Damping And Auxiliary Pumping Apparatus

Abstract

A pulsating fluid pump, such as a piston-type pump, defining a fluid flow therethrough and a housing defining a cavity therein with a flexible diaphragm dividing said cavity into first and second chambers with the first chamber connected in communication with the fluid flow through the pump and the second chamber having inlet and outlet ports therein. Check valves attached to said inlet and outlet ports for allowing fluid to flow only into said inlet and only out of said outlet. A fluid reservoir in communication with said check valves and ports providing a flow of fluid in response to pulsating or oscillatory movement of the diaphragm. A restriction valve in the fluid path from said outlet port to said inlet port for providing a variable amount of restriction or damping action on the movement of the diaphragm.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention pertains to apparatus for damping or smoothing pulsations of a pulsating fluid pump and/or for providing auxiliary pumping action. In some instances it is desirable to utilize a pulsating fluid pump, for economy or efficiency reasons, but it is necessary to smooth out the pulsations to provide a more constant flow of fluid. Also, in some instances it is desirable to pump second fluid simultaneous with the pumping of a first fluid utilizing the same pump. In such instances, it may be undesirable to mix the fluids prior to pumping or one of the fluids may be corrosive or detrimental to the pulsating pump.

2. Description of the Prior Art

In the prior art, pulsating pumps are disclosed which have damping apparatus attached thereto or which have apparatus which may be utilized as an auxiliary pump, but no pump is disclosed which incorporates apparatus that may be utilized for damping and auxiliary pumping individually or simultaneously. Referring specifically to a fluid pump disclosed in Fisher, U.S. Pat. No. 2,951,450, a damping apparatus is disclosed wherein a bellows-type arrangement is utilized as the pulsating fluid pump and a similar bellows-type arrangement is utilized as a damper in conjunction with the pump. However, the damping apparatus cannot be utilized for auxiliary pumping and only serves to smooth the pulsations in the fluid outlet from the pump.

Schanzlin, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,340,818, discloses a plunger-type pulsating pump having a diaphragm in the pumping chamber which provides an action, described by Schanzlin, as auxiliary pumping. Actually, the diaphragm, which is operated by a compression spring and the changes in pressure within the pumping chamber, tends to absorb the sudden change in pressure between the compression and suction portions of the piston stroke to reduce vibrations of the pump. There is no teaching in the patent of Schanzlin to utilize the diaphragm for any purpose other than that described,

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention pertains to damping and auxiliary pumping apparatus for use with a pulsating fluid pump including a housing defining a cavity therein with a flexible diaphragm affixed to said housing to divide said cavity into first and second chambers with said first chamber being in communication with the fluid flow through the pulsating pump and the second chamber having inlet and outlet ports therein with check valves connected to allow fluid to flow in only one direction.

It is an object of the present invention to provide damping and auxiliary pumping apparatus for use with a pulsating fluid pump.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide improved damping and auxiliary pumping apparatus which may be utilized for pumping a separate fluid simultaneous with the pumping of a main fluid in a pulsating fluid pump.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide damping and auxiliary pumping apparatus which will perform the damping and auxiliary pumping separately or simultaneously.

These and other objects of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the accompanying specification, claims and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The single drawing is a semi-schematic view of the damping and auxiliary pumping apparatus operatively attached to a pulsating fluid pump.

DESCRIPTion OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to the FIGURE, the numeral 10 generally designates a pulsating fluid pump, which in the present embodiment is illustrated as a piston-type pump. The fluid pump 10 has a pumping chamber 11 with an inlet port 12 and an outlet port 13. A conduit 14 is engaged in the inlet port 12 and has a check valve 15 therein to allow fluid to flow only into the pumping chamber 11 through the conduit 14. The conduit 14 is adapted to be connected to a source of fluid to be pumped. A second conduit 16 is engaged in the outlet port 13 and has a check valve 17 connected therein for allowing fluid to flow only out of the outlet port 13. The conduit 16 is adapted to be connected to supply fluid under pressure to fluid receiving apparatus. A piston 20 is connected for reciprocating motion in a cylinder 21, which cylinder 21 is in communication with the pumping chamber 11. Thus, reciprocating motion of the piston 20 produces changes in pressure within the pumping chamber 11, in a well-known fashion, to cause a fluid flow from the conduit 14 to the conduit 16. It should be understood that the present pulsating pump is illustrated only for exemplary purposes and multipiston pumps or other types of pulsating pumps might be utilized with the present invention if desired.

A housing, generally designated 25, is formed of two mating portions 26 and 27 which cooperate to define an enclosed cavity therebetween. A fluid imperforate, flexible diaphragm 28 is engaged between the portions 26 and 27 so as to extend across the cavity and divide the cavity into a first chamber 29 and a second chamber 30. The diaphragm 28 may be formed of any suitable material, such as rubber, plastics, etc., and the material may vary depending upon the specific use to be made of the apparatus, as will become apparent presently. Further, the configuration of the housing 25 and the cavity defined therein may vary with different applications and for various pulsating fluid pumps attached thereto.

A port 35 is formed in the housing 25 in communication with the first chamber 29 and one end of a conduit 36 is affixed therein. The other end of the conduit 36 is engaged in an opening in the pumping chamber 11 so as to be in communication therewith and to convey pressure changes from the pumping chamber 11 to the first chamber 29 in the housing 25. It should of course be understood that the housing 25 is illustrated as separate from the pump 10 and only connected thereto by the conduit 36, so that it can readily be seen that the present apparatus can be attached to substantially any pump. However, it should be understood that the housing 25 might be formed as an integral portion of the body of the pump 10 with the first chamber 29 communicating with or forming a portion of the pumping chamber 11.

