U.S. patent application number 14/772660 was filed with the patent office on 2016-03-10 for dual-chamber dual-action air pump and glass-wiping robot having the air pump.
The applicant listed for this patent is SUZHOU ECOVAS COMMERCIAL ROBOTICS CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to Yongbing FENG.
Application Number | 20160069340 14/772660 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 51464291 |
Filed Date | 2016-03-10 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160069340 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
FENG; Yongbing |
March 10, 2016 |
DUAL-CHAMBER DUAL-ACTION AIR PUMP AND GLASS-WIPING ROBOT HAVING THE
AIR PUMP
Abstract
A dual-chamber dual-action air pump and a glass-wiping robot
having the air pump. The air pump comprises a cylinder and,
connected to the cylinder, a drive apparatus and a piston. The
drive apparatus drives the piston via a transmission apparatus to
perform reciprocating movement in the cylinder. A sealing element
fixedly connected to the piston rod is arranged within the
cylinder. The sealing element partitions the cylinder into a first
chamber (A1) and a second chamber (A2). Both the first chamber and
the second chamber respectively are provided with a first one-way
valve and a second one-way valve. When the piston rod drives the
sealing element to perform reciprocating movement, the first
chamber and the second chamber simultaneously inhale air and
exhaust air. The dual-chamber dual-action air pump is compact in
structure, and provides doubled air flow rate and doubled
efficiency. The glass-wiping robot having the air pump provides a
suction cup with a vacuum suction force via the air pump, and
allows for great air evacuation to be ensured for the suction cups
even if the suction cup comes in contact with a crack or bump on a
glass surface, thus reducing the risks of the damage of the
glass-wiping robot due to falling, and eliminating possible
security hazards.
Inventors: |
FENG; Yongbing; (Suzhou
City, CN) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
SUZHOU ECOVAS COMMERCIAL ROBOTICS CO., LTD. |
Suzhou City, JD |
|
CN |
|
|
Family ID: |
51464291 |
Appl. No.: |
14/772660 |
Filed: |
March 6, 2014 |
PCT Filed: |
March 6, 2014 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/CN2014/072973 |
371 Date: |
November 20, 2015 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
417/521 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F04B 27/005 20130101;
A47L 1/02 20130101; F04B 39/122 20130101; F04B 39/0005 20130101;
F04B 37/14 20130101; F04B 39/08 20130101 |
International
Class: |
F04B 39/08 20060101
F04B039/08; A47L 1/02 20060101 A47L001/02; F04B 27/00 20060101
F04B027/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Mar 6, 2013 |
CN |
201310072064.8 |
Claims
1. A dual-chamber dual-action air pump comprising a cylinder, and a
drive apparatus and a piston that are connected with the cylinder,
the drive apparatus drives the piston via a transmission apparatus
to perform reciprocating movement in the cylinder, characterized in
that: a sealing element fixedly connected with the piston rod is
provided in the cylinder, the sealing element partitions the
cylinder into a first chamber (A1) and a second chamber (A2), the
first chamber (A1) and the second chamber (A2) are respectively
provided with a first one-way valve and a second one-way valve, and
when the piston rod drives the sealing element to perform
reciprocating movement, the first chamber (A1) and the second
chamber (A2) simultaneously inhale air and exhaust air.
2. The dual-chamber dual-action air pump according to claim 1,
characterized in that, the air pump comprises an air pump body
(10), the drive apparatus is connected with the air pump body (10),
and two said cylinders are provided on both sides of the air pump
body (10) in a sealed manner, the cylinders each comprise an air
pump end cover (31), an air pump middle frame cover (32) and an air
pump middle frame (37) connected in a sealed manner from the
outside to inside, the air pump middle frame (37) is connected with
the air pump body (10) in a sealed manner, the sealing element is
provided between the air pump middle frame (37) and the air pump
middle frame cover (32), the sealing element and the air pump
middle frame cover (32) form the first chamber (A1), the air pump
middle frame cover (32) and the air bump end cover (31) form the
first one-way valve, a soft gum membrane and the air pump middle
frame form the second chamber (A2), and the air pump middle frame
(37) and the air pump body (10) form the second one-way valve.
3. The dual-chamber dual-action air pump according to claim 1,
characterized in that, the sealing element is a soft gum membrane,
and the soft gum membrane is connected with the piston rod in a
sealed manner.
4. The dual-chamber dual-action air pump according to claim 3,
characterized in that, the soft gum membrane comprises a support
(34) and a membrane part (35), the membrane part (35) has inner
sealing rings and outer sealing rings (36) provided on both sides
of the support (34) and connected via a retractable middle portion,
the inner sealing rings and the outer sealing rings (36) are
attached to both sides of the air pump middle frame (37) in a
sealed manner respectively, the outer sealing rings (36) are
fixedly connected with the support (34), and the support (34) is
fixedly connected with the piston rod (33).
