Pump For Conveying A Liquid, In Particular An Exhaust-Gas Cleaning Additive

Abstract

A pump for conveying liquid includes a pump housing having an inlet, an outlet, an inner circumferential surface and a geometric axis. An eccentric in the housing is rotatable about the geometric axis relative to the housing. A deformable element is disposed between the inner circumferential housing surface and the eccentric. A delivery duct from the inlet to the outlet is formed by the deformable element and the inner circumferential housing surface. The deformable element is pressed against the housing by the eccentric in sections so that a displaceable seal of the duct and a closed pump volume in the duct are formed and are displaceable to convey the liquid along the duct from the inlet to the outlet by rotation of the eccentric. A receptacle, accommodating an edge region of the deformable element, is formed by the inner circumferential housing surface and a counter bracket.

Claims

1-10. (canceled)

11. A pump for delivering a liquid, the pump comprising: at least one pump housing having at least one inlet, at least one outlet, an inner circumferential surface and a geometric axis; an eccentric disposed within said at least one pump housing and rotatable relative to said at least one pump housing about said geometric axis; a deformable element disposed between said inner circumferential surface of said at least one pump housing and said eccentric, said deformable element having at least one edge region; a delivery duct formed from said at least one inlet to said at least one outlet by said deformable element and said inner circumferential surface of said at least one pump housing; said eccentric pressing said deformable element in sections against said at least one pump housing to form at least one displaceable seal of said delivery duct and at least one closed pump volume in said delivery duct; said at least one displaceable seal and said at least one closed pump volume being displaceable along said delivery duct from said at least one inlet to said at least one outlet by a rotational movement of said eccentric for delivering the liquid; and at least one counter bracket along with said inner circumferential surface of said at least one pump housing forming at least one receptacle receiving said at least one edge region of said deformable element.

12. The pump according to claim 11, wherein said inner circumferential surface continues along said geometric axis beyond a delivery path toward both sides.

13. The pump according to claim 11, which further comprises: two contact seals disposed between said inner circumferential surface and said deformable element; said deformable element having a concave duct surface; and said delivery duct having at least one duct cross section delimited by said inner circumferential surface, by said concave duct surface and by said two contact seals.

14. The pump according to claim 11, wherein said deformable element has sides, at least one abutment surface is disposed in said at least one receptacle towards said sides of said deformable element, and said at least one edge region bears against said at least one abutment surface.

15. The pump according to claim 13, which further comprises: an axis of the pump; and a central plane of the pump being perpendicular to said axis of the pump; said at least one receptacle narrowing outwardly in radial direction from said central plane of the pump.

16. The pump according to claim 13, wherein said at least one edge region of said deformable element has at least one thickened section forming said at least one contact seal.

17. The pump according to claim 13, wherein said at least one pump housing has a retention section, said duct surface of said deformable element is interrupted by a recess disposed between said at least one outlet and said at least one inlet, and said retention section of said at least one pump housing engages into said recess.

18. The pump according to claim 17, wherein: said recess in said deformable element has sides and a respective undercut on each of said sides; said duct surface of said deformable element extends in sections each being formed as a projection across said undercut; and said projections are braced against said at least one pump housing by said retention section.

19. The pump according to claim 17, which further comprises: a drive axis of the pump; and a central plane perpendicular to said drive axis of the pump; at least one of said contact seals being disposed between said duct surface of said deformable element and said inner circumferential surface of said at least one pump housing, said at least one contact seal completely surrounding said duct surface and intersecting said central plane in a vicinity of said recess.

20. A motor vehicle, comprising: an internal combustion engine; an exhaust-gas treatment device for purification of exhaust gases of said internal combustion engine a tank configured to hold a liquid additive for exhaust-gas purification; an injector for supplying the liquid additive to said exhaust-gas treatment device; and a pump according to claim 11 configured to deliver the liquid additive from said tank to said injector.

