Slide Lock Jaw Seat Puller for Embedded Pump Valve Removal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Abrasive drilling fluids and repeated operation of check valves in pumps cause wear and embedding issues with annular seats, making them difficult to remove, especially when access is limited and the seat is embedded in materials like concrete or cast iron.
Innovation Solution
A seat puller mechanism featuring a slide lock jaw with pivotable half jaws and a keeper spring, which expands to capture the seat, allowing for easy removal by sliding along a cone-shaped shaft and using an adjusting nut for additional force application.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a seat is interference fitted into a pump housing and subjected to hammering, then the seal between the seat and housing is improved, but the seat becomes deeply embedded and difficult to remove
Solution Approach 1:
The puller device is divided into multiple functional segments: a jaw assembly that can be inserted through the seat, a cone-shaped expansion mechanism, and an external actuation system. This segmentation allows the removal tool to access the embedded seat from one side only, while the jaw assembly divides to grip the seat internally and the cone mechanism provides expansion force to extract it.
Solution Approach 2:
The jaw assembly is designed with nested components where the second jaw fits within or alongside the first jaw, allowing the entire jaw assembly to be compact enough to pass through the seat opening while maintaining sufficient gripping capability once positioned around the seat.
2Adaptability or versatility
If access is obtained from only one end of the seat, then the installation space is constrained, but it becomes difficult to apply sufficient force for removal
Solution Approach 1:
The removal force is applied in multiple dimensions: the cone-shaped mechanism provides radial expansion force perpendicular to the seat surface, while the external actuation (handwheel or hydraulic cylinder) applies axial force along the insertion direction. This multi-dimensional force application overcomes the limitation of single-end access.
Solution Approach 2:
The jaw assembly acts as an intermediary between the external actuation system and the embedded seat. It transmits and amplifies the applied force through the cone-shaped expansion mechanism, converting moderate external force into significant radial extraction force on the seat.
3Ease of operation
If a slide lock jaw is used to remove the seat, then the removal process is simplified, but the mechanism becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The cone-shaped mechanism automatically expands the jaw assembly as it is pushed through the seat, requiring no manual adjustment during the extraction process. The geometry of the cone itself provides the expansion force, making the device self-actuating once inserted and pushed, thereby simplifying operation despite the internal complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables quick and efficient removal of annular seats from pumps, even when access is limited, reducing manual labor and time required, and preventing the seat puller from getting stuck in the seat, thus overcoming the challenges of wear and embedding.
Implementation Method 1
a keeper spring, which expands to capture the seat
Implementation Method 2
sliding along a cone-shaped shaft
Implementation Method 3
using an adjusting nut for additional force application
Data Source
AI summary
A seat puller removes a valve seat or bushing from a structure such as a fluid pump. The seat puller may be formed of a shaft having a threaded adjusting nut fastening region, a central shaft region, a land region, a cone shaft region and an end stopper region. The seat puller includes a slide lock jaw held onto the shaft at the land region by a spring. The spring permits the slide lock jaw to open slightly and thereby permits the slide lock jaw to slide down the shaft to the cone shaft region. This causes the slide lock jaw to open and engage the internal and bottom surfaces of a seat with its outer circumference, thereby permitting the seat puller to remove the seat from the structure in which it is seated.