U.S. patent application number 15/670022 was filed with the patent office on 2018-03-01 for pump having edge mounted o-ring seal.
The applicant listed for this patent is Q.E.D. Environmental Systems, Inc.. Invention is credited to Douglas D. COLBY.
Application Number | 20180058464 15/670022 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 59655986 |
Filed Date | 2018-03-01 |
United States Patent
Application |
20180058464 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
COLBY; Douglas D. |
March 1, 2018 |
Pump Having Edge Mounted O-Ring Seal
Abstract
The present disclosure relates to a fluid pump having a pump
housing and an inlet wall portion positioned adjacent the pump
housing. The inlet wall portion has an extending portion which
extends generally parallel to an inner surface of the pump housing.
A motor is housed within the pump housing. An impeller is included
which is responsive to the motor. An impeller retainer is disposed
adjacent the impeller and includes a radiused corner portion. An
O-ring is positioned at the radiused corner portion. The O-ring
exerts a force non-perpendicular to the inner surface of the pump
housing to form a seal against the inner surface of the pump
housing and the extending portion of the inlet wall portion.
Inventors: |
COLBY; Douglas D.;
(Clarkston, MI) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Q.E.D. Environmental Systems, Inc. |
Dexter |
MI |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
59655986 |
Appl. No.: |
15/670022 |
Filed: |
August 7, 2017 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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62378965 |
Aug 24, 2016 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F04D 29/528 20130101;
F04D 29/086 20130101; E21B 43/128 20130101; F04D 13/02 20130101;
F04D 13/10 20130101; F04D 3/005 20130101; F04D 5/002 20130101; F04D
29/181 20130101; F04D 29/4273 20130101; F04D 29/168 20130101 |
International
Class: |
F04D 29/16 20060101
F04D029/16; F04D 3/00 20060101 F04D003/00; F04D 29/52 20060101
F04D029/52; F04D 13/02 20060101 F04D013/02; F04D 29/18 20060101
F04D029/18; E21B 43/12 20060101 E21B043/12 |
Claims
1. A fluid pump comprising: a pump housing; an inlet wall portion
positioned adjacent the pump housing and including an extending
portion extending generally parallel to an inner surface of the
pump housing; a motor housed within the pump housing; an impeller
responsive to the motor; an impeller retainer disposed adjacent the
impeller and including a radiused corner portion; an O-ring
positioned at the radiused corner portion; and the O-ring exerting
a force non-perpendicular to the inner surface of the pump housing
to form a seal against the inner surface of the pump housing and
the extending portion of the inlet wall portion.
2. The fluid pump of claim 1, wherein the O-ring has a radius
approximately the same as a radius of the radiused corner
portion.
3. The fluid pump of claim 1, further including an impeller housing
positioned within the pump housing for housing the impeller, the
impeller housing including a leg portion projecting therefrom.
4. The fluid pump of claim 3, wherein the O-ring contacts a surface
of the leg portion.
5. The fluid pump of claim 4, wherein the O-ring exerts a force at
about a 45 degree angle relative to the inner surface of the pump
housing.
6. The fluid pump of claim 5, wherein the wherein the O-ring
simultaneously forms a three way seal including: a first seal
between the extending portion of the inlet wall portion and the
impeller retainer; a second seal between an upper surface of the
leg portion of the impeller housing and the inner wall surface of
the pump housing; and a third seal between the inner wall surface
of the pump housing and the O-ring.
7. The fluid pump of claim 1, wherein a minor portion of the O-ring
sits in the radiused corner portion.
8. A fluid pump comprising: a pump housing; an inlet wall portion
positioned adjacent the pump housing and including an extending
portion extending generally parallel to an inner surface of the
pump housing; a motor housed within the pump housing; an impeller
responsive to the motor; an impeller housing positioned within the
pump housing for housing the impeller, the impeller housing
including a leg portion projecting therefrom; an impeller retainer
disposed adjacent the impeller and including a radiused corner
portion; and an O-ring positioned at the radiused corner portion,
the O-ring having a radius approximately the same as a radius of
the radiused corner portion; and the O-ring exerting a force
non-perpendicular to the inner surface of the pump housing to form
a seal against the inner surface of the pump housing.
