Patent ID: 8747078

Claim:
A submersible pump assembly comprising: a rotary primary pump; a motor operationally coupled to the primary pump for driving the pump; a seal assembly between the primary pump and the motor for sealing the motor from the wellbore; a gas separator between the seal assembly and the primary pump for separating fluid with higher gas content from fluid with lower gas content, wherein an outlet of the gas separator feeds an intake of the primary pump; a rotating shaft operationally coupling the primary pump to the motor, wherein the rotating shaft passes through the seal assembly and the gas separator; wherein the gas separator contains a venting portion for passing gas from the gas separator into a wellbore; a diverter positioned within the venting portion of the gas separator for directing heavier fluid into the intake of the primary pump and lighter fluid toward a venting port of the venting portion; diverter guide vanes formed within the diverter in a flowpath of the lighter fluid for aiding in a directional change of momentum; a conical member having an upstream end and a downstream end, wherein the downstream end has an inner diameter substantially equivalent to the outer diameter of the rotating shaft, and the upstream end has an inner diameter that is wider than the diameter of the rotating shaft to define a fluid passageway directing fluid toward the downstream end; wherein the conical member defines fluid openings near the downstream end so that fluid entering the fluid passageway at the upstream end may flow into the fluid openings; and wherein the diverter guide vanes are formed within the conical member on trailing edges of the fluid openings and extend partially into the fluid passageway so that the diverter guide vanes may direct fluid into the fluid openings.