Centrifugal pump with switched reluctance motor drive

Abstract

A centrifugal pump, particularly of the pitot tube type, is specifically configured and coupled with a switched reluctance motor to provide improved pumping characteristics and economical operating advantages in the pump assembly, including the ability to rapidly decrease pump speed (e.g., from 100% to 10%) in a matter of seconds (i.e., three to six seconds) and, likewise, to rapidly increase (e.g., zero percent to 80% or greater) in a matter seconds (i.e., five to ten seconds), despite the larger mass and inertia characteristics of some centrifugal pumps. The pump assembly of the present invention is also configured to provide a smaller footprint, thereby rendering the pump more suitable to a wider variety of applications than has been previously available to conventional pitot tube pumps. The pump assembly of the present invention is more economical to manufacture and use.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.