CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/106,699 filed January 22, 2015, the contents of which are incorporated herein in their entirety.

FIELD

[0002] This disclosure relates to fluid pumps and more particularly to water pumps for stationary or vehicular engines wherein the water pump is driven in direct proportion to the speed of the engine.

BACKGROUND

[0003] It is known to provide water pumps on stationary or vehicular engines in order to circulate coolant through the engine in order to prevent the engine from overheating. In many applications, the water pump is driven by a belt or the like that is itself driven by a crankshaft of the engine. As a result, the speed of the water pump is determined by the speed of the engine. The coolant flow of the water pump is generally selected so that in the worst case combination of engine speed and cooling needs, the engine will be sufficiently cooled by the coolant flow from the water pump. However, inherent in such a design practice is that that water pump is pumping more coolant than necessary in some situations.

[0004] It would be advantageous to be able to provide a water pump or a pump in general that had some means of reducing coolant flow when it is not needed. SUMMARY

[0005] In an aspect, there is provided a pump impeller assembly. The assembly includes a first impeller portion that is arranged to drive a fluid through a fluid conduit, a second impeller portion that is movable between a more-rotationally engaged position in which the second impeller portion has a first amount of rotational engagement with the first impeller portion, and a less-rotationally engaged position in which the second impeller portion has a second amount of rotational engagement with the first impeller portion that is less than the first amount of rotational engagement, and an actuator that is operatively connected to the second impeller portion and is configured to drive movement of the second impeller portion between the more-rotationally engaged position and the less-rotationally engaged position based on a fluid property. The fluid property may, for example, be a pressure of the fluid. Alternatively, the fluid property may, for example, be a temperature of the fluid. Alternatively, the fluid property may be any suitable fluid property.

[0006] In another aspect, there is provided a pump impeller assembly. The assembly includes a first impeller portion that is arranged to drive a fluid through a fluid conduit, a second impeller portion that is movable between a more-rotationally engaged position in which the second impeller portion has a first amount of rotational engagement with the first impeller portion, and a less-rotationally engaged position in which the second impeller portion has a second amount of rotational engagement with the first impeller portion that is less than the first amount of rotational engagement, and an actuator that is operatively connected to the second impeller portion and that is responsive to a fluid property for movement from a first actuator position to a second actuator position during which the actuator causes the second impeller portion to move from one of the more- and less-rotationally engaged positions to the other of the more- and less-rotationally engaged positions. The fluid property may, for example, be a pressure of the fluid. Alternatively, the fluid property may, for example, be a temperature of the fluid. Alternatively, the fluid property may be any suitable fluid property. [0007] In another aspect, there is provided a pump including a pump housing, an input shaft rotatably supported by the pump housing and a pump impeller assembly supported on the input shaft. The impeller assembly includes a first impeller portion that is rotationally connected to the input shaft so as to be driven thereby so as to drive a fluid through a fluid conduit, a second impeller portion that is movable between a more- rotationally engaged position in which the second impeller portion has a first amount of rotational engagement with the first impeller portion, and a less-rotationally engaged position in which the second impeller portion has a second amount of rotational engagement with the first impeller portion that is less than the first amount of rotational engagement, and an actuator that is operatively connected to the second impeller portion and is configured to drive movement of the second impeller portion between the more-rotationally engaged position and the less-rotationally engaged position based on a fluid property. The fluid property may, for example, be a pressure of the fluid. Alternatively, the fluid property may, for example, be a temperature of the fluid. Alternatively, the fluid property may be any suitable fluid property.

[0008] In yet another aspect, there is provided a pump impeller assembly. The assembly includes a first impeller portion that is arranged to drive a fluid through a fluid conduit, a second impeller portion that is movable between a more-rotationally engaged position in which the second impeller portion has a first amount of rotational engagement with the first impeller portion, and a less-rotationally engaged position in which the second impeller portion has a second amount of rotational engagement with the first impeller portion that is less than the first amount of rotational engagement, and an actuator that is operatively connected to the second impeller portion and is configured to drive movement of the second impeller portion between the more- rotationally engaged position and the less-rotationally engaged position.

