DESC:TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a hydraulically driven fluid pump and more particularly to an integrated centrifugal pump and hydraulic motor as a single unit.

BACKGROUND
Water sprinkler with 70000 liters capacity involves sprinkling system driven by centrifugal pump and hydraulic motor arrangement. Pumps of the centrifugal type generally comprise a pump housing the interior of which forms a pump chamber. An impeller is positioned in the pump chamber and is connected to a drive shaft and drive motor that impart rotation to the impeller. The pump housing is formed with an inlet for receiving pumped material into the pump chamber, and a discharge outlet through which pumped material exits the pump chamber. The pump housing typically comprises an outer casing comprising two casing halves that are joined together to form the pump housing. The two halves may comprise a suction side, corresponding to the wet end of the pump or the side at which the pump inlet is located, and a drive side, through which the drive shaft and shaft seals are positioned. The suction side casing and drive side casing are typically joined about a peripheral edge that lies in a plane perpendicular to the rotational axis of the pump.
Existing design consists of remote mount type centrifugal pump and hydraulic motor coupled using tyre coupling for transmitting the power. The tyre coupling is Elastomeric flexible couplings transmit torque between the two shafts by means of an elastomeric material (rubber, urethane, etc.) positioned between the driving and driven hubs. The resiliency of the elastomeric material gives these couplings varying degrees of torsional softness not available in all-metal couplings, and generally greater misalignment capability than all-metal couplings. It also allows a single flex plane to accommodate both angular and parallel misalignment. Power intensity (torque-carrying capacity vs. coupling size) of elastomeric couplings is lower than that of all-metal couplings. With no (or little) friction wear between components, however, elastomeric couplings are considered low maintenance, although elastomer breakdown in some coupling configurations is a maintenance issue.
Referring to Fig. 1, it depicts the different components of water pump or fluid pump assembly of the existing pump systems. The components consists of base plate (4), hydraulic motor mounting bracket structure, centrifugal pump foot mounting bracket structure, Fenner tyre coupling multiple structure to be fabricated & machined with high accurate tolerance and centrifugal pump, tyre coupling & hydraulic motor shaft to be aligned inline. The coupling consists of two flanges or hubs, which attach to the shafts being coupled, and a connecting element that is metallic (such as in disc couplings), or a sleeve made from elastomeric material such as EPDM rubber, neoprene, Hytrel or urethane, or a mechanical connection (as in a u-joint or gear coupling). Fenner tyre couplings are Elastomeric shear couplings that fail under excessive shock loads and disconnect the pump from the motor to protect the pump in the event of a lock-up or any other condition creating excessive shock.

The assembly of existing state of art requires high precision components to ensure proper alignment and time consuming task at field which leads to more down time of equipment.
However, even though the elastomeric element handles misalignment by distorting, that action produces reactionary loads on the adjacent shaft bearings. The reactionary loads vary in inverse proportion to the softness of the elastomeric element. In all cases, greater misalignment will mean higher reactionary loads. Combined angular, parallel (radial) and axial misalignments will result in the greatest reactionary load. Speed is a problem for elastomeric couplings. The deflection of an elastomeric coupling is large for the load applied. Large centrifugal forces may cause the element to protrude out of the coupling and hit the coupling guard. Temperature is a restriction for elastomeric couplings. The material loses its strength as the temperature rises.
Hence, there is a need of more efficient fluid pumps with various components integrated together so that there is no extra time consumption for assembly and alignment. Further, the need for regular interval check up of coupling and hardware elements is eliminated.
SUMMARY

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an integrated centrifugal pump and hydraulic motor as a combined unit in which the hydraulic motor is directly interconnected or coupled to the centrifugal pump through stub shaft using the bearing housing with spherical roller bearing on the rigid base plate. The Stub Shaft is used to couple both Motor & Pump. This arrangement eliminates the need of multiple joints in connecting the components of the water pump system which causes failures in the working of said system. It also maximizes the efficiency and protects the assembly from normal wear and tear. The stub shaft is used for exemplary purposes only as the integration to transmit the power between hydraulic motor and centrifugal pump through key way.

