Control rod remote holdout mechanism
AssigneeBWXT Advanced Technologies LLC
InventorsScott J. Shargots, Ryan Z. Ziegler, Emily D. Fleming, Jason C. Brown
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A control rod drive mechanism having a torque tube, a control rod assembly including a connecting rod disposed within the torque tube and including an annular collar defining a key slot, an elongated key that is slidably receivable within the key slot, a lock cam assembly rotatably secured to a top end of the connecting rod and including a locking cam, and a holdout collar disposed non-rotatably within the torque tube, the holdout collar including a locking recess with an entry slot, wherein in a first axial position the lock cam assembly is rotatable with respect to the torque tube, and a second axial position the lock cam assembly is non-rotatable with respect to the torque tube.
Claims20
A control rod drive mechanism comprising:
- a torque tube with an inner surface defining a central bore;
- a control rod assembly including a connecting rod disposed within the central bore of the torque tube, the connecting rod including an annular collar defining a key slot;
- an elongated key that is slidably receivable within the key slot, the elongated key being non-rotatably fixed to the inner surface of the torque tube;
- a lock cam assembly secured to a top end of the connecting rod so as to be rotatable and axially movable over a range with respect to the connecting rod, the lock cam assembly including a body portion and at least one locking cam extending radially-outwardly therefrom;
- and
- a holdout collar disposed non-rotatably within the torque tube, the holdout collar including an inner surface defining a central bore and at least one locking recess therein, the locking recess including an entry slot extending upwardly from a bottom edge of the holdout collar;
- wherein the connecting rod is axially-movable with respect to the torque tube between a first position in which the lock cam assembly is rotatable with respect to the torque tube, and a second position in which the lock cam assembly is non-rotatable with respect to the torque tube.
A holdout mechanism for use with a control rod drive mechanism having a torque tube, comprising:
- a connecting rod including an annular collar defining a key slot, the annular collar extending radially-outwardly from the outer surface of the connecting rod;
- an elongated key that is slidably receivable within the key slot, the elongated key being non-rotatably fixed to an inner surface of the torque tube;
- a lock cam assembly secured to a top end of the connecting rod so as to be rotatable and axially movable over a range with respect to the connecting rod, the lock cam assembly including a body portion and at least one locking cam extending radially-outwardly therefrom;
- and
- a holdout collar disposed non-rotatably within the torque tube, the holdout collar including an inner surface defining a central bore and at least one locking recess therein, the locking recess including an entry slot extending upwardly from a bottom edge of the holdout collar;
- wherein the connecting rod is axially-movable with respect to the control rod drive mechanism between a first position in which the lock cam assembly is rotatable with respect to the connecting rod, and a second position in which the lock cam assembly is non-rotatable with respect to the connecting rod.
A control rod drive mechanism comprising:
- a torque tube with an inner surface defining a central bore;
- a control rod assembly including a connecting rod disposed within the central bore of the torque tube;
- a lock cam assembly secured to a top end of the connecting rod so as to be rotatable and axially movable over a range with respect to the connecting rod, the lock cam assembly including a body portion and at least one locking cam extending radially-outwardly therefrom;
- and
- a holdout collar disposed non-rotatably within the torque tube, the holdout collar including an inner surface defining a central bore and at least one locking recess therein, the locking recess including an entry slot extending upwardly from a bottom edge of the holdout collar;
- wherein the connecting rod is axially-movable with respect to the torque tube between a first position in which the at least one locking cam is not engaged with the holdout collar and a second position in which the at least one locking cam is engaged with the holdout collar and situated in the locking recess.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.