[0009] In yet another aspect, there is provided a pump impeller assembly. The assembly includes a first impeller portion that is arranged to drive a fluid through a fluid conduit, a second impeller portion that is movable between a more-rotationally engaged position in which the second impeller portion has a first amount of rotational engagement with the first impeller portion, and a less-rotationally engaged position in which the second impeller portion has a second amount of rotational engagement with the first impeller portion that is less than the first amount of rotational engagement, and an actuator that is operatively connected to the second impeller portion and is movable from a first actuator position to a second actuator position during which the actuator causes the second impeller portion to move from one of the more- and less-rotationally engaged positions to the other of the more- and less-rotationally engaged positions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] The foregoing and other aspects will now be described by way of example only with reference to the attached drawings, in which:

[0011] Figure 1 is a perspective view of a pump for pumping a fluid according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0012] Figure 2 is a perspective exploded view of the pump shown in Figure 1 ;

[0013] Figure 3 is another perspective exploded view of the pump shown in Figure 1 ;

[0014] Figure 4 is a sectional side view of the pump shown in Figure 1 showing a first impeller portion and a second impeller portion, wherein the second impeller portion is in a more-rotationally engaged position with the first impeller portion;

[0015] Figure 5 is a sectional side view of the pump shown in Figure 4 wherein the second impeller portion is in a less-rotationally engaged position with the first impeller portion;

[0016] Figure 5a is a magnified sectional side view of a portion of the view shown in Figure 5;

[0017] Figure 6 is a perspective view of a pump for pumping a fluid according to another example embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0018] Figure 7 is a perspective exploded view of the pump shown in Figure 6; [0019] Figure 8 is another perspective exploded view of the pump shown in Figure 6;

[0020] Figure 9 is a sectional side view of the pump shown in Figure 6 showing a first impeller portion and a second impeller portion, wherein the second impeller portion is in a more-rotationally engaged position with the first impeller portion;

[0021] Figure 10 is a sectional side view of the pump shown in Figure 9 wherein the second impeller portion is in a less-rotationally engaged position with the first impeller portion;

[0022] Figure 1 1 is a perspective view of a pump for pumping a fluid according to yet another example embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0023] Figure 12 is a perspective exploded view of the pump shown in Figure 1 1 ;

[0024] Figure 13 is another perspective exploded view of the pump shown in Figure 1 1 ;

[0025] Figure 14 is a sectional side view of the pump shown in Figure 1 1 with a first impeller portion and a second impeller portion, wherein the second impeller portion is in a more-rotationally engaged position with the first impeller portion;

[0026] Figure 15 is a sectional side view of the pump shown in Figure 14 wherein the second impeller portion is in a less-rotationally engaged position with the first impeller portion;

[0027] Figure 15a is a magnified sectional side view of a portion of the view shown in Figure 15;

[0028] Figure 16 is a graph illustrating the pressure differential across the pump shown in Figures 1 -5a, as compared to a pump of the prior art; and

[0029] Figure 17 is a graph illustrating the flow rate of the pump shown in Figures 1 -5a, as compared to a pump of the prior art. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

Impeller assembly engagement controlled by pressure

[0030] Reference is made to Figure 1 , which shows an example pump 10 for pumping a fluid through a flow conduit system. For example, the pump 10 may be a water pump that is driven by the engine (shown at 1 1 in Figures 4 and 5) of a vehicle (e.g. via a front-engine accessory drive belt, a timing belt or chain, a gear train or some other power transmission means).

