STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
Not Applicable
THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT
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INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED, INCLUDING ON A COMPACT DISC
Not Applicable
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sustainable and long lasting high volume pond pump and methods of using same. More particularly, the invention relates to a very efficient high volume, low pressure pond pump and its operation.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventional pond pumps are used for water fountains, decorative water sprays and aeration. These pond pumps draw water from the pond itself and spray it up into the air to make tall fountains and decorative spray patterns by using high volume, high pressure (HVHP) water pumps for high flow water generation. Typically, the pumps can spray something on the order of 20+ gallons per minute (GPM) at 100 plus pounds per square inch (psi). Rarely can they spray more water than that. When high flow water generation was needed, prior art motors connected to those water pumps needed to work very hard to create sufficient hydraulic horsepower, typically on the order of from ½ horse power (HP) to about 5 HP for most of these applications. Traditional radial flow impellers utilized within radial flow pumps for such applications are considered to have a good efficiency when they are only 65% efficient. Alternatively, traditional axial flow propeller pumps typically have a very low efficiency, and are therefore undesirable for these applications.
Furthermore, conventional pump motor efficiencies have been affected by mechanical drag on the motor, typically due to the use of multiple bearings. The motor uses energy to move the propeller in order to move the water, and is not used to move extra bearings or seals. Due to this extra energy requirement, the mechanical drag on these motors causes premature motor failure. Although the industry has become somewhat accustomed to this, it is not a desirable attribute. The mechanical drag is also increased by a radial or side load, and when coupled with a typical rigid mechanical attachment, extra strain is put on the motor, decreasing its useful life. It would be of a great advantage to the industry to have a low maintenance, higher efficiency pump if one could design a pump that utilized less mechanical drag.
Submersible pond pumps are intended to remain in the water, producing fountains and water sprays for a long time. Purchasers of pond pumps usually want a maintenance-free pump assembly in order to have them operate continuously. Consequently, it would be desirable to the pond maintenance industry if there was provided a longer lasting water pump, as well as the method of using it.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention discloses such a desirable fountain pump, with several advantages added to its design by the incorporation of a flexible coupler to provide longer life for the pond pump, and use of suitable bearings for stabilization, also increasing the lifespan of the pump motor. These advantages provide superior efficiencies and significantly add to the life of the pond pump, and nearly eliminate any required maintenance. Methods are also disclosed as well for how to make it and how to operate it.
A high volume pond pump is disclosed including a pump housing and a pump motor integral with the pump housing, a pump shaft mechanically in communication with the pump motor, and being put into rotational motion by the pump motor, along with at least one water thruster attached to the pump shaft. At least one bearing is located on the pump shaft, and a flexible coupler connects the pump motor to the at least one water thruster, whereby the rotational motion is dampened from vibration, thereby lengthening the life of the pump motor.
The pond pump is a preferably a submersible pump, and may further comprise a suction screen located around the motor to strain out pond water particulates that could harm the pump motor. The at least one water thruster is either an impeller or a propeller. At least one bearing type may be selected from the group consisting of sleeve bearings, thrust bearings, roller bearings, and any combination thereof. In certain aspects of the invention, the at least one bearing includes both an upper and a lower bearing for added stability. The preferred bearing type is a thrust bearing made of a ceramic material selected from the group consisting of silicon carbide, alumina, silicon nitride and any combination thereof, in order to forestall corrosion.
Rather than a rigid coupler, the present invention may use a flexible coupler to absorb vibrational motion while the pump is operating, thereby greatly increasing the lifetime of the motor. Such a flexible coupler is advantageously made of any suitable material selected from the group consisting of linear low density polyethylene, rigid polymeric materials, semi-rigid polymeric materials, polyvinyl chloride, PETG, butyrate, ABS, high impact polystyrene, styrene, polycarbonate, polypropylene, and thermoplastic elastomers, and combinations thereof.
A method of pumping pond water is disclosed, comprising providing a pond pump with a water thruster mechanism in accordance with the present invention, attaching a float to the pond pump, and floating the pond pump in a body of water, such as a pond. By providing power to the motor, the water thruster is put into motion and water is sprayed upward into the air by converting rotational motion of the pond pump into linear forces on the pond water, whereby the pond water is forced upward into the air above the water.
By practicing this method, the pond water is aerated and algae growth is stunted to a great extent. Because algae growth is encouraged in anaerobic conditions, the present method helps to prevent this favorable anaerobic situation.
