Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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WO 91~16~41 PCr/US9~/~2~97
Pl}MP MOVNTl~G APP~TUS
FOR ElLTRATION SYSTE~
Technical Field
This invention relates to pump mounting
systems and, more particularly, to an apparatus for
removably mounting a pump in an industrial filtering
system without the use of tools.
Ba~kground Art
In machine tool operations, settlement tanks
containing filters are widely used to separate machine
tool chips and other contaminants, referred to as swar~,
from coolant so that clean coolant may be returned to
the machine tools fnr reuse~ Generally, such tanks are
set below elevation such that sluiceways, likewise
located below elevation, convey the contaminated liquid
and machining chips to the settlement tank. The chips
settle to the buttom of the tank and a dragout conveyor
system is employed to convey the chips and swarf from
the tank for removal, conventionally up a ramp located
at one end of the tank. Filters are employed in the
tank to separate the smaller chips and other contami-
nants from the coolant. While there are many different
types of filters and arrangements thereo~ used for this
purpose, one well known and commercially successful
system is manufactured and sold by the assignee hereof,
Henry Filters, Inc A This system uses one or more
horizontally disposed ~ilter drums located adjacent the
bottom of the tank. A suction is provided to the
interior of the filter dr~m ~o pull coolant through the
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filter element. Filter caXe, comprised of small chips
and other contaminants~ is thus foxmed on the outside of
the drum sur~ace. The drum is periodically indexed to
enable a doctor blade to shave off a portion of the
accumulated ~ilter cake, which drops to the bottom of
the ta~k for removal by the dragout conveyor.
In the example of a filtratio~ system dis-
cussed above, a clean coolant tank is also provided in
the tank for receiving the clean coolant filtrate.
Although many types of centrifugal pumps are used, such
as horizontal split case, end suction, and self-priming
types, one embodiment of such a filtration system uses
one or more vertical turbine-type pumps. These pumps
are dispo~ed in the clean coolant tank for applying
suction to the interior of the filter drum(s), as well
as for supplying clean coolant to a header for return to
the machine tools. More particularly, these vertical
turbine pumps each typically comprise an elongated
casing connected at its lower end with one or more
impeller stage(s) for pumping clean coolant filtrate
upwardly through the elongated casing. The impeller
stages of each pump are driven by an electric motor
mounted at the top of the casing above the liquid level
in the tank. The motor drives the impellers by a
central drive shaft which extends the length of the
casing through multiple bearing assemblies supported by
the casing.
The lower end of the pump is received in a
receptor ring located to enable the pump suction to
connect through a suction chamber to the interior of the
filter drum(s]. The outlet for each vertical turbine
pump is located above the coolant level of the filtra-
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WO91/16~1 PCT/US91/02897
tion tank and above the tank itself and is connected to
a header into which the clean coolant is dischax~e for
return to the machine tools. Such arrangement is
generally described and illustrated in Assignee's U.S.
Patent No. 4,507,061, issued March 26, 1985.
From time to time, one or more of theseelongated vertical turbine pumps must be removed from
the tank for maintenance, inoluding cleaning and/or
replacement of bearings and seals as needed, and there-
after xeinstalled. This has required disconnection ofmechanical piping connections, such as by unbolting,
between the pump and header as ~ell as electrical
disconnection of the electric pump motor. As will be
appreciated, this involves considerable labor and
expense. It also involves imposing on the user of the
system requirements which greatly add to the cost of the
installation. For example, in certain installations,
each vertical turbine pump may have a height of 20 feet
or more. To remove such pump from an operating position
in a tank below working level, sufficient headroom above
the filtration tank must be provided to accommodate the
entire height of the pump. For example, to enable a
vertical turbine pump having a lenqth of 20 feet or more
to be lifted substantially vertically from the filtra-
tion tank requires headroom above the tank of approxi-
mately a like extent. It will be appreciated that these
pumps are quite heavy and require for their removal use
o~ an overhead crane or other lifting mechanism. In
many installations, there is just simply insufficient
headroom or access space above the tank to enable ready
and easy removal and reinstallation of the pump.
