JP2005307743A - Pump priming device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve a problem that operation is difficult unless air bubbles are completely removed by priming operation in a pump using a piezoelectric element as a driving source and provided with a pipe passage element instead of a check valve on a discharge side. <P>SOLUTION: This pump priming device is provided with the pump enabling both of suction and discharge, a pressure sensor for detecting pressure in a pump chamber, and a controller for controlling the suction and discharge of the pump based on the information of the pressure sensor. This device is also provided with a pump driving instruction device of the primed pump and a priming end informing device. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a priming device for a pump that is difficult to self-prime, and in particular, a pump that moves a working fluid by changing the volume in a pump chamber by a diaphragm, and has a suction-side check valve on the discharge side. The present invention relates to a pump priming apparatus that performs a priming operation on a pump having no check valve.

Conventionally, a priming device is used for the purpose of introducing liquid into a pump chamber when starting a pump such as a centrifugal pump, which is difficult to self-suck in a state where gas is inside. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1) In addition, a high-output micro that has a suction-side check valve, and on the discharge side, a pipe element that generates an inertia effect of fluid instead of the check valve is provided immediately after the pump chamber. A pump has been developed. (See Non-Patent Document 1)
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 64-47993 (2nd page, Fig. 1) "High-power micropump using inertial effect of fluid" Journal of the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers 2003.10 VOL. 106 No. 1019 (page 823, FIGS. 1 to 4)

  In such a patent document 1, priming is first performed using a vacuum pump at the start-up time when no working fluid is contained in the pump. At that time, since only the suction operation is performed, bubbles remain in the corners of the pump chamber and the like, but there is no problem in the case of a pump that does not affect the operation even if there are some bubbles such as a centrifugal pump. On the other hand, among non-patent documents 1, among the pumps that perform the discharge operation by changing the volume of the pump chamber, particularly when a piezoelectric element with a small displacement amount is used as a drive source, minute bubbles remain in the pump chamber. Thus, there is a problem that activation cannot be performed due to the compression of the gas in which the volume change of the pump chamber remains.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a priming device for a pump capable of starting a priming pump having a small volume change in a pump chamber by compressing remaining gas by performing an appropriate pressurizing operation after sucking priming water. There is to do.

  The pump priming device of the present invention includes a pump capable of both suction and discharge, a pressure sensor for detecting pressure in the pump chamber, and a control device for controlling suction and discharge of the pump based on information of the pressure sensor. It is characterized by that.

  According to such a configuration, after sucking the liquid into the priming water pump by the pump priming device, an appropriate pressurizing operation is performed based on the information of the pressure sensor, and the bubbles remaining in the priming water pump are compressed in advance. Thus, even when the volume change amount of the pump chamber of the called water pump is small, the discharge operation is possible and the called water pump can be started. Furthermore, after starting, it becomes possible to completely eliminate bubbles inside the priming water pump by operating the priming water pump for a certain period of time while controlling a certain load pressure by the priming device of the pump.

  In the above-described structure, it is desirable that the pressure at the time of discharge of a pump provided for performing priming is 1 to 5 atm as a gauge pressure.

  According to such a configuration, it is possible to sufficiently compress bubbles remaining during suction of the priming water pump, and it is possible to easily start the priming water pump.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the pump priming apparatus of this invention is a piston pump by which the pump comprised in order to perform priming is driven with a motor.

  According to such a configuration, the pump of the pump priming apparatus can be configured easily, and a sufficient pressure at the time of discharge can be easily achieved, and the control is facilitated.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the pump priming apparatus of this invention comprises the pump drive instruction | indication apparatus of a priming water pump.

  According to such a configuration, after the liquid in the priming water pump is filled by the suction operation of the pump priming device, the pump of the pump priming device performs the discharging operation, and the bubbles remaining in the pump chamber of the priming water pump Since the pump drive instruction of the priming water pump is performed in a state in which the priming water pump is sufficiently compressed, the priming water pump can be efficiently started by driving the priming water pump based on this instruction.

  Furthermore, in the above-described structure, it is preferable to include a connector that outputs a signal of the pump drive instruction device of the priming pump. The priming operation can be automated by transmitting the signal of the pump driving instruction device to the driving device of the priming pump through this connector.

  The above-described pump priming device preferably includes a priming end notification device.

  According to such a configuration, it is possible to reliably notify the user that the priming operation has ended and the pump is ready for use. In particular, when the priming operation is automated, there is an effect that efficient work can be performed.

  The pump priming device of the present invention preferably includes a direction switching valve device.

  According to such a configuration, for example, when the pump provided to perform priming is a piston pump driven by a motor as in the above-described configuration, it is ensured by repeatedly performing the suction operation even with a small capacity piston. Priming operation is possible, and the pump priming device can be downsized.

