Sealing member and submerged pump system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12352272-B2
Application number	US-202218068720-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 20, 2022
Priority date	Dec 27, 2021
Publication date	Jul 8, 2025
Grant date	Jul 8, 2025

Abstract

A sealing member according to the present invention includes a head plate having a through hole and attached to an opening end of a pump column, a lift shaft penetrating the through hole and raised and lowered between a raised position and a lowered position in raising and lowering the pump, and a bellows member extending and contracting corresponding to the raising and lowering of the lift shaft. The bellows member includes a bellows tube covering an outer peripheral surface of a protruding portion of the lift shaft protruding downward from the head plate, a first attaching member disposed contiguously to a lower end of the bellows tube and attached to a protruding lower portion, and a second attaching member disposed contiguously to an upper end of the bellows tube and attached to a lower surface of the head plate.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A sealing member for sealing an opening end of a cylindrical pump column configured to accommodate a pump configured to be submerged in a handling liquid and for suspending and supporting the pump when the pump is raised and lowered in the pump column, the sealing member comprising:
a head plate having a through hole extending in a vertical direction and attached to the opening end so as to close the opening end;
a lift shaft disposed through the through hole and raised and lowered between a raised position and a lowered position when the pump is raised and lowered;
a bellows member configured to extend and contract in an axial direction of the lift shaft corresponding to the raising and lowering of the lift shaft; and
a bellows sealing member, wherein
the bellows member includes:
a bellows tube covering an outer peripheral surface of a protruding lower portion of the lift shaft protruding downward from the head plate;
a first attaching member disposed contiguously to a lower end of the bellows tube and attached to the protruding lower portion of the lift shaft; and
a second attaching member disposed contiguously to an upper end of the bellows tube and attached to a lower surface of the head plate, adjacent to the through hole,
wherein
the second attaching member comprises a structure that includes:
a tube portion having a cylindrical shape, and
a plate-shaped flange portion that protrudes outwards from the tube portion in a radial direction of the tube portion,

the tube portion extends above an upper surface of the plate-shaped flange portion and has an outer diameter and an inner diameter,

the inner diameter corresponding to a diameter of the through hole,
the head plate includes a fitting portion that comprises a cylindrically shaped recess adjacent the through hole and a plate-shaped recess adjacent the cylindrically shaped recess, configured such that the tube portion fits into the cylindrically shaped recess and the plate-shaped flange portion fits into the plate-shaped recess when the second attaching member is attached to the lower surface of the head plate,
the bellows sealing member disposed between the first attaching member and the protruding lower portion of the lift shaft,
the first attaching member disposed below the lift shaft,
the bellows sealing member abuts on an upper surface of the first attaching member and a lower end surface of the lift shaft and liquid-tightly seals between the upper surface of the first attaching member and the lower end surface of the lift shaft, and
the lower end surface is a horizontal surface.

2. The sealing member according to claim 1 , further comprising a lower housing having an inner flange portion facing a lower surface of the first attaching member and covering an outer peripheral surface of the bellows tube and an outer peripheral surface of the first attaching member, the lower housing attached to the lower surface of the head plate or a lower surface of the second attaching member.

3. The sealing member according to claim 2 , further comprising:
a lower sealing member disposed between the lower surface of the first attaching member and an upper surface of the inner flange portion and abutting, when the lift shaft is in the lowered position, on the lower surface of the first attaching member and the upper surface of the inner flange portion; and
an upper sealing member disposed between the lower surface of the head plate or the lower surface of the second attaching member and the lower housing.

4. The sealing member according to claim 1 , wherein
the lift shaft includes:
a first shaft portion; and
a second shaft portion having an outer diameter smaller than an outer diameter of the first shaft portion and disposed below the first shaft portion and through the through hole,

the sealing member further comprising a shaft sealing member disposed between the head plate and the first shaft portion.

5. The sealing member according to claim 4 , further comprising a shaft fixing member configured to fix the lift shaft to the lowered position by pressing the lift shaft toward the head plate side.

6. The sealing member according to claim 1 , wherein
the first attaching member includes:
a ring plate-shaped bottom portion adjacent to the lower end of the bellows tube; and
a wall portion extending upward from an outer edge portion of the bottom portion.

7. A submerged pump system comprising:
a pump configured to be submerged in a handling liquid;
a cylindrical pump column configured to accommodate the pump; and

the sealing member according to claim 1 .

8. The sealing member according to claim 1 , wherein a dimensional tolerance of the inner diameter of the tube portion with respect to an outer diameter dimension of the lift shaft is smaller than a dimensional tolerance of the diameter of the through hole with respect to the outer diameter dimension of the lift shaft.

Assignees

• Nikkiso Co Ltd

Inventors

• Tomita Yasuo
• Ogawa Motoyasu
• Eguchi Masaaki

Classifications

• F04B23/021

  the pump being immersed in the reservoir · CPC title

• F04B45/02

  having bellows · CPC title

• F04D13/16

  with storage reservoirs · CPC title

• F04D29/086

  especially adapted for liquid pumps · CPC title

• F16J15/02

  between relatively-stationary surfaces (F16J15/46, F16J15/48 take precedence) · CPC title