Pump Bypass Assembly for Priming and Clogging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Pumps used in brewing and fermentation often face issues with priming and clogging due to the presence of particulate matter in the fluid, leading to potential plugging or clogging.
Innovation Solution
A pump design featuring a bypass assembly with a movable sealing member and an impeller with ribs that correspond to the internal wall geometry, allowing for easier priming and reducing the size of particulate matter to prevent clogging, by facilitating air removal and cutting up material within the fluid.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional pump design is used, then the pump structure is simple, but the pump experiences difficulty with priming and clogging due to particulate matter
Solution Approach 1:
The pump is divided into distinct functional sections: a bypass assembly with its own housing and vent, a main pump head, and an impeller with specific rib geometry. The bypass assembly can be independently adjusted via the sealing member to control air removal, while the impeller handles particulate matter. This segmentation allows each component to optimize its specific function without complicating the entire system.
Solution Approach 2:
The bypass assembly acts as an intermediary mechanism between the inlet and the main pump flow path. By providing a separate air removal pathway controlled by the movable sealing member, it mediates the priming process without interfering with the main pumping function, thus improving priming efficiency while maintaining overall system simplicity.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the pump processes fluid with particulate matter, then the pump can handle brewing and fermentation applications, but the particulate matter causes plugging or clogging
Solution Approach 1:
The impeller is designed with specific local features - ribs with geometry that corresponds to the internal wall geometry of the pump casing. These localized rib structures create specific flow patterns and cutting actions at critical locations within the impeller, enabling effective particulate matter reduction without compromising the overall pump design or its adaptability to brewing and fermentation applications.
Solution Approach 2:
The impeller ribs are designed with specific geometric parameters that correspond to the pump casing internal wall geometry. By optimizing the rib shape, size, and positioning parameters, the system achieves effective cutting action on particulate matter while maintaining appropriate flow characteristics for different brewing and fermentation fluid types.
3Ease of operation
If a bypass assembly is added for air removal, then priming efficiency is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing member within the bypass assembly is designed to be movable rather than fixed, allowing dynamic adjustment of the bypass opening. This dynamic feature enables easy control of air removal during priming operations, significantly improving ease of operation. The movable sealing member can be adjusted to different positions to control the degree of bypass, providing operational flexibility without requiring a complex multi-component system.
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 design enhances priming efficiency and reduces the risk of clogging by allowing air removal and effectively cutting up particulate matter, ensuring smooth operation and preventing plugging in the pump and outlet lines.
Implementation Method 1
An impeller positioned within the pump head. The impeller operably coupled to the motor such that the impeller is configured to rotate to facilitate operation of the pump.
Implementation Method 2
The impeller includes a rib having a geometry that corresponds with the geometry of the internal wall of the pump casing, the rib configured to reduce the size of particulate or other material in the fluid traveling through the pump.
Implementation Method 3
A bypass assembly configured to selectively facilitate a path for air removal. The bypass assembly including a bypass housing defining a channel in fluid communication with the inlet, a bypass vent in fluid communication with the channel.
Data Source
AI summary
A pump includes a motor housing configured to support a motor and a pump head coupled to the motor housing. The pump head includes an inlet configured to receive a fluid, an outlet in fluid communication with the inlet, and a bypass assembly configured to facilitate a path for fluid removal. The bypass assembly includes a bypass housing defining a channel in fluid communication with the inlet, a bypass vent in fluid communication with the channel, and a sealing member movably supported within the channel. The sealing member movable between a closed position where the sealing member blocks flow of the fluid from the inlet through the bypass vent and an open position where the inlet is fluidly connected to the bypass vent. An impeller positioned within the pump head and the bypass assembly is positioned downstream of the inlet and upstream of the impeller and the outlet.