  Furthermore, it is preferable to provide a waste liquid tank in the structure described above.

  When the pump priming apparatus repeatedly performs the suction operation, the working fluid is discharged at the same time as the gas at the time of discharging, but there is an effect that the priming work can be performed without restriction of the place by providing the waste liquid tank.

  Furthermore, in the pump priming apparatus of the present invention, it is desirable to include an insertion port for inserting the discharge pipe of the priming water pump, and a seal member for sealing the insertion port and the priming water pump discharge pipe.

  According to such a configuration, when the priming pump has the discharge nozzle, it is possible to start the priming operation of the pump simply by inserting the discharge nozzle into the insertion port, and the operability is improved.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a pump priming apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 2 shows a priming operation of a called water pump 300 using the pump priming apparatus according to the first embodiment.

  FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a pump priming apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment. In FIG. 1, the pump priming apparatus 100 includes a cylinder 120 and a piston 110 that slides inside the cylinder 120.

  The piston 110 includes a plunger part 111 and a gasket 112. The gasket 112 is formed of a flexible material such as rubber and engages with the tip of the plunger portion 111 and seals the inner surface of the cylinder 120 when the piston 110 slides.

  A rib (not shown) is provided on the outer surface of the plunger portion 111, and the piston 110 does not rotate but moves directly in the cylinder by a rotation stop 123 fixed to the inner surface of the cylinder 120.

  A suction / discharge nozzle 121 is provided at the end of the cylinder 120 and can be easily connected by a tube or the like during a priming water pump and priming operation.

  A motor 131 and a speed reducer 132 that is directly combined with the motor are provided at the opposite end of the discharge suction nozzle 121 of the cylinder 120. A lead screw 133 protrudes from the speed reducer 132, and the lead screw 133 engages with a screw portion provided inside the plunger portion 111 described above. Accordingly, when the lead screw 133 is rotated by the motor 131 and the speed reducer 132, the piston 110 moves without rotating due to the effect of the screw portion of the plunger portion 111 and the rotation stopper 123 described above.

  The motor 131 is driven by a motor driving device built in the motor 131 based on a command from the control device 141. The control device performs control based on the signal from the pressure sensor 142.

  Next, the priming operation of the pump priming apparatus of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  The flow path of the called water pump 300 includes a suction pipe 321, a pump chamber 323, and a discharge pipe 325. A check valve is provided between the suction pipe 321 and the pump chamber 323 to prevent backflow to the suction side. On the other hand, the discharge pipe 325 has a sufficiently long length and a small cross-sectional area so as to generate an inertia effect of fluid instead of the check valve on the discharge side. The volume of the pump chamber 323 is changed by a diaphragm 324 driven by expansion and contraction of the piezoelectric element 313, and suction and discharge of the pump are performed. The priming water pump of this configuration is small and capable of generating high output, but if bubbles remain in the pump chamber, the amount of variation in the piezoelectric element 313 is small, so that the volume change of the pump chamber 323 is spent on compressing the remaining gas. It is done and cannot start. Therefore, it is necessary to completely discharge bubbles in the priming operation.

  FIG. 2A shows a state before the priming operation, the suction pipe 321 of the priming pump 300 is connected to a tank containing working fluid by a tube (not shown), and the discharge pipe 325 is a pump priming device of this embodiment by a tube 411. 100 suction and discharge nozzles 121 are connected.

  When the priming operation is started, the piston 110 is driven so that the volume of the cylinder chamber 122 is increased by the rotation of the motor 131. Therefore, the inside of the cylinder chamber 122 becomes negative pressure, and the flow in the tube and the priming water pump 300 is increased. The gas in the passage is aspirated and then the working fluid is aspirated.

  FIG. 2B shows a state after the suction, and the cylinder chamber 122 has a gas above the working fluid. After the working fluid is sufficiently sucked into the cylinder chamber 122, the motor 131 rotates in the reverse direction to reduce the volume of the cylinder chamber 122. At this time, since the check valve 322 of the called water pump 300 is closed, the pressure increases equally from the inside of the cylinder chamber 122 to the pump chamber 323 of the called water pump 300.

  This pressure is detected by the pressure sensor 142, and when the pressure reaches a predetermined pressure, the motor 132 stops and shifts to the constant pressure control mode. By setting this pressure to 1 atm or more in gauge pressure, bubbles remaining in the corners of the pump chamber 323 in the priming water pump are sufficiently compressed, and the priming water pump can be easily started. On the other hand, if the pressure is 5 atm or more, the connection structure between the priming pump and the pump priming device needs to have a high withstand voltage, resulting in an increase in size.