[0031] The pump 10 includes a pump housing 12 that may be fixedly connected to the block of the engine 1 1 , a power input device 14, and an impeller assembly 16. Referring to Figures 2-5. The power input device 14 is operatively connected to an input shaft 20. In the examples shown in Figures the power input device 14 is a pulley 18 that is fixedly mounted to an input shaft 20. The pulley 18 can receive rotary power from the aforementioned front-engine accessory drive belt (not shown) so as to drive the input shaft 20. Any other suitable power input device may instead be provided.

[0032] The input shaft 20 is rotatably supported in the housing 12 by means of a bearing 22. The input shaft 20 and bearing 22 may be provided together as an integral shaft bearing.

[0033] The impeller assembly 16 is supported on the input shaft 20. The impeller assembly 16 includes a first impeller portion 24, a second impeller portion 26 and an actuator 28 (which may also be referred to as an impeller actuator 28). The first impeller portion 24 is rotationally connected to the input shaft 20 (e.g. via a keyed connection, a splined connection, or any other suitable type of connection) so as to be driven thereby so as to drive a fluid 29 through a fluid conduit 30 (Figures 4 and 5). The first impeller portion 24 may thus be said to be arranged to drive the fluid 29 through the fluid conduit 30.

[0034] The second impeller portion 26 is movable between a more-rotationally engaged position (Figure 4) in which the second impeller portion 26 has a first amount of rotational engagement with the first impeller portion 24, and a less-rotationally engaged position (Figure 5) in which the second impeller portion 26 has a second amount of rotational engagement with the first impeller portion 24 that is less than the first amount of rotational engagement. In the more-rotationally engaged position, the second impeller portion 26 may be fully engaged with the first impeller portion 24 such that there is no relative rotation between the two impeller portions 24 and 26. In such embodiments, the more-rotationally engaged position may also be referred to as a fully rotationally engaged position.

[0035] In the less-rotationally engaged position (Figure 5), there is relative rotation between the second impeller portion 26 and the first impeller 24. In the embodiments shown in the figures, when in the less-rotationally engaged position, the second impeller 26 may be substantially stationary while the first impeller portion 24 is driven to rotate by the shaft. In such embodiments the less-rotationally engaged position may alternatively be referred to as a disengaged position.

[0036] To move between the more-rotationally engaged position and the less- rotationally engaged position, the second impeller portion 26 may be slidably supported on the input shaft 20 without being rotationally connected on the input shaft 20.

[0037] A shaft seal 32 is shown between the impeller assembly 16 and the input shaft 20 to prevent leakage of fluid 29 therebetween.

[0038] The actuator 28 applies a force to the second impeller portion 26 to drive the second impeller portion 26 towards the fully rotationally engaged position in which the second impeller portion 26 is engaged with the first impeller portion 24 so as to be rotationally driven by the first impeller portion 24. The actuator 28 may include a spring 60, such as a tri-armed leaf spring, that is supported by a spring support bushing 62 on the input shaft 20. The spring 60 may bear on a spring retaining nut 64 fixedly mounted onto the input shaft 20. The actuator 28 may thus be said to be operatively connected to the second impeller portion 26 and is configured to drive movement of the second impeller portion 26 between the more-rotationally engaged position and the less- rotationally engaged position based on a fluid property. In the embodiment shown in Figures 1 -5a, the fluid property is a pressure of the fluid. This is described more fully as follows. During operation of the pump 10, there is a pressure differential across the pump 10, such that a lower pressure zone (designated p) exists on the inlet side of the impeller assembly 16 (and more specifically, on a first side 34 of the second impeller portion 26, and a higher pressure zone (designated P) exists on the outlet or discharge side of the impeller assembly 16 (and more specifically, on a second side 35 of the second impeller portion 26), thereby providing a pressure differential between the first and second sides 34 and 35 of the second impeller portion 26.

