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Membrane pump

Membrane pump description/claims

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 20a, 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, 20a 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, 20a 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 20a 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, 20a to move downwardly. As a result, the check valve 20a 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, 20a 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.

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.

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.

• Provisional Patent
• Utility Patent

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