Although the invention will be described by way of examples herein below for specific aspects having certain features, it must also be realized that minor modifications that do not require undo experimentation on the part of the practitioner are covered within the scope and breadth of this invention. Additional advantages and other novel features of the present invention will be set forth in the description that follows and in particular will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination or may be learned within the practice of the invention. Therefore, the invention is capable of many other different aspects and its details are capable of modifications of various aspects which will be obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art all without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Accordingly, the rest of the description will be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
For a further understanding of the nature and advantages of the expected scope and various aspects of the present invention, reference shall be made to the following detailed description, and when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like parts are given the same reference numerals, and wherein:
FIG. 1A is an environmental view of a high volume pond pump used as a floating display fountain made in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 1B is an exploded perspective view of the pond pump assembly floating display fountain of FIG. 1A;
FIG. 1C is a side perspective view of the floating display fountain of FIG. 1A without the float;
FIG. 1D is a top perspective view of the pond pump assembly of FIG. 1A without the float;
FIG. 2A illustrates a floating display fountain pond pump assembly without a float or suction screen;
FIG. 2B shows a cut-away elevational view of the floating display fountain pump assembly without a float or suction screen;
FIG. 2C shows an enlarged cut-away elevational view of the pond pump assembly;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the pond pump showing the impeller;
FIG. 4 is a cut-away elevational view of the pond pump;
FIG. 5A shows a perspective view of the pond pump;
FIG. 5B details a bottom perspective view showing the underside of the pond pump;
FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the pond pump made in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 7A is an elevational cutaway view of a single bearing axial flow design of water pump made in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 7B is a comparative elevational cutaway view of a single bearing axial flow design;
FIG. 8 is an elevational cutaway view of a dual bearing axial flow design of water pump made in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 9 is a perspective cutaway view of an axial flow high volume impeller pump; and
FIG. 10 illustrates an axial flow high volume propeller pump.
In summary, numerous benefits have been described which result from employing any or all of the concepts and the features of the various specific aspects of the present invention, or those that are within the scope of the invention. The present pump acts to more completely spray and/or aerate the pond water with a longer lifetime.
LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS UTILIZED IN THE DRAWINGS
10. Floating display fountain
11. Fountain spray out of the fountain
12. Pump discharge
13. Mount ring
14. Propeller or impeller
15. Threaded discharge end
16. Bearing
17. Motor fairing
18. Propeller shaft
19. Propeller cone
20. Pump housing
21. Shaft sleeve
22. Flexible coupler
23. Outlet housing
24. Motor
26. Float
28. Nozzle
30. Pump motor assembly
32. Suction screen
34. Cooling shroud
36. Cooling shroud handle
38. Pond
40. Pump handles
42. Flow of water
44. Mount ring inlet
46. Inlet mount flange
48. Mount ring inlet spokes
52. Threaded inlet
54. Bearing bell
56. Inlet housing
58. Motor mount
60. Inlet housing fasteners
62. Top hand grip
64. Bottom hand grip
100. Fountain pump
111. Pump discharge
114. Impeller
116. Lower bearing
118. Shaft
120. Pump housing
122. Flexible coupler
124. Motor
134. Cooling shroud
164. Top bearing
200. Axial flow high-volume impeller pump
202. Impeller lock ring
204. Impeller
206. Impeller pump upper shroud, bearing-holder
208. Impeller shaft
210. Pump sleeve bearing
212. Stationary upper thrust bearing
214. Rotating lower thrust bearing
216. Coupler
218. Pump lower shroud
220. Impeller sand slinger
222. Pump motor mount
250. Axial flow high-volume propeller pump
252. Propeller lock ring
254. Propeller
256. Propeller pump upper shroud, bearing holder
258. Pump sleeve bearing-holder
260. Propeller shaft
262. Coupler
264. Pump lower shroud
266. Propeller sand slinger
268. Pump motor mount
270. Motor
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring now to the drawings in detail, FIG. 1A is an environmental view of a motorized high volume pond pump made in accordance with the present invention, and FIG. 1A specifically illustrates one aspect of the present invention including a floating display fountain utilizing an axial flow high pressure, low volume water pond pump generally indicated by the numeral 10.