Description

[0041] The invention and the technical field will be explained in more detail below on the basis of the figures. In particular, it should be noted that the figures and in particular the proportions illustrated in the figures are merely schematic. The figures serve for illustrating individual features of the described pump. Design variants illustrated in the various figures may be combined with one another in any desired manner. In particular, it is not necessary for all of the features illustrated in a figure to be regarded in each case as a unit. In the figures:

[0042] FIG. 1: shows an isometric illustration of a pump,

[0043] FIG. 2: shows a section through the pump from FIG. 1,

[0044] FIG. 3: shows a deformable element of a pump,

[0045] FIG. 4: shows a section through the deformable element from FIG. 3,

[0046] FIG. 5: shows a detail section through the pump as per FIG. 2,

[0047] FIG. 6: shows a section, corresponding to FIG. 5, through a pump from the prior art,

[0048] FIG. 7: shows a further illustration of the section from FIG. 5, and

[0049] FIG. 8: shows a motor vehicle having a pump for implementing the SCR method.

[0050] FIG. 1 shows a pump 1 which has a pump housing 2 with an inlet 3 and an outlet 4. In the pump housing 2 there may be positioned an eccentric (not illustrated here) which can be rotated for the delivery of liquid from the inlet 3 to the outlet 4. For the drive of the eccentric, an (electric) drive 49 is provided above the pump housing 2 along a geometric axis 53 of the pump 1, which drive is connected to the eccentric via a drive shaft 48. The geometric axis 53 corresponds to a drive axis 6 of the pump. For the further description of the pump 1, reference will be made not only to the geometric axis 53 but also to a cylindrical coordinate system with a geometric axis 53, a radial direction 28 which is perpendicular to the geometric axis 53, and a circumferential direction 47 which is perpendicular to the geometric axis and arranged tangentially to the geometric axis 53 and to the radial direction 28. Reference may also be made to a central plane 18 which centrally divides the pump housing 2 and the components (in particular the eccentric (not illustrated) and a deformable element (not illustrated)) arranged in the pump housing 2. The pump housing 2, the eccentric and the deformable element are preferably formed in each case symmetrically with respect to the central plane 18.

[0051] FIG. 2 illustrates a section through the pump as per FIG. 1 in the defined central plane. To illustrate this, the circumferential direction 47 and the radial direction 28 are denoted in the figure.

[0052] The figure shows the pump housing 2 with the inlet 3 and the outlet 4 which are arranged at an angle 50 to the pump housing 2. In the pump housing 2 there is situated an eccentric 5 which can perform an eccentric wobbling movement about a geometric axis 53. The eccentric 5 is divided into an inner eccentric region 29, an outer bearing ring 30 and a bearing 31. When the inner eccentric region 29 performs an eccentric rotational movement about the geometric axis 53, the bearing 31 transmits this to the bearing ring 30, such that the bearing ring 30 performs an eccentric wobbling movement. There are a deformable element 7 and a delivery duct 8 between the pump housing 2 and the eccentric. The delivery duct 8 is formed between the pump housing 2 and the deformable element 7. The eccentric 5 presses the deformable element 7 in sections against the pump housing 2 such that a displaceable seal 9 is formed which interrupts the delivery duct 8 and divides the delivery duct 8 into closed pump volumes 10. By means of a rotation of the eccentric 5, the displaceable seal 9 can be displaced along a delivery direction 11 from the inlet 3 to the outlet 4.

[0053] The deformable element 7 as per FIG. 2 has, between the inlet 3 and the outlet 4, a static seal 25, which prevents a backflow of liquid from the outlet 4 to the inlet 3. The static seal 25 is formed by a recess 21 which has undercuts 22, the latter being spanned in each case by projections 23 of the deformable element. The recess 21 is in this case of T-shaped form. A retention section 24 of the pump housing 2 engages into the recess 21. Said retention section 24 may be an integral constituent part of the pump housing 2 or may be a component which is separate from the pump housing 2 and which is additionally inserted into the pump housing 2. By means of the recess 21 and the retention section 24, the deformable element 7 is fixed in the pump housing 2 so as to be prevented from rotating.

