Diaphragm pump

Abstract

A diaphragm pump with at least one pump chamber, the pump chamber being connected to an inlet chamber via an inlet valve and to an outlet chamber via two outlet valves. The inlet valve having an inlet opening that can be closed by an inlet valve body and the outlet valve respectively having an outlet opening that can be closed by an outlet valve body. The two outlet valves and the inlet valve form a triangle in a projection onto a projection plane transverse to the longitudinal axis of the pump chamber.

Claims

1. A diaphragm pump comprising: an inlet chamber; an outlet chamber; and a pump chamber comprising: an inlet valve that provides a fluid pathway to the inlet chamber, the inlet valve having an inlet opening that can be closed by an inlet valve body; and a first outlet valve and a second outlet valve that each provide a fluid pathway to the outlet chamber and each outlet valve having an outlet opening that can be closed by a respective outlet valve body, wherein the first outlet valve, the second outlet valve, and the inlet valve form an obtuse triangle when projected onto a projection plane transverse to a longitudinal axis of the pump chamber, and wherein one of the first outlet valve or the second outlet valve is positioned vertically lower than the inlet valve within the projection plane to, thereby, permit emptying of residual fluid from the pump chamber.

2. The diaphragm pump of claim 1, further comprising a second pump chamber that comprises: a second inlet valve that provides a respective fluid pathway to the inlet chamber; and a third outlet valve and a fourth outlet valve that each provide a respective fluid pathway to the outlet chamber, wherein the third outlet valve, the fourth outlet valve, and the second inlet valve form an obtuse triangle when projected onto a projection plane transverse to a longitudinal axis of the second pump chamber.

3. The diaphragm pump of claim 2, wherein a projection of straight connecting lines connect adjacent outlet valves configured to be free of intersection with inlet valves on the projection plane transverse to the longitudinal axis of the pump chamber.

4. The diaphragm pump of claim 1, wherein the first outlet valve is positioned in an edge region of the pump chamber, and the second outlet valve is positioned in an opposite edge region of the pump chamber.

5. The diaphragm pump of claim 1, wherein the inlet valve is positioned closer to a central axis of the diaphragm pump than the first and second outlet valves.

6. The diaphragm pump of claim 1, wherein the first outlet valve is offset vertically from the second outlet valve within the projection plane.

7. The diaphragm pump of claim 1, wherein the inlet chamber and the outlet chamber are at least partially formed in a front plate.

8. The diaphragm pump of claim 1, wherein the inlet valve is positioned eccentrically in the cross section of the pump chamber.

9. The diaphragm pump of claim 1, wherein the first and second outlet valves are arranged in a circle or an arc.

10. The diaphragm pump of claim 1, wherein pump chamber is one of a plurality of pump chambers, and wherein an arrangement of each respective inlet valve and each of the respective first and second outlet valves of the respective pump chambers essentially has rotational invariance with respect to an angle of less than 360? about the central axis.

11. The diaphragm pump of claim 1, wherein the outlet chamber is configured in an annular shape.

12. The diaphragm pump of claim 1, wherein the cross section of the pump chamber has at least one essentially straight section on a side wall.

13. The diaphragm pump of claim 1, wherein the pump chamber is one of a plurality of pump chambers which are arranged in a grid of columns and rows.

14. A device for pumping fluids with a diaphragm pump of claim 1, further comprising a pump head with a drive system chamber and a drive system, the pump chamber being sealed from the drive system chamber by means of a pump diaphragm.

15. The diaphragm pump of claim 1, wherein the an inlet opening comprises a plurality of outlet openings that can be closed by the inlet valve body, and wherein the respective outlet opening of each of the first and the second outlet valve comprises a plurality of outlet openings that can be closed by the respective outlet valve body.

16. A diaphragm pump comprising: an inlet chamber; an outlet chamber; and a pump chamber comprising: an inlet valve that provides a fluid pathway to the inlet chamber, the inlet valve having an inlet opening that can be closed by an inlet valve body; and a first outlet valve and a second outlet valve that each provide a fluid pathway to the outlet chamber, and each outlet valve having an outlet opening that can be closed by a respective outlet valve body, wherein the first outlet valve is offset in a clockwise direction by a first angle from a radial projection extending from a central axis of the pump through a center of the inlet valve, wherein the second outlet valve is offset in a counter-clockwise direction by a second angle from the radial projection, and wherein one of the first outlet valve or the second outlet valve is positioned vertically lower than the inlet valve within the projection plane to, thereby, permit emptying of residual fluid from the pump chamber.

