Uniaxial eccentric screw pump
10240599 ยท 2019-03-26
Assignee
Inventors
Cpc classification
F04C15/0015
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F04C2240/20
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F04C2/1075
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F04C2/107
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F04C2240/10
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F04C2210/44
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
International classification
F01C1/10
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F04C15/00
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F01C5/00
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F03C4/00
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F03C2/00
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F04C18/00
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F04C2/107
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
Abstract
A uniaxial eccentric screw pump includes: a casing; a stator having one end portion thereof connected to the casing and having an inner peripheral surface which is formed into a female threaded shaped; a rotor configured to be insertable into the stator and formed of a shaft body having a male threaded shape; and an end stud connected to the other end portion of the stator. The stator is configured to be expandable and shrinkable in a radial direction.
Claims
1. A uniaxial eccentric screw pump comprising: a casing; a thermally expandable stator having a first end portion connected to the casing and a second end portion opposite to the first end portion, and having a stator body configured to expand in an outer diameter direction when heated fluid passes across an inner peripheral surface which is formed into a female threaded shape; a rotor configured to be insertable into the stator and formed of a shaft body having a male threaded shape; an end stud connected to the second end portion of the stator; and a closure structure separate from the stator body including a seal structure having: a first flange portion formed on the second end portion of the stator and a second flange portion formed on the first end portion of the stator; a third flange portion formed on the end stud and brought into contact with the first flange portion; a fourth flange portion formed on the casing and brought into contact with the second flange portion; a first clamp portion configured with a first pair of semicircular clamp portions to clamp the first flange portion to the third flange portion; and a second clamp configured with a second pair of semicircular clamp portions to clamp the second flange portion to the fourth flange portion.
2. The uniaxial eccentric screw pump according to claim 1, wherein the closure structure is configured to at least prevent intrusion of a foreign substance from outside the stator at a junction between the first end portion and the casing and at a junction between the second end portion and the end stud.
3. The uniaxial eccentric screw pump according to claim 2, wherein the stator body is made of a rubber material, and wherein the thermally expandable stator includes an outer sleeve disposed on an outer peripheral portion of the stator body in an adhesion state, and made of a resin material harder than the rubber material during a normal operation, and expands with the stator body when the stator body expands by heat.
4. The uniaxial eccentric screw pump according to claim 2, wherein the thermally expandable stator is formed of only the stator body.
5. The uniaxial eccentric screw pump according to claim 1, wherein the stator body is made of a rubber material, and wherein the thermally expandable stator includes an outer sleeve disposed on an outer peripheral portion of the stator body in an adhesion state, and made of a resin material harder than the rubber material during a normal operation, and expands with the stator body when the stator body expands by heat.
6. The uniaxial eccentric screw pump according to claim 1, wherein the thermally expandable stator is formed of only the stator body.
7. The uniaxial eccentric screw pump according to claim 1, wherein an adaptor made of a metal material is mounted to each of the first end portion and the second end portion of the thermally expandable stator, and the adaptors form the first flange portion and the second flange portion.
8. The uniaxial eccentric screw pump according to claim 1, wherein the seal structure includes a stay bolt which connects the casing and the end stud to each other.
9. The uniaxial eccentric screw pump according to claim 8, wherein the uniaxial eccentric screw pump includes a spacer which is mounted on the stay bolt from the outside, is brought into contact with the casing and the end stud, and maintains the casing and the end stud with a fixed distance therebetween.
10. The uniaxial eccentric screw pump according to claim 1, wherein the stator body is made of a rubber material, and wherein the thermally expandable stator includes an outer sleeve disposed on an outer peripheral portion of the stator body in an adhesion state, and made of a resin material harder than the rubber material during a normal operation, and expands with the stator body when the stator body expands by heat.
11. The uniaxial eccentric screw pump according to claim 1, wherein the first flange portion includes a first annular recessed portion, wherein the second flange portion includes a second annular recessed portion, wherein the third flange portion includes a first annular projecting portion, wherein the fourth flange portion includes a second annular projecting portion.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
(1) The foregoing and the other feature of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description and drawings of an illustrative embodiment of the disclosure in which:
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MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE DISCLOSURE
(13) Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present disclosure are described with reference to attached drawings. In the description made hereinafter, terms indicating specific directions and positions (terms including upper, lower, side, and end, for example) are used when necessary. However, these terms are used for facilitating the understanding of the disclosure described with reference to the drawings, and the technical scope of the present disclosure is not limited by the meaning of these terms. Further, the description made hereinafter essentially only exemplifies examples of the present disclosure, and the description is not intended to limit the present disclosure, a product to which the present disclosure is applied, or the application of the present disclosure. Further, drawings are schematically shown, and the size ratios of respective parts and the like differ from those of actual parts.