5. The dual-chamber dual-action air pump according to claim 2,
characterized in that, the first one-way valve comprises an inlet
room (350) and an outlet room (360) provided on the air pump end
cover (31) and an inlet room (370) and an outlet room (380)
provided on the air pump middle frame cover (32); when the air pump
end cover (31) and the air pump middle frame cover (32) are
engaged, their inlet rooms and the outlet rooms form closed spaces
in each of which sealing pads (38) are provided; inlet holes (311,
321) are provided on the inlet rooms (350, 370), outlet holes (312,
322) are provided in the outlet rooms (360, 380), and the sealing
pads (38) perform reciprocating movement in the closed spaces under
the action of airflow of the inlet holes and the outlet holes; the
inlet holes and the outlet holes are arranged symmetrically in an
intersecting manner on both sides of the closed spaces, and when
the sealing pads (38) are attached on one of the air pump end cover
(31) side and the air pump middle frame cover (32) side, air flows
through one of the inlet holes or the outlet holes; the second
one-way valve comprises an inlet room and an outlet room provided
on the air pump middle frame (37) and an inlet room and an outlet
room provided on the air pump body (10); when the air pump middle
frame (37) and the air pump body (10) are engaged, their inlet
rooms and outlet rooms form closed spaces in each of which sealing
pads (38) are provided; inlet holes are provided on the inlet
rooms, outlet holes are provided on the outlet rooms, and the
sealing pads (38) perform reciprocating movement in the closed
spaces under the action of airflow of the inlet holes and the
outlet holes; the inlet holes and the outlet holes are arranged
symmetrically in an intersecting manner on both sides of the closed
spaces, and when the sealing pads (38) are attached on one of the
air pump middle frame (37) side and the air pump body (10) side,
air flows through one of the inlet holes or the outlet holes.
6. The dual-chamber dual-action air pump according to claim 5,
characterized in that, the inlet hole is provided at the center of
the inlet room and its number is one, and the outlet holes are
provided symmetrically on both sides of the central line of the
outlet room and are oppositely located on both sides of the inlet
hole; or the inlet holes are provided symmetrically on both sides
of the central line of the inlet room and are oppositely located on
both sides of the inlet hole, and the outlet hole is provided at
the center of the outlet room and its number is one; the diameter
of the inlet holes and the outlet holes is the same as the width of
the sealing pads (38).
7. The dual-chamber dual-action air pump according to claim 2,
characterized in that, an inlet pipe (313) and an outlet pipe (314)
of the first chamber are provided on the air pump end cover (31),
and an inlet pipe (103) and an outlet pipe (104) of the second
chamber are provided on the air pump body (10).
8. The dual-chamber dual-action air pump according to claim 2,
characterized in that, the transmission apparatus is an eccentric
shaft (51) fitted over the output shaft, and an end of the piston
rod (33) is fitted over on the eccentric shaft (51).
9. The dual-chamber dual-action air pump according to claim 2,
characterized in that, the transmission apparatus is a crankshaft
mechanism connected with an output shaft of the drive
apparatus.
10. The dual-chamber dual-action air pump according to claim 9,
characterized in that, the crankshaft mechanism comprises lower
eccentric wheel, upper eccentric wheel (41) and a crankshaft (43),
the crankshaft (43) comprises a crankshaft body and two shaft
portions, the two shaft portions extend upward and downward on the
left and right sides of the crankshaft body respectively; the shaft
portions of the crankshaft comprise connection portions for the
piston rods (33) and connection portions for the eccentric wheels,
the piston rods (33) are fitted over the connection portions for
the piston rods via bearings, and the connection portions for the
eccentric wheels are inserted into eccentric holes of the eccentric
wheels (43) so as to be fixed.
11. The dual-chamber dual-action air pump according to claim 2,
characterized in that, the transmission apparatus is an eccentric
wheel mechanism connected with an output shaft of the drive
apparatus, the eccentric wheel mechanism comprises an eccentric
wheel (61) fixed on the output shaft, and a ring-shaped limitation
groove (611) is provided on one side surface of the eccentric wheel
(61); the end of the piston rod (33) of each piston air pump
assembly is provided with a roller wheel (331), the roller wheel
(331) is embedded in the ring-shaped limitation groove (611), the
output shaft drives the eccentric wheel (61) to rotate, the roller
wheel (331) rolls along the circumference direction of the output
shaft in the ring-shaped limitation groove (611) and drives the
piston rod (33) to perform reciprocating movement.
12. A glass-wiping robot, comprising a machine body and a suction
cup provided on the machine boy, characterized in that, the suction
cup is connected with the dual-chamber dual-action air pump
according to claim 1, and the inlet pipe (313) of the first chamber
and the inlet pipe (103) of the second chamber are connected with
the suction cup respectively.
