Pumping System Shaft Conversion Adapter

Abstract

A pump for use in a motorized pumping system has a pump shaft with a lower ring groove and an upper ring groove. The pump also includes a lower adapter and an upper adapter. The lower adapter has a pair of lower ring halves configured to fit within the lower ring groove and the upper adapter has a pair of upper ring halves configured to fit within the upper ring groove. The pump further includes a plurality of stages that each have a stationary diffuser and a rotating impeller. The rotating impellers are connected to the shaft with a keyed connection that permits the impeller to axially travel along the shaft. Also disclosed is a method for converting a compression shaft to a floater shaft that includes the steps of placing an upper adapter into the upper ring groove, placing one or more impellers on the shaft, placing one or more standard spacers on the shaft and placing a lower adapter into the lower ring groove.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A pump for use in a motorized pumping system, the pump comprising:
 a shaft, wherein the shaft includes a lower ring groove and an upper ring groove;   a lower adapter, wherein the lower adapter comprises a pair of lower ring halves configured to fit within the lower ring groove;   an upper adapter, wherein the upper adapter comprises a pair of upper ring halves configured to fit within the upper ring groove;   a plurality of stages, wherein each of the plurality of stages comprises:
 a stationary diffuser; and 
 a rotating impeller connected to the shaft with a keyed connection that permits the impeller to axially travel along the shaft. 
   
     
     
         2 . The pump of  claim 1 , wherein the lower adapter further comprises a lower adapter snap ring configured to hold the pair of lower ring halves together in the lower ring groove. 
     
     
         3 . The pump of  claim 1 , wherein the upper adapter further comprises an upper adapter snap ring configured to hold the pair of upper ring halves together in the upper ring groove. 
     
     
         4 . The pump of  claim 1 , wherein the lower adapter comprises a lower adapter shoulder that has an adapter shoulder outer diameter. 
     
     
         5 . The pump of  claim 4 , further comprising a lower bearing that has an inner diameter that is larger than the adapter shoulder outer diameter. 
     
     
         6 . The pump of  claim 5 , wherein the lower bearing support comprises a bearing pad. 
     
     
         7 . The pump of  claim 6 , further comprising a bearing spacer connected to the shaft and configured to contact the bearing pad of the lower bearing support. 
     
     
         8 . A submersible pumping system comprising:
 an electric motor;   a seal section; and   a multistage centrifugal pump driven by the motor, wherein the pump comprises:
 a shaft, wherein the shaft includes a lower ring groove and an upper ring groove; 
 a lower adapter, wherein the lower adapter comprises a pair of lower ring halves configured to fit within the lower ring groove; 
 an upper adapter, wherein the upper adapter comprises a pair of upper ring halves configured to fit within the upper ring groove; and 
 a plurality of stages, wherein each of the plurality of stages comprises:
 a stationary diffuser; and 
 a rotating impeller connected to the shaft with a keyed connection that permits the impeller to axially travel along the shaft. 
 
   
     
     
         9 . The submersible pumping system of  claim 8 , wherein the lower adapter further comprises a lower adapter snap ring configured to hold the pair of lower ring halves together in the lower ring groove. 
     
     
         10 . The submersible pumping system of  claim 8 , wherein the upper adapter further comprises an upper adapter snap ring configured to hold the pair of upper ring halves together in the upper ring groove. 
     
     
         11 . The submersible pumping system of  claim 8 , wherein the lower adapter comprises a lower adapter shoulder that has an adapter shoulder outer diameter. 
     
     
         12 . The submersible pumping system of  claim 11 , further comprising a lower bearing that has an inner diameter that is larger than the adapter shoulder outer diameter. 
     
     
         13 . The submersible pumping system of  claim 12 , wherein the lower bearing support comprises a bearing pad. 
     
     
         14 . The submersible pumping system of  claim 13 , further comprising a bearing spacer connected to the shaft and configured to contact the bearing pad of the lower bearing support. 
     
     
         15 . The submersible pumping system of  claim 8 , wherein the shaft does not include any ring grooves other than the lower ring groove and the upper ring groove 
     
     
         16 . A method for converting a compression shaft to a floater shaft, wherein the compression shaft includes an upper ring groove and a lower ring groove that are respectively capable of holding an upper two-piece ring and a lower two-piece ring to apply compression to a diffuser stack disposed along the compression shaft, the method comprising the steps of:
 placing an upper adapter into the upper ring groove;   placing one or more impellers on the shaft;   placing one or more standard spacers on the shaft; and   placing a lower adapter into the lower ring groove.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising the step of placing one or more bearing spacers on the shaft before the step of placing a lower adapter into the lower ring groove. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the step of placing an upper adapter into the upper ring groove further comprises:
 placing a first upper ring half into the upper ring groove;   placing a second upper ring half into the upper ring groove; and   securing the first and second upper ring halves together.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the step of securing the first and second upper ring halves together further comprises placing an upper adapter snap ring over the first and second upper ring halves. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the step of placing a lower adapter into the lower ring groove further comprises:
 placing a first lower ring half into the lower ring groove;   placing a second lower ring half into the lower ring groove; and   securing the first and second lower ring halves together.