Patent Application
20230313800
This disclosure is generally directed to pumps. More specifically, it relates to a multifunctional pump assembly having an integrated valve that facilitates fluid flow from the pump assembly at different flowrates.
Pumps are known and commonly used to move fluids, such as coolant in a vehicle. Vehicles include cooling circuits for cooling heat-generating components of a vehicle, such as for example a vehicle's battery bank (in electric and hybrid vehicles) and a vehicle's powertrain (e.g., antifreeze for combustion engine cooling). Currently known pumps are used to circulate coolant fluids between the heat-generating components and heat dissipating devices of a vehicle such as a radiator or heat exchanger. Normal use needs of a vehicle typically require a pump to furnish a low flowrate to meet a cooling power demand to meet normal driving or mild environmental conditions. However, in certain operating conditions such as in performance driving, pulling a heavy trailer up a steep incline or during extreme environmental conditions a higher flowrate of cooling fluid must be furnished to properly cool the vehicles heat-generating components. Cooling circuit pumps are most efficient at one point for speed, flowrate, and head pressure. To meet different cooling demand conditions pumps are run at a various speeds. When flowrate needs are low pumps are run slower, with ineffective pressure, and when flowrate needs are higher pumps are run faster, with inefficient use of energy. Therefore, the cooling circuit pumps in the vehicle to meet the cooling needs for all driving and environmental conditions are ineffectively sized and operate often with a relatively high inefficient use of energy.
This disclosure relates to a multifunctional pump assembly having an integrated valve that facilitates fluid flow from the pump assembly at different flowrates.
In a first embodiment a pump assembly is disclosed comprising a pump body having a first pump stage housed in the pump body. The first pump stage including a fluid inlet and a first and a second fluid outlet. A flow feed chamber is housed in the pump body in fluid communication with the second fluid outlet. A second pump stage housed in the pump body is in fluid communication with the flow feed chamber and has at least one fluid outlet connected to the second pump stage. A valve assembly is operable into a first position to fluidically connect the fluid inlet through the first pump stage to the first fluid outlet. The valve assembly is further operable into a second position to fluidically connect the first pump stage to the second fluid outlet and the flow feed chamber and the flow feed chamber fluidically connected to the at least one fluid outlet through the second pump stage.
In a second embodiment a method for pumping fluid at a first and a second flowrate is disclosed. The method comprising moving a valve assembly into a first position to fluidically connect a fluid inlet and a fluid source to a first pump stage. The first pump stage having a first and a second fluid outlet. The valve assembly first position fluidically disconnecting the first pump stage from the second fluid outlet and fluidically connecting the first fluid outlet to the first pump stage, wherein the first pump stage pumps fluid from the fluid source to the first fluid outlet at the first flowrate. The method further includes moving the valve assembly into a second position fluidically disconnecting the first pump stage from the first fluid outlet and fluidically connecting the first pump stage to the second fluid outlet and to a flow feed chamber, wherein the first pump stage pumps the fluid from the fluid source into the flow feed chamber at the first flowrate. The method additionally includes receiving by a second pump stage the fluid in the flow feed chamber, the second pump stage boosting the fluid from the flow feed chamber to at least one fluid outlet at the second flowrate.
Other technical features may be readily apparent to one skilled in the art from the following figures, descriptions, and claims.
For a more complete understanding of this disclosure, reference is now made to the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
The figures, discussed below, and the various embodiments used to describe the principles of the present invention in this patent document are by way of illustration only and should not be construed in any way to limit the scope of the invention. Those skilled in the art will understand that the principles of the invention may be implemented in any type of suitably arranged device or system.
An example assembly provides a multifunctional pump for a vehicle cooling circuit, which can shift between a low flow demand flowrate and a boosted high flow demand flowrate. The multifunctional pump assembly comprises a pump body, an electric motor, a rotating motor shaft, a first pump stage and impeller, and a second pump stage and impeller. A fluid inlet and first, second and third fluid outlets are disposed about the pump body. The first pump stage impeller and the second pump stage impeller are located on either side of a flow feed chamber connected to the second fluid outlet. The first pump stage impeller and the second stage pump impeller are connected to the motor shaft and rotated by the motor. The fluid inlet is in fluid communication with the first pump stage and the first and second fluid outlets. The second pump stage is in fluid communication with the flow feed chamber and the third fluid outlet. An actuator operates a valve assembly into a first position that blocks the second fluid outlet. Fluid from the fluid inlet is directed from the impeller of the first pump stage out of the first fluid outlet at the normal first flowrate. Operating the actuator into a second position sets the valve assembly to block fluid flow to the first fluid outlet diverting the fluid at the normal first flowrate to the second outlet and into the flow feed chamber. The impeller of the second pump stage receives the fluid at the first low flow demand rate from the fluid feed chamber boosting the fluid into the second high flow demand rate and out of the third fluid outlet.
