MECHANICAL SEAL AND ROTARY UNION HAVING A MECHANICAL SEAL

Abstract

The disclosure relates to a mechanical seal for sealing at least one fluid-carrying channel and/or space extending in a stationary component and/or a rotating component from the environment, having a seal ring which is supported in a sealing manner in the axial direction against a mating ring and, to compensate for wear on its end sealing surface or on a mating face, is supported against the mating ring elastically and movably in the axial direction with this sealing surface; having a housing which movably accommodates the mechanical seal ring in the axial direction and encloses the mechanical seal ring with a circumferential part in the circumferential direction.

The mechanical seal according to the disclosure, characterized in that the housing has a flange which adjoins the circumferential part in the axial direction and which is integrally formed with the circumferential part or is connected to the circumferential part by a material bond, wherein the flange forms at least one radially inwardly facing projection and the mechanical seal ring has a stop face opposite the radially inwardly facing projection in the axial direction, with which the mechanical seal ring strikes against the projection during a maximum permissible movement in the axial direction, and the flange forms at least one radially outwardly facing projection with which it can be connected or is connected non-rotatably to one of the two components holding the housing.

Claims

1. Mechanical seal for sealing at least one fluid-carrying channel and/or space extending in a stationary component and/or a rotating component from the environment, having a mechanical seal ring which is supported in a sealing manner in the axial direction against a mating ring and, to compensate for wear on its end sealing surface or on a mating face, is supported elastically and movably in the axial direction with this sealing surface against the mating ring; having a housing which movably accommodates the mechanical seal ring in the axial direction and encloses the mechanical seal ring with a circumferential part in the peripheral direction; characterized in that the housing has a flange adjoining the circumferential part in the axial direction, which flange is designed integrally with the circumferential part or is connected to the latter in a material-bonded manner, wherein the flange forms at least one radially inwardly facing projection and the mechanical seal ring comprises a stop face which is opposite the radially inwardly facing projection in the axial direction and with which the mechanical seal ring strikes against the projection during a maximum permissible movement in the axial direction, and the flange forms at least one radially outwardly facing projection with which it can be connected or is connected non-rotatably to one of the two components receiving the housing.

2. Mechanical seal according to claim 1, characterized in that the flange is annular and in particular flat and projects radially inwards as well as radially outwards beyond the circumferential part.

3. Mechanical seal according to claim 1, characterized in that the mechanical seal ring is held non-rotatably in the housing, in particular by means of an undercut.

4. Mechanical seal according to claim 1, characterized in that the flange has radial recesses and/or radial projections for non-rotatably connecting the flange to the component, said radial recesses and/or projections being arranged distributed over the circumference and being positioned one behind the other in the circumferential direction.

5. Mechanical seal according to claim 1, characterized in that the flange has through-holes distributed over the circumference and positioned one behind the other in the circumferential direction for non-rotatably connecting the flange to the component.

6. Mechanical seal according to claim 1, characterized in that the housing is made of sheet metal, wherein the flange is welded in particular to the circumferential part.

7. Mechanical seal according to claim 1, characterized in that the flange is non-rotatably connected to a bearing housing which receives bearings, in particular roller bearings, for supporting the rotating component.

8. Mechanical seal according to claim 1, characterized in that the mechanical seal has a position sensor for detecting the position of the mechanical seal ring in the axial direction, having an encoder fixed to the mechanical seal ring and moving with the mechanical seal ring in the axial direction, and having a stationary sensor which is positioned radially outside the circumferential part and detects the position of the encoder in the axial direction, wherein the sensor is supported by the circumferential part and/or by the flange.

9. Mechanical seal according to claim 8, characterized in that the flange has a bracket extending in the axial direction and in the circumferential direction, tangential direction or obliquely outwards, which bracket is designed in particular as a sheet metal strip welded to the flange, wherein the bracket is positioned at a distance from the circumferential part and carries the stationary sensor, in particular on its surface facing the circumferential part.

10. Mechanical seal according to claim 8, characterized in that the flange has at least one longitudinal groove penetrating it, which extends in particular in the tangential direction, obliquely outwards or in the circumferential direction and which accommodates at least one connecting cable of the stationary sensor.

11. Mechanical seal according to claim 8, characterized in that the encoder is inserted into a radial bore of the mechanical seal ring and, in particular, is flush with the mechanical seal ring radially on the outside.

12. Mechanical seal according to claim 8, characterized in that the encoder comprises at least one magnet or is formed thereby, and the stationary sensor is designed as a Hall sensor which detects the position of the magnet in the axial direction.

