ODORANT PUMP

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a unique pump for odorizing natural gas. The pump uses a bellows and a vanishing chamber technology (in combination with one another) to provide extremely precise and accurate, dependable and repeatable pumping technology. It does so while limiting the escape of odorant vapors to the atmosphere by keeping the bellows and the chamber physically separated from one another to reduce the need to access the chamber when performing maintenance on the pump.

Claims

1. A pump for introducing odorant into a pipeline, the pump including: a bellows; and a cup chamber in mechanical communication with the bellows; and a cup member received in the cup chamber, the cup member including a concave portion in which odorant may be contained; and wherein when the bellows acts on the cup chamber, the cup member acts on the concave portion to reduce concavity of the concave portion and eject odorant from the cup chamber and out of the pump.

2. The pump of claim 1, wherein a first end of the pump and the cup chamber are physically separated from one another such that the first end may be maintained or replaced without accessing the cup chamber.

3. The pump of claim 1, wherein the cup member is made from a rubber material that may return to form after each ejection.

4. The pump of claim 1, wherein the bellows is acted on by a coupling in mechanical connection with a piston member.

5. The pump of claim 4, wherein the piston member is in mechanical connection with a diaphragm.

6. The pump of claim 5, wherein a chamber is provided that is defined by the diaphragm and an outer wall of the pump, and wherein the chamber receives air from an actuation port when it receives instructions to do so, and the air in the chamber acts on the diaphragm to act on the piston member.

7. The pump of claim 1, wherein a PLC instructs the bellows to act on the cup chamber.

8. The pump of claim 1, wherein the cup member is friction fit in the cup chamber.

9. The pump of claim 1, wherein the odorant is introduced to the cup chamber via an odorant inlet and ejected from the cup member by a check valve.

10. The pump of claim 1, wherein at least one seal member is positioned and located adjacent to the cup member to release the cup member from a surface to which the concave portion of the cup member is adjacent when the odorant is injected.

11. A pump for introducing odorant into a pipeline, the pump including: a bellows; and a cup chamber in mechanical communication with the bellows but physically separated from the bellows; and a cup member received in the cup chamber, the cup member including a concave portion in which odorant may be contained.

12. The pump of claim 11, wherein a first end of the pump and the cup chamber are physically separated from one another such that the first end may be maintained or replaced without accessing the cup chamber.

13. The pump of claim 11, wherein the cup member is made from a rubber material that may return to form after each ejection.

14. The pump of claim 11, wherein the bellows is acted on by a coupling in mechanical connection with a piston member.

15. The pump of claim 14, wherein the piston member is in mechanical connection with a diaphragm.

16. The pump of claim 15, wherein a chamber is provided that is defined by the diaphragm and an outer wall of the pump, and wherein the chamber receives air from an actuation port when it receives instructions to do so, and the air in the chamber acts on the diaphragm to act on the piston member.

17. The pump of claim 11, wherein a PLC instructs the bellows to act on the cup chamber.

18. The pump of claim 11, wherein the cup member is friction fit in the cup chamber.

19. The pump of claim 11, wherein when the bellows acts on the cup chamber, the cup member acts on the concave portion to reduce concavity of the concave portion and eject odorant from the cup chamber and out of the pump.

20. The pump of claim 11, wherein at least one seal member is positioned and located adjacent to the cup member to release the cup member from a surface to which the concave portion of the cup member is adjacent when the odorant is injected.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] For a better understanding of the present invention, reference may be made to the following accompanying drawings.

[0020] FIG. 1 is an elevation view of an odorant pump constructed according to the teachings of the current application.

[0021] FIG. 2 is a cross-section view of the odorant pump of FIG. 1 taken across line 2-2.

[0022] FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0023] Turning first to FIG. 1, an odorant pump 1 is illustrated that may be used to pump odorant into a natural gas pipeline. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the pump 1 includes each of a first end 5 and a second end 10. In operation, the first end 5 is nearer an actuation port that will be described in greater detail below, and the second end 10 may be nearer a pipeline into which the odorant may be injected when the pump 1 is operated. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, a mounting bracket 15 is also illustrated that may secure the pump 1 to a pipeline or other structure associated with a pipeline.

[0024] Turning to FIG. 2, at the first end 5, an actuation port 20 is illustrated through which instrument air may be introduced when a PLC or user may instruct a solenoid associated therewith to open and allow instrument air to be introduced to the port 20. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, the pump is in its unactuated state. However, as the various components that make up the pump 1 are described herein, the actions and movements of those components are described relative to each of their actuated and unactuated positions.

