WO2013174798A1

WO2013174798A1 - Automatic electric pump

Info

Publication number: WO2013174798A1
Application number: PCT/EP2013/060381
Authority: WO
Inventors: Marco POVOLO; Franceco SINICO; Stefano SESSI
Original assignee: Dab Pumps S.P.A.
Priority date: 2012-05-24
Filing date: 2013-05-21
Publication date: 2013-11-28
Also published as: ITPD20120165A1

Abstract

An automatic electric pump (10), provided with a pump body containment case (11), to which an intake duct (14) and a delivery duct (15) for the fluid are connected; inside the containment case (11) there is a volute (12) in which an impeller (13) is installed which is keyed on the shaft of a motor (16) arranged on one side of the containment case (11); the automatic electric pump (10) comprising a gravity flow control valve (17), which is installed at the delivery duct (15) and is arranged so that the sliding axis (22) of the valve element (20) with which it is provided is inclined at 45° with respect to the vertical (25); the delivery duct (15) being divided into a first portion (26), which is integral with the volute (12), and a second portion (27), which is connected to the first portion (26) by connection means (28) which are designed to adjust the installation position of said gravity flow control valve (17), which is integral with said second portion (27).

Description

AUTOMATIC ELECTRIC PUMP

The present invention relates to an automatic electric pump.

Hydraulic systems often use pumps provided with a flow control valve to regulate automatically the fluid flow-rate of the system from the intake to the delivery of the pump.

The pump body is provided internally with a volute inside which the impeller, driven by a motor, is installed, forcing the intake and the discharge of the fluid through the corresponding ducts. The intake duct and the delivery duct are then connected to the volute and a flow control valve is installed on the side of the delivery duct.

If the flow control valve is of the gravity type, for ensuring its correct operation it must be installed so that the sliding axis of its floating valve is in a vertical position or in any case with an axis that is inclined at such an angle as to ensure a vertical component that renders the valve subject to gravity.

Currently it is known to install the flow control valve in a vertical position on the delivery duct and separately from the volute, or at the connection point between the volute of the pump and the delivery duct, with an inclination of 45°.

Operation of an automatic pump of this type, also referred to hereinafter as an automatic electric pump, is as follows.

With the flow control valve installed vertically on the delivery duct, by closing the cock of the system no fluid is loaded from the intake duct and the delivery is closed by the floating valve element of the flow control valve, which descends under its own weight, sliding along a vertical guide. By reopening the cock a given flow-rate of fluid is drawn by the user: the fluid that is present in the delivery duct is discharged and the valve element rises due to the difference in pressure that is created between the intake duct and the delivery duct. Since the valve element is provided with a magnet on its top, its rise causes an interaction between the magnet and a Reed bulb installed at the top of the flow control valve, which actuates the motor of the pump.

At the end of the process, the cock is closed and consequently the difference in pressure is eliminated, the valve element descends under its own weight and the Reed bulb produces the power-off status, stopping the motor.

The vertical installation of the flow control valve, i.e., so that the valve element sliding axis is vertical, limits the installation of the automatic pump with a horizontal delivery duct.

For correct positioning of the gravity flow control valve, installation occurs with adapted connecting means, thanks to which it is possible to adjust its position.

These connecting means are located at the delivery duct and are constituted by two flanges to be connected: a first flange provided at the end of a first portion of the delivery duct, which is integral with the volute and is provided with four equidistant assembly holes which are mutually symmetrically opposite with respect to its center; and a second flange provided around the end of a second portion of the delivery duct, which supports the flow control valve and is provided with two holes which are mutually symmetrically opposite with respect to its center. As a function of the vertical or horizontal direction of the axis of the pump, the second portion of the delivery duct is joined to the first portion, associating the two flanges with the two assembly holes of the second flange at one pair or the other of mutually opposite holes of the first flange; the flanges are then kept joined by adapted screws, which pass through them at said holes. In this manner, the angular position by means of which the second flange is connected to the first one can be selected by rotating, before fixing by means of screws, the second portion of the delivery duct, and therefore one flange with respect to the other, through an angle that is a multiple of 90°, in order to obtain an arrangement of the flow control valve in which the sliding axis of the floating valve element is vertical.