13. The glass-wiping robot according to claim 12, characterized in
that, the air pump comprises an air pump body (10), the drive
apparatus is connected with the air pump body (10), and two said
cylinders are provided on both sides of the air pump body (10) in a
sealed manner, the cylinders each comprise an air pump end cover
(31), an air pump middle frame cover (32) and an air pump middle
frame (37) connected in a sealed manner from the outside to inside,
the air pump middle frame (37) is connected with the air pump body
(10) in a sealed manner, the sealing element is provided between
the air pump middle frame (37) and the air pump middle frame cover
(32), the sealing element and the air pump middle frame cover (32)
form the first chamber (A1), the air pump middle frame cover (32)
and the air bump end cover (31) form the first one-way valve, a
soft gum membrane and the air pump middle frame form the second
chamber (A2), and the air pump middle frame (37) and the air pump
body (10) form the second one-way valve.
14. The glass-wiping robot according to claim 12, characterized in
that, the sealing element is a soft gum membrane, and the soft gum
membrane is connected with the piston rod in a sealed manner.
15. The glass-wiping robot according to claim 14, characterized in
that, the soft gum membrane comprises a support (34) and a membrane
part (35), the membrane part (35) has inner sealing rings and outer
sealing rings (36) provided on both sides of the support (34) and
connected via a retractable middle portion, the inner sealing rings
and the outer sealing rings (36) are attached to both sides of the
air pump middle frame (37) in a sealed manner respectively, the
outer sealing rings (36) are fixedly connected with the support
(34), and the support (34) is fixedly connected with the piston rod
(33).
16. The glass-wiping robot according to claim 13, characterized in
that, the first one-way valve comprises an inlet room (350) and an
outlet room (360) provided on the air pump end cover (31) and an
inlet room (370) and an outlet room (380) provided on the air pump
middle frame cover (32); when the air pump end cover (31) and the
air pump middle frame cover (32) are engaged, their inlet rooms and
the outlet rooms form closed spaces in each of which sealing pads
(38) are provided; inlet holes (311, 321) are provided on the inlet
rooms (350, 370), outlet holes (312, 322) are provided in the
outlet rooms (360, 380), and the sealing pads (38) perform
reciprocating movement in the closed spaces under the action of
airflow of the inlet holes and the outlet holes; the inlet holes
and the outlet holes are arranged symmetrically in an intersecting
manner on both sides of the closed spaces, and when the sealing
pads (38) are attached on one of the air pump end cover (31) side
and the air pump middle frame cover (32) side, air flows through
one of the inlet holes or the outlet holes; the second one-way
valve comprises an inlet room and an outlet room provided on the
air pump middle frame (37) and an inlet room and an outlet room
provided on the air pump body (10); when the air pump middle frame
(37) and the air pump body (10) are engaged, their inlet rooms and
outlet rooms form closed spaces in each of which sealing pads (38)
are provided; inlet holes are provided on the inlet rooms, outlet
holes are provided on the outlet rooms, and the sealing pads (38)
perform reciprocating movement in the closed spaces under the
action of airflow of the inlet holes and the outlet holes; the
inlet holes and the outlet holes are arranged symmetrically in an
intersecting manner on both sides of the closed spaces, and when
the sealing pads (38) are attached on one of the air pump middle
frame (37) side and the air pump body (10) side, air flows through
one of the inlet holes or the outlet holes.
17. The glass-wiping robot according to claim 16, characterized in
that, the inlet hole is provided at the center of the inlet room
and its number is one, and the outlet holes are provided
symmetrically on both sides of the central line of the outlet room
and are oppositely located on both sides of the inlet hole; or the
inlet holes are provided symmetrically on both sides of the central
line of the inlet room and are oppositely located on both sides of
the inlet hole, and the outlet hole is provided at the center of
the outlet room and its number is one; the diameter of the inlet
holes and the outlet holes is the same as the width of the sealing
pads (38).
18. The glass-wiping robot according to claim 13, characterized in
that, an inlet pipe (313) and an outlet pipe (314) of the first
chamber are provided on the air pump end cover (31), and an inlet
pipe (103) and an outlet pipe (104) of the second chamber are
provided on the air pump body (10)
19. The glass-wiping robot according to claim 13, characterized in
that, the transmission apparatus is an eccentric shaft (51) fitted
over the output shaft, and an end of the piston rod (33) is fitted
over on the eccentric shaft (51)
20. The glass-wiping robot according to claim 13, characterized in
that, the transmission apparatus is a crankshaft mechanism
connected with an output shaft of the drive apparatus.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is the national stage entry of PCT
Application No. PCT/CN2014/072973 filed Mar. 6, 2014, the
disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its
entirety for all purposes.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to an air pump and a
glass-wiping robot having the air pump, and more particularly to a
dual-chamber dual-action air pump and a glass-wiping robot having
the air pump, which belongs to the technical field of mechanical
manufacturing.
BACKGROUND
[0003] FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the overall structure of a
vacuum air pump in the prior art. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the
vacuum air pump in the prior art performs vacuum-pumping such that
a motor 100 drives soft gum membranes 200, 300 connected therewith
via a shaft to perform reciprocating movement. The volume of the
air suction pump is relatively small, and when the motor 100
rotates once, the unilateral soft rubber membranes 200, 300 of the
vacuum air pump perform reciprocating movement for one time, and
thus the vacuum-pumping motion is performed only for one time. Its
disadvantages lie in that the pumped air amount is too small and
the vacuum-pumping speed is relatively low, and that if there is a
slight air leakage, the vacuum degree would be reduced immediately.