13. Mechanical seal according to claim 1, characterized in that the housing has a housing base which is opposite an end face of the mechanical seal ring facing away from the sealing surface, and the mechanical seal ring is supported elastically on the housing base by means of a spring element, in particular by means of a corrugated spring, between the end face and the housing base.

14. Mechanical seal according to claim 1, characterized in that the flange carries a speed sensor which cooperates with an encoder in the rotating component, in particular in the mating ring.

15. Rotary union, having a stationary component and a rotating component and a channel which is sealed with a mechanical seal according to claim 1 and extends in the stationary component and the rotating component, wherein the flange is non-rotatably connected to the stationary component or the rotating component.

16. Rotary union according to claim 15, having a mechanical seal ring characterized in that the flange is non-rotatably connected to the stationary component and the stationary component has an inner wall which surrounds the circumferential part of the housing, in particular in a bearing manner, and in which a recess limited at least in the circumferential direction is provided, which is arranged and dimensioned to accommodate the stationary sensor.

17. Rotary union according to claim 16, characterized in that at least one leakage channel, in particular in the form of a bore, is provided in the stationary component, which channel discharges fluid which passes through the mechanical seal ring from the stationary component, and at least one connecting cable of the stationary sensor is guided through the leakage channel, wherein the connecting cable, in particular starting from the stationary sensor, is previously guided through the longitudinal groove.

18. Mechanical seal according to claim 2, characterized in that the mechanical seal ring is held non-rotatably in the housing, in particular by means of an undercut.

19. Mechanical seal according to claim 2, characterized in that the flange has radial recesses and/or radial projections for non-rotatably connecting the flange to the component, said radial recesses and/or projections being arranged distributed over the circumference and being positioned one behind the other in the circumferential direction.

20. Mechanical seal according to claim 3, characterized in that the flange has radial recesses and/or radial projections for non-rotatably connecting the flange to the component, said radial recesses and/or projections being arranged distributed over the circumference and being positioned one behind the other in the circumferential direction.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0036] The disclosure will be described in the following with the help of an exemplary embodiment and the figures, wherein:

[0037] FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a mechanical seal according to the disclosure;

[0038] FIG. 2 shows another schematic sectional view of a rotary union having a mechanical seal according to the disclosure;

[0039] FIG. 3 shows a top view of an exemplary embodiment of a flange of a mechanical seal according to the disclosure;

[0040] FIG. 4 shows a schematic sectional view of another mechanical seal according to the disclosure;

[0041] FIG. 5 shows a frontal top view of the flange of the mechanical seal as shown in FIG. 4;

[0042] FIG. 6 shows a sectional view through the housing of the mechanical seal from FIG. 4;

[0043] FIG. 7 shows a sectional view analogous to that of FIG. 2 with an additional speed sensor;

[0044] FIG. 8 shows a sectional view analogous to that of FIG. 4 with an additional speed sensor.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0045] FIG. 1 shows a mechanical seal designed in accordance with the disclosure, comprising a housing 6 with a circumferential part 6.1 and a flange 6.2 connected to the front of said housing in the axial direction at its open end. As indicated, the flange 6.2 is welded, for example, to the circumferential part 6.1.

[0046] The circumferential part 6.1 is designed cylindrically and encloses the mechanical seal ring 4 in the peripheral direction. The mechanical seal ring 4 is inserted into the housing 6 by means of a seal 22, in this case sealed against the circumferential part 6.1.

[0047] The mechanical seal ring 4 has a sealing surface 5 on its end face protruding from the housing 6. On its end face facing away from the sealing surface 5, the mechanical seal ring 4 is subjected to pressure elasticity by means of a spring element 23, for example in the form of a corrugated spring. The spring element 23 is supported on the housing base 6.3 of the housing 6.

[0048] The mechanical seal ring 4 can be pressed out of the housing 6 by the spring element 23 until its stop face 8 facing away from the spring element 23 abuts against a radially inwardly facing projection 7 of the flange 6.2. This compensates for wear on the sealing surface 5 which shortens the mechanical seal ring 4 in the axial direction.

[0049] Furthermore, the flange 6.2 has a radially outwardly facing projection 9, which on the one hand serves to non-rotatably connect the housing 6 to a component holding the housing 6 and on the other hand serves to connect the stationary sensor 13 of a position sensor 11. Additionally or alternatively, the stationary sensor 13 could also be connected to the circumferential part 6.1 of the housing 6 as indicated by the dashed line.

