Transfer pump

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11512696-B2
Application number	US-201715402341-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 10, 2017
Priority date	Jan 15, 2016
Publication date	Nov 29, 2022
Grant date	Nov 29, 2022

Abstract

A transfer pump. The pump is for displacing fluid and may generally include a housing; a pump including an impeller, the pump being disposed within the housing for creating suction to draw the fluid through the impeller; a motor for driving the pump; a battery operable to power the motor; and a sensor for sensing current drawn by the motor. The motor may be deactivated when the current drawn by the motor reaches a predetermined current value for a predetermined amount of time.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A transfer pump for displacing fluid, the pump comprising:
a housing having an inlet and an outlet;
a pump including an impeller with a central hub and a plurality of arms that extend radially outward from the central hub, the pump being disposed within the housing for creating suction to draw the fluid through the inlet, the impeller, and out the outlet;
a pump casing surrounding the pump and including a flattened portion projecting radially inwardly toward the impeller, wherein the flattened portion is disposed adjacent at least one of the inlet or the outlet, wherein the plurality of arms are deformable in response to contacting the flattened portion;
a motor for driving the impeller about a drive axis;
a battery operable to power the motor;
a viewing window arranged on the housing to provide a view of the plurality of arms of the impeller, such that debris between adjacent arms is viewable without any disassembly of the pump; and
an end cap coupled to the housing to support the viewing window adjacent the pump, the end cap defining an inner periphery having a reduced radius section that projects radially inwardly toward the drive axis, wherein the reduced radius section is oriented along a majority of the flattened portion.

2. The pump of claim 1 , wherein the impeller further includes cylindrical end members formed at an end of each arm of the plurality of arms of the impeller.

3. The pump of claim 1 , wherein an interior of the pump casing is generally cylindrical with the flattened portion extending radially inwardly toward the drive axis, and wherein the reduced radius section of the end cap inhibits viewing of at least a portion of the flattened portion when viewed in a direction along the drive axis.

4. The pump of claim 1 , further comprising a first distance defined from the drive axis to the reduced radius section that extends along a direction from the drive axis to the flattened portion, and a second distance defined from the drive axis to the inner periphery that extends along a direction from the drive axis away from the flattened portion, and wherein the first distance is less than the second distance.

5. The pump of claim 1 , wherein the reduced radius section overlaps the flattened portion in a direction along the drive axis.

6. The pump of claim 1 , wherein the inner periphery of the end cap further includes an enlarged radius section that is disposed circumferentially opposite the reduced radius section.

7. The pump of claim 1 , wherein the end cap is coupled to the housing via a plurality of fasteners.

8. The pump of claim 1 , wherein the end cap is opaque.

9. The pump of claim 1 , wherein the impeller is composed of a flexible material that allows the impeller to flex and move significantly during operation.

10. The pump of claim 9 , wherein the impeller is composed of a rubber material.

11. The pump of claim 1 , wherein the flattened portion includes a first discontinuity projecting radially inwardly toward the drive axis proximate the inlet and a second discontinuity projecting radially inwardly toward the drive axis proximate the outlet.

12. The pump of claim 11 , wherein the plurality of arms are deformable in response to contacting the first discontinuity and the second discontinuity.

13. A transfer pump for displacing fluid, the pump comprising:
a housing having an inlet and an outlet;
a pump including an impeller with a central hub and a plurality of arms that extend radially outward from the central hub, the pump being disposed within the housing for creating suction to draw the fluid through the inlet, the impeller, and out the outlet, the impeller configured to rotate about a drive axis;
a pump casing surrounding the pump, the pump casing including a radially inward wall extending nearer the drive axis than a remainder of the pump casing, the radially inward wall disposed at least partially between the inlet and the outlet of the pump;
a viewing window arranged on the housing to provide a view of the plurality of arms of the impeller; and
an end cap coupled to the housing, the end cap trapping the viewing window between the end cap and the pump casing, the end cap including an overhang section covering a portion of the viewing window that is disposed adjacent the radially inward wall of the pump casing.

14. The pump of claim 13 , wherein the radially inward wall faces the drive axis.

15. The pump of claim 13 , wherein each of the inlet and the outlet is defined at least partially in the radially inward wall.

16. The pump of claim 13 , wherein the pump casing is a continuous part about the pump, such that the plurality of arms contact the pump casing throughout rotation about the drive axis.

17. The pump of claim 13 , wherein the pump casing defines a cross-section of a pumping chamber generally having a shape of a circle with a discontinuity that interrupts the shape of the circle, the cross-section lying in a plane that is perpendicular to the drive axis.

Assignees

• Milwaukee Electric Tool Corp

Inventors

• Mantes Jonathan M
• Crowe Jason R

Classifications

• F04C2270/07

  Electric current · CPC title

• F04C14/28 Primary

  Safety arrangements; Monitoring · CPC title

• F04C5/00

  Rotary-piston machines or pumps with the working-chamber walls at least partly resiliently deformable (such pumps specially adapted for elastic fluids F04C18/00) · CPC title

• F04C2240/81

  Sensor, e.g. electronic sensor for control or monitoring · CPC title