Abstract:
A shaft seal assembly is disclosed having a stator including a main body and axial and radial projections therefrom. The rotor may be radially extended to encompass the axial and radial projections from said stator. A passageway formed between the radial projection of stator and rotor results in an axial passageway having its opening facing rearwardly from the rotor and away from the source of impinging coolant and/or contaminant. A concentric circumferential receptor groove in the stator facing the housing allows insertion of a conductive insert for transmission of electrostatic charge away from the shaft through the shaft seal assembly to the housing and ground. The receptor groove is opposite the axial passageway and provides for both a substantially lower contaminant environment and improved engagement with the conductive insert.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present application is a continuation of and claims priority from U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/855,355 filed on Apr. 2, 2013, which application was a continuation of and claimed priority from U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/103,805 filed on May 9, 2011 (now abandoned), which application was a continuation-in-part of and claimed priority from U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/401,331 filed on Mar. 10, 2009 (now abandoned), which application was a continuation of and claimed priority from U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/378,208 filed on Mar. 17, 2006 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,521,827), which claimed the benefit of U.S. provisional App. No. 60/693,548, filed Jun. 25, 2005, all of which are incorporated herein in their entireties. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to an improved bearing isolator sealing device, and more particularly, to a bearing isolator for directing electrostatic charge to ground while retaining lubrication solution and repelling contamination such as water, dust, dirt, sand and paper stock from the bearing environment and away from the shaft grounding ring, within the bearing cavity of a hub assembly such as an electrical motor bearing for engagement with a rotatable shaft. 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     No federal funds were used to develop or create the invention disclosed and described in the patent application. 
     REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING COMPACT DISK APPENDIX 
     (Not Applicable) 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates generally to shaft sealing devices for use with rotating equipment. Adequate maintenance of rotating equipment is difficult to obtain because of extreme equipment duty cycles, the lessening of service factors, design, and the lack of spare rotating equipment in most processing plants. This is especially true of machine tool spindles, wet-end paper machine rolls, aluminum rolling mills, and steam quench pumps and other equipment utilizing extreme contamination affecting lubrication. Various forms of shaft sealing devices have been utilized to try to protect the integrity of the bearing environment, including rubber lip seals, clearance labyrinth seals, and attraction magnetic seals. Lip seals or other contacting shaft seals can quickly wear to failure and are also known to permit excessive amounts of moisture and other contaminants to immigrate into the oil reservoir of the operating equipment before seal failure had exposed the interface between the rotor and the stator to the contaminants or lubricants at the radial extremity of the seal. The problem of seal wear and damage as applied to electrical motors using variable frequency drives is compounded because of the very nature of the control of electricity connected to variable frequency drive (VFD) controlled motors. 
     VFDs regulate the speed of a motor by converting sinusoidal line alternating current (AC) voltage to direct current (DC) voltage, then back to a pulse width modulated (PWM) AC voltage of variable frequency. The switching frequency of these pulses ranges from 1 kHz up to 20 kHz and is referred to as the “carrier frequency.” The ratio of change in voltage to the change in time (ΔV/ΔT) creates what has been described as a parasitic capacitance between the motor stator and the rotor, which induces a voltage on the rotor shaft. If the voltage induced on the shaft, which is referred to as “common mode voltage” or “shaft voltage,” builds up to a sufficient level, it can discharge to ground through the bearings. Current that finds its way to ground through the motor bearings in this manner is called “bearing current.” 1    1  http://www.greenheck.com/technical/tech_detail.php?display=files/Product_guide/fall7_03 
     There are many causes of bearing current including voltage pulse overshoot in the VFD, non-symmetry of the motor&#39;s magnetic circuit, supply imbalances, and transient conditions, among other causes. Any of these conditions can occur independently or simultaneously to create bearing currents in the motor shaft. 2    2  http://www.greenheck.com/technical/tech_detail.php?display=files/Product_guide/fall7_03 
     Shaft voltage accumulates on the rotor until it exceeds the dielectric capacity of the motor bearing lubricant, then the voltage discharges in a short pulse to ground through the bearing. After discharge, the voltage again accumulates on the shaft and the cycle repeats itself. This random and frequent discharging has an electric discharge machining (EDM) effect, causing pitting of the bearing&#39;s rolling elements and raceways. Initially, these discharges create a “frosted” or “sandblasted” effect. Over time, this deterioration causes a groove pattern in the bearing race called “fluting,” which is an indication that the bearing has sustained severe damage. Eventually, the deterioration will lead to complete bearing failure. 3    3  See www.Greenheck.com 
