TWI632295B - Pump - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a long life type pump of a flexible member.

A pump according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a cylindrical inner wall surface; a flexible ring disposed along the inner wall surface; and a working chamber extending circumferentially between the inner wall surface; and a plurality of pressing members, This presses the flexible ring against the inner wall surface in one of the circumferential directions, forms a closed portion in the working chamber, and moves the blocking portion by rotating along the inner wall surface to move the fluid in the working chamber. The flexible ring is disposed in a state in which the circumference is maintained in the same manner as the natural state.

Description

Pump

The present invention relates to a pump having at least a portion of a working chamber wall that is flexible.

It is known that a flexible tube is disposed annularly along an inner wall surface of a substantially cylindrical surface formed in a frame body, and a tube is crushed between the roller and the inner wall surface of the frame, and the roller is rotated along the inner wall surface to transport the tube. A tubular pump of liquid (Patent Document 1).

Since such a tube pump is repeatedly bent by 180° in a specific portion of the tube, a large strain is locally applied to the tube portion, and the fatigue is accelerated. Therefore, compared with other components of the pump, the life of the tube is short, and the consumables need to be replaced periodically.

Among them, since the tubular pump performs the suction process by the restoring force (elastic restoring force) of the tube itself (that is, the hollow portion of the tube which is flattened in the working chamber, the section from the hollow portion has the smallest cross-sectional area, and is transferred to the hollow state. The process of the natural state with the largest cross-sectional area), therefore, the slowness of the attraction process is the main cause of limiting the rotational speed of the pump.

Patent Document 2 describes a pump including a cylindrical inner wall surface, a cylindrical diaphragm formed in an annular working chamber between the inner wall surface, and a pressing roller that presses The flat working chamber rotates along the inner wall surface; the annular actuator is disposed between the diaphragm and the pressing roller; and the supporting member controls the distance between the actuator and the inner wall surface within a specified value .

The pump described in Patent Document 2, because it is not a flexible member such as a tube pump Since the film is flattened to a state of being bent by 180°, local deterioration of the flexible member can be suppressed. Among them, the aging of the diaphragm is alleviated by arranging an actuator thicker than the diaphragm between the diaphragm and the pressing roller.

Prior technical literature Patent literature

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2011-102574

[Patent Document 2] US Patent Application Publication No. 2012/0020822

However, in the pump of Patent Document 2, since the flexible member is a diaphragm having a low mechanical strength and a thin thickness, the life of the flexible member cannot be expected to be greatly improved.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a long life type pump of a flexible member.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a pump includes: a substantially cylindrical inner wall surface; and a flexible ring disposed along the inner wall surface and extending in a circumferential direction between the inner wall surface and the inner wall surface And a plurality of pressing members that press the flexible ring to the inner wall surface in one of the circumferential directions, form a blocking portion in the working chamber, and block the occlusion by rotating along the inner wall surface The portion moves to move the fluid in the working chamber; the flexible ring is disposed in a state in which the circumference is maintained in the same manner as the natural state.

The pump may be configured such that a diameter of the inner wall surface is slightly larger than an outer diameter of the flexible ring in a natural state, and a difference between the outer diameter and the diameter is when the flexible ring is deformed by a pump operation. The length of the circumferential direction is hardly changed, and the aforementioned flexible ring is abutted The difference in the relationship of the inner wall surfaces is established.

The pump may be configured such that the inner diameter of the flexible ring in the natural state is smaller than the diameter of the outer plurality of pressing members, and the flexible ring does not abut the plurality of pressing members. The curvature in the circumferential direction is deformed in a manner smaller than the natural state, and the circumference is not elongated.

Further, the pump may be configured such that a suction port for sucking a fluid to be transported from the outside into the working chamber is provided on the inner wall surface, and a discharge port for discharging the fluid from the working chamber to the outside; The flexible ring includes a partition wall that partitions the working chamber between the suction port and the discharge port, and the partition wall is a flexible plate-like member that protrudes from the outer peripheral surface of the flexible ring.

The pump may be configured such that the center of gravity of the plurality of pressing members is on the central axis of the rotation.

Further, the pump may be configured such that the plurality of pressing members are disposed at equal intervals around the central axis of the inner wall surface.

Further, the pump may be configured to include a rotor that holds the plurality of pressing members in a predetermined arrangement relationship and that rotates along an inner circumferential surface of the flexible ring.

