This application claims priority to Chinese Application Serial Number 201510080891.0, filed Feb. 13, 2015, Chinese Application Serial Number 201520107515.1, filed Feb. 13, 2015, Chinese Application Serial Number 201520107520.2, filed Feb. 13, 2015, which are herein incorporated by reference.
Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to miniature pumps.
Description of Related Art
A miniature pump is a pump of a tiny size. Due to its tiny size, the motor typically used is of a relatively low efficiency. Therefore, the quality of the design of the valve units and the compression units of a miniature pump has a key effect on the efficiency of the miniature pump.
In tradition, a miniature pump has a piston module and a cylinder, and the piston module is located inside the cylinder. During operation, the pumping chamber of the piston module is driven to extend or retract. However, since it is easy for the piston module to deviate relative to the cylinder, when the miniature pump operates, it is easy for the outer wall of the piston module to rub against the inner wall of the cylinder, causing the damage of the outer wall of the piston module, and thus the malfunction of the miniature pump.
As a result, how to prevent the outer wall of the piston module from rubbing against the inner wall of the cylinder is an important direction for the development of miniature pumps.
A technical aspect of the present disclosure provides a miniature pump, which can isolate the outer wall of the pumping chamber structure and the inner wall of the cylinder, such that the pumping chamber structure is prevented from getting rubbed and damaged.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a miniature pump includes a cylinder, a piston module, a driving module and a wall body. The cylinder has a first end and a second end opposite to each other along a direction. The piston module is accommodated in the cylinder. The piston module has at least one pumping chamber structure protruded towards the second end, and the pumping chamber structure is able to extend or retract along the direction. The driving module is located at the second end and connected to the pumping chamber structure, configured to drive the pumping chamber structure to extend or retract along the direction. The wall body at least partially surrounds a position of the pumping chamber structure near the first end, and is located between the cylinder and the pumping chamber structure.
In one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the wall body and the pumping chamber structure are integrally molded.
In one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the cylinder has a cylinder plate and the piston module includes a plate portion, a piston portion and a connecting portion. The plate portion is stacked on a side of the cylinder plate facing the first end, and the pumping chamber structure is located on a side of the plate portion facing the second end. The piston portion is connected to a side of the pumping chamber structure away from the plate portion. The connecting portion is connected to a side of the piston portion away from the pumping chamber structure. The driving module is connected to the connection portion and drives the pumping chamber structure to extend or retract along the direction.
In one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the cylinder plate has at least one air intake hole.
In one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the plate portion includes a plate main body and at least one air intake valve piece. The air intake valve piece is connected to the plate main body, and the air intake valve piece covers the air intake hole.
In one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the plate portion further includes a plurality of installation components. Adjacent installation components form a first recessed portion in between. Each of the installation components includes a first installation portion and a second installation portion, in which the first installation portion and the second installation portion are disposed at intervals on an outer periphery of the plate portion.
In one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the first installation portion is disposed with an air intake valve piece, and the second installation portion extends outwards from a top surface of the pumping chamber structure. The first installation portion and the second installation portion form a second recessed portion in between.
In one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the cylinder includes at least one supporting portion. The supporting portion is disposed on the cylinder plate, and a shape of the supporting portion matches with the installation components.
According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a miniature pump includes a cylinder and a piston module. The cylinder has a first end and a second end opposite to each other along a direction. The cylinder has a cylinder plate and the cylinder plate has at least one air intake hole. The piston module is accommodated in the cylinder. The piston module includes a plate portion. The plate portion is stacked on a side of the cylinder plate facing the first end. The plate portion has a plate main body and at least one air intake valve piece. The air intake valve piece covers and seals the air intake hole. The air intake valve piece has a root and an edge. The root is connected to the plate main body. The air intake valve piece tilts towards the first end about the root. The edge is composed of two straight-line sections, two curved sections and a circular section. The two straight-line sections are respectively connected to the two opposite ends of the root, the two curved sections are respectively connected to the straight-line sections, and the circular section is connected to the curved sections.
In one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the piston module further has at least one pumping chamber structure. The pumping chamber structure is located on a side of the plate portion facing the second end and protruded towards the second end. The pumping chamber structure is able to extend or retract along the direction.
In one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the root of the air intake valve piece is near to the pumping chamber structure relative to the edge.
