Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
PU~P ~ ?
Field of the Invention
This invention is generally directed to centrifugal pumps
having rotatably driven impellers mounted within a housing so as
to create a fluid flow through such housing between an inlet and
an outlet therein. More particularly, the invention provides a
centrifugal pump which includes an impeller that couples an
engine to a drive shaft and is rotatably disposed within the
housing. Opposing`fluid inlets are created between the sides of
the housing and the drive shaft from which fluids are directed
to a fluid outlet also formed in the housing. There is
additionally provided a pump, such as a bilge pump, which
operates from remote areas.
Background of the Invention
U.S. Pat. No. 4,688,987 to Ericson et al discloses a
centrifugal pump having a split impeller which is mounted
directly to an existing drive shaft. The inn~r surfaces of the
hub portions of the split impeller are knurled or otherwise
provided with ridges as to bite or lock the hub against the drive
shaft when the two portions of the impeller are joined together.
This prior centrifugal pump is particularly adapted for use
in the engine compartmPnt or hull of a marine vessel wherein the
impellers is attached for rotation with the drive shaft, such as
a propeller drive shaft, and wherein the pump housing is mounted
so as to be in a surrounding and spaced relationship to the
impeller blades and drive shaft. The impeller is freely
rotatable in order to pump fumes or fluids through annular intake
openings between the drive shaft and pump housing and deliver the
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same through an outlet formed in the pump housing.
It is an object of this invention to provide a self priming
centrifugal pumping apparatus which couples an engine and a drive
shaft in an environment wherein hazardous gases or fumes may be
encountered and wherein the pump is structured so that the gas
or fluid impeller is not journaled or directly mounted to the
pump housing. In this manner, no heat is generated during the
rotation of the impeller by friction between the impeller and the
housing as is the case in a pump in which the impeller is
directly carried by the pump housing.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a
centrifugal pump apparatus which is coupled between the engine
and the drive shaft to provide a pumping apparatus which does not
require the lubrication and maintenance associated with
conventional centrifugal pumps.
It is another object of the invention to provide an improved
self priming pump for removing liquid from a vessel or container
that is operated from nearby or remote areas.
Summar~ of the Invention
According to the present inv ntion there is provided a self
priming centrifugal pump apparatus for use in an atmosphere
subjsct to the build-up of hazardous gases or other fluids.
The apparatus comprises a drive shaft, an engine or motor
for driving said drive shaft, a housing having front and rear
walls, a peripheral side walls and, fluid inlet openings which
surround the power source and provides equal pressure from both
sides on an impeller~ Mounting means is provided for securing
the housing so as to be in a fixed, spaced and non-contacting
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relationship around the drive shaft. An impeller means which is
sloped on two sides forms a coupling of the motor with the drive
shaft within and in spaced relationship with the housing. The
slope expedites movement of the liquid outward to the vanes.
Accordingly, the impeller and housing cooperate to discharge
hazardous fluids in response to the rotation of the drive shaft
without any substantial generation of heat due to friction.
According to one embodiment of the invention, the housing
comprises front, rear and side wall portions at least, a pair of
opposing fluid inlet openings in said front and rear walls of
said housing providing equal pressure from both sides on the
impeller means, each og said fluid inlet openings being of a
greater dimension than said first cross sectional dimension of
the drive shaft. The housing is provided with at least two
sections which are divided along lines which intersect with the
fluid inlet openings. Means is provided for selectively uniting
the sections so as to enclose a portion of the length of the
drive shaft therebetween and through each of the fluid inlet
openings.
The drive shaft according to this embodiment extends
through fluid inlet openings in spaced non-contacting
relationship to the housing so that fluids entering the housing
under equal pressure, passes around the drive shaft, along the
sloped impeller to the impeller blades that propel the fluid
outlet opening.
Preferably, the discharge opening is formed in the side wall
of the housing and includes a nozzle means for creating a channel
which extends outwardly of the housing generally tangentially
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with respect to the side wall portions.
Accordingly, to another embodiment, the housing defines a
generally cylindrical chamber and the blade means of the impeller
means substantially extends between the front and rear walls of
the housing and outwardly into proximate relationship with the
side wall portions thereof. The walls o~ the housing include
portions extending outwardly beyond the walls, with spacer means
extending from the outwardly extending portions of the rear walls
so as to space the housing from adjacent walls of the enclosure.
