US3661167A - Chemical feed pump with improved valve means - Google Patents

Abstract

A diaphragm or piston type chemical feed pump has an influent valve and an effluent valve connected to the pumping chamber each having in some combination a single or multiple ball check valve system. The valves of the pump are doubled and reversible within separable casings having oppositely disposed ball recesses so that the same set of parts can be assembled into an inlet or outlet ball check valve. For precise sealing, each valve has a resilient, self cleaning ball valve seat. Extensive testing shows a ball diameter of five-sixteenths or 0.3125 and a hole diameter of 0.190 + OR - 0.006 to be the optimum ball to hole diameter combination. Additional testing shows that the ball to hole diameter can be scaled up or down in proportion for larger or smaller pumps with greater or lesser flows.

Description

United States Patent [151 3,

Hussey 1 May 9, 1972 54] CHEMICAL FEED PUMP WITH FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS IMPROVED VALVE MEANS 987,921 4 1951 France ..137 539 [72] Inventor; Norman Hussey, mmburyv 337,339 10/1930 Great Britain ..137 512 [73] Assignee: A & D Fabricating Company, Inc., Lowell, primary E i -S l B Rothberg M Assistant Examiner-David J. Zobkiw [22] Filed: y 25 1970 AttorneyPearson & Pearson [52] U.S. Cl ..l37/269.5, 137/512, 137/533.l3, l37/533.l5 [51] Int. Cl ..Fl6k 15/04 [58] FieldofSearch ..137/269.5,27l,5l2,5l2.2, 137/539, 539.5, 533.11, 533.13, 533.15

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,707,485 5/1955 Saalfrank ..137/512 3,399,694 9/1968 Vinson ..137/512 2,922,432 l/l960 Huntington et a1. ..l37/269.5 3,000,320 9/1961 Ring ....l37/512 X 3,081,730 3/1963 Dvorachek. ....l37/5 12 X 3,084,709 4/1963 Flick et a1. .l37/269.5 X 3,415,271 12/1968 Maasberg et al ..137/512 [5 7 ABSTRACT A diaphragm or piston type chemical feed pump has an influent valve and an effluent valve connected to the pumping chamber each having in some combination a single or multiple ball check valve system.

The valves of the pump are doubled and reversible within separable casings having oppositely disposed ball recesses so that the same set of parts can be assembled into an inlet or outlet ball check valve. For precise sealing, each valve has a resilient, self cleaning ball valve seat.

Extensive testing shows a ball diameter of five-sixteenths or 0.3125 and a hole diameter of 0.190 I 0.006 to be the optimum ball to hole diameter combination.

Additional testing shows that the ball to hole diameter can be scaled up or down in proportion for larger or smaller pumps with greater or lesser flows.

1 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures CHEMICAL FEED PUMP WITH IMPROVED VALVE MEANS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In the chemical feed pump art, sealing of the fluid being pumped is essential, to avoid leakage or contamination, so that diaphragm pumping chambers are often used to assure sealing. For maximum efficiency the inlet valve must not permit back pressure, the outlet valve must not permit back flow, and the valves must be as perfectly sealed as the diaphragm pumping chamber, or the value of the latter will be lost.

Chemical pumps often are used with liquids which are corrosive, or tend to plug the passages. It is therefore necessary to use pump parts of inert materials, and of precision fit, to avoid leakage and plugging and to avoid the necessity of breaking the seals to clean out the interior.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In this invention, ball check valves of improved structure are provided, .the resilient, annular ball seats being of predetermined durometer for the correct resiliency which will permit the ball to seal in the seat even in he presence of slight accumulations of foreign matter on the ball or seat. Depending on the selected durometer, which is preferably about 55, the valve port is dimensioned at a predetermined inside diameter based-on a proportion of the outside diameter of the ball. In addition, the ball valve means is preferably reversible and doubled with two balls, two ball seats, and a spacer so that the same set of parts can be assembled into a doubled influent valve or a doubled effluent valve.

Ease of replacement, lessening of parts inventory, lower cost of manufacture, and more efficient pumping all result from the use of the double ball check valves of the invention with them predetermined dimensions based on the required resiliency or hardness of the valve seats.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. I is a plan view in section on line 1l of FIG. 2;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation, in section on line 22 of FIG. 1, of a pump constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevation, in half section, of an effluent, or exhaust, valve of the invention; and

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3, showing the identical parts reversed to form an influent, or intake, valve.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In the drawing, represents a typical chemical feed pump, well known in the art, and which includes an electric motor 21, gear reducer 22, and drive shaft 23, journalled in bearings 24 and 25 in the walls of the pump housing 26. An eccentric rotor 27 having a freely revolvable bearing race 28 is fast on shaft 23 and rotates within a yoke 29 to convert the rotary mo.- tion of shaft 23 to reciprocal motion of yoke 29.

The travel of the reciprocating stroke of yoke 29 is controlled by the dial 31, and threaded dial shaft 32, the latter preferably being arranged so that ten full turns will adjust from zero to about one-half inch, the latter being full output. Thus the pump is easy to rate in per cent of output by turning dial 3], and its indicator 33, to zero, 10, 20, 30, etc., thereby indicating and setting the output of the pump 20.

The yoke 29 is fixed to a rod 34, encircled by coil spring and fixed at its other end 36 to the center of the flexible diaphram 37.

