Gear pump assembly

A gear pump assembly for pumping a fluid, the gear pump assembly comprising:

• an inlet configured to receive the fluid;
• an outlet;
• a main drive shaft;
• a secondary gear stage comprising a secondary driver gear driven by the main drive shaft, a secondary driver bearing block disposed adjacent to and supporting the secondary driver gear, a secondary driven gear meshed with and driven by the secondary driver gear, and a secondary driven bearing block disposed adjacent to and supporting the secondary driven gear;
• a primary gear stage configured to pump the fluid from the inlet to the outlet, the primary gear stage comprising a primary driver gear drivably coupled to and driven by the secondary driven gear, and a primary driven gear meshed with and driven by the primary driver gear;
• a housing receiving the primary gear stage and the secondary gear stage therein, the housing comprising a binocular bore, the binocular bore comprising:
• a driver bore portion receiving the secondary driver bearing block therein;
• and
• a driven bore portion disposed adjacent to the driver bore portion and receiving the secondary driven bearing block therein;
• and
• a fluid passage extending through the housing and fluidly communicating the primary gear stage with the driver bore portion, wherein the fluid passage allows a pressurized flow of the fluid from the primary gear stage to the driver bore portion in order to limit a movement of the secondary driver bearing block within the driver bore portion.