Rotary shafts – gudgeons – housings – and flexible couplings for ro – Housing – Flexible housing
Patent
1983-09-21
1986-02-11
Marcus, Stephen
Rotary shafts, gudgeons, housings, and flexible couplings for ro
Housing
Flexible housing
74 178, 74640, F16J 1550
Patent
active
045696691
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The invention relates to drive units for effecting torque-transmission via a non-rotating sealing tube.
In many industrial applications it is necessary to provide for torque-transmission via a positively sealed unit, as for instance where a tool, control member or driving shaft is to be driven in any form of hostile environment, or in cases where a severe pressure-difference exists, e.g. in space vehicles or in submarine equipment. Even where the safety requirements are less demanding there may be a need for positive sealing without the excessive friction that is introduced by the use of glands. Thus, a simple water-tap that is positively sealed but easy to turn would be of benefit to the elderly or infirm. As an aid to greater efficiency in marine engineering, a propeller drive-shaft operable of withstanding external water pressure without incurring the energy losses that are consequent upon the use of normal glands to render the drive system water-tight would be of considerable value.
One object of the present invention is to provide a torque-transmission unit which avoids the disadvantages of conventional glands by using a non-rotating sealing tube as an intermediate member between an outer member and an inner member, the outer member being driven to rotate the inner member, or vice versa, and the drive being operable in either direction of rotation.
According to one preferred embodiment of the invention there is provided a drive unit for effecting torque-transmission via a non-rotating sealing tube, in which a central member rotatable in a housing and extending through an unsealed aperture in a wall thereof has an engagement portion that is eccentric with respect to its axis of rotation, an intermediate sealing tube is mounted freely on said engagement portion and freely fitted within a circular aperture in a main eccentric member which is mounted to be rotatable about said axis, the circular aperture in said main eccentric member having an eccentricity with respect to the axis of rotation of the central rotatable member that matches the eccentricity of said engagement portion, means being provided to drive said central rotatable member or said main eccentric to rotate about said axis of rotation, and output drive means being provided driven by said main eccentric or said central rotatable member, as the case may be, and sealing means being attached to said intermediate sealing tube to restrict rotation thereof about said central axis and couple its respective ends via associated flexible sealing members to housing portions that define a sealed enclosure to isolate said central member and said unsealed aperture from the remainder of the housing interior.
For intricate control of precision instruments, as for example, the setting of a specimen holder within an electron microscope, the central member may be the driving member, in the form of a shaft extending through an aperture in the wall of the microscope column, and a drive coupling can be arranged within the column to enable rotation of the main eccentric to effect the required adjustment, possibly by means of a set of gears, a rack and pinion drive or any other suitable mechanical arrangement. In such cases, where the power involved is low, and precision is the principle requirement the geometry may be such that the eccentric portion of the central member is formed by an off-set circular section of reduced cross-section, but in the majority of applications the central member will be a shaft, and the eccentric portion will be formed by an integral or attached annular enlargement. The actual geometry will be determined by the drive characteristics required in any particular case, i.e. whether a high speed of rotation or a powerful output is the primary consideration, or whether both are required.
The material selected will also be dependent to some extent on the nature of the sealing problem. Where working in a hostile environment is required, the nature of the physical or chemical hazard will determine the selection of the materials for the sealing
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Farley Walter C.
Marcus Stephen
Peters Leo
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