Further, the pump may be configured such that the pressing member is a pressing roller that is rotatably supported by the rotor, and includes a sun roller that is disposed coaxially with the central axis of the rotation and that is plural The pressing member is rotated and engaged, When the sun roller rotates, the plurality of pressing members sandwiched between the sun roller and the inner circumferential surface of the flexible ring are on the outer circumferential surface of the sun roller and the inner circumferential surface of the flexible ring. The hollow portion of the flexible ring is configured to be inserted into the hollow portion of the flexible ring from the axial direction side of the hollow portion, and the plurality of pressing members are combined with the sun roller, and the inner wall surface faces the one The sun roll may have a serpentine shape or a substantially conical shape, and the sun roller may have an outer peripheral surface that is parallel to the inner wall surface or has a substantially conical surface (conical frustum side).

The pump may be configured to apply a pressing force offset from the plurality of pressing rollers to the sun roller.

According to the configuration of the embodiment of the present invention, since the length of the flexible member in the circumferential direction is substantially maintained to be naturally long, a long-life type pump of the flexible member can be provided.

1‧‧‧ pump device

2‧‧‧Drive unit

2a‧‧‧Drive shaft

3‧‧‧ pump unit

5‧‧‧Shell

20‧‧‧Rigid ring

21‧‧‧Cylinder

21a‧‧‧ inner circumference (inner wall surface)

21h‧‧‧ Hollow

22‧‧‧Protruding

22a‧‧‧ hollow part (ditch)

23‧‧‧ attracting mouth

24‧‧‧Exporting

25‧‧‧ Hollow

30‧‧‧Flexible ring

31‧‧‧Cylinder

31a‧‧‧Outer surface

31b‧‧‧ inner circumference

31h‧‧‧ Hollow

34‧‧‧ partition wall

40‧‧‧Sun Roll

50‧‧‧ planetary roller

60‧‧‧Rotor

62‧‧‧ Front rotor components

64‧‧‧ Rear rotor components

311a, 311b‧‧‧ telescopic restraining members

AX‧‧‧ central axis

A1‧‧‧ arrow

A2‧‧‧ arrow

A3‧‧‧ arrow

C, C1, C2‧‧‧ Studio

S‧‧‧ arrow

E‧‧‧ arrow

W‧‧‧outer width

The first drawing is an external view of a pump device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The second drawing is an exploded perspective view of the pump device of the embodiment of the present invention.

The third drawing is a cross-sectional view of a pump unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a pump unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The fifth drawing is an explanatory diagram of the combination steps of the pump unit.

The sixth figure is an explanatory diagram of the variation of the flexible ring.

The seventh drawing is a longitudinal sectional view showing a modification of the flexible ring.

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

In the pump device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention to be described below, for example, a liquid resin material for laminating is supplied to a 3D printer or the like, and is suitable for quantitatively transporting a liquid containing an organic solvent or a substance having high chemical activity (hereinafter referred to as " Pump for active liquid"). It is of course also suitable for transporting water or liquids with low chemical activity.

Previously, a pump (for example, a tube pump) used for quantitative liquid transport, at least a part of a working chamber for accommodating a transported liquid was formed of a flexible material such as synthetic rubber. Among them, in the case of transporting an active liquid, it is necessary to form each member constituting the working chamber from a material having solvent resistance or chemical resistance. However, flexible materials having solvent resistance or chemical resistance generally lack durability (fatigue strength). In particular, for example, a tubular pump, in which a large stress is concentrated on a flexible member (tube) during work, it is difficult to achieve both solvent resistance and chemical resistance and practical durability.

Among them, even if a tube type pump using a tube formed of a general flexible material (for example, ruthenium rubber) which does not have high solvent resistance, the life of the tube is shorter than that of other members. Therefore, lengthening the life of the tube to reduce the frequency of maintenance has become a problem of previous tube pumps.

The pump device 1 of the present embodiment has an advantage of lengthening the life of the flexible member as compared with the tube pump.

The first figure is an external view of the pump device 1. In the following description, the lower left direction in the first figure is referred to as the front (front direction), the upper right direction is referred to as the rear (back direction), the upper direction is referred to as the upper direction (upper direction), and the lower direction is referred to as the lower ( In the bottom direction), the upper left direction is referred to as the left side, and the lower right direction is referred to as the right side.