     The prior art teaches numerous methods of mitigating the damage shaft voltages cause, including using a shielded cable, grounding the shaft, insulated bearings, and installation of a Faraday shield. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,193,836 discloses devices for controlling shaft current, which devices are designed to induce ionization in the presence of an electrical field. 
     Most external applications add to costs, complexity, and exposure to external environmental factors. Insulated bearings provide an internal solution by eliminating the path to ground through the bearing for current to flow. However, installing insulated bearings does not eliminate the shaft voltage, which will still find the lowest impedance path to ground. Thus, insulated bearings are not effective if the impedance path is through the driven load. Therefore, the prior art does not teach an internal, low wearing method or apparatus to efficaciously ground shaft voltage and avoid electric discharge machining of bearings leading to premature bearing failure. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An objective of the motor grounding seal is to provide an improvement to seals or bearing isolators to prevent leakage of lubricant and entry of contaminants by encompassing the stator within the rotor to create an axially directed interface at the radial extremity of the rotor. It is also an objective of the present invention to disclose and claim a seal or bearing isolator for rotating equipment that retains lubricants, prevents contamination and conducts and transmits and directs accumulated bearing current to ground. 
     Placement of a receptor groove in the stator of a shaft seal assembly allows insertion of a conductive insert in the stator. Although such a conductive insert may be constructed of any type of metal compatible with operating conditions and metallurgy, bronze, gold, or aluminum are believed to be preferred metals because of increased conductivity, strength, and resistance to corrosion and wear. Combining the receptor groove and conductive insert with the benefits of the improved bearing isolator reduces the environmental exposure of the conductive insert. 
     It has been found that a bearing isolator assembly having a rotor and stator manufactured from bronze has improved charge dissipation qualities. The preferred bronze metallurgy is that meeting specification 932 (also referred to as 932000 or “bearing bronze”). This bronze is preferred for bearings and bearing isolators because it has excellent load capacity and antifriction qualities. This bearing bronze alloy also has good machining characteristics and resists many chemicals. It is believed that the specified bronze offers increased shaft voltage collection properties comparable to the ubiquitous lighting rod due to the relatively low electrical resistivity (85.9 ohms-cmil/ft @ 68 F or 14.29 micro-ohm-cm @ 20 C) and high electrical conductivity (12% IACS (@ 68 F or 0.07 MegaSiemens/cm @ 20 C) of the material selected. 
     Previous tests of a combination shaft seal assembly with a concentric inserted conductive brush engaged with the shaft have shown substantial reduction in shaft voltage and attendant electrostatic discharge machining. Direct seating between the conduction ring means and the bearing isolator portion of the motor ground seal improves the conduction to ground over a simple housing in combination with a conduction means as taught by the prior art. Those practiced in the arts will understand that this improvement requires the electric motor base to be grounded, as is the norm. 
     It is therefore an objective of the motor grounding seal to disclose and claim an electric motor for rotating equipment having a bearing isolator that retains lubricants, prevents contamination, and conducts and transmits and directs bearing current to ground. 
     It is another objective of the motor grounding seal to disclose and claim a bearing isolator for rotating equipment that retains lubricants, prevents contamination, and conducts electrostatic discharge (shaft voltage) to improve bearing operating life. 
     It is another objective of the motor grounding seal to disclose and claim a bearing isolator for rotating equipment that retains lubricants, prevents contamination, and provides adequate grounding. 
     It is another objective of the motor grounding seal to disclose and claim a bearing isolator for rotating equipment that retains lubricants, prevents contamination, and provides a low impedance ground path for the voltage to flow to earth ground without passing through the motor bearings or other components while protecting and isolating the conductive insert from the elements. 
     Other objects, advantages, and embodiments of the motor grounding seal will become apparent upon the reading the following detailed description and upon reference to drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective exterior view of motor ground seal assembly mounted to a motor housing. 
         FIG. 2  is a sectional view of the present invention as shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a sectional view of another embodiment of the present invention as shown in  FIG. 2  wherein a conduction ring is shown with a plurality of conductive brushes. 
         FIG. 4  is a sectional view of another embodiment of the present invention wherein a metallic conduction ring is shown with an insert having conductive properties. 
         FIG. 5  is a sectional view of another embodiment as shown in  FIG. 2  wherein the conductive ring is solid. 
         FIG. 6  is another embodiment of the present invention as shown in  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 7  is a side view of the present invention illustrating the concentric nature of the invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION—ELEMENT LISTING 
     
