Sealing for a regulable coolant pump

Abstract

A regulable coolant pump for a coolant circuit of an internal combustion engine, which has a pump housing and a hollow shaft that is placed in the housing and mounted on rolling bearings that connects a drive wheel to an impeller. As the impeller rotates, coolant is drawn in via an inlet chamber that is upstream from the cover disk and is delivered, via vanes of the impeller, into an annular channel of the pump housing. The volumetric delivery can be influenced through an axially displaceable baffle plate assigned to the impeller. The baffle plate is connected in a rotationally rigid manner to a push rod guided in the hollow shaft that acts together with an adjusting unit. A sealing element is provided to seal an annular gap that forms between the baffle plate and the cover disk.

1 - 7 . (canceled) 
     
     
         8 . A regulable coolant pump for a coolant circuit of an internal combustion engine, comprising:
 a pump housing having an inlet chamber and an annular channel that functions as an outlet of the pump;   a cover disk arranged in a transition region of the inlet chamber;   an impeller having vanes arranged in the inlet chamber, a rotation of the impeller draws in a coolant from the inlet chamber, and delivers the coolant into the annular channel of the pump housing;   a hollow shaft mounted in the pump housing for rotating the impeller;   a push rod guided in the hollow shaft and axially movable therein;   an axially displaceable baffle plate, which is connected to the push rod and acts to open and close the annular channel; and   a sealing element, which seals an annular gap between the baffle plate and the cover disk.   
     
     
         9 . The regulable coolant pump according to  claim 8 , wherein the sealing element is supported in a sealing manner on the baffle plate and integrated in a region of the cover disk having a greatest diameter when the coolant pump is closed. 
     
     
         10 . The regulable coolant pump according to  claim 8 , wherein the sealing element surrounds a conically widened portion of the cover disk on an outside face of the conically widened portion. 
     
     
         11 . The regulable coolant pump according to  claim 10 , wherein the sealing element is inserted in an outer stepping of the conically widened portion of the cover disk, and the stepping is directed toward the cover disk. 
     
     
         12 . The regulable coolant pump according to  claim 8 , wherein the baffle plate is positioned at least in an offset manner in relation to the cover disk and the sealing element is disposed in alignment with an inner wall of the cover disk when the coolant pump is in an open state. 
     
     
         13 . The regulable coolant pump according to  claim 8 , wherein the sealing element is a multicomponent injection molded part. 
     
     
         14 . The regulable coolant pump according to  claim 8 , wherein a the sealing element is comprised of an elastomer.