US20080260552A1

US20080260552A1 - Membrane pump

Info

Publication number: US20080260552A1
Application number: US11/736,142
Authority: US
Inventors: Hsiao-Kang Ma; Chang-Hung Peng; Bo-Ren Hou; Hong-Yun Wu; Ming-Chien Kuo
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Cooler Master Co Ltd
Priority date: 2007-04-17
Filing date: 2007-04-17
Publication date: 2008-10-23

Abstract

A membrane pump powered by an activating element includes a chamber body. The interior of the chamber body is provided with a first chamber and a second chamber that are in fluid communication with each other. One side or both sides of the chamber body are provided with an inlet pipeline and an outlet pipeline that are in fluid communication with the first chamber and second chamber, respectively. Valves are provided on the inner wall face of same side of the first chamber and the second 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 first chamber to circulatively flow in one direction. 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.

Description

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 20 a, 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, 20 a 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, 20 a 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 20 a 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, 20 a to move downwardly. As a result, the check valve 20 a 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 subsequently 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 apply 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 downwardly the working fluid within the chamber body 10, so that the working fluid can flow toward both sides. Although the check valves 20, 20 a 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, 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 and the circulation system thereof.
In order to achieve the above objects, the present invention provides a membrane pump that is constituted of a chamber body. The interior of the chamber body is provided with a first chamber and a second chamber that are in fluid communication with each other. One side or both sides of the chamber body are provided with an inlet pipeline and an outlet pipeline that are in fluid communication with the first chamber and second chamber, respectively. Valves are provided on the inner wall face of same side of the first chamber and the second 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 first chamber to circulatively flow in one direction. 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 present invention;

