Free Fall Winch Brake Cooling and Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Free-fall winches face challenges in efficiently cooling the free-fall brake and require massive bearing counter-shields to dissipate braking torque, which complicates assembly and operation.
Innovation Solution
The free-fall brake is rearranged to rotate within the drum between the winch drive and holding brake, allowing for continuous cooling and decoupling from the bearing counter-shield, enabling efficient heat dissipation and simplified assembly by eliminating the need for massive counter-shields.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If the free-fall brake is stationarily supported on the bearing counter-shield, then the braking torque can be removed via the bearing counter-shield, but the bearing counter-shield must be configured massive and cannot be rotated without opening the free-fall brake
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the braking torque function from the bearing counter-shield by supporting the free-fall brake on the drum instead. The brake torque is now removed directly from the drum along with the drive torque, eliminating the need for the bearing counter-shield to handle braking forces, thus allowing it to be configured more lightly and rotated freely during assembly.
2Reliability
If the free-fall brake is stationarily supported on the bearing counter-shield, then the braking function is provided, but the bearing counter-shield cannot be rotated into the correct position without opening the free-fall brake
Solution Approach 1:
By extracting the free-fall brake from the bearing counter-shield and supporting it on the drum instead, the brake can now rotate together with the drum during assembly. This allows the bearing counter-shield to be freely rotated into the correct position without needing to open the free-fall brake, significantly improving assembly ease while maintaining the braking function.
3Temperature
If the cooling fluid is not able to sufficiently wash around the free-fall brake, then heat dissipation is inefficient, but the brake configuration makes cooling difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The invention enables the free-fall brake to rotate together with the drum, allowing the cooling fluid to continuously wash around the brake surfaces through rotation. This self-cooling mechanism eliminates the need for complex external cooling systems, as the brake's own rotation provides sufficient cooling action.
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 configuration enhances cooling efficiency, reduces the mass and complexity of the bearing counter-shield, and facilitates easier assembly by allowing the counter-shield to rotate freely, even when the free-fall brake is applied.
Implementation Method 1
the heat produced here on the free-fall brake is dissipated via an oil or fluid cooling process
Implementation Method 2
the cooling fluid is not able to sufficiently wash around the free-fall brake
Implementation Method 3
high braking energies are to be absorbed in a very short time, wherein the heat produced here on the free-fall brake
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a free-fall winch comprising a drum which can be rotatorily driven by a winch drive via a transmission and can be retained by a holding brake, wherein in addition to the holding brake a free-fall brake is provided for slowing down the drum in free-fall operation. According to the invention, the free-fall brake is arranged between winch drive and holding brake on the one hand and drum on the other hand such that when the free-fall brake is open, the drum is decoupled from the winch drive and from the holding brake and can be rotated at idle with respect to the winch drive and the holding brake.