The invention relates to pump fittings and methods for their manufacture.
It is known to dispense liquids from a container using a pump or tap. Where, for example, the liquid is wine, the container may include a manually operated tap for this purpose. Such taps are not capable of dispensing accurate quantities nor is the flow rate consistent although they are cheap and can be disposed of with the container. Alternatively, the container is connected to a dispenser that includes a peristaltic or diaphragm or other rotary pump that draws liquid from the container for delivery. These are capable of delivering more accurate quantities of liquid but are expensive to provide and require frequent cleaning for hygiene purposes and periodic maintenance.
According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided, a pump fitting for a container of fluid comprising an inlet adaptor for connection to an outlet of a container of fluid and including an inlet passage, an outlet passage for fluid and a pump housing between the inlet passage and the outlet passage, the pump housing containing a rotor rotatably received in an interior surface of the housing, the rotor including a housing-engaging surface co-operating with the interior surface of the housing to form a seal therebetween and also including at least one shaped surface radially inwardly of the housing-engaging surface and forming with the interior surface of the housing a chamber for conveying fluid from the inlet to the outlet on rotation of the rotor, a seal being provided between the outlet passage and the inlet passage, the seal being urged into engagement with the rotor to prevent fluid passing from the outlet passage to the inlet passage as the shaped surface rotates, the inlet passage, the outlet passage, the seal and the housing being formed as a one-piece moulding.
Such a pump fitting is easy and cheap to produce, can deliver accurate quantities of liquid and may be disposed of with the container.
According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a liquid delivery system comprising a pump fitting according to the first aspect of the invention and a container of liquid connected to the inlet passage of the pump fitting.
According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a pump fitting according to the first aspect of the invention and in which the seal is a flexible diaphragm located in a aperture in the housing and comprising the step of forming the inlet passage, the outlet passage, and the housing as a single moulding and then moulding the diaphragm in situ in one-piece with the inlet passage, the outlet passage and the housing.
The following is a more detailed description of some embodiments of the invention, by way of example, reference being made to the accompanying drawings in which:
Referring first to
As seen in
The outlet passage 11 is generally cylindrical and has an axis that is parallel to the axis of the inlet passage 10. As seen in
A rotor 17 is rotatably received in an interior surface 18 of the pump housing 12. As seen in
The rotor 17 is formed with two shaped surfaces 21, 22. As seen in
The rotor 17 is formed with first and second housing engaging surfaces 23, 24 (see
The first and second shaped surfaces 21, 22 form with the interior surface 18 of the pump housing 12 respective first and second chambers 25, 26. The function of these chambers 25, 26 will be described below in connection with the operation of the pump fitting.
The pump housing 12 is formed, between the outlet opening 16 and the inlet opening 15, with an aperture closed by a flexible diaphragm seal 28. The aperture 27 is surrounded by a wall 29 extending away from the rotor 17 in a direction normal to the axis of the pump housing 12 and projecting into the inlet passage 10. The wall 29 forms a chamber 30 containing a flexible hollow tube 31. As seen in
As seen in
The disc 36 is provided with an aperture 37 to allow the flow of fluid along the inlet passage 10 to the rotor 17.
The pump fitting described above with reference to the drawings is for connection to a container of liquid 38, part of which is shown schematically in
The container 38 includes an outlet passage 39 that is cylindrical in shape and which is a mating fit with the inlet passage 10 of the pump fitting. The inlet passage 10 is inserted into the outlet passage 39, with the ribs 14 securing the parts together and providing a seal. This engagement prevents the tube 10 distorting and so the lugs cannot disengage from the tube 10 so ensuring that the cap 32 is locked to the tube 10.
The exposed end face 45 of the rotor 17 is connected to a drive, which may be in the form of an electric motor. The drive itself may be controlled by a control system. The motor rotates the rotor 17 in an anti-clockwise direction as seen in
During this rotation, the diaphragm seal 28 and the tube 31 work together to prevent the passage of liquid from the outlet passage 11 to the inlet passage 10. As seen in
As will be seen in
The control system can be used to control the drive so that the rotor delivers a predetermined volume of liquid at a predetermined flow rate through the outlet passage 11.
The arrangement of the pump housing 12 and the rotor 17 need not be as described above. It could be of any of the types described in PCT/GB2005/003300 and PCT/GB2010/000798.
It will be appreciated that the pump fitting provides a simple and inexpensive way of delivering liquid from the container 38. The inlet passage 10 and the outlet passage 11 provide a direct path out of the container 38 interrupted only by the rotor and diaphragm. The pump fitting has few moving parts and so is reliable in operation. In addition, the pump fitting is capable of delivering a measured quantity of liquid with great accuracy so making it suitable for delivering measured quantities of potable liquids such as wine and concentrated liquids. Since the pump fitting is inexpensive to manufacture, it may be provided as a part of the container 38 and disposed of with the container 38 when the container 38 is empty. The rigid outlet passage 39 may be part of a container 38 that is collapsible. It is desirable to evacuate as much of such a container as possible. It is difficult to evacuate any liquid left in this rigid part so incorporating as much of the pump into this volume as possible reduces the dead volume and so improves the utilisation of liquid.
As mentioned above, the inlet passage 10, the outlet passage 11, the diaphragm seal 28 and the pump housing 12 are formed as a one piece moulding in the same moulding process as follows and referring to
With reference to
Once this part of the moulding has been formed, the first core 47 is retracted as seen in
In this way, whole of the pump fitting can be manufactured as a one-piece moulding using the same cavity in the tool using a twin screw moulding machine for each of the housing and diaphragm materials. This reduces size of the tool and reduces the time for production thereby reducing the cost of the pump fitting.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
1117297.0 | Oct 2011 | GB | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/EP2012/069643 | 10/4/2012 | WO | 00 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
WO2013/050488 | 4/11/2013 | WO | A |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
2933046 | McCray | Apr 1960 | A |
3240533 | Mommsen | Mar 1966 | A |
3459337 | Williamson | Aug 1969 | A |
3771901 | Svensson | Nov 1973 | A |
5006049 | von der Heyde | Apr 1991 | A |
7674100 | Hayes-Pankhurst et al. | Mar 2010 | B2 |
20110121020 | Springer | May 2011 | A1 |
20120034122 | Hayes-Pankhurst et al. | Feb 2012 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
103 11 655 | Jul 2004 | DE |
WO 2010122299 | Oct 2010 | GB |
WO 2013050491 | Apr 2013 | WO |
Entry |
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International Search Report for PCT/EP2012/069643 dated Jul. 17, 2013. |
Written Opinion of the International Searching Authority for PCT/EP2012/069643 dated Jul. 17, 2013. |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20140255164 A1 | Sep 2014 | US |