[0050] The stationary sensor 13 interacts with an encoder 12, which here is placed in the form of a magnet 18 in a radial bore 17 of the mechanical seal ring 4. In the area of the stationary sensor 13 or the encoder 12, an opening 24 is provided in the circumferential part 6.1 in order not to obstruct the signal flow from the encoder 12 to the stationary sensor 13.

[0051] The stationary sensor 13 is supported by a bracket 14 connected to the radially outwardly facing projection 9 of the flange 6.2. In particular, the bracket 14 is connected to the flange 6.2 in a materially bonded manner or is designed integrally with the flange 6.2, and the stationary sensor 13 is connected to the bracket 14 with a form fit or material connection.

[0052] The mechanical seal ring 4, with its sealing surface 5, together with a mating ring not shown in FIG. 1, seals channel 1, which carries a fluid such as water or gas.

[0053] FIG. 2 shows an example of the use of a mechanical seal according to the disclosure. This corresponds largely to the design as shown in FIG. 1, except that the stationary sensor 13 is connected, and in particular glued, to a radially inwardly facing surface of the bracket 14.

[0054] In the rotary union as shown in FIG. 2, the housing 6 is inserted into the stationary component 2 in a torsion-proof manner. For this purpose, the flange 6.2 is screwed or pinned through the through-holes 10 in the stationary component 2.

[0055] The housing 6 again comprises the circumferential part 6.1, which rests radially inwardly against an inner wall 19 of the stationary component 2. The stationary component 2 also has a recess 20 that accommodates the bracket 14 together with the stationary sensor 13. In order to form the position sensor 11, the stationary sensor 13 in turn faces the encoder 12, which is designed in the form of a magnet 18 and inserted into a radial bore 17 in the mechanical seal ring 4, via the opening 24. The spring element 23, which presses the sealing surface 5 of the mechanical seal ring 4 against the mating ring 25 and is supported on the housing base 6.3, is also shown, wherein the corresponding reference numerals from FIG. 1 are also used for corresponding components.

[0056] The mating ring 25 is part of the rotating component 3, which is supported by at least one bearing 26 in the stationary component 2 and encloses the channel 1. The channel 1 also extends through the stationary component 2 as indicated by the arrows, for example through an inlet or outlet in the stationary component 2.

[0057] If a leakage escapes via the sealing surface 5, i.e. between the mechanical seal ring 4 and the mating ring 25, as indicated by the dashed arrow, it is discharged through the leakage channel 21 in the stationary component 2. In the exemplary embodiment shown, such a leakage channel 21 also serves to lead at least one connecting cable 16 of the stationary sensor 13 out of the stationary component 2.

[0058] In order to lead the connecting cable 16 through flange 6.2 from the side of the stationary sensor 13 to the side of the leakage channel 21 facing away in axial direction, at least one opening, especially a longitudinal groove, can be provided in flange 6.2 through which the connecting cable 16 is led. A number of such longitudinal grooves 15 can be seen in FIG. 3, which shows a frontal plan view of the so-called open side of the housing 6, i.e. the side of the sealing surface 5. Again, the corresponding reference numerals are used for the corresponding components, which correspond to the reference numerals in FIGS. 1 and 2.

[0059] For example, the housing 6 comprises the circumferential part 6.1, the flange 6.2 and the housing bottom 6.3. The flange 6.2 has the radially inwardly facing projection 7 and the radially outwardly facing projection 9. In the radially outwardly facing projection 9, the through-holes 10 are provided for non-rotating connection of the flange 6.2.

[0060] Furthermore, FIG. 3 shows the openings into which the bracket 14 can be inserted to fix it. In addition to these openings, the longitudinal grooves 15 extending in a tangential direction are provided here for the connecting cable of the stationary sensor.

[0061] In the exemplary embodiment shown, there are three openings each for the brackets 14 and three longitudinal grooves 15. This enables the selection of a suitable position for the stationary sensor. It is understood that a plurality of stationary sensors could also be used accordingly.

[0062] When designed according to FIG. 3, the flange 6.2 or its radially outwardly facing projection 9 has centering holes 27, which serve to center the flange 6.2 on the circumferential part 6.1 before and/or during the flange 6.2 is connected to the circumferential part 6.1 with a material bond. At the same time, these centering holes 27 can also be used to center the housing 6 in the component in which the housing 6 is accommodated.

