Automatic fluid pump

Abstract

An automatic fluid pump includes a pump body having a liquid channel and a mounting channel, the liquid channel having an inlet and an outlet and connected to a suction pipe and a delivery hose, respectively. A motor fan is disposed at a lower end of the suction pipe. A power controller is coupled to the pump body and circuit-connected to a battery, a terminal plate, and a switch. A valve case is coupled to the mounting channel in the form of a hopper formed at a lower end thereof with an inclined portion having an air hole. A valve case cap is coupled to the valve case. A main check valve is disposed on a lower surface of the valve case cap to open/close the through-holes. An auxiliary check valve is vertically moved up and down between the mounting channel and the air hole to open/close the air hole.

Claims

1. An automatic fluid pump adapted to pump fluid using a motor fan, the automatic fluid pump comprising: a pump body having an inlet and an outlet formed at opposite ends thereof and connected to a suction pipe and a delivery hose, respectively, the pump body comprising a liquid channel formed therein and communicating with the inlet and the outlet and a mounting channel formed at an upper side of the liquid channel; a valve case provided in the form of a hopper formed at a lower end thereof with an inclined portion having an air hole, the valve case comprising a guide tube formed on a lower surface of the inclined portion and coupled to the mounting channel of the pump body to allow the fluid to be introduced into the valve case therethrough; a valve case cap coupled to the valve case and having multiple through-holes; and a main check valve disposed on a lower surface of the valve case cap to open/close the through-holes, the main check valve controlling the amount of the fluid introduced into the valve case by increasing internal pressure of the valve case during pumping operation, whereby overflow due to back pressure and intrusion of foreign matter is prevented during pumping operation.

2. The automatic fluid pump according to claim 1, further comprising: an auxiliary check valve disposed inside the guide tube to be movable up and down, the auxiliary check valve being adapted to open/close the air hole, whereby sealing force is improved by dual action of the main check valve and the auxiliary check valve.

3. The automatic fluid pump according to claim 2, wherein: the valve case comprises a first contact portion and a second contact portion formed on a lower surface of the inclined portion and having different heights, the first contact portion having a greater height than the second contact portion; the auxiliary check valve comprises a mountain-shaped protrusion formed on a surface thereof such that the first contact portion is opened/closed by the mountain-shaped protrusion and the second contact portion is opened/closed by the auxiliary check valve, whereby a dual opening/closing mechanism is provided; and the auxiliary check valve comprises a guide portion formed on a lower surface thereof and fitted at one end thereof into the mounting channel to guide vertical movement of the auxiliary check valve.

4. The automatic fluid pump according to claim 1, wherein: a locking protrusion and a locking groove corresponding to each other are formed on an inner surface of the valve case and an outer surface of the valve case cap, respectively, to maintain firm engagement between the valve case and the valve case cap; and the valve case cap is provided with an O-ring for sealing to effectively maintain the internal pressure of the valve case.

5. The automatic fluid pump according to claim 1, wherein the valve case cap comprises a flange formed at an upper end thereof and having multiple vent grooves to generate an air passage between the valve case cap and a terminal plate disposed on the valve case cap, whereby external air is smoothly introduced into the valve case, in which the fluid remains, through the main check valve when the automatic fluid pump is in a switch-off mode.

Description

DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a front view of a fluid pump according to the present invention.

(2) FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a pump body and a power controller of the fluid pump according to the present invention.

(3) FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a suction pipe of the fluid pump according to the present invention, with a motor fan disposed in the suction pipe.

(4) FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of an auxiliary check valve and a main check valve according to the present invention, wherein the auxiliary check valve and the main check valve are both in a closed position.

(5) FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of the auxiliary check valve and the main check valve according to the present invention, wherein the auxiliary check valve and the main check valve are both in an open position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(6) It should be understood that embodiments described herein are provided for illustration only and are not to be construed in any way as limiting the present invention.

