Diaphragm pump

Abstract

To provide a diaphragm pump which enables easy assembly while minimizing increase of costs when a mixture ratio of multiple fluids is changed.SOLUTION: A diaphragm pump has: a suction fluid chamber 41 in which multiple suction passages (a first suction passage 44 and a second suction passage 45) are open; and a discharge fluid chamber 42 in which a discharge passage 54 is open. The diaphragm pump has: a pump chamber 31 which is connected to the suction fluid chamber 41 through a suction valve 33 and connected to the discharge fluid chamber 42 through a discharge valve 34 and in which a pump part 15 of a diaphragm 14 forms a part of a wall; and a driving mechanism 6 which deforms the pump part 15 to increase and decrease the volumetric capacity of the pump chamber 31. At least one suction passage (the second suction passage 45) of the multiple suction passages is different from the other suction passage (the first suction passage 44) in a passage cross sectional area (the passage cross sectional area is smaller).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a diaphragm pump capable of mixing and discharging different fluids.

Background Art

[0002] As a diaphragm pump capable of mixing different fluids, for example, there is one described in Patent Document 1. The diaphragm pump disclosed in Patent Document 1 mixes and discharges two types of fluids, and includes a first pump section that sucks the first fluid out of the two types of fluids and discharges it into a discharge-side fluid chamber, and a second pump section that sucks the second fluid and discharges it into the discharge-side fluid chamber. The first fluid and the second fluid are mixed in the discharge-side fluid chamber.

[0003] One discharge passage through which a mixed fluid composed of the first fluid and the second fluid is sent out is connected to the discharge-side fluid chamber. Therefore, according to this diaphragm pump, the first fluid and the second fluid are mixed in the discharge-side fluid chamber and discharged out of the pump through the discharge passage. In this diaphragm pump, the number of cylinders of the first pump section is different from the number of cylinders of the second pump section, and the mixing ratio of the first fluid and the second fluid is a ratio corresponding to the ratio of the number of cylinders.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] In the diaphragm pump shown in Patent Document 1, it was not possible to easily change the mixing ratio of the first fluid and the second fluid. In order to change the mixing ratio in the diaphragm pump shown in Patent Document 1, it is conceivable to change the piston diameter of the cylinder. However, if this configuration is adopted, it is necessary to newly create a plurality of components such as the diaphragm and the components that cooperate with the diaphragm to form the pump chamber, resulting in a cost increase. Further, when assembling the diaphragm to the housing, it is necessary to assemble the diaphragm to the housing while aligning the positions of the piston portions with different piston diameters, which also causes a problem that the number of assembly steps increases and the assembly work becomes complicated.

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide a diaphragm pump that can be easily assembled while minimizing cost increase when changing the mixing ratio of a plurality of fluids.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] The present invention has been made to achieve such an object, and includes a suction fluid chamber in which a plurality of suction passages open, a discharge fluid chamber in which a discharge passage opens, and is connected to the suction fluid chamber via a suction valve, and is connected to the discharge fluid chamber via a discharge valve, and a pump chamber formed such that a deformable pump portion of a diaphragm forms a part of a wall, and a drive mechanism that deforms the pump portion of the diaphragm to increase or decrease the volume of the pump chamber, and at least one of the plurality of suction passages has a passage cross-sectional area different from that of the other suction passages.

[0008] In the diaphragm pump of the present invention, the suction passage having a passage cross-sectional area different from that of the other suction passages is formed by a pipe protruding outward from the wall of the suction fluid chamber toward the outside of the suction fluid chamber, and a partition plate having a through-hole is provided in the pipe, and the cross-sectional area of the through-hole may be different from the passage cross-sectional area of the other suction passages.

