Impellers secured to drive shafts such as pump motor rotors are well known in the art. A common attachment method includes impellers bolted to the rotor shafts. Another method encompasses securing the impeller to the rotor shaft by threading the impeller onto the rotor shaft. Although these combinations have generally proven reliable, they have suffered from the expense for tooling to form threads on both the impeller and the rotor shaft. In addition, these combinations have generally suffered from the time required to manually thread the impeller onto the shaft. Also, these combinations have generally required the use of additional fittings such as washers and nuts. A need therefore exists for an attachment device for quickly and inexpensively securing a pump impeller to a rotor shaft member that avoids the time consuming and expensive tooling and threading requirements of the prior art.
Therefore, a primary object of the present invention is to provide a mounting device for positively securing an impeller to a pump rotor shaft member and to the combination of an impeller and rotor shaft member that incorporates the novel mounting device. The mounting device of the present invention may be formed as a portion of the impeller to provide an integrated structure with the rotor shaft.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a novel mounting device for positively securing an impeller to a pump rotor shaft which eliminates the need for threaded bolts on screw piece parts and other hardware.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel mounting device for positively securing an impeller to a pump rotor shaft which enables the impeller to be rapidly attached to or removed from the rotor shaft of a pump without the use of tools or devices to hold the rotor shaft from rotating while the impeller is being mounted on the rotor shaft, thus reducing assembly and labor costs.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a novel mounting device for positively securing an impeller to a pump rotor shaft which is readily adaptable to automated assembly techniques.