DESC:FORM 2

THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 of 1970)
&
THE PATENT RULES, 2003

COMPLETESPECIFICATION
(See Section 10 and Rule 13)

Title of invention:
A SYSTEM FOR AUTO PRIMING OF A CENTRIFUGAL PUMP

Applicant:
BEML Limited
A company Incorporated in India under the Companies Act, 1956
Having address:
BEML Soudha, 23/1, 4th Main,
Sampangirama Nagar, Bengaluru - 560 027,
Karnataka, India

The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS AND PRIORITY
[001] This patent application claims priority from Indian Provisional Application 202041003353 filed on January 24, 2020.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[002] The present subject matter described herein, in general, relates to acentrifugal pump and more specifically relates to a system for automatic priming of the centrifugal pump.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[003] Before operating a centrifugal pump, priming is a process recommended to avoid dry run of the pump. Presently,the available system is configured with manual priming. The operator has to operate the priming valve before starting the centrifugal pump. The operation of the priming valve will cause the priming which will avoid dry run of the pump. Without priming operation, certain components of the centrifugalpump may get damaged which will lead to a costly breakdown of the equipment.
[004] The present subject matter discloses a system to overcome the above mentioned shortcomings of the available system.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
[005] Main object of the present invention is to enable automatic priming of a centrifugal pump before starting the pumping operation.
[006] Another object of the present invention is toprevent the dry run of the centrifugal pump.
[007] Yet another object of the present invention is toprevent the breakdown of the pumping system due to dry run.
[008] Another object of the present invention is to avoid manual intervention for the priming of the centrifugal pump.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[009] Before the present system is described, it is to be understood that this application is not limited to the particular machine or an apparatus, and methodologies described, as there can be multiple possible embodiments that are not expressly illustrated in the present disclosures. It is also to be understood that the terminology used in the description is for the purpose of describing the particular versions or embodiments only, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present application. This summary is provided to introduce aspects related to a system for auto priming of acentrifugal pump, and the aspects are further elaborated below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify essential features of the proposed subject matter nor is it intended for use in determining or limiting the scope of the proposed subject matter.
[0010] The present subject matter discloses a system for auto priming of a centrifugal pump. The system comprises a rocker switch, a priming pump and a plurality of relays. The rocker switch is configured to energize or de-energize the electric circuit of the centrifugal pump. The priming pump configured to transfer a certain amount of water from a water tank into housingof the centrifugal pump. The plurality of relays configured to energize the priming pump for a predefined time before starting the centrifugal pump.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description of embodiments, is better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawing. For the purpose of illustrating the disclosure, there is shown in the present document example constructions of the disclosure, however, the disclosure is not limited to the specific methods and apparatus disclosed in the document and the drawing:
[0012] The detailed description is described with reference to the accompanying figure. In the figure, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. The same numbers are used throughout the drawing to refer like features and components.
[0013] Figure 1 illustrates an automatic priming system for a centrifugal pump, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter.
[0014] The figure depicts various embodiments of the present disclosure for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following discussion that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the disclosure described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0015] Some embodiments of this disclosure, illustrating all its features, will now be discussed in detail. The words "comprising", “having”, and "including," and other forms thereof, are intended to be equivalent in meaning and be open ended in that an item or items following any one of these words is not meant to be an exhaustive listing of such item or items, or meant to be limited to only the listed item or items. Although any systems and methods similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of embodiments of the present disclosure, the exemplary, systems and methods are now described. The disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the disclosure, which may be embodied in various forms.
[0016] Various modifications to the embodiment will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art and the generic principles herein may be applied to other embodiments. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the embodiments illustrated, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features described herein.
[0017] A centrifugal pump is used to transport fluid by the conversion of rotational kinetic energy to the hydrodynamic energy of the fluid flow.Before starting the centrifugal pump, it is recommended to perform the priming of the centrifugal pump to avoid dry run. During priming operation, housingof the centrifugal pump is filled with liquid to immerse the impellers. The present invention discloses the system and method to perform automatic priming of the pump before the operation of the centrifugal pump is started.
[0018] Referring to figure 1, in one aspect of the present invention, a schematic of a system 100 for automatic priming of a centrifugal pump 10 is illustrated. The system comprisesa rocker switch 102, a plurality of relays 110and a priming pump 120. The rocker switch 102 is configured to energize or de-energize the electric circuit of the centrifugal pump 10. The plurality of relays 110 are configured to enable priming of the centrifugal pump 10 by delaying the start of the centrifugal pump 10. For priming operation, one of the plurality of relays 110 activate the priming pump 120 for a predefined time duration. The priming pump 120 is configured to transfer a certain amount of water from a water tank into housingof the centrifugal pump 10. After the priming operation is completed, one of the plurality of relays 110is configured to switch ON the centrifugal pump 10.
[0019] In an embodiment of the present subject matter, the plurality of relays 110 comprises a first delay relay 112, a second delay relay114 and a priming relay 116. The first delay relay 112 is configured to receive water level information of the water tank through a water level sensor 30. As the rocker switch 102 is switched ON, the first delay relay 112 is configured to energize the second delay 114on realization of water level in the water tank above a predefined level. If water level in the water tank is below the predefined level, the first delay relay 112 is configured to stop further energizing of the electrical circuit and thereby preventing the switching ON of the centrifugal pump 10.
[0020] The second delay relay 114 is configured to delay the switching ON of the centrifugal pump 10 for a predefined time and to energize the priming relay 116 to switch ON the priming pump 120 for the predefined time. The priming pump 120 is configured to transfer a certain amount of water from the water tank into housingof the centrifugal pump 10. After the predefined time, the priming operation is completed and the second delay relay 114 energizes solenoid valves 20 of the centrifugal pump 10. The solenoid valves 20enable flow of hydraulic oil to a hydraulic motor to run the centrifugal pump 10.
[0021] The present subject matter is described for a hydraulically energized centrifugal pump, however the system 100 for automatic priming of the centrifugal pump may be applicable for an electrically energized centrifugal pump. Therefore the second delay relay 114 may be configured to energize an electric motor to run the centrifugal pump 10.
[0022] The predefined time for the priming operation may be calculated based on size or capacity of the centrifugal pump 10.
[0023] The present subject matter overcomes the above-mentioned operator dependent process. The moment the centrifugal pump 10 is switched ON, the priming operation will be carried out automatically by the circuit and there is no need for manual intervention to perform the priming of the centrifugal pump every time thecentrifugal pump is started.
[0024] Exemplary embodiments discussed above may provide certain advantages. Though not required to practice aspects of the disclosure, these advantages may include those provided by the following features.
[0025] Some object of the present invention enables to automatic priming of the centrifugal pump before starting the pumping operation.
[0026] Some object of the present invention enables to prevent the dry run of the centrifugal pump.
[0027] Some object of the present invention enables to prevent the breakdown of the pumping system due to dry run.
[0028] Some object of the present invention enables to avoid manual intervention for priming of the centrifugal pump.
[0029] Although implementations for the system 100 for auto priming of a centrifugal pump have been described in language specific to structural features and/or methods, it is to be understood that the appended claims are not necessarily limited to the specific features described. Rather, the specific features are disclosed as examples of implementation for the system 100 for auto priming of a centrifugal pump.
,CLAIMS:
1. A system (100) for auto priming of a centrifugal pump (10), wherein the system (100) comprises;
a rocker switch (102) configured to energize or de-energize the electric circuit of the centrifugal pump (10);
a priming pump (120) configured to transfer a certain amount of water from a water tank into housing of the centrifugal pump (10); and
a plurality of relays (110) configured to energize the priming pump (120) for a predefined time before starting the centrifugal pump (10).

