A joint system

Abstract: A joint for connecting a driving means (54) to a driven means (56) for reciprocating movement wherein a confined deformable, non-compressible material (68) is in contact with a surface area (70) of the driving means (54) and with a surface area (66) of the driven means (56) and when a force is applied to the driving means (54) to move the driving means (54) toward the driven means (56), the deformable, non-compressible material (68) deforms to compensate for any misalignment between the driving means (54) and the driven means (56) until it reaches its non-compressible state so that a uniform force is then transmitted across the surface area of the driven means in one direction to move the driven means.

Description: This invention relates generally to a joint for connecting two rods together for reciprocation along aligned longitudinal axes and more particularly to a joint for connecting two rods together for reciprocation along aligned longitudinal axes and designed to compensate for any misalignment while transmitting the reciprocating forces particularly where large forces are involved. In many types of equipment, such as in pumps, it is desirable to reciprocate a piston through a cylinder to perform work. The piston is connected to a piston rod which in turn is connected to a cross-head rod by a suitable joint. The cross-rod is driven by a motor driven crank and is mounted in guides so that it reciprocates along a longitudinal axis. In such type of equipment, it is essential that the piston runs true so as to avoid excessive wear. This is particularly so where the cylinder of the equipment has a ceramic liner. Pumps having ceramic cylinder liners have superior abrasion and corrosion resistance compared to conventional metal cylinder liners. However, even minor misalignment problems between the ceramic cylinder liner and the pump's metal piston can cause excessive abrasion of the ceramic cylinder liner and result in a substantial reduction in the life of the ceramic cylinder liner. The misalignment can result from angular offset between the reciprocal axis of the piston rod relative to the cross-head rod or lateral offset in that the reciprocal axis of the piston rod is parallel to but laterally offset from the reciprocal axis of the cross-head rod. One solution to this problem is set forth in U.S. Patent No. 2,639,172 to Leonard, which represents the closest prior art, Jr., wherein a cavity is formed between one end of a piston rod and the associated end of a cross-head rod. The cavity is filled with a fluid and is sealed by a bellows. One of the problems associated with equipment disclosure is Leonard, Jr., as set forth in column 4, lines 21-39, is that it is not suitable for use in transmitting large forces. Also, the structure is Leonard, Jr. is designed so that any misalignment results in movement of the plunger. This invention provides a joint for connecting a driving means to a driven means for reciprocating movement wherein a confined deformable, non-compressible material is in contact with a surface area of the driving means and with a surface area of the driven means and when a force is applied to the driving means to move the driving means toward the deformable, non-compressible material, it deforms to compensate for any misalignment between the driving means and the driven mens until it reaches its non-compressible state so that a uniform force in one direction is then transmitted across the surface area of the driven means. A joint for transmitting forces between a driving member mounted for reciprocation along a first longitudinal axis and a driven member mounted for reciprocation along a second longitudinal axis reciprocable in a member having a third longitudinal axis in alignment with said second longitudinal axis, while compensating for misalignment of said first and second longitudinal axes, driving means for moving said driving member toward and away from said driven member to impart drive thereto, in which, at their connected ends, one said member is provided with a cylindrical cavity and the other said member is provided with a cylindrical plug extending into the cavity, said cavity containing non-rigid material through which the driving forces are transmitted, whereas the cavity has a planar bottom surface for engagement by a corresponding end surface of the deformable, non-compressible material, whereas the plug is cylindrical with a diameter slightly less than the diameter of the cavity and has a planar end surface adapted to contact a corresponding surface of the deformable, non-compressible material, whereas the plug, the cavity bearing member and the deformable, non-compressible material are located relative to each other with said planar end surface of said plug and said corresponding surface of the deformable, non-compressible material being located within the cavity characterized in that said material (68) is a solid, deformable, non-compressible material of cylindrical shape with a diameter slightly less than the diameter of the cavity, said planar end surface of the end plug being spaced apart from the non-compressible material, whereby said driving member is operable to apply a force to said plug to urge the plug into contact with the solid, deformable, non-compressible material to deform the solid, deformable, non-compressible material until it reaches its non-compressible state so as uniformly to distribute the forces applied by said driving member across the planar bottom surface, and in that an annular recess is provided in the cylindrical and end surfaces of the plug to accommodate an O-ring element for preventing movement of said material out of the cavity when a high force is applied thereto by the plug. The joint, as constructed, enables a space to be created between the components which transmit the driving force. The space allows the non-compressible material to deform and create distribution of said driving force thereby to compensate for any misalignment of the longitudinal axes of the driving and driven members. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the driving means comprises a cross-head rod connected to a suitable means so that the cross-head rod is reciprocated along a longitudinal axis. The driven means comprises a piston rod having a piston connected thereto which piston is mounted for reciprocating movement in a cylinder having a ceramic liner. The longitudinal axis of the piston rod is in alignment with the longitudinal axis of the cylinder. The piston rod is connected to the cross-head rod as that movement of the cross-head moves the piston rod and therefore the piston in the cylinder. The joint for connecting the cross-head rod to the piston rod comprises a cylindrical cavity formed in one end of the piston rod and a cylindrical plug formed on the associated end of the cross-head rod. The plug has a diameter slightly smaller than the diameter of the cavity so that the plug may be inserted into the cavity and allow for slight axial and/or lateral misalignment. A solid, deformable, non-compressible material is located in the cavity and is in contact with a surface area of the plug and with a surface area of the cavity. Means are provided for preventing movement of the solid, deformable, non-compressible material out of the cavity. When a force is applied to the cross-head rod to move it toward the piston rod and there is some degree of misalignment between the cross-head rod and the piston rod, the cross-head rod will deform the solid, deformable, non-compressible material until it reaches its non-compressible state so that a uniform force in one direction will be transmitted across the surface area of the cavity of the piston rod. Thus, there will be no force tending to change the alignment of the longitudinal axis of the piston rod with the longitudinal axis of the cylinder. In another embodiment of the invention, the piston is provided with means to extend the life of the ceramic cylinder liner. In this embodiment, the piston comprises a generally cylindrical metallic base having a sealing means secured thereto. An annular recess is formed in the metallic base adjacent to the sealing means. A ring, formed from peek, is seated in the recess so as to provide a more compatible material for the ceramic liner in the event of excessive wear of the sealing means. Fig. 1 is a view with parts in section of one embodiment of this invention; Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of a portion of another embodiment of this invention; and Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of a portion of another embodiment of the invention. In Fig. 1, there is illustrated the principal portions of one embodiment of the invention described in this application. An end portion 2 of a cross-head rod 4 has an end surface 6 and an annular groove 8 spaced a short distance from the end surface 6. The annular groove 8 has a perpendicular side wall 10 and a sloping side wall 12. A member 14 has an opening 16 defined by a projecting annular side wall 18. Means are provided for securing the member 14 to the end 2 of the cross-head rod 4. A split ring clamp 20 is positioned in the annular groove 8 and has a sloping surface 22 in contact with the sloping surface 12. The splint ring clamp 20 has an annular recess 24 having a sloping wall 26 and a perpendicular wall 28. A plurality of bolts 30 are threadedly mounted in the annular side wall 18 and are provided with heads 32 having sloping surfaces. As the bolts 30 are tightened, the sloping heads 32 will act against the sloping surface 26 which will cause the sloping surface 22 to act against the sloping surface 12 so as to pull the surface 34 of the member 14 into contact with the end surface 6 of the end portion 2 so as to secure the member 14 onto the end portion 2 of the cross-head rod 4. An O-ring 36 seated in a recess 38 in the annular side wall 18 contacts a sloping surface 40 on the end portion 2 to seal against contaminating materials. The cross-head rod 4 is connected to suitable means (not shown) which reciprocate the cross-head rod along the longitudinal axis 42. An annular recess 44 is provided in the end surface 46 of the member 14 and is defined by two spaced apart walls 48 and 50 extending generally in an axial direction and a wall 52 extending generally in a radial direction. The portion of the member 14 inside of the wall 50 comprises a plug 54 for a purpose described below. An end portion 56 of a piston rod 58 has a cavity 60 defined by an inner side wall 62 of a hollow annular projection 64. The cavity 60 has a bottom surface 66. A solid, deformable, non-compressible material 68 is positioned in the cavity 60. In assembling the joint, the annular projection 64 is inserted into the recess 44 until the surface 70 of the plug 54 is almost in contact with the surface 72 of the solid, deformable, non-compressible material 68. The annular projection 64 is retained in the recess 44 by a retaining ring 74 seated in a groove 76 in the wall 48 and bearing against a lip 78 on the annular projection 64. As illustrated in Fig. 1, the distance between the retaining means 74 and the bottom wall 52 of the recess 44 is greater than the thickness of the lip 78. Limited movement between the plug 54 and the solid deformable non-compressible material 68 is therefore possible. An O-ring 80 seated in a groove 82 in the wall 48 is in sealing engagement with a wall 84 of the annular projection 64 to seal against entry of contaminants. The plug 54 is provided with an annular recess 86 in which is seated an O-ring 88 in sealing engagement with the walls of the recess 86 and the wall 62 of the cavity 60 to prevent movement of the solid deformable, non-compressible material 68 out of the cavity 60. The other end 90 of the piston rod 58 terminates in a piston 92 having a generally cylindrical metallic base 94 and a sealing means 96 secured thereto. The sealing means 96 is in contact with the inner wall 98 of a ceramic cylinder liner 100 which is mounted in the cylinder 102 having a