(7) It should be understood that the following embodiments may be embodied in a variety of other forms, and various omissions, substitutions and changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. The accompanying claims and equivalents thereto are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the present invention.

(8) In addition, objects or effects disclosed herein should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present invention, since disclosure thereof does not mean that a specific embodiment should include all or only such effects.

(9) Hereinafter, technical configuration capable of effectively achieving features of the present invention and advantages thereof will be described in detail in conjunction with exemplary embodiments and the accompanying drawings.

(10) FIG. 1 is a front view of a fluid pump according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a pump body and a power controller of the fluid pump according to the present invention, FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a suction pipe of the fluid pump according to the present invention, with a motor fan disposed in the suction pipe, FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of an auxiliary check valve and a main check valve according to the present invention, wherein the auxiliary check valve and the main check valve are both in a closed position, and FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of the auxiliary check valve and the main check valve according to the present invention, wherein the auxiliary check valve and the main check valve are both in an open position.

(11) An automatic fluid pump according to the present invention includes: a pump body 100; a motor fan 130; a power controller 140; a valve case 150; a valve case cap 170, and a main check valve 160.

(12) The pump body 100 has an inlet and an outlet formed at opposite ends thereof and connected to a suction pipe 110 and a delivery hose 120, respectively. In addition, the pump body includes a liquid channel 101 formed therein and communicating with the inlet and the outlet and a mounting channel 102 formed at an upper side of the liquid channel 101.

(13) The motor fan 130 is disposed inside a lower end of the suction pipe 110 and directs fluid to the liquid channel 101. The power controller 140 is disposed above the mounting channel 102 of the pump body 100 and is circuit-connected to a battery 141, a terminal plate 142, and a switch 143 to control an operation of turning the motor fan 130 on/off.

(14) The valve case 150 is in the form of a hopper formed at a lower end thereof with an inclined portion 151 having an air hole 152 formed therethrough, and is coupled to an inside of the pump body 100 by fitting a guide tube 155 formed at a lower surface of the inclined portion 151 into the mounting channel 102 of the pump body 100.

(15) The valve case cap 170 is mounted on an upper surface of the valve case 150, and has multiple through-holes 171 along an edge thereof.

(16) The main check valve 160 is disposed at a lower surface of the valve case cap 170 to open/close the through-holes 171 of the valve case cap 170. The main check valve 160 adjusts the amount of fluid introduced into the valve case 150 by increasing the internal pressure of the valve case 150 during pumping operation and is opened to allow external air to be introduced into the valve case 150 through the through-holes 171 when the pump is in a switch-off mode.

(17) In one embodiment, among the main check valve 160 and an auxiliary check valve 180 shown in FIG. 4, only the main check valve 160 may be disposed in the pump body 100.

(18) That is, when the suction pipe 110 is inserted into a fluid reservoir with only the main check valve 160 disposed in the pump body 100 and then a switch 143 of the power controller 140 is moved to a switch-on position, the motor fan 130 disposed inside the lower end of the suction pipe 110 is operated to direct fluid to the liquid channel 101 inside the pump body 100 such that the fluid is discharged to the delivery hose 120 connected to the outlet.

(19) Here, some portion of the fluid introduced into the liquid channel 101 flows into and accumulates in a space in the valve case 150, which is a fluid retention portion, through the air hole 152. Here, since the valve case cap 170 with the main check valve 160 disposed thereon is mounted on the upper surface of the valve case 150, air inside the valve case 150 cannot escape to the outside.

(20) As a result, air pressure inside the valve case 150 gradually increases as the fluid flows into the valve case 150 through an auxiliary check valve 180. When the air pressure in the valve case 150 reaches a certain value, no more fluid flows into the valve case 150, whereby overflow can be prevented.

(21) In addition, even though back pressure is applied to the interior of the valve case 150 when the fluid pump is used for a long time, rapid increase in air pressure induced by the main check valve 160 allows up to a certain amount of fluid to flow into the valve case 150.

