EP3318758A1 - Double membrane pump and method for operating such a double membrane pump - Google Patents

Abstract

Double diaphragm pumps have been known for a long time in the prior art. Usually these are operated in the prior art with compressed air, but which is a significant cost factor and not available nationwide, so that is looking for an advantageous alternative for a pump drive. The use of an electromagnet has many advantages, among other things, this allows numerous variants of the double diaphragm pump, normal diaphragm pumps and their operating methods.

Description

The present invention relates to a double-diaphragm pump, comprising a pump housing with two parallel line sections, each with a membrane chamber, which is enclosed in each case between two ball valves closing in the same direction in the flow direction and liquid-tight by a membrane in a liquid chamber and an air chamber, a method for operating such a double diaphragm pump , And a diaphragm pump comprising a pump housing with a diaphragm chamber which is enclosed between two in the same direction in the direction of closing ball valves and liquid-tightly divided by a membrane in a liquid chamber and an air chamber.

Double diaphragm pumps have long been known in the art. They are known to transport even difficult conveyed goods and are based on the fact that two membranes in opposite membrane chambers alternately fill a liquid space in a suction movement and empty it in a pressure movement. Ball valves ensure a given conveying direction by blocking the inlet side during the pressure movement and the outlet side during the suction movement. The diaphragms are coupled by means of a rigid connecting shaft and therefore move in a push-pull manner.

The prior art preferably provides for actuation of the membranes with compressed air. In a central chamber, a compressed air connection is provided, via which compressed air is introduced into a first diaphragm chamber. The membrane chambers are separated by the membrane into an air chamber and a liquid chamber, wherein the compressed air flows into the air chamber and compresses the liquid chamber, whereby the liquid is pressed out of the liquid chamber. The membrane moves away from the opposite chamber, but takes due to the connection with the connecting shaft with the opposite membrane and will compress the air chamber in this, however, inflate the liquid chamber and thus exert a suction effect on the inlet. At the extreme point, an air distributor changes the air direction and the air is introduced into the opposite, just first deflated air chamber and the membranes move coupled in the opposite direction.

Although such a solution is functional and proven for many years, but it requires the use of compressed air as the working medium. On the one hand, compressed air is relatively expensive as a medium, on the other hand it is only available to a limited extent. As a rule, special additional infrastructure is required to have the compressed air available on site. Especially in mobile use, the compressed air supply is problematic in conventional double diaphragm pumps.

Against this background, the present invention, the object of the invention to provide a double diaphragm pump and a diaphragm pump, which can be used independently of compressed air and which can also be further developed in terms of further applications.

This is achieved by a double diaphragm pump according to the features of claim 1 and the independent claim 2. Meaningful developments and a method for operating a double diaphragm pump are the subclaims and the independent method claim 6 and its dependent claim 7.

According to the invention, it is provided that a double diaphragm pump is largely constructed as is already known from the prior art. It comprises a pump housing with two parallel line sections, which each form a membrane chamber. In the membrane chambers is in each case a membrane which separates the membrane chamber liquid-tight in a liquid chamber and an air chamber. Only the liquid chamber can be reached via the line sections and is limited on the inlet and outlet side by ball valves.

The invention now provides, instead of the mechanism operated by compressed air, to provide a magnetic chamber between the membrane chambers in which one or more electromagnets influence active agents connected to the membranes. These active agents act on the membranes and are moved back and forth by the electromagnetically generated force between two movement end points, taking with them the membranes, so that the same sequence of movements arises as in the known double membrane pump in the prior art.

The difference, however, is that the electromagnet can be powered by electric power, which is widely available across the board. Even in vehicles can operate via a vehicle electrical system. Due to the field changes to the electromagnet, the active agents are alternately attracted or repelled by the electromagnet and consequently move with the entrainment of the membrane in the membrane chamber.

The invention forms a variety of variants on the outlined basic theme, which cover different applications and bring different benefits. The term of the electromagnet is in the Under the scope of the present disclosure, it is to be understood that it may be a magnet or a magnet arrangement made up of a plurality of magnets which can be operated either in combination or as a function of one another or independently of one another. For example, a plurality of identical or dissimilar magnetic coils on one core or else a plurality of identical or dissimilar magnetic coils on a plurality of cores can form an electromagnet in the sense of the invention.

