Pump motor housing with improved cooling means

A motor having a cooling means therefor, comprising a motor housing, the housing enclosing a motor assembly, said housing having a motor chamber portion and a cooling fluid retention portion, the motor assembly being disposed within the motor chamber portion, the cooling fluid retention portion providing a reservoir of cooling fluid for the cooling means, said housing having a wall segment substantially surrounding said motor chamber, the housing wall segment having a predetermined wall thickness defined by opposing interior and exterior surfaces thereof, said cooling means including a network of cooling passages disposed entirely within said housing wall segment and integrally formed therein between said housing wall segment opposing interior and exterior surfaces, the cooling passages axially extending for substantially the entire length of said motor chamber, said cooling passages being further divided into two groups, one of said two groups including at least one cooling lift passage which conveys cooling fluid from said coolant reservoir through said housing wall segment and the other of said two groups containing at least one cooling return passage which returns cooling fluid from said cooling lift passage to said reservoir, said reservoir having means disposed therein and operatively associated with said motor assembly for circulating said cooling fluid through said cooling passages, said cooling lift passage communicating with said reservoir at an area of high fluid pressure developed therein by said cooling fluid circulation means and said cooling return passages communicating with said reservoir at an area of low fluid pressure developed therein by said cooling fluid circulation means.

In a pump having a pump component and a motor component operatively connected to the pump component, the motor component including a motor assembly mounted for rotation within a motor chamber of a housing member, the housing member having a sidewall portion substantially surrounding the motor chamber, the sidewall portion having a predetermined thickness defined by opposing inner and outer surfaces thereof, said sidewall portion having a plurality of first and second cooling passages integrally formed entirely within said housing member and between said sidewall portion inner and outer surfaces, the first and second cooling passages longitudinally extending within said sidewall portion, said first and second cooling passages being interconnected at one end thereof, the first and second cooling passage interconnection being disposed proximate a first end of said housing member, said first and second cooling passages at their opposite ends communicating with a cooling fluid chamber disposed in said housing member proximate to a second end of said housing member, said first cooling passages further communicating with said cooling fluid chamber at a high fluid pressure region of said cooling fluid chamber, said second cooling passages further communicating with said cooling fluid chamber at a low fluid pressure region of said cooling fluid chamber, the high and low fluid pressure regions occurring during operation of said pump, said pump further including a member corotatable with said motor assembly for circulating said cooling fluid in and out of said first and second cooling passages during operation of said pump to create said high and low fluid pressure regions.

A pump motor for driving a centrifugal pump during the pumping of a fluid through a pump casing which encloses a rotatable pump impeller, the pump motor comprising:

• a motor assembly, a housing member enclosing the motor assembly, said motor assembly including a rotor portion and a stator portion, the motor rotor portion being rotatably mounted on a driveshaft extending longitudinally through a portion of the motor housing member and into a portion of said pump casing, the motor stator portion being mounted within said motor housing member such that it substantially surrounds said rotor portion, each of said motor rotor and stator portions including a plurality of electrical windings thereon, said motor housing having a first end adapted to engage the pump casing such that said motor driveshaft extends into the pump casing to rotatably engage said pump impeller in said pump casing, whereby rotation of said motor driveshaft induces a like rotation of said pump impeller in said pump casing, said motor housing member first end including a heat transfer member which is interposed between liquid pumped through said pump casing and coolant contained in a reservoir disposed in said housing member, said motor housing member further including a plurality of first and second cooling passages integrally formed entirely within said motor housing member and extending along a sidewall portion of said motor housing member, said first and second cooling passages being defined within said housing member by intervening land portions thereof and by opposing interior and exterior surfaces of the housing member sidewall portion said first cooling passages communicating, at entrance ports thereof, with high pressure regions defined in said reservoir during operation of said pump motor, said first coolant passages serving to convey coolant out of said reservoir along said motor housing member sidewall portion, said second coolant passages communicating, at exit ports thereof, with low pressure regions defined in said reservoir during operation of said pump motor, said second coolant passages serving to return coolant to said reservoir from said first coolant passages, said first and second coolant passages and said coolant reservoir defining a closed loop cooling system for said pump motor, wherein coolant is circulated through said first and second coolant passages and said coolant reservoir by means of a coolant circulation member.

In a centrifugal pump assembly having a centrifugal pump and an electrical motor assembly, the pump having a volute casing defining an internal pumping chamber which contains a rotatable pump impeller, the motor assembly including a rotor and stator enclosed in a motor housing, the motor assembly being operatively connected to the pump impeller by a driveshaft extending from within the motor housing to within said pump casing, the improvement comprising:

• said motor housing including a one-piece shell member having a plurality of longitudinal passages integrally formed within a sidewall portion thereof between opposing interior and exterior surfaces thereof, said longitudinal passages extending within said shell member between a coolant reservoir disposed proximate to one end of said shell member and an upper portion of said motor assembly disposed in said motor housing proximate to an opposite end of said motor housing member, said passages including distinct coolant lift passages and coolant return passages, the coolant reservoir including a circulation impeller operatively connected to the drive shaft, said coolant lift passages communicating with said coolant reservoir at a high coolant pressure region thereof and said coolant return passages communicating with said coolant reservoir at a low coolant pressure region thereof, said coolant reservoir high and has pressure regions being formed by rotation of the circulation impeller during operation of said motor assembly.

A closed loop cooling system for a motor operated pump in which the pump has a pump impeller rotatably mounted within a pump casing, the cooling system comprising:

• a motor assembly, a housing member surrounding the motor assembly, the housing member having a motor chamber and a coolant reservoir defined therein, said housing member having a circumferential sidewall portion, the sidewall portion having means forming a plurality of first and second passages extending proximate to said motor chamber, the coolant reservoir including means for pumping coolant first through said cooling system, the coolant circulation means creating, during operation of said pump, high and low pressure regions in said coolant reservoir, said first passages having entrance ports which communicate with said coolant reservoir at the high pressure regions thereof and said second passages having exit ports which communicate with said coolant reservoir at said low pressure regions thereof, said first and second passages being interconnected together, said housing member further including a cover member interposed between said coolant reservoir and said pump casing and defining a heat transfer surface between said housing member and said pump casing, the cover member having a vent passage extending between said pump casing and the atmosphere surrounding said housing member, whereby air accumulating in said pump casing during operation of said pump may be discharged through said vent passage.

A closed loop cooling system for a motor operated pump in which the pump has a pump impeller rotatably mounted within a pump casing, the cooling system comprising:

• a motor assembly, a housing member surrounding the motor assembly, the housing member having a motor chamber and a coolant reservoir defined therein, said housing member having a circumferential sidewall portion, the sidewall portion having means forming a plurality of first and second passages extending proximate to said motor chamber, the coolant reservoir including means for circulating coolant through said cooling system, the coolant circulation means creating, during operation of said pump, high and low pressure regions in said coolant reservoir, said first passages having entrance ports which communicate with said coolant reservoir at the high pressure regions thereof and said second passages having exit ports which communicate with said coolant reservoir at said low pressure regions thereof, said first and second passages being interconnected opposite their respective entrance and exit ports, said first and second passages being integrally formed within said housing member sidewall portion and being spaced apart by intervening land portions, said housing member including a cover plate member interposed between said housing member and said pump casing, the cover plate member including at least one extension of said second passages, said extension being integrally formed within said cover plate member.