US1979525A - Fluid sealed packing gland - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 6, 1934. A. BAUMANN 1,979,525

FLUID SEALED PACKING GLAND Filed July 16. 1929 Fig.1.

L L y 8 Fig.2.

29 Z v/ Invemor Adolf Baumann Lu Attorney Patented Nov. 6, 1934 TES' PATENT OFFICE FLUID SEALED PACKING GLAND Adolf Baum'anm'wettingen, Switzerland, assignor to Aktiengesellschaft BrownBoveri & Gie., Baden, Switzerland, a joint-stock company of Switzerland Application July 10, 1929, Serial No. 377,296

7 In Germany July 18, 1928 l Claims.

This invention relates to-fluid-sealed packing glands in which the operating medium handled by thedevice to be sealed is itself used as a sealing medium.

' Itis often undesirable to use a special sealing medium, such as oil, for installations handling fluids such as is the case in-refrigerating installations because of the danger of contaminating the Operating medium by contact therewith or n because of the formation of the reaction products bythe initiation of chemical action between the special sealing medium and the operating.

medium. Further, such special sealingmediums generally require a separate circulating system which may fail to operate" when required and taken directly from the compressor therefor,

avoids the necessity for a special sealing medium and an auxiliarycirculating system. i

It is, therefore,one of the objects of the present invention to provide a sealing gland in which the fluid operating edium itself is utilizedas the sealing medium.

3 Another object of the invention is to provide a structure in which the machine to be sealed is itself used as the sealing medium. I

, Another object of the invention is to provide a structure in which the whole of the fluid operating medium of a fluidhandling installation is conductedthrough a sealing gland for sealing the shaft of the compressoro'r circulator therefor.

' A further object of the invention is to so arrange a refrigerating installation that the packing glandfor the compressor shaft is sealed by the refrigerant flowing from the condenser to the vaporizer. "Objects and advantages, other than those above set forth, will be apparent from the following description and the drawing in which;

Figure 1 is a view, partially in section, the sectioned portion being enlarged for purposes of illustration, of one embodiment of the present invention, and

' Fig. 2 is a View, partially in cross-section, of a modification of a structure which may be utilized characters of reference, reference numeral 3 indicates a compressor having the casing 4 there- 5 of extended to receive the sealing gland strucmeans for circulating the fluid in 'connectionwith the embodiment-shown in,

ture', to be more specifically described hereinafter, through which a shaft 5 extends. The discharge of the compressor 3 is connected by a conduit 6 with a condenser 7 in which the high temperature, high pressure fluid is cooled and thereby, at least, partially liquefied. Condenser '7 is connected by a conduit 8 with the extension of the casing 4 which is provided, at the point of connection with the conduit, with a spacer member 9 arranged about shaft 5 of the compressor, which spacer member separates flexible packings 11 in such manner that a considerable distance is maintained between the packings, thereby forming an annular chamber about the shaft. A conduit 12 forms a discharge-passage from the space maintained by spacer member 9 to a vaporizer 13 from which the fluid is returned to compressor 3 by a conduit 14. Conduit 12is provided with a suitable valve 16, which may be also the pressure reducing valve when employedfor the passage offluid in the so-called dry refrigerating systems, which is preferably of thenon-return-type, andwith an intercooler 1'7, connected between the annular chamber maintained by the spacer 9 and the valve 16 which provides for radiation of the heat absorbed by the fluid in its passagethrough the several conduits from condenser to vaporizer 13." It will be seen that the main flow of the fluid passes about shaft 5 of the compressor 3, at right angles thereto, assisting in preventing the entrance of air into the compressor. This structure also serves the purpose of cooling the shaft of the compressor, which usually operates at high speed and is continually heated due to the friction between the shaft and its bearings and the packings arranged there-- about. It may be necessary or desirable that only a portion of the operating medium be used as a sealing medium. Such use is also to be understood as within the invention.

As shown in the drawing, the end of the casing extension 4 is closed by a gland 24 and, in order that such small quantities of the refrigerant as may be forced along the shaft from the chamber, maintained by the spacer member 9, may be prevented from escaping through such gland into the atmosphere, a portion of the refrigerant in its liquid high pressure state is bled from the conduit 8 into conduit 18 and circulated therethrough about the vaporizer '13, where it is subcooled and discharged through a second annular chamber, maintained about the shaft 5'between the flexible packings 11 by a spacer member 19, into a reservoir 21. Inserted in the conduit 18 is a valve 20 by which the rate and, therefore, the

pressure of the subcooled liquid refrigerant flowing through the chamber, maintained by the spacer member 19, may be regulated to such values as will condense the refrigerant forced thereinto from the chamber, maintained by the spacer member 9, and maintain the space about the refrigerant within the reservoir 21 at substantially atmospheric pressure. For discharging such quantities of refrigerant as may be forced from the chamber maintained by the spacer member 19, towards the end of the casing extension into the reservoir, the gland 24 is provided with a chamber 26 having passages 27 and 28 leading therefrom into the reservoir 21; and a float valve 23 is provided in the reservoir 21 whereby the level of the liquid refrigerant therein and the discharge thereof therefrom through a conduit 22 into the vaporizer 13 is automatically controlled.