[0039] The engagement between the first and second impeller portions 24 and 26 when the second impeller portion 26 is in the more rotationally engaged position may be by any suitable means, such as by friction between their respective first and second mating drive surfaces shown at 36 and 38. In the embodiment shown in Figures 1 -5a, if the pressure differential increases sufficiently, it will overcome the force applied by the actuator 28 and drive movement of the second impeller portion 26 towards the disengaged position. Once the second impeller portion 26 separates from from the first impeller portion 24 (i.e. once the drive surfaces 36 and 38 separate from one another), the first impeller portion 24 no longer drives the second impeller portion 26. Thus, the second impeller portion 26 stops rotating, leaving only the first impeller portion 24 to drive flow through the pump 10. At this point, the pressure on the outlet side of the impeller assembly 16 (and the pressure differential across the impeller assembly 16) drops to a reduced level. This reduced level is shown in Figure 16 at 40 on a pressure/RPM curve shown at 42 for the pump 10. Figure 17 shows the volumetric flow rate/RPM curve 44 for the pump 10 and shows a corresponding reduced flow rate level at 45 that results when the second impeller portion 26 separates (i.e. disengages) from the first impeller portion 24.

[0040] Curves 46 and 47 show the pressure differential across and the flow rate for a pump that is structurally similar to the pump 10 but with a standard impeller of the prior art that is not separable. It will be noted, however, that the flow rate achieved by the pump of the prior art during high engine RPM is unnecessarily high. This is to ensure that the pump cools the engine 1 1 sufficiently at lower engine RPM's since the pump's RPM is directly proportional to the engine's RPM. Thus, at high RPM, the pump of the prior art overcools the engine 1 1 (i.e. cools the engine 1 1 more than necessary). As can be seen, by providing the impeller assembly 16, the highest flow rate and the highest pressure differential achieved by the pump 10 is lower than the corresponding values for the prior art pump. As a result of the lower pressure differential, one or more of several advantageous may be realized. For example, it may be possible to reduce the size and cost of some of the hoses, the radiator and the corresponding fittings that are part of the vehicle's cooling system, such that they are replaced with versions intended to handle lower pressures. This can reduce the cost of the cooling system, the weight of the cooling system and can increase the amount of room available underhood for other components.

[0041] Additionally, the amount of cooling imparted to the engine 1 1 is reduced, which can result in more efficient combustion and reduced emissions in some circumstances, since overcooling an engine 1 1 can reduce the temperatures in the combustion chambers to a point where incomplete combustion takes place if the overcooling is severe enough.

[0042] It will be understood that the second impeller portion 26 is not rotatably connected to the input shaft 20. In the embodiment shown in Figures 1 -5a, the second impeller portion 26 is not even directly supported on the input shaft 20. Instead, the second impeller portion 26 is axially slidingly supported on the first impeller portion 24 by means of mating first and second support surfaces 48 and 50 on the first and second impeller portions 24 and 26 respectively.

[0043] In the embodiment shown in Figures 1 -5a, some rotational force may be imparted to the second impeller portion 26 through frictional engagement at the support surfaces 48 and 50. The second impeller portion 26 may therefore rotate to some extent even when it is separated (i.e. disengaged) at the from the first impeller portion 24 at their respective first and second drive surfaces 36 and 38. This small amount of rotation of the second impeller portion 26 will contribute to a small extent to the flow through the pump 10 when the second impeller portion is in the less rotationally engaged position, but it will be understood that it would not contribute as much as when the drive surfaces 36 and 38 are engaged.

Impeller assembly engagement controlled by temperature

[0044] Reference is made to Figures 6-10 which show a pump 1 10 in accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure. The pump 1 10 is similar to the pump 10 but has an impeller assembly that is actuated via an actuator that operates based on temperature instead of pressure (i.e. a different fluid property than that which controls the actuator 28 of the pump 10). Elements of the pump 1 10 with like functions or structure to elements of the pump 10 will be provided with like reference numbers but increased by 100. For example, the actuator for the pump 1 10 is identified at 128, whereas the actuator for the pump 10 is identified at 28.

