Rotary pump with axially displaceable, closeable rotor

Abstract

A centrifugal pump assembly has an electric drive motor (2) and at least one impeller (10; 10), which is movable in an axial direction (X) between at least two functional positions. In one functional position a flow path through the impeller (10; 10) is essentially closed and in another functional position the flow path through the impeller (10; 10) is opened. The impeller (10; 10) in a first functional position is held by a magnetic force (F.sub.M) or a spring force and in a second functional position is held by a hydraulic force (F.sub.H) produced by a delivered fluid. An impeller is provided for the centrifugal pump assembly.

Claims

1. A centrifugal pump assembly comprising: an electric drive motor; at least one impeller movable in an axial direction between at least two functional positions, wherein in one functional position a flow path through the impeller is essentially closed and in another functional position the flow path through the impeller is opened, wherein the impeller in a first functional position is held by a permanent magnetic force resulting from an axial offset of the permanent magnet rotor relative to the stator of the drive motor and the at least one impeller is held in a second functional position by a hydraulic force produced by a delivered fluid, wherein the hydraulic force is greater than the permanent magnetic force holding the at least one impeller in the first functional position and the hydraulic force is increased if the drive motor is switched on and the hydraulic force decreases if the drive motor is switched off.

2. A centrifugal pump assembly according to claim 1, wherein the permanent magnetic force acts between a permanent magnet rotor connected to the impeller, and the surrounding stator of the electric drive motor.

3. A centrifugal pump assembly according to claim 1, wherein the flow path through the impeller is closed in the first functional position.

4. A centrifugal pump assembly according to claim 1, wherein the flow path through the impeller is closed in the second functional position.

5. A centrifugal pump assembly according to claim 1, further comprising a closure element, wherein in one of the functional positions the flow path through the impeller is closed, and said one of the functional positions the closure element closes an exit opening or an entry opening of the impeller at least for the larger part.

6. A centrifugal pump assembly according to claim 5, wherein the closure element in that functional position, in which the flow path through the impeller is closed, closes the entry opening or the exit opening for the larger part, but closes it only to the extent that a pressure build-up on the exit side of the impeller is possible on starting the impeller.

7. A centrifugal pump according to claim 5, wherein the impeller is movable relative to the closure element between the first and the second functional position.

8. A centrifugal pump assembly according to claim 5, wherein the impeller comprises an axial-side or radial-side entry opening and the closure element covers the entry opening in one functional position.

9. A centrifugal pump assembly according claim 5, wherein the impeller comprises a radial-side exit opening, and the closure element covers the exit opening in one functional position.

10. A centrifugal pump assembly according to claim 9, wherein the closure element is designed as an annular wall which peripherally surrounds the exit opening in one functional position.

11. A centrifugal pump assembly according to claim 10, wherein in the one of the functional position, in which the flow path through the impeller is closed, the impeller bears with a first peripheral edge delimiting the exit opening, on a face edge of the annular wall.

12. A centrifugal pump assembly according to claim 11, wherein in the one of the in that functional position, in which the flow path through the impeller is closed, a flow path open to an axial face side of the impeller remains between a second peripheral edge lying opposite the first peripheral edge, and the annular wall.

13. A centrifugal pump assembly according to claim 1, further comprising a closure element, wherein in one of the functional positions the flow path through the impeller is closed, and said one of the functional positions the closure element closes an exit opening or an entry opening of the impeller at least for the larger part by more than 90%.

14. An impeller for a centrifugal pump, the impeller comprising: a first peripheral impeller edge surface; a second peripheral impeller edge surface; at least one exit opening; and at least one entry opening defined by the first peripheral impeller edge surface and the second peripheral impeller edge surface, wherein the entry opening is situated in a peripheral section of the impeller, the first peripheral impeller edge surface being configured to be in direct contact with an annular wall when the impeller is in a first functional position, the second peripheral impeller edge surface being configured to be located at a spaced location from the annular wall to define a gap between an inner edge surface of the annular wall and the second peripheral impeller edge surface when the impeller is in the first functional position, wherein the impeller is held by a magnetic force in the first functional position and the impeller is held by a hydraulic force produced by a delivered fluid in a second functional position, wherein the hydraulic force is greater than the permanent magnetic force holding the at least one impeller in the first functional position and the hydraulic force is increased if the drive motor is switched on and the hydraulic force decreases if the drive motor is switched off.

