Vane pump with pressure leaking groove to reduce pulsations

Abstract

In a vane pump, a pump housing assembly contains a cam ring having an internal cam surface. A rotor carrying plural vanes is disposed within the cam ring and rotated by a drive shaft. Both end surfaces of the cam ring contact with a pair of flat contact surfaces formed within the pump housing assembly, respectively, and the vanes define plural pump sectors between the rotor and the cam ring, together with the rotor, the cam ring and the pair of contact surfaces. The contact surfaces are formed with a pair of intake ports and a pair of exhaust ports. Furthermore, one of the contact surfaces is provided with a pair of pressure leaking grooves formed at locations between the intake ports and the exhaust ports. The locations of the pressure leaking grooves are chosen so as to leak fluid in pump sectors communicating with the exhaust ports to adjacent pump sectors communicating with the intake ports through passages formed by the pressure leaking grooves and the side edges of vanes located between the two pump sectors whenever the instantaneous pressure of the fluid in the exhaust ports approaches an instantaneous maximum pressure. With this operation, the instantaneous maximum pressure is decreased, thereby the amplitude of the pressure pulsation being reduced.