[0045] The pump 1 10 includes a pump housing 1 12 which may be similar to the pump housing 12, a power input device 1 14 (e.g. a pulley 1 18), which may be similar to the power input device 14, and an impeller assembly 1 16, which may be similar to the impeller assembly 16, except that the impeller assembly 1 16 achieves disengagement of a first impeller portion 124 and a second impeller portion 126 based on temperature, as noted above, instead of pressure. More specifically, the impeller assembly 1 16 includes an actuator 128 that may be a temperature-responsive device, such as a bimetallic snap disk 170. The bimetallic snap disk 170 has a radially inner end 171 that is axially connected to the first impeller portion 124 (e.g. by being captured in a circumferential slot 172 of the first impeller portion 124). The bimetallic snap disk 170 has a radially outer end 173 that is axially connected to the second impeller portion 126 (e.g. by being captured in a circumferential slot 174 of the second impeller portion 126). The bimetallic snap disk 170 is not rotationally connected to at least one of the first and second impeller portions 124 and 126, thereby permitting the impeller portions 124 and 126 to rotate relative to one another when their drive surfaces 136 and 138 are disengaged from one another. [0046] The bimetallic snap disc 170 is stable in a first position (Figure 9) when its temperature is sufficiently high (e.g. is above a selected threshold temperature) and is stable in a second position (Figure 10) when its temperature is sufficiently low (e.g. is below the selected threshold temperature). In the first position, the bimetallic snap disc 170 holds the first and second impeller portions 124 and 126 in engagement (i.e. such that their respective drive surfaces 136 and 138 are mated together, e.g. frictionally). In the second position, the bimetallic snap disc 170 holds the first and second impeller portions 124 and 126 in a disengaged position. In other words, the snap disc 170 may, in the first position, be said to hold the second impeller portion 126 in a more fully engaged position in which the second impeller portion 126 has a first amount of rotational engagement with the first impeller portion 124, and may, in the second position, be said to hold the second impeller portion 126 in a less fully engaged position in which the second impeller portion 126 has a second amount of rotational engagement with the first impeller portion 126 that is less than the first amount of rotational engagement.

[0047] By using the actuator 128, when the engine 1 1 is sufficiently hot, the higher flow rate achieved by the engaged first and second impeller portions 124 and 126 is used in order to cool the engine 1 1 , and when the engine 1 1 is sufficiently cool, the lower flow rate is achieved by rotation substantially only by the first impeller portion 124 which is connected to the input shaft, shown at 120. The input shaft 120 is rotatably supported in the housing 1 12 by means of one or more bearings 122.

[0048] The actuator 128 may be used in embodiments in which it is desired for the engagement of the first and second impeller portions 124 and 126 to depend on temperature. Instead of a bimetallic snap disk 170, the actuator 128 could instead by some other temperature-dependent actuator, such as a wax actuator, a tri-metallic disk, a shape memory alloy actuator, or any other suitable type of actuator.

[0049] A shaft seal 132 is provided to prevent leakage of fluid between the input shaft 120 and the housing 1 12. [0050] While it has been described that the operation of the actuator 128 is dependent on the temperature of the bimetallic snap disk, it will be understood that the temperature of the bimetallic snap disk is dependent on the temperature of the fluid. Thus, the operation of the actuator 128 is dependent on a fluid property, namely the temperature of the fluid.

[0051] The pumps 10 and 1 10 as described herein can separate the first and second impeller portions 24, 124 and 26, 126 without the need for a controller. Thus the operation of their respective actuators 28, 128 may be said to be passive.

[0052] In the embodiments shown in Figures 1 -5a and 6-10, the actuator 28, 128 may be said to be operatively connected to the second impeller portion 26, 126 and is responsive to a fluid property (e.g. fluid pressure in the embodiment shown in Figures 1 - 5a, temperature in the embodiment shown in Figures 6-10) for movement from a first actuator position (Figures 4, 9) to a second actuator position (Figures 5, 10) during which the actuator causes the second impeller portion to move from one of the more- and less-rotationally engaged positions to the other of the more- and less-rotationally engaged positions.