Effects of the Invention

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a diaphragm pump that can easily perform assembly while minimizing cost increase when changing the mixing ratio of a plurality of fluids.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0010]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0011] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the diaphragm pump according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. The breaking position in FIG. 4 is the position indicated by the line IV-IV in FIG. 3. The diaphragm pump 1 shown in FIG. 1 is attached to a pump driving motor 2 as a driving source located at the bottom in FIG. 1, and includes a driving part 3 fixed to the pump driving motor 2 and a valve part 4 attached to the driving part 3. This diaphragm pump 1 is driven by the pump driving motor 2 to suck two types of fluids respectively, mix these fluids, and discharge them.

[0012] <Configuration of the driving part> The driving part 3 is composed of a base member 5 fixed to the pump driving motor 2 and a driving mechanism 6 housed in the base member 5. The base member 5 is formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape and is fixed to the pump driving motor 2 by fixing bolts (not shown). The driving mechanism 6 includes a crank base 8 attached to the rotating shaft 7 of the pump driving motor 2, a driving body 11 connected to the crank base 8 via a driving shaft 9, and the like.

[0013] The drive shaft 9 is attached in an inclined state to a portion eccentric from the rotation center of the crank base 8. The direction in which the drive shaft 9 is inclined is the direction in which the axis C1 of the drive shaft 9 and the axis C2 of the rotating shaft 7 intersect on the drive body 11 side. The drive body 11 is composed of a cylindrical shaft portion 12 rotatably supported by the drive shaft 9 and a plurality of arm portions 13 protruding radially outward from this shaft portion 12. The arm portions 13 are provided for each pump portion 15 of the diaphragm 14 described later, and extend radially outward from the shaft portion 12 in a radial direction. The diaphragm 14 according to this embodiment has three pump portions 15. For this reason, the drive body 11 has three arm portions 13.

[0014] A through hole 13a is formed in the arm portion 13. A connecting piece 16 for each pump portion 15 of the diaphragm 14 is engaged in this through hole 13a. The connecting piece 16 is fixed to the arm portion 13 in a state of passing through the arm portion 13. According to this drive mechanism 6, a rotational force is applied from the rotating shaft 7 of the pump drive motor 2, and the crank base 8 and the drive shaft 9 rotate. As a result, the drive body 11 converts the rotation into a reciprocating motion and swings, and the pump portions 15 of the diaphragm 14 repeatedly contract and expand.

[0015] <Configuration of the valve portion> The valve portion 4 includes a diaphragm 14 connected to the drive body 11, a diaphragm holder 21 attached to the opening portion of the base member 5 to hold the diaphragm 14, a valve holder 22 attached to the diaphragm holder 21 with the diaphragm 14 sandwiched therebetween, a cover 23 attached to this valve holder 22, and the like. The diaphragm holder 21, the valve holder 22, and the cover 23 are formed in a circular shape when viewed from the axial direction of the pump drive motor 2, and are combined with the base member 5 by a fastening tool (not shown) so that they cannot be separated from each other.

[0016] The diaphragm holder 21 has a cylindrical portion 21a connectable to the base member 5, a plurality of cylinder holes 21b into which the pump portions 15 of the diaphragm 14 described later are inserted, a shaft receiving projection 21c provided at the axial center and slidably fitted to the driving body 11, and the like.

[0017] The diaphragm 14 has three cup-shaped pump portions 15 that open toward the valve holder 22 (only one pump portion 15 is shown in FIG. 1). The pump portions 15 are each configured to be deformable and are provided at positions that divide the diaphragm 14 into a plurality in the circumferential direction of the cylindrical portion 21a of the diaphragm holder 21. These pump portions 15 are inserted into the cylinder holes 21b formed in the diaphragm holder 21.

[0018] The opening of the pump portion 15 is closed by the valve holder 22. A pump chamber 31 is formed between the pump portion 15 and the valve holder 22 such that the pump portion 15 forms a part of the wall. A piston 32 is provided at the bottom of the cup-shaped pump portion 15, and a connecting piece 16 that projects in a direction opposite to the pump chamber 31 is provided. This connecting piece 16 is connected to the driving body 11 of the driving mechanism 6 as described above. Therefore, when the driving body 11 swings, the bottom (piston 32) of the pump portion 15 comes into contact with and separates from the valve holder 22, and the volume of the pump chamber 31 increases and decreases.

