Imperforate bowl: centrifugal separators – With means for exchanging heat – Comprising or including means for cooling
Patent
1988-06-29
1990-07-17
Stinson, Frankie L.
Imperforate bowl: centrifugal separators
With means for exchanging heat
Comprising or including means for cooling
494 83, 494 15, B04B 1502
Patent
active
049418661
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to centrifuges used in biology, biophysics, medicine and other fields of science and technology.
A major requirement imposed on centrifuges is maintenance of the required temperature conditions of a replaceable rotor, its drive, and diffusion pump (if provision of such a pump is envisaged).
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
There is known a centrifuge (cf., a pamphlet of the Beckman Company "Preparation Ultracentrifuge", L 8, p. 5) comprising a vacuum chamber, a drive of a replaceable rotor, a diffusion pump, a refrigeration system, and a system for cooling the drive and diffusion pump. In this centrifuge, the temperature conditions of the drive of the replaceable rotor are maintained by an additional cooling unit built into the centrifuge. Such an arrangement structurally over-complicates the centrifuge, since it requires the provision of two cooling units, viz., one in the refrigeration system of the vacuum chamber, and one in the cooling system of the drive.
There is also known a centrifuge (cf., materials of the Symposium "Laboratory Centrifuge and Ultracentrifuges of the `Heraeus Christ` Company", pp. 4 to 6) comprising a vacuum chamber, a drive of a replaceable rotor, a diffusion pump, a refrigeration system, a system for lubricating the drive bearings, and a cooling system. In this centrifuge, the temperature conditions of the replaceable rotor are maintained by the refrigeration system, whereas the temperature conditions of the drive of the replaceable rotor and diffusion pump--by a cooling system in which water from a water main line is used as a cooling agent. This, in turn, makes the system less mobile, necessitates additional pipes for feeding and discharging water, filters and special fixtures. Another disadvantage is associated with periodic cleaning of the pipes, filters and passages. In addition, water discharged from the centrifuge is not fit for reuse, which is very disadvantageous both from the economic and ecological points of view.
There is also known a modification of the aforedescribed construction (cf., materials of aforesaid Symposium, p. 15) comprising a vacuum chamber accommodating a replaceable rotor, a cooling unit connected via a line circulating a cooling agent to an evaporator disposed inside said chamber, a drive of the replaceable rotor having bearings and a cooling jacket, and an oil tank with a pump for feeding oil to the bearings. Cooling of the rotor drive and diffusion pump is done in this centrifuge construction by a special electrical means for circulating water.
This arrangement is rather complicated, since it necessitates an additional water tank, a pump for circulating the water, a heat exchanger and a second cooling unit. An accompanying disadvantage is excessive weight and size of the centrifuge.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the invention to provide a centrifuge having such a construction as to enable the use of the bearing lubricating oil as a medium for cooling the rotor drive to thereby structurally simplify the centrifuge and reduce its size and weight.
The aims of the invention are attained by that in a centrifuge comprising a vacuum chamber accommodating a replaceable rotor, a cooling unit connected by way of a line circulating the cooling agent to an evaporator disposed in the vacuum chamber, a rotor drive having bearings and a cooling jacket, and an oil tank having a pump for feeding oil to the bearings, according to the invention, it is provided with a heat exchanger for cooling the oil arranged so as to ensure heat exchange between the oil and cooling agent of the cooling unit, whereas the pump for feeding the oil to the bearings is connected through the heat exchanger and cooling jacket of the drive of the rotor to the oil tank.
This arrangement of the cooling system of the rotor drive allows to use the bearing lubricating oil as a medium for cooling the rotor drive, whereby it becomes possible to dispense with additional means for cooling the rotor drive, and provide a small-size structur
REFERENCES:
patent: 3327938 (1967-06-01), Stallman
patent: 3602425 (1971-08-01), Schmidt
patent: 3942716 (1976-03-01), Jacobson et al.
patent: 4316434 (1982-02-01), Bailey
patent: 4376902 (1983-03-01), Soussa
patent: 4470772 (1984-09-01), Gannaway
Gorodissky Boris P.
Lotts Jury A.
Veretenov Lev N.
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