Container for accommodating high-viscosity materials

Abstract

A container for accommodating high-viscosity materials, such as liquid concrete. The container has at least one bearing sleeve, which extends through a wall opening and is fastened in the container wall in a liquid-tight manner. A shaft extends through the bearing sleeve in such a way that an annular gap is left open. A shaft seal, which bridges the annular gap and is made of elastomeric material, is located at the container-interior end of the bearing sleeve. A lubricant is applied to the annular gap from the container exterior. The invention is characterized in that the shaft seal has, on the side thereof radially facing the shaft, a conveying thread that supports the conveying of the lubricant in the direction of the container interior, which conveying thread advantageously communicates with the container interior via a check valve open to the container interior.

Claims

1. A container for accommodating high-viscosity materials, such as liquid concrete, the container comprising: a container wall having a wall opening and surrounding a container interior, a bearing sleeve which reaches through the wall opening, is fixed in the container wall in a liquid-tight manner, and comprises a container-interior end, a shaft reaching through the bearing sleeve, an annular gap being left free between the bearing sleeve and the shaft, and a shaft seal made from elastomeric material which is arranged at the container-interior end of the bearing sleeve and spans the annular gap, wherein the annular gap is acted upon with a lubricant from a container exterior, and wherein the shaft seal has, on the side thereof facing the shaft radially, a conveying thread which assists conveying of the lubricant in a direction of the container interior and communicates with the container interior.

2. The container as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a nonreturn valve, the nonreturn valve opening with respect to the container interior, wherein the conveying thread communicates with the container interior via the nonreturn valve.

3. The container as claimed in claim 2, wherein the nonreturn valve is formed by a slot opening or sealing lip bounding the conveying thread at the container-interior end thereof.

4. The container as claimed in claim 1, wherein a pitch of the conveying thread decreases in the conveying direction of the lubricant.

5. The container as claimed in claim 1, wherein the shaft seal engages in an annular groove of the bearing sleeve, which annular groove is open with respect to the shaft.

6. The container as claimed in claim 1, wherein the shaft seal has an encircling pocket which is open axially counter to the conveying direction of the lubricant.

7. The container as claimed in claim 6, wherein the shaft seal and the encircling pocket engage in an annular groove of the bearing sleeve, which annular groove is open with respect to the shaft.

8. The container as claimed in claim 1, wherein an anti-twist device is arranged between the bearing sleeve and the shaft seal.

9. The container as claimed in claim 1, wherein the shaft seal is assembled from at least two parts which are pressed against each other under the action of the lubricant.

10. A system comprising: a high-viscosity material pump, a pipe branching assembly, a stirring mechanism, and the container as claimed in claim 1, wherein the container is a material feed container for the high-viscosity material pump, and wherein the shaft is coupled to the pipe branching assembly or to the stirring mechanism.

11. The system as claimed in claim 10, wherein the bearing sleeve is a flange bearing and/or a pressure joint bearing of the pipe branching assembly.

12. The container as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a stirring mechanism, wherein the bearing sleeve is a stirring mechanism bearing of the stirring mechanism.

13. A container for accommodating high-viscosity materials, such as liquid concrete, the container comprising: a container wall having a wall opening and surrounding a container interior, a bearing sleeve which reaches through the wall opening, is fixed in the container wall in a liquid-tight manner, and comprises a container-interior end, a shaft reaching through the bearing sleeve, an annular gap being left free between the bearing sleeve and the shaft, and a shaft seal made from elastomeric material which is arranged at the container-interior end of the bearing sleeve and spans the annular gap, the shaft seal comprising a circular pocket, the circular pocket comprising a shaft-sided wall, wherein the annular gap is acted upon with a lubricant from a container exterior, wherein the shaft seal has, on the side thereof facing the shaft radially, a conveying thread which assists conveying of the lubricant in a direction of the container interior and communicates with the container interior, wherein the conveying thread has an entry gap, wherein the entry gap is formed as a groove in the shaft-sided wall of the circular pocket of the shaft seal.