The sloped impeller is formed within the housing by the
coupling of the motor to the drive shaft. The impeller may be
formed by the coupling of the motor to the drive shaft or it can
be in the form of a blade means which couples to the motor and
to the drive shaft.
The pump may be used by itself to carry a liquid from a
vessel or container or ¢an be used in comhination with the drive
shaft of a propeller for a boat to remove fumes.
According to another embodimenk of the invention, there is
provided a fluid immersible self priming discharge pump for
removing a fluid such as water from a container or vessel. The
discharge pump comprises a hydraulic motor, a housing associated
with the motor having at least two opposing fluid inlet openings
which create substantially equal pressure on opposing sides of
the impeller. A drive shaft is within the housing and
operatively connected for rotation by the motor. An impeller
means is associated with the drive shaft and rotatable within the
housing so as to draw fluid under equal pressure into the housing
through the inlet openings and pass it along the sloped surface
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so as to discharge the fluid through the outlet openings by means
of the impeller blades. A hose or nozzle is associated with the
outlet opening to carry the discharge fluid away. The means for
activating the motor can be in the form of a hydraulic pump which
is lo~-ated at a separate area, ~or example, outside of the vessel
or container or on another boat.
Brief Descri~ion of The Drawinqs
Fig. 1 illustrate the mounting of the pump of the invention
with the propeller drive shaft and transom of an inboard motor;
Fig. 2 is an enlarged front plan view of the pump housing
taken along lines 2-2 of Fig 1;
Fig. 3 is a side view of the sloped impeller taken along
lines 3-3 of Fig. 2;
Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 4-4 of
Fig 3, and
Fig. 5 illustrates the pump oP the invention with a
hydraulic motor and a fluid removal hose.
Description of the Preferred Embodiment
A more complete understanding of the invention will be had
by referring to the followinq description and claims of a
preferred embodiment, taken in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings, wherein like reference members refer to similar parts
throughout the several views.
With continued reference to the drawings, the centrifugal
pump 10 of the present invention is shown as it is mounted in
relationship to a propeller drive shaft 14 within the hull of an
inboard motorboat 10. The drive shaft 14 is shown in Fig. 1 as
extending from the propeller 20 though a transom, to the motor
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or engine 18. A suitable bearing or stuffing box 22,22' is
mounted so as to rotatably support the drive shaft 14 and pump
12. It should be noted that although the centrifugal pump 12 is
being described for use with the propeller drive shaft of a
conventional inboard motorboat 10, the pump 12 could be used in
other environments. In addition, although only a single pump 12
is shown in the preferred embodiment, there may be occasions when
two or more pumps would be used in the same environment such as
a boat having twin screws driven by a pair parallel drive shafts.
As shown in Figs 2 and 3, the pump 12 is essentially
constructed of an impeller 38, comprising a bladed member 38A
which forms a coupling with the end coupler 16A of the engine 18
and the end coupler 38 of the drive shaft 14, and a housing 28.
The pump housing 28 can be integral or split and composed of
upper and lower sections, a circular or semicircular sidewall,
a front wall and generally rectangular rear wall as found in U.S.
Pat. No. 4,688,987. Openings 26, 26' are provided in the upper
corners of the rear wall of the upper section and through the
lower corners of the rear wall of the lower section through which
mounting bolts 34 may be selectively extended.
In order to create the desired suction and discharge at the
inlet and discharge areas 23 of the housing, the impeller blades
32 are constructed to substantially extend outwardly to a point
in close proximity with the inner surfaces of the sidewalls.
Additionally, the width of the blades 32 is substantially equal
to but ~lightly less than the distance between the front and rear
walls. The desi~n of the impeller 38 and pump housing 28 is such
that upon rotation of the drive shaft 14~ the impeller 38 will
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simultaneously be rotated to thereby draw air, fumes, liquids or
other fluids inwardly through the opposing inlets 26, 26'.
Thereafter, the fluids more along the sloped surface of the
impeller 38 and are discharged under pressure through the
passageway in the outlet nozzle 23 and through the exhaust hose
24 or similar conduit to a point remote from the pump.
