US2009008A - Rotary impeller type well pump - Google Patents

Description

July 23, 1935.

J. A. WINTROATH ROTARY IMPELLER TYPE WELL PUMP Filed July 18, 1952 Innen/For.

Patented July 23, 1935 UNITED STATES 2,009,008 ROTARY IMPELLER TYrE WELL PUMP JohnA. Wintroath, Los Angeles, Calif., assignor to Winti-oath Pumps, Ltd., Alhambra, Calif., a corporation of California Application July 18, 1932, serial No. 623,029 4 Claims. (o1. 10s-102) This invention has reference to rotary impeller type well pumps, and deals in the majority of its aspects with an improved bearing arrangement l for the impellers, the invention having as a par- "5 ticular object the provision of proper and eilicient lubrication for the bearing.

In pumps of the present type, the submersed pumping unit comprises a series of impellers carried von ya rotarypump shaft, the impeller being 'contained within a series of impeller bowls. Well liquid is taken upwardly through anjarrangement of passages within the impeller bowls 'and discharged upwardly into an eduction column extending to the ground surface, by the pumping action oi the rotating impellers. The impeller carrying shaft is journaled within radial bearings at suitable longitudinal intervals within the impeller bowl assembly; andwhere the' pump is used for pumping water from wells, although the pump is by no means limited vto this use as it'operates equally well for pumping oil, it is of primary importance that the bearings be so de- 'signed as to withstand long usage ywithout serious Wear, and to this ultimate end that proper provision be made for lubricating the bearings.

It is a primary object of the invention to pro`rvide an improved type of impeller bearing and lto incorporate in the bearing structure, means whereby ample lubrication oi the bearing at all times will be insu-red. It is believed that the'invention will be most readily andiully understood, without the necessity for further preliminary generalization, from the following detailed description of a typical and preferred embodiment of the invention. It is to be understood however that the scope oi the invention is in no way to be regarded as limited to the particular form shown herein, since the invention is capable of departure andvariations from the specific form selected for purposes of description, without departurefrom the spirit of the invention as eX- pressed inthe appended claims.

Throughout the description to follow, reference is had to the accompanying drawing, in which: Fig. l is a fragmentary sectional view showing the upper end portion of a submersible rotary impeller type pump embodying the invention.;V

Fig. y2 is` an enlarged fragmentary section on nner-1 of Figi; i u Fig. 3 is an enlargement of afragmentary portion of Fig. l showing the impeller bearing construction and the arrangement of the lubricant supplying passages. o In Fig. 1-,\I have shown only a fragmentary porof-a complete impeller pump unit, butthis pellers, and that my improved bearing construol tion maybe applied to any one or all of the impellers in a complete' unit.

Referring first to Fig. 1, the impeller housing or bowl assembly, generally indicated at I0, is shown to comprise a series of bowl units 'each consisting of .upper and lower sections II and I2 joined together by means of screws I3, the joint between the sectionsl being fluid tight.. 'I'he upper section II vof the illustrated top bowl assembly is attached by bolts I4 to an adaptor` head I5, into the upper end of which is screwed the e'cluotion pipe I6 as at Il. During opera'- tions, the pump unit is submersed within the well liquid, and the latter is taken upwardly through the bowl assembly and discharged by the pumping' action of the impelle'rs into the edu'ction co1'- umn within pipe I6 extending to the ground surface.

The adaptor head section I5 has cast integrally therewith Ya central shaft bearing support I8 carried by radial ribs I9 which are also integral parts of the head. Ribs I9 are arranged at spaced intervalsabout the central bearing support' I8, providing uid passages at 2i) through which the well liquid is discharged from the upper pump bowl section I I into the eduction pipe I6.

The outer shell of the upper bowl section II is cast integrally with a. hollow core 2l, the latter being supported by ribs 22 spaced'apart around the hollowwcore to form fluid'passages 23. When ythe joint between the headk I5 and the impeller bowl II is takenup,the lower ends of the bear` ing support I 8 of the head and the upper end of core 2| are in substantial engagement as indicated' at 24. The lower bowl section I2 also has a central bearing support 25 anduid passages 26 sepa-rated by ribs 2I, se`e Fig. 2.

A motor drivenshaft 28extends centrally' and longitudinally through the bowl assembly asillustrated. Acording to the construction shown herein, the' shaft 2E is adapted to be driven by a motor,- not shown, located at the ground surface, the 'shaftbeing shown to bel journaled within a sleeve' 29' threaded into the upper end ofA bearing support I 8- of the head l5 and projecting upwatery' a short distance within a pipe o scrve iisy onto the upper threaded portion of the sleeve. Pipe 33 extends to the ground surface, and serves the usual purpose of the shaft enclosing pipe in an extensible line shaft pump, namely, to support shaft bearings at suitable vertical intervals, pipe 3) ordinarily containing a lubricant for the bearings. t may be mentioned that while I have shown the pump illustrated herein to be of the extensible line shaft type, the invention is equally adaptable to pumps in which the shaft driving motor is incorporated in the pumping unit submersed within the well, as for example, the type of pump shown in my copending application Ser. No. 517,481, filed Feb. 21, 1931 on Submersible motor driven pump.