15. An impeller according to claim 14, further comprising a closed, suction-side, axial face side, to which the peripheral section with the entry opening is adjacent, the first peripheral impeller edge surface comprising a first diameter, the second peripheral impeller edge surface comprising a second diameter, the second diameter being less than the first diameter.

16. An impeller according to claim 15, wherein the entry opening is configured as an annular opening extending over the complete periphery of the impeller.

17. An impeller according to claim 16, wherein the impeller has a suction side comprising a lengthened cylindrical section which has an outer surface which is 50 to 150% of an inner cross section in an inside of the lengthened cylindrical section.

18. A centrifugal pump assembly comprising: an electric drive motor; a closure element comprising a closure element inner surface, the closure element inner surface being parallel to a longitudinal axis of the closure element; an impeller movable in an axial direction between at least a first functional position and a second functional position, wherein in the first functional position a flow path through the impeller is essentially closed and in the second functional position the flow path through the impeller is opened, wherein the impeller in a first functional position is held by a magnetic force and in a second functional position is held by a hydraulic force produced by a delivered fluid, wherein the impeller is moved from the first functional position to the second functional position via the hydraulic force when the hydraulic force is greater than the magnetic force, wherein the hydraulic force increases when the electric drive motor is switched to an actuated state and the hydraulic force decreases when the electric drive motor is switched to a non-actuated state, the impeller having a first impeller peripheral surface portion and a second impeller peripheral surface portion, the first impeller peripheral surface portion being in contact with the closure element inner surface when the impeller is in the first functional position, the second impeller peripheral surface portion being located at a spaced location from the closure element to define a gap between the closure element inner surface and the second impeller peripheral surface portion, the first impeller peripheral surface portion and the second impeller peripheral surface portion being located at a spaced location from the closure element when the impeller is in second functional position.

19. A centrifugal pump assembly according to claim 18, wherein the magnetic force results from an axial offset of the permanent magnet rotor relative to the stator of the drive motor.

20. A centrifugal pump assembly according to claim 19, wherein the permanent magnet rotor is axially offset from the stator when the impeller is in the second functional position, the permanent magnet rotor being axially aligned with the stator when the impeller is in the first functional position.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) In the drawings:

(2) FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the first embodiment of the invention, with the impeller in a first functional position;

(3) FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a centrifugal pump assembly according to FIG. 1, with the impeller in a section functional position;

(4) FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a second embodiment of a centrifugal pump assembly according to the invention, with the impeller in a first functional position; and

(5) FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the centrifugal pump assembly according to FIG. 3 with the impeller in an impeller second functional position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

(6) The pump assembly according to the first embodiment in FIGS. 1 and 2 comprises an electric motor 2 which comprises a stator 4 as well as a rotor 6 which is rotatable therein about the longitudinal axis X. The drive motor is designed as a wet-running motor and comprises a can 7 between the stator 4 and the rotor 6. This can be designed in a completely closed manner and separates the rotor space and stator space. The rotor is designed as a permanent magnet rotor 6 and is connected in a rotationally fixed manner to a shaft 8 which extends along the longitudinal axis, is preferably manufactured of ceramic and is machined to bearing quality over it whole length. The shaft in turn is connected in a rotationally fixed manner to an impeller 10 which is preferably formed of plastic. The rotor 6 together with the shaft 8 and the impeller 10 is arranged in its bearings 12 in an axially movable manner, so that the impeller can assume a first axial functional position shown in FIG. 1 and a second axially distanced functional position shown in FIG. 2. Thereby, the impeller in the first functional position lies closer to the stator 4 than in the second functional position.

(7) The impeller 10 at its second axial face side comprises an entry opening 14 in the form of a suction port. A fluid to be delivered, in particular a liquid to be delivered in the axial direction X can flow through this into the impeller 10. The flow is then accelerated radially outwards in the impeller 10 due to the centrifugal forces prevailing on rotation of the impeller, and can exit out of the impeller 10 through a peripheral exit opening situated at the axial end which is away from the entry opening 14. The exit opening 16 is designed as an annular opening in the peripheral region of the impeller in a manner adjacent a pressure-side, axial face side 18 of the impeller.