This floating display fountain pond pump 10 includes a pump discharge 12 taking in water from pond 38 and providing a fountain spray 11 which helps to aerate the pond by exposing smaller droplets of water to the air. Increased surface area of the smaller droplets encourages aeration of the water, which, in turn, discourages algae growth and stagnation due to anaerobic conditions in the pond, or whatever body of water the pond pump is being utilized. In this figure, floating display fountain 10 is attached to a float 26 which supports the fountain nozzle 28 at the surface of the water. Underwater, and while being supported from above by float 26, is a pump housing 20 which encases a prop cone 19 and a shaft sleeve 21. Water is sucked up through the water pump discharge 12 through suction screen 32 and is then forced towards the surface by the pump through nozzle 28 to form fountain spray 11. The entire assembly is easy to handle due to the pump handles 40 and the cooling shroud handle 36 attached to the bottom and top of the suction screen, respectively.
FIG. 1B is an exploded perspective view of all of the various components of the floating display fountain made in accordance with the present invention. Starting at the top, there can be seen the water fountain nozzle 28 which is a threaded device that is threaded onto a threaded mount ring 13 on top of pump discharge 12. Float 26 was shown in its environment in FIG. 1. Immediately below the float 26 is the pump motor assembly 30 which encases motor 24 in the central cavity of the pump motor assembly 30. Surrounding motor 24 is a suction screen 32 which prevents particulates from entering into pump from within the pond itself. A cooling shroud 34 is located intermediate between the motor 24 and the suction screen 32. The cooling shroud 34 has a cooling shroud handle 36 at its distal end.
FIG. 1C will recite like elements to those delineated in FIGS. 1A and 1B. This is a perspective view of the pump portion of the floating display shown in an exploded perspective view in FIG. 1B, only all the components have been constructed and are shown in their relative placements after manufacture. Again, suction screen 32 is attached to the bottom of pump housing 20, which in turn is connected to a mount ring 13. Pump handle 40 is attached to the outer perimeter of the pump housing 20, and also connects pump discharge 12 by the use of at least one nut and bolt. At the top of pump housing 12 is a threaded discharge end 15 in order to be attached to the float as shown in FIG. 1A.
FIG. 1D shows yet a different perspective of the floating display fountain 10 and shows impeller 14 centrally located on top of the pump housing 20 underneath mount ring 13. Various types of water thrusting mechanisms may be used, including water thrusters of either a propeller or an impeller. Both of these aspects will be described more fully hereinbelow. Handle 40 is shown as attached by nut and bolt to the base of the pump discharge housing. Again, suction screen 32 is underneath all of this. Either water thrusting means may be located at any point along the longitudinal axis shaft, depending upon the application.
FIG. 2A shows the complete pump motor assembly with outlet housing 23 atop the pump housing 20. Housing handles 40 are attached in between the outlet housing and the pump housing to enable an operator to easily lift and maneuver the housing. Motor 24 is shown without its other components so as to indicate the relative placement between the pump housing and the motor.
FIG. 2B is an environmental elevational view showing the present invention cut in half for a clear view of the relative placement of the components. As before, outlet housing 23 is shown attached to the pump housing 20 with handles 40 located intermediate. Motor 24 has attached to the top of it impeller 14 with a recessed area between the motor and the pump housing, to allow water to bypass the motor and be sucked upward by impeller 14. As the water is forced upward from impeller 14, through the outlet housing 23, the fountain spray is created out of the top of pump housing 23.
FIG. 2C shows an even closer cutaway view of FIG. 2B, and also includes a showing of a motor fairing 17 for covering the seal between bearing 16, impeller 14 and the top of motor 24. As discussed before, pump housing 20 has motor handles 40 secured to the top of it for ease of handling.
FIG. 3 is yet another view of impeller 14 connected to mount ring inlet spokes 48 attached to the top of a flexible coupler 22 in accordance with the present invention. A threaded inlet 52 is shown on the side of pump housing 20. Mount ring inlet 44 helps to provide a waterproof seal between handles 40 and the pump housing 23 (not shown in this figure) for housing the impeller 14.
Flexible coupler 22 is made in accordance with the present invention, and substantially alleviates much of the problems with vibration and other fatal defects in the prior art. Flexible coupling 22 takes the vertical rotational direction from the shaft and transfers it upward to spokes 48 and then consequently impeller 14, in order to provide the fountain spray and ultimately the aeration of the water. Suitable flexible couplers may be made of any flexible material, including semi-rigid rubber, polymeric or other materials capable of being submerged for lengthy time periods without any degradation whatsoever.
