A bearing support assembly

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[001] The invention relates to a bearing support assembly.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[002] A bearing support assembly such as a plummer block or a pillow block is used to provide support to rotating shafts. A basic bearing support assembly comprises a housing which accommodates a bearing for supporting the rotating shaft.

[003] One type of available housing for bearing support assembly is a dual or split type housing. Such housing has less load carrying capacities resulting in reduced life of the bearings. Hence bearing is required to be replaced frequently.

[004] Furthermore, installation of split type housings requires proper alignment of split members of the Plummer block for accommodating the bearing. The installation thus requires skilled labors for installing the bearing support assemblies. Accordingly, when the bearing has to be replaced skilled labor is required' for replacing the bearing. Also dual or split type housing requires shut down of operation for replacing the bearing. Hence time factor plays important role in the replacement of the bearings. Also the cost of such dual or split type housing of bearing is high. Other disadvantage associated with dual or split type housing is grease leakage from top or bottom of the joining edges of the housing.

[005] Another type of available housing for bearing support assembly is a single piece housing. The installation of bearing inside the single housing bearing support assemblies is complex since the assembly requires components like locating rings. Further the single piece housing requires installing the bearing by first positioning it 90° to the housing. The bearing is then pressed inwardly to make the bearing seat in the housing. However the bearing installed is not aligned and is required to be then aligned. These single piece housing are thus complex to install and also result in damage to the housing as well as the bearing during installation. Also, replacement of bearing in such single piece housing is complex. [006] In view of the above, there is a need in the art for a bearing support assembly addressing at-least the above mentioned shortcomings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[007] Accordingly, the present invention in one aspect provides a bearing support assembly comprising a single-cast housing having a front side and a rear side, the rear side having a bore, a housing cover having a bore, the housing cover adapted to the front side of the housing, a roller bearing disposed inside the housing, the bearing having an outer ring and an extended inner ring, the outer ring locked with the housing and the inner ring extending through at- least one of the bores, the inner ring configured to couple with a rotating machine shaft, and a pair of oil seals adapted at the bores for preventing grease leakage, wherein the single cast housing distributes load produced by the rotation of the shaft over the bearing evenly, thereby increasing bearing life and the housing enables easy installation of the bearing inside the housing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[008] Reference will be made to embodiments of the invention, examples of which may be illustrated in the accompanying figures. These figures are intended to be illustrative, not limiting. Although the invention is generally described in the context of these embodiments, it should be understood that it is not intended to limit the scope of the invention to these particular embodiments.

Figure 1 shows a cross-section view of the bearing support assembly in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

Figure 2 shows an exploded view of the bearing support assembly in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. .

Figure 3 shows a housing of the bearing support assembly in accordance with an embodiment of the invention, where

Figure 3A shows front view of the housing of the bearing support assembly, and

Figure 3B shows rear view of the housing of the bearing support assembly.

Figure 4 shows transfer of load in the bearing support assembly.

[009] Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and may have not been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figure may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[010] Various embodiments of the present invention provide a bearing support assembly which is easy to install and extends life of the bearing.

[011] Accordingly, the present^hvention provides a bearing support assembly comprising a single-cast housing having a front side and a rear side, the rear side having a bore, a housing cover having a bore, the housing cover adapted to the front side of the housing, a roller bearing disposed inside the housing, the bearing having an outer ring and an extended inner ring, the outer ring locked with the housing and the inner ring extending through at-least one of the bores, the inner ring configured to couple with a rotating machine shaft, and a pair of oil seals adapted at the bores for preventing grease leakage, wherein the single cast housing distributes load produced by the rotation of the shaft over the bearing evenly, thereby increasing bearing life and the housing enables easy installation of the bearing inside the housing.

[012] Figure 1 through figure 4 show a bearing^ support assembly 100 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. T- e bearing support assembly comprises a housing 110, a roller bearing 120 and a housing cover 130. [013] Reference will now be made to figure 2, which shows an exploded view of the bearing support assembly. In an embodiment of the invention, the housing 1 10 is a single cast housing. The housing 1 10 is defined by a front side 1 10a (shown in figure 3A) and a rear side 1 10b (shown in figure 3B). The front side 1 10a of the housing 1 10 has an opening 1 12 and the rear side 1 10b has a bore 1 14. The front side 110a receives and accommodates the bearing 120. The single cast housing 110 distributes load experienced by the bearing i.e. the bearing 120 transmits radial and axial load produced by the rotation of a shaft to tl¾ housing 1 10 subjecting the bearing 120 to a much smaller overall load compared to existing bearing assemblies. Thus the single cast housing 1 10 increases operating life of the bearing 120. Figure 4 shows transfer of load in the bearing support assembly.

[014] Further the housing 1 10 comprises of support members 1 16. The support members 1 16 as shown in figure 2 are integrally formed with bottom of the housing 1 10. These support members 1 16 are like lugs with provisions for mounting the bearing support assembly on a work surface. Also, as shown in the figure, the support members 1 16 are provided such that there is a slot 1 18 between the support members 1 16. The slot 1 18 allows heat to transfer from inside the housing 1 10 to the outside. In this regard, since maximum load is at bottom of housing 1 1 p, maximum heat is produced at bottom of housing 10.