[0025] At the second end 10 of the pump 1, an odorant outlet 25 is provided from which odorant contained within the pump 1 may be expelled when instructed to do so. Odorant that is expelled from the odorant outlet 25 is introduced to the pump 1 via an odorant inlet 30 that is also positioned and located at the second end 10 of the pump 1.

[0026] To introduce odorant into a pipeline via the odorant outlet 25, an instruction is first provided to a solenoid (not illustrated) associated with the actuation port 20. The solenoid, when instructed to do so, may open such that instrument air upstream of the actuation port may be provided thereto.

[0027] After the instrument air is introduced into the actuation port 20, air may enter a chamber 35 positioned and located at the first end 5. The chamber 35 is defined on one side by an outer wall 40 of the pump 1 and at a second side by a diaphragm 45 that can expand and contract when air is introduced into the chamber 35. Adjacent to the diaphragm 45, and near the second end 10, a diaphragm plate 50 may also be provided. As air begins to fill the chamber 35, the diaphragm 45 and subsequently the diaphragm plate 50 may be moved toward the second end 10 by pressure that is built up by the air present in the chamber 35. In turn, a piston member 55 attached to the diaphragm plate 50, and in contact with the diaphragm 45, may also translate toward the second end 10. When air is not being introduced into the chamber 35, a spring member 60 that surrounds the piston member 55 may apply a biasing force to the diaphragm 45 via the diaphragm plate 50 in order to retain it in the position illustrated in FIG. 2.

[0028] When the piston member 55 is acted upon by the air within the chamber 35, and it has translated toward the second end 10, it preferably also acts on a coupling member 65 (illustrated in a larger view in FIG. 3). The coupling member 65 preferably couples the piston member 55 to a bellows 70. As known and foreseeable to those skilled in the art, a bellows, such as the bellows 70, is able to expand and contract as a force is applied to it. In the position illustrated in FIG. 2, the bellows 70 is contracted, but when the coupling 65 is acted upon by the piston member 55, the bellows 70 may expand and act on a head member 75 that is further in communication with a cup chamber 80. A spring member 82 may surround the head member 75 and help to return it to its unactuated state after the pump has been actuated, as described below.

[0029] As illustrated in FIG. 2, the cup chamber 80 includes a cup member 85 (preferably formed from a rubber material) having a concave portion 90 in which odorant may enter via the odorant inlet 30 when the pump 1 is in its unactuated state illustrated in FIG. 2. The cup member 85 may be friction fit within the cup chamber 80 and may be provided in a wide range of sizes.

[0030] When the head member 75 acts on a wear disc 92 adjacent the cup chamber 80, the concave portion 90 of the cup member 85 may force outwardly and flex toward the odorant outlet 25 at the second side 10. Odorant contained in the concave portion 90 may then expel through a check valve 100 and out through the odorant outlet 25.

[0031] Because the volume of the concave portion 90 within the cup member 85 is known by an operator, the operator will know how much odorant is expelled via the odorant outlet 25 into the pipeline when a stroke is completed. Because the pump 1 is controlled by a PLC or operator, each such expulsion may be easily and consistently repeated to achieve appropriate odorant volumes to the pipeline.

[0032] Because of the construction of the pump 1, when a technician needs to service the pump 1, he or she need not access the odorant inlet 30, cup chamber 80 (including the concave portion 90 of the cup member 85), or the odorant outlet 25 unless, for example, the cup member 85 itself is in need of repair. All other repairs may be carried out without accessing the odorant. This can prevent unnecessary leaking of foul smelling odorant that not only is bothersome to a technician, but also may lead to the false sense that gas is leaking.

[0033] When a stroke is complete, seal members 105, 110 positioned and located between the check valve 100 and the concave portion 90 may release. They may do so, so that when the cup member 85 returns to its original position, vacuum force does not act strongly on the concave portion 90 when it returns to its concave shape. If not for the presence of the seal members 105, 110, such a vacuum force could cause damage to the various components described herein that ultimately expel odorant from the pump 1.

[0034] From the foregoing, it will be seen that the various embodiments of the present invention are well adapted to attain all the objectives and advantages hereinabove set forth together with still other advantages which are obvious and which are inherent to the present structures. It will be understood that certain features and sub-combinations of the present embodiments are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and sub-combinations. Since many possible embodiments of the present invention may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, it is also to be understood that all disclosures herein set forth or illustrated in the accompanying drawings are to be interpreted as illustrative only and not limiting. The various constructions described above and illustrated in the drawings are presented by way of example only and are not intended to limit the concepts, principles, and scope of the present invention.

[0035] Many changes, modifications, variations, and other uses and applications of the present invention will, however, become apparent to those skilled in the art after considering the specification and the accompanying drawings. All such changes, modifications, variations, and other uses and applications which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention are deemed to be covered by the invention, which is limited only by the claims which follow.