ABSTRACT
As the gears rotate, on one side, the teeth are coming out of mesh with each other (see Figure 28). As a tooth is pulled out of the space between two teeth of the other gear, it creates a vacuum. Since the housing forms a seal all around the set of gears, the liquid that rushes into this space to fill this void has to come in through the pump’s suction port. Once the spaces between gear teeth are filled with liquid, the liquid rides in these pockets, trapped in place by the housing, until it reaches the discharge side of the pump. The liquid stays in place between the teeth until it reaches the other side of the gear mesh, where the teeth are coming together. Then, when a tooth from the other gear comes into the space between the teeth, the liquid there is forced out. Since the housing still forms a seal around the gears, the only place for the displaced liquid to go is out the pump’s discharge port. The pump thus operates like a conveyor belt, with the pockets of liquid between the gear teeth being picked up at the gear mesh, carried to the other side, and dropped off at the other side of the mesh.