In particular, when a glass-wiping robot provides a suction cup
with a vacuum suction force via the vacuum air pump, if the air
leakage occurs in the case where the suction cup comes in contact
with a crack or bump on a glass surface, the vacuum-pumping speed
of the vacuum air pump having a too small pumped air amount is much
less than the air leakage speed of the suction cup, which easily
results in the damage of the glass-wiping robot due to falling or
causes potential safety hazards.
SUMMARY
[0004] With respect to the deficiencies in the prior art, the
object of the present invention is to provide a dual-chamber
dual-action air pump that is compact in structure and provide
doubled operation efficiency of the vacuum air pump.
[0005] The object of the present invention is achieved by the
following technical solutions.
[0006] A dual-chamber dual-action air pump comprises a cylinder and
a drive apparatus and a piston that are connected with the
cylinder, the drive apparatus drives the piston via a transmission
apparatus to perform reciprocating movement in the cylinder, a
sealing element fixedly connected with the piston rod is provided
in the cylinder, the sealing element partitions the cylinder into a
first chamber and a second chamber, the first chamber and the
second chamber are respectively provided with a first one-way valve
and a second one-way valve, and when the piston rod drives the
sealing element to perform reciprocating movement, the first
chamber and the second chamber simultaneously inhale air and
exhaust air.
[0007] To be specific, the air pump comprises an air pump body, the
drive apparatus is connected with the air pump body, and two
cylinders are provided on both sides of the air pump body in a
sealed manner; the cylinders comprise an air pump end cover, an air
pump middle frame cover and an air pump middle frame connected in a
sealed manner from the inside out, the air pump middle frame is
connected with the air pump body in a sealed manner, the sealing
element is provided between the air pump middle frame and the air
pump middle frame cover, the sealing element and the air pump
middle frame cover form the first chamber, the air pump middle
frame cover and the air bump end cover form the first one-way
valve, a soft gum membrane and the air pump middle frame form the
second chamber, and the air pump middle frame and the air pump body
form the second one-way valve.
[0008] The sealing element is a soft gum membrane, and the soft gum
membrane is connected with the piston rod in a sealed manner.
[0009] To be specific, the soft gum membrane comprises a support
and a membrane part, the membrane part consists of inner sealing
rings and outer sealing rings provided on both sides of the support
and connected via a retractable middle portion, the inner sealing
rings and the outer sealing rings are attached to both sides of the
air pump middle frame respectively, the outer sealing rings are
fixed connected with the support, and the support is fixed
connected with the piston rod.
[0010] The first one-way valve comprises an inlet room and an
outlet room provided on the air pump end cover and an inlet room
and an outlet room provided on the air pump middle frame cover;
when the air pump end cover and the air pump middle frame cover are
engaged, their inlet rooms and the outlet rooms form closed spaces
in each of which sealing pads are provided; inlet holes are
provided in the inlet rooms, outlet holes are provided in the
outlet rooms, and the sealing pads perform reciprocating movement
in the closed spaces under the action of airflow of the inlet holes
and the outlet holes; the inlet holes and the outlet holes are
arranged symmetrically in an intersecting manner on both sides of
the closed spaces, and when the sealing pads are attached on one of
the air pump end cover side and the air pump middle frame cover
side, air flows through one of the inlet holes or the outlet holes;
the second one-way valve comprises an inlet room and an outlet room
provided on the air pump middle frame and an inlet room and an
outlet room provided on the air pump body; when the air pump middle
frame and the air pump body are engaged, their inlet rooms and
outlet room form closed spaces in each of which sealing pads are
provided; inlet holes are provided on the inlet rooms, outlet holes
are provided on the outlet rooms, and the sealing pads perform
reciprocating movement in the closed spaces under the action of
airflow of the inlet holes and the outlet holes; the inlet holes
and the outlet holes are arranged symmetrically in an intersecting
manner on both sides of the closed spaces, and when the sealing
pads are attached on one of the air pump middle frame side and the
air pump body side, air flows through one of the inlet holes or the
outlet holes.
[0011] If necessary, the inlet hole is provided at the center of
the inlet room and its number is one, and the outlet holes are
provided symmetrically on both sides of the central line of the
outlet room and are oppositely located on both sides of the inlet
hole.
[0012] Or, the inlet holes are provided symmetrically on both sides
of the central line of the inlet room and are oppositely located on
both sides of the inlet hole, and the outlet hole is provided at
the center of the outlet room and its number is one.
[0013] The diameter of the inlet holes and the outlet holes is the
same as the width of the sealing pads.
[0014] An inlet pipe and an outlet pipe of the first chamber are
provided on the air pump end cover, and an inlet pipe and an outlet
pipe of the second chamber are provided on the air pump body.
