阅读说明：本技术 用于轴承外壳总成的轴承外壳 (Bearing housing for a bearing housing assembly ) 是由 西蒙·C·布拉德肖 肖恩·A·科珀 苏珊·沙利文 约翰·萨莱诺 辛西亚·科贝格尔 于 2018-04-12 设计创作，主要内容包括：本申请涉及一种用于轴承外壳总成的轴承外壳,其包括：轴承外壳壁部分,其被配置成形成轴承总成室以用于接收轴承总成与待旋转的轴的组合；油底壳,其被配置或形成在轴承外壳内,用于接收并容纳在轴旋转时润滑轴承总成的油；油路径通道,其作为油路径配置或形成在轴承外壳内,用于接收来自轴承总成室的污油以便沿油路径行进；以及过滤器总成壁部分,其被配置成形成过滤器总成腔,过滤器总成腔流体地联接在油底壳与油路径通道之间,且还被配置成接收过滤器总成,过滤器总成用于过滤沿着油路径行进的污油且向油底壳提供经过滤的油,因此经过滤的油能够再循环以在轴旋转时润滑轴承总成。(The present application relates to a bearing housing for a bearing housing assembly, comprising: a bearing housing wall portion configured to form a bearing assembly chamber for receiving a combination of a bearing assembly and a shaft to be rotated; an oil sump configured or formed within the bearing housing for receiving and containing oil that lubricates the bearing assembly as the shaft rotates; an oil path passage, which is disposed as an oil path or formed in the bearing housing, for receiving dirty oil from the bearing assembly chamber so as to travel along the oil path; and a filter assembly wall portion configured to form a filter assembly cavity fluidly coupled between the oil pan and the oil pathway passage, and further configured to receive a filter assembly for filtering dirty oil traveling along the oil pathway and providing filtered oil to the oil pan so that the filtered oil can be recirculated to lubricate the bearing assembly as the shaft rotates.)

1. A bearing housing for a bearing housing assembly, comprising:

a bearing housing wall portion configured to form a bearing assembly chamber for receiving a combination of a bearing assembly and a shaft to be rotated;

an oil sump configured or formed within the bearing housing for receiving and containing oil for lubricating the bearing assembly as the shaft rotates;

an oil path passage disposed or formed as an oil path within the bearing housing for receiving dirty oil from the bearing assembly chamber for travel along the oil path; and

a filter assembly wall portion configured to form a filter assembly cavity fluidly coupled between the oil pan and the oil path passage and also configured to receive a filter assembly for filtering the dirty oil traveling along the oil path and providing filtered oil to the oil pan so the filtered oil can be recirculated to lubricate the bearing assembly as the shaft rotates.

2. The bearing housing according to claim 1, wherein the filter assembly wall portion comprises threads for coupling to corresponding threads of a filter assembly mounting portion of the filter assembly.

3. The bearing housing of claim 1, wherein

The bearing housing wall portion includes an oil ring channel or groove disposed or formed therein; and is

The bearing housing includes an oil ring disposed in the oil ring channel or groove, the oil ring configured to fling, provide, or direct the dirty oil from the bearing assembly chamber into the oil path channel.

4. The bearing housing according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the oil pan is arranged in a lower portion of the bearing housing.

5. The bearing housing according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein an oil pan port or passage is provided in the bearing housing for communicating the filter assembly cavity with the oil pan.

6. The bearing housing according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein one or more oil recirculation passages, conduits or ports are further provided in the bearing housing for communicating the oil sump with the bearing assembly chamber.

Technical Field

The present application relates to a technique for filtering oil in a bearing housing.

Background

In the prior art, pump assemblies are known that include a bearing housing having a bearing assembly whose shaft is rotated with a motor for rotating an impeller of the pump. It is known in the art that bearing housings can be contaminated with contaminants that can lead to premature failure of the bearing. Contaminants may be trapped in the bearing housing and circulate through the bearing. Contaminants may include dirt due to wear of the bearing over time, water that may seep into the bearing housing due to condensation, and the like. No existing design filters debris, removes moisture, and indicates water contamination and/or dirty oil in the bearing housing.

