Rotary Feed-Through Having a Gearing

Simple SummaryContent extracted from patent full text and abstract with AI.

This invention describes a rotary feed-through with integrated gearing, combining the principles of a cycloidal or eccentric gear with a hermetic (airtight) seal, such as a bellows. The device enables mechanical rotation to be transmitted between two separate spaces that may have different pressures (e.g., atmospheric pressure and vacuum) while maintaining the integrity of the seal between them. The design allows for torque transmission, speed reduction (gearing/underdrive), precise positioning, and usage in vacuum or corrosive environments without the need for lubricants.

Use CasesContent extracted from patent full text and abstract with AI.

• Transmitting rotary motion into vacuum chambers in semiconductor, material science, or physics experiments without compromising the vacuum integrity.
• Robotic arms or manipulators that operate through vacuum or pressure barriers.
• Medical or laboratory equipment requiring contamination-free mechanical feed-through between clean and non-clean areas.
• Industrial machinery where rotary motion must cross pressure-differentiated environments (e.g., reactors, chemical processing plants).
• Fusion reactors or scientific apparatus where magnetic or lubricated feed-throughs are not suitable.
• Devices in aggressive, corrosive, or high-temperature environments needing reliable mechanical seals.

BenefitsContent extracted from patent full text and abstract with AI.

• Enables efficient and precise transfer of rotary motion between separate pressurized or vacuum environments.
• Hermetic sealing ensures the integrity of sensitive or clean environments (e.g., vacuum chambers).
• Does not require lubricants, making it suitable for vacuum and ultra-high vacuum conditions where outgassing is an issue.
• Allows for high torque transmission and high positional accuracy due to cycloidal gearing.
• Long lifespan with low wear and minimal maintenance requirements, thanks to rolling contact mechanics.
• Flexible design adaptable to various media, temperatures, and pressures.
• Reduces the risk of contamination by particles or lubricant migration into sensitive environments.
• Not reliant on magnetic coupling, making it compatible with applications sensitive to magnetic fields.

Technical Classifications (CPCs)

Inventors & Applicants

Patent Abstract

The invention relates to a rotary feed-through, comprising a first shaft (1), which is connected to a first gear (5, 6) via a means (2) for coupling said shaft, a second shaft (3), which can be mounted in a housing (4) and which is fixedly connected to a second gear (5, 6), one of the gears being an external gear/cam/cycloidal disk (6) having i teeth and the other gear being an internal gear/ring gear (5) having i+x teeth, with i = 3, 4, 5,...n and x = 1, 2,...n, and the external gear being arranged within the internal gear and being able to roll therein, at least one means (2) for coupling a gear to the first shaft (1) in such a way that a rotational motion of said shaft leads to an eccentric motion of the gear coupled thereto, and a means for sealing (7), which can connect the gear (5, 6) coupled to the first shaft (1) to the housing (4). The decisive point with regard to the rotary feed-through according to the invention is the transition from a rotational motion D1 of a first shaft (in particular an input shaft) to a merely translational motion (eccentric motion), and from said translational motion back to a rotational motion D2 of the output shaft, combined with the possibility of hermetic sealing, which thus enables the use of this device in particular at the boundary between atmospheric pressure and vacuum.