Package, liquid flushed, steady bearing assembly

Claim 2

A package, liquid flushed, steady bearing assembly, adapted for external attachment to a mixing vessel to steady the free end of a driven shaft protruding outwardly through an opening in a wall of the vessel, said assembly comprising: a. a housing adapted for attachment to the exterior of said vessel over and about the outwardly protruding free end of said shaft; b. a wear bearing within said housing and outside of said vessel; c. a wear sleeve adapted to slidably mate and corotate with the free end of said shaft, said wear sleeve having a first portion extending into said vessel and a second portion extending outwardly from said vessel through said wear bearing; d. means for introducing a flushing liquid into and through said housing about said sleeve; and e. means carried by said second sleeve portion for discharging said liquid radially from said assembly into said vessel.

Claim 3

An assembly as set forth in claim 1 further comprising: a. a seat member carried by said housing having one substantially planar face lying within said vessel in a plane generally Normal to the axis of rotation of said shaft; and b. an axially movable bushing carried by said first sleeve portion, said bushing being adapted to corotate with said sleeve and having one face opposed to said seat face, said flushing liquid passing from about said sleeve radially outward into said vessel from between said opposed faces.

Claim 4

An assembly as set forth in claim 2 further comprising means carried by said first sleeve portion for axially urging said bushing toward said seat face to bring said bushing face and seat face into abutment, said bushing provided with grooves substantially in the face thereof for conducting the flow of flushing liquid between said abutting bushing and seat faces.

Claim 5

An assembly as set forth in claim 3 in which said grooves comprise an annular groove, an inlet groove extending radially outward from the inner periphery of said bushing face and communicating with said annular groove, and an outlet groove communicating with said annular groove and extending radially outward from said annular groove to the outer periphery of said bushing face said grooves defining a tortuous fluid passage between said abutting seat and bushing faces wherein flushing liquid flows into said inlet groove around said annular groove and out said outlet groove as a single stream which sweeps across said seat face as said bushing rotates.

Claim 6

An assembly as set forth in claim 2 including means moving said bushing axially with respect to said sleeve for controlling the spacing between said seat face and said bushing face comprising: a. a cup-shaped member attached to said first sleeve portion, said sleeve and the wall of said cup-shaped member having an annular space therebetween for receiving said bushing; b. resilient means in said annular space for urging said bushing toward said seat; c. means carried by said second sleeve portion and accessible from outside of said vessel for moving said sleeve axially with respect to said shaft to increase or decrease the compression of said resilient member, whereby decreasing the compression of said resilient member will permit the pressure of said flushing liquid to move said bushing against said resilient means and increase the spacing between said opposing bushing and seat faces.

Claim 7

A liquid flushed steady bearing as set forth in claim 1 wherein said housing comprises: a. a necked portion extending into said vessel opening; b. a body portion extending outside of said vessel for receiving said wear bearing; c. a flange on said body portion for connecting said housing to the exterior of said vessel; and d. a removable cover attached to said housing for holding said wear bearing in said body portion, said cover being removable to permit replacement of said wear bearing.

Claim 8

A liquid flushed steady bearing assembly for external attachment to a mixing vessel to steady the free end of a driven shaft protruding outwardly through an opening in a wall of the vessel, said assembly comprising: a. a housing adapted to placement about said protruding shaft end and attachment to the exterior of said vessel, said housing including a necked portion for insertion into said vessel opening, a body portion extending outside of said vessel, and an internal rib extending radially inward about the inner periphery of said housing; b. a wear bearing carried within the body portion of said housing; c. means releasably attached to said housing for releasably retaining said wear bearing in said housing body portion; d. an annular seat member carried within the neck portion of said housing and having one face lying in a plane substantially normal to the axis of said shaft and exposed to the interior of said vessel, said seat member being fixed to said rib wherein said rib is interposed between and separates said seat and wear bearing; e. a wear sleeve adapted to slidably mate and attach to said protruding shaft end, said wear sleeve having a first portion extending intO said vessel and a second portion extending outside of said vessel and within said wear bearing; f. axially movable bushing member carried by and rotating with said first sleeve portion and presenting a face opposed to said seat face; and g. means for introducing a flushing liquid into said housing body and between said wear bearing and second sleeve portion, said liquid being radially discharged from adjacent said first sleeve portion between said opposed faces and into said vessel.

Claim 9

A liquid flushed steady bearing assembly for external attachment to a mixing vessel to steady the free end of a driven shaft protruding outwardly through an opening in a wall of the vessel, said assembly comprising: a. a housing adapted to placement about said protruding shaft end and attachment to the exterior of said vessel, said housing including a necked portion for insertion into said vessel opening, a body portion extending outside of said vessel, and an internal rib extending radially inward about the inner periphery of said housing; b. a wear bearing carried within the body portion of said housing; c. means releasably attached to said housing for releasably retaining said wear bearing in said housing body portion; d. an annular seat member carried within the neck portion of said housing and having one face lying in a plane substantially normal to the axis of said shaft and exposed to the interior of said vessel, said seat member being fixed to said rib wherein said rib is interposed between and separates said seat and wear bearing; e. a wear sleeve adapted to slidably mate and attach to said protruding shaft end, said wear sleeve having a first portion extending intO said vessel and a second portion extending outside of said vessel and within said wear bearing; f. axially movable bushing member carried by and rotating with said first sleeve portion and presenting a face opposed to said seat face; and g. means for introducing a flushing liquid into said housing body and between said wear bearing and second sleeve portion, said liquid being radially discharged from adjacent said first sleeve portion between said opposed faces and into said vessel.

Claim 10

An assembly as set forth in claim 7 wherein said opposing faces are in an abutting relationship and the face of said bushing member is grooved to define a channel for said flushing liquid between said abutting seat and bushing faces.

Claim 11

An assembly as set forth in claim 8 wherein the grooves in said bushing face define a tortuous channel for said liquid and includes an annular groove intermediate the inner said outer peripheries of said bushing face, an inlet groove extending radially outward from the inner periphery of said bushing face to communicate with said annular groove, and an outlet groove communicating with said annular groove and extending radially outward to the outer periphery of said bushing face.

Claim 12

An assembly as in claim 9 comprising a single outlet groove displaced approximately 180* from said inlet groove wherein flushing liquid passes into said inlet groove about said annular groove and out said outlet groove in a single stream which sweeps across said seat face as said bushing rotates.