The present invention relates to a pump apparatus including a pumping component with two pump cavities formed by mating bodies of the pump apparatus and a component in a fluid transfer system, such as a reservoir or radiator or heat exchanger. The pump apparatus may be used to controllably cool a power generating system of a vehicle along with a secondary heat generating system on the vehicle.
Many factors drive vehicle costs, including cost of individual components, secondary processing, subassembly, and assembly to a vehicle. It is desirable to provide an improved pump design with reduced number of components, reduced cost of manufacturing components, reduced secondary processing, reduced cost of subassembly of the components, and reduced cost of assembling to a vehicle. It is also desirable to design individual components with less multiple critical dimensions and with surfaces that are easier to accurately form and assemble. It is also desirable to provide pump components that are more integrated.
In one aspect of the present invention, a multi-pump apparatus comprises a first component in a fluid heat transfer system, the first component including a first interface surface, and a pumping component including a second interface surface. The first and second interface surfaces combine to define two pump cavities and a planar interface groove supporting a seal ring that extends around the two pump cavities to prevent leakage of fluid from the pump cavities. The pumping component includes a pump impeller in each of the pump cavities and at least one motor driving the two pump impellers. One or both of the pumping component and the first component also defining a fluid inlet to and a fluid outlet from each of the pump cavities.
In a narrower form, the at least one motor includes two separate and independently controlled electric motors.
In a narrower form, the first component is a fluid reservoir, such as a heat exchanger.
In another aspect of the present invention, a pump apparatus comprises a fluid exchanging component with a fluid reservoir for a fluid transfer system, the fluid exchanging component including a first interface surface, and a pumping component including a second interface surface. The first and second interface surfaces combine to define at least one pump cavity and a planar interface groove supporting a seal ring that extends around the at least one pump cavity to prevent leakage of fluid from the pump cavity. The pumping component includes a pump impeller in the at least one pump cavity and includes at least one motor driving the at least one pump impeller. One or both of the pumping component and the fluid exchanging component also defines a fluid inlet to and a fluid outlet from the at least one pump cavity.
In another aspect of the present invention, a method of connecting two pumps to a fluid transfer system comprises steps of providing a first component in a fluid heat transfer system, the first component including a first planar interface surface. The method includes providing a pumping component including a second planar interface surface, and attaching the pumping component to the first component with the first and second planar interface surfaces combining to define two pump cavities and a planar interface groove supporting a seal ring that extends around the two pump cavities to prevent leakage of fluid from the pump cavities. The pumping component includes a pump impeller in each of the pump cavities and includes at least one motor driving the two pump impellers. One or both of the pumping component and the first component also define a fluid inlet to and a fluid outlet from each of the pump cavities.
In another aspect of the present invention, a multi-pump apparatus comprises a first component including a first interface surface, and a pumping component including a second interface surface. The first and second interface surfaces combine to define first and second pump cavities with a planar interface groove therein that supports a continuous-loop seal ring that extends around the first and second pump cavities. When assembled, the seal ring prevents leakage of fluid outside of an area defined by the first and second pump cavities. The pumping component includes first and second pump impellers in the first and second pump cavities, and includes first and second motors driving the first and second pump impellers, respectively. One or both of the pumping component and the first component also define a fluid inlet to and a fluid outlet from the first and second pump cavities. An on-board control circuit board attached to the pumping component is electrically connected to the first and second motors for controlling independent operation of the first and second motors and hence controlling independent operation of the first and second impellers in the first and second cavities, respectively.
These and other features, advantages, and objects of the present invention will be further understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art by reference to the following specification, claims, and appended drawings.
