Impeller Assembly and Method of Using Same

Abstract

An impeller assembly including a pair of plates with one of the plates having a plurality of blades and an interlock structure for aligning and coupling the plates together. A disclosed example of the interlock structure includes a plurality of latch members extending from one plate and locking into apertures of the other plate. The interlock structure may also include a plurality of channels engaging the blades. The blades of the impeller may engage a pair of latch members in a saddle manner. A method of using the impeller assembly within an air blower is also disclosed.

1 . An impeller assembly comprising:
 a pair of generally circular plates;   a plurality of blades between the plates; and   interlock structure on at least one of the pair of plates, said interlock structure including at least a torque transfer component which engages sides of said plurality of blades.   
     
     
         2 . The impeller assembly of  claim 1  with said interlock structure further comprising a plurality of latching members. 
     
     
         3 . The impeller assembly of  claim 1  wherein the plurality of blades extend from a center hub on one of the pair of plates. 
     
     
         4 . The impeller assembly of  claim 3  wherein the hub includes an aperture for receiving a drive shaft to rotate the impeller assembly during operation. 
     
     
         5 . The impeller assembly of  claim 1  wherein the interlock structure is defined on one of the pair of plates and the plurality of blades are defined on the other plate. 
     
     
         6 . The impeller assembly of  claim 1  wherein the interlock structure and the plurality of blades are defined on the same plate. 
     
     
         7 . The impeller assembly of  claim 5  wherein the torque transfer components define a plurality of channels, with each channel being sized to engage side surfaces of one of the plurality of blades. 
     
     
         8 . The impeller assembly of  claim 6  wherein the plurality of latching members include a plurality of tines each having a detent structure. 
     
     
         9 . The impeller assembly of  claim 7  wherein one pair of the plurality of tines engage each blade of the impeller. 
     
     
         10 . The impeller assembly of  claim 8  wherein the detent structures engage apertures formed upon side surfaces of the plurality of blades. 
     
     
         11 . The impeller assembly of  claim 1  wherein the interlock structure and the plurality of blades are defined on the same plate. 
     
     
         12 . An impeller assembly comprising:
 a backplate having a plurality of blades defined upon a surface of the plate, said blades being configured to move a fluid during operation of the impeller assembly, and having a hub including a coupling component;   a cover plate having a center aperture;   a interlock structure, said interlock structure comprising a plurality of torque transfer components, with each of said plurality of torque transfer components extending away from one of said plates and engaging a surface of the other one of said plates; and   a plurality of fluid passageways extending from the center aperture to outer edges of the impeller assembly, with each of said fluid passageway being defined between a pair of blades, a portion of the cover plate and a portion of the back plate.   
     
     
         13 . The impeller assembly of  claim 12  wherein the interlock structure further comprises a plurality of latching members, with at least one of said plurality of latching members engaging one of the plurality of blades so as to lock the cover plate to the backplate. 
     
     
         14 . The impeller assembly of  claim 13  wherein the latching members include a plurality of resilient tines with detent structures, and each detent structure engages a aperture of one of the plurality of blades. 
     
     
         15 . The impeller assembly of  claim 14  wherein a pair of resilient tines engage opposed side surfaces of one of the plurality of blades. 
     
     
         16 . The impeller assembly of  claim 15  wherein a pair of detent structures at ends of the pair of tines engage a pair of apertures on the opposed side surfaces. 
     
     
         17 . The impeller assembly of  claim 12  wherein the torque transfer components each define a channel sized to engage one of the plurality of tines. 
     
     
         18 . The impeller assembly of  claim 17  wherein the channel is sized to engage a ridge portion of said tine. 
     
     
         19 . The impeller assembly of  claim 12  wherein the coupling component of the hub includes an aperture sized to receive a drive shaft. 
     
     
         20 . The impeller assembly of  claim 12  wherein the interlock structure includes multiple latches extending from one of said plates and latching into the other one of said plates. 
     
     
         21 . The impeller assembly of  claim 20  wherein said multiple latches extend from said cover plate and latch into blade apertures of said backplate. 
     
     
         22 . The impeller assembly of  claim 20  wherein said multiple latches extend from said cover plate and at least partially pass through said backplate. 
     
     
         23 . The impeller assembly of  claim 20  wherein the latches extend from the back plate and latch into the cover plate. 
     
     
         24 . The impeller assembly of  claim 20  wherein the latches extend from the cover plate and latch into the back plate. 
     
     
         25 . A method of providing a fluid pump comprising:
 providing an impeller assembly according to  claim 12 ;   inserting the impeller assembly into a housing having a fluid inlet and fluid outlet; and   coupling the impeller assembly to a drive shaft, with rotation of the driveshaft causing the impeller assembly to rotate within the housing causing a fluid to flow from the fluid outlet through the center aperture of the cover plate and through the plurality of fluid passageways prior to exiting the housing via the fluid outlet, with a torque supplied by drive shaft being transferred from the hub to the cover plate via the torque transfer components.   
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 25  further comprising:
 locking the cover plate to the backplate with a plurality of latches extending from the cover plate and engaging a plurality of apertures defined on side surfaces of the plurality of blades.   
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 25  wherein the plurality of apertures are defined near a base of the backplate and the plurality of latches are defined by a plurality of tines, with each tine having a detent structure engaging one of said plurality of apertures.