KR20230153433A - bearing protector - Google Patents

Abstract

A slit-type bearing protector with a flexible design that adds improved moisture protection to bearings and can be installed without removing the bearing from the installed machine is disclosed.

Description

bearing protector

The present invention relates to bearing seals.

Ball bearings are commonly used to support vertical shafts for air moving fans in cooling equipment such as cooling towers. When these bearings are used outdoors, especially in saturated cooling tower environments, water can condense and seep through the seals, causing premature lubrication failure of the bearings, leading to corrosion and ultimately mechanical failure. Bearing “slingers” and “flingers” are commonly used in these applications to reduce water seepage into the bearings.

However, these prior art bearing protectors have had limited success. There are no prior art bearing protectors that can be easily installed or replaced in existing equipment, and many designs do not adequately protect bearings from moisture condensation and only serve to reduce moisture infiltration from falling rainwater. Other designs are compatible with only one type or special type of bearing.

The present invention seeks to solve the problems of the prior art by providing a close-fitting through-shaft secondary protective grease seal that can be installed on many common bearing brands without removing the shaft from the bearing. do.

According to various embodiments of the present invention, a bearing protector is provided having a housing of generally radial or annular shape, which surrounds the shaft and bearing assembly (i.e., around the locking collar of the bearing and the outer race of the bearing). ) above), but when secured to the bearing assembly and shaft, it forms a space between the bearing assembly and the bearing protector, which space may be filled with protective grease. The annular housing features first and second ends that are not continuous, but contact each other when secured to the shaft and bearing assembly. The annular housing is sufficiently flexible to allow the annular shape to unfold, for example by unfolding or twisting, and the first and second ends can be separated and placed around the shaft and bearing without removing the shaft from the bearing. When the protector is fitted around the bearing and shaft and is in the released state, the first and second ends of the protector are brought into contact or nearly against each other and are secured with snap fits, screws, nuts and bolts or other fastening methods and/or Alternatively, they may be firmly fixed to each other by a device.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the bearing protector is formed as a radial cup-shaped structure, the inner diameter of which approximately coincides with the bearing locking collar or inner race extension, the bearing locking collar, the extended inner race, the shaft or It is fitted and attached to a combination of these. These cup-shaped structures radiate down and outward toward and close to the bearing outer race. A cavity is formed between the primary bearing seal and this structure or bearing protector. This cavity receives grease through the bearing primary seal located on the bearing surface. This cavity is filled with grease that drains from the primary bearing seal, displacing any water and/or contaminants that would normally come into contact with the primary bearing seal. The bearing protector is “slit” on one side so that it can be transformed into an open position so that it can be placed laterally on the shaft without access to the ends of the shaft. The protector may be fastened to the bearing locking collar or extended inner ring by friction, by screws, by bolts and nuts, by snap fits or by any known fastening means.

According to various embodiments of the present invention, bearing protectors can be manufactured from acrylonitrile styrene acrylate (“ASA”), making the product suitable for 3D printing in addition to other manufacturing methods including injection molding. The foregoing does not intend to limit the invention to any particular material or manufacturing method, provided the product is sufficiently flexible to be opened around the shaft for installation, yet rigid enough to maintain its shape and performance after installation. It's not.

For a detailed description of preferred embodiments of the present invention, refer to the accompanying drawings, in which:
1 shows a perspective view of a bearing protector according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 2 shows the first step of a method of installing a bearing protector according to an embodiment of the invention by deforming and opening the slit structure.
3 shows the second step of a method of installing a bearing protector according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 4 shows a grease cavity formed between a primary bearing seal and a bearing protector according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 5 shows an enlarged detail of a secondary grease seal formed between a primary bearing outer race and a bearing protector according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to Figure 1, the bearing protector (1) has an annular shape consisting of a front surface (3) defining an annular shaft opposing surface (5), a locking collar portion (9) and a side surface (7) having a conical flange portion (11). It may be formed by a cup-shaped structure, and an outer race opposing surface 13. The inner diameter of the locking collar portion 9 may be configured to closely match the shape and outer diameter of the bearing locking collar, inner ring extension or shaft to provide a snug fit during installation and use. The conical flange portion (11) extends downward and away from the locking collar portion (9) and terminates at the outer race opposing surface (13). The annular shape of the bearing protector (1) is interrupted by a slit or opening (15) joined by the first and second ends (17, 19) of the bearing protector (1).