The diaphram pumping chamber 41 is defined by the diaphram 37 and the transparent cap 42, tightly sealed to housing 26 by machine screws 43 and reinforced by cross flanges 44. An influent conduit 45 is formed in cap 42 to connect chamber 41 with the influent, ball check valve means 46, and a similar conduit 47 connects the chamber to the efiluent ball check valve means 48.

The influent valve means 46 is substantially identical with the effluent valve means 48, using the same set of parts, in-

eluding a main casing 51, having a portion of reduced diameter exteriorly threaded at 52 for threading in a threaded hole 53 or 54 in cap 42, and having a ball chamber 55 terminating in interior threads 56. An end closure 57 is exteriorly threaded at 58 to engage the threads 56 and mutually define the chamber 55 in the valve, the inlet and outlet tubes, carrying the fluid to be pumped, being affixed to the end closure 57 in any convenient manner, such as by threaded clamping of a member 59 on threads 60.

The terminal tip 62 of each member 57 includes an annular recess 63 for an O ring seal 64, as well as including an axial fluid passage 65, and there is a similar axial fluid passage 66 in the casing 51. The oppositely disposed fluid passages 65 and 66 are of sufficient diameter to each form a ball recess which permits the parts to be reversed.

Each valve means includes at least one spherical ball 67, and one annular ball seat 68, which may be entirely of resilient material, or may be of metal with a resilient insert 69, for seating the ball, and a central, cylindrical axial bore 71, forming the valve port, the seat 68 also having an annular peripheral groove 72 for an O ring seal 73. Preferably a second ball 74, a second seat 75, plus a hollow cylindrical spacer 76 are provided in each chamber 55 in tandem with ball 67 and seat 68 to form a double ball check valve. As shown in in FIG. 4, the identical parts may be used to form an influent ball check means, so that the valve means are reversible. The double ball and seat assures precision, efficient pumping with little chance for back flow, leakage or misfunction due to a single seat becoming corroded or fouled with foreign material, sediment, or the like.

. I have discovered that an annular ball seat, such as 68 or 75 should be of, or should have an insert seat 69 of, resilient, yieldable material such as rubber, neoprene, or the like, having a durometer of about 55 to effectively permit the ball to seal even in the presence of sediment on the seat or ball. I have further discovered that the inside diameter of the bore portion 71, of the seat should have a predetermined relationship with the outside diameter of the ball 67 or 74, for example, when the outside diameter of the ball is 0.3125 inches, the inside diameter of the bore should be 0.190 :t 0.006 inches. These diameters should be scaled up or down in proportion, depending on the bore diameter, the durometer of the seat remaining at about 55 to avoid slag build-up on the seat.

In the embodiment shown, the annular seat is about oneeighth of an inch in thickness, durometer is 55, the CD. of the ball is five-sixteenths of an inch, or 0.3125 inches, and the inside diarneter of bore, or port 71, is 0.190 t 0.006 inches in accordance with the formula set out above.

Preferably the annular seat 69 does not have the conventional truncated conical countersink, but instead the bore 71 is cylindrical and the mouth, or inner peripheral nm 70, is a sharp-edged circular support for the ball.

I claim:

1. In a chemical feed pump of the type having a diaphragm, or piston, a pumping chamber, and influent and effluent valve means connected to said chamber, each valve means including a double ball check valve in tandem, the improvement comprising:

a pair of identical, separable casings, each having a cylindrical valve chamber therewithin containing one of said double ball check valves in tandem;

each ball check valve including a spherical ball of predetermined outside diameter and an annular ball seat of resilient material, of predetermined durometer of about 55, said seat having a sharp edged inner peripheral rim seating said ball and having a cylindrical, central axial bore forming a valve port, the outside diameter of said ball and the inside diameter of said port being in the proportion of 0.3 l 25 to 0.190 1 0.006;

a hollow cylindrical ball receiving spacer within each said valve chamber, one of said balls and ball seats being at each opposite end thereof, within said valve chamber, and each ball seat being identical and reversible within said valve chamber;

each said separable casing including a main casing and a threaded end closure and each having an axial fluid passage of sufficient diameter to form oppositely disposed ball recesses permitting said influent and effluent valve means to be formed by identical structure.

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Claims (1)

1. In a chemical feed pump of the type having a diaphragm, or piston, a pumping chamber, and influent and effluent valve means connected to said chamber, each valve means including a double ball check valve in tandem, the improvement comprising: a pair of identical, separable casings, each having a cylindrical valve chamber therewithin containing one of said double ball check valves in tandem; each ball check valve including a spherical ball of predetermined outside diameter and an annular ball seat of resilient material, of predetermined durometer of about 55, said seat having a sharp edged inner peripheral rim seating said ball and having a cylindrical, central axial bore forming a valve port, the outside diameter of said ball and the inside diameter of said port being in the proportion of 0.3125 to 0.190 + OR - 0.006; a hollow cylindrical ball receiving spacer within each said valve chamber, one of said balls and ball seats being at each opposite end thereof, within said valve chamber, and each ball seat being identical and reversible within said valve chamber; each said separable casing including a main casing and a threaded end closure and each having an axial fluid passage of sufficient diameter to form oppositely disposed ball recesses permitting said influent and effluent valve means to be formed by identical structure.

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