FIG. 4 is a side elevation cutaway view of the propeller shaft 18 with its propeller cone 19 and shaft sleeve 21 in their relative placements. As can be seen, flow of water 42 comes up through the motor fairing 17 as the impeller 14 rotates on prop shaft 18, thereby drawing water up from the bottom and spraying it out the top. Bearing 16 is used to stabilize prop shaft 18 during rotation, and is further included within bearing bell 54. Inlet housing fasteners 60 secure the inlet mount flange 46 and the motor mount 58 to the pump housing. Suitable bearings may include sleeve bearings, roller bearings, thrust bearings or any other type of bearing to stabilize the pump shaft while in operation to minimize vibration and shaking.
Suitable bearings help keep the thrust of the impeller rotor balanced so “up thrust” on the shaft will not be a problem during pump operation. Typically with conventional impeller style axial flow pumps, the impeller will have unbalanced forces in the axial direction. This causes the impeller to move up in the pump housing, eventually causing damage or de-coupling of the pump shaft. Although there are several methods and solutions to resolving up-thrust, the design of the present invention may be the most compact and evasive design as possible to reduce any negative effects of pump performance. Preferred materials include ceramics, such as silicon carbide and alumina, or any other self-lubricating material for thrust bearings in a high speed, low lubrication application.
With combined reference to FIGS. 5A and 5B, there is shown a top perspective view of the workings of the present invention, along with a bottom view to show the relative placement of various components. With like reference to elements in previous drawings, one can see that impeller 14 rides on flexible coupler 22 and is capped off by a prop cone 19, all of which is sleeved over prop shaft 18. The bearing bell 54 holds the prop shaft 18 and bearing 16 in place so that when prop shaft 18 rotates, the rotation is smooth and dampens any vibration. Top hand grip 62 is attached optionally to handles 40 to aid in the handling of the device after assembly. Further down prop shaft 18, is the mount ring inlet spokes 48 for urging the water up to by pass the impeller to create the fountain. All of this is assembled onto the inlet housing 56, which is then attached to the other components below.
FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the entire assembly, and beginning at its tip includes prop cone 19. Shaft sleeve 21 helps to secure impeller 14 onto prop shaft 18. Bearing 16 is sleeved within bearing bell 54, which is attached to the mount ring inlet 44 having mount ring inlet spokes 48 integral therewith. Flexible coupler 22 is the aspect of this invention that is providing an unexpectedly good result. Motor fairing 17 sleeves over flexible coupler 22 and is housed within inlet housing 56. An inlet mount flange 46 is secured onto handles 40, which may optionally include a top hand grip 62. Further, optionally installed would be bottom hand grips 64.
FIG. 7A illustrates a cutaway version of an optionally improved axial flow, high volume, low pressure propeller pump with an impeller 14 encased within a pump housing 20, wherein impeller 14 is rotated axially by shaft 18 extending from motor 24. Flexible coupler 22 surrounds shaft 18 to provide a flexible rotational coupling to lengthen the lifetime of the motor. Bearing 16 may be made of any suitable material, including a ceramic, a ceramic ball, a polymeric sleeve material or any appropriate elastomeric or polymeric materials. In addition, most of the assembly, including the pump shroud, the propeller, the bearing, the shaft, the coupler and the pump inlet shroud could all be made from various polymeric materials in order to provide damping, vibration prevention, and thereby elongating the life of motor 24. In the original aspect of this invention, flexible coupler 22 can be purchased from Franklin Electric Company, which can be the same manufacturer of motor 24. Franklin Electric Company is located in Fort Wayne, Ind.
FIG. 7B acts as a comparison to the second aspect of the invention illustrated in FIG. 7A, wherein the pump discharge 12 is surrounding impeller 14, which is held in place by bearing 16 onto shaft 18. Pump housing 20 encapsulates the flexible coupler 22, which helps to hold shaft 18 onto motor 24.
Looking now to FIG. 8, we now look at an elevational cutaway of yet another aspect of the present invention, which includes a dual bearing design that does not cause premature motor failure as it is utilizing an axial flow design rather than a radial flow design as is evident in traditional water generation pumps. Fountain pump, generally denoted by numeral 100, includes a pump discharge 111, not shown in this diagram, coming from a top bearing for axial flow 164 within pump housing 120. Impeller 114 is steadied by a flexible coupler 122 and lower bearing 116. Shaft 118 extends through the interior of both upper and lower bearings 164 and 116, respectively, and is coupled to the motor 124 inside the cooling shroud 134.