In one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the miniature pump further includes a driving module. The driving module is located at the second end and connected to the pumping chamber structure, being configured to drive the pumping chamber structure to extend or retract along the direction.
In one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the piston module includes a piston portion and a connecting portion. The piston portion is connected to a side of the pumping chamber structure away from the plate portion. The connecting portion is connected to a side of the piston portion away from the pumping chamber structure. The driving module is connected to the connection portion and drives the pumping chamber structure to extend or retract along the direction.
According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a miniature pump includes a cylinder, a piston module and a driving module. The cylinder has a first end and a second end opposite to each other along a direction. The cylinder has a cylinder plate. The piston module is accommodated in the cylinder. The piston module includes a plate portion, at least one pumping chamber structure and a sealing portion. The plate portion is stacked on a side of the cylinder plate facing the first end. The plate portion has a plate main body and at least one air intake valve piece connected to the plate main body. The pumping chamber structure is located on a side of the plate portion facing the second end. The pumping chamber structure has a pumping chamber. The sealing portion surrounds as a loop and is disposed on a side of the plate portion facing the first end. The pumping chamber and the air intake valve piece are located within the inner edge of the sealing portion. The driving module is located at the second end and connected to the pumping chamber structure, being configured to drive the pumping chamber structure to extend or retract along the direction.
In one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the piston module includes a piston portion and a connecting portion. The piston portion is connected to a side of the pumping chamber structure away from the plate portion. The connecting portion is connected to a side of the piston portion away from the pumping chamber structure. The driving module is connected to the connection portion and drives the pumping chamber structure to extend or retract along the direction.
In one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the cylinder plate further includes at least one air intake hole. The air intake valve piece covers and seals the air intake hole.
In one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the miniature pump further includes a compression plate. The compression plate is stacked on the side of the plate portion facing the first end. The compression plate has a plurality of exhaust openings with positions correspondent to the pumping chamber.
In one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the miniature pump further includes an exhaust valve piece. The exhaust valve piece is connected to a side of the compression plate facing the first end, with position correspondent to the exhaust openings.
When compared with the prior art, the above-mentioned embodiments of the present disclosure have at least the following advantages:
(2) Since the wall body at least partially surrounds a position of the pumping chamber structure near the first end, and is located between the cylinder and the pumping chamber structure, such that the relative position of the piston module and the cylinder is fixed, and the deviation of the piston module relative to the cylinder is avoided, the air intake valve piece will not deviate relative to the air intake hole. Hence, the effect that the air intake valve piece 126 covers and seals the air intake hole is also unaffected.
(3) Since only the straight-line sections and the curved sections exist between the circular section and the root, the bending moment about the root produced by the air intake valve piece can be effectively reduced. Thus, the deformation and the tilting up of the air intake valve piece due to a too large force are avoided. Consequently, the air intake valve piece can effectively cover and seal the air intake hole.
(4) Since no sealing portion exists between the pumping chamber and the air intake valve piece, when the piston module is assembled between the compression plate and the cylinder, the compression plate will not exert excessive pressure against the local position of the plate portion between the pumping chamber and the air intake valve piece. Thus, the local position of the plate portion between the pumping chamber and the air intake valve piece will not be deformed, and the air intake valve piece will not be tilted up due to deformation. As a result, the sealing criteria of the miniature pump can be maintained.
The disclosure can be more fully understood by reading the following detailed description of the embodiments, with reference made to the accompanying drawings as follows:
Drawings will be used below to disclose a plurality of embodiments of the present disclosure. For the sake of clear illustration, many practical details will be explained together in the description below. However, it is appreciated that the practical details should not be used to limit the claimed scope. In other words, in some embodiments of the present disclosure, the practical details are not essential. Moreover, for the sake of drawing simplification, some customary structures and elements in the drawings will be schematically shown in a simplified way. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts.
Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and the present disclosure, and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.
Please refer to
As shown in
In other words, since the wall body 140 at least partially surrounds a position of the pumping chamber structure 121 near the first end 111, and is located between the cylinder 110 and the pumping chamber structure 121, the relative position of the piston module 120 and the cylinder 110 can be fixed. This means the deviation of the piston module 120 relative to the cylinder 110 can be avoided. Furthermore, the outer wall of the pumping chamber structure 121 and the inner wall of the cylinder 110 is isolated, hence, when the pumping chamber structure 121 extends or retracts along the direction Z, the outer wall of the pumping chamber structure 121 and the inner wall of the cylinder 110 will not rub against each other, and the chance that the pumping chamber structure 121 gets damaged is avoided.