[0063] In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the housing 6 also has radially inwardly facing projections 28 which engage in corresponding recesses in the mechanical seal ring to prevent the mechanical seal ring from rotating circumferentially relative to the housing 6.

[0064] Instead of the flange 6.2, which is materially bonded to the circumferential part 6.1, especially by welding, as shown in the exemplary embodiment, the flange 6.2 could also be produced by forming the housing 6 on the circumferential part 6.1. For example, the housing 6 can be bent at its open end first inwards and then outwards or vice versa to form the radially inwardly facing projection 7 and the radially outwardly facing projection 9.

[0065] In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the housing 6 of the mechanical seal also forms the stationary component 2 or a part of the stationary component 2, which encloses the channel 1. For example, the circumferential part 6.1 has a connection 31 in the form of an inlet or outlet for the medium passing through channel 1. For example, a connection thread for a fluid hose (or medium hose) can be provided for connection 31.

[0066] In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the circumferential part 6.1 is extended beyond the housing base 6.3 in the direction of the axis of rotation of the mechanical seal in order to be able to insert connection 31, which is aligned particularly in the radial direction. On the end face, channel 1 is closed by cover 32, which can be designed completely closed or, optionally, additionally or alternatively form a connection 31 for the fluid.

[0067] As in the previous exemplary embodiment, the spring element 23 is supported on the housing base 6.3 to press the sealing surface 5 of the mechanical seal ring 4 against the mating ring 25.

[0068] The mating ring 25 rotates with the rotating component 3, which is mounted in a bearing housing 30 by means of the bearings 26, here roller bearings. The flange 6.2 of the housing 6 of the mechanical seal, which in turn is designed in one piece with the circumferential part 6.1 or is connected to it by material bonding, is non-rotatably connected to the bearing housing 30. In the exemplary embodiment shown, flange 6.2 has radial projections 29 which engage in corresponding axial grooves 33 in the bearing housing 30. The flange 6.2 is secured in the axial direction, for example, by a circlip 35, which may be designed as a snap ring.

[0069] In the exemplary embodiment shown, a nut 34 is screwed onto the rotating component 3. However, this is not mandatory.

[0070] Although this is not shown in detail, the housing 6 carries the stationary sensor of a position sensor according to a preferred embodiment, as shown in the design according to FIGS. 1 to 3. Accordingly, the flange 6.2 may be designed according to the illustration in FIG. 3, wherein in particular the radial projections 29 are additionally provided and if necessary the through-holes 10 are omitted.

[0071] When designed according to FIG. 7, the flange 6.2 carries a speed sensor 36 on the side facing away from the stationary sensor 13 by means of a further bracket 14, which cooperates with an encoder 37 in the mating ring 25 to detect the speed of the mating ring 25 and thus of the rotating component 3. The bracket 14 for the speed sensor 36 can, for example, be mounted on flange 6.2 in the same way as the bracket 14 for the stationary sensor 13. Alternatively, it is also possible to have the two brackets 14 for the stationary sensor 13 and the speed sensor 36 designed integrally, e.g. as a sheet metal part pushed through the flange 6.2.

[0072] FIG. 8 shows a further exemplary embodiment analogous to the one in FIGS. 4 to 6, also additionally equipped with a speed sensor 36, which interacts with an encoder 37 in the mating ring 25 to detect the speed of the mating ring 25 or the rotating component 3.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0073] 1 Channel [0074] 2 Stationary component [0075] 3 Rotating component [0076] 4 Mechanical seal ring [0077] 5 Sealing surface [0078] 6 Housing [0079] 6.1 Circumferential part [0080] 6.2 Flange [0081] 6.3 Housing base [0082] 7 Radially inwardly facing projection [0083] 8 Stop surface [0084] 9 Radially outwardly facing projection [0085] 10 Through-hole [0086] 11 Position sensor [0087] 12 Encoder [0088] 13 Stationary sensor [0089] 14 Bracket [0090] 15 Longitudinal groove [0091] 16 Connecting cable [0092] 17 Radial Bore [0093] 18 Magnet [0094] 19 Inner wall [0095] 20 Recess [0096] 21 Leakage channel [0097] 22 Seal [0098] 23 Spring element [0099] 24 Opening [0100] 25 Mating ring [0101] 26 Bearing [0102] 27 Centering hole [0103] 28 Projection [0104] 29 Radial projection [0105] 30 Bearing housing [0106] 31 Connection [0107] 32 Cover [0108] 33 Axial groove [0109] 34 Nut [0110] 35 Circlip [0111] 36 Speed sensor [0112] 37 Encoder