9. The fluid pump of claim 8, wherein the O-ring bulges out to
exert a force at approximately a 45 degree angle relative to the
inner surface of the pump housing.
10. The fluid pump of claim 8, wherein the O-ring simultaneously
forms a three way seal including: a first seal between the
extending portion of the inlet wall portion and the impeller
retainer; a second seal between an upper surface of the leg portion
of the impeller housing and the inner wall surface of the pump
housing; and a third seal between the inner wall surface of the
pump housing and the O-ring.
11. The fluid pump of claim 8, wherein only a minor portion of the
O-ring is seated in the radiused corner portion of the impeller
retainer.
12. A fluid pump comprising: a pump housing; an inlet wall portion
positioned adjacent the pump housing and including an extending
portion extending generally parallel to an inner surface of the
pump housing; a motor housed within the pump housing; an impeller
responsive to the motor; an impeller housing positioned within the
pump housing for housing the impeller, the impeller housing
including a leg portion projecting therefrom parallel to and
adjacent to the inner surface of the pump housing; an impeller
retainer disposed adjacent the impeller and including a radiused
corner portion; and an O-ring positioned at the radiused corner
portion, the O-ring having a radius approximately the same as a
radius of the radiused corner portion; and the O-ring exerting a
force at about a 45 degree angle relative to the inner surface of
the pump housing to form a seal against the inner surface of the
pump housing.
13. The fluid pump of claim 12, wherein the O-ring simultaneously
contacts: the radiused corner portion of the impeller retainer; a
surface of the extending portion of the inlet wall portion; an
upper surface of the leg portion of the impeller housing; and the
inner surface of the pump housing.
14. The fluid pump of claim 12, wherein the radiused corner portion
contacts a minor portion of the O-ring.
15. The fluid pump of claim 11, wherein the O-ring simultaneously
forms a three way seal including: a first seal between the
extending portion of the inlet wall portion and the impeller
retainer; a second seal between an upper surface of the leg portion
of the impeller housing and the inner wall surface of the pump
housing; and a third seal between the inner wall surface of the
pump housing and the O-ring.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional
Application No. 62/378,965, filed on Aug. 24, 2016. The entire
disclosure of the above application is incorporated herein by
reference.
FIELD
[0002] The present disclosure relates to fluid pumps, and more
particularly to a fluid pump that includes an edge mounted O-ring
seal that significantly improves the pressure that can be generated
within the pump without leakage past the O-ring seal.
BACKGROUND
[0003] The statements in this section merely provide background
information related to the present disclosure and may not
constitute prior art.
[0004] O-ring seals are frequently used in various types of pumps
to provide a seal between two parallel surfaces, and more typically
between two parallel metal surfaces. Typically, such O-rings are
used on planar, facing metal surfaces. However, in certain
applications where the internal pressures required to pump a fluid,
such as a deep groundwater sampling well, are significant, such
conventional O-ring implementations are fairly limited in the
internal pressure that they can accommodate before allowing a leak
to occur.
[0005] The ability to improve the internal pump pressure that a
fluid pump, for example a fluid pump used in well bores of
groundwater sampling wells, would extend the capability of existing
pumps and allow existing pumps to accommodate even higher internal
pressures than what is presently possible with conventionally
mounted O-ring seals. In particular, the ability to accommodate
greater internal pressures would be especially useful in
regenerative fluid pumps, which are capable of generating
significantly greater internal pressures, and which are used in
especially deep well bore extending 100 meters or more below the
ground surface.
SUMMARY
[0006] This section provides a general summary of the disclosure,
and is not a comprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of
its features.