In this embodiment, the wall body 140 and the pumping chamber structure 121 are integrally molded. However, this does not intend to limit the present disclosure.
To be more specific, the cylinder 110 has a cylinder plate 113 and the piston module 120 includes a plate portion 122, a piston portion 123 and a connecting portion 124. The plate portion 122 is stacked on a side of the cylinder plate 113 facing the first end 111, and the pumping chamber structure 121 is located on a side of the plate portion 122 facing the second end 112. The piston portion 123 is connected to a side of the pumping chamber structure 121 away from the plate portion 122. The connecting portion 124 is connected to a side of the piston portion 123 away from the pumping chamber structure 121. The driving module 130 is connected to the connection portion 124 and drives the pumping chamber structure 121 to extend or retract along the direction Z.
Furthermore, assuming the width of the wall body 140 to be d, the inner diameter of the pumping chamber structure 121 be D, and the wall thickness of the pumping chamber structure 121 be T, in practical applications, the inner diameter of the cylinder 110 should be equal to or slightly larger than D+T×2+d×2. To be clear, the wall thickness T of the pumping chamber structure 121 should not be too thick, so as to avoid the rubbing of the outer wall of the pumping chamber structure 121 against the outer wall of the piston portion 123 during the extension or retraction of the pumping chamber structure 121 along the direction Z. Thus, the chance that the pumping chamber structure 121 gets damaged is also avoided.
As shown in
Moreover, the first installation portion 1221a is disposed with an air intake valve piece 126, and the second installation portion 1221b extends outwards from a top surface of the pumping chamber structure 121. The first installation portion 1221a and the second installation portion 1221b form a second recessed portion R2 in between.
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In addition, the cylinder plate 113 has at least one air intake hole 114. Please go back to
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In other words, only the straight-line sections 126b1 and the curved sections 126b2 exist between the circular section 126b3 and the root 126a. As a result, the bending moment about the root 126a produced by the air intake valve piece 126 can be effectively reduced. Thus, the deformation and the tilting up of the air intake valve piece 126 due to a too large force is avoided. Consequently, the air intake valve piece 126 can effectively cover and seal the air intake hole 114.
Furthermore, as shown in
In summary, when compared with the prior art, the embodiments of the present disclosure mentioned above have at least the following advantages:
(2) Since the wall body at least partially surrounds a position of the pumping chamber structure near the first end, and is located between the cylinder and the pumping chamber structure, such that the relative position of the piston module and the cylinder is fixed, and the deviation of the piston module relative to the cylinder is avoided, the air intake valve piece will not deviate relative to the air intake hole. Hence, the effect that the air intake valve piece 126 covers and seals the air intake hole is also unaffected.
(3) Since only the straight-line sections and the curved sections exist between the circular section and the root, the bending moment about the root produced by the air intake valve piece can be effectively reduced. Thus, the deformation and the tilting up of the air intake valve piece due to a too large force are avoided. Consequently, the air intake valve piece can effectively cover and seal the air intake hole.
(4) Since no sealing portion exists between the pumping chamber and the air intake valve piece, when the piston module is assembled between the compression plate and the cylinder, the compression plate will not exert excessive pressure against the local position of the plate portion between the pumping chamber and the air intake valve piece. Thus, the local position of the plate portion between the pumping chamber and the air intake valve piece will not be deformed, and the air intake valve piece will not be tilted up due to deformation. As a result, the sealing criteria of the miniature pump can be maintained.
Although the present disclosure has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain embodiments thereof, other embodiments are possible. Therefore, the spirit and scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the embodiments contained herein.
It will be apparent to the person having ordinary skill in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the present disclosure without departing from the scope or spirit of the present disclosure. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present disclosure cover modifications and variations of the present disclosure provided they fall within the scope of the following claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2015 1 0080891 | Feb 2015 | CN | national |
2015 2 0107515 U | Feb 2015 | CN | national |
2015 2 0107520 U | Feb 2015 | CN | national |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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5632607 | Popescu | May 1997 | A |
6048183 | Meza | Apr 2000 | A |
6382928 | Chang | May 2002 | B1 |
Number | Date | Country |
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202690357 | Jan 2013 | CN |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20160237997 A1 | Aug 2016 | US |