       
         
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Description 
                 Element No. 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
                 Drive bearing 
                  2 
               
               
                   
                 Conductive brushes 
                  3 
               
               
                   
                 Receptor groove 
                  4 
               
               
                   
                 Brush ring 
                  5 
               
               
                   
                 Metallic insert with solid conductor ring 
                  6 
               
               
                   
                 Conductive insert ring 
                  7 
               
               
                   
                 O-ring 
                  8 
               
               
                   
                 Solid conductive ring 
                  9 
               
               
                   
                 Rotatable shaft 
                 10 
               
               
                   
                 Housing 
                 11 
               
               
                   
                 Rotatable shaft center 
                 12 
               
               
                   
                 Rotor 
                 13 
               
               
                   
                 Rotor surface 
                  13a 
               
               
                   
                 Stator 
                 14 
               
               
                   
                 Stator surface 
                  14a 
               
               
                   
                 O-ring 
                 15 
               
               
                   
                 Brush ring frame 
                 16 
               
               
                   
                 O-ring 
                 17 
               
               
                   
                 Motor ground seal assembly 
                 18 
               
               
                   
                 Radial projection 
                 19 
               
               
                   
                 First radial Interface gap 
                 20 
               
               
                   
                 Second radial interface gap 
                 21 
               
               
                   
