Method and apparatus for pumping large solid articles

Claim 2

A pump for pumping solid articles of a predetermined size, said pump comprising: a housing having walls defining a cylindrical impeller chamber, an inlet coaxial with and communicating with said chamber, and an outlet communicating with and extending outward with the outermost wall thereof at a tangent to the outer periphery of same chamber, a multiple disc impeller rotatably mounted coaxially within said impeller chamber in said housing and having at least a first pair of coaxially disposed flat smooth continuous surface discs closely spaced a first distance apart defining a first path and so disposed within said housing to permit free flow of fluid via said first path therebetween to said outlet and defining a second path for unobstructed passage of articles of a predetermined size greater than said first distance from said inlet past said discs via said second path to said outlet.

Claim 3

A pump for pumping solid articles of a predetermined size, said pump comprising: a housing having walls defining an impeller chamber, an inlet coaxial with and communicating with said chamber, an outlet communicating with the outer periphery of said chamber, and a multiple disc impeller rotatably mounted within said impeller chamber in said housing and having at least a first pair of coaxially disposed flat smooth surface discs closely spaced a first distance apart and so disposed within said housing to permit unobstructed passage of articles of a predetermined size greater than said first distance from said inlet past said discs via a path other than therebetween to said outlet, wherein said pair of discs are adjacent said inlet and said pair of discs include an opening in the center thereof to provide passage for said articles of a predetermined size.

Claim 4

A pump for pumping solid articles of a predetermined size, said pump comprising: a housing having walls defining an impeller chamber, an inlet coaxial with and communicating with said chamber, an outlet communicating with the outer periphery of said chamber, and a multiple disc impeller rotatably mounted within said impeller chamber in said housing and having at least a first pair of coaxially disposed flat smooth surface discs closely spaced a first distance apart and so disposed within said housing to permit unobstructed passage of articles of a predetermined size greater than said first distance from said inlet past said discs via a path other than therebetween to said outlet, wherein said pair of discs are adjacent said inlet and said pair of discs include an opening in the center thereof to provide passage for said articles of a predetermined size.

Claim 5

A pump for pumping solid articles of a predetermined size, said pump comprising: a housing having walls defining an impeller chamber, an inlet coaxial with and communicating with said chamber, an outlet communicating with the outer periphery of said chamber, and a multiple disc impeller rotatably mounted within said impeller chamber in said housing and having at least a first pair of coaxially disposed flat smooth surface discs closely spaced a first distance apart and so disposed within said housing to permit unobstructed passage of articles of a predetermined size greater than said first distance from said inlet past said discs via a path other than therebetween to said outlet, wherein said impeller comprises a drive disc mounted on a drive shaft and defining a third disc spaced from said first pair of discs, and said third disc connected to and spaced further from the adjacent disc of said first pair of discs than said first distance thereby providing said path.

Claim 6

A pump for pumping solid articles of a predetermined size, said pump comprising: a housing having walls defining an impeller chamber, an inlet coaxial with and communicating with said chamber, an outlet communicating with the outer periphery of said chamber, and a multiple disc impeller rotatably mounted within said impeller chamber in said housing and having at least a first pair of coaxially disposed flat smooth surface discs closely spaced a first distance apart and so disposed within said housing to permit unobstructed passage of articles of a predetermined size greater than said first distance from said inlet past said discs via a path other than therebetween to said outlet, wherein said impeller comprises a drive disc mounted on a drive shaft and defining a third disc spaced from said first pair of discs, and said third disc connected to and spaced further from the adjacent disc of said first pair of discs than said first distance thereby providing said path.

Claim 9

The method of claim 4, wherein the step of selecting said articles includes selecting said articles from the class consisting of fruits and vegetables.

Claim 10

The method of claim 4, wherein the step of selecting said articles includes selecting said articles from the class consisting of marbles, rock, coal particles, and glass particles.

Claim 11

A pump for pumping solid articles of a predetermined size, said pump comprising: a housing having a substantially cylindrical impeller chamber, an inlet coaxial with and communicating with said chamber, an outlet communicating with the outer periphery of said chamber, and a multiple disc impeller rotatably mounted within said housing and having at least three discs, two of said discs spaced a first distance apart, sufficient to permit unobstructed passage of articles of a predetermined size from said inlet therebetween to said outlet, and a third disc spaced a second distance from one of said two discs, said second distance being less than said first distance and providing optimum impelling force on a fluid passing therebetween.

Claim 12

A pump for pumping solid articles of a predetermined size, said pump comprising: a housing having a substantially cylindrical impeller chamber, an inlet coaxial with and communicating with said chamber, an outlet communicating with the outer periphery of said chamber, and a multiple disc impeller rotatably mounted within said housing and having at least three discs, two of said discs spaced a first distance apart, sufficient to permit unobstructed passage of articles of a predetermined size from said inlet therebetween to said outlet, and a third disc spaced a second distance from one of said two discs, said second distance being less than said first distance and providing optimum impelling force on a fluid passing therebetween.

Claim 13

The pump of claim 7, wherein said first distance is at least one fourth of an inch and said second distance is between one ten thousandths and one quarter of an inch.

Claim 14

The pump of claim 7, wherein said second distance is greater than one and one-half inches.

Claim 15

The pump of claim 7, wherein said second distance is between one ten thousandths and one and one-half of an inch.

Claim 16

The pump of claim 10, wherein said third disc and the other of the first pair of discs include: means defining a hold through the center thereof and defining an inner diameter thereof, and a plurality of bolts connecting said discs together closely adjacent the inner diameter thereof.