[0019] The valve holder 22 is formed in a disc shape, supports a plurality of intake valves 33 on the outer peripheral side, and supports one discharge valve 34 at the center. The outer peripheral portion of the valve holder 22 is connected to the cylindrical outer peripheral wall 35 of the cover 23 via a sealing member 36, and the central portion of the valve holder 22 is connected to the cylindrical wall 37 (see Fig. 2) provided on the center side of the cover 23 via a sealing member 36. The sealing member 36 is formed in an annular plate shape, and as shown in Fig. 2, has an outer peripheral side ridge 36a with which the outer peripheral wall 35 of the cover 23 contacts, an inner peripheral side ridge 36b with which the cylindrical wall 37 contacts, three holes 36c formed in a portion corresponding to the pump section 15, and a hole 36d at the center portion.

[0020] As shown in Fig. 1, an annular intake fluid chamber 41 is formed between the outer peripheral wall 35 of the cover 23 and the cylindrical wall 37, that is, between the valve holder 22 and the cover 23, at the outer peripheral portion. Also, a discharge fluid chamber 42 that is partitioned from the intake fluid chamber 41 by the cylindrical wall 37 is formed inside the cylindrical wall 37, that is, between the valve holder 22 and the cover 23, at the center side.

[0021] The intake fluid chamber 41 communicates with each of the plurality of pump chambers 31 through the holes 36c of the sealing member 36 and the first through holes 43 provided in the valve holder 22 for each pump chamber 31. Also, a first intake passage 44 and a second intake passage 45 formed in the cover 23 open into the intake fluid chamber 41. The first intake passage 44 is formed by a first pipe 46 as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, and the second intake passage 45 is formed by a second pipe 47. These first and second pipes 46, 47 are protruded outward from the intake fluid chamber 41 on the ceiling wall 48 which is a part of the wall of the intake fluid chamber 41 in the cover 23.

[0022] The inner diameter of the first pipe 46 is constant without changing from one end to the other end of the first pipe 46. Therefore, the passage cross-sectional area of the first intake passage 44 is considered to be constant from the tip of the first pipe 46 to the intake fluid chamber 41. Inside the second pipe 47, a partition plate 52 having a through hole 51 is provided. The cross-sectional area of the through hole 51 corresponds to the cross-sectional area of the second suction passage 45 and is smaller than the cross-sectional area of the first suction passage 44. That is, the second suction passage 45, which is one of the first suction passage 44 and the second suction passage 45, has a different cross-sectional area from the other suction passage (the first suction passage 44). The through hole 51 can be formed during molding using a mold (not shown) for molding the cover 23. Further, the through hole 51 can also be drilled by machining a blind plate-shaped partition plate 52 formed so as to block the second pipe 47.

[0023] A first suction hose (not shown) filled with a first fluid is connected to the first pipe 46. A second suction hose (not shown) filled with a second fluid is connected to the second pipe 47. The first fluid and the second fluid are liquids or gases. More specifically, different types of liquids can be used as the first fluid and the second fluid, and different types of gases can be used as the first fluid and the second fluid. Also, a liquid can be used as the first fluid and a gas can be used as the second fluid.

[0024] The suction valve 33 is for opening and closing the first through hole 43 and is formed in a predetermined shape by a rubber material. The suction valve 33 according to this embodiment has a shaft portion 33a that penetrates the valve holder 22 and is fixed to the valve holder 22, and a valve body 33b formed in a disc shape at the tip of the shaft portion 33a. The suction valve 33 is provided for each pump chamber 31 so that the valve body 33b is positioned inside each pump chamber 31. The valve body 33b opens the opening portion of the first through hole 43 in a stroke where the pump portion 15 of the diaphragm 14 expands and the volume of the pump chamber 31 increases, and closes the opening portion of the first through hole 43 in a stroke where the pump portion 15 contracts and the volume of the pump chamber 31 decreases. That is, the suction valve 33 opens and closes the first through hole 43 so that fluid flows from the suction fluid chamber 41 toward the pump chamber 31 in a stroke where the volume of the pump chamber 31 increases.