When the engine is activated to rotate the drive shaft, the
impeller rotates within the pump housing thereby drawing fluids
including liquids and gases through the inlet ports and
thereafter discharging the fluids under pressure through the
outlet nozzle.
Therefore, the centrifugal pump of the present invention will
automatically function to discharge any hazardous gaseous or
fluid buildup or generated due to friction and thus the pump is
safe for use in environments where ignitable or combustible
fluids or gasss are encountered.
Although the impeller member 38A is hown in Fig. 3 as being
a separate and single intermediate bladed member 38A having a
series of steps 31 which are in mating engagement with the end
member 14A of the drive shaft 14 on one side and the steps 31A
of the end member 16A of the shaft 16 of the engine 18, the
bladed impeller member 38A can also be integral with either end
member 14A or end member 16A. Therefore, there can be a coupling
to both sides of the impeller 38 within the housing or one side.
Fig. 4 shows the sloped coupled impeller 38 which is held
together by bolts 34 or any other fastening member. The slope
expedites movement of the liquid from the center of the impeller
to the blades 32 where it is rapidly discharged through the
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outlet. A 30 to ~5 slope on the impeller 38 is generally
suitable for moving the liquid to the blades 32.
In Fig. 5 there is illustrated a fluid immersible pump 60
which can be used as a bilge pump that can be operated from a
remove area, for example, another boat which provides a source
of power. Pump 60 comprises a pump housing 61 in which an
impeller 67 is mounted for rotation by a drive shaft 67. The
drive shaft 68 is operatively connected to a hydraulic motor 62
that it is operated by a hydraulic pump (not shown) through
hydraulic lines 65,65'.
The housing 61 is provided with two or more fluid intake
openings 63, 63' and a discharge opening 71 to which there is
attached a discharge hose or nozzle 64. The water enters so that
there is equal pressure from both sides on the impeller 67
whereby the pump is self priming.
Similar to the housing shown in Fig. 3, the housing
comprises front, rear and side wall portions. Fluid openings 63'
are provided on one side of the impeller 67 and a fluid opening
63 is provided on the other side of the impeller 67 so as to
create equal pressure and to be self priming.
The discharge opening 71 can be tangential as shown in Fig.
2, but advantageously it is horizontally aligned with the
impeller 67 as seen in Fig. 5. Optionally, the housing 61 may
have a stand such as foot 70 and 70'. Also, the interior of the
housing 61 may contain a screen 72 to prevent intake of large
objects whi~h may damage the impeller 67. Also, optionally, a
knife assembly 69 may be mounted on the drive shaft 63 to shred
or break large particles or unwanted obstructions which are drawn
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into the pump 60~
In operation, the motor 62 rotates the impeller 67 which
draws a fluid, for example, water, through the inlets 63, 63' and
into pump 60 that it is carried outwardly along the sloped
impeller surface and propelled by the impeller blades through the
discharge hose 64. The hydraulic lines 65 and 65' may be
connected to a hydraulic pump on a vessel which is remote from
the area of operation.
The construction of the impeller of the bilge pump may be
in accordance with the impeller shown in Fig. 1 or as described
in the aforementioned patent No. 4,688,987, which is herein
incorporated by reference.
A typical pump having a water discharge capacity to 15
gallons per second is provided with an 8 inch impeller having a
30 slope, a housing with a diameter of about 10~ inches, a width
of about 3~ inches. The NPT discharge is about 3 inches and the
solid handling capacity is to about 7/~ inch. No seals are
required.
In the larger sized remote pumps where there is a discharge
opening of about 10 inches and an intake opening of about 10
inches, the sloped impeller is a~out 26 inches in diameter and
is provided with impeller blades or paddles of about 5 inches in
width.
As a result of the slope there is a greater volume of fluid
at the end of the impeller blades to be dischargedO The sloped
impeller also causes a reduction in unusable vacumm and increase
blade strength.
The pump of the invention does not require great precision
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in manufacture therefore it can be formed from metals such as
aluminum, bronæe, etc., or rigid plastics such as RYTON.
Although the ~oregoing invention has been described in some
detail by way of illustration and example for purposes of clarity
of understanding, it will be obvious that certain changes and
modifications may be practiced within the scope of the appended
claims.
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