Vortex pump

• US 4,592,700 A
• Filed: 03/05/1984
• Issued: 06/03/1986
• Est. Priority Date: 03/10/1983
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Ebara Corporation
• Original Assignee: Ebara Corporation
• Inventors: Kobayashi, Makoto, Toguchi, Seiichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Garrett, Robert E.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pitko, Joseph M.
• Application Number:
  US06/586,441
• Time in Patent Office: 820 Days
• Field of Search: 415/213 A, 415/121 B, 415/219 C, 415/206, 415/207, 416/183, 416/185, 416/188
• US Class Current: 415/225
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 29/2244 Free vortex

Abstract

A vortex pump is provided wherein an impeller is of an open type and plural blades are grouped into two or more groups, the axial width of each group of blades being different from the others so that the blades belonging to a certain group extend into a vortex chamber so as to directly drive the liquid in the vortex chamber while relatively large pieces of foreign matter are permitted to pass through the pump.

Claims

1. A vortex pump comprising:

a pump casing consisting of an impeller chamber and a vortex chamber communicating with said impeller chamber, said vortex chamber being provided with a suction opening at a portion opposite said impeller chamber and a discharge opening, said impeller chamber and said suction opening being axially aligned;

a motor supported on said casing and having a shaft, the distal end of which extends into said impeller chamber in axially aligned relation therewith; and

an impeller of an open type having a main plate and plural blades on one side of said main plate and mounted on said distal end of said shaft so as to be disposed in said impeller chamber so that said blades face said suction opening;

said vortex pump being characterized in that;

said plural blades are grouped into at least two groups, one being a group of wide blades and the other being a group of narrow blades, the axial width of each of said wide blades being broader than the axial width of each of said narrow blades so that the open end edges of said wide blades extend into said vortex chamber, each of the blades being shaped to have an open end edge comprising a parallel portion parallel to said main plate and a slanted portion inclined upwardly from a region near the center of the impeller toward said parallel portion, said wide and narrow blades being arranged circumferentially while keeping an equiangular relationship with each other so as to provide a dynamic and hydraulic balance to said impeller, the number and configuration of the wide and narrow blades being selected and determined so that a flow passage is formed from said suction opening to said discharge opening through said vortex chamber to allow the passing of a sphere having a diameter equivalent to the distance between the open end edges of said narrow blades and the inner surface of the wall of said vortex chamber provided with said suction opening, whereby any foreign material sucked into the suction opening is discharged out of the suction opening, the inclined angle of said slanted portion relative to said main plate being greater in the said wide blade than the inclined angle in said narrow blade.

2. A vortex pump as claimed in claim 1 wherein said narrow blades also extend into said vortex chamber.

3. A vortex pump as claimed in any one of claims 1 or 2 in which the relationship of

4. A vortex chamber as claimed in any one of claims 1 or 2 in which the total number of blades is a multiple of an integer "n" and said wide blade is disposed at every "n"th circumferential position.

5. A vortex pump as claimed in claim 4 wherein said factor "n" is either one of 2, 3 or 4.

6. A vortex pump as claimed in claim 1 wherein the inclined angle of said wide blades is 55°

or less and the inclined angle of said narrow blades is 45°

or less.

7. A vortex pump as claimed in claim 1 wherein the length of each of the parallel portions of the blades is substantially equal for both the wide blades and the narrow blades.

8. A vortex pump as claimed in any one of claims 1 or 6 or 7 in which the axial width of the blades satisfies the following equation:

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">Bb=(1.2-2)Ba

wherein Ba is the axial width of the narrow blades; and

Bb is the axial width of the wide blades.