Patent ID: 7125221

Claim:
A centrifugal pump having an impeller rotatable about an axis, such impeller having a plurality of generally radially extending vanes, and a pump casing including a bowl receiving the impeller and having an inlet side for intake of material into the pump bowl and a rear side opposite the inlet side, an intake plate mounted at the inlet side of the pump casing and having an inlet aperture, the impeller vanes having edges closely adjacent to the inner surface of the intake plate facing the pump bowl, such inner surface of the intake plate having a shallow recess extending generally obliquely relative to a radius from the axis of rotation of the impeller, the shallow recess having an abrupt edge for assisting in cleaning the impeller vanes of material as the impeller rotates and the vanes pass along the inner surface of the intake plate, the abrupt edge of the recess being undercut at a large acute angle.