The pump device 1 includes a pump unit 3, a drive unit 2 that drives the pump unit 3, and a housing unit The pump unit 3 is held in a combined outer casing (not shown). The drive unit 2 includes a motor, a control circuit for driving the control motor, and a power supply device for supplying electric power to the motor and the control circuit (all not shown). As will be described later, in the present embodiment, since the pump unit 3 has a function of decelerating the rotational output of the drive unit 2 to increase the torque, the drive unit 2 is not provided with a speed reducer. Since the torque required for driving the pump unit 3 differs depending on the design (size, material, liquid viscosity of the liquid, etc.) of the pump unit 3, a speed reducer may be provided in the drive unit 2 in the case of a large torque. The frame of the drive unit 2 is mounted on the back surface of the pump unit 3, and the drive shaft 2a of the drive unit 2 is inserted into the pump unit 3 to be connected.

The drive unit 2 includes an input terminal (not shown) that receives a control signal from the outside, and an operation switch (not shown) that receives a user operation. The drive unit 2 controls the driving of the built-in motor according to a control signal input to the input port or a user operation of the operation switch, and outputs a rotational driving force by the drive shaft 2a. However, it is also possible to control the driving by the ON/OFF of an external power source (for example, a power source supplied from the 3D printer device) of the input power source device.

The second drawing is an exploded perspective view of the pump device 1. Wherein, the third diagram is a cross-sectional view of the pump unit 3 (a view cut in a plane perpendicular to the central axis AX), and the fourth diagram is a longitudinal sectional view of the pump unit 3 (cut in a plane including the central axis AX) Figure). The fourth (a) diagram is a longitudinal cross-sectional schematic view cut away from a plane perpendicular to the arrangement direction of the sun roller 40 and the pair of planetary rollers 50, which will be described later, and the fourth (b) diagram is attached to a sun roller 40 and a later-described one. A schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view of the plane in which the planetary rollers 50 are arranged in parallel.

The pump unit 3 includes a rigid ring 20, a flexible ring 30, a sun roller 40, a pair of planetary rollers (pressing members) 50, and a rotor 60. In addition, the rotor 60 is only shown in the second figure, and the other drawings are not shown.

As shown in the third figure, the rigid ring 20 has a cylindrical portion 21 and a portion of the cylindrical portion 21 (the upper end portion in the second drawing) protrudes from the outer peripheral side to have a shape The projecting portion 22 having a cross section of a cross section and the suction port 23 and the discharge port 24 of the duct extending perpendicularly from the left and right sides of the projecting portion 22 (in the left-right direction in the third drawing).

As shown in the fourth (a), the inner circumferential surface (inner wall surface) 21a of the cylindrical portion 21 of the rigid ring 20 is not a cylindrical surface, but the tapered inner surface of the inner diameter toward the back side (the drive unit 2 side) The rough conical surface, in detail, the side of the truncated cone). Among these, the inner wall surface 21a has a convex curvature which bulges outward in the center direction in the axial direction, and forms a rough shape. This curvature is provided so as to form a working chamber C between the outer peripheral surface 31a of the cylindrical portion 31 of the flexible ring 30 as will be described later. By providing the taper angle on the inner wall surface 21a, for example, when the cylindrical portion 21 is processed by the mold in the injection molding, the hollow portion 21h having the outline shape can be taken out from the mold without using a mold having a complicated structure such as a sliding type. The cylindrical portion 21. Therefore, the cost of processing can be reduced.

The fifth drawing is an explanatory diagram of a combination method of the pump unit 3. As shown in the fifth figure, when the pump unit 3 is combined, first, the flexible ring 30 is attached to the hollow portion of the rigid ring 20, and further, in the hollow portion 31h of the flexible ring 30, the sun is inserted from the back side of the inner diameter. Roller 40, a pair of planetary rollers 50 (urging members), rotor 60 and the like. As described above, the inner wall surface 21a of the rigid ring 20 (and the cylindrical portion 31 of the flexible ring 30) is formed to have an opening (insertion inlet) toward the back side in which the composite member such as the sun roller 40 is inserted into the cylindrical portion 21. The taper angle of the diameter is a meandering shape or a rough conical shape. Thereby, it is easy to insert each member of the pump unit 3 in the rigid ring 20, and it is easy to combine, and it is easy to work also when performing a repair inspection and a component replacement.

As shown in the third figure, a hollow portion 22a (groove 22a) extending in the direction of the central axis AX is formed inside the protruding portion 22. The groove 22a is connected to the hollow portion 21h of the cylindrical portion 21. Among them, suck The hollow portions of the inlet port 23 and the discharge port 24 are connected to each other via the groove 22a of the protruding portion 22 to form a linear hollow portion 25. Among these, the hollow portion 25 is connected to the hollow portion 21h of the cylindrical portion 21 via the groove 22a. The rigid ring 20 is formed of a structural material such as an engineering plastic or a metal which is excellent in hardness and solvent resistance. The hollow portion 21h of the rigid ring 20 houses a substantially cylindrical flexible ring 30.

