Bellows Pumping Device for Contamination-Free Fluid Conveyance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fluid conveying devices suffer from leaks and contamination issues, particularly when handling high-purity gases like hydrogen, due to the use of seals and lubricants that introduce wear particles and contaminants into the fluid.
Innovation Solution
A fluid-tight media separation device with a variable chamber volume, utilizing a bellows to separate fluids, and a contamination sensor to monitor the discharge side, ensuring no contaminants enter the transport fluid, combined with a modular design for efficient compression and conveyance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If seals and lubricants are used in multi-piston accumulators, then the sealing performance is improved, but wear particles and contaminants are introduced into the fluid
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes seals and lubricants from the piston assembly by extracting the harmful sealing components. Instead of using traditional sealed pistons, the invention employs a sealless piston design where the piston rods pass through the accumulator housing without requiring seals, thereby eliminating the source of wear particles and contaminants while maintaining operational reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical sealing system (pistons with seals and lubricants) with an alternative mechanical arrangement. The sealless piston design uses precise mechanical clearances and surface finishes to achieve sealing without contact, substituting the lubricated seal mechanism with a clearance-based sealing approach that generates no wear particles
2Object-generated harmful factors
If complex filtering measures are implemented, then fluid purity is maintained, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the potential harm of seal wear into a benefit by designing a system where the piston rods are intentionally designed with controlled clearances that prevent contact and wear. The slight gaps that might seem harmful are actually beneficial as they eliminate the need for seals while maintaining sealing effectiveness through precision engineering, thereby preventing contamination at the source rather than requiring complex filtration
3Force
If frictional forces are reduced through lubricants, then wear is minimized, but contamination risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the lubricant system entirely from the piston assembly. By eliminating lubricants, the invention removes the pathway through which contaminants can enter the fluid, while the frictional forces are managed through alternative means such as optimized surface finishes and clearance designs that do not require lubrication
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs hydraulic principles to manage friction without lubricants. The piston rods are designed with precise clearance gaps that allow a thin film of process fluid to hydrodynamically lubricate the surfaces during operation, reducing friction through fluid film lubrication rather than conventional lubricants, thereby minimizing both wear and contamination risk
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides a leak-free and contamination-free conveyance of fluids, including high-purity gases, with high cycle times and efficient compression ratios, while maintaining purity and preventing unwanted contamination.
Implementation Method 1
the conveying part has a fluid-tight media separation device with a variable chamber volume, which with its receiving space establishes a fluid-conducting connection with the inlet or outlet
Implementation Method 2
the fluid flow, in particular the gas flow, is monitored on the discharge side of the conveying part by means of a contamination sensor
Implementation Method 3
takes in fluid via the inlet during a suction stroke while increasing the chamber volume
Implementation Method 4
discharges the absorbed fluid via the outlet during a discharge stroke while reducing this chamber volume
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~4
Figure 3
AI summary
A conveying device for fluids with an inlet (12) and an outlet (14) and a conveying part (10) which is connected in between and is actuable by a drive part, characterized in that the conveying part (10) has a fluid-tight media-separating device (16) with a variable chamber volume, which becomes fluidically connected via its receiving space (21) to the inlet (12) or the outlet (14), and which, by means of the drive part, receives fluid via the inlet (12) as part of an intake stroke, increasing the chamber volume, and discharges the received fluid via the outlet (14) as part of a discharging stroke, reducing the size of said chamber volume.