Bellows Pump Pressure Control for Regulator Fault Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing bellows pumps face issues with pulsation and water hammer due to changes in atmospheric temperature or fluid flow rate affecting bellows hardness, and electropneumatic regulators fail to adjust air pressure correctly during abnormalities, necessitating costly additional monitoring equipment.
Innovation Solution
A bellows pump device with integrated detection units and a control unit that monitors bellows states and adjusts air pressure through pressure increase/decrease controls, counting consecutive commands to detect fluid pressure adjustment unit abnormalities without additional sensors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If electropneumatic regulators are used to adjust air pressure, then the expansion time of bellows can be controlled, but the system becomes complex and costly when additional monitoring equipment is needed to detect regulator abnormalities
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit monitors the operational state of the fluid pressure adjustment unit by detecting whether the bellows reaches the expanded state within expected timeframes. This feedback mechanism allows the system to identify regulator abnormalities through operational performance rather than direct sensor monitoring, avoiding additional hardware complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses its own operational parameters (bellows expansion timing and state detection) to monitor the health of the fluid pressure adjustment unit. Rather than requiring external monitoring equipment, the bellows pump device self-diagnoses regulator abnormalities through its existing control and detection infrastructure
2Productivity
If the bellows expansion/contraction operation continues with constant pressurized air supply, then the system operates continuously, but the expansion time of the bellows may change due to temperature or flow rate variations
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the air pressure supplied to the bellows based on detected expansion timing. The control unit modifies pressure parameters in real-time to compensate for temperature or flow rate variations, ensuring stable expansion time while maintaining continuous operation
Solution Approach 2:
The fluid pressure adjustment unit changes physical parameters (air pressure) of the pressurized fluid based on feedback from the detection unit. This parameter adjustment compensates for environmental variations and maintains consistent bellows expansion timing during continuous operation
3Speed
If pressure increase control is continuously commanded to compensate for expansion time delays, then the bellows expansion speed improves, but false abnormalities may be detected due to excessive counting
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit issues pressure increase commands in advance based on predicted expansion timing needs. By anticipating required pressure adjustments before abnormalities occur, the system prevents expansion delays without creating false abnormality detections through excessive counting
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 device effectively identifies fluid pressure adjustment unit abnormalities with an inexpensive configuration, reducing pulsation and preventing operational disruptions.
Implementation Method 1
a pair of driving units 27, 28 each having a suction-side air chamber 26A, 26B and a discharge-side air chamber 21A, 21B and configured to cause the respective bellows to expand to a predetermined expanded state by supplying pressurized air to the suction-side air chambers 26A, 26B and to cause the respective bellows to contract to a predetermined contracted state by supplying pressurized air to the discharge-side air chambers 21A, 21B
Data Source
AI summary
A control unit of a bellows pump device performs pressure increase control of determining whether or not a second bellows (first bellows) is in the middle of expansion when the first bellows (second bellows) contracts to a mid-contraction state, and when a determination result thereof is positive, outputting a pressure increase command to a second electropneumatic regulator (first electropneumatic regulator) such that an air pressure of pressurized air to be supplied to a second suction-side air chamber (first suction-side air chamber) of a second driving unit (first driving unit) is increased at next expansion of the second bellows (first bellows). The control unit counts the number of times the pressure increase control has been consecutively performed, and when the counted number of times has exceeded a predetermined number of times, the control unit determines that the second electropneumatic regulator (first electropneumatic regulator) is abnormal.