[0054] FIG. 3 shows an isometric illustration of the deformable element 7 of the pump. For spatial orientation, the coordinate system composed of geometric axis, circumferential direction 47 and radial direction 28 is illustrated in the figure. The deformable element 7 has an (outer) concave duct surface 46 which, together with the inner circumferential surface (not illustrated here) of the pump housing, delimits the delivery duct (likewise not illustrated). In this case, the expression concave means in particular that the concave duct surface 46 is concave in the direction of the geometric axis 53. The concave form of the duct surface 46 is illustrated in FIG. 3 by a dashed marking line 52. The concave duct surface 46 of the deformable element 7 has, in an encircling edge region 20, a thickened section 19 which has a contact seal 12 at which the deformable element 7 bears against the inner circumferential surface (not illustrated here) of the pump housing (likewise not illustrated). The concave characteristic of the concave duct surface 46 is preferably generated by the thickened portion 19 on both sides. The thickened portion 19 on both sides surrounds a central region 54 on the deformable element 7, wherein the central region 54 is preferably flat. The concave duct surface 46 can thus be formed by the central region 54 and by the thickened portion 19 on both sides. Furthermore, the central region 54 itself may also have a concave form. It is also possible to see the recess 21 on the concave duct surface 46 of the deformable element 7. The recess 21 is delimited on both sides by an undercut 22 and by projections 23 which extend over the undercuts 22. A retention section 24 of the pump housing (not illustrated here) engages into the recess 21. The static seal 25 described above is formed by the recess 21.

[0055] FIG. 4 shows, in a sectional view, the deformable element 7 illustrated in FIG. 3. For orientation, the geometric axis 53 and the radial direction 28 are illustrated in FIG. 4. It is also possible to see the concave duct surface 46 of the deformable element 7, said concave duct surface being indicated by the marking line 52. The concave form of the concave duct surface 46 is formed by the thickened portion 19 in the edge region 20 and by the central region 54 of the duct surface 46. The thickened portion 19 in the edge region also forms the contact seals 12. On the right-hand side, the deformable element 7 is shown in the region of the recess 21, such that the undercut 22 and a projection 23 are visible. It can also be seen in FIG. 4 that the deformable element 7 has a contact region 43 and a support region 27 which are connected to one another via a waist 26, wherein the contact region 43 has formed the duct surface 46 for abutment against the pump housing 2 and is designed to form the delivery duct 8 together with the pump housing 2. On the support region 27, there is provided a clamping groove 33 by means of which the deformable element 7 can be clamped onto a clamping strip (of the eccentric which is not illustrated here).

[0056] FIG. 5 shows the detail section B-B, marked in FIG. 2, through the pump. For orientation, the central plane 18 and the radial direction 28 and the geometric axis 53 are indicated here. The figure shows the pump housing 2, the eccentric 5 and the deformable element 7 between the eccentric 5 and the pump housing 2. The figure also shows the inner circumferential surface 13 of the pump housing 2 and the concave duct surface 46 of the deformable element 7, and also the two linear contact seals 12 between the deformable element 7 and the pump housing 2, which together delimit the duct cross section 45.

[0057] The deformable element 7 has a contact region 43, which forms the concave duct surface 46, and a support region 27, against which the eccentric 5 bears. Between the contact region 43 and the support region 27 there is preferably a waist 26 which is narrowed in relation to the contact region 43 and/or in relation to the support region 27. In the support region 27, the deformable element 7 has a clamping groove 33 into which a clamping strip 44 of the eccentric 5 engages. The concave duct surface 46 is formed by a (flat) central region 54 and by edge regions 20 which adjoin said central region on both sides, wherein thickened portions 19 are formed in each of the edge regions 20. There may be connecting regions 51 in each case between the edge regions 20 and the central region 54, in which the deformable element 7 exhibits particularly good deformability. The expansion of the connecting regions 51 is illustrated here by way of example using dashed lines. This improves the mobility of the edge regions 20, of the contact seals 12 and of the thickened portions 19 relative to the central region of the deformable element 7.

[0058] FIG. 5 also illustrates two counter brackets 15 which are formed from housing flanges 55 and which, as annular components, are inserted into the pump housing 2 on both sides and thus each form an annular receptacle 14 in which the edge regions 20 of the deformable element 7 are situated. The counter bracket 15 and the pump housing 2 engage around the deformable element 7 (only) in sections. In the receptacle 14, to the sides of the deformable element 7, there is situated in each case one abutment surface 16 against which the deformable element 7 bears. When the pressure in the delivery duct 8 rises, the edge regions 20 are pressed with greater intensity against the stop surfaces 16. The receptacles 14 preferably have, toward the outside (in each case away from the central plane 18 in the direction of the geometrical axis 53), a chamfer 17 by means of which the receptacles 14 narrow in the outward direction toward the abutment surfaces 16. It can be achieved in this way that a pressing force on the contact seal 12 increases, the more firmly the edge region 20 is pushed outward against the abutment surface 16 by the pressure in the delivery duct 8.

