Vacuum pump for agricultural seeding equipment
First Claim
1. A vacuum pump for a vacuum controlled seed planter, comprising:
- a housing having a central air inlet and an air outlet passage;
an impeller arranged to rotate about an axis within said housing, said air outlet passage of said housing being substantially evenly distributed around said axis, said impeller having a central air opening in fluid communication with said central air inlet, and a plurality of vanes extending radially from base ends to distal ends, said base ends being closer than said distal ends to said central opening, said vanes defining air paths that are open to said air outlet passage; and
a rotary drive having an output shaft fixed for rotation with said impeller.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A vacuum pump for a seed planter includes a housing, an impeller rotated within the housing, and a motor or other drive. The housing has a central inlet and a circumferentially arranged outlet passage. The impeller vanes define air paths that are open to the outlet passage. The impeller has a central aperture for coupling to the output shaft of the drive and an impeller center cap screwed into the central aperture. The impeller has a curved conical center hub that surrounds the central aperture. The center hub and the center cap are configured to smoothly direct air flow to the passages between the vanes to reduce or eliminate a stagnant air region in a center of the impeller. The center cap can also be used as a tool to remove the impeller from the output shaft.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. A vacuum pump for a vacuum controlled seed planter, comprising:
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a housing having a central air inlet and an air outlet passage; an impeller arranged to rotate about an axis within said housing, said air outlet passage of said housing being substantially evenly distributed around said axis, said impeller having a central air opening in fluid communication with said central air inlet, and a plurality of vanes extending radially from base ends to distal ends, said base ends being closer than said distal ends to said central opening, said vanes defining air paths that are open to said air outlet passage; and a rotary drive having an output shaft fixed for rotation with said impeller. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A vacuum pump for a vacuum controlled seed planter, comprising:
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a housing having a central inlet and a circumferentially arranged outlet passage; an impeller arranged within said housing, said impeller having a central opening in fluid communication with said central inlet, and a plurality of vanes extending radially from base ends to distal ends, said base ends being closer than said distal ends to said central opening, said vanes defining air paths that are open to said circumferentially arranged outlet passage; a rotary drive having an output shaft fixed for rotation with said impeller; wherein said housing comprises a housing base and a housing cover fastened to said housing base; and wherein said housing base comprises a shaft opening, said output shaft penetrating said shaft opening, wherein said impeller comprises a central aperture for receiving said output shaft and for coupling said output shaft to said impeller, said central aperture having a threaded region, and a cap screwed into said threaded region of said central aperture, said cap having a head portion extending into a central region of said impeller substantially between diametrically opposed base ends of two of said vanes. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13)
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14. A vacuum pump for a vacuum controlled seed planter, comprising:
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a housing having a central inlet and a circumferentially arranged outlet passage; an impeller arranged within said housing, said impeller having a central opening in fluid communication with said central inlet, and a plurality of vanes extending radially from base ends to distal ends, said base ends being closer than said distal ends to said central opening, said vanes defining air paths that are open to said circumferentially arranged outlet passage; a rotary drive having an output shaft fixed for rotation with said impeller; and wherein said housing comprises a first wall and a second wall fastened to said first wall defining a volume therebetween; wherein said outlet passage is arranged between said first wall and said second wall; wherein one of said first wall and said second wall comprises a shaft opening, said output shaft penetrating said shaft opening, wherein said impeller comprises a central aperture for receiving said output shaft and a cap screwed into said central aperture, said cap having a head portion extending into a central region of said impeller substantially between diametrically opposed base ends of two of said vanes. - View Dependent Claims (15)
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Specification