  In the constant pressure control mode, the control device 141 controls the rotation of the motor 132 so as to keep the pressure in the cylinder chamber 122 at a predetermined pressure based on the signal from the pressure sensor 142. When shifting to the constant pressure control mode, the operator is notified by a buzzer or the like from the pump drive instruction device of the called water pump provided in the control device 141. By this notification, the operator drives the pump for the called water pump 300. At this time, since the bubbles in the pump chamber 323 of the priming water pump 300 are sufficiently compressed, a large pressure fluctuation occurs in the pump chamber 323 due to expansion and contraction of the piezoelectric element 313, and the check valve 322 and the discharge pipe 325 The called water pump 300 starts discharging due to the inertia effect of the pipeline. Due to this discharge, the working fluid is fed into the cylinder chamber 122 of the pump priming apparatus 100, so that the piston 110 keeps the pressure in the cylinder chamber constant while moving backward.

  By operating the priming water pump 300 at a constant pressure load for a predetermined time, bubbles remaining in the flow path in the priming water pump 300 are also flowed, and the bubbles can be completely eliminated. When the bubbles are completely eliminated, the discharge flow rate of the priming pump increases, so that the retreating speed of the piston 110 for keeping the cylinder chamber 122 at a constant pressure increases, so that the elimination of the bubbles can be detected by the control device 141. . At that time, since the end of the priming operation is notified to the worker by a buzzer or the like from the priming water end notification device in the control device 141, the worker stops driving the priming water pump, removes the tube 411 from the discharge pipe 325, and The priming pump can be used for the intended application. At this time, since the discharge pipe of the called water pump described in this embodiment is sufficiently long, air does not enter the pump chamber 323 even if the tube 411 is removed, and can be freely used for the intended purpose.

  Another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the pump priming device and the priming pump of this embodiment, FIG. 4 is a control block diagram of the pump priming device of this embodiment, and FIG. 5 is a control state diagram of each part of this embodiment. The same functional parts as those in the first embodiment are assigned the same numbers.

  In the pump priming device of the present embodiment, the insertion port 211 into which the discharge pipe of the priming water pump is inserted, the cylinder chamber 122, and the waste liquid tank 120 are connected to the port A, port B, and port C of the direction switching valve device 221 respectively. ing.

  Inside the insertion port 211, a discharge pipe 325 of the priming water pump 301 is fitted and a seal member 212 to be sealed is installed, so that airtightness can be maintained just by inserting the discharge pipe of the priming water pump. Yes.

  The called water pump 301 in this embodiment has a thin nozzle portion 326 formed at the tip, and can eject a jet jet. Moreover, it has the same structure as the called water pump of Example 1 except having the pump drive instruction connector 331 connected with the connector 231 which outputs the signal of the pump drive instruction device of the pump priming apparatus 101. In addition, the piston 110 and the motor 131 peripheral portion of the pump priming apparatus 301 of the present embodiment also have substantially the same structure as that of the first embodiment.

  Next, based on FIG. 4, the control block of the pump priming apparatus of a present Example is demonstrated. The control device 141 is connected to a motor 131, a pressure sensor 142, and a direction switching valve device 221. Further, a pump drive instruction device and a priming water end notification device are built in the control device 141, and a signal of the pump drive instruction device is transmitted to the called water pump via the connector 231.

  Next, operation | movement of the pump priming apparatus of a present Example is demonstrated using the control state figure of each part of FIG. The section numbers in the figure are operation states in chronological order.

  First, in the first section, the communication direction of the solenoid valve is port A and port B, and the insertion port 211 and the cylinder chamber 122 communicate with each other. When the volume of the cylinder chamber 122 is increased in this state, the insertion port 211 communicating with the inside of the cylinder chamber 122 and the pump chamber 323 of the priming water pump 301 become negative pressure, and the working fluid flows into the flow path in the priming water pump. be introduced. However, in this state, when the maximum volume of the cylinder chamber 122 is small, the working fluid can be introduced only halfway.

  In the second section, the communication direction of the solenoid valve is port B and port C, and the cylinder chamber 122 and the waste liquid tank 120 communicate with each other. By reducing the volume of the cylinder chamber 122, the gas in the flow path and, depending on the case, some working fluid is discharged to the waste liquid tank.

  In the third section, as in the first section, the communication direction of the solenoid valve is port A and port B, and the insertion port 211 and the cylinder chamber 122 are in communication. By performing the same operation as in the first section, the working fluid sucked halfway can be completely introduced into the flow path. By repeating the above operation, even when the flow path is long, the fluid can be introduced into the flow path with a small maximum volume of the cylinder chamber. In order to detect that the fluid in the flow path has been completely introduced, a liquid level sensor may be provided in the cylinder chamber.