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(15) The casing 1 is a cylindrical body made of a metal material, and a coupling rod 5 is housed in the casing 1. One end portion of the coupling rod 5 is connected to a coupling 6, and power from the drive unit is transmitted to the coupling rod 5. A connecting pipe 7 is connected to an outer peripheral surface of the casing 1 on one end side, and a fluid material (for example, a material and the like having viscosity such as mayonnaise) can be supplied to the casing 1 from a tank or the like not shown in the drawing. Further, a fourth flange portion 8 extending toward an outer diameter side is formed on an opening portion on the other end of the casing 1. As shown in
(16) The stator 2 is formed of: an outer sleeve 9; and a stator body 10 disposed in a state where the stator body 10 is brought into close contact with an inner surface of the outer sleeve 9.
(17) The outer sleeve 9 is made of an elastically deformable (or thermally expandable) resin material (for example, PEEK (polyetheretherketone), PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene), POM (polyacetal) or the like). As described later, when heated water vapor or the like flows in the inside of the stator body 10 so that the stator body 10 expands toward an outer diameter side, the outer sleeve 9 can expand along with such expansion of the stator body 10. Here, as a material for forming the outer sleeve 9, a material harder than at least a rubber material which forms the stator body 10 at a temperature in a normal use state where a fluid material is conveyed by the uniaxial eccentric screw pump is used. With such a configuration, at the time of conveying the fluid material by rotating the rotor 3, it is possible to obtain a desired discharge pressure by preventing deformation of the stator body 10 and by maintaining a proper interference.
(18) The stator body 10 is formed of a cylindrical body (for example, circular cylindrical body) made of an elastic material such as rubber or a resin which is selected as desired corresponding to a material to be conveyed (for example, silicon rubber, or a fluoro-rubber when the stator body 10 is used for cosmetics or the like containing silicon oil). An inner peripheral surface of a center hole of the stator 2 is formed into a single-stage or multi-stage female threaded shape of n-thread. On both end portions of the stator body 10, ring portions 11a, 11b having a slightly large outer diameter size respectively are formed, and adaptors 12a, 12b are respectively mounted on the stator body 10 by making use of these ring portions 11a, 11b.
(19) The adaptors 12a, 12b are made of a metal material such as stainless steel, and each adaptor 12a, 12b is formed of a cylindrical portion 13a, 13b and a first flange portion 14a and a second flange portion 14b which projects toward an outer diameter side from one end of the cylindrical portion 13a, 13b. On each flange portion 14a, 14b, a first annular recessed portion 14a1, 14b1 and a second annular recessed portion 14a2, 14b2 which has an inner diameter size smaller than that of the first annular recessed portion 14a1, 14b1 are formed in this order from an end surface of the flange portion 14a, 14b. Since the stator body 10 is made of an elastic material, the adaptors 12a, 12b can be mounted on the stator body 10 by elastically deforming the ring portions 11a, 11b toward an inner diameter side.
(20) The adaptor 12a is held by a first clamp 15 in a state where the first flange portion 14a is brought into contact with a third flange portion 18 of the end stud 4 described later. As shown in
(21) As shown in
(22) The rotor 3 is formed by forming a shaft body made of a metal material into a single-stage or multi-stage male threaded shape of n1 threads. The rotor 3 is disposed in the inside of the center hole of the stator 2, and a conveyance space 17 continuously connected in a longitudinal direction of the center hole is formed. One end portion of the rotor 3 is connected to the coupling rod 5 on a casing side. The rotor 3 rotates in the stator 2 and, at the same time, revolves along the inner peripheral surface of the stator 2 by a drive force from the drive unit (not shown). That is, the rotor 3 eccentrically rotates in the center hole of the stator 2 and hence, the rotor 3 can convey a material in the conveyance space 17 in a longitudinal direction.
(23) The end stud 4 is formed of a cylindrical body made of a metal material. The flange portion 18 which extends outward is formed on an opening portion of the end stud 4 at one end of the end stud 4. The flange portion 18 is held by the first clamp 15 in a state where the flange portion 18 is brought into contact with the flange portion 14a of the adaptor 12a as described previously. An annular projecting portion 18a and an annular recessed portion 18b are formed on an end surface of the flange portion 18 in the same manner as the casing 1.
