MXPA96002421A - Pump with embolo or piston of alternative or reciprocal movement - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a pump that includes a cylinder, a wall of elastomeric material at either end of the cylinder, a support for a pump chamber on each elastomeric wall, an inlet with valves and a valve outlet for each pump chamber, a plunger piston within the cylinder, the plunger piston has two ends each connected to one of the elastomeric walls and means for causing the plunger piston to reciprocate within the cylinder, whereby the elastomeric wall is alternately bent towards inside to draw the liquid into the pump chamber through the inlet with valves and out to pump the liquid into the pump chamber through the valve outlet

Description

PUMP COM PAD OR PISTON OF ALTERNATIVE OR RECIPROCATING MOVEMENT BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to pumps for liquids. Various types of pumps are already known for pumping a liquid, for example water, from one place to another. One such pump is that of the Archimedes screw type, but this has the disadvantage that it requires a fairly large starting torque and also has a relatively low efficiency. The diaphragm pumps on the other hand, in the operation generate a difference of pressures through the diaphragm, causing it to have a malfunction. Another known type of pump is the piston or plunger pump but this suffers from the disadvantage that impurities in the liquid that is pumped tend to cause friction between the seal and the piston leading to a rupture of the seal.

OBJECTIVE OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel pump for liquids which does not suffer from these disadvantages and which still remains relatively efficient.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION A pump according to the invention includes, a cylinder, a wall element of elastomeric material at each end of the cylinder, a support for the pump chamber on each elastomeric wall element, an inlet with valves and an outlet with valves for each pumping chamber, a piston or piston inside the cylinder, the piston or piston has its ends connected to the elastomeric wall elements and means for causing the piston or piston to move in reciprocating or reciprocating manner within the cylinder, thereby each elastomeric wall element is inwardly flexed to draw the liquid into the pumping chamber through the inlet with valves and outwardly to pump the liquid into the pumping chamber through the outlet with valves. Any suitable means for reciprocating the piston or plunger, for example a rotating cam, can be used, but in the preferred form of the invention use is made of a crank arm. More preferably the crank arm comprises an eccentric mounted on a rotating shaft. The eccentric leads to the flexing of the elements of the elastomeric wall being carried out smoothly, thereby eliminating the sudden violent movements which have a detrimental effect on the duration of the elements of the elastomeric wall. The crank arm or cam can rest directly on the ends of the piston or piston, but in the preferred form of the invention a friction plate is interposed between the two. The friction plate can be fixed to the ends of the piston or piston, but in the preferred embodiment of the invention it is rotatably mounted on the piston or piston and the cam or crank arm is adapted to engage the friction plate off-center or off-axis. center, this off-center relationship of the crank arm or cam, when it hits the friction plate, imparts a rotating force to the friction plate causing it to rotate, leading to a still circular distribution of friction on the friction plate -to. Because of this, the duration of the friction plate is greatly improved. In a specific form of this embodiment of the invention, at least one bearing is mounted on the eccentric in a position which is offset relative to the axis of the piston or piston. Bearings in which the rotating shaft is rotatably articulated can be of any suitable kind, for example, balls, needles or rollers, or a combination thereof. The pump of the invention has a further advantage in that it itself leads to the use of sealed bearings which eliminates the need for lubrication.