Diaphragm Pump With Dual Diaphragms and Intermediate Isolation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Diaphragm pumps are prone to contamination and poor performance due to diaphragm breakage, which can mix hydraulic oil with the target liquid and cause pressure fluctuations leading to bubble formation.
Innovation Solution
A diaphragm pump design with a pumping chamber, working chamber, and intermediate chamber, using liquid contact and working diaphragms sealed by a coupling mechanism and biased by a spring, ensuring smooth deformation and preventing hydraulic oil contamination, while a breakage detection system monitors pressure changes to detect diaphragm failure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a single diaphragm is used to separate the pumping chamber and working chamber, then the device complexity is reduced, but the reliability decreases due to the risk of diaphragm breakage causing hydraulic oil contamination
Solution Approach 1:
The single diaphragm structure is segmented into two separate diaphragms: a liquid contact diaphragm separating the pumping chamber from the intermediate chamber, and a working diaphragm separating the intermediate chamber from the working chamber. This segmentation isolates the hydraulic oil in the working chamber from the target liquid in the pumping chamber, so that even if one diaphragm breaks, hydraulic oil contamination of the target liquid is prevented. The intermediate chamber acts as a protective barrier layer between the two functional chambers.
2Productivity
If the working chamber pressure becomes negative during backward stroke, then the diaphragm deforms to suction target liquid, but air bubbles form in the hydraulic liquid causing poor pumping performance
Solution Approach 1:
The intermediate chamber is pre-filled with intermediate liquid that serves as a cushioning medium. During the backward stroke when the working chamber pressure becomes negative, the intermediate liquid prevents air bubbles from forming in the hydraulic liquid by maintaining positive pressure in the intermediate chamber. This beforehand cushioning with intermediate liquid ensures that the diaphragm can deform smoothly for suction without causing cavitation or bubble formation in the hydraulic system, thereby maintaining reliable pressure stability and pumping performance.
3Productivity
If a coupling mechanism connects both diaphragms, then the coordination and pumping efficiency are improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The intermediate chamber acts as an intermediary between the liquid contact diaphragm and the working diaphragm. The coupling mechanism connects these two diaphragms through the intermediate chamber, allowing coordinated movement that improves pumping efficiency. The intermediate chamber serves as a mediator that transmits pressure changes and ensures synchronized deformation of both diaphragms, achieving efficient pumping action while isolating the two functional chambers to prevent contamination.
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
Prevents hydraulic oil contamination and maintains pumping performance by isolating chambers and using a breakage detection system to ensure timely maintenance, thus ensuring the quality of the target liquid and efficient operation.
Implementation Method 1
a biasing part that biases at least one of the liquid contact diaphragm and the working diaphragm toward the suction side
Implementation Method 2
When the pressurizing plunger is in a backward stroke, the pumping chamber side is depressurized. As a result, the diaphragm deforms toward the working chamber, which is the backward stroke side. This causes the target liquid to be delivered to be sucked into the pumping chamber through a suction port.
Implementation Method 3
The forward stroke of the pressurizing plunger after the target liquid is suctioned into the pumping chamber causes the working chamber side to be pressurized. Accordingly, the diaphragm deforms toward the pumping chamber, which is the forward stroke side. This allows the suctioned target liquid to be ejected from the pumping chamber through an ejecting port
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a diaphragm pump including: a pump part that pumps a target liquid, and a drive part that drives the pump part. The pump part includes a pumping chamber, a working chamber, an intermediate chamber that is located between the pumping chamber and the working chamber, a liquid contact diaphragm that closes between the pumping chamber and the intermediate chamber, a working diaphragm that closes between the intermediate chamber and the working chamber, and a working mechanism that causes the liquid contact diaphragm and the working diaphragm to reciprocate so as to change the volume of each of the chambers. The working mechanism includes a working part that reciprocates by the driving of the drive part, a coupling part that couples the liquid contact diaphragm and the working diaphragm, and a biasing part that biases the working diaphragm toward a suction side.