According to another embodiment the stub shaft is oriented either in the horizontal direction or vertical direction depending upon the orientation of the centrifugal pump.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The other objects, features and advantages will occur to those skilled in the art from the following description of the preferred embodiment and the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is the image showing the design of the assembly of centrifugal fluid pump in existing state of art

Fig. 2 is the image showing the design of the assembly of centrifugal fluid pump according to the present invention

Fig. 3 is the image showing the various components of the assembly of centrifugal fluid pump according to the present invention

DESCRIPTION

According to an embodiment of the present invention, apparatus and method is provided to integrate centrifugal pump (2) with hydraulic motor (1) to form a combined unit.

The present invention interconnects the centrifugal pump (2) with the hydraulic motor (1) through a stub shaft (3) by using the bearing housing with spherical roller bearing on the rigid base frame in a water pump assembly. This method reduces the assembly and the alignment lead time of water pump assembly. It also does not require the checking of flexible coupling alignment and loosening of hardware components at regular intervals of time.

Referring to Fig. 2, it depicts the image of the water pump assembly according to the present invention. The hardware components are shown in an integrated manner.

According to preferred embodiment of the present invention by referring to Fig. 3, it depicts the image of the various components of the centrifugal pump (2) assembly according to the present invention. The components comprises of centrifugal pump, stub shaft (3), base plate (4), bearing housing supporting bracket (5) for support and hydraulic motor (1). The centrifugal pump (2) is integrated with hydraulic motor (1) as a single unit. The pump includes a shaft-driven impeller that rotates inside a casing. Liquid flows into the suction port (inlet) of the casing and is thrown to the outside of the casing and then exits the discharge port. The velocity imparted to the liquid by the impeller is converted to pressure energy or "head". The hydraulic motor (1) transforms fluid energy into rotary mechanical power which is transferred to the centrifugal pump (2) via stub shaft (3).

The stub shaft (3) is mounted using a completely leak free gasketed mounting plate and projects internally. The tail end of the conveyor screw contains an internal bushing for the bearing housing. The stub shaft (3) accommodates all types of misalignments and compensate for axial movement. The stub shaft (3) is made of carbon steel, abrasion resistant steel, stainless steel or special alloys. It is purged with air, nitrogen, or various types of grease for long life. The advantage of using stub end shaft and inner bushings is that it requires little maintenance and are easy to replace. The bearing housing is supported with spherical roller bearing as it allows angular movement of the rings and handles high degree of misalignment that exists whether from mounting or shaft deflection and with relatively heavy radial loads and some axial loads in either direction. They are also extremely resistant to shock loads and their self-aligning feature allows full capacity loading despite shaft deflection. These bearings have barrel-shaped rollers between the inner ring, which has two raceways, and the outer ring which has one spherical raceway. They are self-aligning because the center of curvature of the outer ring raceway surface coincides with the bearing axis.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the apparatus and method is applicable in agriculture, municipal (water and wastewater plants), power generation plants, petroleum and many other industries.

