Patent ID: 11939844
Assignee: NATIONAL OILWELL VARCO, L.P.
Field: Civil engineering (Other fields)
Classification: CPC E | IPC E

Claim 0:
1. An external bearing system configured to operatively couple a progressing cavity machine, having a stator and a rotor with a cylindrical rotor head, to an external device, having a driveshaft and a driveshaft housing, the external bearing system comprising:
a housing including:
an inner surface defining a first bore extending through the housing along a central axis; and
a first bearing arranged on the inner surface; and

a continuous shaft member configured to connect a driveshaft of the external device to the cylindrical rotor head of the progressing cavity machine, the continuous shaft member including:
an outer surface extending between a proximal portion and a distal portion of the shaft member; and
a second bearing arranged on the outer surface, the second bearing configured to contact the first bearing to limit eccentric motion of the driveshaft of the external device and the cylindrical rotor head of the progressing cavity machine relative to a stator of the progressing cavity machine during rotation of the rotor head, the shaft member, and the driveshaft,, wherein, when operatively coupled to the progressive cavity machine, the first bearing and the second bearing are external to the stator of the progressive cavity machine and are spaced longitudinally away from the cylindrical rotor head of the rotor.