Multiple pump housing

#This invention relates generally to fluid delivery systems, and more particularly, to housings for pumps.

#Current multiple pump systems may rely on a single drive assembly to actuate more than one pumping assemblies in a housing. Driving multiple pumping assemblies with a single drive assembly, however, may require a great deal of force and may place significant torsional loads on the pumping assemblies. To compensate, current multiple pump systems may employ a large drive assembly. They may also require large, heavy, and expensive pumping assembly parts to transmit the torque generated by the drive assembly. These larger parts increase the overall size of current multiple pump systems. This can be a serious drawback, particularly if the system is to be located within the engine compartment of an internal combustion engine driven machine, or some other tightly constricted area.

#In addition to the problems of size, weight, and cost, current single drive assembly multiple pump systems do not enable the user to vary the system's output easily. In such systems, a shaft of the pumping assembly may be directly coupled to the drive assembly shaft. With such a linkage, the amount of pumped working fluid increases and decreases with the speed of the drive assembly. However, the need for working fluid does not always directly correspond to the speed of the drive assembly. For instance, components may require working fluid before the drive assembly is started and after it has stopped. Because the drive assembly is not turning at either of these times, however, conventional systems do not supply the needed working fluid when required by the components.

#FIG. 1 is a partial cross section and partial diagrammatic view of a multiple pump housing according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure; and

#FIG. 2 is a partial cross section and partial diagrammatic view of a multiple pump housing according to another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

#FIG. 1 illustrates a pump housing 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. A first pump 12 and a second pump 16 may be located within the pump housing 10. It is understood that both the first pump 12 and the second pump 16 may be the same style pump or different style pumps. It is further understood that the pumps 12, 16 could be displacement pumps of either the reciprocating power or rotary design. It is intended that the category rotary displacement pumps include both single and multiple rotor versions of valve, piston, flexible valve, lobe, gear, gerotor, circumferential piston and screw type pumps.

#In addition, the pumps 12, 16 could be centrifugal pumps of the radial, mixed or axial flow design, or any other type of fluid delivery pumps not explicitly mentioned herein. Moreover, the housing 10 may be located in an engine compartment of a truck, tractor, bulldozer, or similar equipment, or any other motor or internal combustion engine powered machine.

#It is understood that the term “pump” as used herein includes both a drive assembly and a pumping assembly. As such, the first pump 12 includes a first drive assembly 14 and a first pumping assembly 13, and the second pump 16 includes a second drive assembly 18 and a second pumping assembly 15. The pumping assemblies 13, 15 may include all the necessary components used to deliver fluid such as gears, impellers, shafts, bearings, and other components well known in the art. For example, FIG. 1 illustrates pumping assemblies 13, 15 for two gear style pumps 12, 16. As shown in FIG. 1, each pumping assembly 13, 15 may include two gears 55, 57 and 56, 58, a driving shaft 52, 53 and a driven shaft 38, 40 for displacing working fluid. As will be discussed, each of the shafts 52, 53, 38, 40 may be rotatably mounted.