2. The system for auto priming of the centrifugal pump as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of relays (110) comprises a first delay relay (112), a second delay relay (114) and a priming relay (116).

3. The system for auto priming of the centrifugal pump as claimed in claim 2, wherein the first delay relay (112) is configured to receive water level information of the water tank through a water level sensor (30).

4. The system for auto priming of the centrifugal pumpas claimed in claim 3, whereinthe first delay relay (112) is configured to energize the second delay relay (114)on realization of water level in the water tank above a predefined level.

5. The system for auto priming of the centrifugal pumpas claimed in claim 2, wherein the second delay relay (114) is configured to delay the switching ON of the centrifugal pump (10) for thepredefined time and to energize the priming relay (116) to switch ON the priming pump (120) for the predefined time.

6. The system for auto priming of the centrifugal pumpas claimed in claim 2, wherein the second delay relay (114) is configured to energize solenoid valves (20) of the centrifugal pump (10) to enable flow of hydraulic oil to a hydraulic motor to run the centrifugal pump (10).
7. The system for auto priming of the centrifugal pumpas claimed in claim 2, wherein the second delay relay (114) is configured to energize an electric motor to run the centrifugal pump (10).

8. The system for auto priming of the centrifugal pumpas claimed in claim 1, wherein the predefined time is calculated based on size or capacity of the centrifugal pump (10).