Instead of providing a spacer member 19 to form the sealing spacein the casing extension, a chamber 29 may be formed therein to'receive a disk or flange 31 formed or fixed on shaft 5, as shown in Fig. 2. The annular portion of cham- 3 her 29 in which flange 31 rotates, maintains the seal by centrifugal action of flange 31 on the fluid contained therein. Itwill be apparent that such arrangement of sealing flange or disk on the shaft provides for the most complete sealing of the entire packing gland insuch manner that loss of fluid along the shaft is minimized.

The use of a special sealing medium and a separate circulating system therefore is accordingly avoided. Further, it will be seen that the danger of contamination of the fluid by contact purality of chambers arranged therein about said shaft, a condenser, a vaporizer, conduit means connected to form a path for flow of fluid serially through said compressor, condenser, one of said chambers, and vaporizer respectively, an

i element included in the connection between said one of said chambers and said vaporizer operable to cool said fluid flowing thereinto from said one of said chambers, conduit means connected with the first said conduit means at a point between said condenser and said one of said chambers for withdrawing a portion of said fluid and for discharging the same into another of said chambers, means for cooling said fluid flowing through the second said conduit means before discharging thereof into the said another of said chambers,

valve means for regulating the rate of discharge of said fluid into said another of said chambers, and connections forming a path for discharging said fluid from said another of said chambers into said vaporizer, the flow of said fluid through said chambers being operative to seal the said extension against flow of said fluid therefrom by way of said shaft. I

2. In combination with a condenser, a vaporizer, and a machine for compressing and continuously circulating a fluid serially through said machine, condenser and vaporizer, of means for preventing escape of said fluid to the exterior of said machine comprising an extension for the casing of said machine to receive the shaft thereof and having a plurality of chambers arranged therein about said shaft, means for conveying a portion of said fluid from said compressor through one of said chambers to said vaporizer, means for conveying another portion of said fluid in its high pressure liquid state from said condenser through another of said chambers to said vaporizer, and means for regulating the pressure of the portion of said fluid flowing through the said another of said chambers.

3. In combination with a condenser, a vaporizer, and a machine for compressing and continuously circulating a fluid serially through said machine, condenser and vaporizer, of means for preventing escape of said fluid to the exterior of said machine comprising an extension for the casing of said machine to receive the shaft thereof and having a plurality of chambers arranged therein about said shaft, means for conveying a portion of said fluid from said compressor through one of said chambers to said vaporizer, means for conveying another portion of said fluid in its high pressure liquid state from said condenser through another of said chambers to said vaporizer, means for cooling the said another portion of said fluid after leaving said condenser and before flow thereof through the said another of said chambers, and means for regulating the pressure of the said another portion of said fluid flowing through the said another of said chambers.

4. In combination with a condenser, a vaporizer, and a machine for compressing and continuously circulating a fluid serially through said machine, compressors and vaporizer, of means for preventing escape of said fluid to the exterior of said machine comprising an extension for the casing of said machine to receive the shaft thereof and having a plurality of chambers arranged therein about said shaft, means for conveying a portion of said fluid from said condenser through one of said chambers to said vaporizer, means for conveying another portion of said fluid in its liquid high pressure state from said condenser through another of said chambers to said vaporizer, a reservoir included in the connection for conveying the said another portion of said fluid from the said another of said chambers to said vaporizer, valve means included in the connections for conveying the said fluid to the said another of said chambers for regulating the pressure of the said another portion of said fluid flowing throughthe said another of said chambers into the said reservoir, and a float valve for regulating the flow of said another portion of said fluid from said reservoir into said vaporizer.

5. In combination with a condenser, a vaporizer, and a machine for compressing and continuously circulating a fluid serially through said machine, condenser and vaporizer, of means for preventing escape of said fluid to the exterior of said machine comprising an extension for the casing of said machine to receive the shaft thereof and having a plurality of chambers arranged therein about said shaft, means for conveying a portion of said fluid from said compressor through one of said chambers to said vaporizer to cool said shaft and to condense refrigerant vapor flowing from said machine into the said one of said chambers, means for conveying another portion of said fluid in its high pressure liquid sealing gland closing the end of said extension about said shaft having a chamber therein for receiving refrigerant flowing from said another of said chambers, and connections for discharging refrigerant from the last said chamber into said vaporizer.

ADOLF BAUMANN.

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