The present invention relates generally to pumps and, more particularly, to a magnetic drive, seal-less, axial air and water pump.
Typical water pumps incorporate what is referred to as a “wet end” with an electric motor to produce water flow. The wet end consists of a centrifugal rotor contained within a plastic housing that diverts the water away from the rotor as it pumps outward from a linear feed flow to a centrifugal flow. The rotor is generally attached to the shaft of the motor, and the shaft is isolated from contact with the water within the pump by a compression wear seal that both seals the water inside the pump from leaking out of the pump, and provides a barrier to the water from reaching the shaft of the motor. In existing swimming pool and spa pump, the integrity of this seal may be compromised, requiring replacement or maintenance. Even if the seal does not fail outright and cause significant leakage through the seal, small leaks can form at the dynamic compression interface which, in turn, allows water to run down the shaft of the motor to the motor bearings. This can cause corrosion, which may be enhanced by the pool or spa chemicals, which can lead to motor failure. This type of leakage costs the pool and spa industries a lot of money in warranty service calls and pump replacements.
Attempts have been made to eliminate these seals by attaching magnets to the shaft of the motor, and attaching magnets to the inside of a hollow shaft attached to the rotor. A sealed housing is placed between the two magnets, and the magnetic coupling between the two magnets cause the rotor to turn and pump water when the motor is activated. There are several issues with this type of design, however. For example, the pump is still a less efficient centrifugal type rotor arrangement, which requires significant torque to drive it effectively. Moreover, the surface area necessary for the magnetic coupling to turn the rotor is limited by the relatively small motor shaft diameters and the limits of how big the internal housing arrangement can be made to couple to the rotor. Ultimately, such design results in low transmitted torque values and, accordingly, underperformance in that they do not pump enough water nor produce enough pressure.
Further solutions have involved the use of bigger motors, shafts and housings, the cost of which is typically too much to make them competitive with smaller, more powerful direct drive pumps with compression seals.
In view of the above, there is a need for a seal-less water pump that rivals existing direct drive, seal-containing pumps in terms of performance and cost.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a pump.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a magnetic drive, seal-less, axial air and water pump.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a magnetic drive, seal-less, axial air and water pump that rivals existing direct drive, seal-containing pumps in terms of performance and cost.
These and other objects are achieved by the present invention.
In an embodiment, a magnetic drive, seal-less combination axial air and water pump includes a housing having an inlet and an outlet at least one impeller mounted for rotation within the housing, and a magnetic drive surrounding the first rotor and the second rotor, the magnetic drive being configured to transmit torque to the first rotor and a second rotor at a location radially spaced from a central axis of the first rotor and the second rotor.
In another embodiment, a method of pumping a fluid includes the steps of arranging at least one rotor interior to a pump housing, surrounding the at least one rotor with a magnetic drive assembly, the magnetic drive assembly including a generally cylindrical inner array of magnets encompassing the at least one rotor and a generally cylindrical outer array of magnets surrounding the inner array, coupling an inlet of the housing to a source of fluid, and transmitting torque to the at least one rotor at a location radially spaced from a longitudinal axis of the at least one rotor.
In yet another embodiment, a magnetic drive, seal-less, axial pump includes a generally cylindrical housing having an inlet and an outlet, at least one impeller mounted for rotation within the housing, and a magnetic drive surrounding the first rotor and the second rotor, the magnetic drive being configured to transmit torque to an outer portion of the at least impeller at a location spaced radially from a longitudinal axis of the housing for rotating the impeller. The magnetic drive includes an inner magnetic array positioned interior to the housing and a outer magnetic array positioned exterior to the wall of the housing.
The present invention will be better understood from reading the following description of non-limiting embodiments, with reference to the attached drawings, wherein below:
Referring to
As best illustrated in
In operation, the external magnetic drive mechanism that surrounds the rotors transmits torque to the outside of the rotors, rather than to the center-line shaft of the rotor, thus allowing for the generation of much higher transmitted torques than has heretofore been possible. This arrangement of the magnets in an external array allows for the placement of many more coupling magnets about an order of magnitude more coupling area than can be achieved by the prior art. This increase in coupling area results in significantly more torque transmitted to the rotors and allows for higher outputs and more pressure for the pump.
Although this external coupling mechanism can be utilized to power standard centrifugal pumps, it allows for much a more efficient straight through linear pump design such as that described herein. Using a hollow core electric motor to power the external magnetic coupling mechanism allows for the provision of a straight-through linear pumping system. The pump 10 of the present invention is much more energy efficient than centrifugal pumps and needs far less toque to run it efficiently. This fact, coupled with the enhanced torque produced by the external magnetic coupling mechanism, allows the pump of the present invention to far outperform any magnet-driven pumps of similar size.
In addition to the above, the pump 10 of the present invention allows for a completely seal-less pumping system for use in swimming pools, spas, and other applications where seal leakage can lead to failure of the pumps. Because the pump is linear, multiple rotors can be easily incorporated into the design to produce higher and more efficient outputs. In addition to multiple rotors for pumping water, turbo rotors for pumping air can also be incorporated to form a very efficient air pump. Moreover, in addition to air and water pumps, multiple mixed rotors can be added to the same shaft so that the linear pump is capable of pumping either water or air, or a combination of both.
For example, in an embodiment, a combination rotor 40 having a water rotor 22 and an air rotor 24 may be utilized within the pump 10 for pumping both air and water, as illustrated in
Alternatively, a double air rotor 50 having dual air rotors 24, as shown in
As indicated above, the present invention therefore allows for the production of a high torque, magnetic drive unit for swimming pool and spa pumps. The linear drive, linear flow-through pump of the present invention is capable of pumping both air and water, or a combination of the two, which provides a level of versatility heretofore not seen in the art. As discussed above, this obviates the need to utilize two separate pumps for air and water. Moreover, the pump, when coupled with a hollow core electric motor, provides a compact and simplified pumping system that is energy efficient, easily scalable to higher outputs, and can be used to pump both liquid and air.
As further discussed above, the pump 10 of the present invention does not utilize seals, which allows if to be used not only for the pumping of water and air over a very long life, but also for other applications such as the pumping of corrosive liquids of any kind. Indeed, while the present invention has been described herein as being utilized to pump air and water, the present invention is not intended to be limited in this regard. In particular, because there are no seals, the pump may be utilized to pump any fluid, including corrosive liquids. In stainless steel configurations, the pump 10 may be utilized as an emulsifying pumping system for the food and chemical industries.
It is also contemplated that the pump may be manufactured in a variety of geometries to suit any specific application, such as long and skinny, short and wide, etc.
In yet another embodiment, the pump 10 may utilize the magnetic stator of an induction motor to produce the rotating magnetic driving field like that in an induction motor. In particular, in an embodiment this rotating field is coupled to rotating magnets similar to the inner and outer magnetic arrays described above that provide the poles to be drive by the stator. This spins the rotors within the pump housing just as if it were a motor winding, but it is all sealed in the housing, as discussed above.
Although this invention has been shown and described with respect to the detailed embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those of skill in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiments disclosed in the above detailed description, but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of this disclosure.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/201,367, filed on Aug. 5, 2015, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
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62201367 | Aug 2015 | US |