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NO-20240956-A1 - Fluid access system for compressor sealing

NO20240956A1NO 20240956 A1NO20240956 A1NO 20240956A1NO-20240956-A1

Inventors

  • RISLÅ HARALD NES
  • SCHLÜTER CHRISTIAN

Assignees

  • HEATEN AS

Dates

Publication Date
20260323
Application Date
20240920
Priority Date
20240920

Claims (20)

  1. 1. CLAIMS 1. A rotary shaft machine comprising a fluid access system for providing activation and/or deactivation of a first sealing member within the machine, the machine comprising: a machine housing comprising: a first housing fluid access channel within the machine housing; and a first external fluid access port configured to provide fluid communication from outside of the machine housing to the first housing fluid access channel; a first fluid-activatable sealing component in fluid communication with the first fluid access channel and comprising at least a first sealing member movable between an unsealed position and a sealed position; and a rotary shaft arranged to pass from outside of the machine housing to inside of the machine housing through the fluid-activatable sealing component; wherein in the unsealed position the first sealing member does not seal around the rotary shaft and in the sealed position the first sealing member forms a fluid tight seal with the rotary shaft; such that the first sealing member can be moved to seal around the rotary shaft and/or to break sealing around the rotary shaft by providing or evacuating fluid to or from the first external fluid access port on the machine housing.
  2. 2. The rotary shaft machine according to claim 1, wherein the first fluidactivatable sealing component further comprises a first sealing member fluid communication channel configured to provide fluid communication between the first housing fluid access channel and the first sealing member.
  3. 3. The rotary shaft machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first external fluid access port is configured to receive positive and negative pressure such that the first sealing member can be activated and deactivated.
  4. 4. The rotary shaft machine according to any preceding claim, wherein the machine housing further comprises: a second housing fluid access channel within the machine housing and in fluid communication with the first fluid-activatable sealing component; and a second external fluid access port configured to provide fluid communication from outside of the machine housing to the second housing fluid access channel; such that the first sealing member can be moved to seal around the rotary shaft by providing fluid to the second external fluid access port on the machine housing.
  5. 5. The rotary shaft machine according to claim 4, wherein the first fluidactivatable sealing component further comprises a second sealing member fluid communication channel configured to provide fluid communication between the second housing fluid access channel and the first sealing member.
  6. 6. The rotary shaft machine according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the second external fluid access port is configured to receive positive pressure such that the first sealing member can be activated.
  7. 7. The rotary shaft machine according to any preceding claim, wherein the machine housing further comprises: a third housing fluid access channel within the machine housing and in fluid communication with the first fluid-activatable sealing component; and a third external fluid access port configured to provide fluid communication from outside of the machine housing to the third housing fluid access channel; such that the first sealing member can be moved to break sealing around the rotary shaft by evacuating fluid from the third external fluid access port on the machine housing.
  8. 8. The rotary shaft machine according to claim 7, wherein the first fluidactivatable sealing component further comprises a third sealing member fluid communication channel configured to provide fluid communication between the third housing fluid access channel and the first sealing member.
  9. 9. The rotary shaft machine according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the third external fluid access port is configured to receive negative pressure such that the first sealing member can be deactivated.
  10. 10.The rotary shaft machine according to any preceding claim, further comprising a second sealing component configured to seal the machine housing, wherein the second sealing component is located between the machine housing the first activatable sealing component, and the rotary shaft is arranged to pass from outside of the machine housing to inside of the machine housing through the second sealing component.
  11. 11.The rotary shaft machine according to claim 10, wherein the second sealing component further comprises a first connecting fluid communication channel fluidly connecting the first housing fluid access channel with the first activatable sealing component.
  12. 12.The rotary shaft machine according to claim 10 when dependent on: claim 2; or any of claims 3 to 9 when dependent on claim 2, wherein the second sealing component further comprises a first connecting fluid communication channel fluidly connecting the first housing fluid access channel with the first sealing member fluid communication channel.
  13. 13. The rotary shaft machine according to claim 10 when dependent on: claim 4; or any of claims 6 or 7 to 9 when dependent on claim 4; wherein the second sealing component further comprises a second connecting fluid communication channel fluidly connecting the second housing fluid access channel with the first activatable sealing component.
  14. 14. The rotary shaft machine according to claim 10 when dependent on: claim 5; or any of claims 6 to 9 when dependent on claim 5, wherein the second sealing component further comprises a second connecting fluid communication channel fluidly connecting the second housing fluid access channel with the second sealing member fluid communication channel.
  15. 15. The rotary shaft machine according to claim 10 when dependent on: claim 7; or claim 9 when dependent on claim 7, wherein the second sealing component further comprises a third connecting fluid communication channel fluidly connecting the third housing fluid access channel with the first activatable sealing component.
  16. 16. The rotary shaft machine according to claim 10 when dependent on: claim 8; or claim 9 when dependent on claim 8, wherein the second sealing component further comprises a third connecting fluid communication channel fluidly connecting the third housing fluid access channel with the third sealing member fluid communication channel.
  17. 17. The rotary shaft machine according to any of claims 10 to 16, further configured for providing activation and/or deactivation of a second sealing member within the machine, the machine further comprising: a fourth housing fluid access channel within the machine housing; and a fourth external fluid access port configured to provide fluid communication from outside of the machine housing to the fourth housing fluid access channel; wherein the second sealing component further comprises a second fluidactivatable sealing component in fluid communication with the fourth fluid access channel and comprising at least a second sealing member movable between an unsealed position and a sealed position; wherein the rotary shaft is arranged to pass from outside of the machine housing to inside of the machine housing through the second activatable sealing component; wherein in the unsealed position the second sealing member does not seal around the rotary shaft and in the sealed position and second sealing member forms a fluid tight seal with the rotary shaft; such that the second sealing member can be moved to seal around the rotary shaft and/or to break sealing around the rotary shaft by providing or evacuating fluid to or from the fourth external fluid access port on the machine housing.
  18. 18. The rotary shaft machine according to claim 17, wherein the second fluidactivatable sealing component further comprises a fourth sealing member fluid communication channel configured to provide fluid communication between the fourth housing fluid access channel and the second sealing member.
  19. 19. The rotary shaft machine according to claim 17 or 18, wherein the fourth external fluid access port is configured to receive positive and negative pressure such that the second sealing member can be activated and deactivated.
  20. 20. The rotary shaft machine any of claim 17 to 19, wherein the machine housing further comprises: a fifth housing fluid access channel within the machine housing and in fluid communication with the second fluidactivatable sealing component; and a fifth external fluid access port configured to provide fluid communication from outside of the machine housing to the fifth housing fluid access channel; such that the second sealing member can be moved to seal around the rotary shaft by providing fluid to the fifth external fluid access port on the machine housing.