An inlet port 40 and an outlet port 41 are formed in the housing 25 in communication with the second chamber 30. One end of a conduit 42 having a check valve 43 therein is engaged in the inlet port 40. The check valve 43 is positioned in the conduit 42 to allow fluid to flow into the inlet port 40 but not in the other direction. In the present embodiment the other end of the conduit 42 is engaged in a reservoir 45 to allow fluid to flow therefrom through the check valve 43 and inlet port 40 into the second chamber 30 of the housing 25. One end of a second conduit 46, having a check valve 47 therein, is connected in the outlet port 41 in communication with the second chamber 30. The check valve 47 is positioned in the conduit 46 so as to allow fluid to flow from the second chamber 30 and outlet port 41 but not in the opposite direction. The opposite end of the conduit 46 is engaged in the reservoir 45 to allow fluid to flow from the second chamber 30, through the outlet port 41 and check valve 47 to the reservoir 45.

A restricting valve 50 is connected in the conduit 46 so that fluid flowing in the conduit 46 must pass through the restricting valve 50. The restricting valve 50 may be any type of valve which can be varied to alter the amount of fluid flowing therethrough. In general, it may be preferable to provide a restricting valve 50 which varies between substantially no restriction and substantially no flow of fluid therethrough. A conduit 51 having a restricting valve 52 therein is connected between the conduit 46 and the conduit 16 of the pump 10, in this embodiment. The connection of the conduit 51 to the conduit 46 is between the check valve 47 and the restricting valve 50. The restricting valve 52 may be similar to the restricting valve 50 and may be variable between substantially no restriction to fluid flow and substantially no fluid flow. It should be understood that the conduit 51 is connected to the conduit 16 for illustrative purposes and many other connections or uses may be provided by those skilled in the art.

In the operation of the present apparatus, reciprocating movement of the piston 20 produces changes in the pressure in pumping chamber 11 and the first chamber 29 and, consequently, reciprocations of the diaphragm 28. As the diaphragm 28 is pulled downwardly (in the figure) by downward movement of the piston 20, fluid is drawn into the second chamber 30, through the inlet port 40 and check valve 43 from the reservoir 45. Subsequent upward movements of the piston 20 causes upward movement of the diaphragm 28 to force the fluid from the second chamber 30 through the outlet port 41 and check valve 47. Assuming the restricting valve 52 is closed tightly and the restricting valve 50 is open, the fluid will flow through the restricting valve 50 back into the reservoir 45. To provide damping action on the operation of the pump 10 the restricting valve 50 may be partially closed so that there is a resistance to the movement of the diaphragm 28. If further or different damping action is desired, the fluid in the reservoir 45 may be altered to provide different characteristics to the damping action. If the restricting valve 50 is closed tightly and the restricting valve 52 is opened, movement of the diaphragm 28 draws fluid from the reservoir 45 and pumps it through the outlet port 41, check valve 47, restricting valve 52 and conduit 51 to the conduit 16. Thus, the fluid from the reservoir 45 will be mixed in the conduit 16 with the fluid being pumped by the pump 10. If it is desired to mix a smaller amount of the fluid from the reservoir 45 with the fluid pumped by the pump 10, the restricting valve 52 may be partially closed. Also, if it is desired to damp the operation of the pump 10 while utilizing the apparatus as an auxiliary pump, the restricting valve 52 may be partially closed to provide the desired damping action while the fluid being pumped is conducted to the desired destination by the conduit 51 (in the illustration the destination is the conduit 16). It should be understood that the two restricting valves 50 and 52 are positioned to provide the apparatus with a variety of uses for illustrative purposes and either or both of them might be eliminated in specific uses. For example, if the apparatus is to be used only for damping purposes, a smaller conduit 46 might be utilized and a fluid which provides the desired damping characteristics can be provided. In this specific instance the restricting valve 50, conduit 51 and restricting valve 52 may be eliminated.

Thus, apparatus is illustrated which provides damping action for pulsating fluid pumps and/or auxiliary pumping. Since the apparatus may be constructed separate from the pump 10, when utilized as an auxiliary pump, fluid which is detrimental to the pump 10 may be pumped without coming in contact with the pump 10. While I have shown and described a specific embodiment of this invention, further modifications and improvements will occur to those skilled in the art. I desire it to be understood, therefore, that this invention is not limited to the particular form shown and I intend in the appended claims to cover all modifications which do not depart from the spirit and scope of this invention.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A fluid pump having damping and auxiliary pumping apparatus associated therewith comprising:

a. a pulsating fluid pump defining an inlet and an outlet and a fluid path between said inlet and outlet, said inlet having means for connection to a predetermined fluid source;

b. a delivery conduit connected to said outlet;

c. a housing defining a cavity therein;

d. a flexible diaphram mounted within said housing so as to separate the cavity into first and second chambers;

e. a port in said housing in communication with said first chamber and connected in communication with the fluid path to said pump;

f. fluid inlet and outlet ports in said housing in communication with said second chamber;

g. a first check valve connected to said inlet port for allowing fluid to flow only into said inlet port, and a second check valve connected to said outlet port for allowing fluid to flow only outwardly of said outlet port;

h. inlet and outlet conductors connected to said first and second check valves respectively and having outer ends for connection to a second source of fluid;

i. a variable valve in said outlet conductor;

j. a second delivery conduit having one end in communication with said first mentioned delivery conduit and an opposite end in communication with said outlet conductor between said variable valve and said second check valve;

k. and a second variable valve in said second delivery conduit, said variable valves being operative to control damping flow of fluid between said second chamber and said second source and selectively to control flow of fluid from said second source and second chamber through said second delivery conduit to said first mentioned delivery conduit.