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Pump stabilizer and methodRelated Patent Categories: Pumps, Motor Driven, Electric Or Magnetic Motor, Rotary Motor And Rotary Nonexpansible Chamber PumpPump stabilizer and method description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20060104841, Pump stabilizer and method. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application claims priority to provisional U.S. Patent Application No. 60/390,770, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. BACKGROUND [0002] The present disclosure relates to a system and method for supporting large vertically-oriented pumps. More particularly, this disclosure relates to a system and method for vertically supporting a pump and for relieving stress against pump shaft bearings during periods of non-use in a dynamic environment such as the deck of a ship. [0003] To transfer fluids between containers or from one container to a point of use, reciprocating or centrifugal-type mechanical pumps are often employed. Industrial centrifugal pumps consist of a vertically extending column having an intake, and one or more stages of impellers mounted about a shaft at the lower end of the column. The impellers are driven by the shaft, which extends coaxially upward through the column to a drive motor mounted on top of a discharge head, which is mounted on top of the vertical column. During operation, the pump intake is located at the bottom of the pump and is submerged into the pumped liquid or is fed pressurized liquid from one or more feeder pumps. Rotation of the impellers causes the liquid to be drawn into the pump intake delivered to an outlet conduit in fluid communication with another container, conduit, or point of use. [0004] Depending on the particular application, these types of pumps may be of substantial size with typical column lengths of about 15 to about 20 feet (about 4.5 to about 6 meters) or more, and column diameters ranging up to about 3 feet (about 1 meter) or more. The pump is thus made up of several major components, each of which may weigh several hundred pounds, wherein the total weight of the pump can be in excess of about 10,000 to about 15,000 pounds (about 4,500 to about 6,800 kilograms) or more. [0005] As described above, such pumps are generally mounted on a fixed base such that there is little or no movement of the support base while the pump is operating. However, occasionally pumps are mounted on bases that are subject to motion (both during operation and during periods of non-operation of the pump). For example, when the pump is mounted on the deck of a ship, where the ship cants from side to side or comes down hard over the top of a wave. Such motion can impart significant accelerations against the pump and its components--potentially having a G-force of up to about 1.8 G when added to the normal force of gravity. These forces can cause brinneling of the bearings, which significantly reduces bearing life. [0006] In addition, pumps are not currently adequately supported to withstand side-to-side motion or canting of the pump support either during use or periods of non-use. BRIEF SUMMARY [0007] These and other problems and deficiencies of the prior art are overcome by providing a pump shaft support and method in which an upward force is exerted against the pump shaft during said periods of non-use of the pump thereby off-loading bearings normally supportive of the shaft. In another embodiment, a vertically oriented pressure pot having a cap secured thereto at an upper end thereof has suspended therefrom a pump housing, and a lateral support fixed to a lower end of the pressure pot interacts with an extension of the pump housing to prevent the pump housing from swinging laterally within the pressure pot. [0008] The above described and other features are exemplified by the following figures and detailed description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0009] These and other features will be described below with reference to the following figures, in which: [0010] FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of a pump; [0011] FIG. 2 shows a detail of a pump shaft locking mechanism in an engaged position according to one embodiment; [0012] FIG. 3 shows the pump shaft locking mechanism of FIG. 2 in a disengaged position; [0013] FIG. 4 shows a detail of a pump shaft locking mechanism according to a second embodiment; and [0014] FIG. 5 shows a partially exploded view of a lateral support. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [0015] Referring now to FIG. 1, a pump 100 includes a suction pot 110 primarily supported by support ring 112 and support arms 114. Attached to the top of suction pot 110 is a cap 116 from which a pump housing 118 is suspended. Mounted for rotation within pump housing 118 is pump shaft 120, which carries at least one set of vanes 122, which pump the fluid by centripetal force in a known manner. Fluid enters suction pot 110 through intake 124 under pressure from feeder pumps (not shown). The fluid enters pump housing 118 by inlet 126 at about the bottom 128 of suction pot 110, which then passes through one or more sets of the vanes 122, wherein each set of vanes constitutes a stage. At the top of the pumping chambers is an exhaust conduit 130, which passes the fluid to an exhaust outlet (not shown). In this manner, fluid enters from the bottom 128 of the suction pot 110 and is discharged at an upper portion of the suction pot 110 via the exhaust conduit 130. Shaft 120 is driven by electric motor 132 to facilitate movement of the sets of vanes 122 during operation. A vibration sensor 134 is coupled to the suction pot 110 for detecting abnormal vibrations that could indicate a bearing failure or other malfunction. [0016] In certain applications, pump 100 may be subjected to relatively large accelerations that have the potential of putting undue stress on shaft support bearings 136 (three sets shown). To relieve the stress against the shaft support bearings 136, a shaft support system 150 is employed during periods of non-use of pump 100. [0017] FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate one embodiment of the shaft support system 150 during pump operation and when the pump is not in use, respectively. In the shaft support system 150, it is noted that shaft 120 extends upwardly through an opening 138 (in the cap 116 of suction pot 110 as shown in FIG. 1). A threaded upper end 152 of the shaft 120 includes a washer 154 secured against a shoulder 156 of the threaded upper end 152 by at least one or more nuts 158. Configured about shaft 120 is a cylinder shaped opening 160 (shown generally by arrow 160), which extends between end plates 162 and 164. Each one of the end plates 162, 164 includes an opening through its center through which the pump shaft 120 extends. Disposed between the shaft 120 and within the cylinder shaped opening 160 is an annular piston 166. Annular piston 166 includes a first stem 168 extending up through the opening formed in end plate 164 and a second stem 170 extending down through the opening formed in end plate 162. The annular piston 166 is preferably sealed against an inner wall of the cylinder 160, and an inner wall of the openings formed in end plates 162, 164. End plate 162 is further sealed to cap 116 (FIG. 1) of the suction pot 110, and end plate 164 is further sealed to cap 172, which covers the threaded upper end 152 of the pump shaft 120. [0018] End plate 162 further includes an inlet 174 in fluid communication with a pressure space 176 formed between the annular piston 166 and end plate 164. In addition, end plate 162 includes inlet 178 that is in fluid communication with a pressure space 180 formed between piston 166 and end plate 162. A compression spring 182 is disposed in pressure space 180 for biasing the annular piston 166 towards end plate 162. [0019] As shown in FIG. 3, during periods of non-use of pump 100, pressurized fluid, e.g., nitrogen, is supplied to inlet 174, causing the fluid pressure within pressure space 176 to increase. Inlet 178 is connected to a low-pressure source, such as atmospheric pressure. When the pressure differential between pressure spaces 176 and 180 overcomes the forces exerted by compression spring 182, the annular piston 166 moves in an upward direction causing rim 184 of the first stem 168 to move and contact washer 154. Pressure within pressure space 176 may be regulated to a predetermined amount of pressure using a control system 204, thereby applying a predetermined amount of force against washer 154. Sufficient force is thereby exerted against washer 154 to off-load bearings 136 (see FIG. 1) from the weight of shaft 120 and vanes 122 carried thereon, thereby protecting bearings 136 from brinneling due to overloading such as may be caused by movement of the support system 150, for example. Continue reading about Pump stabilizer and method... Full patent description for Pump stabilizer and method Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Pump stabilizer and method patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. 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