(8) In the first functional position shown in FIG. 1, the exit opening 16 is closed by a closure element in the form of an annular wall 20. The annular wall 20, departing from a wall delimiting the pump space, in this case from a bearing carrier 22, extends in a direction away from the stator 4. Thereby, the annular wall 20 has such an axial length that in the first functional position it completely covers the axial extension of the exit opening 16 and comes into bearing contact with a first peripheral edge 24 delimiting the exit opening 16, on an axial side. The first peripheral edge 24 is thereby the peripheral edge which faces the suction side of the impeller 10 and which delimits the exit opening 16. The opposite second peripheral edge 26 which delimits the exit opening 16 to the pressure-side axial end and which is situated closer to the pressure side has a smaller diameter than the first peripheral edge 24 with respect to the longitudinal axis X and in the first functional position lies in the inside of the annular wall 24 in a manner such that an annular gap 28 remains between the inner periphery of the annular wall 24 and the second peripheral edge 26. The annular gap 28 forms a flow passage out of the inside of the impeller through the exit opening 16 to the pressure-side face side 18 of the impeller 10. This flow path is also open when the annular wall 20 bears on the first peripheral edge 24 and thus closes the flow path through the impeller to the outside into a pressure channel 30. Thus, although in the first functional position no fluid can flow out of the suction channel 32 into the pressure channel 30, however, if the impeller is rotated by way of the drive of the drive motor 2, it can flow into the space in the inside of the annular wall 20 adjacent to the pressure-side face side 18 or pressure-side shroud of the impeller 10. Thus, on starting up the impeller from the first functional position which is shown in FIG. 1, a pressure and a hydraulic axial force F.sub.H is produced in this region, said axial force acting parallel to the longitudinal axis X onto the pressure-side face side 18 of the impeller 10 and thus displacing the impeller 10 in the direction A into the second functional position shown in FIG. 2.

(9) In this second functional position, the exit opening 16 lies displaced in the axial direction outside the annular wall 20, i.e. the peripheral edge 24 has disengaged from the face edge of the annular wall 20, and the annular wall 20 essentially no longer overlaps the annular exit opening 16, so that on rotation, fluid delivered by the impeller 10 can flow out of the exit opening 16 into the pressure channel 30. Thereby, the hydraulic force F.sub.H continues to act on the pressure-side face side 18 of the impeller 10 due to the pressure in the pressure channel 30. This hydraulic pressure F.sub.H holds the impeller 10 in the second functional position shown in FIG. 2.

(10) In the first functional position, as is shown in FIG. 1, the rotor 6 is centered in the axial direction X with respect to the surrounding stator 4, i.e. the axial middle S of the stator and the axial middle R of the rotor lie essentially above one another. If the rotor, as is shown in FIG. 2, is displaced with respect to the stator 4 by the amount a, in order to bring the impeller 10 into the shown second functional position, the axial middle R of the rotor 6 thereby likewise displaces by the amount a with respect to the axial middle S of the stator 4, as is shown in FIG. 2. A magnetic restoring force F.sub.M results therefrom. With regard to this restoring force, it is the case of a permanent-magnetic force, since the rotor 6 is a permanent magnet rotor. The magnetic restoring force F.sub.M strives to move the rotor 6 back into the axially centered position shown in FIG. 1. I.e. the magnetic restoring force F.sub.M counteracts the hydraulic force F.sub.H. The impeller 10 remains in the second functional position shown in FIG. 2, as long as the hydraulic force F.sub.H is greater than this magnetic restoring force F.sub.M. This can be ensured by way of suitable dimensioning of the drive motor and the impeller 10. Moreover, the drive motor 2 can be controlled with a closed loop such that an adequate pressure in the pressure channel 30 is always ensured, in order to hold the impeller 10 in the shown second function position in operation. If the drive motor 2 is switched off, the hydraulic axial force F.sub.H falls away and only the magnetic restoring force F.sub.M continues to act, by which means the impeller 10 then via the shaft 8 together with the rotor 6 is moved back into the initial position which is shown in FIG. 1 and in which the impeller 10 is then located in the first functional position, in which the exit opening 16 is closed by the annular wall 20.

(11) An automatic mechanical quantity limitation can be achieved if the drive motor is not regulated or controlled with a closed loop, such that the pressure in the pressure channel 30 is always such that the impeller in operation is held in its second functional position shown in FIG. 2. If the pump assembly gets into an operational condition with a high flow and low pressure, this then leads to the pressure in the pressure channel 30 dropping to such an extent that the hydraulic force F.sub.H becomes smaller than the magnetic restoring force F.sub.M, and the impeller 10 moving in the direction of its first functional position which is shown in FIG. 1. Thereby, the exit opening 16 of the impeller is then at least partly closed, so that the flow through the impeller is reduced. Thereby, a pressure which counteracts the magnetic restoring force F.sub.M and which holds the impeller 10 in its second functional position or in a functional position between the first and the second functional position can thereby establish itself in the pressure channel 30 at the exit side of the impeller. Such a design is advantageous if the pump assembly has no electronic quantity limitation and for example cannot be activated from the outside, in order to reduce the flow quantity in certain operating conditions.