Thus, in a first embodiment, the active means may be a connecting shaft which, as in the prior art, mechanically couples the opposing membranes to each other. The membranes can thereby be operated only in push-pull, which is a simplest of the invention encompassed solution. For this purpose, the connecting shaft acts on both diaphragms in a force-locking manner, so that it has to completely penetrate the two air chambers and the magnet chamber. Within the magnetic chamber, the connecting shaft may be guided by a solenoid, allowing it to exert an influence on the connecting shaft.

It is known that by a solenoid accelerated, electromagnetically active elements can be accelerated to this or to this away. If an electromagnetically active element passes through the magnetic coil, it is accelerated before it traverses the magnetic coil, but it is decelerated again in the magnetic coil itself, so that it makes sense not to make the connecting shaft completely electromagnetically effective. Rather, the connecting shaft may have individual sections which are magnetic, ferromagnetic or electrically conductive and are attracted to the solenoid during operation, but there should also be sections which are non-magnetic and / or non-conductive and which do not have any braking action when passing through the magnetic coil. In particular, when the magnetically active portions always remain outside of the magnetic coils, while only magnetically ineffective portions actually pass through, there is no braking effect.

In a further embodiment, the active means are two separate connecting shafts, which can be moved separately from their own magnetic coils. The construction is basically the same, but the two membranes are not mechanically coupled to each other. In the special case, in which now the magnetic coils of the separate connecting shafts are operated in push-pull, the membranes will behave as if they were mechanically coupled. But this is not mandatory. A well-known problem with double diaphragm pumps is that due to the push-pull turbulent flows form in the drain. However, these should be avoided. By an asynchronous operation of the two membranes, these turbulent flows can be smoothed into laminar flows, which was previously not feasible in this form in the prior art.

Another alternative provides that the active agents are ferromagnetic or permanent magnetic elements that are directly associated with the membranes. These are attracted or repelled by the electromagnet contactless alternately.

A particular advantage of this solution is that the electromagnet does not have to be in the same chamber as the membrane, at least no passage between the diaphragm chamber and the magnetic chamber is required. Rather, in the direction of the magnetic chamber facing outer wall of the diaphragm chamber may be non-magnetic and permeable to magnetism, for example, formed of plastic. Then, the magnetism of the electromagnet through this wall acts on the membrane providing the ferromagnetic or permanent magnetic element without exerting a mechanical connection.

Specifically, the ferromagnetic or permanent magnetic elements may be formed as metal bodies, which are in particular mounted centrally on the membranes. However, it is also possible to use it as a metal layer embedded in the membranes and thus to renounce penetration of the membrane entirely. In this case, the metal layers would have to be designed to be flexible, but of sufficient thickness that an influencing of the membrane by the electromagnet can take place.

With regard to the electromagnet, it is initially possible to provide a large magnetic core and to wind it with a magnetic coil. If this electromagnet is brought into the effective range of both membranes, the result is a situation comparable to the connecting shaft and the diaphragms can be deflected in push-pull. If, on the other hand, a plurality of magnetic coils are also applied to a plurality of cores, the membranes can also be put into asynchronous movement patterns in this way.

In the event that the air chamber is not connected to the magnetic chamber, a way is needed how the air behind the membrane can escape from the air chamber. Either it escapes completely out into the environment and is sucked in from there, or it comes from a surge tank. In the case of damage to the membrane would be to get a leak of the pumped medium to the outside when using a surge tank.

If the double-diaphragm pump realizes asynchronously movable diaphragms, it is also possible to work with separate supply lines for the individual line sections. As a result, the two line sections can convey different media and, by influencing the frequency of the membrane vibrations, different delivery rates can be achieved on both sides. In a common process, this means that two different media can be dosed differently to a common product. This can ultimately be extended as desired by the additional arrangement of further line sections with membranes.

Conversely, it is also possible to produce the mentioned effects with only one membrane in a simple diaphragm pump. Such a solution, while not having the other advantages previously described, is also expressly claimed by the invention.

The invention described above will be explained in more detail below with reference to an embodiment.

Figur 1

eine Doppelmembranpumpe mit einer durchgehenden Verbindungswelle und über diese mechanisch gekoppelte Membranen in einer frontalen Querschnittsdarstellung,

Figur 2

eine Variante der Doppelmembranpumpe gemäß Figur 1 mit mehreren Magnetspulen in einer frontalen Querschnittsdarstellung,

Figur 3

eine Doppelmembranpumpe mit mehreren separaten verbindungswellen und einzeln beeinflussbaren Membranen in einer frontalen Querschnittsdarstellung,

Figur 4

eine Doppelmembranpumpe mit Metallkörpern, welche den Membranen direkt zugeordnet sind und über eine gemeinsame Magnetspule angesteuert werden in einer frontalen Querschnittsdarstellung, sowie

Figur 5

eine Variante der Figur 4 mit zwei separat ansteuerbaren Magnetspulen in einer frontalen Querschnittsdarstellung.

