Centrifugal pump with deaeration chamber

Claim 1

A centrifugal fluid pump comprising, (a) a cylindrical shaped outer housing, (b) fluid feed means comprising a tubular conduit member concentrically arranged within said cylindrical outer housing and having outer walls spaced from the inner wall surface of said outer housing to provide a fluid outlet passage therebetween, (c) a stator element comprised of a pair of spaced interconnected cylindrical plates secured to one end of said outer housing, (d) a rotor casing having a base portion spaced from said stator and having peripheral sidewall portions encompassing the periphery of said stator, (e) a deaeration chamber provided in said rotor casing between said base portion and said stator, (f) an impeller secured to an axial hub of said rotor base portion in alignment with the discharge outlet of said fluid feed conduit member to said deaeration chamber, and spaced a predetermined distance from said stator and fluid discharge outlet to provide a liquid shearing zone within said deaeration chamber, (g) a plurality of radially extending fluid receiving channel vanes in said stator between said stator plates open at their inner ends thereof to said fluid outlet passage and at the outer ends to the periphery of said rotor impeller, (h) vent outlets in said rotor base portion, and (i) drive means connected to said rotor casing operable to rotate said rotor casing and impeller for discharging fluid from said deaeration chamber to said stator fluid receiving channel vanes while air bubbles separated from said fluid by said impeller are sheared in said shearing zone and air discharged through said vent outlets.