BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a membrane pump, and in particular to a membrane pump which can be applied to a fluid delivery or circulation system.
2. Description of Prior Art
As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional common piezoelectric pump includes a chamber body 10. The bottom surface of the chamber body 10 is provided with an inlet pipeline 101 and an outlet pipeline 102. The mouths of the inlet pipeline 101 and the outlet pipeline 102 are provided therein with a check valve 20 and 20a, respectively. The top surface of the chamber body 10 is provided with a membrane 103. An activating element 104 abuts flatly on the membrane 103. The activating element 104 is a piezoelectric piece. Via this arrangement, after the activating element 104 is supplied with electricity, the middle portion of the membrane 103 is caused to swing up and down, as indicated by the arrow in this figure. Since the special positional design of such structure is characterized in that the two check valves 20, 20a are located in the inlet pipeline 101 and the outlet pipeline 102, when the activating element 104 swings upwardly, the internal pressure of the chamber body 10 is smaller than the external pressure thereof. Accordingly, both check valves 20, 20a move upwardly. As a result, the check valve 20 allows the channel between the inlet pipeline 101 and the chamber body 10 to be opened, so that the working fluid within the inlet pipeline 101 can enter the chamber body 10. At the same time, the check valve 20a blocks the channel between the outlet pipeline 102 and the chamber body 10, so that the working fluid 102 draining from the outlet pipeline 102 cannot flow back into the chamber body 10. On the other hand, when the activating element 104 is pressed, the membrane 103 is caused to compress the space of the chamber body 10 and thus to generate a pressure, which causes both check valve 20, 20a to move downwardly. As a result, the check valve 20a allows the channel between the outlet pipeline 102 and the chamber body 10 to be opened, so that the compressed working fluid within the chamber body 10 can drain away from the outlet pipeline 102. The check valve 20 blocks the channel between the inlet pipeline 101 and the chamber body 10, so that the water within the chamber body 10 cannot drain away from the inlet pipeline 101. With this continuously up-and-down swinging action, the working fluid can sequentially enter the chamber body 10 from the inlet pipeline 101, and then flow out of the outlet pipeline 102. Therefore, the pump becomes a source of driving the flow of the working fluid.
However, such kind of piezoelectric pump has some drawbacks. First of all, both the inlet pipeline 101 and the outlet pipeline 102 are provided on the bottom surface of the chamber body 10 so as to miniaturize the structure itself to a larger extent than the conventional structure, however, it is difficult to design the position of the pipeline to a further reduced extent. Therefore, it is difficult for such a structure to be applied to a further thinned space, such as the current notebook or miniaturized biological and medical instruments. Furthermore, the activating element 104 swings in a manner that the middle portion thereof generates an up-and-down swinging action. When the activating element 104 is pressed, it simultaneously drives the membrane 103 to press the working fluid within the chamber body 10 downwardly, so that the working fluid can flow toward both sides. Although the check valves 20, 20a are provided respectively on the mouths of the inlet pipeline 101 and the outlet pipeline 102 so as to prevent the working fluid from entering the inlet pipeline 101 and generating a so-called backflow phenomenon, in practice, only the middle portion of the activating element 104 acts as the swinging region, causing the swinging range of the activating element 104 too small. Therefore, during each swinging action, the amount of the fluid entering or draining from the chamber body 10 is small, which is the primary drawback of the pump structure.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, in view of the above drawbacks, the present invention is to provide a membrane pump device, in which one side of an activating element is used to swing like a sector, so that a larger range of up-and-down swinging action can be obtained to press the working fluid within the pump, thereby forcing the working fluid to flow in one direction. Via this arrangement, in addition to compact the pump to a further thinned extent, the mode of the one-side and large-range swinging action can cooperate with the flowing direction of the fluid, thereby improving the working efficiency of the pump device and the circulation system thereof.