17. The diaphragm pump of claim 16, wherein the an inlet opening comprises a plurality of outlet openings that can be closed by the inlet valve body, and wherein the respective outlet opening of each of the first and the second outlet valve comprises a plurality of outlet openings that can be closed by the respective outlet valve body.

18. The diaphragm pump of claim 16, wherein the first outlet valve, the second outlet valve, and the inlet valve form an obtuse triangle when projected onto a projection plane transverse to the central axis of the pump.

19. The diaphragm pump of claim 16, further comprising a second pump chamber that comprises: a second inlet valve that provides a respective fluid pathway to the inlet chamber; and a third outlet valve and a fourth outlet valve that each provide a respective fluid pathway to the outlet chamber, wherein the third outlet valve is offset in a clockwise direction by a third angle from a second radial projection extending from the central axis of the pump through a center of the second inlet valve, and wherein the fourth outlet valve is offset in a counter-clockwise direction by a fourth angle from the second radial projection.

20. The diaphragm pump of claim 16, wherein the first outlet valve is positioned in an edge region of the pump chamber, and the second outlet valve is positioned in an opposite edge region of the pump chamber, wherein the inlet chamber and the outlet chamber are at least partially formed in a front plate, wherein the inlet valve is positioned eccentrically in the cross section of the pump chamber, wherein the first and second outlet valves are arranged in an arc, and wherein the outlet chamber is configured in an annular shape surrounding the inlet chamber.

21. A diaphragm pump comprising: a front plate defining a central inlet chamber and an annular outlet chamber surrounding the inlet chamber; and a valve plate defining a plurality of pump chambers, wherein the diaphragm pump is configured such that during normal operation at least two pump chambers are in vertical alignment with each other, and wherein each pump chamber comprises: a longitudinal axis that is oriented horizontally during normal operation; an inlet valve that provides a fluid pathway to the inlet chamber; a first outlet valve that provides a first fluid pathway from the pump chamber to the outlet chamber, wherein the first outlet valve is positioned vertically above the inlet valve within a projection plane transverse to the longitudinal axis of the pump chamber to, thereby, permit venting of the pump chamber; and a second outlet valve that provides a second fluid pathway to the outlet chamber, wherein the second outlet valve is positioned vertically below the inlet valve within the projection plane to, thereby, permit emptying of residual fluid from the pump chamber.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

(1) The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to drawings showing two example embodiments of the invention. Shown therein:

(2) FIG. 1 a front view of a pump head of a diaphragm pump according to the invention (without drive system);

(3) FIG. 2 a sectional view along the cutting plane line A-A of FIG. 1;

(4) FIG. 3 a rear view of a valve plate of the diaphragm pump;

(5) FIG. 4 a rear view of a valve plate cut along the cutting plane line A-A in FIG. 4; and

(6) FIG. 5 a device for conveying fluid.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(7) FIG. 1 shows the pump head 2 of a diaphragm pump 1. The diaphragm pump 1 forms part of a device for conveying a fluid.

(8) In FIG. 2, it is to be gathered that the pump head 2 has a front plate 3, which can also be referred to as a chamber housing, a valve plate 4, and an end plate 5 with pump diaphragms 6, the end plate 5 also able to be referred to as a diaphragm carrier, which are connected via pump elements to a swash plate not shown in FIG. 2.

(9) An inlet 7, which is central in this embodiment and opens into a central inlet chamber 8, is provided on the front plate 3. An outlet 9 is provided on the front plate 3, which is connected to an outlet chamber 10 which is annular in this embodiment and which surrounds the inlet chamber 8.

(10) The valve plate 4 is situated between the front plate 3 and the end plate 5. The valve plate 4 has four pump chambers 12 on its rear side 11 facing the end plate 5. The pump chambers 12, which are open towards the end plate 5, are each closed or restricted by a pump diaphragm 6. The pump diaphragms 6 are situated between the end plate 5 and the valve plate 4. A bead 13 of the pump diaphragm 6, which is annular in this embodiment, is situated in a groove 14 of the valve plate 4 circumscribing the pump chamber 12.

(11) The valve plate 4 caps the inlet chamber 8 of the front plate 3 and the outlet chamber 10 of the front plate 3. The valve plate 4 has four inlet valves 15, which are designed as umbrella valves. The inlet chamber 8 is connected to the pump chamber 12 via an inlet opening 16 dedicated to the inlet valve 15. The inlet opening 16 is partitioned and has multiple inlet opening sections 16a.