A dual-pump apparatus 29 (
Specifically in
The separate motors 42 and 43 are formed in the housing body 31. The motors 42 and 43 ride on shafts 44 and 45, respectively, with the shafts 44/45 extending into the impellers 36 and 37 so that the motors 42 and 43 independently drive the two pump impellers 36/37, respectively. For example, the stator of the motors 42 and 43 can be insert molded into the housing body 31. A controller is provided in housing body 31, such as a circuit board(s) 46 with sub-circuits (e.g. on a same or piggyback circuit boards) that independently controls each of the motors 42 and 43. A multi-lead interface is connected to the circuit board 46 and includes conductors extending to a multi-lead connector 47 with multiple pins 48 adapted for connection to a mating multi-lead connector (not specifically shown) that is connected to a vehicle control system 49 (
As noted above, the body portion 32 (
A size and dimensional shape and relative location of the illustrated volute of the pump cavity 34 varies along its length, as shown by location 34A (see
Surfaces forming the volute are continuous, but define a continuously changing cross sectional shape. As shown in
It is contemplated that the component 31 can be part of any component of a fluid delivery system. The illustrated component 31 is intended to represent a molded part of a fluid reservoir, such as an end piece forming the end of a vehicle radiator. In particular, it is contemplated that the laterally-extending wall in body portion 32 (i.e. that part forming the attachment flanges for receiving the fasteners 59 in
The illustrated body portion 32 is particularly shaped so that the molded plastic body part 32 can be injection molded with minimal (or zero) molding die pulls and with minimal (or zero) molding die slides, since it does not include “blind” surfaces that must be formed, as will be understood by persons skilled in this art. Also, the body portion 32 is well-designed to have relatively consistent wall thicknesses and to avoid large masses of material, which if present would tend to cause sinks and other cooling difficulties in injection molding dies resulting in slower molding cycle times and less accurate moldings. More specifically, the illustrated body portion 32 has a relatively non-complex shape and construction, which non-complex shape and straightforward construction makes it much easier to maintain a planar shape of the interface surface 40 during the molding process.
It is contemplated that the component 33 can be any part forming a subcomponent of a heat transfer component, especially one including a fluid reservoir. Further, it is contemplated that the component 31 can be a stand-alone cover component attached to the pumping component 33 and forming half of the two pump cavities and providing inlet and outlets to each pump cavity.
The integrated housing body 31 forms a pump housing or casing, and is molded of a structural material suitable for the fluid being pumped and for forming a casing for the pump and motor apparatus 30. It is contemplated that it can be made in different ways and to include different materials and structures. The illustrated body 31 is injection molded using insert molding techniques to enclose and fix the stator of the adjacent electric motors 42, 43, with each motor's rotor positioned inside and riding on a center shaft 44, 55, respectively. The first component 33 is similarly injection molded. A person skilled in the art of pump design and motor design will understand the present innovation by the present description. However, for further discussion, the reader's attention is directed to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/664,758, entitled DUAL PUMP AND MOTOR WITH CONTROL DEVICE, Oct. 31, 2012, which is owned by the assignee of the present application, and which the entire teachings and disclosure are incorporated herein by reference.
A method of assembly includes a dual pump and motor control subassembly with at least two impellers and at least one motor configured to drive the at least two impellers, configured such that the subassembly containing the two impellers has a monoplanar sealing area. The mono-planar sealing area is sealably mated to any single planed surface of the vehicle, especially to the engine or a remote cooling subsystem component. The configuration of the seal being on the same plane allows a single seal to be used for a direct mounting of the dual pump into a vehicle. In this way, a dual pump assembly can be provided with either a separate set of flow volutes for external mounting to a vehicle, or a dual pump subassembly can be provided for direct mounting to a vehicle subsystem in a way that minimizes the sealing areas for ingress or egress, e.g. for use in automotive applications.
It is to be understood that variations and modifications can be made on the aforementioned structure without departing from the concepts of the present invention, and further it is to be understood that such concepts are intended to be covered by the following claims unless these claims by their language expressly state otherwise.
This application claims priority to Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/778,721, filed on Mar. 13, 2013, entitled TWO PUMP DESIGN WITH COPLANAR INTERFACE SURFACE, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
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