[0007] In one aspect the present disclosure relates to a fluid
pump. The fluid pump may comprise a pump housing and an inlet wall
portion positioned adjacent the pump housing. The inlet wall
portion may include an extending portion extending generally
parallel to an inner surface of the pump housing. A motor may be
included which is housed within the pump housing. An impeller may
be included which is responsive to the motor. An impeller retainer
may also be included which is disposed adjacent the impeller and
which includes a radiused corner portion. An O-ring may be included
which is positioned at the radiused corner portion. The O-ring may
exert a force non-perpendicular to the inner surface of the pump
housing to form a seal against the inner surface of the pump
housing and the extending portion of the inlet wall portion.
[0008] In another aspect the present disclosure relates to a fluid
pump that may comprise a pump housing and an inlet wall portion.
The inlet wall portion may be positioned adjacent the pump housing
and may include an extending portion extending generally parallel
to an inner surface of the pump housing. A motor may be housed
within the pump housing. An impeller may be included which is
responsive to the motor. An impeller housing may be included which
is positioned within the pump housing for housing the impeller. The
impeller housing may include a leg portion projecting therefrom. An
impeller retainer may be disposed adjacent the impeller and may
include a radiused corner portion. An O-ring may be positioned at
the radiused corner portion. The O-ring may have a radius
approximately the same as a radius of the radiused corner portion.
The O-ring may exert a force non-perpendicular to the inner surface
of the pump housing to form a seal against the inner surface of the
pump housing.
[0009] In still another aspect the present disclosure relates to a
fluid pump that may comprise a pump housing and an inlet wall
portion. The inlet wall portion may be positioned adjacent the pump
housing and may include an extending portion extending generally
parallel to an inner surface of the pump housing. The fluid pump
may also include a motor housed within the pump housing, an
impeller responsive to the motor, and an impeller housing
positioned within the pump housing for housing the impeller. The
impeller housing may include a leg portion projecting therefrom
parallel to, and adjacent to, the inner surface of the pump
housing. An impeller retainer may be disposed adjacent the impeller
and may include a radiused corner portion. An O-ring may be
included which is positioned at the radiused corner portion. The
O-ring may have a radius approximately the same as a radius of the
radiused corner portion. The O-ring may exert a force at about a 45
degree angle relative to the inner surface of the pump housing to
form a seal against the inner surface of the pump housing.
[0010] Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the
description provided herein. The description and specific examples
in this summary are intended for purposes of illustration only and
are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes
only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present
disclosure in any way.
[0012] FIG. 1 is a partial side cross sectional view of a pump in
accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0013] FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a portion of the pump shown in
FIG. 1 showing in even greater detail an area where an O-ring of
the present disclosure is mounted on an edge of one of the pump
components; and
[0014] FIG. 3 illustrate graphs of internal pump pressures
achievable using a conventional O-ring and the new edge mounted
O-ring construction of the present disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0015] The following description is merely exemplary in nature and
is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or
uses.
[0016] Referring to FIG. 1, a pump 10 is shown in accordance with
one embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. The pump 10 is a
regenerative pump constructed in large part in accordance with the
description provided in co-pending U.S. Non-Provisional application
Ser. No. 15/100,904, filed Jun. 1, 2016 (16783-000123-US-NPB), the
entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference into
the present disclosure. The pump 10 of the present disclosure
differs only from the pump shown in co-pending U.S. application
Ser. No. 15/100,904 in the seal that is provided adjacent to a
regenerative pump impeller, as will be described below in
detail.
[0017] With continued reference to FIG. 1, the pump 10 generally
includes a tubular metal pump housing 12 having a housing end wall
14 with fluid inlet ports 15. Within the pump housing 12 is a motor
16, which may be a DC or AC powered motor, having an output shaft
18. The following discussion will reference a DC motor, but it will
be appreciated that the pump 10 is equally well suited to use with
AC or DC motors.