Show it

FIG. 1

a double diaphragm pump with a continuous connecting shaft and via these mechanically coupled membranes in a frontal cross-sectional view,

FIG. 2

1 shows a variant of the double diaphragm pump according to FIG. 1 with a plurality of magnet coils in a frontal cross-sectional representation;

FIG. 3

a double membrane pump with several separate connecting shafts and individually influenceable membranes in a frontal cross-sectional view,

FIG. 4

a double diaphragm pump with metal bodies, which are directly associated with the membranes and are driven by a common magnetic coil in a frontal cross-sectional view, as well

FIG. 5

a variant of FIG. 4 with two separately controllable magnetic coils in a frontal cross-sectional view.

FIG. 1 shows a double-membrane pump with a pump housing 10, which is composed essentially of a first line section 1 on the left side and a second line section 2 on the right side. Both line sections 1 and 2 each form a diaphragm chamber, the first diaphragm chamber 11 and the second diaphragm chamber 21. These diaphragm chambers 11 and 21 are bounded by ball valves 5 and 6, of which the ball valves designated 5 are open and the ball valves 6 are closed , The membrane chambers 11 and 21 are divided by a respective membrane 12 and 22 in a liquid chamber 13 and 23 and an air chamber 14 and 24, respectively. In the illustrated position, the first diaphragm chamber 11 is filled with the fluid and therefore, the first fluid chamber 13 is expanded and large, while the first air chamber 14 is compressed by the first diaphragm 12 and small. Conversely, in the second diaphragm chamber 21, in which the air chamber 24 is large and the fluid chamber 23 is compressed and small.

This basic position is described here only once, but applies to all five figures. The medium is also promoted in all figures by an inlet 3 to a drain 4, with the exception of FIG. 5 where there are two supply lines.

The design after FIG. 1 has a continuous connecting shaft 18 which mechanically connects the first diaphragm 12 to the second diaphragm 22. The connecting shaft 18 are assigned two magnet sections 8, which can be attracted or repelled by a magnetic coil 9 surrounding the connecting shaft 18. A controller 20 applies a voltage curve to the magnetic coil 9 and thus influences the generated magnetic field of the coil.

If a magnetic field is now generated in the magnet coil 9, then the coil will attract or repel the magnet sections 8 depending on the polarity. In the present Case, the two magnet sections are polarized in opposite directions, but are on either side of the solenoid, so that a pointing to the first membrane 12 magnetic section 8 is attracted to the coil, while at the same time facing away from the second diaphragm 22 magnetic portion 8 is pushed away from the coil. As a result, the continuous connecting shaft 18 is pressed in the image to the right, ie to the second membrane 22, which empties the second liquid chamber. In the outermost turning point, the controller 20 changes the magnetic polarity of the magnetic coil 9, so that the continuous connecting shaft 18 is driven in the other direction and generates a pressure effect in the first liquid chamber 13 and a suction effect in the second liquid chamber 23. This process means for the membranes 12 and 22 a synchronous push-pull, corresponding to the procedures in the known from the prior art double diaphragm pumps.

FIG. 2 Deviates from this another design with two magnetic coils 9, which between them push a magnetic portion 8 of the continuous connecting shaft 18 back and forth between them. Incidentally, the function of the arrangement with the above is identical and also here the membranes 12 and 22 are operated in synchronous push-pull.

FIG. 3 shows another alternative of the double diaphragm pump, in which a first connecting shaft 15 with the first diaphragm 12, a second connecting shaft 25 are connected to the second diaphragm 22. The two connecting shafts 15 and 25 are here drawn with a height offset, but only for the sake of illustration.

In principle, each of the connecting shafts 15 and 25 functions like the continuous connecting shaft 18 in FIG FIGS. 1 and 2 However, owing to the arrangement, an asynchronous control of the connecting shafts 15 and 25 by the controllers 20 can now also take place. This makes it possible on the one hand to avoid turbulent flows in the process 4, on the other hand, it is also possible like still in FIG. 5 is shown to mix different feeds into the process and dose it differently.