Description

[0001] FLUID ACCESS SYSTEM FOR COMPRESSOR SEALING [0002] FIELD [0003] The present invention relates to a fluid access system for activating or [0004] deactivating at least one sealing component in an industrial system utilising a [0005] rotating shaft. [0007] BACKGROUND [0008] In various machines it is required to provide sealing of a rotating shaft. [0009] Often the seals are arranged in a so-called cartridge, where they can be [0010] removed from the rotating shaft for maintenance or replacement. This is often [0011] needed if the seals wear due to contact with the rotating shaft and no longer [0012] provide sufficient sealing performance. Typically, a rotating shaft may be [0013] extending into one machine from an electric motor for example. In this [0014] connection, internally in the machine there may be provided a reservoir of [0015] lubricant. It is highly desirable to maintain the seals without draining and refilling [0016] the lubricant, as this is time consuming and expensive. [0018] Many types of shaft seals employ inflatable or hydraulically expandable [0019] seals. The seals are provided at a connection between the electric motor and the [0020] machine receiving the rotatable shaft from the electric motor. This point is not [0021] always easily accessible, therefore the fluid communication ports required to [0022] operate (i.e. inflate/deflate, pressurise/depressurise) the seals are often not [0023] easily accessible. They therefore require either disassembly of the housing or [0024] facias covering the ports, or they require the provision of fluid communication [0025] lines running from the seals to another point where connection of a pump, hydraulic fluid line etc may be easier than close to the seal. It is highly undesirable to have many fluid communication lines running in the internal volumes of the housing. Firstly, the fluid communication lines take up valuable space within the housing. Additionally, the fluid communication lines may become tangled around each other or around other equipment within the housing. Additionally, it is time consuming and may require training to dismantle the housing to access the fluid communication lines. [0026] In machines such as heat pumps, compressors are employed. Many heat pumps have a gas/vapor compressor as a core component. More specifically, for the vapor compression cycle, which is commonly used for, among other, residential heat pumps, refrigerators and air conditioning systems in cars, as well as for industrial heat pumps, the compressor is a central component. The main advantages of using heat pumps as opposed to conventional boiler or furnace systems, is that heat pumps generate several more times the heat than the power which is required to drive them, thereby increasing energy efficiency, and in many cases also improving economics of operation. [0027] In the example described herein, a heat pump is described which comprises a compressor. However, it should be noted that the present disclosure is not limited to only heat pumps or heat pumps comprising compressors, and that it may be equally relevant and useful to other types of machines with similar requirements. [0028] Therefore, there is a need to provide an easy access to the seals within the housing. [0029] There is another need to provide easy access to the fluid communication ports without disassembly of the housing or facias covering the ports. [0030] Yet another need is to activate and deactivate the seal without opening the access hatch to gain access to the internal volume of the housing. [0031] There is also a need to eliminate or reduce many fluid communication lines running in the internal volumes of the housing. [0032] At least one aim of the present invention is to obviate or at least mitigate one or more drawbacks associated with the prior art. [0034] SUMMARY [0035] According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a rotary shaft machine comprising a fluid access system for providing activation and/or deactivation of a first sealing member within the machine, the machine comprising: a machine housing comprising: a first housing fluid access channel within the machine housing; and a first external fluid access port configured to provide fluid communication from outside of the machine housing to the first housing fluid access channel; a first fluid-activatable sealing component in fluid communication with the first fluid access channel and comprising at least a first sealing member movable between an unsealed position and a sealed position; and a rotary shaft arranged to pass from outside of the machine housing to inside of the machine housing through the fluid-activatable sealing component; wherein in the unsealed position the first sealing member does not seal the rotary shaft and in the sealed position the first sealing member forms a fluid tight seal with the rotary