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WO91/16541 J 2 0 8 O Z 4 7 PCT/VS91~028~-
Moreover, to remove such a vertical turbine
pump from an instailation and reinstall it, the services
of at least three skilled tradesmen are required, a
mill~right, an electrician and a pipefitter. Particu-
larly, to effect removal, the electric motor must bedisconnected, the bolted connections between the pump
discharge and header must be remoYed, and valves must be
closed to isolate the suction and discharge sides of the
pump. Thereafter, the elongated heavy vertical turbine
pump must be lifted from the tank without damaging it or
adjacent ancillary equipment.
Additionally, these vertical turbine pumps are
quite expensive to manufacture and are usually custom
built to meet individual application needs. They also
require lubrication, which frequently necessitates use
of costly automatic lubricators, and customarily have
multiple bearings and other ancillary equipment neces-
sary to support their elongated drive shafts. Further,
the motors require cooling and lubrication and produce
substantial noise.
As wi~l be appreciated, it is desirable to
eliminate or minimize noise levels as well as to elimi-
nate the requirement for lubrication hecause periodic
greasing requires substantial labor and adherence to
maintenance schedules. Automatic greasing equipment, as
required in some installations, substantially increases
the cost of such installation. Still further, the
entire area above the tank is typically misty from the
coolant and moist air, driven by the motor fan for
cooling purposes, and such moist air inherently dirties
the electric motors, thereby increasing the probability
of their malfunction. Thus, there has been a need in
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WO 91/16~41 2 0 ~ ~ 2 ~ 7 p~T/~S91/0~897
1.
the industry to provide pumps which may be readily and
easily removed and reinstalled in filtration tanks of
this type without the ~oregoing and sther attendant
problems.
Nore particularly, improved apparatus allows
a pump to b~ readily and ea~ily removed from and rein-
stalled in a coolant tank without requiring tools to do
the job.
~his is accomplished by a structure that
allows the pump, having an inlet port and also having a
discharge head, to be mounted by the inlet port for
fluid communication in an inlet receptor mounted on the
bottom of the tank. Above the inlet receptor there is
provided a housing or discharge receiver which receives
the discharge head of the pump.
Disclosure Of The Invention
Accordingly, it is an object of the present
invention to provide an improvement in mounting a
vertical turbine pump between inlet and discharge means.
Another object of the invention is to provide
a mounting apparatus that requires less machining than
earlie~ mounting arrangements.
A more specific object o~ the invention is the
improvement of reducing the number of contact regions in
an apparatus. Apparatus for use with a pumping system,
including a receptor adapted to receive liquid from a
source, a discharge conduit, and a pump including an
inlet port, a discharge head and an impeller rotatable
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WO91/16~1 2 ~ 8 0 2 4 7 PCT/US91/028
about an axis ~or pumping liquid from the receptor to
the discharge conduit and removably mounted with respect
to the discharge conduit and the receptor for servicing
or replacement of the p~mp. The improvement comprises
S a substantially permanently stationary pipe column which
extends from the receptor to the connector and includes
a first end for removably receiving and freely suspend-
ably mounting the pump. The pipe column also includes
a second end in liquid flow communication with the inlet
port and may include a check valve between the pump
inlet port and the source of liquid.
The first end includes a housing substantially
permanently connected to the discharge conduit connector
for li~uid flow communication with the housing. The
housing defines, in part, with the means carried by the
pump discharge head, a chamber in liquid flow communica-
tion with the connector when the pump is received in the
first end whereby liquid may be discharged into the
discharge conduit. The second end defines an inlet
passageway in telescopic slip-fit support relation with
the receptor ~or liquid flow communication with the
supply source and support of the pipe column, whereby
the liquid may be pumped from the supply source through
the discharge conduit, when the pump inlet port and
impeller are freely suspendably mounted in the pipe
column.