Impeller assembly engagement controlled by EM coil and controller

[0053] Reference is made to Figures 1 1 -15a, which show a pump 210 in accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure. Elements of the pump 210 with like functions or structure to elements of the pump 10 will be provided with like reference numbers but increased by 200. For example, the actuator for the pump 210 is identified at 228, whereas the actuator for the pump 10 is identified at 28.

[0054] The pump 210 is similar to the pump 10 but has an impeller assembly that is actuated via an actuator 228 that operates based on signals from a controller shown at 21 1 . The controller 21 1 may itself receive signals from one or more sensors that detect one or more fluid properties, and may send signals to control the operation of the actuator 228 based thereon. Thus the actuator 228 may, in such cases, be said to be configured to drive movement of a second impeller portion (shown at 226) between a more-rotationally engaged position (Figure 14) and a less-rotational ly engaged position (Figures 15 and 15a) based on a fluid property. However, in some embodiments, the controller 21 1 may instead control the operation of the actuator 228 based on other factors which are not fluid properties. For example, the controller 21 1 may control the operation of the actuator based on user input from a control element inside the vehicle cockpit.

[0055] The controller 21 1 includes a processor 21 1 a and a memory 21 1 b, in which code may be stored and executed as needed for controlling the operation of the actuator 228.

[0056] The pump 210 includes a pump housing 212, a power input device 214 and an impeller assembly 216. The power input device 214 may be a pulley 218 that is connected to an input shaft 220 that is rotatably supported in the pump housing 212 by means of one or more bearings 222. The first and second impeller portions 224 and 226 may be similar to the first and second impeller portions 124 and 126 (Figures 6-10). However, the second impeller portion 226 may have an armature 280 connected thereto. The armature 280 is a magnetically responsive member that can be positionally controlled by an electromagnetic coil shown at 282 that is fixedly mounted to the pump housing 212. The electromagnetic coil 282 may also be referred to (for convenience) as an EM coil 282. When the EM coil 282 is not energized, the armature 280 is not drawn into engagement with the stationary EM coil 282. As a result, a biasing member 284 (e.g. a six-leaf spring) drives the second impeller portion 226 into engagement with the first impeller portion 224 (by frictional engagement between first and second drive surfaces 236 and 238). Thus, the second impeller portion 226 may be said to be in the more fully engaged position and has a first amount of engagement with the first impeller portion 224.

[0057] When the EM coil 282 is energized the armature 280 is drawn into engagement with the housing of the EM coil (referred as the EM coil housing 288), thereby drawing the second impeller portion 226 out of engagement with the first impeller portion 224. As a result, the second impeller portion 226 is no longer driven by the first impeller portion 224 and the flow rate through the pump 210 and the pressure differential across the pump 210 both decrease.

[0058] The EM coil 282 and its housing 288, the armature 280 and the biasing member 284 may together be included in the actuator 228, which is operatively connected to the second impeller portion 226.

[0059] The controller 21 1 may energize or deenergize the EM coil 282 based on any suitable one or more factors. In the event that at least one factor corresponds to a fluid property, the actuator 228 may be said to be configured to drive movement of the second impeller portion 226 between the more-rotationally engaged position (Figure 14) and the less-rotationally engaged position (Figures 15 and 15a) based on a fluid property.

[0060] A shaft seal 232 is provided to prevent leakage of fluid between the input shaft 220 and the housing 212.

[0061] While the armature 280 is shown as a metallic (e.g. steel) disk that is bolted to the second impeller portion 226, it will be understood that the armature 280 may be any suitable magnetically responsive member. For example, the armature 280 could simply include a plurality of steel fasteners that are mounted to the second impeller portion 226, and which may project therefrom in the direction of the EM coil 282.

[0062] While the above description constitutes a plurality of embodiments of the present invention, it will be appreciated that the present invention is susceptible to further modification and change without departing from the fair meaning of the accompanying claims.