FIG. 3 is a view showing the complete assembly of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view (I) showing the operation of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view (II) showing the operation of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view (I) showing the pipeline of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view (II) showing the pipeline of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a top view showing the structure of the second embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 9 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 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 respectively with a first chamber 11 and a second chamber 12 for accommodating a working fluid. In the present embodiment, the first chamber 11 is larger than the second chamber 12. Both of the first chamber and the second chamber are separated from each other but in fluid communication with each other. In the present embodiment, a through hole 13 is provided therebetween, so that the first chamber 11 is in fluid communication with the second chamber 12. Both sides of the outer edge of the chamber body 1 are provided respectively with an inlet pipeline 14 and an outlet pipeline 15. The inlet pipeline 14 and the outlet pipeline 15 are in fluid communication with the first chamber 11 and the second chamber 12, respectively. The inner wall face of the first chamber 11 is provided with a valve 2 at a position corresponding to that of the inlet pipeline 14. 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 14. The plate is used to block the working fluid from flowing back to the inlet pipeline 14 from the first chamber 11 and then flowing out of the chamber body 1. The inner wall face of the second chamber 12 is provided with a valve 2 a at a position corresponding to that of the through hole 13. The valve 2 a is used to block the working fluid from flowing back to the first chamber 11 from the second chamber via the through hole 13. The valve 2 a is arranged in the same manner as that of the valve 2 in the first chamber 11.
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 first chamber 11 and the second chamber 12. 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 correspondingly above the first chamber 11 to flatly abut 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 15 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. 9, 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 can concentrate 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 first 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.
Finally, 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, 61 a and 61 b on the positions corresponding to those of the activating element 4, the electrode leads 5 and the second chamber 12, 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.
Please refer to FIGS. 4 and 5, which are the cross-sectional views showing the operation of the present invention. As shown in the figures, the present invention can be applied to a liquid delivery system or circulation system (such as a water-cooling circulation system). The inlet pipeline 14 and the outlet pipeline 15 are connected respectively to conduits 7 of the system, so that the membrane pump is in fluid communication with the other components of the system (not shown), thereby facilitating the working fluid to enter the membrane pump. When the electricity is supplied to the activating element 4 via the leads 5, the swinging end 42 of the activating element 4 generates a swinging action with one side thereof swinging like a sector, as shown in FIG. 4. When the swinging end 42 of the activating element 4 swings downwardly, at the same time, the membrane 3 is caused to press the inner space of the first chamber 11 to generate a pressure and thus to force the working fluid to flow through the valve 2 a (indicated by the arrow) toward the second chamber 12. Although a little portion of the working fluid flows toward the inlet pipeline 14, the momentum of the working fluid can force the valve 2 to close the mouth of the inlet pipeline 14, thereby preventing the working fluid from flowing back to the inlet pipeline 14. On the other hand, when the swinging end 42 of the activating element 4 swings upwardly, as shown in FIG. 5, the membrane 3 returns its original shape to release the inner space of the first chamber 11, so that the internal pressure of the first chamber 11 is smaller than the external pressure thereof, thereby forcing the working fluid to flow from the inlet pipeline 11 via the valve 2 into the first chamber 11 (indicated by the arrow). The working fluid remaining in the outlet pipeline 15 and the second chamber 12 also generates a momentum due to the pressure so as to press the valve 2 a, causing the valve 2 a to close the through hole 13. In this way, the working fluid remaining in the outlet pipeline 15 and the second chamber 12 flows back into the first chamber 11. Thus, the working fluid within the membrane pump forms a larger amount of flow in one direction.
The inlet pipeline 14 and the outlet pipeline 15 are provided on both sides of the chamber body 1, and in addition, the positions of the inlet pipeline 14 and the outlet pipeline 15 can be varied according to different situations. As shown in FIG. 6, the inlet pipeline 14 is provided at one side of the chamber body 1 and is in fluid communication with the first chamber 11. The outlet pipeline 15 is provided on the bottom of the chamber body 1 and is in fluid communication with the second chamber 12. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 7, the inlet pipeline 14 and the outlet pipeline 15 are in fluid communication with the first chamber 11 and the second chamber 12, respectively. The valve 2 is provided in the first chamber 11 at a position corresponding to that of the inlet pipeline 14, thereby blocking the working fluid from flowing back into the inlet pipeline 14. Therefore, via the action of the valve 2, the working fluid entering the chamber body 1 can generate a pumping action with one side entering and the other side exiting, thereby overcoming the drawback that the amount of flow in the conventional pump is too small.
With reference to FIG. 8, it is a top view showing the structure of the second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in this figure, the membrane pump is mainly constituted of a chamber body 1. The interior of the chamber body 1 has a first chamber 11 and the second chamber 12. In the present embodiment, the second chamber 12 is provided at one side of the first chamber 11. Both chambers are in fluid communication with each other via a through hole 13. Furthermore, the chamber body 1 has an inlet pipeline 14 and an outlet pipeline 15. The inlet pipeline 14 and the outlet pipeline 15 are located on the same side. The inlet pipeline 14 and the outlet pipeline 15 are in fluid communication with the first chamber 11 and the second chamber 12, respectively. The inner wall face of the first chamber 11 is provided with a valve 2 at a position corresponding to that of the inlet pipeline 14. The inner wall face of the second chamber 12 is provided with a valve 2 a at a position corresponding to that of the through hole 13. The top surface of the chamber body 1 is provided with a membrane 3 that covers the first chamber 11 and the second chamber 12. An activating element 4 is provided on the upper surface of the membrane 3. 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. In the present embodiment, the fixed end 41 is located on the same side as the inlet pipeline 14 and the outlet pipeline 15, thereby facilitating the swinging end 42 of the activating element 4 to generate a swinging action with one side thereof swinging like a sector. Finally, the chamber body 1 can also be combined with a casing 6, thereby covering the membrane 3 and the activating element 4 therein.
After the electricity is supplied to the activating element 4 of the chamber body 1, the swinging end 42 generates a swinging action with one side thereof swinging like a sector. When the swinging end 42 swings downwardly, the membrane 3 is caused to press toward the interior of the first chamber 11, causing to increase the internal pressure of the first chamber 11. Therefore, the working fluid remaining in the first chamber 11 generates a momentum and moves simultaneously toward the inlet pipeline 14 and the outlet pipeline 15. When the working fluid flows toward the inlet pipeline 14, the thus-generated momentum presses the valve 2 that is located at the position corresponding to the inlet pipeline 14. Thus, the valve 2 closes the inlet pipeline 14 to avoid the working fluid from flowing back into the inlet pipeline 14 and from generating a backflow phenomenon. At the same time, the momentum generated by the working fluid flowing toward the outlet pipeline 15 rushes the valve 2 a, so that the working fluid flows toward the other components via the second chamber 12. On the other hand, when the activating element 4 swings upwardly, the membrane 3 returns to its original shape and recovers the internal pressure of the first chamber 11, so that the external pressure of the first chamber 11 is larger than the internal pressure thereof. Thus, the working fluid flows into the inlet pipeline 14 to push away the valve 2 and flows into the first chamber 11. Further, the working fluid remaining in the second chamber 12 also generates a momentum due to the pressure, thereby pressing the valve 2 a located in the through hole 13. In this way, the through hole 13 is closed to block the working fluid from flowing back into the first chamber 11, so that the membrane pump can generate a circulating action 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.