(12) The valve plate 4 seals the annular outlet chamber 10 of the front plate 3. The valve plate 4 is essentially flat and has eight outlet valves 17, which correspond to the outlet chamber 10 and which are also designed as umbrella valves. The outlet opening 18 of the outlet valve 17 is formed by outlet opening sections 19.

(13) An inlet valve 15 is provided for each pump chamber 12. Each pump chamber 12 has two outlet valves 17.

(14) The two outlet valves 17 and the inlet valve 15 form a triangle in a projection onto a projection plane transverse to the longitudinal axis L of the pump chamber 12, which runs essentially parallel to a central axis M of the diaphragm pump 1, as shown in FIG. 3.

(15) FIG. 3 also shows that adjacent outlet valves 17 on the valve plate 4 can be connected with straight connecting lines, and a projection of these on a projection plane transverse to the longitudinal axis L of the pump chamber 12 is free of intersection with the inlet valves 15.

(16) The two outlet valves 17 of a pump chamber are positioned in opposite edge regions of the pump chamber 12. One of the two outlet valves 17 is positioned in an upper region of the pump chamber 12, while the other of the two outlet valves 17 is positioned in a lower region of the pump chamber 12. Venting of the pump chamber 12 is possible by means of the upper of the two outlet valves 17. Residual emptying is possible by means of the lower of the two outlet valves 17. The inlet valve 15 of a pump chamber 12 is positioned laterally offset to one of the two outlet valves 17. The inlet valves 15 are thereby positioned closer to the central axis M of the diaphragm pump 1 than the outlet valves 17 of the pump chambers 12.

(17) The two outlet valves 17 of a pump chamber 12 are arranged offset from one another with respect to a vertical that runs essentially along the section A-A or parallel to it. The inlet valve 15 is eccentric with respect to the cross section of the pump chamber 12.

(18) The outlet valves 17 of the diaphragm pump 1 are arranged in a circle around the central axis M of the diaphragm pump 1.

(19) With regard to the valve plate 4, there is a rotational invariance of 90? around the central axis M of the diaphragm pump 1. In FIG. 3, it is likewise to be gathered that the four pump chambers 12 are arranged in a grid of columns and rows, the pump chambers 12 being arranged one above the other and next to one another.

(20) FIG. 4 is to be taken as a differently configured cross section of the pump chambers 12 in comparison to FIG. 3 for a further example embodiment of the diaphragm pump 1. Apart from the cross-section of the pump chambers 12, the embodiments are otherwise the same and correspond to one another, so no repetition is necessary here. The cross section of the pump chamber 12 depicted in FIG. 4 has straight sections 20 on the side wall of the pump chamber 12, which have an intersection with the vertical and/or horizontal of a cross section of the pump chamber 12.

(21) The swash plate 21 shown in FIG. 5 is connected to a pin 23 of a drive shaft 24 via a ball bearing 22. The pin 23 is angled with respect to the longitudinal axis 25 of the drive shaft 24 in order to generate a wobbling motion of the swash plate 21. The connection between the drive axle and the swash plate 21 is located in the area of the drive system chamber 26, which is in front of the end plate 5. The inlet chamber 8 is sealed off from the outlet chamber 10 by a seal 27, which in the example is designed as a cord ring seal. The outer boundary of the outlet chamber 10 is sealed by a seal 28, which in the example is also designed as a cord ring seal.

(22) By rotating the drive shaft 24 about its longitudinal axis 25, the swash plate 21 is set in a circumferential wobbling motion without rotating with the drive shaft 24 due to the angle of the pin 23. As a result of the wobbling motion of the swash plate 21, the pump diaphragms 6 are set in a periodic axial pumping movement, by means of which, alternating in the pump chambers 12, negative pressure is generated in the suction cycle by the movement in the direction of the drive system chamber 26 and positive pressure in the discharge cycle by a movement in the direction of the front plate 3.

(23) Due to the downstream location of the umbrella valve of the inlet valve 15, the inlet valve 15 opens and the corresponding outlet valve 17 closes automatically when there is negative pressure in the associated pump chamber 12. When there is positive pressure in the pump chamber 12, the associated inlet valve 15 closes, and the corresponding outlet valve 17 opens automatically. As a result, the pumped medium is conveyed out of the pump chamber 12 through the outlet chamber 10 to the outlet 9.