As shown in the third figure, the flexible ring 30 has a cylindrical portion 31 and a thin plate-shaped partition wall 34 that protrudes from the outer peripheral surface 31a of the cylindrical portion 31. The partition wall 34 partitions the hollow portion 21h of the cylindrical portion 21 and the groove 22a of the protruding portion 22 into a space that communicates with the suction port 23 and a space that communicates with the discharge port 24. The flexible ring 30 is formed of an elastic material excellent in solvent resistance and chemical resistance, and the cylindrical portion 31 has a sufficient thickness that does not expand and contract due to water pressure.

As shown in the fourth (a), the outer peripheral surface 31a of the cylindrical portion 31 of the flexible ring 30 has a curvature that protrudes from the inner peripheral side in the longitudinal section (that is, the axial direction), and roughly forms a concave curved surface. In the above, the inner wall surface 21a of the cylindrical portion 21 of the rigid ring 20 has a curvature (a convex curved surface having a rough shape) protruding from the outer peripheral side in the longitudinal section. Therefore, as shown in the fourth (a), when the flexible ring 30 is not pressed against the rigid ring 20 in accordance with the planetary roller 50, between the outer peripheral surface 31a of the flexible ring 30 and the inner wall surface 21a of the rigid ring 20 Form studio C. Further, the cylindrical portion 31 of the flexible ring 30 is joined to the cylindrical portion 21 of the rigid ring 20 at both ends in the front-rear direction (the central axis AX direction) by pressing or pressing. Thereby, the working chamber C is hermetically sealed.

The both surfaces (the inner circumferential surface 31b and the outer circumferential surface 31a) of the cylindrical portion 31 of the flexible ring 30 are also formed obliquely to the central axis AX at the same angle as the inner wall surface 21a of the rigid ring 20. The cylindrical portion 31 has a uniform wall thickness, and the pressure applied to the cylindrical portion 31 by the planetary roller 50 is uniform.

The rotor 60 and the sun roller 40 and the pair of planetary rollers 50 held by the rotor 60 are accommodated in the hollow portion 31h of the flexible ring 30.

As shown in the second figure, the rotor 60 is composed of a front rotor member 62 and a rear rotor member 64 formed of a structural material such as engineering plastic or metal. The sun roller 40 and the planetary roller 50 are interposed between the front rotor member 62 and the rear rotor member 64, and are freely rotated (rotated) around the central axis of each roller. The sun roller 40 is disposed coaxially with the rotor 60 (i.e., the central axis AX of the pump unit 3).

As shown in the fourth (b) diagram, the sun roller 40 is formed in a substantially truncated cone shape. The sun roller 40 is held by the rotor 60 in a state in which the pair of planetary rollers 50 are in close contact with each outer peripheral surface. Specifically, the pair of planetary rollers 50 are disposed such that the rotation axis is inclined along the outer circumferential surface of the sun roller 40 (the degree of the taper of the outer circumferential surface) so that the sun roller 40 is sandwiched from both sides in the diameter direction. Therefore, the rotational driving force of the sun roller 40 is transmitted to each of the planetary rollers 50 by the friction between the sun roller 40 and each of the planetary rollers 50.

Among them, the rotor 60 is rotatably held around the central axis AX with respect to the rigid ring 20 and the flexible ring 30. Among them, the rear rotor member 64 is formed on the central axis AX through a through hole of the drive shaft 2a.

A shaft hole extending to the center axis AX is formed in a portion behind the sun roller 40, and the drive shaft 2a of the drive unit 2 is embedded in the shaft hole. Therefore, the sun roller 40 can be directly rotationally driven by the drive unit 2.

The pair of planetary rollers 50 are sandwiched between the sun roller 40 and the inner peripheral surface 31b of the flexible ring 30, respectively, on the outer peripheral surface of the sun roller 40 (and thereafter, on the inner peripheral surface 31b of the flexible ring 30). ) Rotate. At this time, the relative positional relationship between the sun roller 40 and the pair of planetary rollers 50 is kept constant by the rotor 60.