                 Stator groove 
                 22 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a perspective view of the motor ground seal assembly  18  applied to a rotatable shaft  10  of an electrical motor (not shown) having a variable frequency drive (VFD). The Motor Grounding Seal™ assembly  18  shown in  FIG. 1  may be mounted to rotatable shaft  10  on either one or both sides of the motor housing assembly  11 . The Motor Grounding Seal™ assembly  18  may be flange-mounted, press-fit, or attached by other means to a housing  11 . The motor ground seal assembly  18  will also function with a rotating housing and stationary shaft (not shown). 
     As shown in  FIGS. 2-6 , the rotor  13  faces outboard and is engaged with an inboard facing stator  14 . The receptor groove  4  allows placement of one of the following conductive inserts with the motor grounding seal assembly  18 : a solid conductive ring having conductive filament brushes  3  attached therein, a solid conductive ring having conductive filament brushes  3  attached therein and a metallic annular frame surrounding the conductive ring, a metallic insert with solid conductor ring  6 , or a conductive insert ring  7 . The receptor groove  4  as-shown can also be utilized on other shaft seal assemblies and bearing isolators or combinations therein which use only labyrinths. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 2-6 , the location of the gap with respect to the rotor  13  and stator  14  surfaces and the direction of the opening interface gaps  20  and  21  are both important elements of one embodiment of the motor grounding seal assembly  18 . The rotor  13  extends radially well beyond the major diameter of the stator  14 . This permits the rotor  13  to encompass the also radially extended projection  19  of the stator  14 . It is important that this radial extension of the rotor  13  extends beyond the basic radial dimension of stator  14 . See U.S. Pat. No. 6,419,233 issued to Orlowski and incorporated by reference herein. This requires a departure from the prior art wherein the rotor  13  was radially co-extensive with the major diameter of the stator  14 . 
     The second radial interface gap  21  between the rotor  13  and stator  14  that is exposed to the contamination or lubricants is now fixed in dimension and independent of any relative axial movement between the rotor  13  and the stator  14 . The first radial interface gap  20  is still subject to variation in dimension by any relative axial movement between the rotor  13  and the stator  14 . This relative movement is not significant to the operation in as much as only a small amount of contaminants have been able to enter the labyrinth because of the size and location of the first radial interface gap  20 . The removal of the interface gap  21  from variations is more important in seals where the stator  13  and the rotor  14  are not restrained from relative movement. 
     The orientation of the opening of the interface gap  21  is important regardless of relative movement between the rotor  14  and stator  13 . The axial orientation of the second radial interface gap  21  controls entrance of contaminants. Reduction or elimination of contaminants improves both the life and performance of the conductive means. The opening of the second radial interface gap  21  is now facing rearward toward the housing  11  and away from the contaminant stream. The contaminant or cooling stream will normally be directed along the axis of the shaft  10  and toward the housing  11 . 
     A first stator groove  22  may be cut in the stator  14 . This stator groove  22  enhances and accentuates the benefits of the radial extension of the rotor  13  and the stator  14  with the resultant orientation and independence of the second radial interface gap  21 . The motor ground seal assembly  18  may be made from any machinable metal (such as stainless steel) or a metal having low resistivity, including but not limited to bronze, aluminum, copper, gold, and combinations thereof. 
     A second groove may be cut into the stator  14  on the inboard side facing away from the rotor  13  and into the housing  11 . This receptor groove  4  allows insertion of a circumferential ring-like structure, sometimes referred to herein as a conductive insert. The embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 2  shows a solid conductive ring  9  having conductive filaments or brushes  3  in contact with shaft  10 . The concentric solid conduction ring  9  may be flange-mounted, press-fit, or attached by other means to and/or within receptor groove  4 . 
       FIG. 3  shows another embodiment of the motor ground seal assembly  18  wherein the conductive insert is a brush ring  5  having a metallic base or frame  16 , preferably made from a low resistivity material such as bronze, copper, gold, or aluminum. The conductive insert may have a plurality of fibrous conductive brushes  3  engaged with rotatable shaft  10  for transmission of bearing currents to ground. In this embodiment, the circumference of the brush ring  5  is force-fitted into the receptor groove  4  in the motor ground seal assembly  18  by means of a slightly tapered bore (not shown) in the receptor groove  4  to accommodate imperfections and dimensional tolerance of the brush ring  5  surrounding the filament brushes  3 . 