With this solution, the pump can be arranged so that the impeller rotation axis is either horizontal or vertical, since the flow control valve, being separate from the pump body, is installed in any case with a vertical axis thanks to the connection by means of the flanges cited above.

However, this solution constrains the installation of the delivery duct with a horizontal axis.

According to another solution, the flow control valve is installed instead at the boundary between the volute and the delivery duct, so that the floater axis is at 45° with respect to the vertical.

The operating principle remains substantially the same but, differently from the preceding solution, this one allows positioning the delivery duct both with a horizontal axis and with a vertical axis as needed. In both cases, in fact, the gravity flow control valve is in fact operational, constraining however the arrangement of the pump with a horizontal impeller rotation axis, so that the position of the axis of the valve has a vertical component.

The aim of the present invention is to improve an automatic electric pump so that it can be installed without limitations in the arrangement of the pump motor and of the delivery duct.

Within this aim, an object of the invention is to propose an automatic electric pump that is simple and can be manufactured with known technologies.

This aim, as well as these and other objects that will become more apparent hereinafter, are achieved by an automatic electric pump, provided with a pump body containment case, an intake duct and a delivery duct for the fluid, which are connected to said containment case, inside which there is a volute in which an impeller is installed which is keyed on the shaft of a motor which is arranged on one side of said containment case, said automatic electric pump being characterized in that it comprises a gravity flow control valve, which is installed at said delivery duct and is arranged so that the sliding axis of the valve with which it is provided is inclined at 45° with respect to the vertical, said delivery duct being divided into a first portion, which is integral with said volute, and a second portion, which is connected to said first portion by connection means designed to adjust the installation position of said gravity flow control valve, said gravity flow control valve being integral with said second portion.

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the description of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment of the automatic pump according to the invention, illustrated by way of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a view of the automatic electric pump according to the invention in a first configuration;

Figure 2 is a view of the automatic electric pump according to the invention in a second configuration;

Figure 3 is a view of the automatic electric pump according to the invention in a third configuration;

Figure 4 is a sectional view of the automatic electric pump according to the invention in its third configuration;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the automatic electric pump according to the invention again in its third configuration.

With reference to the cited figures, the automatic electric pump according to the invention, generally designated by the reference numeral 10, has a pump body containment case 11 inside which there is a volute 12 in which an impeller 13 is installed.

The automatic electric pump 10 also has an intake duct 14 and a delivery duct 15, which are connected to the containment case 11 ; the impeller 13 forces the passage of the fluid from the intake duct 14 to the delivery duct 15 and is keyed on the shaft of a motor 16 arranged on one side of the pump containment case 1 1.

The automatic electric pump 10 comprises a gravity flow control valve 17, which is installed on the delivery duct 15. As shown in the sectional view of Figure 4, the gravity flow control valve 17 comprises mainly: a cylindrical enclosure 18, which is connected to said delivery duct 15 and is closed in an upper region by a cover 19; a valve element 20, which can slide within the enclosure 18 along a guide 21 arranged along its sliding axis 22; a magnet (not shown), which is arranged on the top of the valve element 20, and a switching assembly 23, which, installed in the cover 19, is activated with the upward and downward sliding motion of the magnet that is integral with the valve element 20 and sends the signal to the control unit 24, located on one side of the pump, which controls the switching on and off of the motor 16.

The switching assembly 23 is preferably provided with a Reed bulb on its inside, which is not shown for the sake of simplicity.

Advantageously, the gravity flow control valve 17, which is installed on the delivery duct 15, is arranged so that the sliding axis 22 of the valve element 20 is at 45° with respect to the vertical 25. In particular, it is connected to the delivery duct 15 with said cylindrical enclosure 18 at 45°.