  In the fourth section, as in the third section, the communication direction of the solenoid valve is port A and port B, and the insertion port 211 and the cylinder chamber 122 are in communication. By reducing the cylinder chamber volume in this state, the check valve of the priming water pump 301 is closed, the pressure of the pump chamber 323 of the priming water pump 301 is increased, and the pressure of the cylinder chamber 122 communicating therewith is also increased. The pressure change at this time is detected by the pressure sensor 142 in the cylinder chamber 122. When the pressure in the cylinder chamber 122 reaches a predetermined value, the process proceeds to the fifth section. At this stage, the bubbles remaining in the pump chamber of the priming water pump are compressed to a state where the priming water pump is operable.

  In the fifth section, as in the fourth section, the communication direction of the solenoid valve is port A and port B, and the insertion port 211 and the cylinder chamber 122 are in communication. First, a pump drive instruction signal for the priming water pump 301 is transmitted from the pump driving instruction device controller inside the control device 141 via the connector 231, and the priming water pump 301 starts driving. The control device 141 controls the volume of the cylinder chamber 122 via the motor drive device 131. However, since the constant pressure control mode is set in the fifth section, the volume is increased according to the discharge amount of the called water pump 301. The Initially, the discharge amount is small due to the influence of bubbles remaining in the flow path of the called water pump, and the volume change rate of the cylinder chamber is small. However, when the remaining bubbles are discharged by the operation of the called water pump, the volume change rate increases. Exclusion of bubbles in the pump chamber can be detected by the volume change rate.

  In the sixth section, the communication direction of the solenoid valve is port A and port C, and the insertion port 211 and the waste liquid tank 120 communicate with each other. As a result, the priming water pump performs a discharge operation with no load, and the flow rate is maximized. Therefore, even fine bubbles that cannot be completely discharged in the fifth section can be completely discharged because the flow velocity in the flow path increases. The sixth section ends after a lapse of a predetermined time, and at the same time when the operation of the priming water pump 301 is terminated, the operator displays the priming water pump from the pump priming apparatus without wasting time because the priming water end notification device displays an end display. It can be used for the intended purpose.

  As described above, the pump priming apparatus of the present invention can completely eliminate bubbles by a simple operation of simply inserting the priming pump into the insertion port, so that a small high-power pump can be easily used. There is an effect of becoming.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the above-mentioned Example, The deformation | transformation in the range which can achieve the objective of this invention, improvement, etc. are included in this invention.

  For example, in the first and second embodiments described above, the optimum structures are shown, but the structures of the embodiments can be used in combination.

  The pump priming device of the present invention can be used for priming operation of a high-power micropump or an ultra-compact water jet device that is an application device thereof.

Sectional drawing of the pump priming apparatus which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. Explanatory drawing operation | movement explanatory drawing of the pump which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. Sectional drawing of the pump priming apparatus which concerns on Example 2 of this invention, and a to-be-primed pump. The control block diagram of the pump priming apparatus which concerns on Example 2 of this invention. The control state figure of each part of the pump priming apparatus which concerns on Example 2 of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100,101 ... Pump priming device, 110 ... Piston, 111 ... Plunger part, 112 ... Gasket, 120 ... Cylinder, 121 ... Discharge suction nozzle, 122 ... Cylinder chamber, 131 ... Motor, 132 ... Deceleration device, 133 ... Lead screw , 141 ... control device, 142 ... pressure sensor, 211 ... insertion port, 212, seal member, 221 ... direction switching valve device, 231 ... connector, 241 ... waste liquid tank, 300, 301 ... priming water pump, 313 ... piezoelectric element, 321 ... Suction pipe, 323 ... Pump chamber, 325 ... Discharge pipe, 324 ... Diaphragm.

Claims (9)

  Pump priming water, comprising: a pump capable of both suction and discharge; a pressure sensor for detecting pressure in the pump chamber; and a control device for controlling suction and discharge of the pump based on information of the pressure sensor. apparatus. The pump priming apparatus according to claim 1,
A pump priming apparatus, wherein the pressure at the time of discharge of the pump is 1 to 5 atm as a gauge pressure. In the pump priming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
A pump priming device, wherein the pump is a piston pump driven by a motor. The pump priming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A pump priming apparatus comprising a pump drive instruction device for a priming pump. The pump priming apparatus according to claim 4,
A pump priming apparatus comprising a connector that outputs a signal of a pump drive instruction device of a priming pump. The pump priming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A pump priming apparatus comprising a priming end notification apparatus. In the pump priming device according to claim 1 to 5,
A pump priming device comprising a direction switching valve device. The pump priming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
A pump priming device comprising a waste liquid tank. In the pump priming apparatus according to claim 1 to 7,
A pump priming apparatus comprising: an insertion port for inserting a discharge pipe of a priming water pump; and a seal member for sealing the insertion port and the priming water pump discharge pipe.

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