Patent ID: 8827663
Filing Date: 2014-09-09
Classification: A61M,F04D

Abstract:
1. A rotary pump, comprising: a housing having an upper and lower innermost surface; a shaftless impeller rotatable within the housing, the impeller including a plurality of blades having upper and lower outermost surfaces, wherein an axial hydrodynamic bearing is formed between the outermost surfaces of the blades and innermost surfaces of the housing when a fluid is conveyed through the housing, and wherein the outermost surfaces of the blades are non-parallel with the respective innermost surfaces of the housing, thereby forming a tapered gap between the blades and the housing; and a loading device configured to impose a magnetic biasing load on the impeller as the impeller rotates, in a direction that is substantially parallel to the axial direction; wherein the combination of the magnetic biasing load and the hydrodynamic bearing stabilizes the motion of the impeller.