EP1975406B1

EP1975406B1 - Plunger-slipper assembly of high-pressure pump

Info

Publication number: EP1975406B1
Application number: EP20070105244
Authority: EP
Inventors: Li-Fu Yu
Original assignee: Acme Best Corp
Current assignee: Acme Best Corp
Priority date: 2007-03-29
Filing date: 2007-03-29
Publication date: 2009-07-15
Anticipated expiration: 2027-03-29
Also published as: DE602007001579D1; EP1975406A1

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to high-pressure pumps and, more particularly, to a to high-pressure pump equipped with a plurality of improved plunger-slipper assemblies.

2. Description of Related Art

An oil diffusion pump, as shown in Figure 1 , comprises a rotary shaft 91 in a housing 90 and a plunger seat 92 which is connected with rotary shaft 91. A plurality of plunger holes 921 are axially arranged as a circle and each of the plunger holes 921 has a plunger 93 deposited therein. Each said plunger 93 comprises a universal plunger head 931 which is retained in a plunger hole 991 of a rocking plate 99. A tilting plate 94 can be provided in the housing 90 coaxially with the rotary shaft 91, the tilting angle of which is adjustable. The tilting plate 94 has a contacting surface 941 and each plunger head 931 contacts with the contacting surface 941 along the direction parallel to the rotary shaft 91. When the plunger seat 92 is propelled by the rotary shaft 91, each said plunger 93 circles the rotary shaft 91. In virtue of the tilting angle of the tilting plate 94, each said plunger 93 performs a stroke having a predetermined length during each trip around the rotary shaft 91. The rocking plate 99 rocks in harmony with the movement of each said plunger head 931. Thereby oil can be injected into the plunger seat 92 through the oil inlet piping 95 that is communicated with the housing 90 and, after an expectative pressure boost is provided to the oil, the oil can be output through the oil outlet piping 96 that is communicated with the housing 90.
Referring to Figure 2 , an accommodating space 933 provided on the plunger head 931 is sized to snugly receive yet allow rotational movement of a round joint 932 of the plunger 93 so as to enable an universal rotational movement of the plunger head 931.
It is known by skilled persons in the art that due to the design of the plungers, the plunger heads and the titling plate of the high-pressure pump as depicted in Figure 1 , the trip of the plunger within the plunger hole is relatively limited. Consequently, the expectative pressure boost of oil performed by the high-pressure pump is restricted from substantial increase. A further plunger-slipper assembly having the technical features as defined in the preamble of claim 1 is e.g. known from GB 1,096,295 A .

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been accomplished under these circumstances in view. It is one objective of the present invention to provide a novel plunger-slipper assembly structure in a high-pressure pump as shown in Figure 4 . The disclosed plunger-slipper assembly facilitates generating a relatively larger stroke length so as to significantly enhance the oil pressure of high-pressure pumps of such type. Also, a particular lubrication solution is provided herein for retarding the abrasion of the disclosed plunger-slipper assembly that performs an enhanced stroke.
To achieve these and other objectives of the present invention, the plunger-slipper structure of a high-pressure pump comprises a plunger and a slipper. The plunger has a first end and a second end, which are both spherical ends. The slipper comprises a coaxial hole for receiving the plunger and the coaxial hole has a spherical space formed at the extremity thereof for accommodating the second end of the plunger. The first end of the plunger juts out from the slipper. An oil-filling channel lengthwise penetrates the plunger through the first end to the second end thereof. An oil-guiding channel radially penetrates the wall of the slipper and connects with the extremity of the coaxial hole. A first annular groove is deposited at the identical peripheral position of the outer wall of the slipper where the oil-guiding channel is settled. A third annular groove is also deposited surrounding the outer wall of the slipper and is separated from the first annular groove with a predetermined distance. The location of the third annular groove is near the second end of the plunger. An annular stuff is settled in the third annular groove.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention as well as a preferred mode of use, further objectives and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a schematic cross sectional view of a conventional oil diffusion pump;
Figure 2 is a schematic cross sectional view of the plunger-slipper assembly of the conventional oil diffusion pump;
Figure 3 is an exploded view illustrating the plunger-slipper assemblies, a plunger seat and a rotary valve of the disclosed subject matter;
Figure 4 is a schematic cross sectional view showing the assembled plunger-slipper assemblies, the plunger seat and the rotary valve of the disclosed subject matter settled in a housing of an oil pressure pump;
Figure 5 is a perspective view of the plunger-slipper assembly of the present invention;
Figure 6 is a plane view of the plunger-slipper assembly of the present invention; and
Figure 7 is a lengthwise sectional view of the plunger-slipper assembly of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