(24) The end stud 4 and the casing 1 are connected to each other by stay bolts 19. That is, support members 20 are formed on an outer peripheral surface of the end stud 4 and on an outer peripheral surface of the casing 1 respectively in a state where the support members 20 are disposed at two positions in point symmetry with respect to an axis. The stay bolts 19 are made to pass through the support members 20 of the end stud 4 and the casing 1 respectively in a state where a cylindrical spacer 21 made of a metal material (for example, stainless steel) is mounted on each stay bolt 19 from outside, and a nut 22 is threadedly engaged with one end portion of each stay bolt 19. By fastening the nut 22, the stator 2 is clamped between the end stud 4 and the casing 1. In such a state, a distance between the end stud 4 and the casing 1 can be maintained at a fixed value by the spacer 21. Accordingly, there is no possibility that the stator body 10 is compressed more than necessary so that the stator body 10 is clamped between the end stud 4 and the casing 1 in a desired compression state. In this manner, due to the presence of the spacers 21, there is no possibility that the stator body 10 is compressed more than necessary or a gap is formed at both end portions of the stator body 10. On the other hand, since the outer sleeve 9 is sufficiently hard compared to the stator body 10, in the case where the outer sleeve 9 can play a role of maintaining the distance between the end stud 4 and the casing 1 at a fixed value, the spacers 21 are not always necessary.
(25) Hereinafter, the connection between the casing 1 and the stator 2 and the connection between the stator 2 and the end stud 4 are described in detail with reference to
(26) In a state where the adaptors 12a, 12b are respectively mounted on both end portions of the stator body 10 which mounts the outer sleeve 9 on the outer peripheral portion thereof, as shown in
(27) Subsequently, the first clamp 15 is mounted on the adaptor 12a and the flange portion 18, and the second clamp 16 is mounted on the adaptor 12b and the flange portion 8 respectively so as to strengthen the connection between the stator body 10 and the end stud 4 and the casing 1. Then, the nuts 22 are fastened to the stay bolt 19 so as to clamp the outer sleeve 9 between the casing 1 and the end stud 4 by way of the support members 20. With such an operation, as shown in
(28) Next, the manner of operation of the uniaxial eccentric screw pump having the above-mentioned configuration is described.
(29) To discharge a fluid material from the tank and the like, the drive unit not shown is driven so as to rotate the rotor 3 by way of the coupling 6 and the coupling rod 5. The conveyance space 17 formed by an inner peripheral surface of the stator 2 and an outer peripheral surface of the rotor 3 moves in a longitudinal direction of the stator 2 and the rotor 3. Accordingly, the fluid material discharged from the tank is sucked into the conveyance space 17, and is conveyed to the end stud 4. After the fluid material reaches the end stud 4, the fluid material is further conveyed to another place.
(30) In the uniaxial eccentric screw pump, when the conveyance of a fluid material is stopped, the fluid material remains in the stator 2. When the fluid material is kept remaining in the stator 2, there may arise a hygienically undesired situation. Further, there may also arise the case where the remaining fluid material adheres to the inner surface of the stator 2. Accordingly, cleaning and sterilization of the inside of the stator 2 are required. In this embodiment, it is possible to perform CIP (Cleaning in Place) where automatic cleaning is performed safely with a simple operation without disassembling production facility and SIP (Sterilizing in Place) where sterilization of equipment and piping is performed without disassembling equipment and piping from a state that the uniaxial eccentric screw pump was manufactured. Such operations can be performed hygienically because there is no possibility that various germs and the like in ambient atmosphere intrude into the stator 2.
(31) For example, in the SIP, water vapor or pressurized hot water (hereinafter, collectively referred to as heated fluid) is supplied to the uniaxial eccentric screw pump, and the rotor 3 is rotated by driving the drive unit. At this stage of operation, the stator 2 through which the heated fluid passes thermally expands. As described previously, the stator 2 is formed of the stator body 10 made of a rubber material and the outer sleeve 9 disposed on an outer peripheral side of the stator body 10. Not only the stator body 10 but also the outer sleeve 9 is made of an expandable material. Accordingly, even when the stator body 10 expands toward an outer diameter side due to the heated fluid, the outer sleeve 9 also expands together with the stator body 10 so that there is no possibility that the deformation of the stator body 10 is obstructed. Accordingly, the expansion of the stator body 10 toward an inner surface side can be suppressed so that the rotation of the rotor 3 is not obstructed. That is, moving the conveyance space 17 by rotating the rotor 3 makes the heated fluid flow smoothly, thus cleaning and sterilizing the inner surface of the stator 2. During a cleaning operation, the outer sleeve 9 expands also in a longitudinal direction so that one end portion of the outer sleeve 9 is brought into pressure contact with the flange portion 8 of the casing 1, and the other end portion of the outer sleeve 9 is brought into pressure contact with the flange portion 18 of the end stud 4. Accordingly, sealing property at both end portions of the outer sleeve 9 can be enhanced.
