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US 12,546,330 B2Granted
Bearing assemblies, apparatuses, devices, systems, and methods including bearings
AssigneeChampionX LLC
InventorsBrett Champlin, Joey Witt, Brian Hicks, Alex Hageman
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Bearing assemblies, apparatuses, systems, and methods include bearing assemblies having one or more bearing element in a bearing housing for supporting a shaft extending through at least a portion of the bearing housing. The bearing assembly including a recirculation line for delivering fluid into the bearing housing at a location separate from a fluid inlet of the bearing housing to at least partially thermally regulate, lubricate, and/or flush the one or more bearing elements during operation of the shaft.
Claims20
A fluid-handling system, comprising:
- a pump;
- and
- a bearing assembly coupled to the pump, the bearing assembly comprising:
- a housing comprising:
- a fluid inlet for receiving a primary fluid from an upstream fluid source;
- and
- a fluid outlet for exiting the primary fluid to the pump coupled to the housing, the housing defining a primary fluid pathway between the fluid inlet and the fluid outlet;
- an inner bearing housing positioned at least partially within the primary fluid pathway;
- a shaft extending through at least a portion of the housing and through at least a portion of the inner bearing housing;
- one or more bearing elements comprising a superhard material in the inner bearing housing, the one or more bearing elements configured to support the shaft in one or more of an axial direction or a radial direction when the shaft is being operated;
- and
- a recirculation line extending from the pump into the housing, the recirculation line for delivering another fluid into the housing along a secondary fluid pathway that is separate from the primary fluid pathway of the housing, the recirculation line positioned to pass the another fluid through the one or more bearing elements, wherein the inner bearing housing is configured to substantially isolate the one or more bearing elements from the primary fluid traveling through the primary fluid pathway such that a majority of fluid in communication with the one or more bearing elements comprises only the another fluid from the secondary fluid pathway.
9 more elements
A bearing assembly, comprising:
- a housing comprising:
- a primary fluid inlet for receiving a primary fluid from an upstream fluid source;
- and
- a primary fluid outlet for exiting the primary fluid to a downstream component coupled to the housing, the housing defining a primary fluid pathway between the primary fluid inlet and the primary fluid outlet;
- a shaft extending through at least a portion of the housing, the shaft configured to be driven by a motor;
- one or more bearing elements configured to support the shaft in an axial and radial direction when the shaft is being operated by the motor;
- a recirculation line extending into the housing, the recirculation line for delivering secondary fluid into the housing at a location separate from the primary fluid inlet, the recirculation line positioned to pass the secondary fluid through the one or more bearing elements;
- and
- an inner housing enclosing at least a portion of the shaft and each of the one or more bearing elements, the inner housing configured to inhibit the primary fluid from entering into the inner housing between a secondary fluid inlet for receiving the secondary fluid from the recirculation line and a secondary fluid outlet for outputting the secondary fluid into the primary fluid pathway.
6 more elements
A method of using a bearing assembly, the method comprising:
- rotating a shaft extending through a housing;
- supporting the shaft with bearing elements comprising a superhard material;
- passing source fluid through the housing along a first fluid pathway extending between a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet;
- supplying a bearing fluid along a second fluid pathway in fluid communication with the bearing elements, the second fluid pathway extending through an enclosed inner bearing housing having a fluid inlet for receiving the bearing fluid and a fluid exit for exiting the bearing fluid into the first fluid pathway;
- preventing the source fluid from entering the enclosed inner bearing housing between the fluid inlet and the fluid outlet;
- and
- combining the bearing fluid and the source fluid after the supplying the bearing fluid along the second fluid pathway in fluid communication with the bearing elements.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.