In view of this, there is a need in the industry for a better way to filter oil in a bearing housing.

Disclosure of Invention

In summary, and in contrast to the prior art set forth above, the present invention provides a novel and unique filter assembly for fitting in a bearing housing for removing debris and moisture from the bearing housing, as well as indicating when moisture is present to reduce or eliminate premature failure of the bearing. The novel filter assembly allows planned preventative maintenance of the pump while avoiding unplanned shutdowns, which are critical to pump applications. The filter assembly is easy to install and can be manually replaced without any tools.

In addition, an oil sample may be sent to evaluate water droplets and crystals disposed in the filter chamber. The dielectric constant of the oil passing through the filter assembly can also be measured.

Detailed description of the invention

According to some embodiments, the invention may take the form of an apparatus featuring a bearing housing assembly, or a filter assembly and a bearing housing, as follows:

bearing shell assembly

By way of example, and in accordance with some embodiments, the invention may take the form of a bearing housing assembly characterized by:

a bearing housing having

A bearing housing wall portion in which a bearing assembly chamber is configured or formed for receiving a bearing assembly in combination with a shaft to be rotated,

an oil sump configured or formed in the bearing housing for receiving and containing oil to lubricate the bearing assembly as the shaft rotates,

an oil path passage configured or formed as an oil path in the bearing housing for receiving dirty oil from the bearing assembly chamber to travel along the oil path, an

A filter assembly wall portion configured to form a filter assembly cavity fluidly coupled between the oil pan and the oil pathway channel; and

a filter assembly configured to be mounted in the filter assembly cavity, coupled to the filter assembly wall portion, receive the dirty oil traveling along the oil path, filter the dirty oil, and provide filtered oil to the oil pan so the filtered oil can be recirculated to lubricate the bearing assembly as the shaft rotates.

The bearing housing assembly according to the invention may further comprise one or more of the following features:

the filter assembly may include a plug having a filter assembly mounting portion configured to be coupled to the filter assembly wall portion of the bearing housing.

The filter assembly mounting portion and the filter assembly wall portion may be coupled together using a threaded coupling arrangement, including wherein the filter assembly mounting portion has threads that couple to corresponding threads of the filter assembly wall portion of the bearing housing.

The plug may include a plug housing configured with a plug recess/aperture to receive and direct the dirty oil into the filter assembly, including wherein the plug recess/aperture is configured to pass entirely through the plug housing.

The filter assembly may include a filter cartridge coupled to the bottom end of the plug housing and configured to filter the dirty oil and provide filtered oil to the oil pan, including wherein the filter cartridge includes pleated filter material disposed in a cartridge mounting assembly.

The filter assembly may include a filter indicator stem, a filter indicator disposed on the filter indicator stem, and an inner retainer ring configured to flex inwardly and outwardly for retaining the filter indicator stem and the filter indicator within the plug housing. The filter indicator combination is configured to communicate dirty oil received in the plug recess/aperture and provide the dirty oil to the filter cartridge.

The plug housing may include a lower plug housing inner wall in which a lower annular channel is configured or formed. The filter indicator may comprise a top portion and a bottom hollow portion, the top portion comprising or being formed in part by an indicator paper for indicating the quality of the oil. The filter indicator stem may include a base portion configured to have a hole, opening, aperture, or slot formed therein to communicate the dirty oil to the filter assembly and a stem portion. The stem portion may be configured to receive the bottom hollow portion of the filter indicator; and the inner retainer ring may be configured to bend and fit into the lower annular channel and retain the filter indicator combination in the lower plug housing inner wall.

The filter cartridge may be or take the form of a replaceable filter cartridge, including where the cartridge mounting assembly has threads that couple to corresponding threads of the bottom end of the plug housing.

The filter cartridge may be configured or formed with a filter cavity; and the filter cartridge may include moisture absorbing beads or crystals residing in the filter cavity, for example, for absorbing water and moisture in the oil being filtered.

