High pressure magnetic drive including magnetic thrust bearings

A magnetic drive assembly for transmitting torques to the interior of a pressurizable vessel or the like comprising;

• a nonmagnetic tubular housing having two portions, one of larger diameter than the other, there being an annular step between the portions of the housing having different diameters, said housing having at the end of the portion of smaller diameter an opening securable to an opening in a pressurizable vessel whereby the housing may be subjected to the vessel pressure, said housing having an opening in the end of the portion of larger diameter and a plug for sealing said last mentioned end, said plug having an axial recess facing the interior of the housing;
• a sheave coaxial with and surrounding said larger diameter portion of the tubular housing, said sheave mounted rotatably thereto, said sheave carrying circumferentially magnetized rare earth cobalt magnets defining an even number of north and south magnetic poles having substantially equal angular spacing;
• a driven shaft journaled in said housing by bushings that impose no axial restraint on said shaft, there being one bushing located in the axial recess of said plug and another bushing located in the portion of the housing having the smaller diameter, said bushings permitting axial passage of the pressurized atmosphere to equalize pressure within the housing, said shaft being long enough to extend through an opening of said housing, said shaft having mounted thereto circumferentially magnetized cylindrical rare earth cobalt magnets defining an equal number of north and south magnetic poles having the same substantially equal annular spacing as the magnets mounted in said sheave, such that when the sheave is turned the driven shaft will follow,
• said driven shaft having an annular rare earth cobalt magnet being coaxial with and attached to said shaft in the vicinity of said annular step, said annular magnet being axially polarized;
• said nonmagnetic tubular housing having associated therewith an annular rare earth cobalt magnet coaxial with the driven shaft secured near the annular step in the tubular housing and said annular magnet being axially polarized and arranged to cooperate with the axially polarized annular magnet attached to said driven shaft so that magnetically opposite poles face to thus repulse the axial movement of the driven shaft toward the pressure vessel maintaining the axial position of the shaft.

A magnetic drive assembly for transmitting torques to the interior of a pressurizable vessel or the like comprising:

• a nonmagnetic tubular housing having two portions, one of larger diameter than the other, there being an annular step between the portions of the housing having different diameters, said housing having at the the end of the portion of smaller diameter an opening securable to an opening in a pressurizable vessel whereby the housing may be subjected to the vessel pressure, said housing having an opening in the end of the portion of larger diameter and a plug for sealing said last mentioned end;
• a sheave coaxial with and surrounding said larger diameter portion of the tubular housing, said sheave mounted rotatably thereto, said sheave carrying circumferentially magnetized rare earth cobalt magnets, defining an even number of north and south magnetic poles having substantially equal angular spacing;
• a driven shaft journaled in said housing by bushings that impose no axial restraint on said shaft and permit axial passage of the pressurized atmosphere to equalize pressure within said housing, said shaft being long enough to extend through an opening of said housing, said shaft having mounted thereto circumferentially magnetized cylindrical rare earth cobalt magnets defining an equal number of north and south magnetic poles such that when the sleeve is turned the driven shaft will follow,
• said driven shaft having two spaced annular axially polarized rare earth cobalt magnets coaxial with and attached to said shaft, one in the vicinity of the plug sealing said large diameter end and the other in the vicinity of the annular step in the housing,
• said housing having secured thereto two annular axially polarized magnets being coaxial with said housing, one attached to said plug and the other secured near the annular step,
• the polarity of all four annular magnets being such that two pairs of repulsing magnets urge the driven shaft to a desired axial position.