Vertical shaft impeller pump apparatus

Claim 2

A vertical shaft impeller pump comprising: A. an external enclosure comprising intake means adapted to conduct fluid thereinto; B. a separable, generally cup-shaped housing disposed within and spaced apart from said external enclosure and comprising i. inlet means adapted to conduct fluid from within said external enclosure into said housing, said inlet means being located at the lower portion of said housing, and ii. discharge means adapted to conduct fluid from said housing to the exterior of the pump; C. a separable fluid-tight casing disposed within and in spaced relationship with said housing, said spaced relationship defining an impeller chamber below said casing; D. a prime mover disposed within said casing, said prime mover comprising a drive shaft extending in substantially fluid-tight relationship through the bottom of said casing and into said impeller chamber; and E. an impeller disposed within said impeller chamber and affixed to said drive shaft.

Claim 3

The pump of claim 1 wherein: i. said external enclosure comprises separable, substantially cup-shaped lower and upper members, said lower and upper members each having the cross-sectional geometry of a regular polygon, and said lower and upper members comprising cooperative interlocking means on at least two sides thereof; and ii. said housing comprises web means having apertures therethrough corresponding to and adapted to receive said interlocking means.

Claim 4

The pump of claim 2 wherein: i. each of said upper and lower members of said external enclosure have a square cross-sectional geometry; and ii. one of said members is provided with symmetrically oriented interlocking means on each of the four sides thereof; and iii. at least two opposed sides of the other of said members are provided with corresponding cooperating interlocking means.

Claim 5

The pump of claim 1 wherein said fluid-tight relationship between said drive shaft and said casing is provided by the combination of: i. a generally cup-shaped casing having an aperture through the bottom thereof; ii. at least one resilient elastomeric or plastomeric wafer seal located within and at the bottom of said casing, said wafer seal having a diameter substantially greater than the diameter of said aperture and smaller than the diameter of the bottom of said casing, and said wafer seal having an aperture therethrough adapted to receive said drive shaft in fluid-tight rotating relationship therewith; iii. a compression ring resting upon said wafer seal and having an outside diameter greater than the diameter of said casing aperture and smaller than the diameter of said wafer seal; and iv. means to compress said compression ring against said wafer seal with sufficient force to cause substantially continuous 360° impingement of said wafer seal against the bottom of said casing to result in the establishment of a fluid-tight relationship therewith.

Claim 6

The pump of claim 4 wherein said compression ring is integral with and extends downwardly from said prime mover.