(22) Accordingly, foreign matter contained in fluid is not likely to adhere to the main check valve 160, thereby preventing reduction in sealing force due to the foreign matter, and fluid pumped from the fluid reservoir can be entirely discharged through the delivery hose 120 without occurrence of overflow as in the related art.

(23) In another embodiment, the fluid pump according to the present invention may further include an auxiliary check valve 180 disposed in the guide tube 155 to be movable up and down to open/close the air hole 152.

(24) When there is fluid flowing upward through the mounting channel 102 from the liquid channel 101, the auxiliary check valve 180 is moved up by the fluid to primarily block the air hole 152 formed at the inclined portion 151 of the valve case 150.

(25) In addition, even though sealing force is reduced due to back pressure or foreign matter adhered to the auxiliary check valve 180, no more fluid flows into the space (the fluid retention portion) in the valve case 150 when the internal pressure of the valve case 150 reaches a certain value, thereby allowing up to a certain amount of fluid to be introduced into the space, as described above.

(26) Preferably, the valve case 150 includes a first contact portion 153 and a second contact portion 154 formed on the lower surface of the inclined portion 151 and having different heights, in which the first contact portion 153 and the second contact portion 154 contact a mountain-shaped protrusion 181 of the auxiliary check valve 180 and the auxiliary check valve 180, respectively, and the auxiliary check valve 180 includes a guide portion 182 formed at the lower surface thereof and fitted at one end thereof into the mounting channel 102 to guide vertical movement of the auxiliary check valve 180.

(27) In this way, the auxiliary check valve 180 can be smoothly moved up/down by means of the guide portion 182 upon performing opening/closing operations during pumping operation. In addition, the auxiliary check valve 180 contacts both the first contact unit 153 and the second contact unit 154 when in a closed position, thereby providing improved sealing force.

(28) Further, when the pump is stopped, the auxiliary check valve 180 is quickly released from contact with the first contact unit 153 and the second contact unit 154 while being vertically moved down, thereby allowing fluid introduced into and having remained in the valve case 150 to be quickly recovered through the air hole 152.

(29) In addition, the fluid being quickly recovered from the valve case 150 through the air hole 152 can effectively wash off foreign matter off the auxiliary check valve 180. Further, according to the present invention, improved sealing force can be achieved by dual action of the main check valve 160 and the auxiliary check valve 180.

(30) In addition, a locking protrusion 156 and a locking groove 172 corresponding to each other may be formed in an inner surface of the valve case 150 and an outer surface of the valve case cap 170, respectively, to maintain firm engagement between the valve case and the valve case cap 170. Further, the valve case cap 170 may be provided on a lower outer surface thereof with an O-ring 190 for airtightness, thereby helping to increase the pressure in the valve case 150.

(31) Preferably, the valve case cap 170 is provided at the upper end thereof with a flange 174 having multiple grooves 173 such that an air passage is generated between the valve case cap 170 and the terminal plate 142 disposed on the valve case cap 170.

(32) In this way, even when the edge of the valve case cap 170 closely contacts a lower surface of the terminal plate 142, a smooth flow of air can be secured through the grooves 173 of the flange 174, thereby allowing external air to be smoothly introduced into the valve case 150, in which fluid remains, through the main check valve 160 when the fluid pump is in a switch-off mode.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

(33) TABLE-US-00001 100: Pump body 101: Liquid channel 102: Mounting channel 110: Suction pipe 120: Delivery hose 130: Motor fan 140: Power controller 150: Valve case 151: Inclined portion 152: Air hole 153: First contact portion 154: Second contact portion 155: Guide tube 156: Locking protrusion 160: Main check valve 170: Valve case cap 171: Through-hole 172: Locking groove 173: Groove 174: Flange 180: Auxiliary check valve 181: Mountain-shaped protrusion 182: Guide portion 190: O-ring