FIG. 9 is a perspective cut-away view of yet another aspect of the present invention illustrating an axial flow high volume impeller pump, generally denoted by numeral 200. Impeller pump 200 includes an impeller 204 held onto impeller shaft 208 by an impeller pump upper shroud 206 and impeller lock ring 202. A pump sleeve bearing 210 is held in place by impeller pump upper shroud bearing holder 206. In addition, a stationary upper thrust bearing 212 is preferably a silicon carbide holder bearing. While other materials are suitable, preferably the bearing is made of any non-corrosive material, such as silicon carbide, silicon nitride or any other suitable ceramic bearing. Ceramic bearings will not rust or corrode while being under water for long periods of time. A rotating lower thrust bearing 214 may also be utilized, and this thrust bearing may also be preferentially again made of a ceramic bearing material such as silicon carbide, silicon nitride or any other suitable bearing material. A coupler 216 is in mechanical contact with lower thrust bearing 214 and is located atop pump lower shroud 218. Underneath pump lower shroud 218 is an optional impeller sand slinger 220 immediately adjacent a pump motor mount 222 on pump motor 224. Each of these components are vertically aligned on impeller shaft 208 which extends therethrough to allow for axial flow.
FIG. 10 is a cut-away perspective view of yet another aspect of the present invention illustrating an axial flow high-volume propeller pump generally denoted by the numeral 250. Propeller 254 is the mechanical pump in this aspect, and it is mounted on a longitudinally oriented propeller shaft 260 in communication with a pump motor 270. Propeller 254 rotates axially on propeller shaft 260 to provide upward thrust by propelling fluid and converting rotational motion into linear motion. Propeller pump sleeve bearing 258 also rotates on propeller shaft 260 and includes a coupler 262 intermediate between propeller shaft 260 and motor 270. propeller 254 is rotatably secure onto propeller shaft 260 by propeller lock ring 252. between coupler 262 and motor 270 is pump lower shroud 264 and optionally a propeller sand slinger 266. propeller 254 and pump sleeve bearing 258 and coupler 262 are encased within pump upper and lower shrouds 256 and 264, respectively. Integral and terminating in pump motor mount 268 includes interior connectors for mounting onto motor 270 and stabilizing propeller shaft 260 for rotational stability.
Suitable thrust bearings come in several varieties, including thrust ball bearings, composed of ball bearings supported in a ring, appropriate for low thrust applications where there is little axial load, and cylindrical thrust roller bearings where small cylindrical rollers are arranged flat with their axes pointing to the axis of the bearing. Although cylindrical thrust roller bearings exhibit good carrying capacity and they tend to be inexpensive, they tend to wear significantly due to radial speed and friction differences, which is higher than with ball bearings. In addition, for some applications, tapered roller thrust bearings that utilize small tapered rollers arranged so that their axes all converge at a point on the axis of the bearing may be most suitable. Each of these types of thrust bearings are commercially available nationwide, and would not require undue experimentation to incorporate into the present invention.
For all the aspects of the present invention, including any of the bearings, propellers, pump shrouds, shaft, coupler, or lower pump shroud, may be made of any suitable material, including ceramics, flexible materials such as polymers and elastomers, and metallic components, as well as any other suitable material. Although the motor is shown as a motor commercially available from Franklin Electric Company of Fort Wayne, Ind., any suitable motor with a rotational shaft coupler possibility may be suitable. Further, in any of the aspects detailed above, the pumps may either be high volume, low pressure pumps, or they may be a high volume, high pressure pump, depending on how much lift and/or head the pump is designed to handle.
In summary, numerous benefits have been described which result from employing any or all of the concepts and the features of the various specific aspects of the present invention, or those that are within the scope of the invention. The flexible coupler acts to stabilize the prop shaft and the entire device so that there is longer life for the pump motor. Although the prior art teaches away from the use of a flexible coupler, the present invention was fully researched and after many attempts, the flexible coupler was determined to be successful.
The foregoing description of a preferred embodiment of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Obvious modifications or variations are possible in light of the above teachings with regards to the specific aspects. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best illustrate the principles of the invention and its practical applications to thereby enable one of ordinary skill in the art to best utilize the invention in various aspects and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims which are appended hereto.
Patent Application
20170107985