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the accompanying drawings which illustrate by way of example the preferred embodiments of the invention: Figure 1 is a side elevation view of a pump constructed in accordance with the invention, Figure 2 is a vertical section through the pump along line 2-2 in Figure 1, Figure 3 is a view similar to that of Figure 2 but taken at right angles with respect to Figure 2. Figure 4 is a cross section taken along line 4-4 in Figure 1. Figures 5 to 8 are a series of diagrams illustrating the operation principle of the pump of the invention. Figure 9 is a view similar to that of Figure 3 of another embodiment of the pump of the invention. Figure 10 shows a modification of the pump of Figure 9, Figure 11 is a vertical section through another embodiment of the pump of the invention, Figure 12 is a view similar to that of Figure 3 of another embodiment of the invention. the invention, and DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Referring to Figures 1 to 4 of the drawings, it will be noted that the pump of the invention includes a housing 10 that has a head section or cover 12 bolted to its upper end. The pump is of a generally circular construction. The head section or cover 12 defines an upwardly open conical disc 14 having located on the inclined wall of its base a series of openings 22 arranged circularly. Positioned on the openings 22 are two valves 18 and 20 each comprising an elastomeric valve member 24, a metal support plate 26, a washer 28 and a screw or bolt 30 to secure assembly together and to the wall 16. The housing 10 it is formed with a longitudinal hole 32, which opens at its lower end towards a cavity 34, which contains a flexible coupling device 36 between the driving shaft 38 of a motor (not shown) and an axis 40. The shaft 40 is rotatably articulated by means of two sealed roller bearings 42 and 46, mounted on the wall of the orifice 32. A further sealed roller bearing 44 is mounted on the shaft 40. The shaft 40 comprises a section 48 of larger diameter, a section of smaller diameter 50 upper and a middle section 52 of intermediate diameter. As will be more clearly seen in Figure 3, the central section 52 has an axis which is offset from the longitudinal axis of the shaft or shaft 40 and functions as an eccentric. The lower section 48 is formed at its lower end with a projection which rests on the upper end of the bearing 42 for locating the shaft or shaft 40 within the housing 10. The housing 10 is further formed with a laterally extending orifice 54, which intersects the longitudinal hole 32 and which is closed at both ends by ends 56 and 58 threaded into the hole 54. The hole 54 has a narrower central section 59 which is closed at either end by an element elastomeric wall 66, 68. The elements of the wall 66, 68 are coupled in two annular recesses 62 formed in the projections 60 at either end of the section 59 of the central hole. The retaining rings 70 fix or secure the wall elements 66 and 68 in position. The elastomeric wall elements 66 and 68 fulfill or serve a dual purpose. On the one hand they define with the covers 56 and 58 for the ends, and the external sections of the hole 54, two pumping chambers 72 and 74 and on the other hand define with the section 59 of the central hole a cylinder 76 with the ends closed . Located inside the cylinder 76 is a piston or plunger 78 comprised of a sleeve 80 with slots 81, therein to allow passage of the shaft or shaft 40 through the piston or plunger 78. The ends of the sleeve or bushing 80 are threaded two ends 82 and 84 of the piston or piston. The ends 82 and 84 are fixed or secured to the elements of the elastomeric wall 66 and 68 by screws or bolts 86 which pass through the support plates 88. The ends 82 and 84 of the piston or plunger form an arc in engagement with the piston or plunger. the roller bearing 44 articulated on the eccentric 52. Provided in each cover 56, 58 of the ends, are a series of inlet openings 90 and 92 arranged in a circle, on which valves 94 and 96 are fixed or secured. Valves 94 and 96 are similar in construction to valves 18 and 20. The principle of operation of the pump will now be explained with reference to Figures 5 to 8 of the drawings, which are diagrammatic and are included for purposes of illustration. The numerical reference a denotes the axis of rotation of the shaft or axis 40 and the numerical reference b the longitudinal axis of the portion 52 of the shaft or shaft. The eccentricity c of b in relation to a has been exaggerated for purposes of clarity and in practice is much smaller. With the shaft or shaft 40 in the rotational position shown in Figure 5, the piston or plunger 78 is centralized and the elastomeric wall elements 66 and 68 are in an un-flexed condition. When the shaft or shaft 40 is now rotated in the counterclockwise direction to the position of Figure 6, the piston or plunger 78 is caused to move to the left by the cam 52 which is supported on the end 82 of the piston or plunger, through the bearing 44, by means of which the elastomeric wall element 66 is flexed outwardly and the elastomeric wall