[0015] The transmission apparatus is an eccentric shaft fitted over
the output shaft, and an end of the piston rod is fitted over on
the eccentric shaft.
[0016] The transmission apparatus is a crankshaft mechanism
connected with the output shaft of the transmission apparatus. The
crankshaft mechanism comprises lower and upper eccentric wheels and
a crankshaft, the crankshaft comprises a crankshaft body and two
shaft portions, the two shaft portions extend upward and downward
on the left and right sides of the crankshaft body respectively;
the shaft portions of the crankshaft comprise connection portions
for the piston rods and connection portions for the eccentric
wheels, the piston rods are fitted over the connection portions for
the piston rods via bearings, and the connection portions for the
eccentric wheels are inserted into eccentric holes of the eccentric
wheels so as to be fixed.
[0017] The transmission apparatus is an eccentric wheel mechanism,
the eccentric wheel mechanism comprises an eccentric wheel fixed on
an output shaft, and a ring-shaped limitation groove is provided on
one side surface of the eccentric wheel; the end of the piston rod
of each piston air pump assembly is provided with a roller wheel,
the roller wheel is embedded in the ring-shaped limitation groove,
the output shaft drives the eccentric wheel to rotate, the roller
wheel rolls along the circumference direction of the output shaft
in the ring-shaped limitation groove and drives the piston rod to
perform reciprocating movement.
[0018] The present invention also provides a glass-wiping robot
comprising a machine body and a suction cup provided on the machine
boy, characterized in that, the suction cup is connected with the
dual-chamber dual-action air pump as described above, and the inlet
pipe of the first chamber and the inlet pipe of the second chamber
are connected with the suction cup respectively.
[0019] In sum, the dual-chamber dual-action air pump of the present
invention is compact in structure and provide doubled operation
efficiency of the vacuum air pump; the glass-wiping robot using
such dual-chamber dual-action air pump can provide a greater air
pumping efficiency for the suction cup and reduce the risks of the
damage of the glass-wiping robot due to falling or possible
security hazards.
[0020] Hereinafter, the detailed description of the technical
solutions of the present invention are provided in conjunction with
the accompanying drawings and the specific embodiments.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0021] FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the overall structure of a
vacuum air pump in the prior art.
[0022] FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the overall structure of the
present invention.
[0023] FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a body and cylinders provided
at both sides thereof in an air pump of the present
application.
[0024] FIG. 4 is a structural view of inlet and outlet holes on an
air pump end cover of the present invention.
[0025] FIG. 5 is a structural view of inlet and outlet holes on the
air pump middle frame cover of the present invention.
[0026] FIG. 6 is a structural view of inlet and outlet holes on an
air pump middle frame of the present invention.
[0027] FIG. 7 is a structural view of inlet and outlet holes on an
air pump body of the present invention.
[0028] FIG. 8 is a structural view illustrating arrangement
positions of inlet and outlet pipes of respective chambers of the
present invention.
[0029] FIG. 9 is a structural view of a transmission apparatus
having an eccentric shaft mechanism of the second embodiment of the
present invention.
[0030] FIG. 10 is a structural view of a transmission apparatus
having an eccentric wheel mechanism of the third embodiment of the
present invention.
[0031] FIG. 11 is a structural view of a glass-wiping robot of the
present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0032] First embodiment. The present invention provides a
dual-chamber dual-action air pump, in general, comprising a
cylinder and a drive apparatus and a piston that are connected to
the cylinder. The drive apparatus drives the piston via a
transmission apparatus to perform reciprocating movement in the
cylinder. A sealing element fixedly connected to the piston rod is
arranged within the cylinder. The sealing element partitions the
cylinder into a first chamber and a second chamber. The first
chamber and the second chamber are provided with a first one-way
valve and a second one-way valve respectively. When the piston rod
drives the sealing element to perform reciprocating movement, the
first chamber and the second chamber simultaneously inhale air and
exhaust air. FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the whole structure of
the present invention. FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the air pump
body and the cylinders at both sides thereof. As shown in FIG. 2 in
combination with FIG. 3, specifically, the dual-chamber dual-action
air pump of this embodiment comprises an air pump body 10, a drive
apparatus connected to the air pump body 10, and cylinders
symmetrically provided at both sides of the air pump body 10 in a
sealed manner. A transmission apparatus is fixedly connected on an
output shaft of the drive apparatus. According to the requirement
of pumped air amount, more cylinders may be provided in the
periphery of the air pump body 10. Specifically, each cylinder
comprises an air pump end cover 31, an air pump middle frame cover
32, and an air pump middle frame 37 connected in this order,
wherein the air pump middle frame 37 is connected with the air pump
body 10 in a sealed manner. A sealing element is provided between
the air pump middle frame 37 and the air pump middle frame cover 32
for sealing the air pump chambers, and may use rubber, soft gum
membrane or the like. In this embodiment, the soft gum membrane is
used. One end of a piston rod 33 is connected to the transmission
apparatus and performs reciprocating movement by the driving of the
transmission apparatus. The other end of the piston rod 33 is
fixedly connected with the soft gum membrane. The soft gum membrane
and the air pump middle frame cover 32 form a first chamber A1, the
air pump middle frame cover 32 and the air pump end cover 31 form a
first one-way valve, the soft gum membrane and the air pump middle
frame 37 form a second chamber A2, and the air pump middle frame 37
and the air pump body 10 form a second one-way valve. That is to
say, the space formed by the air pump middle frame 37 and the air
pump middle frame cover 32 is divided into two portions by the soft
gum membrane provided within the air pump middle frame 37, hereby
resulting in the formation of the first chamber A1 and the second
chamber A2 located both sides of the soft gum membrane
respectively.
