# US 2024/0200656 A1 · Modular stuffing box

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- Number: US 2024/0200656 A1
- Document ID: US20240200656A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 18/082,191
- Filed: 2022-12-15
- Published: 2024-06-20
- Earliest claimed: 2022-12-15
- Assignees: Gd Energy Products, LLC
- Applicants: GD Energy Products, LLC
- Inventors: Adam Bradley Avey
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20240200656A1

## CPC

- F16J 15/18: with stuffing-boxes for elastic or plastic packings
- F04B 53/16: Casings; Cylinders; Cylinder liners or heads; Fluid connections
- F04B 53/164: {Stoffing boxes}
- F16J 15/183: {using a lantern ring}
- F16J 15/184: {Tightening mechanisms}
- F16J: PISTONS {(specially adapted for dampers F16F9/32)}; CYLINDERS; SEALINGS
- F04B: POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT MACHINES FOR LIQUIDS; PUMPS (machines for liquids, or pumps, of rotary-piston or oscillating-piston type F04C; non-positive-displacement pumps F04D; pumping of fluid by direct contact of another fluid or by using inertia of fluid to be pumped F04F)

## Abstract

A modular stuffing box for a reciprocating pump, and in particular, an externally mounted modular stuffing box. The modular stuffing box includes three or more sections that can be disassembled in individual sections. Being able to disassemble the sections allows for only the damaged section or sections requiring repair or removal to be replaced, thereby eliminating the need to remove or replace all of the sections of the stuffing box. The overall expenses are reduced and the ease of repair in the field is increased, because the materials and sections of the stuffing box that are in good condition and do not require repair can be reused as part of the stuffing box.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A modular stuffing box configured to be coupled to a fluid end casing of a reciprocating pump, comprising:
a first section including a mounting portion engageable with an opening formed in the fluid end casing, the first section defining a bore therein;
a second section separate from the first section, the second section having an inner surface including an abrasion-resistant material, the inner surface defining a bore therein;
a third section having an inner surface defining a bore therein;
a fastener engageable with each of the first section, the second section, the third section, and the fluid end casing to secure the first section, the second section, and the third section to the fluid end casing such that the bores of the first section, the second section, and the third section are aligned; and
one or more packing seals located in the bore of the second section.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The modular stuffing box of claim 1, wherein when the fastener is removed, any one of the first section, the second section, and the third section can be removed and replaced with a different section having the same features as the removed section.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The modular stuffing box of claim 1, wherein each of the first section, the second section, and the third section has a mounting hole that can receive the fastener, and the fluid end casing defines a mounting hole that receives the fastener after the fastener is inserted through the mounting holes in the first section, the second section, and the third section.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The modular stuffing box of claim 1, wherein the first section includes a first alignment mechanism, the second section includes a second alignment mechanism engageable with the first alignment mechanism to ensure that the first section and the second section are aligned when they are positioned proximate to each other.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The modular stuffing box of claim 4, wherein the second section includes a third alignment mechanism, the third section includes a fourth alignment mechanism engageable with the third alignment mechanism to ensure that the second section and the third section are aligned when they are positioned proximate to each other.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The modular stuffing box of claim 1, wherein the third section includes a first inner portion defining a first inner surface and a second inner portion defining a second inner surface, the third section including a wall between the first inner portion and the second inner portion, and the first inner surface defines a plurality of threads.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The modular stuffing box of claim 6, further comprising:
a packing nut engageable with the third section, the packing nut having an outer surface defining a plurality of threads, the threads on the packing nut being engageable with the threads on the third section to couple the packing nut to the third section and thereby retain the packing seals in the modular stuffing box.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The modular stuffing box of claim 7, wherein the one or more packing seals are located inside the second section when the packing nut is coupled to the third section.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The modular stuffing box of claim 1, wherein the second section includes a body having an inner wall with abrasion-resistant properties and the one or more packing seals are aligned with the inner wall of the second section.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The modular stuffing box of claim 1, wherein the first section includes a body having an outer end and an inner end opposite to the outer end, the mounting portion of the first section is located on the inner end, and the mounting portion includes a circumferential seal.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

The modular stuffing box of claim 1, wherein the first section includes a body having an outer end and an inner end opposite to the outer end, the outer end includes a groove formed therein, and the first section includes a sealing member located in the groove.

### Claim 12

A fluid end component, comprising:
a first component having an inner surface defining a first central bore;
a second component having an inner surface defining a second central bore, the inner surface of the second component being abrasion-resistant;
a third component having an inner surface defining a third central bore, each of the first component, the second component, and the third component being independent from each other;
a plurality of fasteners engageable with each of the first component, the second component, the third component, and the casing to mount the first component, the second component, and the third component to a fluid end casing; and
one or more packing seals retainable in the fluid end component.

### Claim 13 (depends on 12)

The fluid end component of claim 12, wherein the inner surface of the third component includes a plurality of threads, and the fluid end component further comprises:
a packing nut with a plurality of threads engageable with the plurality of threads on the third component to mount the packing nut to the third component and retain the one or more packing seals in the fluid end component.

### Claim 14 (depends on 12)

The fluid end component of claim 12, wherein the first component and the second component include a first set of cooperating alignment mechanisms that engage each other when the first component and the second component are proximate each other, and the second component and the third component include a second set of cooperating alignment mechanisms that engage each other when the second component and the third component are proximate each other.

### Claim 15 (depends on 12)

The fluid end component of claim 12, wherein the first central bore has a first diameter, the second central bore has a second diameter, and a portion of the third central bore has a third diameter, wherein the second diameter and the third diameter are the same and are larger than the first diameter.

### Claim 16 (depends on 12)

The fluid end component of claim 12, wherein the first component has an end with a groove containing a sealing member that engages the second component when the first component and the second component are engaged with each other, and the third component has an end with a groove containing a sealing member that engages the second component with the third component and the second component are engaged with each other.

### Claim 17

A stuffing box configured to be removably mounted to a fluid end casing of a reciprocating pump, the stuffing box comprising:
a first section with an inner wall defining a bore;
a second section with an inner wall defining a bore, the second section being separate from and movable proximate to the first section;
a third section with an inner wall defining a bore, the third section being separate from and movable proximate to the second section;
one or more packing seals locatable in at least one of the first section, the second section, or the third section; and
a fastener engageable with each of the first section, the second section, the third section to mount the first section, the second section, and the third section to the casing, wherein any of the first section, the second section, and the third section is removable and replaceable by a similarly structured section.

### Claim 18 (depends on 17)

The stuffing box of claim 17, wherein the inner wall of the second section is abrasion-resistant, the inner wall of the third section includes threads, and the stuffing box further comprises:
a packing nut with threads engageable with the threads on the third section to secure the packing nut to the third section.

### Claim 19 (depends on 17)

The stuffing box of claim 17, wherein each of the first section, the second section, and the third section includes an alignment mechanism that engages an alignment mechanism of an adjacent one of the first section, the second section, and the third section to align the bores of the first section, the second section, and the third section.

### Claim 20 (depends on 17)

The stuffing box of claim 17, wherein each of the inner walls of the first section, the second section, and the third section has a different surface and a different configuration than the inner walls of other sections.