element 68 inwardly. During rotation to the position of Figure 7, the piston or plunger 78 is again placed in the center. Additionally, the rotation to the position of Figure 8 leads to the piston or plunger 78 moving to the right by flexing the elastomeric wall element 68 outwardly and the elastomeric wall element 66 inwardly, just the reverse of the case of Figure 5. It will be noted that the bearing 44 on the portion 52 of the shaft or shaft, remains in contact all the time with both ends 82 and 84 of the piston or plunger, leading to a gradual and smooth bending of the wall elements. Elastomeric 66 and 68, thus optimizing its duration. In operation with the pump submerged in the liquid to be pumped, the motor is started to rotate the shaft or shaft 40 by flexing the elastomeric wall elements 66 and 68 alternately inwardly and outwardly, as described above. The inward bending of the membrane 66, as will be understood, decreases the pressure in the pump chamber 72 causing the inlet valve 94 to open and the liquid to be drawn into the pump chamber 72. When the elastomeric wall element 66 is then bent outward, the pressure in the chamber 72 will increase, opening the valve 18 and pumping the liquid in the chamber 72 out of the chamber 72 through the passageway 98 and the openings 22 towards the head section 12 or top. Simultaneously, the opposite is occurring in the other pump chamber 74. The elastomeric wall element 68 is flexing inwardly to draw the liquid into the chamber 74 and then outward to pump the liquid from the chamber 74. Referring to Figure 9 , there is shown an embodiment with two pump units stacked one on top of the other. During the pumping run, the liquid inside the lower chamber 72 is said to be pumped through the opening 100 towards the upper chamber 72, while the liquid in the upper chamber 72 is pumped towards the head or lid 12. Simultaneously on the other side of the pump, the liquid is induced towards both of the upper and lower chambers 74. Therefore the pumping action is doubled. The embodiment of Figure 10 is similar to that of Figure 9, except that the upper pump units are positioned at 90 degrees with respect to the lower pump units. This latter configuration leads to a more linear energy absorption characteristic for the pump. One of the advantages of the pump of the invention is that it leads by itself to the use of sealed bearings that eliminate the need for a lubrication system. However, the pump of the invention can also be adapted to operate with unsealed bearings. Figure 11 shows such modality. In this case one or more lubrication channels 102 are provided in the wall of the housing 10 to lubricate the bearings. This embodiment also differs from previous embodiments in that the piston or piston 78 is supported outside the cylinder by a linear bearing 104. An oil pump 106 is provided to pump the lubrication fluid through the lubrication channel 102 to the bearings. In another modality, two or more pump units can be stacked one on top of the other in a manner similar to the embodiment of Figures 9 and 10. However in this case the pump units in the lower row can be placed 180 degrees with respect to those in the row above and with transverse openings. This configuration leads to the neutralization of the vibratory forces in the pump. In the embodiment shown in Figure 12, a self-lubricating, disc-shaped bearing 108 is said to be of Teflon, mounted against the inner face of the end 82, 84 of the piston or plunger and an annular self-lubricating bearing 110, said to be also Teflon, is mounted within an annular projection 112 on the end 82, 84 of the piston or piston, through a shoulder 114 on the bearing 110 which engages within a notch 116 in the annular projection 112. Mounted by rotating in free form within the bearing 110 against the bearing 108 is a friction plate 118 of a hard friction material such as for example a steel tool. The axis of rotation of the friction plate 118 rests or abuts the axis dd of the piston or piston 78. The eccentric on the shaft 40 has mounted on it a follower assembly 120 of the bearing, comprised of two bearings 122 and 124 separated by a sleeve or bushing 126 placed between them. Referring to Figure 12, it will be noted that the axis of the follower assembly 120 of the bearing, which is identified by the dotted line, is offset from the axis of the piston or plunger 78, so that during rotation of the shaft 40, the follower assembly 120 of the bearing will strike against the decentered friction plate 118, by means of which a rotary movement is imparted to the friction plate 118 which leads to an even distribution of friction or wear on the plate 118.

