FLUID DRIVING DEVICE

Abstract

A fluid driving device includes a housing, a sleeve member, a bearing unit, a shaft member, a rotor, a fastener member and a screw. The housing has an accommodation space, an inlet passage unit spatially communicating with the accommodation space and an external environment, and an outlet passage unit spatially communicating with the accommodation space and the external environment. The sleeve member includes a tubular sleeve wall, and a drainage hole set formed through the tubular sleeve wall and spatially communicating with the inlet passage unit. The drainage hole set has a plurality of drainage holes arranged about an axis, and respectively extending along a plurality of central lines. The bearing unit is disposed in the sleeve member. The shaft member includes a driven segment and a support segment. The rotor is secured to the driven segment and includes a plurality of blades.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to Taiwanese Invention Patent Application No. 112147050, filed on Dec. 4, 2023, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD

The disclosure relates to a power device, and more particularly to a fluid driving device.

BACKGROUND

A conventional power unit disclosed in Taiwanese Invention Patent No. 1751555B includes a casing having a through opening, a first bearing installed in the casing, a second bearing installed in the casing and spaced apart from the first bearing, a shaft supported by the first bearing and the second bearing, a rotor connected to the shaft and disposed between the first bearing and the second bearing, a cover engaging the casing, and an additional cover engaging the casing.

When a driving medium is introduced into the conventional power unit via the through opening of the casing, the driving medium drives rotation of the rotor and the shaft.

The conventional power unit can achieve the desired driving purpose; however, since the first bearing and the second bearing are respectively disposed at two opposite sides of the rotor, when water or a cutting fluid is used as the driving medium, the first bearing and the second bearing may be easily damaged due to the frequent contact with the driving medium and thus need to be replaced often. In addition, due to the configuration of the components of the conventional power unit, disassembly of the first bearing and the second bearing for maintenance may take a lot of time.

Furthermore, when the driving medium is being introduced into the conventional power unit, fluid pressure and a flow speed thereof may be unstable, which adversely affects steadiness of the rotation of the rotor.

SUMMARY

Therefore, an object of the disclosure is to provide a fluid driving device that can alleviate at least one of the drawbacks of the prior art.

According to the disclosure, the fluid driving device includes a housing, a sleeve member, a bearing unit, a shaft member, a rotor, a fastener member and a screw.

The housing extends along an axis, and has a tubular housing wall that defines an accommodation space, an inlet passage unit that spatially communicates with the accommodation space and an external environment, and an outlet passage unit that spatially communicates with the accommodation space and the external environment.

The sleeve member is disposed in the accommodation space, and includes a tubular sleeve wall that defines an internal space, and a drainage hole set that is formed through the tubular sleeve wall and that spatially communicates with the inlet passage unit. The drainage hole set has a plurality of drainage holes that are spaced apart from each other, that are arranged about the axis (L), and that respectively extend along a plurality of central lines. The outlet passage unit is located outside the sleeve member.

The bearing unit is disposed in the internal space of the sleeve member.

The shaft member extends along the axis and is disposed in the internal space of the sleeve member, and includes a driven segment that is adjacent to the drainage hole set, and a support segment that is connected to the driven segment along the axis and that is supported by the bearing unit.

The rotor is secured to the driven segment of the shaft member, is located at one side of the bearing unit along the axis, and includes a plurality of blades that are surrounded by the drainage hole set and the outlet passage unit. The rotor is rotatable. The plurality of blades take turns intersecting at least one of the plurality of central lines of the plurality of drainage holes when the rotor rotates.

The fastener member is disposed in the shaft member, and the screw secures the fastener member to the shaft member.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent in the following detailed description of the embodiment(s) with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is noted that various features may not be drawn to scale.

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view illustrating an embodiment of a fluid driving device according to the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line V-V in FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line VI-VI in FIG. 3.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line VII-VII in FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It should be noted herein that for clarity of description, spatially relative terms such as “top,” “bottom,” “upper,” “lower,” “on,” “above,” “over,” “downwardly,” “upwardly” and the like may be used throughout the disclosure while making reference to the features as illustrated in the drawings. The features may be oriented differently (e.g., rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative terms used herein may be interpreted accordingly.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 4, an embodiment of a fluid driving device according to the disclosure includes a housing 10, a sleeve member 20, a bearing unit 30, a shaft member 40, a fastener member 50, a screw 60, a rotor 70 and a cover 80.