longitudinal axis 103. In the preferred embodiment, the cylinder 102 is part of a pump. The piston rod 58 and the piston 92 reciprocate along the longitudinal axis 104. The longitudinal axis 103 of the cylinder 102 and the ceramic cylinder liner 100 is in alignment with the longitudinal axis 104 of the piston rod 58 and piston 92. In operation, a driving force is applied to the cross-head rod 4 by suitable means, such as a motor (not shown), to move the cross-head rod 4 toward the piston rod 56. The movement of the cross-head rod 4 moves the plug 54 into contact with the solid, deformable non-compressible material 68. If there is any misalignment of the longitudinal axis 42 of the cross-head rod 4 relative to the longitudinal axis 104 of the piston rod 58, the surface 70 of the plug 54 will be canted relative to the surface 66 of the piston rod 58. As the plug 54 moves into contact with the solid, deformable non-compressible material 68, it will deform the solid, deformable, non-compressible material 68 to fill whatever shape of space exists between the surface 70 and the surface 66 until the solid, deformable, non-compressible material 68 reaches its non-compressible state. When the non-compressible state has been reached, the driving force applied to the cross-head rod 4 will be transmitted to the piston rod 58 uniformly and in one direction across the surface area 66. The one direction will be parallel to the longitudinal axis 104 of the piston rod 58. Because of this operation, there will be substantially no force tending to change the alignment of the longitudinal axis of the piston rod with the longitudinal axis of the cylinder. In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Fig. 2, the annular surface 106 of the solid, deformable, non-compressible material 68 is provided with a recess 108 so as to form a cavity 110 between the annular surface 106 and the side wall 62 of the projection 64. With this cavity less force is required to deform the solid, deformable, non-compressible material until it reaches its non-compressible state so that the uniform force in one direction will be applied to the surface area. In Fig. 3, there is illustrated an embodiment of the invention which provides for wear of the sealing material in the piston. In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Fig. 1, the metallic base 94 is machined so that the outer side wall 112 is spaced an absolute minimum distance from the inner wall 98 of the ceramic liner 100. This construction is necessary so that the material in the sealing means will not be able to extrude into any space between the inner wall 98 and the outer side wall 112. When the material in the sealing means wears, there is a tendency for a portion of the metallic base 94 to come into contact with the inner surface 98. This creates an abrasive force acting on the ceramic liner 100 to substantially reduce the life of the ceramic liner 100. In the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 3, a recess 114 is machined into the outer side wall 112 of the metallic base 94. An annular ring 116 is seated in the recess 114 and is dimensioned so that the outer surface 118 thereof is spaced an absolute minimum distance from the inner surface 98 for the same purpose as described above. The annular ring 116 is formed from peek which is a polyester ether ketone. The peek material is substantially more compatible with the ceramic liner than the metallic base material. Therefore, when the material in the sealing means 96 wears, the ceramic liner 100 will not deteriorate as rapidly so that the pump may continue to operate for a substantial period of time. In one embodiment of the invention, the joint is used in association with an oil well mud pump having a ceramic cylinder liner. The cross-head rod 4 is driven by a motor driven crank so that the cross-head rod reciprocates along a longitudinal axis. A member 14 is connected to the cross-head rod 4 and has a plug 54 having an effective diameter of about 11.43 cm (4.5 inches). A piston rod 58 is connected to the member 14 through a flange 48 and has a cavity 60 having an effective diameter of about 11.43 cm (4.5 inches). A generally cylindrical urethane pad 68 is located in the cavity 60 and has an effective diameter of about 11.43 cm (4.5 inches) and a thickness of about 1.12 cm (0.44 inches). The piston rod 58 is connected to a piston 92 having a metallic base 94 having an effective diameter of in the range from about 10.16 to 17.78 cm (4 to 7 inches). The sealing means 96 comprises rubber or similar materials having an effective diameter of about 10.16 to 17.78 cm (4 to 7 inches) and a length of about 4.32 cm (1.7 inches). A recess 114 is provided in the metallic base 94 and has a length of about 1.27 cm (0.5 inches) and a depth of about 0.305 cm (0.12 inches). An annular ring 116, formed from peek, is seated in the recess 114 and has an outer diameter of about 10.16 to 17.78 cm (4 to 7 inches), a length of about 1.27 cm (0.5 inches) and a thickness of about 0.305 cm 0.305 cm (0.12 inches). A ceramic cylinder liner 100 having an inner cylindrical surface having an effective diameter of about 10.16 to 17.78 cm (4 to 7 inches) is secured to the cylinder 102. The cross-head rod 4, piston rod 58 and piston 92 are reciprocated at a rate of about 120 strokes per minute so as to have a stroke of about 25.4 cm to 30.48 cm (10 to 12 inches) and a max cycle loading of about 50794 Kp (112,000 pounds). The max force applied to the surface 66 of the cavity 62 is about 48.26 MPa (7,000 psi). The urethane pad 68 is capable of deforming to correct misalignment problems wherein the angular misalignment of the longitudinal axes of the cross-head rod to the piston rod is up to about 0.15 degrees and the lateral misalignment is about 0.107 cm (0.042 inches). It is understood that the foregoing description of one embodiment of the invention is for illustrative purposes only and that the invention may be used in other environments and be constructed of different operating parameters.