The filter assembly may include a glass window, an O-ring, and a glass retainer configured to flex inward and outward. The plug housing may include an upper plug housing inner wall having an upper annular portion configured or formed therein for receiving the O-ring and the glass retainer by bending and fitting the glass retainer into the upper annular portion. The glazing may be arranged and sealed between the O-ring, the glass retainer and the upper annular portion.

The bearing housing assembly may include a plurality of filter assemblies, wherein each filter assembly is configured to be mounted in a respective filter assembly cavity configured or formed in the bearing housing, to be coupled to a respective filter assembly wall portion formed in the bearing housing, to receive respective dirty oil traveling along a respective oil path channel formed in the bearing housing, to filter the respective dirty oil and to provide respective filtered oil to the oil sump, whereby the filtered oil can be recirculated to lubricate the bearing assembly as the shaft rotates.

The bearing housing wall portion may include an oil ring channel or groove disposed or formed therein; and the bearing housing assembly may include an oil ring disposed in the oil ring channel or groove, the oil ring configured to fling, provide or direct oil into the oil path channel.

The filter assembly may include upper and lower O-rings for providing upper and lower seals between the filter assembly and the bearing housing wall portion.

Filter assembly

As a further example, and in accordance with some further embodiments, the invention may take the form of a filter assembly characterized by

A plug having a plug housing with a filter assembly mounting portion configured to be mounted to a filter assembly wall portion of a bearing housing to dispose the filter assembly in a filter assembly cavity of the bearing housing, the plug housing configured with a plug/recess formed therein for receiving dirty oil provided by a bearing assembly chamber having a bearing assembly and a shaft to be rotated and directing the dirty oil to an oil path channel of the bearing housing to travel along an oil path;

a filter indicator combination disposed in the plug housing to receive the dirty oil from the plug recess/aperture and configured with an aperture formed therein to provide the dirty oil to a bottom end of the plug housing; and

a filter coupled to the bottom end of the plug housing and configured to receive the dirty oil from the filter indicator combination, filter the dirty oil, and provide filtered oil to an oil sump of the bearing housing, whereupon the filtered oil may be recirculated to lubricate the bearing assembly as the shaft rotates.

A filter assembly according to the present disclosure may also include one or more of the features set forth herein.

Bearing housing

By way of yet further example, and in accordance with some further embodiments, the present invention may take the form of a bearing housing for a bearing housing assembly, characterized in that:

a bearing housing wall portion configured to form a bearing assembly chamber for receiving a combination of a bearing assembly and a shaft to be rotated;

an oil sump configured or formed within the bearing housing for receiving and containing oil for lubricating the bearing assembly as the shaft rotates;

an oil path passage disposed or formed as an oil path within the bearing housing for receiving dirty oil from the bearing assembly chamber for travel along the oil path; and

a filter assembly wall portion configured to form a filter assembly cavity fluidly coupled between the oil pan and the oil path passage and also configured to receive a filter assembly for filtering the dirty oil traveling along the oil path and providing filtered oil to the oil pan so the filtered oil can be recirculated to lubricate the bearing assembly as the shaft rotates.

A bearing housing according to the present invention may further comprise one or more of the features set forth herein.

The present invention provides a better way of filtering oil in the bearing housing.

Drawings

The drawings are not necessarily to scale, including the following:

fig. 1A is an illustration (in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis (front to back of the page) of a shaft and bearing assembly combination with one or more filter assemblies disposed in a bearing housing, in a front view of a cross-section of a bearing housing assembly according to some embodiments of the invention.

Fig. 1B is an illustration (in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis (front to back of the page) of the shaft and bearing assembly combination, of a rear view of a cross-section of a portion of a bearing housing assembly having one or more filter assemblies disposed in the bearing housing, according to some embodiments of the invention.

Fig. 2A is an illustration (in a plane parallel to the longitudinal axis (top to bottom of the page)) of a perspective view of a cross-section of a filter assembly according to some embodiments of the invention.