The second pump stage 7 is also formed cylindrically and comprises a peripheral exterior wall 33 extending coaxially from exterior wall 32 of the first pump stage 6. Wall 33 surrounds a cylindrical second stage impeller cavity 51 and a cylindrical flow feed chamber 35. As is best seen in
The first impeller cavity 50 of the first pump stage 6 is arranged to house therein a first stage impeller 16 having a plurality of vanes mounted between a front vane plate 161 and a rear vane plate 162. The rear vane plate 162 is arranged to be mounted within a recess 58 of thimble 55. The recess 58 acting as a bearing surface for the impeller 16. A motor shaft 12 of a pump motor 10 extends through the flow feed chamber 35 into an opening 59 through thimble 55 and attached to impeller 16 in any known convenient manner.
The second impeller cavity 51 of the second pump stage 7 is arranged to house therein an impeller 17 having a plurality of vanes mounted between a first vane plate 171 and a rear vane plate 172. The rear vane plate 172 is arranged to be mounted within a recess 61 of a pump motor mounting plate 13. The recess 61 acting as a bearing surface for the impeller 17. The motor shaft 12 extends through a pump motor mounting plate 13 and into the flow feed chamber 35 to first stage impeller 16 of the first pump stage 6. The motor shaft 12 is attached to impeller 17 in any convenient known manner. The impeller 17 is configured to be rotatable within the second impeller cavity 51 of the second pump stage 7 driven by the pump motor 10. Since both impellers 16 and 17 are attached to the same motor shaft 12 they are both driven at the same rotational speed by the pump motor 10.
The pump motor section 2 includes a cylindrical motor housing 3 that forms a cylindrical motor cavity 9 therein. The pump motor housing 3 supports the pump motor 10 and a motor shaft 12 that is installed through an opening 11 of a pump motor mounting plate 13. The motor mounting plate 13 includes a wall 21 extending circumferentially from a top surface of the mounting plate 13. The wall 21 includes a shoulder 23 extending along and outer periphery of wall section 21. An elastomeric sealing element, such as for example an O-ring 24 is arranged to be installed on shoulder 23. A seal member 14 is installed within a seal seat 19 molded on mounting plate 13. The mounting plate 13 is secured to the pump motor 10, in this example, using threaded fasteners 15 that extend through holes in the mounting plate 13 to engage threaded holes 18 on the face of pump motor 10. The mounting plate seals the motor cavity 9 and pump motor 10 from the pump section 4. A bearing 60, preferably a ball bearing.
The first pump stage 6 is assembled to the second pump stage 7 to form pump section 4 by attaching a rear portion of the exterior housing 32 of the first pump stage 6 to a front portion of the exterior housing 33 of the second pump stage 7 by using any method that provides a leak tight bond, such as for example, welding or using sealing elements such as gaskets or O-rings.
With the mounting plate 13 mounted on the pump motor 10 mounting tabs 20 located about the motor housing 3, the mounting plate 13 and the pump section 4 are brought together and the wall 21 is installed within an interior surface of a rear portion of the second pump stage 7. The O-ring 24 seals against the interior surface of the pump section 4 and wall 21. The mounting tabs 20 are aligned with each other to assemble and secure the motor section 2 to the pump section 4 using suitable fasteners 26. As can be appreciated, other types of fastening devices or techniques may be used to secure the pump section 4 and the motor section 2 together.
The pump motor 10 includes electrical connections (not shown) that extend from a rear portion of the motor 10 through a rear portion of motor housing 3. The electrical connections are adapted to receive electrical power from a remotely located power source to energize and operate the pump motor 10.
The valve assembly 40 of the present disclosure is illustrated in
The valve assembly further includes an adjustable second pump stage valve member 82 that is radially mounted outside the second impeller 17 and inside the second impeller cavity 51 of the second pump stage 7. The second pump stage valve member 82 is arranged to adjustably allow or block fluid flow through the third fluid outlet 39. The valve member 82 includes an annular wall 85 with an exterior wall surface 89 and an interior wall surface 86 and a rectangular opening 84 extending through wall 85. In this example, wall 85 of the valve member 82 is spirally voluted from a generally thicker wall section at a first end 87 of opening 84 to a generally thinner wall section at a second end 88 of the opening 84. The second impeller 17 is arranged to rotate inside valve member 82 and the voluted interior wall surface 86.
