Orbital pump with inlet and outlet through the rotor

An orbital-type pump or the like, which comprises:

• (a) a generally cylindrical housing having a circumferential wall portion and opposing first and second transverse end walls and having therebetween an annular wall member, inwardly projecting from the circumferential wall portion,
• (b) a generally spool shaped rotor having a central portion and first and second transverse ends which include, respectively, first and second outwardly projecting annular flanges,
• said rotor being configured and disposed in the housing to have side surfaces of said first and second flanges in close proximity to corresponding first and second transverse side surfaces of the annular wall member, respectively, an inlet plenum being formed intermediate the housing first end wall and the rotor first end and first side surface, an outlet plenum being formed between the housing second end wall and the rotor second end and the second side surface, and a central chamber being formed between the inlet and outlet plenums,
• (c) a drive shaft journalled for axial rotation in the housing, at least a portion of the shaft extending to axial ends of the rotor,
• (d) connecting means for axially rotatably connecting the rotor to the drive shaft with an axial rotational axis of the rotor radially displaced from the rotational axis of the shaft to thereby cause the central portions of the rotor to orbit about the central chamber when the rotor rotates relative to the drive shaft axis,
• (e) a plurality of vanes radially slidably mounted in the rotor, said vanes dividing the central chamber into a plurality of subchambers which change volume as the rotor orbits about the drive shaft axis,
• (f) means defining a plurality of passages through the rotor communicating between the inlet and outlet plenums and the subchambers, each passage communicating with a different one of the subchambers and having an inlet end at the first rotor end and an outlet end at the second rotor end, and
• (g) flow control means associated with the drive shaft for causing closing of the inlet ends of preselected ones of the passages at first preselected rotor orbital positions and for causing closing of the outlet ends of preselected ones of the passages at second preselected rotor orbital positions.