Fig. 2B is a photograph of a filter assembly and plug P used when the filter assembly is not in use, according to some embodiments of the invention.

Fig. 2C is an exploded view of a filter assembly according to some embodiments of the invention.

Fig. 2D is a side view (in a plane parallel to the longitudinal axis (top to bottom of the page)) of an assembled filter assembly according to some embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 2E is a cross-sectional view of the filter assembly of FIG. 2D along cross-sectional line 2D-2D, according to some embodiments of the invention.

Fig. 2F is an exploded view of a portion of the filter assembly of fig. 2E, labeled 2F, according to some embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 3 includes FIGS. 3A and 3B, where FIG. 3A shows a side view of a plug forming part of a filter assembly, and where FIG. 3B shows a cross-sectional view of the plug in FIG. 3A along cross-sectional line 3B-3B, according to some embodiments of the invention.

Not every reference numeral may be included in every drawing, for example, to reduce clutter in the drawings as a whole.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1A and 1B illustrate a bearing housing assembly, generally designated 10, having a bearing housing 12 and a filter assembly 14, according to some embodiments of the present invention. In FIG. 1A, reference arrow 1 indicates sump oil flow through filter assembly 14; reference arrow 2 indicates sump oil entering filter assembly 14; and reference arrow 3 indicates the entry of filtered oil from filter assembly 14 into the oil sump.

The bearing housing 10 may include a bearing housing wall portion 10a with a bearing assembly chamber 10a' configured or formed in the bearing housing wall portion 10a for receiving a combination of a bearing assembly, generally indicated with BA, and a shaft S to be rotated. The combination of the bearing assembly BA and the shaft S is generally known in the art and may include, for example, ball bearings, rings, inner and outer ball bearing sleeves, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. The bearing housing wall portion 10a having the bearing assembly chamber 10a' may be configured or formed to receive and house the bearing assembly BA in combination with the shaft S, e.g., in accordance with the disclosure herein.

The bearing housing 10 may include an oil sump, generally indicated at 10b, configured or formed therein for receiving and containing oil to lubricate the bearing assembly BA as the shaft S rotates. For example, the oil pan 10b may be disposed in a lower portion of the bearing housing 12, as shown in fig. 1A.

The bearing housing 10 may include an oil path passage 10c configured or formed therein as an oil path for receiving dirty oil from the bearing assembly chamber 10a' to travel along the oil path. (for example, the dirty oil may travel along the oil path via gravity feed or using oil pressure caused by the combination of the bearing assembly BA and the rotating shaft S.)

The bearing housing 10 may include a filter assembly wall portion 10d, the filter assembly wall portion 10d being configured to form a filter assembly cavity, generally indicated as 10d', fluidly coupled between the oil pan 10b and the oil routing channel 10c

Filter assembly 14 may be configured to be mounted in the filter assembly cavity 10d '(e.g., as shown in fig. 1A), coupled to the filter assembly wall portion 10d, receive the dirty oil traveling along the oil path, filter the dirty oil, and provide filtered oil to the oil sump 10b via oil sump port/passage 10b', so the filtered oil may be recirculated to lubricate the bearing assembly BA as the shaft S rotates. For example, an oil pump (not shown) may be configured to pump oil from the oil pan 10b to the bearing assembly chamber 10a', such as via one or more oil recirculation passages, conduits, or ports configured or formed in the bearing housing 12.

As shown in fig. 2A-2F, the filter assembly 14 can include a plug 14a having a filter assembly mounting portion 14a ', the filter assembly mounting portion 14a' being configured to be coupled to the filter assembly wall portion 12A of the bearing housing 12. See, in particular, fig. 2B. For example, the filter assembly mounting portion 14a 'and the filter assembly wall portion 12a can be coupled together using a threaded coupling arrangement, including wherein the filter assembly mounting portion 14a' has threads 14a ″ that couple to corresponding threads 12a ″ (fig. 1A) of the filter assembly wall portion 12a of the bearing housing 12.

