shaft, allowing the system to accommodate stresses and minimize internal friction while maintaining reliable connection and sealing tightness
3Reliability
If exact fitting of transverse tongue into transverse groove is required, then connection reliability is improved, but assembly time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The centering pin and oblong hole mechanism performs pre-centering of the coupling element during assembly, which guides the transverse tongue into proper engagement with the transverse groove without requiring time-consuming exact fitting operations
Data Source
AI summary
A valve assembly with a drive unit which includes a rotor and a drive shaft, as well as a valve unit which includes a valve shaft and a closing body, wherein the drive shaft and the valve shaft are connected to one another by a coupling element in order to compensate for an axial and/or angular offset. The coupling element includes at least one transverse groove in which a transverse tongue of the drive shaft or of the valve shaft engages in a form-fitting manner, wherein a centering pin is formed on the transverse tongue and engages in an oblong hole for pre-centering, which is arranged in the transverse groove.