[0059] The illustration of FIG. 5 also shows that, in the pump housing 2, there is integrated an insert 32 which stiffens the pump housing 2. The pump housing 2 is preferably composed of plastic, and the insert 32 is preferably a metallic ring which stiffens the pump housing 2 such that the latter is not deformed by a movement of the eccentric 5.

[0060] FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate, again schematically, the cross section B-B from FIG. 5, wherein FIG. 6 describes a corresponding cross section in the case of a pump according to the prior art (for example as per the documents U.S. Pat. No. 2,544,628, U.S. Pat. No. 3,408,947 DE 285 39 16 A1 and DE 381 52 52 A1) and FIG. 7 illustrates a corresponding cross section through a pump of the type described here. For orientation, the central plane 18, the radial direction 28 and the geometric axis 53 are illustrated here (as in FIG. 5). The figure also shows the pump housing 2, the eccentric 5 and the deformable element 7 and also the counter brackets 15 which are formed by housing flanges 55 and by means of which the deformable element 7 is braced against the pump housing 2. In the design variant according to the prior art in FIG. 6, the deformable element 7 extends in sections around the pump housing 2 and is braced, by way of an axial clamping section 34, between the counter brackets 15 and the pump housing 2. As per FIG. 7, there is a radial clamping section 35 of the deformable element 7 between the pump housing 2, the counter bracket 15 and the receptacles 4, as has also already been described in conjunction with FIG. 5 by the corresponding arrangement of the annular edge regions 20 of the deformable element 7.

[0061] FIG. 8 shows a motor vehicle 36 having an internal combustion engine 37 and having an exhaust-gas treatment device 38 for the purification of the exhaust gases of the internal combustion engine 37. In the exhaust-gas treatment device 38 there is arranged an SCR catalytic converter 39 by means of which the method of selective catalytic reduction can be carried out in order to purify the exhaust gases of the internal combustion engine 37. For this purpose, a liquid additive for exhaust-gas purification may be supplied to the exhaust-gas treatment device 38 by means of an injector 41. Liquid additive is supplied from a tank 40 to the injector 41 via a line 42. On the line 42 there is arranged a pump 1 as described above, which pump performs the delivery and if appropriate also the dosing of the liquid additive.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0062] 1 Pump [0063] 2 Pump housing [0064] 3 Inlet [0065] 4 Outlet [0066] 5 Eccentric [0067] 6 Drive axis [0068] 7 Deformable element [0069] 8 Delivery duct [0070] 9 Displaceable seal [0071] 10 Pump volume [0072] 11 Delivery direction [0073] 12 Contact seal [0074] 13 Inner circumferential surface [0075] 14 Receptacle [0076] 15 Counter bracket [0077] 16 Abutment surface [0078] 17 Chamfer [0079] 18 Central plane [0080] 19 Thickened section [0081] 20 Edge region [0082] 21 Recess [0083] 22 Undercut [0084] 23 Projection [0085] 24 Retention section [0086] 25 Static seal [0087] 26 Waist [0088] 27 Support region [0089] 28 Radial direction [0090] 29 Eccentric region [0091] 30 Bearing ring [0092] 31 Bearing [0093] 32 Inlay [0094] 33 Clamping groove [0095] 34 Axial clamping section [0096] 35 Radial clamping section [0097] 36 Motor vehicle [0098] 37 Internal combustion engine [0099] 38 Exhaust-gas treatment device [0100] 39 SCR catalytic converter [0101] 40 Tank [0102] 41 Injector [0103] 42 Line [0104] 43 Contact region [0105] 44 Clamping strip [0106] 45 Duct cross section [0107] 46 Concave duct surface [0108] 47 Circumferential direction [0109] 48 Drive shaft [0110] 49 Drive [0111] 50 Angle [0112] 51 Connection region [0113] 52 Marking line [0114] 53 Geometric axis [0115] 54 Central region [0116] 55 Housing flange