[0018] The output shaft 18 of the DC motor 16 drives an impeller 20
via a connection to an impeller retainer 22. The impeller 20 is
disposed between the impeller retainer 22 and an impeller housing
24. An outlet end cap 26 is disposed at an opposite end of the pump
housing 12 and includes a discharge bore 28 through which fluid
which has entered the pump 10 is pumped out from the pump. A
suitable hose (not shown) may be coupled to the discharge bore 28
through which the fluid may be pumped up a wellbore within which
the pump 10 is positioned to a collection tank or reservoir. A
conduit 30 forms a means for making an electrical connection with
the DC motor 16 to power the DC motor. A circuit board 32 is also
positioned within the pump housing 12 for assisting in controlling
the DC motor 16 and controlling overall operation of the pump
10.
[0019] Referring to FIG. 2, the circled area labelled 2 in FIG. 1
is shown in highly enlarged form. The impeller retainer 22 includes
a supply channel 34 formed therein, and the impeller 20 includes a
channel 20a which communicates with the supply channel 34 and is
used to pump fluid to a discharge channel (not visible in FIG. 2)
in the impeller housing 24. Disposed at a corner of the impeller
retainer 22 and impeller housing 24 interface is an O-ring 36 which
seals the interface area between these two components. The O-ring
36 is supported in a new edge mounted configuration that provides
significantly improved pump performance by enabling a significantly
increased internal pressure that can be accommodated by the pump
10.
[0020] The edge mounting of the O-ring 36 is accomplished by
providing a radiused edge 38 on an upper peripheral corner of the
impeller retainer 22. The O-ring 36 is only partially seated within
the radiused edge 38. The radius of curvature of the radiused edge
38 is preferably about the same as, and more preferably exactly the
same as, the radius of the O-ring 36. The housing end wall 14
includes an extending portion 14a having a flat surface 14b which
makes contact with the O-ring 36 and helps to cause a controlled
deformation of the O-ring 36. The O-ring 36 is also contacted by an
upper flat surface 24a of a leg 24b of the impeller housing 24. The
contact of the O-ring 36 with the flat surface 14b of the extending
portion 14a, as well as the upper flat surface 24a of the impeller
housing leg 24b and the radiused edge 38 all cooperate to cause the
O-ring to be deformed in a controlled manner so as to bulge out
along directional arrow 40. Directional arrow 40 extends generally
at about a 45 degree angle relative to the pump housing 12. The 45
degree angle of the bulge provides a first vector component which
pushes upwardly against the flat surface 14b of the extending
portion 14a of the housing end wall 14, while simultaneously
pushing outwardly along a horizontal vector against an inner wall
surface 12a of the pump housing 12. This enables three sealing
surfaces to be simultaneously created with the single O-ring 36: a
first seal between the flat surface 14b and the impeller retainer
22; a second seal between the upper surface 24a of the impeller
housing 24 and the inner wall surface 12a of the housing 12; and a
third seal between the inside wall surface 12a and the right side
of the O-ring 36.
[0021] The edge supported O-ring 36 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 enables
significantly higher internal pump pressures to be handled which
would not be possible with a conventional O-ring mounting. FIG. 3
illustrates the significantly increased pressures that the O-ring
36 enables relative to a conventional O-ring seal. In FIG. 3 the
graph 42 represents the pressures achievable using the O-ring 36,
while graph 44 represents the pressures achievable by a
conventional O-ring seal.
[0022] The edge-mounted O-ring 36 of the present pump 10 described
herein does not require additional component parts to be included
in the pump, nor does it require extensive modifications to the
internal components of the pump. The edge mounted O-ring 36
construction also does not require significant modifications to the
assembly procedure for assembling the pump 10, nor does it add
appreciably to the overall cost or complexity of the pump 10. The
significantly increased pressures that the pump 10 can accommodate
enable the pump to be used to pump liquids at depths that would
have heretofore been impossible to pump from with a conventional
O-ring sealing construction.
[0023] While various embodiments have been described, those skilled
in the art will recognize modifications or variations which might
be made without departing from the present disclosure. The examples
illustrate the various embodiments and are not intended to limit
the present disclosure. Therefore, the description and claims
should be interpreted liberally with only such limitation as is
necessary in view of the pertinent prior art.
* * * * *