     In one embodiment of the motor ground seal assembly  18 , the brush ring  5  may be as described in published U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,193,836 and 7,528,513. In such an embodiment, the brush ring  5  would incorporate technology sold as an “AEGIS SGR™ Conductive MicroFiber™ brush” by Electro Static Technology—an Illinois Tool Works Company. However, such an embodiment is not preferred. Instead, a preferred embodiment of the motor ground seal assembly  18  is one in which the brush ring  5  is configured such that the conductive brushes  3  are in constant contact with the shaft  10  at all times (i.e., when the shaft  10  is stationary and when the shaft  10  is rotating). This is due at least in part to the potential for brush ring frame  16  deformation, as described below. 
     The motor grounding seal assembly  18  improves conduction and reduces the effects of “bearing current” by enhancing and increasing the rigidity of circumferential brush ring  5 , thereby increasing the resistance to deformation of the brush ring frame  16  during operation. Deformation of the brush ring  5  and frame  16  during operation destabilizes the spatial relationship between the tip of the conductive brushes  3 , or the shaft facing surfaces of other conductive means, and the rotating shaft  10 . The resulting change in spatial relationship, which although small and within normal machine operating tolerances, negatively affects the conduction of the electrostatic discharge (shaft voltage) from the rotating shaft  10  to ground, thus resulting in the decreased performance of prior art grounding devices. 
     Ensuring continuous contact between the conductive brushes  3  and the shaft  10  both when the shaft  10  is rotating and when it is stationary prevents decreased performance caused by brush ring  5  deformation. Accordingly, conduction of static charges from the shaft  10  to the conductive brushes  3  is preferred as opposed to the ionization described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,193,836. One embodiment of a motor ground seal assembly  18  configured to ensure this continuous contact includes conductive brushes  3  that are sized to be long enough so as to overcome any windage caused by the rotation of the shaft  10 . 
     The performance of the motor ground seal assembly  18  disclosed and claimed herein is further improved by aggressive interference between the conductive insert and receptor groove  4  of the motor ground seal assembly  18 . The outside diameter of the brush ring  5  may be up to 0.004 inches (0.102 mm) greater than the inside diameter of the receptor groove  4 . The performance of the motor ground seal assembly  18  is further improved by aggressive interference between the motor grounding seal assembly  18  and the housing  11  of the motor. The outside diameter of the stator may be up to 0.004 inches (0.102 mm) greater than the inside diameter of the motor housing  11 . 
       FIG. 4  shows another embodiment of the motor ground seal assembly  18  wherein the metallic insert with solid conductor ring  6  has a metallic base, preferably a low resistivity material such as bronze, copper, gold, or aluminum, and forms a circumferential conductive ring around the rotating shaft  10  when inserted into the receptor groove  4  of the stator  14 . A portion of the solid conductor ring  6  may then engage the rotatable shaft  10  for transmission of bearing currents to ground. 
       FIG. 5  shows another embodiment of the motor ground seal assembly  18  wherein the conductive insert ring  7  is a concentric circumferential ring affixed within the receptor groove  4  of the stator  14  for engagement with shaft  10  for transmission of bearing currents to ground. Reduction of deformity through an aggressive interference between the conductive insert/receptor groove  4  and motor ground seal assembly  18 /housing  11  is contemplated for the embodiments shown and described at  FIGS. 4 and 5 . 
     The motor ground seal assembly  18  may be used with an o-ring  17  between stator  14  and motor housing  11  as shown in preceding  FIGS. 1-5 . Performance of the motor ground seal assembly  18 , however, may be further improved by eliminating o-ring  17  and its companion groove as shown in  FIG. 6 . The non-conductive nature of o-ring  17  can impede conductivity between the motor ground seal assembly  18  and motor housing  11  thereby decreasing the overall charge dissipation performance of the motor ground seal assembly  18 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 7 , the motor ground seal assembly  18  in combination with the motor housing  11  creates a stable concentric system with the rotating shaft  10  as its center point  12 . Inserting the combination of conductive brushes  3 , brush rings  5 , or conductive inserts into the motor ground seal assembly  18  within the motor housing  10 , and press or force fitting the various conducting elements (conductive insert, stator  13  and housing  11 ) together, provides a relatively fixed and stable spatial relationship between the conducting elements, thereby improving the collection and conduction of electrostatic discharge (shaft voltage) from the rotating shaft  10  to ground through the conducting elements of the motor ground seal assembly  18 . This improved motor ground sealing system directly seats major elements together, which compensates for motor shafts  10  that are not necessarily perfectly round, and ensures the variation or change in distance from the brush tips  3  to the shaft  10  surface caused by external forces acting on the motor ground sealing system are minimal, thus promoting effective conduction of shaft voltage. 
     Having described the preferred embodiment, other features of the present invention will undoubtedly occur to those versed in the art, as will numerous modifications and alterations in the embodiments of the invention illustrated, all of which may be achieved without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.