[0033] As shown in FIG. 2, the soft gum membrane comprises a
support 34 and membrane parts 35. The membrane part 35 have inner
sealing rings 36' and outer sealing rings 36 provided on both sides
of the support 34 and connected via a retractable middle portion.
The middle portion passes through a central hole of the air pump
middle frame 37, and the inner and outer sealing rings 36', 36 are
perfectly attached to both sides of the air pump middle frame 37 in
a sealed manner. The outer sealing rings 36 are fixedly connected
with the support 34, and the support 34 is fixedly connected with
one end of the piston rod 33. When the air pump middle frame cover
32 is connected with the left side of the air pump middle frame 37,
the first and second chambers A1, A2 are formed on the left and
right sides of the outer sealing rings 36, respectively. When the
piston rod 33 performs reciprocating movement, it drives the outer
sealing rings 36 to move left and right, so as to allow the sealing
pads 38 in the first and second one-way valves to move left and
right, and allow the first and second chambers A1, A2 to
simultaneously inhale air and exhaust air.
[0034] FIG. 4 is a structural view of inlet and outlet holes on the
air pump end cover of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a structural
view of inlet and outlet holes on the air pump middle frame cover
of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4 in combination with
FIG. 5, the first one-way valve comprises an inlet room 350 and an
outlet room 360 provided on the air pump end cover 31 and an inlet
room 370 and an outlet room 380 provided on the air pump middle
frame cover 32. When the air pump end cover 31 and the air pump
middle frame cover 32 are engaged, their inlet rooms 350, 370 and
outlet rooms 360, 380 form closed spaces in each of which sealing
pads 38 are provided. An inlet hole 311 is provided in the inlet
room 350, inlet holes 321 are provided in the inlet room 370,
outlet holes 312 are provided in the outlet room 360, and an outlet
hole 322 is provided in the outlet room 380. Further, the sealing
pads 38 perform reciprocating movement within the closed spaces
under the action of the air flow of the inlet holes and outlet
holes. The inlet holes 311, 321 and outlet holes 312, 322 are
arranged symmetrically at both sides of the closed spaces in an
intersecting manner. When the sealing pads 38 are attached on one
of the air pump end cover 31 side or the air pump middle frame
cover 32 side, air flows through only one of the inlet holes 311,
321 or outlet holes 312, 322.
[0035] FIG. 6 is a structural view of inlet and outlet holes on the
air pump middle frame of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a
structural view of inlet and outlet holes on the air pump body of
the present invention. As shown in FIG. 6 in combination with FIG.
7, likewise, the structures and operations of the inlet and outlet
rooms and inlet and outlet holes provided on the air pump middle
frame 37 and the air pump body 10 are similar to those as described
above. Specifically, the second one-way valve comprises an inlet
room 450 and an outlet room 460 provided on the air pump middle
frame 37 and inlet room 470 and an outlet room 480 provided on the
air pump body 10. When the air pump middle frame 37 and the air
pump body 10 are engaged, their inlet rooms 450, 470 and outlet
rooms 460, 480 form closed spaces in each of which sealing pads 38
are provided. Inlet holes 411, 421 are provided in the inlet rooms
450, 470, and outlet holes 412, 422 are provided in the outlet
rooms 460, 480. Further, the sealing pads 38 perform reciprocating
movement within the closed spaces under the action of the air flow
of the inlet holes and outlet holes. The inlet and outlet holes are
arranged symmetrically at both sides of the closed spaces in an
intersecting manner.
[0036] As shown in FIGS. 4-5 in combination with FIGS. 6-7, the
shown symmetrical arrangement in an intersecting manner means that
the inlet hole is provided at the center of the inlet room and its
number is one, and the outlet holes are symmetrically provided on
both sides of the central line of the outlet room and are
oppositely located on the both sides of the inlet hole, or that the
inlet holes are symmetrically provided on both sides of the central
line of the inlet room and are oppositely located on the both sides
of the inlet hole, and the outlet hole is provided at the center of
the outlet room and its number is one. The diameters of the inlet
and outlet holes are the same as the width of the sealing pads. By
this, when the sealing pads 38 are biased toward one side under the
action of airflow, among the holes provided on this side, one
central hole is blocked and two other side holes remain
connectedness, while among the holes provided the opposite side,
both one central hole and two other side holes remain
connectedness, hereby ensuring that when the sealing pads 38 are
attached on one of the air pump end cover 31 side or the air pump
middle frame cover 32 side and are attached on one of the air pump
middle frame 37 side or the air pump body 10 side, air flows
through only one of the inlet holes or outlet holes.