In order to achieve the above objects, the present invention provides a membrane pump device that is constituted of a chamber body and a second chamber body. The interior of the chamber body is provided with a chamber. Both sides of the chamber body are provided with an inlet pipeline and an outlet pipeline that are in fluid communication with the aforementioned chamber, respectively. A valve is provided on the inner wall face of the chamber, thereby preventing the working fluid from generating a backflow phenomenon. Furthermore, the top surface of the chamber body is provided with a membrane. An activating element abuts on the membrane for driving the membrane to swing up and down, thereby pressing the working fluid within the chamber to circulatively flow in one direction. Finally, the second chamber body is in fluid communication with the chamber body. The interior of the second chamber body is provided with another valve. Via this arrangement, in addition to miniaturize the pump structure to a further extent, the working performance of the pump and the flowing amount of the working fluid are also increased.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional structure;
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the structure of the membrane pump of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a view showing the complete assembly of the membrane pump of the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a top view showing the structure of the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view (I) showing the operation of the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view (II) showing the operation of the present invention;
FIG. 7 is a top view showing the structure of the second embodiment of the present invention; and
FIG. 8 is a schematic view showing the comparison between the swinging action of the present invention and that of prior art.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the structure of the pump of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a view showing the complete assembly of the present invention. As shown in the figures, the pump of the present invention is mainly constituted of a chamber body 1. The interior of the chamber body 1 is provided with a chamber 11 for accommodating a working fluid. On mutually corresponding sides of the outer edge of the chamber body 1, such as the left and right sides in the present embodiment, an inlet pipeline 12 and an outlet pipeline 13 are provided respectively. The inlet pipeline 12 and the outlet pipeline 13 are in fluid communication with the chamber 11, respectively. The inner wall face of the chamber 11 is provided with a valve 2 at a position corresponding to that of the inlet pipeline 12. In the present embodiment, one end of the valve 2 is provided with a pillar 21 that is located in a penetrating trough 111 on the inner wall face. A plate 22 extends from the pillar 21 and corresponds to the position of the mouth of the inlet pipeline 12. The plate is used to block the working fluid from flowing back from the chamber 11 to the inlet pipeline 12 and then flowing out of the chamber body 1.
With reference to FIG. 2, the upper end face of the chamber body 1 is provided with a membrane 3 that is made of a material having a large tension force. The size of the membrane 3 is approximately the same as the area of an end surface of the chamber body 1. Further, the membrane completely covers the chamber 11. An activating element 4 is provided above the membrane 3. In the present embodiment, the activating element 4 is a piezoelectric piece and is provided above the first chamber 11 correspondingly to abut flatly against the membrane 3. The activating element 4 has a fixed end 41 and a swinging end 42. The fixed end 41 and the outlet pipeline 13 are located on the same side. The fixed end 41 is connected with a plurality of electrode leads 5 to supply the necessary electricity for the activating element 4. The swinging end 42 abuts flatly against the surface of the membrane 3. After the electricity is supplied, the swinging end 42 forms a sector at one side thereof and swings in a large range. As shown in FIG. 8, under the same swinging angle θ, the variation δ2 obtained by swinging like a sector is much larger than the variation δ1 obtained by swinging with the middle portion thereof. Therefore, swinging like a sector concentrates the working fluid and causes it to flow in the same direction. At the same time, the membrane 3 is caused to press toward the chamber 11, thereby improving the drawbacks that the swinging range of the conventional activating element and the amount of flow are too small. Furthermore, the frequency of the swinging action of the activating element 4 can be adjusted according to various desires. The chamber body 1 can be correspondingly combined with a casing 6 for covering the membrane 3 and the activating element 4 therein. The casing 6 is provided with a plurality of penetrating troughs 61 and 61a at the positions corresponding to those of the activating element 4 and the electrode leads 5, respectively. In this way, the activating element 4 is exposed to the outside and has a space for expansion. The electrode leads 5 also penetrate through the activating element 4. The complete assembly of the present invention is shown in FIG. 3.
With reference to FIG. 4, it is a top view showing the structure of the membrane pump device of the present invention. In addition to the aforementioned membrane pump, the membrane pump device further comprises a second chamber body 7. The interior of the second chamber body 7 has a second chamber 71. Both sides of the second chamber body 7 are provided with an inlet pipeline 72 and an outlet pipeline 73, respectively. The inlet pipeline 72 is in fluid communication with the outlet pipeline 13 of the chamber body 1 via a conduit 8. A valve 2a is provided on the inner wall face of the second chamber 71 at the position corresponding to that of the inlet pipeline 72. Furthermore, the outlet pipeline is also connected with a conduit 8, thereby being brought into fluid communication with the other components.
