Patent ID: 6935771

Claim:
An assembly for supporting a mixer shaft in an opening in a vessel wall, the assembly comprising: a base mounted to the vessel wall around the opening; a seal assembly mounted to the base at an axial location relative to the mixer shaft to seal against the mixer shaft; a unitary outer bearing housing mounted to the base without contacting the vessel wall; a unitary inner bearing housing mounted to the shaft to rotate with the shaft; a first tapered roller bearing canted at an angle to the shaft, said first tapered roller bearing having a first inner race supported on the unitary inner bearing housing and a first outer race supported on the unitary outer bearing housing; a second tapered roller bearing canted at an angle to the shaft, said second tapered roller bearing having a second inner race supported on the unitary inner bearing housing and a second outer race supported on the unitary outer bearing housing; and a threaded ring threadable onto the first inner bearing housing to contact with the first inner race of the first tapered roller bearing and to secure the first and second tapered roller bearings and the inner bearing housing and the outer bearing housing together as an assembly attached to each other, wherein the base, the seal assembly, the unitary inner and outer bearing housings, and the first and second tapered roller bearings together form a removable cartridge.