FIG. 4 shows a further alternative of the present invention, which manages without connecting shafts. In this case, the membranes 12 and 22 are assigned a first metal body 16 and a second metal body 26, in particular screwed to the membranes 12 and 22 here. Between the first diaphragm chamber 11 and the magnetic chamber 7, as well as between the latter and the second diaphragm chamber 21, a non-magnetic wall 19 is arranged, through which a generated by the controller 20 by means of the magnetic coil 9 and reinforced by a magnetic core field is generated. In the position shown, this magnetic field pulls the first metal body 16 toward the magnetic chamber 7 and pushes the second metal body 26 away from the magnetic chamber 7. Accordingly, the diaphragms 12 and 22 move, which are connected to the metal bodies 16 and 26. By changing the magnetic polarity of the magnetic coil 9, the effective direction is changed and the first diaphragm chamber 11 is emptied of fluid, the second diaphragm chamber 21, however, filled with fluid.

FIG. 5 Finally shows a variant of the solution just shown, in which a controller 20 in the magnetic chamber 7 controls two independent magnetic coils 9, which moves the metal body 16 and 26 asynchronously and as required with different frequency and back. The solution shown here also realizes a first supply line 17 and a second supply line 27, which can now be charged with different media. As a result of a higher pumping frequency, the delivery medium supplied through the first supply line 17 is conveyed to the outlet 4 in a larger amount than would be the case in the second supply line 27 in the case of the delivery medium conveyed at a lower pumping frequency. In this way, such a double membrane pump can be used simultaneously for mixing different media according to a predetermined ratio.

Thus described above is thus a double diaphragm pump, which allows an electromagnetic control of the membranes, if necessary, independently of each other, as well as an asynchronous operating method for such a double diaphragm pump.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

1

first line section

2

second line section

3

Intake

4

procedure

5

open ball valve

6

closed ball valve

7

magnetic chamber

8th

magnet section

9

solenoid

10

pump housing

11

first membrane chamber

12

first membrane

13

first fluid chamber

14

first air chamber

15

first connecting shaft

16

first metal body

17

first supply line

18

continuous connecting shaft

19

non-magnetic wall

20

control

21

second diaphragm chamber

22

second membrane

23

second fluid chamber

24

second air chamber

25

second connecting shaft

26

second metal body

27

second supply line

Claims (7)

Double diaphragm pump, comprising a pump housing (10) with two parallel line sections (1, 2), each with a diaphragm chamber (11, 21), each enclosed between two in the same direction in the same direction closing ball valves (5, 6) and by a membrane (12, 22 ) in a liquid chamber (13, 23) and an air chamber (14, 24) is divided, wherein the pump housing (10) further in a between the air chambers (14, 24) arranged magnetic chamber (7) is assigned at least one electromagnet, in whose active region with the membranes (12, 22) connected active means are movably arranged between each two movement end points,
characterized in that the means of action are the membranes (12, 22) respectively associated ferromagnetic or permanent magnetic elements or at least one other electromagnet, which are alternately attracted or repelled by the electromagnet contactlessly, wherein it is in the ferromagnetic or permanent magnetic elements with the membranes (12, 22) connected metal body (16, 26) or the membranes (12, 22) associated with flexible metal layers. Double diaphragm pump, comprising a pump housing (10) with two parallel line sections (1, 2), each with a diaphragm chamber (11, 21), each enclosed between two in the same direction in the same direction closing ball valves (5, 6) and by a membrane (12, 22 ) in a liquid chamber (13, 23) and an air chamber (14, 24) is divided, wherein the pump housing (10) further in a between the air chambers (14, 24) arranged magnetic chamber (7) is assigned at least one electromagnet, in its effective range active agents connected to the membranes (12, 22) are movably arranged between in each case two movement end points,
characterized in that the active means the membranes (12, 22) respectively associated ferromagnetic or permanent magnetic elements or at least one other electromagnet, which are alternately attracted or repelled alternately by the electromagnet, wherein the two membranes (12, 22) by means of two independently operable Magnet coils (9) of the electromagnet are independently influenced. Double diaphragm pump according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the air chambers (14, 24) at least on one of the magnetic chamber (7) side facing a non-magnetic wall (19). Double diaphragm pump according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the air chambers (14, 24) vent into a surge tank. Double membrane pump according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the two line sections (1, 2) with different supply lines (17, 27) are connected. Method for operating a double diaphragm pump according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the active means of the two membranes (12, 22) are moved asynchronously by the electromagnet. Method for operating a double diaphragm pump according to claim 6, characterized in that the active means of the two membranes (12, 22) are moved in different stroke frequency.

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