Agitator drive
AssigneeConocoPhillips Company
InventorMike L. Harclerode
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A drive for powering an agitator in a chemical process vessel may be located inside a housing attached to the vessel and may have a motor that drives a shaft that is attached to an agitator assembly inside the vessel. The shaft may pass into the vessel through a floor in the housing, which may be provided with a standpipe to prevent the flow of fluid on the floor into the vessel. A shield attached to the shaft may be provided above the standpipe to prevent fluid from entering the standpipe from above. In addition, a sump may be provided to allow effective lubrication and cooling for bearings that support the shaft.
Claims31
A drive for an agitator assembly, comprising:
- a drive housing defining an interior volume;
- a drive motor mounted in the interior volume of the drive housing;
- a bearing support connected to the inside of the housing and having a bearing receptacle;
- one or more bearings mounted in the bearing receptacle;
- a drive shaft rotatably mounted in the one or more bearings and driven by the drive motor;
- a sump surrounding the drive shaft, the sump defining an inner volume for holding a lubricant, and wherein at least a portion of the one or more bearings are mounted in the inner volume of the sump so that the bearings may be immersed in lubricant in the sump.
A drive for an agitator assembly, comprising:
- a drive housing having a floor, and that is attachable to a process vessel;
- a drive motor mounted within the drive housing;
- a drive shaft coupled to the drive motor and extending through an opening in the floor;
- a standpipe located above the opening and extending upward from the floor, and concentric with the drive shaft;
- and
- a shield attached to the drive shaft and located above the standpipe to prevent fluid from entering the standpipe.
A method of extending bearing life in an agitator drive having a shaft that extends into a vessel, comprising:
- providing one or more bearings around the drive shaft in a bearing support;
- providing a rotating sump around the one or more bearings;
- passing lubricating fluid through the one or more bearings and into the rotating sump until the rotating sump is overflowing with lubricant, to lubricate and cool the bearings;
- and
- recirculating the lubricating fluid.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.