Vane pump featuring fluid lubrication for an impeller

A vane pump for supplying an assembly with a fluid, the vane pump comprising:

• a pump housing having a first end-facing wall and a second end-facing wall which delineate a delivery chamber of the vane pump on one end-facing side each, and a circumferential wall which extends around the delivery chamber;
• an inlet for the fluid on a low-pressure side of the delivery chamber and an outlet for the fluid on a high-pressure side of the delivery chamber;
• a rotor which can be rotated about a rotational axis in the delivery chamber, and which forms a first axial gap with the first end-facing wall of the housing on a first end-facing side and a second axial gap with the second end-facing wall of the housing on the other, second end-facing side;
• multiple vanes which can be moved back and forth in guide slots of the rotor, wherein the guide slots have radially inner sub-vane regions which are connected to the high-pressure side of the delivery chamber at least when the vanes are passing through the high-pressure side, in order to apply pressure to the underside of the respective vanes;
• and
• a collecting structure which extends around the rotational axis in the first axial gap in order to collect fluid which enters the collecting structure via the first axial gap,
• wherein the collecting structure comprises one or more recesses formed on the first end-facing wall of the housing and/or the first end-facing side of the rotor, radially between the rotational axis and the sub-vane regions, and
• the first axial gap forms an outer sealing gap, radially between the sub-vane regions and the collecting structure, which continuously encircles the rotational axis without interruption.