As shown in fig. 2A-2C, the plug 14a may include a plug housing 14C, the plug housing 14C configured with a plug recess/aperture 14d to receive and direct the dirty oil into the filter assembly 14, including wherein the plug recess/aperture 14d is configured to pass entirely through the plug housing 14C, as shown. See also fig. 1A.

As shown in fig. 2A-2C, the filter assembly 14 may include a filter or filter cartridge 14e, the filter or filter cartridge 14e coupled to the bottom end 14C1 of the plug housing 14C and configured to filter the dirty oil and provide filtered oil to the oil pan 10b, including wherein the filter cartridge 14e includes pleated filter material 14e' disposed in a cartridge mounting assembly 14e ″.

The filter assembly 14 can include a filter indicator combination having a filter indicator stem 14f, a filter indicator 14g configured on the filter indicator stem 14f, and an inner retainer ring 14h configured to flex inwardly and outwardly, the inner retainer ring 14h for retaining the filter indicator stem 14f and the filter indicator 14g within the plug housing 14c, as described below. The filter indicator assembly may be configured to communicate dirty oil received in the plug recess/aperture 14d and provide the dirty oil to the filter or filter cartridge 14 e.

As best shown in fig. 2F, the plug housing 14c may include a lower plug housing inner wall 14c2 with a lower annular passage 14c2' disposed or formed in the lower plug housing inner wall 14c 2. The filter indicator 14g may include or be partially formed from a top portion 14g 'and a bottom hollow portion 14g ", the top portion 14g' including or being partially formed from an indicator paper for indicating the quality of the oil. The filter indicator stem 14f may include a base portion 14f1 and a stem portion 14f2, the base portion 14f1 may be configured with a hole, opening, aperture or slot 14f1' formed therein to communicate dirty oil to a filter cartridge 14e, the stem portion 14f2 may be configured to receive the bottom hollow portion 14g "of the filter indicator 14 g. The inner retainer ring 14h may be configured to flex and fit into the lower annular channel 14c2' and retain the filter indicator combination in the lower plug housing inner wall 14c 2.

The filter cartridge may be or take the form of a replaceable filter cartridge, including wherein the cartridge mounting assembly 14e "has threads that couple to corresponding threads of the bottom end 14c1 of the plug housing 14 c.

The filter cartridge 14e may be configured or formed with a filter cavity 14 e'; and the filter cartridge 14e may include moisture absorbing beads or crystals B residing in the filter cavity 14e' ″.

The filter assembly 14 may include a glass window 14i, an O-ring 14j, and a glass retainer 14k configured to flex inwardly and outwardly. The plug housing 14c may include an upper plug housing inner wall 14c4, the upper plug housing inner wall 14c4 having an annular portion 14c4 'and a rib 14c4 "configured or formed therein, the annular portion 14c4' and rib 14c4" for receiving the O-ring 14j and the glass retainer 14k by bending and engaging the glass retainer 14 k. The glazing 14i may be disposed and sealed between the O-ring 14j, the glass retainer 14k, and the upper annular portion 14c 4'.

As shown in fig. 1A, the bearing housing wall portion 12a may include an oil ring channel or groove 12 a' "disposed or formed therein. The bearing housing assembly 10 may include an oil ring R disposed in the oil ring channel or groove 12 a' ", the oil ring R configured to fling, provide, or direct oil into the oil path channel 12 c.

The filter assembly 14 may include upper O-rings O1 and lower O-rings O2 for providing upper and lower seals between the filter assembly 14 and the bearing housing wall portion 10a, as shown in FIGS. 1A and 2A through 2E. For example, the lower O-ring O2 may be disposed in an O-ring channel 14c5 formed in the plug housing 14c, as shown in fig. 3B.

Scope of the invention

It should be understood that any feature, characteristic, alternative or modification described with respect to a particular embodiment herein may also be applied, used or incorporated with any other embodiment described herein, unless stated otherwise herein. Further, the drawings herein are not drawn to scale.

While the invention has been described and illustrated with respect to exemplary embodiments thereof, the foregoing and various other additions and omissions may be made therein and thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.