Patent ID: 8454305

Claim:
An air diffuser system for a centrifugal pump having a pump casing with a pumping chamber therein, an impeller mounted within the pumping chamber for rotation about a rotation axis and the impeller including a front side and a rear side, the air diffuser system comprising one or more passages extending through the impeller from the front side to the rear side of the impeller, the or each passage having a first opening at the rear side and a second opening at the front side of the impeller, and an air diffuser device comprising a main body having a first side and a second side, and at least one channel extending through the main body from the first side to the second side thereof, the or each channel having an in use intake opening at the first side of the main body, a discharge opening at the second side of the main body, and the or each channel including a base wall extending through the main body, the discharge opening being arranged in use to be in fluid communication with the first opening of the passage in the impeller, and wherein the base wall of the or each channel has a leading end portion at the first side and a trailing end portion at the second side, the leading end portion and trailing end portion being flush with the respective first side and second side and wherein the base wall of the or each said channel is generally arcuate in shape and generally radially spaced from a central axis of the main body and inclined from the leading end portion towards the trailing end portion.