Description

(1) The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the exemplary embodiments which are illustrated schematically in the drawing, in which

(2) FIGS. 1a, b and c show a front view, a rear view and a top view of a material feed container with a pipe branching assembly and two stirring mechanisms;

(3) FIG. 1d shows a view in the direction of the arrow A of FIG. 1c;

(4) FIG. 2 shows a graphical illustration of an exemplary embodiment, which is modified in relation to FIGS. 1a to d of a material feed container with a pipe branching assembly as part of a two-cylinder high-viscosity material pump;

(5) FIG. 3a shows a side view of the drive mechanism of the pipe branching assembly according to FIG. 2;

(6) FIG. 3b shows a section along the intersecting line A-A of FIG. 3a;

(7) FIG. 4a shows a detail from the shaft bearing with the shaft seal;

(8) FIG. 4b shows an enlarged detail from FIG. 4a;

(9) FIG. 4c shows a detail from the shaft seal according to FIGS. 4a and b;

(10) FIG. 4d shows an illustration corresponding to FIG. 4c of a shaft seal with a sealing lip adhesively bonded therein;

(11) FIGS. 5a and b show a graphical front view of the shaft seal and an enlargement of a detail therefrom;

(12) FIGS. 6a and b show a graphical rear view of the shaft seal and an enlargement of a detail therefrom.

(13) The material feed container 10, which is mounted on a framework 12, according to FIGS. 1a to d is part of a two-cylinder high-viscosity material pump, the conveying cylinders 14 of which are connected to the material feed container 10 via conveying cylinder openings 16 in the container wall 18. A pressure joint 22 to which a conveying line 24 of the high-viscosity material pump is connected is located on that end wall 20 of the material feed container that is opposite the container wall 18. The container interior here contains a pipe branching assembly 26 which is designed as an S pipe, is connected at one end thereof to the pressure joint 22 and the other end of which is pivotable about the axis of the drive shaft 28 in an alternating manner in front of the two conveying cylinder openings 16 with the aid of two plunger cylinders 39. At the cylinder-side end therefor, the pipe branching assembly 26 bears a wearing ring 29 which is displaceable on a wearing spectacle-like assembly 30 arranged in the region of the conveying cylinder openings 16. The side walls 32 of the material feed container 10 contain a maintenance opening 33 which is closeable by a respective closure flap 34 coupled to the material feed container 10. For this purpose, the closure flaps 34 are connected to the container 10 via a pivoting mechanism 36. In addition, stirring mechanisms 36 driven by means of a respective hydraulic motor 40 and a drive shaft 38 are mounted rotatably on the closure flaps 34. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the stirring mechanisms 36 are designed as conveying screws which thoroughly mix the high-viscosity material arranged in the container 10 and at the same time convey said material towards the conveying cylinder openings 16. The material feed container 10 is charged via the opening 42, optionally via a filling hopper 46 placeable onto the flange 44.

(14) In order to further show the design of the pipe branching assembly 26 and of the pipe branching assembly drive 42, FIG. 2 shows a modified high-viscosity material pump, which has two conveying cylinders 14, the front openings 16 of which lead into a material feed container 10 and are connectable in an alternating manner to a conveying line 24 during the pressure stroke (arrow 48) via a pipe branching assembly 26 and are open toward the material feed container 10 during the suction stroke (arrow 50) with material being sucked up. The pistons 52 of the conveying cylinders are driven in a push-pull mode by hydraulic means (not illustrated).

(15) In the same manner as in the exemplary embodiment according to FIGS. 1a to d, the front openings 16 of the conveying cylinders 14 are covered by a wearing spectacle-like assembly 30. On the interior of the material feed container 10, the S-shaped pivoting pipe of the pipe branching assembly 26, with the front side thereof bearing a wearing ring 29, is arranged in front of the wearing spectacle-like assembly 30 so as to be pivotable to and fro about a horizontal axis in such a manner that a cylinder-side opening passes in an alternating manner in front of the one or other opening 16 in the conveying cylinders 14 and opens up the other opening 16 with respect to the interior of the material feed container 10. The pipe branching assembly 26 is actuated via a switching lever 56 which is activatable by hydraulic plunger cylinders 39 and the drive shaft 28 of which reaches through a bearing sleeve 58 in the container wall 18. The bearing sleeve 58 is fixed in the container wall 18 in a liquid-tight manner. The drive shaft 28 reaches through the bearing sleeve 58 with radial play, with an annular gap 62 being left free. A shaft seal 64 made from elastomeric material and spanning the annular gap 62 is arranged at the container-interior end of the bearing sleeve 58. In addition, the annular gap 62 is acted upon with a lubricant from the container exterior via a lubricant bore 66.