Claims

1. A membrane pump, comprising:

a chamber body having an inlet pipeline and an outlet pipeline, respectively;

a membrane provided on a top surface of the chamber body; and

an activating element abutting flatly against an upper surface of the membrane, the activating element having a fixed end and a swinging end, the swinging end generating swinging action with one side thereof swinging like a sector,

wherein a large range of the swinging action generated by the activating element changes an internal volume of the chamber body, so that the working fluid remaining in the chamber body flows in the inlet pipeline and drains out of the outlet pipeline to generate a flow in one direction.

2. The membrane pump according to claim 1, wherein the chamber body is connected correspondingly with a casing, and the casing is provided thereon with a plurality of penetrating troughs to correspond to the fixed end and the swinging end of the activating element.

3. The membrane pump according to claim 2, wherein the fixed end is further electrically connected with a plurality of electrodes leads.

4. The membrane pump according to claim 3, wherein the plurality of electrodes leads penetrate into the corresponding penetrating troughs.

5. The membrane pump according to claim 1, wherein the fixed end and the outlet pipeline are located on the same side.

6. The membrane pump according to claim 1, wherein the inlet pipeline and the outlet pipeline are provided respectively at a position of one side of the chamber body.

7. The membrane pump according to claim 1, wherein the inlet pipeline and the outlet pipeline are provided on same side of the chamber body.

8. The membrane pump according to claim 1, wherein the inlet pipeline and the outlet pipeline are provided on bottom of the chamber body.

9. The membrane pump according to claim 1, wherein the inlet pipeline and the outlet pipeline are provided respectively on one side and bottom of the chamber body.

10. The membrane pump according to claim 1, wherein the chamber body further comprises:

a first chamber being in fluid communication with the inlet pipeline; and

a second chamber being in fluid communication with the first chamber and the outlet pipeline.

11. The membrane pump according to claim 10, wherein a through hole is provided between the first chamber and the second chamber.

12. The membrane pump according to claim 11, wherein a valve is provided in the second chamber at a position corresponding to that of the through hole.

13. The membrane pump according to claim 12, wherein the second chamber is provided with a penetrating trough adjacent to the inner wall face of the through hole, the valve has a pillar and a plate, the pillar is provided in the penetrating trough and the plate exactly corresponds to the position of the through hole.

14. The membrane pump according to claim 10, wherein a valve is provided on the inner wall face of the first chamber at a position corresponding to that of the inlet pipeline.

15. The membrane pump according to claim 14, wherein the first chamber is provided with a penetrating trough adjacent to the inner wall face of the inlet pipeline, the valve has a pillar and a plate, the pillar is provided in the penetrating trough and the plate exactly corresponds to the position of the inlet pipeline.

16. The membrane pump according to claim 1, wherein the activating element is a piezoelectric piece.

17. The membrane pump according to claim 1, wherein the fixed end is electrically connected with a plurality of electrode leads.