Variable Pump Seal Integrity via Foreign Matter Storage
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Solution Overview
Problem
In variable oil pumps, foreign matter trapped in the seal member holding portion impairs the mobility of the seal member, leading to reduced sealing performance and increased oil leakage.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating an oil passage and a foreign matter storage portion in the seal member holding portion, which allows foreign matter to escape and accumulate in a larger storage area, preventing it from trapping between the seal member and the holding portion, and ensuring proper sealing performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a seal member holding portion is provided in the adjustment member to hold the seal member, then sealing performance is improved, but foreign matter trapped in the holding portion impairs the mobility of the seal member
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the harmful factor (foreign matter) from the seal member holding portion by providing a dedicated foreign matter storage portion. This storage portion is formed separately from the holding portion, allowing foreign matter to be taken out of the critical sealing area and stored in a designated space, thus preventing impairment of seal member mobility while maintaining sealing performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary structure (foreign matter storage portion) between the oil passage and the seal member holding portion. This intermediary acts as a buffer zone that receives foreign matter from the oil passage and prevents it from entering the seal member holding portion, thereby protecting the sealing interface from contamination.
2Device complexity
If the seal member holding portion is made compact to reduce device complexity, then device complexity is reduced, but foreign matter has nowhere to escape and accumulates in the holding portion
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the seal member holding portion and the foreign matter storage portion into a single integrated structure. The storage portion is formed as an extension or cavity within the holding portion itself, combining two functional requirements (holding the seal member and storing foreign matter) into one component, thus avoiding additional complex structures while ensuring foreign matter escape paths.
3Ease of operation
If an oil passage is provided to draw hydraulic pressure into the seal member holding portion, then the seal member can be properly positioned, but foreign matter flows through the oil passage and traps between the seal member and holding portion
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the oil passage system by providing a separate outlet that leads to the foreign matter storage portion. This segmentation allows the oil passage to serve dual functions: delivering hydraulic pressure for seal member positioning while simultaneously providing a dedicated escape route for foreign matter to the storage portion, preventing contamination of the sealing interface.
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 effectively prevents impairment of the seal member's mobility and maintains high sealing performance by allowing foreign matter to be stored in a larger area, reducing the risk of oil leakage and maintaining smooth operation over time.
Implementation Method 1
an oil passage that draws in the hydraulic pressure in the hydraulic chamber into the seal member holding portion
Implementation Method 2
a foreign matter storage portion that stores foreign matter contained in the oil that has flowed through the oil passage
Data Source
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AI summary
A variable oil pump includes a pump rotor housed in a housing and rotationally driven, an adjustment ring that adjusts an amount of oil discharged from the pump rotor by being displaced under hydraulic pressure supplied to a hydraulic chamber between the housing and the pump rotor in a state where the pump rotor is rotatably held from an outer peripheral side, and a vane provided in a portion where the adjustment ring and the housing face each other and that seals oil leakage to an outside of the hydraulic chamber. The adjustment ring includes a vane holding portion that holds the vane and an oil passage through which the hydraulic pressure in the hydraulic chamber is drawn into the vane holding portion.