(16) A particular characteristic of the invention consists in that the shaft seal 64 has, on the side thereof facing the shaft 28 radially, a conveying thread 68 which assists the conveying of the lubricant in the direction of the container interior and communicates with the container interior via a nonreturn valve 70 opening with respect to the container interior. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the nonreturn valve 70 is formed by a slot opening which intersects the conveying thread 68 at a container-interior end and can be arranged in a sealing lip 74 74 which is adhesively bonded or formed in said nonreturn valve 70. On the input side, the conveying thread 68 communicates with the annular gap 62 via a wide entry gap 76.

(17) As can be seen from FIGS. 4a and b the shaft seal 64 engages in an annular groove 78 of the bearing sleeve 58, which annular groove is open toward the drive shaft 28. The shaft seal 64 additionally has an encircling pocket 80 which is open axially counter to the conveying direction of the lubricant and which, upon penetration of lubricant, brings about an additional contact pressure of the shaft seal 64 against the shaft surface and the bearing inner surface. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the shaft seal 64 engages by means of the encircling pocket 80 thereof in the annular groove 78 of the bearing sleeve 58. In order to obtain a consistently constant positioning of the nonreturn valve 70 in the circumferential direction an anti-twist means (not illustrated) is arranged between the bearing sleeve 58 and the shaft seal 64. In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 4d, the shaft seal 64 is assembled from two parts which are pressed against each other under the action of the lubricant.

(18) In the exemplary embodiment shown, the shaft seal 64 is illustrated for the case of the drive shaft 28 of a pipe branching assembly 68 in a material feed container 10. It is also possible in principle to arrange such a shaft seal in the region of the pressure joint bearing 82 of the pipe branching assembly 26 or in the region of a bearing sleeve 84 for the stirring mechanism bearing according to FIGS. 1a to d.

(19) In summary, the following should be noted: the invention relates to a container for accommodating high-viscosity materials, such as liquid concrete. The container 10 has at least one bearing sleeve which reaches through a wall opening and is fixed in the container wall in a liquid-tight manner. A shaft 28 reaches through the bearing sleeve 58 with an annular gap 62 being left free. At the container-interior end of the bearing sleeve 58 there is a shaft seal 64 made from elastomeric material spanning the annular gap 62. The annular gap 62 is acted upon with a lubricant from the container exterior. A special characteristic of the invention consists in that the shaft seal 64 has a conveying thread 68 on the side radially facing the shaft 28, which assists the conveying of the lubricant in the direction of the container interior and expediently communicates with the container interior via a nonreturn valve 70 opening with respect to the container interior.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

(20) 10 Material feed container 12 Framework 14 Conveying cylinder 16 Conveying cylinder opening 18 Container wall 20 End wall 22 Pressure joint 24 Conveying line 26 Pipe branching assembly 28 Drive shaft 29 Wearing ring 30 Wearing spectacle-like assembly 32 Side walls 33 Maintenance opening 34 Closure flap 36 Pivoting mechanism 36 Stirring mechanism 38 Drive shaft 39 Plunger cylinder 40 Hydraulic motor 42 Opening 44 Flange 46 Filling hopper 48 Arrow (pressure stoke) 50 Arrow (suction stroke) 52 Piston pump 54 Axis 56 Switching lever 58 Bearing sleeve 60 Container wall 62 Annular gap 64 Shaft seal 66 Lubricating bore 68 Conveying thread 70 Nonreturn valve 72 Container interior 74 74 Sealing lip 76 Entry gap 78 Annular groove 80 Pocket 82 Pressure joint bearing 84 Bearing sleeve