A bearing line 32 is inserted within and in overlapping relation with portion I8 of the head I5, and the upper end of the hollow core 2| of the upper bowl section II. A similar bearing liner 33 extends within the hollow core of the upper section IIa of the bowl assembly below. In the event the impeller below the single top impeller illustrated is not equipped with the bearing construction comprising the subject matter of the invention, liner 33 may extend down through the core 2I a of the lower bowl section, but otherwise a liner will terminate at the upper end of the core chamber to accommodate the bearing parts hereinafter described.

An impeller 34, attached to the shaft 28 as described, is positioned in close proximity to the lower end of core 2l, the impeller having a plurality of radial fluid passages 35 and the lower skirt portion 34a of the impeller having a running or substantially sliding nt within counterbore 36 in the upper end of lower bowl section I 2. In my copending application filed Oct. 26, 1931, entitled Submersible impeller type pumps, Ser. No. 571,016, I show certain improvements in the impeller construction and its arrangement relative to adjacent parts of the bowl, for the purpose of preventing abrasive wear on the impeller, which improvements may be incorporated in the pump shown herein. These improvements, however, are foreign to the present invention and need not be shown or described herein.

An inverted lubricant forming chamber cup 31 is placed within the hollow interior 2 Ib of core 2 I, cup 31 being non-rotatably secured to the shaft by means of key 38. 'I'he entry of well liquid into the upper end of the lubricant chamber 39 within cup 31 is prevented by means of a packing gland, generally indicated at 49, accommodated within counterbore 4 I. The lower flanged end of cup 31 is secured to the impeller 34 by screws 42, the joint between the cup and impeller being fluid tight. As will appear, the impeller is rotatably driven from the shaft 28 through its connection therewith by way of cup 31.

A shaft surrounding sleeve assembly, generally indicated at 44, extends upwardly from the lower end of the central portion 25 of bowl section I2, through the impeller 34 into the lubricant chamber 39. The sleeve assembly 44 is so formed as to perform the dual function of journaling the shaft throughout the length of the sleeve, and also to -provide a passage through which lubricant may be delivered upwardly between the impeller and the shaft into chamber 39. Although the sleeve 44 may be formed in any suitable manner to provide a passage for taking lubricant into chamber V39, I have shown a typical and preferred sleeve assembly construction to comprise inner and outer concentric sleeves 45 and 46 having therebetween a lubricant passage 41 formed by longitudinally grooving the surface of one of the sleeves. As shown in Fig. 3, the inner sleeve 45 has an enlarged diameter portion 45a at its lower end, and an upper reduced diameter portion 45h over which is slipped the outer sleeve 46, the combined thickness of sleeve 46 and the upper portion 45h of the inner sleeve being the same as the lower portion 45a of the latter. 'I'he lower end of sleeve 48 abuts against shoulder 48 at the upper end of section 45a of the inner sleeve.

Sleeve 46 may be made substantially integral with the inner sleeve 45 by first heating and thereby expanding sleeve 46, and allowing it to cool and contract around the inner sleeve. The sleeve assembly consisting of inner and outer sleeves 45 and 46 may be made substantially integral with the interior portion 25 of the lower bowl section I2, by expanding the sleeve assembly within the bore thereof, or by any other suitable means of attachment. Sleeve 46 projects above the top surface of the impeller and into the lubricant chamber 39, the upper end of the sleeve having a ring 53 serving as one of the race rings for the bearing I which journals the inverted cup 31, and therefore the impeller, on the sleeve assembly. Sleeve 46 and ring 50 are locked against longitudinal movement on the inner sleeve by a nut 53 threaded on the upper end of the inner sleeve projecting above flange 50, the nut being set against ring 5i). The outer race ring 54 of the bearing 5I is fitted to the inner wall of the inverted cup 31.

The bore of impeller 34 has a runningrflt with the outside of sleeve 46, the t between these parts being so close that while some lubricant may leak from chamber 39 downwardly between the impeller and the outer sleeve, such leakage will be comparatively slight. Lateral support is given the vertical wall of cup 31 in addition to the attachment of the lower flanged end of the cup with the impeller, by projecting the lower end 31a of the cup into a counterbore in the upper end of the impeller, the projecting end 31a of the cup having a snug fit within the bore.

As previously explained, the impeller is driven by the shaft 28 through its connection therewith by way of the cup-shaped member 31. During the pumping operations, the impeller takes suction at its lower end through passages 2B and 23, the well liquid being forced by the pumping action of the impeller upwardly through passages 23 and 20 into the eduction column in pipe I6.