The bearing protector (1) of the present invention is sufficiently flexible so that it can be twisted so that the first and second ends (17, 19) can be separated a sufficient distance to allow the passage of a shaft between them, and the bearing protector (1) of the present invention is sufficiently flexible. It is possible to install and remove the protector without removing it (see Figure 2). Once the protector (1) has been placed around the shaft with the shaft opposing surface (5) fitting snugly around the shaft, it can be pressed onto the surfaces of the locking collar and outer race as shown in Figure 3. Figure 4 shows a conical (triangular in cross-section) cavity 12 defined by the inner surface of the conical flange portion 11 and the bearing primary seal 16. This cavity is filled with grease that is released from the bearing primary seal when the bearing is lubricated. This cavity is shown enlarged in Figure 5. The primary bearing seal 16 contacts the surfaces of the inner and outer races that abut the bearing. Once the cavity (12) is filled with grease, the outer race opposing surface (13) and the bearing outer race (14) form a secondary grease seal (18). This secondary grease seal reduces exposure of contaminants to the primary bearing seal (16). The secondary grease seal 18 has a tight tolerance, non-contact, grease filled gap of 0.0005" to 0.010".

The first and second ends 17, 19 may be securely fastened to each other by bolts and nuts, screws, snap fits, or other known fastening methods or structures. When installed around the shaft and bearing assembly, a cavity is formed between the inner surface of the conical flange portion 11 and the bearing surface. This cavity receives grease through the bearing primary seal located on the bearing surface. This cavity is filled with grease that drains from the primary bearing seal, displacing any water and/or contaminants that would normally come into contact with the primary bearing seal.

In the accompanying drawings, features are numbered with the following reference numbers:
1: Bearing protector
3: front
5: Shaft opposing surface
7: side
9: Locking collar part
11: Conical flange part
12: joint
13: Outer race opposing surface
14: Bearing outer race
15: Slit/opening
16: Primary bearing seal
17: first end
18: Secondary grease seal
19: second end

Claims (4)

As a bearing protector,
an annular structure having a front and a side defining an annular shaft contacting surface, the side comprising a locking collar portion and a conical flange portion. do,
The inner diameter of the locking collar portion is configured to surround the outer diameter of the bearing locking collar,
The conical portion extends axially and distally from the locking collar portion and terminates at an outer race opposing surface, and
The annular shape of the bearing protector is interrupted by slits defining first and second ends of the cup-shaped structure, and the inner surface of the conical flange portion and the bearing are exposed to grease draining from the bearing. ), and wherein the outer race opposing surface and the surface of the outer race define a non-contact, grease-filled gap.
According to claim 1,
A bearing protector wherein the first and second ends are configured to be twisted so that they can be displaced from each other to allow passage of a shaft therebetween.
According to claim 1,
A bearing protector further comprising means for securely securing the first end to the second end.
As a method for protecting a shaft bearing,
providing an open ring-shaped flexible bearing protector,
deforming the open ring-shaped flexible bearing protector to separate first and second ends of the open ring-shaped flexible bearing protector to allow passage of a shaft;
Fitting the open ring-shaped flexible bearing protector to the shaft and the shaft bearing, bringing the first and second ends into contact with each other and attaching them to each other, preventing movement and creating a cavity between the open ring-shaped flexible bearing protector and the shaft bearing, the cavity being configured to receive grease from the bearing and prevent leakage of the grease from its interior. A method for protecting a shaft bearing, including.

Images