(12) FIGS. 3 and 4 show a second embodiment of the invention. With regard to the centrifugal pump assembly shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the drive motor 2 is designed identically to the embodiment example shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, so that the description concerning this is referred to. This drive motor 2 is also designed such that the axial middle of the rotor 6 comes out of overlap with the axial middle S of the stator 4 by way of displacing the rotor 6 relative to the stator 4 by the amount a, so that a magnetic restoring force F.sub.M results, as has been described with regard to the first embodiment example.

(13) The second embodiment example differs from the first embodiment example in that in the first functional position it is not the exit opening 16 which is closed by the impeller 10 connected to the shaft 8, but the exit opening 14. According to this embodiment, the exit opening 16 in both functional positions remains in fluid-leading connection with the pressure channel 30. However, in the first functional position which is shown in FIG. 3, the connection between the suction channel 32 and the exit opening 14 is essentially closed.

(14) The entry opening 14 with this impeller 10 according to the invention is designed as a peripheral-side or radial-side entry opening 14. The entry opening 14 forms a peripheral, annular opening, through which fluid can enter in the radial direction into the inside of the impeller 10. The suction-side face side 34 of the impeller 10 is designed in a closed manner. The suction-side face side 34 is formed by a disk-like wall which simultaneously can assume the function of a cam disk, since a hydraulic force can act on both sides of the suction-side face side 34, i.e. the surface facing the inside of the impeller as well as the outwardly directed surface. In a first functional position, the entry opening 14 lies such that it lies opposite an annular wall 36 in the pump space or pump housing. The annular wall 38 is designed concentrically to the longitudinal axis X and encompasses the annular entry opening 14 such that this is essentially completely covered. Thereby, the inner diameter of the wall 36 however is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the peripheral surfaces adjacent the opening 14, so that an annular gap 38 remains between the wall 16 and the peripheral edge delimiting the entry opening 14. This gap forms a residual opening if the flow path through the impeller 10 is essentially closed in the first functional position. The residual opening however represents less than 2% of the area of the entry opening 14, so that only a very small flow passage remains. The flow passage through the gap 38 is dimensioned such that here, only just so much fluid or liquid can flow through in the first function position according to FIG. 3, that a pressure can build up in the pressure channel 30 on starting the impeller 10. Such a pressure leads to a hydraulic axial force F.sub.H which acts on the pressure-side shroud or face side 18 from the outside, on the impeller 10, so that this impeller is displaced in the direction A from the first function position into the second functional position shown in FIG. 4.

(15) In this second functional position, the entry opening 14 lies opposite the suction channel 32, so that the suction channel 32 by way of the entry opening 14 is in fluid-leading connection with the inside of the impeller 10, and the impeller 10 delivers fluid or liquid in the usual manner on rotation. Thereby, the hydraulic axial force F.sub.H continues to act on the pressure-side shroud or face side 18, so that with a sufficient pressure in the pressure channel 30, the impeller 10 is held in this second functional position against the magnetic restoring force F.sub.M. Preferably, the drive motor 2 is controlled with a closed loop such that a sufficient exit-side pressure is always ensured in the pressure channel 30. If the drive motor 2 is switched off, and the impeller 10 thus no longer delivers fluid, the hydraulic axial force F.sub.H drops off and the impeller 10 is moved via the shaft 8 together with the rotor 6 by way of the magnetic restoring force F.sub.M back into the first functional position shown in FIG. 3.

(16) In the previously described examples, the first functional position is that in which the flow path through the impeller is closed. However, it is to be understood that the impeller and the drive motor without further ado can also be designed such that the second functional position is that in which the flow path is closed. This could be achieved by an offset between the stator and rotor in the reverse direction and by way of the use of a pressure-relieved impeller, with which the pressure-side face side of the impeller is impinged with the suction-side pressure.

(17) While specific embodiments of the invention have been shown and described in detail to illustrate the application of the principles of the invention, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise without departing from such principles.