Please refer to FIGS. 5 and 6, which are the cross-sectional views showing the operation of the present invention. As shown in the figures, when the electricity is supplied to the activating element 4 provided on the membrane pump, it starts to act and generates a swinging action with one side thereof swinging like a sector. After the activating element 4 is pressed, the membrane 3 is caused to press the inner space of the chamber 11 to increase the internal pressure of the space. As a result, the working fluid remaining in the chamber 11 is forced to generate a momentum whereby it can drain from the outlet pipeline 13 and flow through the valve 2a provided in the second chamber body 7 via the conduit 8. Then, the working fluid sequentially flows into the second chamber 71, the outlet pipeline 73, the conduit 8 and other components. On the other hand, a small portion of the working fluid simultaneously impacts the valve 2 provided in the chamber 11 so as to cause the valve 2 to close the inlet pipeline 12, thereby preventing the working fluid outside the inlet pipeline 12 from flowing back into the chamber 1. When the activating element 4 swings upwardly, the internal pressure of the chamber 11 returns to a normal condition. As a result, the external pressure of the chamber body 1 is larger than the internal pressure thereof, so that the working fluid can enter the chamber 11 via the inlet pipeline 12. At the same time, the working fluid in the second chamber body 7 generates a momentum due to the pressure so as to directly impact the valve 2a provided in the second chamber 71. As a result, the valve 2a is forced to close the inlet pipeline 72 tightly, thereby blocking the working fluid from flowing back into the chamber body 1. Therefore, the working fluid can generate a circulation in one direction.
With reference to FIG. 7, it is a top view showing the structure of another device comprising the membrane pump of the present invention. As shown in this figure, such a structure includes a chamber body 1. The interior of the chamber body 1 has a chamber 11. Both sides of the chamber body 1 are provided with an inlet pipeline 12 and an outlet pipeline 13, respectively. The top surface of the chamber 11 is provided with a membrane 3. The upper surface of the membrane 3 is provided with an activating element 4. The activating element 4 has a fixed end 41 and a swinging end 42. The fixed end 41 is electrically connected with a plurality of electrode leads 5. After being supplied with electricity, the swinging end 42 generates a swinging action with one side thereof swinging like a sector. Furthermore, the chamber body 1 can be combined with a casing 6, thereby covering the aforementioned elements therein.
Moreover, the inlet pipeline 12 and the outlet pipeline 13 of the chamber body 1 are connected to a second chamber body 7 and a third chamber body 9, respectively. The second chamber body 7 and the third chamber body 9 have a second chamber 71 and a third chamber 91 therein, respectively. Both sides of the second chamber body 7 and the third chamber 9 have an inlet pipeline 72, 92 and an outlet pipeline 73, 93, respectively. The outlet pipeline 73 of the second chamber body 7 is in fluid communication with the inlet pipeline 12 of the chamber body 1 via a conduit 8, while the inlet pipeline 92 of the third chamber body 9 is in fluid communication with the outlet pipeline 13 of the chamber body 1 via a conduit 8. The inner wall face of the second chamber 71 is provided with a valve 2 at the position corresponding to that of the inlet pipeline 72. At the same time, the inner wall face of the third chamber 91 is provided with another valve 2a at the position corresponding to that of the outlet pipeline 13. Via this arrangement, when the activating element 4 provided on the chamber body 1 starts to act and generates a downwardly swinging action, the membrane 3 is caused to press the inner space of the chamber 11 of the chamber body 1 and thus to force the working fluid to flow toward the inlet pipeline 12 and the outlet pipeline 13. As a result, the working fluid is forced to generate a momentum whereby it can drain from the outlet pipeline 13 and flow through the valve 2a. Then, the working fluid sequentially flows into the third chamber 91, the outlet pipeline 93, the conduit 8 and other components. At the same time, the working fluid flowing into the inlet pipeline 12 impacts the valve 2 provided in the second chamber body 7 so as to cause the valve 2 to close the inlet pipeline 72 of the second chamber body 7 tightly, thereby preventing the working fluid outside the inlet pipeline 72 from flowing back into the second chamber 71. When the activating element 4 swings upwardly, the chamber 11 returns to its original space. Since the external pressure of the chamber 11 is larger than the internal pressure thereof, the working fluid is forced to enter the chamber 11 from the inlet pipeline 72 and via the valve 2 and then flows into the chamber 11. At the same time, the working fluid in the third chamber body 9 also generates a momentum so as to directly impact the valve 2a provided in the third chamber 91. As a result, the valve 2a is forced to close the inlet pipeline 92 tightly, thereby preventing the working fluid from flowing back into the chamber 11. Therefore, the membrane pump can generate a circulation in one direction.
Although the present invention has been described with reference to the foregoing preferred embodiments, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the details thereof. Various equivalent variations and modifications may still occur to those skilled in this art in view of the teachings of the present invention. Thus, all such variations and equivalent modifications are also embraced within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.
Patent Application
20080260553