The delivery duct 15 is divided into a first portion 26, which is integral with the volute 12, and a second portion 27, with which the gravity flow control valve 17 is integral. The second portion 27 is connected to the first portion 26 by connecting means 28 designed to adjust the installation position of the gravity flow control valve 17, since it is integral with the second portion 27.

These connecting means 28 comprise two flanges that are integral respectively with the first portion 26 and with the second portion 27 of the delivery duct 15 and are joined by screws that pass through their corresponding holes (which are not all visible in the accompanying figures), thus giving continuity to the delivery duct 15.

In particular, a first flange 29 is provided around the circumference of the end of the first portion 26 and is provided with four mutually equidistant holes which are mutually symmetrically opposite in pairs with respect to its center. The second flange 30 faces the first flange 29, being provided around the end of the second portion 27 of the delivery duct 15, and is provided with two holes which are mutually symmetrically opposite with respect to its center. A pair of screws 31 passes through a pair of mutually opposite holes of the first flange 29 and the two holes of the second flange 30 so as to mutually connect the two portions, the first one 26 and the second one 27, of the delivery duct 15, so that the sliding axis 22 of the valve 20 is inclined at 45° with respect to the vertical 25.

During the connection, by rotating one flange with respect to the other, the automatic electric pump 10 according to the invention, and in particular the impeller 13 and the delivery duct 15, can be installed according to the three configurations described hereafter, while ensuring always an inclination of the sliding axis 22 of 45° with respect to the vertical 25.

In a first configuration, shown in Figure 1 and designated by the reference letter A, the rotation axis 32 of the impeller 13 is in a horizontal position, while the delivery axis 33, i.e., the axis that passes through the center of the delivery duct 15, is in a vertical position (in the figure this is not indicated because it is superimposed on the vertical 25).

In a second configuration, shown in Figure 2 and designated by the reference letter B, the automatic electric pump 10 is installed so that the rotation axis 32 of the impeller 13 is in a vertical position and the delivery axis 33 is in a horizontal position.

In the third configuration C, shown in Figure 3, the automatic electric pump 10 is installed so that both the rotation axis 32 of the impeller 13 and the delivery axis 33 are in a horizontal position (but remain substantially mutually perpendicular). This last configuration is similar to the configuration A, except for an imaginary clockwise (and rigid) rotation of the entire system of the automatic electric pump 10 through 90°. However, it is noted that if the installation of the automatic electric pump 10 would provide for the delivery on the opposite side with respect to the containment case 11 of the pump, then, in order to achieve the correct inclination of the sliding axis 22, so that the valve element 20 closes the duct, descending because it is subject to gravity, then the second portion 27 of the delivery duct 15 would be connected to the first portion 26, rotated through 180° with respect to what is shown, i.e., by rotating the second flange 30 with respect to the first one through 180°.

It should be noted that regardless of the orientations (horizontal or vertical) of the two axes, the rotation axis 32 and the delivery axis 33, the gravity flow control valve 17 can always be installed according to its correct operating position, i.e., so that the sliding axis 22 of the valve element 20 is inclined at 45° with respect to the vertical, thanks to the use of the connecting means 28 described above and of the specific structural configuration.

The use of the automatic electric pump according to the invention is as follows.

Thanks to the arrangement of the sliding axis 22 at 45°, the valve element is subject to gravity and by means of its weight closes the delivery duct 15. Upon the opening of the cock of the system, the fluid that is present in the enclosure 18 is discharged and a difference in pressure is created between the intake duct 14 and the enclosure 18, causing the valve element 20 to rise along the guide 21.

This causes the opening of the duct and the rise of the valve element 20 moves the magnet closer, the magnet energizing the Reed bulb of the switching assembly 23, which, by sending the signal to the control unit 24, drives the motor 16 of the impeller to load and discharge the fluid.

The closure of the cock then eliminates the difference in pressure, the valve element, due to its own weight, descends and closes the passage of the fluid, and the switching assembly 23 stops the motor 16 and the impeller 13. It should be noted that the described operation is valid for all three configurations of the automatic electric pump 10; it is in fact sufficient, during installation, to arrange correctly the gravity flow control valve 17 by rotating one flange with respect to the other, so as to ensure that the sliding axis 22 of the valve element 20 has a vertical component that ensures its descent by gravity due to the closure of the cock. Thanks to the particular inclination at 45° of the sliding axis 22, the second portion 27 can be used without modifications to provide all possible configurations.

