Coolant circulation pump having thermal control of sub-circuits

A coolant pumping apparatus, wherein:

• the apparatus is structured for pumping liquid coolant through a coolant circulation system;
• the apparatus includes a fixed housing, a rotary impeller having blades, and a rotary impeller-driver for rotating the impeller;
• the apparatus includes a pump-outlet conduit, for gathering coolant emerging from the impeller, and for conveying same out of the apparatus and through the system;
• the apparatus includes an operable flow-swirl-modulator;
• the apparatus includes a modulator-entry chamber and a modulator-impeller chamber;
• the modulator-entry chamber is structured to receive coolant circulating in a main-circuit of the system, and to convey same to the flow-swirl-modulator;
• the modulator-impeller chamber is structured to receive a main-impeller-flow of coolant emerging from the modulator and to convey same into the blades of the impeller;
• the apparatus is so structured that the flow-swirl-modulator imparts a rotary-swirl motion, being an angular-velocity vector-component, to the main-impeller-flow of coolant in the modulator-impeller chamber;
• the flow-swirl-modulator has the capability, upon being operated in a modulator-orientation mode of movement, to change the magnitude and the rotational sense of the angular-velocity vector-component;
• the apparatus includes respective sub-entry-chambers for receiving coolant flow circulating in plural sub-circuits of the system, being sub-entry-chamber-A in respect of sub-circuit-A, sub-entry-chamber-B in respect of sub-circuit-B, and so on;
• the apparatus includes a subs-impeller-chamber, which is structured to receive coolant flow emerging from the sub-entry-chambers, and to convey same into the blades of the impeller;
• in respect of sub-circuit-A:
• (a) the apparatus includes a flow-blocker-A, which separates the sub-entry-chamber-A from the sub-impeller chamber;
• (b) the flow-blocker-A is movable in an open/close mode of movement, between a blocker-open position and a blocker-closed position;
• (c) when moved to the blocker-open position, the flow-blocker-A is so positioned as to enable a sub-flow-A of coolant through the flow-blocker-A, from the sub-entry-chamber-A to the subs-impeller chamber;
• (d) when moved to the blocker-closed position, the flow-blocker-A is so positioned as to block coolant flow from the sub-entry-chamber-A to the subs-impeller chamber;
• in respect of sub-circuit-B:
• (a) the apparatus includes a flow-blocker-B, which separates the sub-entry-chamber-B from the sub-impeller chamber;
• (b) the flow-blocker-B is movable in an open/close mode of movement, between a blocker-open position and a blocker-closed position;
• (c) when moved to the blocker-open position, the flow-blocker-B is so positioned as to enable a sub-flow-B of coolant through the flow-blocker-B, from the sub-entry-chamber-B to the subs-impeller chamber;
• (d) when moved to the blocker-closed position, the flow-blocker-B is so positioned as to block coolant flow from the sub-entry-chamber-B to the subs-impeller chamber;
• the apparatus includes a thermal-unit, which includes:
• (a) a temperature-sensor;
• (b) a movable-element, which is movable responsively to changes in temperature as sensed by the temperature-sensor;
• (c) a modulator-driver, which is structured to convert movement of the movable-element into corresponding operation of the flow-swirl modulator, in the modulator-orientation mode of movement;
• (d) a blocker-driver, which is structured to convert movement of the movable-element into corresponding movement of the flow-blocker-A in the open/close mode of movement, and of the flowblocker-B in the open/close mode of movement.