Lubrication – Systems – With safety or indicating means
Patent
1988-06-29
1990-02-06
Bennet, Henry A.
Lubrication
Systems
With safety or indicating means
184 6, 184108, 384322, 384397, 384400, 137112, 137113, F01M 118, F01M 1110, F16C 124
Patent
active
048982628
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
The invention relates to mechanical engineering and, in particular, to a device for lubricating hydrodynamic bearings.
The invention may be most advantageously used in turbines, grinders and other machine tools as well as in various machines having a rotating shaft or spindel journalled in hydrodynamic bearings.
More specifically, the invention may be used in drive units of centrifuges.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It is known that hydrodynamic bearings can provide not only good centering of a rotating shaft with respect to the bearing, but they also have a self-lubrication capability.
The most important problem to be solved in designing lubrication systems for hydrodynamic bearings is the problem of ensuring a non-stop lubricant supply to the bearings irrespective of any failures in electric power supply systems and structural members of the lubrication system.
An interruption of lubricant supply to the bearings even for a very short time results in failure of the bearings and in a number of applications even in failure of the equipment incorparating such bearings.
This problem is generally solved by redundancy. However, redundancy brings about a substantial increase in size and weight of the system; in addition, such structural arrangements are sophisticated and unreasonable from a practical viewpoint and the cost of such a system is high. Therefore, there is a long felt need to provide a simple, compact and inexpensive lubrication system which is highly reliable.
Known in the art is a device for lubricating hydrodynamic bearings, comprising an oil tank with a pump which is connected to the bearings via a delivery line (cf. U.S. Pat. No. 4194796, Int. Cl. F 16 C 39/04, Sept. 5, 1978).
The device incorporates a special accumulator with two chambers, one chamber being filled with a gas under pressure supplied from an auxiliary vessel and the other chamber being filled with oil. In case of failure of the pumps there is a danger that metal surfaces of the bearings can contact each other because of an oil pressure drop. The accumulator rules out this failure. This system is, however, complicated in structure because, apart from the conventional use of two pumps as redundancy, it also requires auxiliary pipelines, a number of valves and a compressed gas source.
As a result, size and cost of the device are substantially higher.
Also known in the art is a device for lubricating hydrodynamic bearings in which an attempt was made to reduce auxiliary and redundant equipment (cf. U.S. Pat. No. 3563344, Int. Cl. F 16 N 7/40, Nov. 19, 1968). This device, which comprises an oil tank with pumps connected to the bearings via a delivery line, incorporates a distribution means which is adapted to supply oil to the bearing during normal operation of the pump and upon its failure. This device also calls for a number of auxiliary elements such as a redundant pump, an auxiliary tank and an auxiliary valve. Moreover, this device can only be used for lubrication of hydrodynamic bearings of special design having an auxiliary passage. This makes the device very complex and results in increased cost thereof.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention is based on a solution for the problem of providing a device for lubricating hydrodynamic bearings in which a distribution means which is simple in structure is capable of providing a continuous oil supply to the bearings with the pump both in and out of operation.
The invention resides in a device for lubricating hydrodynamic bearings, comprising an oil tank and a pump connected to the bearings via a delivery line and a distribution means which is adapted to supply oil to the bearings during normal operation of the pump and upon its disconnection. According to the invention, the distribution means comprises a valve placed below the oil level in the tank. The valve has a casing with inlet and outlet ports and a movable member having an axial passage establishing communication between the inlet and outlet ports of the casing. The casing has at least one auxiliary port
REFERENCES:
patent: 822276 (1906-06-01), Hodsdon
patent: 1183153 (1916-05-01), Witry
patent: 1470769 (1923-10-01), Shaw
patent: 1878207 (1932-09-01), Van Weenen
patent: 3365711 (1968-01-01), Levesque
patent: 3563344 (1971-02-01), Veller
patent: 3685617 (1971-01-01), Gardner
patent: 4090743 (1977-01-01), Suzuki et al.
patent: 4194796 (1980-03-01), Svensson et al.
patent: 4334596 (1982-06-01), Lounsberry, Jr.
patent: 4765357 (1988-08-01), Malik
"Smazka Metallorezhuschikh Stankov", V. I. Dikushina, 1956, p. I79.
Gorodissky Boris P.
Lotts Jury A.
Veretenov Lev N.
Bennet Henry A.
Ferensic Denise L.
Moskovskoe Nauchno-Proizvod-stennoe Obiedinenie "Biophizpribor"
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