Additional objects, features and advantages of
the present invention will be readily apparent ~rom the
following detailed description of the best mode ~or
carrying out the invention when taken in connection with
the accompanying drawings.
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Brief Description Of The I)rawings
FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary longitudinal cross-
sectional view through a filtration tank illustrating,
in elevation, a pump mounting apparatus for facilitating
the removal of the pump when constructed in accordance
with ~he present invention and installed in operative
position in the tank;
FIGURE 2 is an exploded perspective view
illustrating the pump mounting apparatus of Figure l;
FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view
from the rear and partly in elevation illustrating the
pump mounting apparakus of Figure 1 in operative posi-
tion in a clean coolant compartment of the tank;
FIGURE 4 is an enlarged ~ragmentary cross-
sectional view o~ the pump mounting apparatus of Figurel illustrating how the pump is installed for easy
removal from the tank; and
FIGURE 5 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-
sectional view similar to Figure 3 illustrating my
earlier improved pump mounting system.
Best Mode For (: arrvin~ Out The Invention
With reference to Figure 1 of the drawings, a
pump and mounting for a filtration system constructed in
accordance with the present invention is generally
indicated by reference numeral lO and are used in
connection with a settling tank 12 set into a pit
disposed below the floor level or elevation F in an
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industrial environment. Although the pump mounting
arrangement lo is illustrated for use with a filtration
system, it is also adaptable to other fluid handling
systems where pumps are utilized and require easy
5 servicing. As is more fully hereinafter described, pump
mounting 10 allows for drop in fitting of a pump,
generally designated P, into a filtration syst~m without
the use of tools and eliminates prior art concerns with
pump alignment. A motor, designated M, is connected to
and operable for running the pump P.
As illustrated in Figure 1, tank 12 is gener-
ally rectilinear in configuration, but has a sloping end
wall 14 for use in conjunction with a drag-out conveyor,
schematically illustrated at 16~ As will be appreciated
from the ensuing description, tank 12 is preferably
comprised of two discrete compartments, a dirty or
contaminated coolant compartment, designated 18, for
receiving dirty coolant from sluiceways, not shown, in
communication with machine tools, also not shown, and a
clean coolant compartment 20 for receiving clean,
filtered coolant from tank 18.
Within dirty coolant compartment 18 there is
provided a horizontally disposed drum filter 22 ~or
filtering the dirty coolant, whereby clQan coolant
filtrate may be supplied to machine tools. More partic-
ularly, a suction is drawn on the inside of the drum 22
by pump P of the present invention. Coolant in dirty
filter tank compartment 18 thus passes through the drum
filter 22 where filtered coolant is supplied by the pump
P to the machine tools.
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WO91/16~41 2 0 8 0 ~ 4 7 PCT/US91/02897
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In the present invention, the drag-out convey-
or 16 is conven~ional in construction and serves to
remove both solids, settled out from the coolant and
filter cake removed from the filtered drum 22 by a
doctor blade, not shown, both of which settle to the
bottom o~ tank compartment 18. Clean coolant compart-
ment 20 includes an elevated or false floor 24 above the
lower tank wall bottom and which defines a lower chamber
26 for receiving clean coolant from the suction side of
drum filter 22 via conduit 2~.
With reference to Figures l and 2 of the
drawings, a header or discharge conduit 30 disposed in
clean compartment 20 is provided for communicating the
¢lean coolant to the machine tools. Thus, clean coolant
is supplied to the machine tools from the suction side
of filter 22 by way of chamber 26, pump P and header 30.