Lubricant passage 41 in the sleeve assembly 44 is formed by a longitudinal groove in the outer surface of inner sleeve 45, as shown in Fig. 2. A number of circumferentially spaced grooves 41a. may be formed within the interior of nut 53, one of the grooves 41a being brought into register with passage 41 as indicated in Fig. 3. The lower end of lubricant passage 41 communicates with a transverse bore 58 in one of the ribs 21 in the lower impeller bowl section I2. Lubricant is supplied to the bearing chamber 39 through passages 41 and 58, by way of a conduit 59 extending to the ground surface, a reverse flow of lubricant from bore 58 into the conduit being prevented by a suitable check valve, generally indicated at 60. The check valve comprises an apertured plug 6I, the aperture of which is closed against counter flow therethrough by ball check valve 62 supported on bushing 63. The check valve is seated under the inuence ofV spring 64, the lower end of which seats against a plug 65 screw threaded into the lower end Vof the check valve bore, plug 65 being adjustable to vary the tension of the spring.

As previously mentioned, packing gland 40 seals the lubricant chamber 39 against the entry of well liquid at its upper end, and consequently the only ways in which the well liquid may have access to the bearing chamber would be by upward leakage between sleeve 45 and the shaft, or between the impeller 34 and outer sleeve 4G. In order to prevent such leakage, the lubricant is supplied to the bearing chamber under sufficient pressure to counterbalance the well liquid pressure in tending to leak into the chamber, and in fact the lubricant in bearing chamber may be maintained under such pressure that a slight amount of leakage of the lubricant may occur between sleeve 45 and the shaft, and between the impeller and sleeve 4B. The clearances between the parts however, and the pressure under which the lubricant is maintained, will ordinarily be such that the quantity of lubricant lost through leakage will be but little and of no consequence.

A plurality of holes l and il may be drilled through sleeves 4S and 45, these openings serving as means to balance the pressure existing between sleeve 45 and the shaft, and between the wall of the impeller bore 55 and sleeve 46. Due to the velocity of the water entering the impeller, there would be a slight pressure reduction in the space between the impeller hub and sleeve 46, tending to set up circulation between sleeve 45 and the shaft and between the impeller hub and the sleeve 46. Pressure equalization and elimination of this circulating tendency is accomplished by the series of holes l0, 1I, so arranged as not to interfere With groove 4l.

In view of the foregoing it will be seen that ample supply of lubricant, free from well liquid, will be maintained in the bearing chamber at all times. And it will be further noted that even though the supply of lubricant should be temporarily cut off, no loss of lubricant from the bearing chamber would occur in that substantially balanced pressures would be communicated to bearing chamber through the medium of well liquid tending to leak upwardly between the impeller and sleeve 46, and between the shaft and the inner sleeve 45. That the pressures so communicated to the bearing chamber would be substantially balanced is evidenced by the fact that the clearances through which such leakage oc curs, both terminate at the lower suction end of impeller 34 and above the impeller below, the well liquid in the interval therebetween being under substantially uniform pressure. In view of the capability of this construction to maintain the lubricant in the bearing chamber for substantial periods of time in the absence of additional supply lubricant, it is to be understood that in its broader aspects the invention is not regarded as limited to the provision for supplying lubricant from the ground surface, although the provision of such lubricant supply connection will be generally preferred.

I claim:

1. In a. well pump, the combination comprising, a vertically extending rotatable shaft, a tubular member secured to said shaft and spaced therefrom to form a lubricant containing chamber, an impeller having its upper end joined to the lower end of said tubular member at points spaced from the outside of the shaft passing opening of the impeller, a rotatively stationary sleeve between said impeller and the shaft and projecting above the upper end of the impeller, a bearing confined between said sleeve and said tubular member, and means for delivering lubricant to said chamber through a longitudinal passage. in said sleeve and from a point below said impeller.

2. In a well pump having an impeller bowl with uid passages extending therethrough, a vertically extending rotatable shaft within said bowl, and an impeller in said bowl and joined to said shaft; a non-rotatable sleeve secured to said bowl and extending between said impeller and the shaft to a point above the impeller, a wall attached to said impeller and shaft at points respectivelybelow and above the upper end of said sleeve yand forming a chamber, and packing between said wall and the shaft preventing entry of well liquid to said chamber. v

3. In a well pump having an impeller bowl with fluid passages extending therethrough, a vertically extending rotatable shaft within said bowl, and an impeller in said bowl and joined to said shaft, a non-rotatable sleeve secured to said bowl below said impeller and projecting upwardly between said impeller and the shaft to a point above the impeller, a wall attached to said impeller and shaft at points respectively below and above the upper end of said sleeve and forming a chamber, and packing between said wall and the shaft preventing entry of well liquid to said chamber.

4. In a well pump having an impeller bowl with fluid passages extending therethrough, a vertically extending rotatable shaft within said bowl, and an impeller in said bowl and joined to said shaft; a non-rotatable sleeve secured to said bowl below said impeller and projecting upwardly between said impeller and the shaft, walls forming a lubricant chamber above the upper end of said impeller, a bearing between said walls and said sleeve, there being a lubricant passage extending within said sleeve from below said impeller to said lubricant chamber, and packing between said walls and the shaft preventing the entry of well liquid to said chamber.

JOHN A. WINTROATH.

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