[0037] FIG. 8 is a schematic view illustrating arrangement
positions of inlet pipes and outlet pipes of respective chambers of
the present invention. As shown in combination with FIG. 4, the
inlet pipe 313 is in communication with the inlet hole 311 on the
inlet room 350, and the outlet pipe 314 is in communication with
the outlet holes 312 on the outlet room 360. The inlet pipe 103 and
the outlet pipe 104 of the second chamber are provided on the air
pump body 10.
[0038] As shown in combination with FIG. 2, the present invention
provides the dual-chamber dual-action air pump powered by the drive
apparatus (i.e., motor 20), in which the transmission apparatus
connected with the motor output shaft drives the piston rods 33 to
perform reciprocating movement, so as to realize the air pump
operation process. The transmission apparatus may use various
structural forms to realize the transfer of the motor power. In
this embodiment, the transmission apparatus is a crankshaft
mechanism. Specifically, the crankshaft mechanism comprises lower
and upper eccentric wheels 41 and a crankshaft 43. The crankshaft
43 comprises a crankshaft body and two shaft portions extending
from left and right sides of the crankshaft body upward and
downward respectively. The shaft portions of the crankshaft
comprise connection portions for the piston rods 33 over which the
piston rods 33 are fitted via bearings and connection portions for
the eccentric wheels which are inserted into eccentric holes of the
eccentric wheels so as to be fixed.
[0039] Referring to FIGS. 2-8, the operation process of the
dual-chamber dual-action air pump according to this embodiment is
described below.
[0040] The motor 20 rotates, and its output shaft drives the piston
rods 33 to move toward the right side via the eccentric wheels 41
and the crankshaft 43. The piston rod 33 pulls the outer sealing
rings 36 to move toward the right side via the support 34, and the
volume of the first chamber A1 increases and the pressure reduces.
The formed pressure difference pushes the sealing pads 38 between
the air pump end cover 31 and the air pump middle frame cover 32 to
move toward the right side. The outlet holes 312 and the inlet hole
311 are opened. The sealing pads 38 blocks between the two inlet
holes 321, and the outlet hole 322 is closed. The first chamber A1
inhales air through the inlet pipe 313 of the air pump end cover
31. Meanwhile, the volume of the second chamber A2 decreases and
the pressure increases, and the formed pressure difference pushes
the sealing pads 38 between the air pump middle frame 37 and the
air pump body 10 to move toward the right side. The inlet hole and
the outlet holes on the air pump middle frame 37 are opened, and
the outlet hole on the air pump body 10 is opened and the inlet
hole on the air pump body 10 is closed. The second chamber A2
exhausts air through the outlet pipe 104 of the air pump body.
[0041] The motor keeps on rotating, and the motor output shaft
drives the piston rod 33 to move toward the left side. The piston
rod 33 pulls the outer sealing rings 36 to move toward the left
side via the support 34. The formed pressure difference pushes the
sealing pads 38 between the air pump end cover 31 and the air pump
middle frame cover 32 to move toward the left side. The inlet hole
311 is blocked, the outlet holes 312 are opened, the inlet holes
321 and the outlet hole 322 are opened, and the first chamber A1
exhausts air through the outlet pipe 314 of the air pump end cover
31. Meanwhile, the volume of the second chamber A2 increases and
the pressure reduces, and the formed pressure difference drives the
sealing pads 38 between the air pump middle frame 37 and the air
pump body 10 to move toward the left side. The inlet hole of the
air pump middle frame 37 is opened and the outlet holes on the air
pump middle frame 37 are blocked, both the inlet holes and the
outlet hole of the air pump body 10 are opened, and the second
chamber A2 inhales air through the inlet pipe 103 of the air pump
body 10. That is to say, in the one-way valves formed by the air
pump end cover 31 and the air pump middle frame cover 32 and by the
air pump middle frame 37 and the air pump body 10, the inlet holes
merely inhale air, and the other outlet holes merely exhaust air,
so as to maintain the vacuum degree within the vacuum inner
spaces.