The housing 10 extends along an axis (L), and includes a tube portion 11, a body portion 12 that is connected to the tube portion 11 along the axis (L), an inlet passage unit 13, and an outlet passage unit 14. The tube portion 11 includes a tubular housing wall 111 that defines an accommodation space 110, and an end wall 112 that is connected to the tubular housing wall 111. The inlet passage unit 13 spatially communicates with the accommodation space 110 and an external environment. The outlet passage unit 14 spatially communicates with the accommodation space 110 and the external environment. The body portion 12 is connected to the end wall 112 of the tube portion 11. Specifically, in this embodiment, the tubular housing wall 111 and the end wall 112 cooperatively define the accommodation space 110. The accommodation space 110 has a first end portion 113 that is adjacent to the end wall 112, and a second end portion 114 that is located at one side of the first end portion 133 opposite to the end wall 112 along the axis (L). The tubular housing wall 111 has an internal wall surface 115 that is adjacent to the accommodation space 110, and an internal threaded portion 116 that is disposed on the internal wall surface 115 and that is adjacent to the second end portion 114. The end wall 112 has a recess hole 117 that spatially communicates with the accommodation space 110. The inlet passage unit 13 has an introduction segment 131 that extends along the axis (L) and that is formed in the body portion 12, a plurality of transmission segments 132 that are formed in the end wall 112 and that spatially communicate with the introduction segment 131, and a plurality of output segments 133 that are formed in the tubular housing wall 111 and that spatially communicate with the transmission segments 132, respectively. Referring to FIG. 5, the transmission segments 132 are arranged radially around the axis (L). Referring to FIG. 7, each of the output segments 133 has a communication hole 134 that spatially communicates with the respective one of the transmission segments 132. The inlet passage unit 13 further has a plurality of storage grooves 135 that respectively and spatially communicate with the output segments 133, that spatially communicate with the accommodation space 110, and that are recessed from the internal wall surface 115. Each of the storage grooves 135 has a cross section that is perpendicular to the axis (L) and that is greater than a cross section of the respective one of the output segments 133 perpendicular to the axis (L). Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7 with reference to FIG. 3, the outlet passage unit 14 includes a plurality of output guiding grooves 141 that are recessed from the internal wall surface 115 and that are spaced apart from each other around the axis (L), and a plurality of straight groove segments 142 that extend respectively from the output guiding grooves 141 towards the second end portion 114. Each of the output guiding grooves 141 has a cross section that is perpendicular to the axis (L) and that is greater than a cross section of the respective one of the straight groove segments 142 perpendicular to the axis (L). The output guiding grooves 141 spatially communicate with the recess hole 117.

The sleeve member 20 is in a shape of a hollow cylinder, is disposed in the accommodation space 110, and includes a tubular sleeve wall 22 that defines an internal space 21, and a drainage hole set 23 that is formed through the tubular sleeve wall 22 and that spatially communicates with the inlet passage unit 13. The tubular sleeve wall 22 has an inner wall surface 221 that is adjacent to the internal space 21, and a block ring 222 that protrudes from the inner wall surface 221. The internal space 21 has a first side portion 211 and a second side portion 212 that are located at two opposite sides of the block ring 222 along the axis (L), and the first side portion 211 spatially communicates with the drainage hole set 23. The drainage hole set 23 has a plurality of drainage holes 231 that are spaced apart from each other, that are arranged about the axis (L), that respectively extend along a plurality of central lines (L1), and that are in spatial communication with the output segments 133 through the storage grooves 135. The outlet passage unit 14 is located outside the sleeve member 20. The internal space 21 spatially communicates with the recess hole 117; specifically, in this embodiment, the first side portion 211 of the internal space 21 spatially communicates with the recess hole 117.

The bearing unit 30 is disposed in the internal space 21 of the sleeve member 20. The bearing unit 30 includes a first bearing 31 that is disposed in the first side portion 211 and between the block ring 222 and the rotor 70, and two second bearings 32 that are disposed in the second side portion 212.

