Automotive coolant pump apparatus

Apparatus for conveying coolant around a cooling circuit of an automotive engine, characterised by combining the following features:

• the cooling circuit includes a pump impeller, which is driven in rotation, for circulating the coolant;
• the apparatus includes a set of flow-modulating vanes, the set being capable of modulating a flow of coolant, and the set being arranged in a housing for movement between a flow-reducing orientation of the vanes and a flow-boosting orientation;
• the set of vanes is capable also of being orientated to a fully-closed orientation of the vanes;
• the apparatus includes a vanes-sealing-means, of such structure as to be effective to seal the set of vanes against coolant passing therethrough in the fully-closed orientation thereof;
• the vanes-sealing-means includes:-
• respective top-sealing-surfaces and bottom-sealing-surfaces on the vanes;
• and
• a top-sealing-plate and a bottom-sealing-plate;
• the top-sealing-plate, the vanes, and the bottom-sealing-plate, lie in a stack, in which:-
• the top-sealing-surfaces of the vanes lie in sealing contact with the top-sealing-plate and the bottom-sealing-surfaces of the vanes lie in sealing contact with the bottom-sealing-plate;
• the top-sealing-plate and the bottom-sealing-plate are movable relative to the vanes, in the direction towards and away from the vanes;
• the vanes-sealing-means includes a resilience, which is effective to provide a resilient compression urging the top-sealing-surfaces of the vanes into sealing contact with the top-sealing-plate and the bottom-sealing-surfaces of the vanes into sealing contact with the bottom-sealing-plate.

Apparatus for conveying coolant around a cooling circuit of an automotive engine, characterised by the combination of the following features:

• the cooling circuit includes a pump impeller, which is driven in rotation, for circulating coolant, and includes a radiator;
• the apparatus includes a thermal-sensor, in operative association with a movable thermal-actuator;
• the operative association is such that, when the thermal-sensor detects changes in temperature of the coolant, the thermal-actuator undergoes physical movement proportionally responsively to the said temperature changes;
• the thermal-actuator is capable of moving between the following positions, corresponding to temperatures detected by the thermal-sensor, namely:
• a cold position, a warm position, and a hot position;
• the apparatus includes a set of flow-modulating vanes, which is capable of modulating the radiator-flow, the vanes being arranged in a housing for movement between a flow-reducing orientation of the vanes and a flow-boosting orientation;
• the thermal-actuator, in moving from the warm position to the hot position, moves the vanes from their flow-reducing orientation to their flow-boosting orientation;
• in the cold position of the thermal-actuator, the bypass-port-blocker lies in an open position, enabling flow through the bypass port;
• and
• the thermal-actuator, in moving from the cold position to the hot position, moves the bypass-port-blocker to close the bypass port;
• some components of the apparatus comprise a pre-assembly module, including the vanes, the vane-spindles, the resilient-means, a bottom-mounting-plate, and a retainer;
• the pre-assembly module is characterised in that:-
• the vane-spindles lie with their axes parallel to each other;
• the vane-spindles are mounted in the mounting-plate in such manner that the mounting plate constrains the vane-spindles against lateral movement of the vane-spindles, yet the vanes can pivot about the vane-spindles relative to the mounting-plate;
• the retainer is so structured as to retain the vanes from separating from the mounting-plate.

Apparatus for conveying coolant around a cooling circuit of an automotive engine, characterised by the combination of the following features:

• the cooling circuit includes a pump impeller, which is driven in rotation, for circulating coolant, and includes a radiator;
• the apparatus includes a thermal-sensor, in operative association with a movable thermal-actuator;
• the operative association is such that, when the thermal-sensor detects changes in temperature of the coolant, the thermal-actuator undergoes physical movement proportionally responsively to the said temperature changes;
• the thermal-actuator is capable of moving between the following positions, corresponding to temperatures detected by the thermal-sensor, namely:
• a cold position, a warm position, and a hot position;
• the apparatus includes a set of flow-modulating vanes, which is capable of modulating the radiator-flow, the vanes being arranged in a housing for movement between a flow-reducing orientation of the vanes and a flow-boosting orientation;
• the thermal-actuator, in moving from the warm position to the hot position, moves the vanes from their flow-reducing orientation to their flow-boosting orientation;
• the cooling circuit includes a radiator-circuit for conveying a radiator-flow of coolant, being a flow that passes through the radiator, and through a radiator-port;
• the radiator-port is of such configuration that coolant entering the vanes divides into two flows, one entering vanes on the left side and the other flow entering vanes on the right;
• the vanes are shaped with a substantially symmetrical semi-circular entry profile;
• the vanes are pitched such that, at least approximately, the spaces between the vanes are equal to the thicknesses of the vanes, when measured on the circle that includes the thickest part of the vanes;
• the vanes are profiled such that, at least at the flow-boosting orientation, the spaces between the vanes progressively and gradually narrows as the radius becomes smaller.