Electric Pump

Abstract

An electric pump includes a first housing member, a second housing member, and a partition. The first housing member includes a first support surface and a first seal surface. The second housing member includes a second support surface and a second seal surface. The partition is directly held between the first support surface and the second support surface to form a pump chamber with the first housing member and to form a motor chamber with the second housing member. The motor chamber houses a motor that includes a stator and a rotor. The pump chamber houses an impeller. The partition supports a bearing for holding a rotation shaft coupled to the rotor and the impeller. The first seal surface and the second seal surface directly hold a seal member therebetween.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An electric pump, comprising:
 a first housing member including a first support surface and a first seal surface;   a second housing member including a second support surface and a second seal surface;   a partition directly held between the first support surface and the second support surface, the partition, wherein a pump chamber is disposed between the partition and the first housing member and a motor chamber is disposed between the partition and the second housing member;   a motor disposed in the motor chamber and including a stator and a rotor;   an impeller disposed in the pump chamber;   a bearing supported by the partition; and   a rotation shaft supported by the bearing and coupled to the rotor and the impeller, and   a seal member directly contacting the first seal surface and the second seal surface.   
     
     
         2 . The electric pump according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 the first support surface is closer to the pump chamber than the first seal surface; and   the second support surface is closer to the motor chamber than the second seal surface.   
     
     
         3 . The electric pump according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 the first housing member includes a concave part;   the second housing member includes a convex part that faces the concave part to form a space having a bent part therebetween;   the first support surface and the first seal surface are separated from each other by the bent part; and   the second support surface and the second seal surface are separated from each other by the bent part.   
     
     
         4 . The electric pump according to  claim 1 , wherein the partition is made from a metal material and comprises:
 a bearing support part directly supporting the bearing; and   a pipe part housing the stator and the rotor therein.   
     
     
         5 . The elastic pump according to  claim 4 , wherein:
 the pipe part includes a first end,   the partition includes an elastic part coupling the bearing support part to the first end of the pipe part; and   the elastic part is configured to be elastically deformed when vibrations are transmitted from the rotation shaft to the elastic part via the bearing support part.   
     
     
         6 . The electric pump according to  claim 5 , wherein the elastic part of the partition has a bending rigidity that is less than a bending rigidity of the bearing support part and a bending rigidity of the pipe part. 
     
     
         7 . The electric pump according to  claim 5 , wherein:
 the pipe part of the partition includes a second end positioned opposite to the first end and a flange part protruding radially outward from the second end;   the flange part engages with the first housing member in an axial direction of the rotation shaft; and   the elastic part comprises at least one support part being elastically deformable and contacting the stator in the axial direction.   
     
     
         8 . The elastic pump according to  claim 7 , wherein:
 the elastic part comprises at least one opening; and   the at least one support part extends from an edge of the at least one opening.   
     
     
         9 . The electric pump according to  claim 8 , wherein the at least one support part includes a guide surface extending in a circumferential direction about an axis of the rotation shaft and forming a flow path from the pump chamber into the motor chamber through the at least one opening. 
     
     
         10 . The electric pump according to  claim 7 , wherein the at least one support part includes three or more support parts. 
     
     
         11 . The electric pump according to  claim 4 , further comprising:
 a circuit board electrically coupled to the stator and positioned on a side of the second housing member opposite the motor chamber,   wherein a dimension of the circuit board in a direction perpendicular to an axis of the rotation shaft is smaller than an inner diameter of the pipe part of the partition.   
     
     
         12 . The electric pump according to  claim 11 , further comprising:
 a plurality of spacers disposed between the stator and the pipe part of the partition, wherein the spacers are circumferentially spaced about the axis of the rotation shaft to form therebetween a plurality of circumferentially spaced curved spaces.   
     
     
         13 . The electric pump according to  claim 12 , further comprising:
 a coil terminal extending through one of the curved spaces; wherein:
 the stator includes a plurality of circumferentially arranged stator coils; and 
 the coil terminal electrically connects the circuit board with one of the stator coils. 
   
     
     
         14 . The electric pump according to  claim 11 , further comprising:
 a rear cover positioned on a side of the circuit board away from the motor chamber, wherein the rear cover is electrically coupled to the partition and has a dimension larger than the inner diameter of the pipe part of the partition in the direction perpendicular to the axis of the rotation shaft.   
     
     
         15 . The electric pump according to  claim 4 , wherein:
 the stator includes an inward facing surface directed to the rotor; and   the bearing support part is disposed along the inward facing surface of the stator.   
     
     
         16 . The electric pump according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 the first housing member includes an open end sized and configured to receive the impeller, the partition, and the motor therethrough and into the first housing member; and   the open end of the first housing member is closed with the second housing member.