The shaft member 40 extends along the axis (L), is disposed in the internal space 21 of the sleeve member 20, and includes a driven segment 41 that is adjacent to the drainage hole set 23, a support segment 42 that is connected to the driven segment 41 along the axis (L) and that is supported by the bearing unit 30, and an installation hole 43 that extends through the driven segment 41 and the support segment 42 along the axis (L). The driven segment 41 of the shaft member 40 has an external thread 411 that is configured to be a reverse thread. The support segment 42 has a protrusion ring 421 that abuts against one of the second bearings 32. The installation hole 43 has a tapered portion 431 that corresponds in position to the support segment 42 and that tapers towards the driven segment 41 along the axis (L), and a stepped portion 432 that corresponds in position to the driven segment 41.

The fastener member 50 is disposed in the shaft member 40; specifically, the fastener member 50 is disposed in the installation hole 43 of the shaft member 40, and includes a chuck segment 51 that is operable to hold or release an object, and a threaded segment 52 that is connected to the chuck segment 51 along the axis (L) and that has a threaded hole.

The screw 60 extends into the installation hole 43 and is positioned at the stepped portion 432, and threadedly engages the threaded segment 52 to thereby secure the fastener member 50 to the shaft member 40.

The rotor 70 is secured to the driven segment 41 of the shaft member 40, is located at one side of the bearing unit 30 along the axis (L), and includes a hub 71 that extends along the axis (L), a disc member 72 that is connected to the hub 71 and that is adjacent to the first bearing 31, and a plurality of blades 73 that are surrounded by the drainage hole set 23 and the outlet passage unit 14, and that are connected to the hub 71 and the disc member 72. The hub 71 has a threaded hole 711 that is configured to be a reverse-threaded hole. The axis (L) extends through the threaded hole 711 of the hub 71. The driven segment 41 threadedly engages the rotor 70; specifically, the external thread 411 of the driven segment 41 threadedly engages the threaded hole 711 of the rotor 70. The disc member 72 is perpendicular to the axis (L). The rotor 70 is rotatable. The blades 73 take turns intersecting each of the central lines (L1) of the drainage holes 231 when the rotor 70 rotates. In addition, referring to FIG. 7, when the rotor 70 is not rotating, each of the central lines (L1) of the drainage holes 231 intersects one of the blades 73. The recess hole 117 is adjacent to the blades 73 of the rotor 70.

The cover 80 closes the second end portion 114 of the accommodation space 110, and has an external threaded portion 81 that threadedly engages the internal threaded portion 116 of the tubular housing wall 111, and a plurality of outlet holes 82 that spatially communicate with the straight groove segments 142.

To further understand the function produced, the technical means used, and the expected effect of this disclosure, cooperation of the components of the disclosure will be described below.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 3 and 4 with reference to arrows in FIGS. 3 and 5, when a driving fluid (e.g., air, water or a cutting fluid) is introduced into the fluid driving device through the introduction segment 131 of the inlet passage unit 13, the driving fluid is evenly distributed to the output segments 133 through the transmission segments 132. Then, as shown in FIG. 7, by virtue of the cross section of each of the storage grooves 135 perpendicular to the axis (L) being greater than the cross section of the respective one of the output segments 133 perpendicular to the axis (L), when the driving fluid is guided from the communication holes 134 of the output segments 133 to the respective storage grooves 135, fluid pressure and a flow speed of the driving fluid are stabilized, and steadiness of rotation of the rotor 70 driven by the driving fluid is improved.

Afterwards, as shown by arrows in FIGS. 3 and 7, by virtue of each of the central lines (L1) of the drainage holes 231 intersecting one of the blades 73, when the driving fluid flows through the draining holes 231 from the storage grooves 135, the rotor 70 is driven to rotate about the axis (L). In addition, since the threaded hole 711 of the rotor 70 is a reverse-threaded hole and the external thread 411 (that is a reverse thread) of the driven segment 41 of the shaft member 40 threaedly engages the threaded hole 711, when the rotor 70 drives the shaft member 40 to rotate, threaded engagement between the shaft member 40 and the rotor 70 becomes tighter. Consequently, the shaft member 40 and the rotor 70 may not be loosened easily.

As shown by the arrows in FIGS. 3 and 7, after driving the rotor 70 to rotate, the driving fluid is guided to the recess hole 117 by the rotor 70. By virtue of the cross section of each of the output guiding grooves 141 (see FIG. 6) perpendicular to the axis (L) being greater than the cross section of the respective one of the straight groove segments 142 (see FIG. 7) perpendicular to the axis (L), the output guiding grooves 141 of the outlet passage unit 14 have a water storage effect so that when the driving fluid is guided from the output guiding grooves 141 to the respective straight groove segments 142, the driving fluid flows steadily.

