Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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The submersible impeller pump according to the invention
is designed to handle fluids carrying materials such as sand, stones,
sewage, or other abrasives, and to provide a pump which is substan-
tially maintenance free.
The pump is also free of seals, and is capable of running
indefinitely without water as well as in water.
These and other advantages will become apparent in the
light of the following description.
An object of the invention is to provide a submersible
pump, only the motor of which is sealed.
A further object is to provide a pump capable of handling
fluid material which carries abrasive substances such as sand, stones,
construction debris or the like.
A further object is to provide a pump which will not be
damaged if frozen while submersed, or full of fluid, and which is
capable of being thawed by direction application of flame or heat.
A still further object is to provide means to free the
pump according to the invention in the case where the pump is
stopped, while pumping heavy sand or mud which may back flow from
the discharge hose to cause a blockage within the pump.
A still further object is to provide a pump which does
not require seals.
A principal object of the invention is to provide an
impeller pump comprising: a unitary pump housing; an impeller
unit adapted for rotation within said housing; said pump housing
having a peripheral wall and a top, and having an open bottom,
with motor mounting means on the top thereof, adapted to support a
motor thereon in axial alignment with said impeller unit, said
motor including a drive shaft adapted to project through said motor
mount and the top of said housing for connection with said impeller
unit; said impeller comprising a pair of spaced-apart circular
exp~ller faces each having a plurality of outer, unitary, radial,
triangular vanes around the circumferences thereof with a plurality
of arc-shaped impeller vanes between said circular faces, said
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impeller being eccentrically mounted within said housing; a bottom
plate, adapted to be removably engaged on the open bottom o-f said
housing, said bottom plate having an opening therein in axial align-
ment with the centre of said impeller; a pair of stationary circular
expeller plates closely spaced from said expeller faces of said
impeller, within the housing; the face of said impeller facing the
open side of said pump housing having a central opening for fluid
ingress; and said housing having an opening for -fluid egress on the
top thereof near the peripheral wall thereof.
Q preferred embodiment of the pump will now be described
with reference to the following drawings, wherein:
Figure 1 is an exploded view;
Figure 2 is an enlarged segmented view of an impeller for
use in the pump;
Figure 3 is a side elevation of the pump, partly in
section; and
Figure 4 is a bottom plan of the pump casing, with the
impeller not illustrated.
Detailed reference will now be made to the drawings wherein
like reference numerals will identify like parts.
In Figures 1, 3 and 4 the pump casing is indicated
generally at 10. Casing 10 is a unitary casting of aluminum
magnesium, or the like, and as seen in Figure 4 is open at its
bottom.
A motor mounting plate 12 is spaced above the top 14 of
casing 10 by three spacers 16, only two of which are visible in
Figure 1. Spacers 16 are unitary with the pump casing 10, and
provide a seat for motor mount plate 12, and are also of value
during machining procedures as the casing itself is manufactured.
A motor 18 is illustrated in Figure 1, being an hydraulic motor,
is affixed to motor mounting plate 12. As will be evident to those
skilled in the art, air or electric motors may also be used, as
circumstances dictate. Projecting upwardly from motor mount plate
12 is a handle 20 which may be configured as required, again
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depending on the application to which the pump is to be put.
As seen in Figure 1, an impeller unit indicated generally
at 22 is adapted for rotation within casing 10.
Impeller 22 includes upper and lower expeller faces 24
and 26 respectively with a plurality of arc-shaped impeller vanes
28 therebetween. For simplicity of manufacture, impeller vanes 28
are unitarily cast with one of expeller faces 24 and 26, with the
second expeller face being subsequently af-fixed thereto by counter-
sunk screws as will be evident to one skilled in the art.
Both expeller faces 24 and 26 are provided with a plurality
of small triangular radially extending vanes 30 around the circum-
ferences thereof on the sides of diffuser plates 24 remote from
impeller vanes 28, triangular vanes 30 being unitary with faces 24
and 26 and vanes 30 having slightly sloped leading edges.
Referring again to Figure 1, an upper expeller plate 32
and a lower expeller plate 34 manufactured of hard steel plate, are
equal in diameter to the diameter of impeller 22, and when the pump
is assembled expeller plates 32 and 34 are closely spaced from vanes
30 of expeller faces 24 and 26 respectively, so as to provide minimum
clearance.