In Figure 3 , a plunger seat 10, a plurality of plunger-slipper assemblies 50 and a rotary valve 30 are illustrated. Each of the plural plunger-slipper assemblies 50 has a spherical end 52 received by a hemispheric recess 11 provided on the plunger seat 10. A plunger retaining plate 12 is fixed on the extremity of the plunger seat 10 by a plurality of screws 16. A plurality of holes 15 arranged on the plunger seat 10 is provided for engaging the spherical ends 52 respectively so as to prevent the plural plunger-slipper assemblies 50 from departing from the plunger seat 10.
Referring to Figure 4 , the plunger seat 10 is assembled into a housing 40 with a plurality of bearing components 13 and can be rotated by a rotary shaft 14. The rotary valve 30 is positioned in the housing 40 and is posed to tilt by a predetermined angle under the domination of an angle-setting device 70. The rotary valve 30 also provides a plurality of plunger channels 31 for allowing the disclosed plunger-slipper assemblies 50 snugly slide therein.
The rotary shaft 14 drives the plunger seat 10 to rotate, and in turn makes the plunger-slipper assemblies 50 and the rotary valve 30 rotate simultaneously. As the rotary valve 30 is posed to tilt by the preset angle, the inserting depth of each said plunger-slipper assembly 50 into the plunger channel 31 varies during the rotary valve 30 makes a circuit, and a simulate plunger stroke can be accomplished. Then after oil is injected into the rotary valve 30 through the oil inlet piping (not shown) that is communicated with the housing 40 and an expectative pressure boost is provided to the oil, the oil can be output through the oil outlet piping (not shown) that is communicated with the housing 40.
The tilting angle of the rotary valve 30 and the stroke of the plunger-slipper assemblies 50 are subject to the setting of the aforementioned angle-setting device 70. While the larger the tilting angle of the rotary valve 30 is, the larger length of the stroke of the plunger-slipper assemblies 50 is allowed and the larger pressure boost is achieved. Otherwise, the effects are contrary to the results above.
As the above-discussed structure of the high-pressure pump is well known in the art, it is not in the scope of what the present invention claims for. The present invention, however, aims at providing the structure of plunger-slipper assembly 50 operating in coordination therewith. The plunger-slipper assembly 50 facilitates generating a relatively larger stroke. Because of the larger stroke, the plunger-slipper assembly 50 requires a particular lubrication solution so as to retard the abrasion thereof.
As shown in Figures 5, 6 and 7 , the plunger-slipper assembly 50 of the present invention comprises a plunger 51 and a slipper 55. The aforesaid spherical end of the plunger 51 for being engaged by the plunger seat 10 is defined as a first end 52 while the opposite end, which is also a spherical one, is defined as a second end 53. The slipper 55 comprises a coaxial hole 56 for receiving the plunger 51 and the coaxial hole 56 has a spherical space formed at the extremity thereof for accommodating the second end 53 of the plunger 51. Further, the inner diameter of the coaxial hole 56 is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the plunger 51 so that a slightly rotational movement of the plunger 51 in the coaxial hole 56 is attainable. Thus, the tilting angle between the plunger-slipper assembly 50 and the plunger 10 is augmented and adapted to the rotary valve 30, which rotates with a sharp angle. Consequently, an enhanced plunger stroke distance is achieved.
The plunger 51 is lengthwise penetrated by an oil-filling channel 54. Lubricating oil can be infused into the oil filler oil-filling channel 54 and be guided to between the slipper 55 and the plunger channel 31 by way of an oil-guiding channel 58 provided at the extremity of the coaxial hole 56.
The present invention is characterized by an oil-distributing unit 60, which comprises a first annular groove 61 and a second annular groove 62. The first annular groove 61 is deposited at the identical peripheral position where the oil-guiding channel 58 is settled while the second annular groove 62 is separated from the first annular groove 61 with a predetermined distance.
