Sliding Vane Machine Roller Carrier Friction Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vane cell machines face high internal friction, which hampers their efficiency, and their geometry often requires complex designs that complicate manufacturing and maintenance.
Innovation Solution
The vane cell machine design features rollers held on rotatable carriers that are swiveling around an axis, with parallel axes to the rotor body, and control rails with constant thickness, allowing for adjustable distance between rollers and easy installation, along with low-friction seals and hollow rotor body for reduced mass and friction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If rollers are directly connected to the wing body, then the control structure is simple, but the internal friction is high and efficiency is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
A roller carrier is introduced as an intermediary component between the wing body and the rollers. The roller carrier is held on the wing body at least swiveling or rotatable around one axis, while the rollers are held on the roller carrier. This intermediary structure reduces direct friction contacts and allows the rollers to maintain contact with the control rail surfaces more efficiently, thereby reducing internal friction and improving energy loss without significantly complicating the overall control structure.
2Ease of manufacture
If control rails have variable thickness, then the control geometry can be optimized, but manufacturing becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The control rail is designed with constant thickness rather than variable thickness. This parameter change simplifies manufacturing significantly, as the control rail can be produced from a single sheet metal strip without complex variable thickness shaping. The constant thickness design maintains sufficient adaptability for control geometry through the positioning and orientation of the control surfaces, while greatly easing manufacturing processes and reducing production complexity.
3Weight of moving object
If the rotor body is solid, then structural strength is high, but mass is large and friction is increased
Solution Approach 1:
The rotor body is designed as a hollow structure rather than a solid one. This segmentation of the rotor body material removes the internal core while maintaining the outer shell, significantly reducing the mass of the rotor body. The hollow structure also reduces the moment of inertia, which can improve dynamic performance and reduce friction-related losses. The structural strength is maintained through appropriate wall thickness design and overall structural configuration.
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
This design significantly reduces total friction, simplifies manufacturing, and enhances efficiency by allowing for adaptable control geometry without altering other components, while maintaining effective sealing and weight reduction.
Implementation Method 1
each control has a roller carrier on which the rollers of a pair of rollers are held rotatable
Implementation Method 2
As a result, the total friction can be significantly reduced
Implementation Method 3
the seals preferably consist of a low-friction material, in particular Teflon
Implementation Method 4
at least one first elastic element is provided, which pushes the main seal body radially outwards against the inside of the side wall
Data Source
Figure 1a~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5~6
AI summary
A vane-type machine is described, comprising a housing enclosing a chamber, a side wall, a first end wall, a second end wall opposite the first side wall, and a rotor. Each end wall has a control rail (130). The rotor has a rotor body with a lateral surface into which a plurality of slots extend, in each of which a vane is movably arranged. Each vane carries a first control element (160) having a pair of rollers and controlled by the first control rail (130), and a second control element having a second pair of rollers and controlled by the second control rail, such that the vanes are exclusively and completely controlled by the positive control formed by the control rails (130) and the control elements (160) when the rotor body rotates.To reduce friction, the control elements (160) each have a roller carrier (170) on which the rollers (174) of a pair of rollers are rotatably held, the roller carrier (170) being rotatably or pivotably held on the wing about an axis.