Imperforate bowl: centrifugal separators – Rotatable bowl – Including housing for bowl
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-08
2001-01-23
Cooley, Charles E. (Department: 1723)
Imperforate bowl: centrifugal separators
Rotatable bowl
Including housing for bowl
C494S070000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06176820
ABSTRACT:
THE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION AND PRIOR ART
The present invention refers to a connection device for a centrifugal separator having a rotor, provided in a stationary casing to rotate about an axis, and a tubular member fixedly attached to the casing and forming at least one inlet passage for the supply of media into the interior of the rotor and at least one outlet passage for the discharge of media from the interior of the rotor, the connection device comprising a connection unit forming a first connection channel arranged to be sealingly connected to a first of said passages and a second connection channel arranged to be sealingly connected to a second of said passages, wherein the connection unit forms a recess, extending through the unit and arranged to receive the tubular member in such a manner that an end portion of the tubular member projects from the unit, and wherein the connection unit is arranged to be releasably mounted in one single piece onto the tubular member.
Such connection devices for centrifugal separators are known, in which the connection channels are formed by separate conduit members provided onto the inlet and outlet passages of the centrifugal separator, i.e. the connection devices of conventional type comprise for each passage a conduit member which is releasably mounted. Consequently, when the conduit members are to be dismounted from their respective passage, which, for instance, is necessary in connection with cleaning and service of said inlet and outlet passages and of the interior of the centrifugal separator, each of the conduit members is to be removed separately and a plurality of components are to be released. Thus, by such an arrangement the mounting and the dismounting of the connection device are time consuming and require a great amount of work.
Another known connection device for a centrifugal separator comprises a unit having connection channels for the supply and the discharge of media. The unit is fixedly attached to a stationary casing by means of a number of screw bolts. Through the unit, an inlet pipe extends, which is threaded to a paring disk provided in the centrifugal separator and tightened to the unit. In order to enable dismounting of the unit, it is firstly necessary to unthread and remove she inlet pipe.
CH-A-284 862 discloses a connection device or a centrifugal separator having a rotor provided in a stationary casing and a tubular member attached to the casing and forming an inlet passage for the supply of media into the interior of the rotor and two outlet passages for the discharge of media from the interior of the rotor. The connection device comprises a connection piece having a first connection channel arranged to be connected to said inlet passage and second connection channels arranged to be connected to said outlet passages. The connection piece forms a recess extending through the unit to receive the tubular member. The piece is arranged to be clamped to the tubular member in a radial direction.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to overcome the problems mentioned above and to provide a connection device by which the dismounting and the mounting of the connections are simplified.
This object is obtained by the connection device initially defined and characterized in that the unit is arranged to be mounted onto the tubular member by a sliding movement in the direction of the axis, and that a locking member is arranged to engage said end portion of the tubular member in such a manner that the unit is pressed axially against the casing to a determined position in relation to the tubular member.
By such a unit, the passages and the interior of the centrifugal separator may in a quick and easy manner be uncovered, which facilitates repair and service work of the centrifugal separator, and thereafter the unit may be easily mounted to the centrifugal separator by a sliding displacement on the tubular member of the inlet and outlet passages. The unit may be kept integral, i.e. in one single piece, during the mounting and dismounting processes. Since the locking member is capable of pressing the unit against the casing of the centrifugal separator, a well-defined, determined position for the unit with respect to the centrifugal separator may be obtained in a reliable and easy manner.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the locking member is arranged to press the unit and the tubular member in opposite directions against the casing to said determined position. In such a manner, said determined position may be well defined both with respect to the unit and the tubular member.
According to a further embodiment of the invention, said end portion of the tubular member comprises an external thread and the locking member comprises a nut arranged to be threaded onto the thread of said end portion. A locking member embodied as a nut may be operated in a quick and easy manner by any person to perform repair or service work on the centrifugal separator Moreover, the nut enables the application of an appropriate force in the axial direction of the centrifuge rotor in order to achieve said determined position.
According to a further embodiment of the invention, each of the first and second connection channels is arranged to be connected to a flexible conduit member and said conduit members are provided to permit the dismounting of the unit from the centrifugal separator when being connected to the respective connection channel. Such an arrangement further facilitates the dismounting from and the following mounting of the unit to the tubular member of the centrifugal separator. Furthermore, such a unit removes the risk or mixing up the different conduit members to be connected during the following mounting operation.
According to a further embodiment of the present invention, the first connection channel and the second connection channel comprise a first orifice and a second orifice, respectively, in the recess. Thereby, the tubular member may comprise at least one inner pipe and an outer pipe, which are provided in such a manner that the outer pipe encloses the inner pipe, the first of said passages being formed by the inner pipe and the second of said passages being formed by a space between the outer and the inner pipes. Such a pipe arrangement allows for the supply and discharge of media to take place in a central position of the centrifugal separator and in addition the unit according to the invention may have a simple construction. Advantageously, the outer pipe is shorter than the inner pipe, the outer pipe extending essentially to the position at which the orifice of the second connection channel is located.
According to a further embodiment of the present invention, the first connection channel is arranged to form, in co-operation with the first passage, an inlet for the supply of a medium to the rotor and the second connection channel is arranged to form, in co-operation with the second passage, an outlet for the discharge of a medium from the rotor. Furthermore, the unit may comprise a third connection channel which is arranged to form, in co-operation with a third passage, a further discharge of a medium from the rotor.
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patent: 2622797 (1952-12-01), Hemfort
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patent: 3217981 (1965-11-01), Johnsen
patent: 4299256 (1981-11-01), Bacehowski et al.
patent: 284862 (1952-12-01), None
patent: 479710 (1929-07-01), None
patent: 1303198 (1987-04-01), None
Alfa Laval AB
Cooley Charles E.
Fish & Richardson P.C.
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