[0025] The fluid chamber 42 for discharge is communicated with each of the plurality of pump chambers 31 through a second through hole 53 formed for each pump chamber 31 in the valve holder 22. Further, a discharge passage 54 is opened in the fluid chamber 42 for discharge. The discharge passage 54 is formed by a discharge pipe 55 formed in the cover 23. A discharge hose (not shown) is connected to the discharge pipe 55.

[0026] The discharge valve 34 is formed of a rubber material and has a valve body 34a that adheres to the wall surface on the fluid chamber 42 side in the valve holder 22. This valve body 34a closes the opening portion of the second through hole 53 so as to be openable and closable, closes the opening portion of the second through hole 53 in the stroke where the pump portion 15 of the diaphragm 14 expands and the volume of the pump chamber 31 increases, and opens the opening portion of the second through hole 53 in the stroke where the pump portion 15 contracts and the volume of the pump chamber 31 decreases. That is, the discharge valve 34 opens and closes the second through hole 53 so that the fluid flows from the pump chamber 31 toward the fluid chamber 42 for discharge in the stroke where the volume of the pump chamber 31 decreases.

[0027] <Description of operation> In the diaphragm pump 1 configured as described above, when the motor 2 is energized and rotates, the crank base 8 and the drive shaft 9 rotate along with this rotation, so that the arm portion 13 of the drive body 11 drives the pump portion 15, and the pump portion 15 repeats expansion and contraction. In the stroke where the pump portion 15 expands, the suction valve 33 is opened by negative pressure, and the first and second fluids are sucked into the fluid chamber 41 for suction from the first and second suction passages 44, 45. These first and second fluids are mixed in the fluid chamber 41 for suction and sucked from the fluid chamber 41 for suction into the pump chamber 31.

[0028] Since the passage cross-sectional area of the second suction passage 45 is smaller than that of the first suction passage 44, when the first and second fluids are liquids, more of the first fluid is sucked into the suction fluid chamber 41 than the second fluid. The first fluid and the second fluid are mixed in the suction fluid chamber 41 and sucked into the pump chamber 31 as a mixed fluid. The mixing ratio of the first fluid and the second fluid is a ratio corresponding to the ratio of the passage cross-sectional area of the first suction passage 44 to the passage cross-sectional area of the second suction passage 45. For example, when the inner diameter A (see FIG. 4) of the first suction passage 44 is 2.4 mm and the inner diameter B of the second suction passage 45 is 1.0 mm, the passage cross-sectional area of the first suction passage 44: the passage cross-sectional area of the second suction passage 45 = 1.44: 0.25, and if the fluid is a liquid, it flows at this ratio. Note that for different fluids such as water and air, they flow at a ratio different from the area ratio of the suction passages.

[0029] On the other hand, in the step where the pump section 15 contracts, the discharge valve 34 opens due to the discharge pressure, the mixed fluid in the pump chamber 31 is discharged from the pump chamber 31 to the discharge fluid chamber 42, and further supplied outside the pump through the discharge passage 54.

[0030] In this embodiment, since the mixing ratio of the first fluid and the second fluid changes based on the ratio of the passage cross-sectional area of the first suction passage 44 to the passage cross-sectional area of the second suction passage 45, by exchanging the cover 23 with another cover formed such that the passage cross-sectional areas of the suction passages are different, the mixing ratios of a plurality of fluids can be easily changed. Thus, according to this embodiment, the mixing ratio can be changed simply by exchanging one component, the cover 23, and moreover, the cover 23 can be easily exchanged. Therefore, when changing the mixing ratios of a plurality of fluids, it is possible to provide a diaphragm pump that can be easily assembled while minimizing cost increases.