Therefore, as shown by the arrows in FIG. 3, when flowing from the straight groove segments 142 towards the cover 80, the driving fluid is discharged steadily through the outlet holes 82.

Effects and advantages of the present disclosure are summarized as follows.

Since the bearing unit 30 is disposed in the internal space 21 of the sleeve member 20, the inlet passage unit 13 and the outlet passage unit 14 are separated from the bearing unit 30 by the sleeve member 20 and the disc member 72 of the rotor 70. Thus, even if the driving fluid is water or a cutting fluid, the bearing unit 30 is prevented from being directly impacted by the driving fluid. The bearing unit 30 may not be damaged easily and thus may not need to be replaced frequently.

By virtue of the modular design of the sleeve member 20, the bearing unit 30, the shaft member 40, the fastener member 50, the screw 60 and the rotor 70, after the cover 80 is disassembled from the housing 10, the abovementioned components may be easily disassembled from the housing 10 for repair or replacement. Replacement of the bearing unit 30 is time-saving by simply removing the rotor 70 and the shaft member 40.

Through the configuration of the inlet passage unit 13 and the output passage unit 14, instant water storage and drainage may be achieved so that the rotor 70 may rotate more smoothly. In addition, through the design of the quantity of the outlet holes 82, the spatial communication between the outlet holes 82 and the straight groove segments 142, and the configuration of the cross sections (i.e., the cross section of each of the output guiding grooves 141 perpendicular to the axis (L) being greater than the cross section of the respective one of the straight groove segments 142 perpendicular to the axis (L); the cross section of each of the storage grooves 135 perpendicular to the axis (L) being greater than the cross section of the respective one of the output segments 133 perpendicular to the axis (L)), the flow rate for outputting the driving fluid may be controlled, so as to prevent excessively fast drainage. Moreover, after being discharged, the driving fluid may serve as a cooling fluid or a chip-discharging fluid in a machining process.

The transmission segments 132 and the output segments 133 of the inlet passage unit 13 are arranged at regular intervals about the axis (L) so that the steadiness of the rotation of the rotor 70 is improved.

After driving the rotation of the rotor 70, the driving fluid is guided through the output guiding grooves 141 and the straight groove segments 142 of the outlet passage unit 14, and is discharged through the cover 80; the path for discharging the driving fluid is smooth.

Since the threaded hole 711 of the rotor 70 is a reverse-threaded hole and the external thread 411 (that is a reverse thread) of the driven segment 41 threadedly engages the threaded hole 711, when the rotor 70 drives the shaft member 40 to rotate, the threaded engagement between the shaft member 40 and the rotor 70 becomes tighter. Thus, the threaded engagement between the rotor 70 and the shaft member 40 is strong and may not be loosened easily.

Since the rotor 70 is secured to the driven segment 41 of the shaft member 40 and is positioned at one side the bearing unit 30 along the axis (L), and since the outlet passage unit 14 is located outside the sleeve member 20, the path for discharging the driving fluid may not pass through the bearing unit 30, thereby reducing the failure rate of the bearing unit 30.

In summary, the fluid driving device of the present disclosure has a relatively simple structure and is easy to be manufactured and assembled; through the configuration of the components thereof, the object of the present disclosure is indeed achieved.

In the description above, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details have been set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiment(s). It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that one or more other embodiments may be practiced without some of these specific details. It should also be appreciated that reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” an embodiment with an indication of an ordinal number and so forth means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic may be included in the practice of the disclosure. It should be further appreciated that in the description, various features are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of various inventive aspects; such does not mean that every one of these features needs to be practiced with the presence of all the other features. In other words, in any described embodiment, when implementation of one or more features or specific details does not affect implementation of another one or more features or specific details, said one or more features may be singled out and practiced alone without said another one or more features or specific details. It should be further noted that one or more features or specific details from one embodiment may be practiced together with one or more features or specific details from another embodiment, where appropriate, in the practice of the disclosure.

While the disclosure has been described in connection with what is(are) considered the exemplary embodiment(s), it is understood that this disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiment(s) but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.