[0042] As shown in FIG. 2 in combination with FIG. 8, the above
motion process is the operation process of the first chamber and
the second chamber formed on one side of the air pump body during
one rotation of the motor. At the same time, another first chamber
and another second chamber having the same structures and operating
in the same manner are also formed on the other side of the air
pump body. As shown in FIG. 2, when the air pump operates, the
motor rotates once, and it drives each air pump soft gum membrane
connected with the motor via a shaft to perform reciprocating
movement in one round trip. At the time of the first half rotation
of the motor, the soft gum membranes at both sides all move toward
the left side, the inlet pipes 313, 800 are blocked, and the
originally inhaled gas is exhausted through the outlet pipes 314,
600; while the inlet pipes 103, 900 draw off the air within the
spaces which need vacuum-pumping, and the outlet pipes 104, 700 are
blocked. At the time of the last half rotation of the motor, the
soft gum membranes at both sides all move toward the right side,
the inlet pipes 103, 900 are blocked, and the originally inhaled
gas is exhausted through the outlet pipes 104, 700; while the inlet
pipes 313, 800 draw off the air within the spaces which need
vacuum-pumping, and the outlet pipes 314, 900 are blocked. As a
result, for one rotation of the motor, the vacuum-pumping motion is
performed for four times, and compared with the vacuum air pump
which achieves the vacuum-pumping motion twice for one rotation of
the motor, it provides doubled air flow rate and doubled
efficiency.
Second Embodiment
[0043] The dual-chamber dual-action air pump according to this
embodiment has substantially the same structure as that according
to the first embodiment, and their difference lies in the structure
of the transmission apparatus. FIG. 9 is a structural view of the
transmission apparatus with an eccentric shaft mechanism of the
second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 9, the transmission apparatus
in the air pump of this embodiment is an eccentric shaft mechanism
fitted over the motor output shaft, and the end of the piston rod
33 is fitted over the eccentric shaft 51. In order to balance the
eccentric force generated during the rotation of the eccentric
shaft 51, generally, an air pump counterweight ring 52 or the like
is provided on the motor output shaft.
[0044] Other features in this embodiment can be consulted from the
first embodiment, and will not be described herein.
Third Embodiment
[0045] The dual-chamber dual-action air pump according to this
embodiment has substantially the same structure as that according
to the first embodiment, and their difference lies in the structure
of the transmission apparatus. FIG. 10 is a structural view of the
transmission apparatus with an eccentric wheel mechanism of the
third embodiment. As shown in FIG. 10, the transmission apparatus
in the air pump of this embodiment is an eccentric wheel mechanism
connected with the motor output shaft. The eccentric wheel
mechanism comprises an eccentric wheel 61 fixed on the output
shaft, and a ring-shaped limitation groove 611 is provided one side
surface of the eccentric wheel 61. A roller wheel 331 is provided
on the end of the piston rod 33 of each piston air pump assembly,
and is embed into the ring-shaped limitation groove 611. The output
shaft drives the eccentric wheel 61 to rotate, and the roller wheel
331 rolls along the circumference direction of the output shaft
within the ring-shaped limitation groove 611 and drives the piston
rod 33 to perform reciprocating movement. With the configuration of
the transmission apparatus in this embodiment, it is possible to
ensure that the reciprocal motions of respective piston rods 33
driven by the motor output shaft are located in the same plane,
hereby effectively reducing the entire height of the air pump and
making its structure more compact.
[0046] Other features in this embodiment can be consulted from the
first embodiment, and will not be described herein.
[0047] Obviously, in the above three embodiments, since the
structures of the transmission apparatuses differ from each other,
the description focuses on the main structure features of the
transmission apparatuses themselves. In order to obtain the stable
connection between the transmission apparatuses having different
structures and air pump housing, piston rod and other components,
some conventional mechanical connection parts are needed, and are
adjusted adaptively according to the different structures of the
transmission apparatuses. For persons skilled in the art, the
selection of these conventional mechanical connection parts can be
easily conceived of, and will be described herein. In addition, it
should be pointed out that the main operation principle of the
present invention lies in that the first chamber and the second
chamber of the cylinder operate to inhale air and exhaust air
respectively so as to enhance the pumping efficiency of the air
pump, and the air pump, one-way valve, drive structure,
transmission structure and the like may be implemented using
various other structures in the prior art.
[0048] As shown in FIG. 11, the present invention also provides a
glass-wiping robot including a machine body 8 and a suction cup 11
provided on the machine body. The suction cup 11 is connected with
the dual-chamber dual-action air pump 13 as described above. To be
specific, the inlet pipe of the first chamber and the inlet pipe of
the second chamber are connected with the suction cup respectively.
During the operation process of the glass-wiping robot, the motor
of the air pump rotates once, and the first and second chambers
respectively formed on both sides of the air pump body
simultaneously operate in the same manner. Compared with the prior
art, it provides doubled air flow rate and doubled efficiency.
Thus, the pumped air amount is greatly increased, and the
vacuum-pumping speed is increased. Even if in the case where a
slight air leakage occurs, the glass-wiping robot would not drop
from the glass surface being processed due to the immediate
decrease of the vacuum degree.
[0049] In sum, the dual-chamber dual-action air pump according to
the present invention is compact in structure, can increase the
flow rate of the vacuum air pump, and provide doubled operation
efficiency of the vacuum air pump. Meanwhile, the glass-wiping
robot using such dual-chamber dual-action air pump can have a
stable and safe operation state.
* * * * *