US2330498A

US2330498A - Engine-driven centrifugal pump

Info

Publication number: US2330498A
Application number: US421218A
Authority: US
Inventors: Lee Leonard Pelham; Hathaway Lawrence; Sawbridge Arthur
Original assignee: Coventry Climax Engines Ltd
Current assignee: Coventry Climax Engines Ltd
Priority date: 1941-09-29
Filing date: 1941-12-01
Publication date: 1943-09-28
Anticipated expiration: 1960-09-28

Description

neath the chamber.

Patented Sept. 28, 1943 ENGINE-DRIVEN CENTRIFUGAL PUMP Leonard Pelham Lee, Lawrence Hathaway, and Arthur Sawbridge, Coventry, England, assignors to Coventry Climax Engines Limited, Coventry, Warwickshire, England Application December 1, 1941, Serial No. 421,218 In Great Britain September 29, 1941' 6 Claims. (Cl. 103113) This invention relates to a centrifugal pump for lifting and delivering liquids, such as is driven by an' internal-combustion engine, of the kind any liquid that may be drawn in from the inlet side of the pump and to prevent it from passing to the ejector.

According to the present invention, the said means is disposed in the casing of the pump, thus reducing the number of pipe unions and simplifying the arrangement. Preferably the pump has a closed chamber formed in the upper part of its casing and providing the water trap, the chamber having a standpipe therein whichcommunicates at its lower end with an opening leading to the inlet side of the pump, whilst the upper part of the chamber has an opening connected to the ejector. The chamber is preferably on that side of the pump casing remote from the engine, the pump inlet being on the same side and be- The inlet and outlet openings for the chamber may be arranged to be ccaxial, in which case the upper end of the stand pipe is offset or otherwise arranged so as to prevent any water which may be drawn in from passing directly upto the outlet opening. The water trapped in the chamber can leak back to the inlet side of the pump when priming is completed from holes provided near the bottom of the standpipe.

The invention further consists in mounting a valve unit, for controlling the connection of the inlet side of the pump to the ejector, directly upon the pump casing. Furthermore, the valve unit is preferably adapted also to control the supply to the engine, for cooling purposes, of part of the water being pumped.

In the accompanying sheet of drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a pumping unit adapted according to the invention;

Figure 2 is a vertical section, through the axis of the pump, of the upperfportion of the pump; and

Figure 3 is a vertical section through the axis of the rotary member of the valve unit, this section being at right-angles to the section of Figure 2.

In the drawing there is a casing l I over the pumping unit, the casing being shown broken away to disclose the outline of an internal-combustion engine I2 the crankshaft of which is mechanically connected to thevrotor of the pump l3. The latter is of the single-stage rotary-vane type. The volute chamber 14 is provided with two outlets l5, l5 on one side, and I6 represents the pump inlet, this being coaxial with the rotor. ll represents the rotor chamber, the rotor being omitted for the sake of simplicity. Theinlet I6 extends through an opening H3 in the casing II.

In the present instance the casing or bodyof the pump I3 has a hollow chamber I9 formed in it during casting, this chamber being closed by a cover plate 20. Mounted in the chamber I9 is a standpipe 2| the upper end of which is blocked, as shown at 22, while lateral openings 23 are provided beneath.- Lateral openings 24 are also provided at the base of the standpipe. The lower end of the latter communicates by a passage 25 with a peripheral groove 26 in a spacing annulus 21, the latter receiving the adjacent end of The peripheral groove 26 the pump inlet l6. communicates by a number of radial holes, of which only one (28) appears in the illustration, with a peripheral groove 29 around the inner end of the inlet pipe, and the latter groove communicate's with the bore 30 of the inlet pipe through a number of radial holes-of which only one (3 I) appears in the illustration. The top of the chamber l9 communicates by a passage 32 with an opening in a machined face 33 provided at the top of the pump body. Beside the upper end of this passage 32 is the upper end of a second pas sage 34 leading to the outlet side of the pumpi. e., to the volute chamber I4.

Mounted upon' the machined face 33 is the body 35 of a valve unit having passages 36 and 3'! to communicate with the

passages

32 and 34 respectively. The passages in the body of the valve unit are intersected by a tapered bore in which is mounted a rotary valve element 38. There are in the latter two through

bores

39, 39

at right-angles to one another, so'that in one position (as shown in Figure 3) the passage 36 will be blocked and the passage 37 open, while if the rotary element 38 be turned through 90 the passage 31 will be blocked and the passage 36 open. The rotary element 38 is operable by an actuating lever 40 which passes through a slot (not shown) in the casing H.

4| represents the exhaust manifold of the engine and 42 an exhaust-operated .ejector of a kind known per se. The manifold 4| is connected with a drum 43 to the upper end of which is attached the main exhaust pipe 44. In the drum is a clapper valve 45 the actuating spindle of which carries an arm 45 linked at 41 with a crank arm 48 fast on the actuating lever 40. The exhaust manifold also communicates with the ejector. When the actuating lever 40 is pulled downwardly (Figure 1) to close the clapper valve 45 on the inlet to the main exhaust pipe 44, the exhaust gases are diverted to pass through the tube 49 into the delivery pipe This creates a depression in the annular space 52 around the tube 49. The space 52 is connected to the pipe 53 which leads, it will be observed from Figure 3, to the passage 36.

54 represents a tank containing cooling water, the tank being connected with the engine jacket in a known manner. Only one of the connection pipes 55 appears in the illustration. Disposed in the interior of the tank, for cooling the water therein, is a length of coiled copper tubing 56 one end.,5'l of which extends to the outside of the tank for exhaust purposes, while the other end is connected by a pipe 58 which, it will be observed from Figure 3, communicates with the passage 31.