Advantageously, the -slot 1 18 at bottom allows heat to transfer from inside to the outside, thereby increasing thermal capacity of the housing 10. [015] The bearing support assembly as shown in figure 2 further comprises a grease filling plug 140. The grease filling plug is provided on top of the housing 1 10 enabling optimal supply of grease within the housing 1 10.

[016] The housing cover 130 as shown in the figure 2 includes a bore 132, and the housing cover 130 is configured to be adapted on the front side 1 10a of the housing 1 10. In this regard, once the bearing is disposed inside the housing 1 10, the housing cover 130 is attached to the housing 1 10 via suitable means such as fasteners 134. Also, the housing cover 130 enables easy replacement of the bearing.

[017] The housing 1 10 further comprises holes 1 15 provided on the rear-side of the housing 1 10 as shown in Figure 3B. The holes enables an implement to be inserted inside the housing 1 10 to push out the bearing from the housing 1 10, thereby enabling easy removal of the bearing from the housing 1 10. Advantageously, the single cast housing 0 and the housing cover 130 provides easy installation and replacement of bearing on site. Also in case of any breakdown the housing cover 130 can be easily removed and the bearing can be easily replaced obviating the problem of shutting down the plant.

' ^{■■ ■ ■ ■ ■} ' · · - ' . ^{. . .}

[018] As shown in figure 2, the roller bearing 120 has an outer ring 122, an inner ring 124 and rollers 126 disposed within the outer ring 122 and inner ring 124, the rollers secured by a cage and a shied. In an embodiment of the invention, the outer ring 122 is locked with respect to the housing 1 10 of the bearing support assembly 100. In this regard, the housing 1 10 and bearing is such that the outer ring 122 of the bearing is locked with the housing 1 10. The outer ring 122 is locked with the housing 1 10 via a spigot. The outer ring 122 further has a slot/groove 128 along its circumference for grease circulation. [019] In an embodiment of the invention, the bearing 120 has an extended inner ring i.e. the inner ring 124 is longer compared to the outer ring 122. In this regard, the inner ring 124 is extended such that the inner ring 124 projects out of the housing 1 10 from the front side 1 10a and/or the rear side 1 10b. According to the present invention, the inner ring 124 extends through the housing cove 130 and is configured to couple with a machine shaft via means for coupling such as fasteners. Advantageously the fastener couples and holds the machine shaft with the inner ring 124, thereby preventing slippage of the machine shaft. Also, in a condition of misalignment of shaft, the longer inner ring 124 allows the inner ring 124 to have maximum contact with rollers, thereby absorbing misalignment.

[020] In an embodiment of the invention, the roller bearing 120 is a spherical roller bearing with a cylindrical bore.

[021 ] As shown in figure 2, the bearing support assembly 100 comprises a pair of oil seals 140 - a first oil seal 140A and a second oil seal 140B provided on each side of the bearing for preventing grease/oil leakage. The first oil seal 140A is provided near the front side 1 0a of the housing 1 10. The first oil seal 140A is... adapted on the housing cover 130 and the machine shaft. The second oil seal 140B is provided near the rear side 1 10b of the housing 1 10. The second oil seal 140B is adapted on the housing 1 10 and the machine shaft. Further as shown in figure 2 a circlip 150 is adapted on the. housing 110 for preventing movement of the second oil seal 140B.

[022] In an embodiment the first oil seal 140A and second-oil seal 140B are a double lip NBR seal type oil seal which in addition to preventing oil leakage also prevents dust and other contaminants from entering housing 110 of bearing support assembly.

[023] Method for assembling a bearing supp rt assembly is now described. The assembly starts by providing a bearing at a required location on a shaft. Once the bearing is provided on the shaft housing of the bearing support assembly is inserted from one side of the shaft, and a housing cover of the bearing support assembly is inserted from other side of the shaft to enclose and support the bearing inside the bearing support assembly. After enclosing the bearing, the housing cover is adapted to the housing via suitable means such as fasteners. While enclosing the bearing care must be taken to align the bearing so that oil bearing is lubricated along its circumference. The method includes inserting oil seals on either side of the bearing. Also, a circlip is adapted on the housing for preventing movement of the oil seal. The disassembling of the bearing support assembly is carried out in a reverse manner. Advantageously, the present invention provides a cost-effective bearing support assembly which- is easy to assemble/ install, disassemble and maintain, and the bearing support assembly extends life of the bearing. · [024] Following are advantages of the present invention: Increased bearing life due to single piece housing.

Single piece housing of bearing support assembly prevents dust and other contaminants from entering the bearing support assembly.

Bearing support assembly is easy to install and maintain.

Cost-effective due to use of spherical roller bearing and single piece housing.

[025] While the present invention has been described with respect to certain embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modification may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.