Impeller and fluid pump
AssigneeTI Group Automotive Systems, L.L.C.
InventorEdward J. Talaski
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A fluid pump may include an electric motor having an output shaft driven for rotation about an axis and a pump assembly coupled to the output shaft. The pump assembly has a first cap and a second cap with at least one pumping channel defined between the first and second caps, and an impeller between the first and second caps. The impeller is driven for rotation by the output shaft of the motor and includes a plurality of vanes in communication with the at least one pumping channel. Each vane has a root segment and a tip segment and a line from a base of the root segment to an outer edge of the tip segment trails a line extending from the axis of rotation to the base of the root segment by an angle of between 0° and 30° relative to the direction of rotation of the impeller.
Claims29
A fluid pump, comprising:
- an electric motor having an output shaft driven for rotation about an axis;
- a pump assembly coupled to the output shaft of the motor and having:
- a first cap and a second cap with at least one pumping channel defined between the first cap and the second cap, and
- an impeller received between the first cap and the second cap, wherein the impeller is driven for rotation by the output shaft of the motor and the impeller includes a plurality of vanes in communication with said at least one pumping channel, each vane has a root segment and a tip segment and a line from a base of the root segment to an outer edge of the tip segment trails a line extending from the axis of rotation to the base of the root segment by an angle of between 0° and 30° relative to the direction of rotation of the impeller.
An impeller for a fluid pump, comprising:
- a hub having an opening adapted to receive a shaft that drives the impeller for rotation, a mid-hoop spaced radially from the hub and an outer hoop spaced radially from the mid-hoop;
- an inner array of vanes located radially outwardly of the hub and inwardly of the mid-hoop;
- and
- an outer array of vanes located radially outwardly of the mid-hoop, wherein each vane in the inner array and the outer array has a leading face and a trailing face spaced circumferentially behind the leading face relative to the intended direction of rotation of the impeller, each vane has a root segment and a tip segment extending generally radially outwardly from the root segment, and each vane is oriented so that a line from a base of the root segment to an outer edge of the tip segment trails a line extending from the axis of rotation to the base of the root segment by an angle of between 0° and 30°, relative to the direction of rotation of the impeller.
A method of making an impeller, comprising:
- forming an impeller having a plurality of vanes and adapted to be rotated about an axis,
- forming a body that defines a radially outer sidewall of an impeller cavity in which the impeller rotates;
- and
- machining an axial face of the impeller and the body while the impeller is disposed radially inwardly of the sidewall to provide a similar axial thickness of both the sidewall and impeller.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.