The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

We Claim:
1. Stub shaft centrifugal pump integrated with hydraulic motor is a combined unit in which the hydraulic motor (1) is directly interconnected or coupled to the centrifugal pump (2) through stub shaft (3) using the bearing housing with spherical roller bearing on the rigid base frame (4), to eliminates the need of multiple joints in connecting the components of the water pump system which causes failures in the working of said system the unit is also having bearing housing supporting bracket (5) for support.
2. Stub shaft centrifugal pump integrated with hydraulic motor as claimed in claim 2 wherein the centrifugal pump (2) is integrated with hydraulic motor (1) as a single unit.
3. Stub shaft centrifugal pump integrated with hydraulic motor as claimed in claim 3 wherein the pump includes a shaft-driven impeller that rotates inside a casing & liquid flows into the suction port (inlet) of the casing and is thrown to the outside of the casing and then exits the discharge port; the velocity imparted to the liquid by the impeller is converted to pressure energy or "head"; the hydraulic motor (1) transforms fluid energy into rotary mechanical power which is transferred to the centrifugal pump (2) via stub shaft (3).
4. Stub shaft centrifugal pump integrated with hydraulic motor as claimed in claim 4 wherein the stub shaft (3) is mounted using a completely leak free gasketed mounting plate and projects internally and the tail end of the conveyor screw contains an internal bushing for the bearing housing.
5. Stub shaft centrifugal pump integrated with hydraulic motor as claimed in claim 5 wherein the stub shaft (3) accommodates all types of misalignments and compensate for axial movement; the stub shaft (3) is made of carbon steel, abrasion resistant steel, stainless steel or special alloys; It is purged with air, nitrogen, or various types of grease for long life.
6. Stub shaft centrifugal pump integrated with hydraulic motor as claimed in claim 6 wherein the bearing housing is supported with spherical roller bearing as it allows angular movement of the rings and handles high degree of misalignment that exists whether from mounting or shaft deflection and with relatively heavy radial loads and some axial loads in either direction.
7. Stub shaft centrifugal pump integrated with hydraulic motor as claimed in claim 7 wherein bearings are also extremely resistant to shock loads and their self-aligning feature allows full capacity loading despite shaft deflection; bearings have barrel-shaped rollers between the inner ring, which has two raceways, and the outer ring which has one spherical raceway.
8. Stub shaft centrifugal pump integrated with hydraulic motor as claimed in claim 7 wherein bearings are self-aligning because the center of curvature of the outer ring raceway surface coincides with the bearing axis.

,CLAIMS:We Claim:
1. Stub shaft centrifugal pump integrated with hydraulic motor is a combined unit in which the hydraulic motor (1) is directly interconnected or coupled to the centrifugal pump (2) through stub shaft (3) using the bearing housing with spherical roller bearing on the rigid base frame (4), to eliminates the need of multiple joints in connecting the components of the water pump system which causes failures in the working of said system the unit is also having bearing housing supporting bracket (5) for support.
2. Stub shaft centrifugal pump integrated with hydraulic motor as claimed in claim 2 wherein the centrifugal pump (2) is integrated with hydraulic motor (1) as a single unit.
3. Stub shaft centrifugal pump integrated with hydraulic motor as claimed in claim 3 wherein the pump includes a shaft-driven impeller that rotates inside a casing & liquid flows into the suction port (inlet) of the casing and is thrown to the outside of the casing and then exits the discharge port; the velocity imparted to the liquid by the impeller is converted to pressure energy or "head"; the hydraulic motor (1) transforms fluid energy into rotary mechanical power which is transferred to the centrifugal pump (2) via stub shaft (3).
4. Stub shaft centrifugal pump integrated with hydraulic motor as claimed in claim 4 wherein the stub shaft (3) is mounted using a completely leak free gasketed mounting plate and projects internally and the tail end of the conveyor screw contains an internal bushing for the bearing housing.
5. Stub shaft centrifugal pump integrated with hydraulic motor as claimed in claim 5 wherein the stub shaft (3) accommodates all types of misalignments and compensate for axial movement; the stub shaft (3) is made of carbon steel, abrasion resistant steel, stainless steel or special alloys; It is purged with air, nitrogen, or various types of grease for long life.
6. Stub shaft centrifugal pump integrated with hydraulic motor as claimed in claim 6 wherein the bearing housing is supported with spherical roller bearing as it allows angular movement of the rings and handles high degree of misalignment that exists whether from mounting or shaft deflection and with relatively heavy radial loads and some axial loads in either direction.
7. Stub shaft centrifugal pump integrated with hydraulic motor as claimed in claim 7 wherein bearings are also extremely resistant to shock loads and their self-aligning feature allows full capacity loading despite shaft deflection; bearings have barrel-shaped rollers between the inner ring, which has two raceways, and the outer ring which has one spherical raceway.
8. Stub shaft centrifugal pump integrated with hydraulic motor as claimed in claim 7 wherein bearings are self-aligning because the center of curvature of the outer ring raceway surface coincides with the bearing axis.