[0031] The second suction passage 45 according to this embodiment, that is, the suction passage having a passage cross-sectional area different from that of the other suction passages, is formed by a second pipe 47 protruding outward from the wall (ceiling wall 48) of the suction fluid chamber 41 toward the outside of the suction fluid chamber 41. A partition plate 52 having a through hole 51 is provided in the second pipe 47. The cross-sectional area of the through hole 51 is smaller than the passage cross-sectional area of the first suction passage 44 (different from the passage cross-sectional areas of the other suction passages). Therefore, by enlarging the hole diameter of the through hole 51, for example, by using a drill, the passage cross-sectional area of the second suction passage 45 can be increased, so that a plurality of types of diaphragm pumps having different mixing ratios can be realized using one type of cover 23.

[0032] In the above-described embodiment, when making the passage cross-sectional area of the second suction passage 45 smaller than the passage cross-sectional area of the first suction passage 44, the partition plate 52 having the through hole 51 is used. However, without using the partition plate 52, the passage diameter of the second suction passage 45 may be formed to be constant throughout the whole area, and this passage diameter may be made smaller or larger than the passage diameter of the first suction passage 44.

[0033] Also, in the above-described embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to a three-cylinder diaphragm pump 1 having three pump chambers 31 is shown, but the number of cylinders can be changed as appropriate. That is, the number of cylinders may be one cylinder, two cylinders, or four cylinders or more. Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, an example of mixing two types of fluids is shown, but the present invention is not limited to such a limitation. According to the diaphragm pump 1 according to the present invention, three or more types of fluids can be mixed.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0034] 1... Diaphragm pump, 6... Driving mechanism, 14... Diaphragm, 15... Pump section, 31... Pump chamber, 33... Suction valve, 34... Discharge valve, 41... Suction fluid chamber, 42... Discharge fluid chamber, 44... First suction passage, 45... Second suction passage, 46... First pipe, 47... Second pipe, 48... Ceiling wall, 51... Through hole, 52... Partition plate, 54... Discharge passage.

Claims

1. An inhalation fluid chamber in which a plurality of inhalation passages open; An ejection fluid chamber in which an ejection passage opens; A pump chamber that is connected to the inhalation fluid chamber via an inhalation valve and to the ejection fluid chamber (42) via an ejection valve, and is formed such that a deformable pump portion of a diaphragm forms part of a wall; A drive mechanism that deforms the pump portion of the diaphragm to increase or decrease the volume of the pump chamber; Comprising; Among the plurality of inhalation passages, at least one inhalation passage has a different passage cross-sectional area from the other inhalation passages; A plurality of fluids inhaled at a predetermined ratio through the plurality of inhalation passages are configured to be mixed in the inhalation fluid chamber and then sent to the pump chamber via the ejection valve. A diaphragm pump characterized by this.

2. An inhalation fluid chamber in which a plurality of inhalation passages open; An ejection fluid chamber in which an ejection passage opens; A pump chamber that is connected to the inhalation fluid chamber (41) via an inhalation valve and to the ejection fluid chamber (42) via an ejection valve, and is formed such that a deformable pump portion of a diaphragm forms part of a wall; A drive mechanism that deforms the pump portion of the diaphragm to increase or decrease the volume of the pump chamber; Comprising; Among the plurality of inhalation passages, at least one inhalation passage has a different passage cross-sectional area from the other inhalation passages; The inhalation passage having a different passage cross-sectional area from the other inhalation passages is the wall of the inhalation fluid chamber; It is formed by a pipe protruding outward from the inhalation fluid chamber on the wall of the inhalation fluid chamber; A partition plate having a through hole is provided in the pipe; The cross-sectional area of the through hole is different from the passage cross-sectional area of the other inhalation passages, characterized by this; A diaphragm pump.

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