In practice it has been found that the invention achieves the proposed aim and objects, improving an automatic electric pump that allows installation of the delivery duct and the pump in a horizontal or vertical position without the position of one constraining the position of the other or vice versa.

Furthermore, the improved automatic pump is structurally simple and can be provided by means of known technologies.

The invention thus conceived is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the appended claims; all the details may further be replaced with other technically equivalent elements.

In practice, the materials used, as long as they are compatible with the specific use, as well as the contingent shapes and dimensions, may be any according to the requirements and the state of the art.

The disclosures in Italian Patent Application No. PD2012A000165 from which this application claims priority are incorporated herein by reference.

Where technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by reference signs, those reference signs have been included for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly such reference signs do not have any limiting effect on the interpretation of each element identified by way of example by such reference signs.

Claims

1. An automatic electric pump (10), provided with a pump body containment case (11), an intake duct (14) and a delivery duct (15) for the fluid, which are connected to said containment case (11), inside which there is a volute (12) in which an impeller (13) is installed which is keyed on the shaft of a motor (16) arranged on one side of said containment case (11), said automatic electric pump (10) being characterized in that it comprises a gravity flow control valve (17), which is installed at said delivery duct (15) and is arranged so that the sliding axis (22) of the valve element (20) with which it is provided is inclined at 45° with respect to the vertical (25), said delivery duct (15) being divided into a first portion (26), which is integral with said volute (12), and a second portion (27), which is connected to said first portion (26) by connection means (28) which are designed to adjust the installation position of said gravity flow control valve (17), said gravity flow control valve (17) being integral with said second portion (27).

2. The automatic electric pump according to claim 1, characterized in that said connection means (28) comprise:

- a first flange (29), which is provided around the circumference of the end of said first portion (26) of said delivery duct (15) and is provided with four holes which are mutually equidistant and are mutually symmetrically opposite in pairs with respect to its center,

- a second flange (30), which faces said first flange (29), being provided around the end of said second portion (27) of said delivery duct (15) and being provided with two holes which are symmetrically mutually opposite with respect to its center,

- a pair of screws (31), which pass through a pair of symmetrically mutually opposite holes of said first flange (29) and said two symmetrically mutually opposite holes of said second flange (30) in order to mutually connect said first portion (26) and said second portion (27) of said delivery duct (15) to said sliding axis (22) of said valve element (20), which is inclined at 45° with respect to said vertical (25).

3. The automatic electric pump according to claim 1, characterized in that said gravity flow control valve (17) comprises an enclosure (18), which is connected to said delivery duct (15), said valve element (20) being able to slide within said enclosure (18) along a guide (21) which is arranged along said sliding axis (22), a magnet arranged on the top of said valve element (20) and a switching assembly (23) for switching said motor (16) on and off, said switching assembly (23) being activated by the upward and downward movement of said magnet which is integral with said valve element (20).

4. The automatic electric pump according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that said impeller (13) and said delivery duct (15) can be installed in a first configuration (A), according to which the rotation axis (32) of said impeller (13) is in a horizontal position, the delivery axis (33) is in a vertical position and said sliding axis (22) is inclined at 45° with respect to said vertical (25).

5. The automatic electric pump according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that said impeller (13) and said delivery duct (15) can be installed in a second configuration (B), according to which said rotation axis (32) is in a vertical position, said delivery axis (33) is in a horizontal position and said sliding axis (22) is inclined at 45° with respect to said vertical (25).

6. The automatic electric pump according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that said impeller (13) and said delivery duct (15) can be installed in a third configuration (C), according to which said rotation axis (32) and said delivery axis (33) are both in a horizontal position and said sliding axis (22) is inclined at 45° with respect to said vertical (25).