In the preferred embodiment illustrated in
Figures 2 through 4, pump P is removable and has an
inlet port 32, a Aischarge head 34, and an impeller 36
mounted for rotation about an axis for supplying coolant
liquid from the inlet port to the discharge head. A
means 38 carried by the pump discharg2 head 34 defines,
in part, a chamber 40 for receiving the coolant to be
discharged from the head 34. A pipe column 42 extends
from a receptor 44 in the false floor 24 to a connector
46 on header or discharge conduit 30. Pipe column 42
includes a first end 48 for removably receiving and
freely suspendably mounting pump P therein and a second
end 50 in liquid flow communication with inlet port 32.
The pipe column is substantially permanently stationary
whereby to provide a readily accessible enclosure for
facilitating the install.ation and removal of the pump by
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reducing and minimizing the alignment points between
pump and enclosure.
With continued reference to Figure 4 of the
drawings, first end 48 includes a housing 52 connected
to the discharge conduit connector 46 for coolant liquid
flow communication therewith. Housing 52 defines, in
part, with means 38 carried by the pump discharge head
34 chamber 40 in liquid flow communication with the
connector 46 when pump P is received in first end 48 of
the pipe column 42, whereby the coolant may be dis-
charged into the discharge conduit or header 30. The
second end 50 de~ines an inlet passageway in telescopic
slip-fit support relation with the receptor 44 for
liquid flow communication with the clean coolant com
partment 20 and support of the pipe column A2. Thereby
the coolant li~uid is pumped from clean coolant compart-
ment 20 through discharge conduit or header 30 when the
pump inlet port 32 and impeller 36 are freely suspend-
ably mounted in pipe column 42.
With further reference to Figure 4 of the
drawings, housing 52 includes an enclosure 54 for
encompassing at least, in part, the pump discharge head
34 when pump P is mounted in pipe column 42. The pump
discharge head 34 includes a pair of end walls 56,58
spaced along the rotational axis and, in part, defining
the chamber 40 therebetween. End walls 56,58, in part,
de~ine means 38 carried by the end walls for engaging
enclosure 54 such that the chamber 40 is defined, in
part, by the enclosure and end walls thereby establish-
ing liquid coolant flow communication between the
discharge conduit or header 30 and inlet port 32 of pump
P.
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WO91/16541 PCT/US9t/02897
Housing 52 has ~ radially inwardly directed
abutment 60 for engaging the pump discharge head 34 and
0-rings 62,64 carri~d by end walls 56,58 at the location
of the engagement sf the discharge head with the abut-
ment for sealing chamber 40 against leakage of coolantO
Receptor 44 is supported on false floor 24
which, in turn, supports the pipe column 42. A check
valve 66 is supported within the lower end of the pipe
column above the false floor to prevent liquid coolant
communication between lower chamber 26 and pipe column
42 when pump P is inoperable or removed. It can be
readily appreciated that pump P, including inlet port
32, discharge head 34 and impeller 36, can be slip-
fitted into and out of the ~iltration system by simple
raising or lowering, as the case may be, beçause pump P
is suspendably mounted in the first end 48 of pipe
column 42. This mounting facilitates installation and
removal of the pump P without connecting or disconnect-
ing any parts requiring tools and provides only two
- 20 contact or alignment regions between pump P and the pipe
column 42 where o-rings 62 and 64 are in sealing engage-
ment between end walls 56 and 58 and the circumscribing
housing 52. Consequently, the impeller 36 is freely
suspended in pipe column 42 and no mating tolerances are
required.
Figure 5 of the drawings illustrates my
earlier improved pump mounting arrangement wherein like
reference characters refer to like parts. This pump
mounting arrangement requires critical mounting connec-
tions at the discharye head 34, and also at receptor 44,which has to be sized to receive an impeller of pump P.
This sizing requires exacting machining. Surprisingly,
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the critically of the mounting connections and such
machining re~uirements have been eliminated by freely
suspending a removable pump in a permanent pipe column
in accordance with my improved mounting described
herein.
While the best mode for carrying out the
invention has been described in detail, those familiar
with the art to which this invention relates will
recognize various alternative designs and embodiments
for practicing the invention as defined by the following
claims.
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