A third annular groove 63 is further separated from the second annular groove 62 with a predetermined distance therebetween. Meantime, an intrusive flange 57 is formed at the inner periphery of the coaxial hole 56 corresponding to the third annular groove 63. The flange 57 touches the second end 53 of the plunger 51 at a proper position so as to axially retain yet allow rotational movement of the plunger 51. An annular stuff 64, such as a silicon ring, may be settled in the third annular groove 63 to fill up the vacancy between the slipper 55 and the rotary valve 30 so that the slipper 55 can move within the plunger channel 31 with improved stability.
In Fig. 4 , as the lubricating oil is infused at the oil-filling channel 54 of the plunger 51 and released at the oil-guiding channel 58, the released lubricating oil can therefore pervade the first annular groove 61. Then, the lubricating oil can be smeared evenly on the contact surfaces of the slipper 55 and the plunger channel 31 as a result of the relative displacement therebetween. Consequently, the lubricating oil can further permeate the second annular groove 62. Since the first and second annular grooves 61, 62 are both narrow channels, when the slipper 55 moves along the plunger channel 31, the lubricating oil can be transitionally stored in the narrow channels and then exude from the first and second annular grooves 61, 62. By the described means, the contact surfaces of the slipper 55 and the plunger channel 31 can be uniformly covered by the lubricating oil so as to generally reduce the friction between the contact surfaces and permit a smoother movement of the slipper 55.
The annular stuff 64 functions as a barricade to keep the lubricating oil on the surface of the slipper 55 therebelow. Thus, the lubricating oil can fill the first and second annular grooves 61, 62 and then evenly distribute between the inner wall of the plunger channel 31 and the outer wall of the slipper 55 as a result of the movement of the slipper 55 with respect to the plunger channel 31. Hence, the lubricating oil can efficiently function with the least sufficient amount that facilitates preventing the mess that an excessively great amount of oil congests between the inner wall of the plunger channel 31 and the outer wall of the slipper 55 and overflows from the plunger channel 31.
Although a particular embodiment of the invention has been described in detail for purposes of illustration, it will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that numerous variations will be possible to the disclosed embodiments without going outside the scope of the invention as disclosed in the claims.

Claims

A plunger-slipper assembly of a high-pressure pump, comprising
a plunger having a first end and a second end, which are both spherical ends;
a slipper comprising a coaxial hole for receiving the plunger wherein the coaxial hole has a spherical space formed at the extremity thereof for accommodating the second end of the plunger and the first end of the plunger juts out from the slipper while the diameter of the coaxial hole of the slipper is slightly larger than the diameter of the plunger;
an oil-filling channel lengthwise penetrating the plunger through the first end to the second end thereof; characterized by
an oil-guiding channel radially penetrating the wall of the slipper and connecting with the extremity of the coaxial hole;
a first annular groove deposited at the identical peripheral position of the outer wall of the slipper where the oil-guiding channel is settled;
a third annular groove also deposited surrounding the outer wall of the slipper and is separated from the first annular groove with a predetermined distance wherein location of the third annular groove is near the second end of the plunger; an intrusive flange formed at the inner periphery of the coaxial hole corresponding to the third annular groove, wherein the flange touches the second end of the plunger at a proper position so as to axially retain the plunger; and
an annular stuff is settled in the third annular groove.
The plunger-slipper assembly of Claim 1, wherein a second annular groove is provided between the first annular groove and the third annular groove.