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US 4,160,629 AGranted
Liquid immersible scroll pump
AssigneeArthur D. Little, Inc.
InventorsWilliam P. Hidden, John E. McCullough
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A liquid immersible scroll pump in which all of the pump components including electric motor drive means are contained within a housing and through which the liquid is pumped at a controlled predetermined pressure. Hydraulic pressure within the pump provides sufficient axial force on the scroll members to enhance radial sealing as well as the tangential sealing of the flanks of the scroll wraps. The pump is particularly suited for low-cost mass production and may be used as a fuel pump, either immersed in the fuel tank of an automobile or mounted outside the tank, to provide fuel under pressure through a line to the engine.
Claims53
A liquid immersible self-lubricating and self-cooling pump, comprising in combination
- (a) housing means with liquid inlet and discharge means on opposite ends thereof;
- (b) scroll pump means comprising an orbiting scroll member with an end plate and an involute wrap and a stationary scroll member with an end plate and an involute wrap, said scroll pump means being positioned within said housing to receive liquid through said inlet means into a central scroll pump zone and discharge it at a predetermined pressure into a peripheral scroll pump discharge zone, said inlet means comprising a central liquid port in said end plate of said stationary scroll member, the configuration of said central port being defined along one principal boundary by a partial tracing of the edge of said wrap of said orbiting scroll member and along another principal boundary by a line coinciding with a straight line drawn as a tangent to the generating radius of said wrap of said stationary scroll member;
- (c) driving means within said housing arranged to drive said orbiting scroll member to experience orbiting motion with respect to said stationary scroll member;
- and
- (d) coupling means to maintain a predetermined angular relationship between said scroll members;
- the flow of liquid through said scroll pump and said housing means around said driving means and into said liquid discharge means being such as to effect (1) tangential sealing between said involute wraps making moving line contact as said orbiting scroll member is driven, and (2) axial sealing to prevent radial leakage between said end plates and said involute wraps of said scroll members, whereby said scroll pump means is essentially self-sealing.
3 more elements
A liquid immersible scroll pump, comprising in combination
- (a) stationary and orbiting scroll members having, respectively, stationary and orbiting involute wraps and stationary and orbiting end plates presenting facing surfaces, said scroll members having porting means arranged to prevent the development of any appreciable pressure pulsations during pumping;
- (b) housing means defining therein a chamber in which said stationary and orbiting scroll members are located and having liquid inlet means on one end thereof and liquid discharge means on the other end thereof, said liquid inlet means serving as one part of said porting means and comprising a central liquid port in said end plate of said stationary scroll member, the configuration of said central port being defined along one principal boundary by a partial tracing of the edge of said wrap of said orbiting scroll member and along another principal boundary by a line coinciding with a straight line drawn as a tangent to the generating radius of said wrap of said stationary scroll member;
- (c) coupling means to maintain said stationary and orbiting scroll members in a predetermined angular relationship;
- and
- (d) driving means, including motor means for driving said orbiting scroll member, located within said chamber between said scroll members and said other end of said housing, whereby liquid pumped radially outward by said scroll members and through said pump flows around said driving means and maintains a predetermined hydraulic pressure within said chamber to provide axial loading on said scroll members.
2 more elements
A liquid immersible scroll pump, comprising in combination
- (a) housing means containing therein bearing housing means which divide the volume defined within said housing means into a motor chamber and a scroll pump chamber, said bearing housing means having a plurality of liquid passages providing liquid communication between said motor chamber and said scroll pump chamber;
- (b) scroll pump means located within said scroll pump chamber and comprising in combination
- (1) a stationary scroll member having a central liquid port and comprising a stationary end plate, a stationary involute wrap of one and one-half involute turns affixed to one surface of said stationary end plate, and stationary recessed liquid transfer passage means cut in said one surface of said stationary end plate;
- and
- (2) an orbiting scroll member arranged to be orbited with respect to said stationary scroll member thereby to define within said scroll pump means moving liquid pockets and comprising an orbiting end plate, an orbiting involute wrap of one and one-half involute turns affixed to one surface of said orbiting end plate, said one surface of said stationary end plate facing said one surface of said orbiting end plate, and orbiting recessed liquid transfer passage means cut in said one surface of said orbiting end plate;
- (c) coupling means to maintain said stationary and orbiting scroll members in a predetermined angular relationship;
- (d) liquid inlet means arranged to deliver liquid to be pumped into the central liquid pocket of said scroll pump means;
- (e) liquid discharge means arranged to discharge said liquid from said motor chamber under a controlled predetermined pressure;
- (f) orbiting scroll member driving means, including electric motor means, comprising a drive shaft having an axis which coincides with the axis of said pump and which extends through said bearing housing means, said drive shaft terminating in a stub shaft having an axis coincident with said drive shaft axis;
- (g) a drive yoke rotatable within said orbiting scroll member and slidably keyed to said stub shaft whereby, when said pump is running the center axis of said yoke is parallel to said drive shaft axis but spaced therefrom by a distance equal to the orbit radius of said orbiting scroll member;
- and
- (h) counterweight means affixed to said drive shaft.
9 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.