The operation of the unit is as follows. After starting up the engine, in order to prime the pump the actuating lever 40 is pulled downwardly, thereby closing the clapper valve 45 and turning the rotary element 38 through 90 from the position shown in Figure 3. In these conditions no water is being delivered through the copper tubing 56, but there is a sufilcient quantity of water in the tank 54 and engine jacket to ensure that the engine will not become overheated during the period that priming is being effected.

On the other hand, the passage 36 is open, and the inlet side of the pump is thus placed in communication with the ejector through the pipe 53. As will be readily understood, the action of the ejector in these conditions is to create a depression at the inlet side of the pump, thus facilitating the priming of the latter. If before the pump is primed water should be drawn along the passage 25:, it will be trapped in the chamber l9, whereby such water is prevented from passing through to the ejector.

When priming is completed, aswill be evidenced by delivery of water from the pump, the actuating lever 40 is raised through 90, thereby moving the clapper valve away from the inlet of the main exhaust pipe, so that the exhaust gases can then travel to the silencer in the normal manner. At the same time the rotary element 38 is turned to the position shown by Figure 3, in which the pump inlet I6 is disconnected from the ejector by the closing of the passage 36. The passage 31, however, is open, thereby enabling a portion of the water being pumped to be delivered along the passage 34 to the pipe 58, and this water, being circulated through the copper-tubing 56, will serve for preventing the water in the engine jacket and tank 54 from rising to too high a temperature while the engine is operating the pump for normal delivery. Any water that may have entered the chamber l9 can then drain back to the inlet side of the pump.

What we claim as our invention and desire secure by Letters Patent of the United' States is:

1. In combination, a centrifugal pump of the single-stage rotary-vane type, an internal-combustion engine connected to drive said pump,

the engine having a cooling system supplied with cooling water from the outlet side of said pump, a valve controlling the supply of such cooling water, an ejector operated by the engine exhaust connected to the inlet side of said pump for creating a subatmospheric pressure for facilitating the priming of said pump, and a valve in the connection of said inlet side to said ejector, said two valves being combined in a unit having a single actuating means whereby when one valve is closed the other valve is open and vice versa, and said valve unit being mounted directly upon the casing of said pump.

'2. In combination, a centrifugal pump of the single-stage rotary-vane typ an internal-combustion engine connected to drive said pump, an ejector operated by the engine exhaust connected to the inlet side of said pump for creating a sub-atmospheric pressure for facilitating the priming of said pump, a valve in the connection between said inlet side and said ejector, said valve being mounted directly upon the casing of said p unp, and a water trap disposed in said casing and connected between said valve and said inlet side.

3. In combination, a centrifugal pump of the single-stage rotary-vane type, an internal-combustion engine connected to drive said pump, the engine having a cooling system, adapted to be supplied with cooling water from said pump, a valve controlling the supply of such cooling Water, an ejector operated by the engine exhaust connected to the inlet side of said pump for creating a sub-atmospheric pressure for facilitating the priming of said pump, a valve controlling the connection of said inlet side to said ejector, said two valves being combined in a unit having a single actuating means whereby when one valve is closed the other valve is open and vice versa, said valve unit being mounted directly upon the casing of said pump, and a water trap disposed in said casing to prevent water from passing to said ejector, said water trap being connected to said inlet side and to said valve unit.

4. In combination, a centrifugal pump of the single-stage rotary-vane type, an internal-combustion engine connected to drive said pump, the engine having a cooling system adapted to be supplied with cooling water from said pump, a valve controlling the supply of such cooling water, an ejector operated by the engine exhaust connected to the inlet side of said pump for creating a sub-atmospheric pressure for facilitating the priming of the pump, a valve controlling the connection of said inlet side to said ejector, said two valves being combined in a unit having a. single actuating means whereby when one valve is closed the other valve is open and vice versa, said valve unit being mounted directly upon the top of the casing of said pump, and a closed chamber formed in said casing below said valve unit, said chamber having a standpipe therein communicating with said inlet side and said chamber having an outlet opening leading to said second-mentioned valve.

5. In combination, a centrifugal pump of the single-stage rotary-vane type, an internal combustion engine connected to drive said pump, an ejector operated by the engine exhaust connected to the inlet side of said pump for creating a sub-atmospheric pressure for facilitating the priming of said pump, a closed chamber formed in the upper part of the pump casing adapted to trap any liquid that may be drawn in from the inlet side of said pump. and prevent its passage to said ejector, a'standpipe in said chamber communicating at its lower end with an opening leading to the inlet side of said pump, th'e'upper pa rt of said chamber having an opening connected. to said ejector,- said pump inlet and'said chamber beingpositioned on the remote side of said engine.

'8. In combination, a centrifugal pump of the single-stage rotary-vane type, an internal combustion engine connected to drive said pump, an ejector operated by the engine exhaust connected to the inlet side of said pump for creating a sub-atmospheric pressure for facilitating the priming of said pump, a closed chamber formed in the upper part of the pump casing adapted to trap any liquid that may be drawn in from the inlet side of said pump and prevent its passage to said ejector, a standpipe in said chamber communicating at its lower endwith an opening leading to the inlet side of said pump,

the upper part of said chamber having an opening connected to said ejector, said pump inlet and said chamber being positioned on the remote side of said engine, said inlet and outlet openings for said chamber being coaxial, the upper I