(32) After SIP is finished, the uniaxial eccentric screw pump is cooled with a lapse of time. In this case, both the stator body 10 and the outer sleeve 9 shrink together and return to original shapes so that the conveyance of a fluid material in an original form can be started again.
(33) In this manner, according to the uniaxial eccentric screw pump of this embodiment, although the stator body 10 thermally expands with the supply of the heated fluid, the outer sleeve 9 which is disposed on the outer peripheral side of the stator body 10 also expands together with the stator body 10. Accordingly, it is possible to clean and sterilize the inner space by supplying the heated fluid without disassembling the uniaxial eccentric screw pump. It is unnecessary to disassemble the constitutional parts and hence, there is no possibility that various germs and the like contained in ambient atmosphere intrude into the inner space, and also there is no possibility that a sterilizing effect is impaired.
(34) Further, the stator 2 can thermally expand at the time of performing cleaning or sterilization and hence, in a normal operation state where the stator 2 does not thermally expand, it is unnecessary to set a margin with respect to a gap formed between the inner surface of the stator body 10 and the outer surface of the rotor 3. Further, a contact pressure between the inner surface of the stator body 10 and the outer surface of the rotor 3 and an interference (overlapping between the inner surface of the stator body 10 and the outer surface of the rotor 3) can be set to desired values respectively. Accordingly, the conveyance of a fluid material during a normal operation can be performed efficiently at a desired discharge pressure.
(35) The present disclosure is not limited to the configuration described in the above-mentioned embodiment, and various modifications are conceivable.
(36) For example, in this embodiment, the uniaxial eccentric screw pump is disposed in a lateral direction (horizontal direction). However, by arranging the uniaxial eccentric screw pump in a longitudinal direction (vertical direction), a fluid material may be conveyed downward.
(37) In this embodiment, the stator 2 is formed of the stator body 10 and the outer sleeve 9. However, the stator 2 may be formed of only the stator body 10. In this case, it is preferable that a distance between the casing 1 and the end stud 4 be maintained at a fixed distance by the stay bolts 19 each of which mounts the spacer 21 thereon. In such a configuration, the stator 2 is formed of only the stator body 10 and hence, even when a heated fluid flows in the stator 2, there is no possibility that the deformation of the stator 2 toward an outer diameter side is restricted. Accordingly, there is no possibility that the rotor 3 is brought into pressure contact with the inner surface of the stator 2 so that abnormal wear occurs on the stator 2. Further, sealing property between the stator 2 and the casing 1 and sealing property between the stator 2 and the end stud 4 can be maintained in a desired state at both end portions of the stator 2 and hence, leakage of a fluid material and intrusion of various germs from the outside can be prevented.
(38) In the above-mentioned embodiment, although the support structure for the uniaxial eccentric screw pump, particularly, the support structure for the stator 2 is not particularly mentioned, the following configuration can be adopted.
(39) That is, as shown in
(40) As shown in
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS
(41) 1 Casing 2 Stator 3 Rotor 4 End stud 5 Coupling rod 6 Coupling 7 Connecting pipe 8 Flange portion 9 Outer sleeve 10 Stator body 11a, 11b Ring portion 12a, 12b Adaptor 13a, 13b Cylindrical portion 14a, 14b Flange portion 14a1, 14b1 First annular recessed portion 14a2, 14b2 Second annular recessed portion 15 First clamp 16 Second clamp 17 Conveyance space 18 Flange portion 19 Stay bolt 20 Support member 21 Spacer 22 Nut 23 First support frame 24 Second support frame 25 Projecting portion 26 Wing screw 27 Upper half portion 28 Lower half portion 29 Clamping member 30 Semicircular cylindrical portion 31 Extending portion 32 Upper plate 33 Lower plate 34 Connecting rod 35 Mounting plate