It is noted that in relation to this date, the best method known by the applicant to carry out the aforementioned invention, is the conventional one for the manufacture of the objects to which it relates.

Having described the invention as above, property is claimed as contained in the following

Claims (15)

R E I V I N D I C A C I O N S

1. A pump, characterized in that it includes a cylinder, a wall of elastomeric material at any end of the cylinder, a support for a pump chamber on each elastomeric wall, a valve inlet and a valve outlet for each pump chamber, a piston or piston inside the cylinder, the piston or piston has two ends each connected to one of the elastomeric walls and means for causing the piston or piston to move alternately inside the cylinder, whereby the wall is alternately flexed elastomer inward to draw the liquid into the pump chamber through the inlet with valves and outward to pump the liquid into the pump chamber through the outlet with valves.

2. A pump according to claim 1, characterized in that the means for reciprocating the piston or piston includes a rotating cam inside the cylinder, alternatively adapted for the support on each end of the piston or piston.

3. A pump according to claim 1, characterized in that the means for reciprocating or reciprocating movement of the piston or piston, include a crank arm inside the cylinder, alternatively adapted for the support on each end of the piston or piston.

4. A pump according to claim 3, characterized in that the crank arm is in the form of an eccentric.

5. A pump according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that a friction plate is interposed between the crank arm and each end of the piston or piston.

6. A pump according to claim 5, characterized in that the friction plate is rotatably mounted inside the cylinder and the crank arm is adapted to couple the friction plate off center by means of this, to impart rotation to the plate.

7. A pump according to claim 2, characterized in that a friction plate is interposed between the cam and each end of the piston or piston, the friction plate is rotatably mounted inside the cylinder and the cam is adapted to couple the plate friction outside the center, to impart rotation to the plate.

8. A pump, characterized in that it includes a housing, a longitudinal hole that extends upwards inside the housing and that is closed at its upper end, a hole that extends laterally inside the housing that intersects the longitudinal orifice and defines a cylinder, a wall of elastomeric material at either end of the cylinder, a support for the pumping chamber on each elastomeric wall having a valve inlet and a valve outlet, a piston inside the cylinder connected at either end to one of the elastomeric walls, a axis rotatably rotated in the longitudinal hole and extending towards the cylinder, an eccentric mounted on the shaft inside the cylinder, the rotation of the shaft is adapted to cause the piston or piston to move alternately inside the cylinder, flexing alternately by consequently each elastomeric wall inwards to extract the liquid to the pumping chamber through the inlet with valves and out to pump the liquid through the outlet with valves.

9. A pump, characterized in that it includes a housing, a longitudinal hole extending upwards through the housing and that is closed at its upper end, a plurality of longitudinally spaced side holes intersecting the longitudinal orifice and defining a plurality of cylinders, a wall of elastomeric material at each end of each cylinder, a support for the pumping chamber on each elastomeric wall, a valve inlet for each pumping chamber, an outlet opening connecting the upper end of the lower chamber with the chamber above it, and a valve outlet from the upper end of each upper chamber, a piston or plunger within each cylinder, connected at either end to the elastomeric walls, a shaft pivotally rotated in the longitudinal orifice and extending through the cylinders in an eccentric on the shaft, inside each cylinder, the rotation of the shaft is adapted to cause the pistons or pistons to reciprocate within the cylinders to thereby flex alternatively each elastomeric wall at the end of the cylinder. such a cylinder inward, to draw the liquid into the adjacent pumping chambers vertically, simultaneously through the inlets with valves, and outwardly to pump the liquid from the lower chamber to the upper chamber and from the upper chamber outwardly through the outlet with valves.

10. A pump according to claim 9, characterized in that the pumping chambers are placed vertically one directly above the other.

11. A pump according to claim 9, characterized in that the vertically adjacent pumping chambers are positioned at right angles to each other.

12. A pump according to any of claims 8 to 11, characterized in that the shaft and the eccentric are hinged in the sealed bearings.

13. A pump according to any of claims 8 to 11, characterized in that the shaft and the eccentric are hinged in unsealed bearings.

14. A pump according to any of claims 8 to 13, characterized in that a friction plate is rotatably mounted against each end of the piston or piston, and the eccentric is adapted to couple the friction plate out of the center, to impart the rotation to the plate.

15. A pump according to claim 14, characterized in that the eccentric has mounted thereon at least one bearing which is offset relative to the axis of the piston or piston.