Claims: A joint for transmitting forces between a driving member (4) mounted for reciprocation along a first longitudinal axis (42) and a driven member (56) mounted for reciprocation along a second longitudinal axis (104) reciprocable in a member (102) having a third longitudinal axis (103) in alignment with said second longitudinal axis, while compensating for misalignment of said first and second longitudinal axes, driving means for moving said driving member toward and away from said driven member to impart drive thereto, in which, at their connected ends, one said member is provided with a cylindrical cavity (60) and the other said member is provided with a cylindrical plug (54) extending into the cavity, said cavity containing non-rigid material through which the driving forces are transmitted, whereas the cavity (60) has a planar bottom surface (66) for engagement by a corresponding end surface of the deformable, non-compressible material (68), whereas the plug (54) is cylindrical with a diameter slightly less than the diameter of the cavity and has a planar end surface (70) adapted to contact a corresponding surface (72) of the deformable, non-compressible material (68), whereas the plug (54), the cavity bearing member (56) and the deformable, non-compressible material (68) are located relative to each other with said planar end surface (70) of said plug (54) and said corresponding surface (72) of the deformable, non-compressible material (68) being located within the cavity (60) characterized in that said material (68) is a solid, deformable, non-compressible material of cylindrical shape with a diameter slightly less than the diameter of the cavity, said planar end surface of the end plug (54) being spaced apart from the non-compressible material (68), whereby said driving member (4) is operable to apply a force to said plug (54) to urge the plug into contact with the solid, deformable, non-compressible material (68) to deform the solid, deformable, non-compressible material (68) until it reaches its non-compressible state so as uniformly to distribute the forces applied by said driving member (4) across the planar bottom surface (66), and in that an annular recess (86) is provided in the cylindrical and end surfaces of the plug to accommodate an O-ring element (88) for preventing movement of said material (68) out of the cavity when a high force is applied thereto by the plug. A joint according to claim 1, characterized in that the cavity (60) is in the driven member (56) and the plug (54) is on the driving member (4), in that an annular recess (44) on the driving member surrounds the plug (54) and has a cylindrical wall (48) concentric with and facing the cylindrical outer surface (50) of the plug, said recess having a bottom wall (52) located between said cylindrical wall and cylindrical outer surface, and in that a lip (78) is formed on the connecting end of the piston rod and is associated with means for preventing its removal from the recess. A joint according to claim 2, characterized by the fact that the means for preventing removal of the lip (78) from the recess (44) comprises an annular groove (76) formed in the cylindrical wall (48) of the recess, a retaining ring (74) having a portion thereof seated in said annular groove and a portion extending into the recess so as to confine the lip in the recess. A joint according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that the distance between the retaining ring (74) and the bottom wall (52) of the recess (44) is greater than the thickness of the lip (78) so as to allow limited relative movement between the plug (54) and the solid material (68). A joint according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that the solid material (68) comprises urethane. A joint according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that it is adapted for transmitting forces in a maximum loading cycle of 50794 kp (112,000 pounds). A joint according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that it is adapted for use where the driving and driven members (4,56) are reciprocated at rates up to 120 strokes per minute. A joint according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that the drive member (56) is a piston rod (58) comprising a piston (92) which is reciprocable in a cylinder (102) having a ceramic liner (100). A joint according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that it connects the driving and driven members of an oil well mud pump.

Inventors: DUGAN LARRY M, DUGAN, LARRY M.
Applicants: GOLDEN TECH CO, GOLDEN TECHNOLOGIES COMPANY, INC.
Application year: 1986
Main classification: F04B21
IPC codes: F04B53