Walls 85 of the valve member 82 are attached to and extend from the second thimble 56. A barrel member 90 having a plurality of equidistantly spaced ribs 91 is attached to the second thimble 56 with aperture 57 located centrally in the barrel 90 equidistant between the ribs 91. The ribs 91 of barrel member 90 extend vertically from the second thimble 56 and are attached to a lower surface of the first thimble 55. Barrel 90 is located within the flow feed chamber 35 and functions to transfer rotational displacement of the first valve member 42 to the second valve member 82. Ribs 91 of the barrel member 90 may be attached to thimble 55 and 56 using any common method such as for example snap-fit assembly or welding to permanently fix the ribs 91 to thimbles 55 and 56. Alternatively, the ribs 91 and the thimbles 55 and 56 can be molded as a unitary structure.
A bearing 60, preferably a ball bearing, aligns and stabilizes the first impeller 16, as well as the valve member 42 of the first pump stage 6. The bearing 60 mounts within an opening 154 extending from a skirt 155 in the center of thimble 55. The bearing 60 is pressed into opening 154 of the skirt 155 as shown in
The exemplary first pump stage valve member 42 of the present disclosure further includes a cylindrical inlet member 77 located at an upper section 73 of valve member 42. The upper section 73 is arranged to be mounted within a mounting cavity 150 of a valve housing 31 that extends between the first pump stage 6 and the fluid inlet 36. The upper section 73 of the valve member 42 further includes an annular outer surface 76 and an internal passage 79 defined by an annular interior surface 78. The outer surface 76 of upper section 73 may include an exterior sealing assembly 25, shown at
As is shown in
The upper section 73 of the valve member 42 further includes an actuation ring 66 having a spline tooth gear band 101 attached about the periphery of the outer surface 76. As is shown in
With reference to
Rotation of the valve assembly 40 selectively positions the first pump stage valve member 42 to divert fluid flow from the first impeller cavity 50 to either the first or the second fluid outlets 34, 38. Simultaneously, rotation of the valve assembly 40 selectively positions the second pump stage valve member 82 to block or allow fluid flow from the second impeller cavity 51 to the third fluid outlet 39.
With reference to
In
In
Rotation of the valve assembly 40 by actuator 100 positions the valve assembly 40 into a second position. As is shown in
Even though the present disclosure has been explained using first and second pump stages, more than the two pump stages illustrated may be used to boost the flowrate from the pump assembly. For example, a third and a fourth pump stage can be attached to the first and second pump stages disclosed each having a flow feed chambers, impellers and valve assemblies that would provide successive boosts in fluid flowrates, from the normal flowrate of a first pump stage.
It may be advantageous to set forth definitions of certain words and phrases used throughout this patent document. The term “communicate,” as well as derivatives thereof, encompasses both direct and indirect communication. The terms “include” and “comprise,” as well as derivatives thereof, mean inclusion without limitation. The term “or” is inclusive, meaning and/or. The phrase “associated with,” as well as derivatives thereof, may mean to include, be included within, interconnect with, contain, be contained within, connect to or with, couple to or with, be communicable with, cooperate with, interleave, juxtapose, be proximate to, be bound to or with, have, have a property of, have a relationship to or with, or the like. The phrase “at least one of,” when used with a list of items, means that different combinations of one or more of the listed items may be used, and only one item in the list may be needed. For example, “at least one of: A, B, and C” includes any of the following combinations: A, B, C, A and B, A and C, B and C, and A and B and C.
The description in the present application should not be read as implying that any particular element, step, or function is an essential or critical element that must be included in the claim scope. The scope of patented subject matter is defined only by the allowed claims. Moreover, none of the claims is intended to invoke 35 U.S.C. § 112(f) with respect to any of the appended claims or claim elements unless the exact words “means for” or “step for” are explicitly used in the particular claim, followed by a participle phrase identifying a function. Use of terms such as (but not limited to) “mechanism,” “module,” “device,” “unit,” “component,” “element,” “member,” “apparatus,” “machine,” “system,” or “controller” within a claim is understood and intended to refer to structures known to those skilled in the relevant art, as further modified or enhanced by the features of the claims themselves and is not intended to invoke 35 U.S.C. § 112(f).
While this disclosure has described certain embodiments and generally associated methods, alterations and permutations of these embodiments and methods will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the above description of example embodiments does not define or constrain this disclosure. Other changes, substitutions, and alterations are also possible without departing from the spirit and scope of this disclosure, as defined by the following claims.