Claims

1. A fluid driving device, comprising: a housing extending along an axis, and having a tubular housing wall that defines an accommodation space, an inlet passage unit that spatially communicates with said accommodation space and an external environment, and an outlet passage unit that spatially communicates with said accommodation space and the external environment;a sleeve member disposed in said accommodation space, and including a tubular sleeve wall that defines an internal space, and a drainage hole set that is formed through said tubular sleeve wall and that spatially communicates with said inlet passage unit, said drainage hole set having a plurality of drainage holes that are spaced apart from each other, that are arranged about the axis, and that respectively extend along a plurality of central lines, said outlet passage unit being located outside said sleeve member;a bearing unit disposed in said internal space of said sleeve member;a shaft member extending along the axis, disposed in said internal space of said sleeve member, and including a driven segment that is adjacent to said drainage hole set, and a support segment that is connected to said driven segment along the axis and that is supported by said bearing unit;a rotor secured to said driven segment of said shaft member, located at one side of said bearing unit along the axis, and including a plurality of blades that are surrounded by said drainage hole set and said outlet passage unit, said rotor being rotatable, said plurality of blades taking turns intersecting at least one of the plurality of central lines of said plurality of drainage holes when said rotor rotates;a fastener member disposed in said shaft member; anda screw securing said fastener member to said shaft member (40).

2. The fluid driving device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said housing includes a tube portion, and a body portion that is connected to said tube portion along the axis, said tube portion including said tubular housing wall and further including an end wall that is connected to said tubular housing wall, said tubular housing wall and said end wall cooperatively defining said accommodation space, said body portion being connected to said end wall of said tube portion, andsaid inlet passage unit has an introduction segment that extends along the axis and that is formed in said body portion, a plurality of transmission segments that are formed in said end wall and that spatially communicate with said introduction segment, and a plurality of output segments that are formed in said tubular housing wall and that spatially communicate with said drainage holes.

3. The fluid driving device as claimed in claim 2, wherein said plurality of transmission segments of said housing are arranged radially around the axis, each of said plurality of output segments having a communication hole that spatially communicates with a corresponding one of said plurality of transmission segments, said inlet passage unit further having a plurality of storage grooves that respectively and spatially communicate with said plurality of output segments and that spatially communicate with said accommodation space, each of said plurality of storage grooves having a cross section that is perpendicular to the axis and that is greater than a cross section of the respective one of said plurality of output segments perpendicular to the axis.

4. The fluid driving device as claimed in claim 3, wherein said tubular housing wall of said housing has an internal wall surface that is adjacent to said accommodation space, said accommodation space having a first end portion that is adjacent to said end wall and a second end portion that is located at one side of said first end portion opposite to said end wall along the axis, andsaid outlet passage unit has a plurality of output guiding grooves that are recessed from said internal wall surface and that are spaced apart from each other around the axis, and a plurality of straight groove segments that extend respectively from said plurality of output guiding grooves towards said second end portion, each of said output guiding grooves having a cross section that is perpendicular to the axis and that is greater than a cross section of the respective one of said plurality of straight groove segments perpendicular to the axis.

5. The fluid driving device as claimed in claim 4, further comprising a cover connected to said tubular housing wall, closing said second end portion of said accommodation space, and having a plurality of outlet holes that spatially communicate with said plurality of straight groove segments of said outlet passage unit.

6. The fluid driving device as claimed in claim 4, wherein said end wall of said housing has a recess hole that spatially communicates with said accommodation space and said internal space, said recess hole being adjacent to said rotor, said plurality of output guiding grooves of said outlet passage unit spatially communicating with said recess hole.

7. The fluid driving device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said tubular sleeve wall of said sleeve member has an inner wall surface that is adjacent to said internal space, and a block ring that protrudes from said inner wall surface, said internal space having a first side portion and a second side portion that are located at two opposite sides of said block ring along the axis, said first side portion spatially communicating with said drainage hole set, said bearing unit including a first bearing that is disposed in said first side portion and between said block ring and said rotor, and at least one second bearing that is disposed in said second side portion.

8. The fluid driving device as claimed in claim 7, wherein said rotor further includes a hub that extends along the axis and that is connected to said blades, and a disc member that is connected to said blades and said hub and that is adjacent to said first bearing, said disc member being perpendicular to the axis, said hub having a threaded hole that is configured to be a reverse-threaded hole, the axis extending through said threaded hole, said driven segment of said shaft member having an external thread that is configured to be a reverse thread, said driven segment threadedly engaging said rotor.