Vacuum pump with wear adjustment
First Claim
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1. A liquid ring vacuum pump comprising:
- a base plate;
an impeller rotatable with respect to the base plate, the impeller having two or more impeller blades each having an impeller blade end;
a ring disposed around the impeller and adjacent to the base plate, wherein an inner wall of the ring faces towards the impeller blade ends; and
the inner wall of the ring is selectively movable along a range of motion that includes a first position where the inner wall of the ring is spaced from the impeller blade ends and a second position where the impeller blade ends would otherwise occupy the same space as the ring if the impeller were present.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A vacuum pump having components that are subject to wear may be adjusted to compensate for the wear. In some instances, a vacuum pump may include a housing and an impeller disposed at least partially within the housing. A gap between the housing and the impeller may be adjustable to compensate for wear. In some cases, the housing may include a ring that may be moved to adjust a tolerance (or gap) between the ring and the impeller. In some instances, the ring may be rotated to adjust this gap. In other instances, the ring may be translated to adjust the tolerance.
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Citations
28 Claims
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1. A liquid ring vacuum pump comprising:
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a base plate; an impeller rotatable with respect to the base plate, the impeller having two or more impeller blades each having an impeller blade end; a ring disposed around the impeller and adjacent to the base plate, wherein an inner wall of the ring faces towards the impeller blade ends; and the inner wall of the ring is selectively movable along a range of motion that includes a first position where the inner wall of the ring is spaced from the impeller blade ends and a second position where the impeller blade ends would otherwise occupy the same space as the ring if the impeller were present. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A liquid ring vacuum pump comprising:
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a base plate; a ring disposed adjacent to the base plate; and an impeller disposed within the ring, wherein the ring has an inner surface that faces towards the impeller; wherein the ring is selectively movable along a range of motion that includes a first position where the inner wall of the ring is spaced from the impeller, and a second position where at least part of the impeller would otherwise occupy the same space as the ring if the impeller were present, thereby allowing the ring to be moved to compensate for wear of the impeller and/or ring over time. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method of compensating for wear within a liquid ring vacuum pump comprising a base plate, a ring disposed proximate the base plate, an impeller disposed within the ring and a cover plate disposed over the ring, the method comprising the steps of:
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loosening the cover plate; moving the ring relative to the impeller until an inner surface of the ring contacts the impeller; moving the ring away from the impeller by a distance; and tightening the cover plate. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A pump system comprising:
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a main pump having a main pump inlet and a main pump outlet; a liquid ring vacuum pump for creating a suction to help draw fluid to the main pump inlet to help prime the main pump, the liquid ring vacuum pump including; a housing; and an impeller disposed proximate the housing; wherein the housing is selectively movable relative to the impeller to change a distance between the impeller and the housing, wherein the housing is movable relative to the impeller along a range of motion that includes a first position where an inner surface of the housing is spaced from the impeller, and a second position where at least part of the impeller would otherwise occupy the same space as the housing if the impeller were present. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26)
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27. A method of adjusting a liquid seal vacuum pump comprising a housing and an impeller disposed proximate the housing, the method comprising the steps of:
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starting with a distance between the housing the impeller, operating the liquid seal vacuum pump until the impeller and/or housing become worn and thus increase the distance between the housing and the impeller; loosening at least a portion of the housing; moving the loosened portion of the housing to obtain a desired tolerance between the housing and the impeller; and tightening the loosened portion of the housing. - View Dependent Claims (28)
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Specification