A pair of gaskets 36, 38 may be provided above and below
expeller plates 32, 34 respectively, so as to permit adjustment of
the spacing between the expeller plates 32, 34 and the faces 24, 26
of the impeller 22. Gaskets 36, 38 are preferably of asbestos or
other heat-resistant material so as to permit use of direct flame
in the event the pump requires thawing if frozen.
Vanes 30 provided on the faces 24, 26 of impeller 22,
in combination with the closely spaced expeller plates 32, 34, during
rotation of impeller 22 within casing 10, will build a higher centri-
fugal pressure than the pressure created by arc-shaped impeller vanes
28 which effect actual pumping of fluid, thus eliminating the need
of water seals above and below impeller 22 as required in impeller
pumps known heretofore.
A bottom plate 40, with a central aperture in axial
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alignment with impeller 22 (and motor 18) and a gasket 42, of
asbestos or the like serve to close the bottom periphery of pump
housing 10.
A protective screen 44 may be provided, for attachment
to the bottom of the pump assembly, with screen 44 having a mesh
size appropriate to the use to which the pump is to be put.
Alternatively, protective screen 44 may be removed, and
a rotating chopper indicated generally at 46 in Figure 1 be employed.
Chopper 46 is adapted to be connected to and driven by motor 18 by
upwardly projecting axial connector 47. Chopper teeth 48 projecting
upwardly around the circumference of chopper plate 40 serve to chop
debris encountered, such as construction debris, or the like.
Chopper plate 50 is provided with bottom perforations 52. When
chopper 46 is employed, a supporting base plate 54 is affixed to
plate 40 by means of bolts 56 having co-operating collar spacers 58
so that the entire pump assembly may rest on bottom plate 54 when
the pump is not otherwise suspended, as by handle 20. Pump casing
10 is provided with a projecting starting lug 60 (see Figures 1 and
4). Starting lug 60 is a unitary projection of pump casing 10,
and is provided to effect start-up of the pump, in the event the
pump becomes clogged after use and shut-down. When the motor is
running a simple blow of a hammer on lug 60 effects a sharp jerk
on the casing 10 in the opposite direction to the direction of
rotation of impeller 22, frees the impeller to rotate unaer power,
and thus eliminates the need to disassemble the protection screen
44, or remove chopper 46, for cleaning purposes.
Impeller 22 is engaged with the drive shaft of motor 18
by means of a block 61, which is secured to the face 24 of impeller
22 by means of countersunk bolts, and which is sec~red to the shaft
of motor 18 by means of set screw 62, thus permitting vertical ad-
justment of diffuser 22 relative to upper expeller plate 32 so that
minimum clearance therebetween is achieved.
In order to reduce wear at outlet 66, a diffuser finger
68, of hard steel is provided (see Figure 4). Finger 68 is provided
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to diffuse or break solid matter reaching the bottom of outlet 66
to eliminate any possibility of blockage in the outlet hose or
pipe (not illustrated).
Prototype pumps have been constructed according to the
above structure, and have operated without break-down or the need
for any servicing over a period of several months, in large drain-
age situations where fluid being pumped has been relatively polluted
with sand, gravel, and construction debris. Prototype pumps have
served in such circumstances during summer and Canadian winter
temperatures.
As has been discussed above, only the motor driving the
pump need be sealed from water in which it is submersed. The pump
itself does not require any critical bearings or seals and functions
efficiently with fluid being raised through the central aperture
provided in bottom plate 40, associated expeller plate 34 and the
central aperture in impeller 22, and is impelled centrifugally under
the urging of impeller vanes 28 around the interior or casing 10
in the direction of arrow 70 of Figure 3 to emerge under pressure
from outlet 66.
As has already been described, faces 24 and 26 of impeller
22 which are closely spaced from expeller plates 32 and 34 effect
a centrigual pressure which is higher than the pressure effected
by the impeller vanes 28, and thus create water sezls above and
below impeller 22 eliminating the requirement for mechanical seals
as is traditional in impeller pumps. Further, the outward thrust
created by the slp~ed leading edges of truncated triangular radial
vanes 30 on faces 24 and 26 of impeller 27 enhance the water seal
created thereby.
The foregoing is by way of example only and the invention
should be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.