Here, the operation of the flexible ring 30 during operation of the pump device 1 will be described. The sixth drawing illustrates a cross-sectional view of the operation of the cylindrical portion 31 of the flexible ring 30. In the sixth picture, the virtual symbol shown in symbol 31 The line indicates the cylindrical portion 31 in the natural state, and the solid line indicated by reference numeral 31 indicates the cylindrical portion 31 in which the pair of planetary rollers 50 and the like are housed in the hollow portion 31h and expanded in the Y-axis direction.

In the natural state, the inner diameter of the cylindrical portion 31 is narrower than the outer width W of the pair of planetary rollers 50 (the diameter of a circle circumscribed by the pair of planetary rollers 50). Therefore, the position abutting on the planetary roller 50 is expanded to the outer side in the diameter direction as indicated by an arrow E. That is, the cylindrical portion 31 is expanded in diameter in the Y-axis direction in which the pair of planetary rollers 50 are arranged. Among these, the cylindrical portion 31 is reduced in diameter in the X-axis direction orthogonal to the direction in which the planetary rollers 50 are arranged, as indicated by an arrow S. Since the pair of planetary rollers 50 rotate around the central axis AX at a constant speed, the respective portions of the cylindrical portion 31 are periodically expanded in diameter and reduced in diameter. Since the diameter of the outer peripheral surface 31a of the cylindrical portion 31 is smaller than the diameter of the inner wall surface 21a of the rigid ring 20 in the natural state, the planetary roller 50 or the like is accommodated in the cylindrical portion 31 before being accommodated in the hollow portion 31h of the flexible ring 30. An annular space (studio C) is formed between the outer peripheral surface 31a and the inner wall surface 21a. Then, when the pair of planetary rollers 50 are housed in the hollow portion 31h, and the cylindrical portion 31 is pressed by the pair of planetary rollers 50 from the inside, the cylindrical portion 31 is formed into a substantially elliptical shape as shown by the solid line, and is pushed. The inner wall surface 21a is pressed. Thereby, the flexible ring 30 partially adheres to a part of the inner wall surface 21a of the rigid ring 20 in the circumferential direction at a portion pressed by the pair of planetary rollers 50, and forms an occlusion in the working chamber C extending in the circumferential direction. Department, split the studio in the direction of the week.

In the present embodiment, the length (circumference) of the flexible ring 30 in the circumferential direction is set to a predetermined length. Specifically, when the circumference of the flexible ring 30 is set to be deformed into an elliptical shape by pressing the flexible ring 30 from the inner side in the radial direction by the pair of planetary rollers 50, the circumference of the flexible ring 30 is not actually In the changed state, it is in close contact with the inner wall surface 21a of the rigid ring 20, and a closed portion is formed in the working chamber C, and the length of the working chamber C can be airtightly divided. In other words, when the sun roller 40 and the pair of planetary rollers 50 are inserted into the hollow portion 31h of the flexible ring 30, the flexible ring 30 is deformed into an elliptical shape by being expanded in the radial direction from the inner side by the pair of planetary rollers 50. Then, at both end portions in the longitudinal direction, the outer peripheral surface 31a of the flexible ring 30 and the rigid ring The inner wall surface 21a of 20 is in close contact, and two occlusion portions are provided in the working chamber C, and the working chamber is divided into two. At this time, the diameter of the flexible ring 30 in the short-diameter direction is shorter than that in the natural state, and thus the portion that absorbs the circumferential length due to the diameter elongation in the longitudinal direction of the flexible ring 30 is absorbed, and as a result, the entire circumference of the flexible ring 30 is sufficiently suppressed. Variety. Specifically, in the portion where the flexible ring 30 does not abut against the plurality of planetary rollers 50 (the portion stretched between the planetary rollers 50), the curvature ratio in the circumferential direction is changed by the tension applied to the flexible ring 30. The natural state is small (i.e., bent and stretched), whereby the circumference is not elongated. In addition, the thickness of the cylindrical portion 31 of the flexible ring 30 is set to a thickness that does not substantially extend and contract by the tension applied to the circumferential direction of the cylindrical portion 31. Here, the circumference of the flexible ring 30 is a circumferential length at a position intermediate the thickness direction of the flexible ring 30. When the flexible ring 30 is elastically deformed into an elliptical shape and the curvature in the circumferential direction is changed, the inner circumferential surface 31b and the outer circumferential surface 31a of the flexible ring 30 are elastically deformed, and although the circumference has a slight change, the intermediate position in the thickness direction is The circumference is absorbed by the deformation of the inner and outer circumferences of the wall thickness portion and hardly changes. Thereby, the fatigue of the cylindrical portion 31 due to expansion and contraction or other changes in time can be reduced, and durability can be improved.

As described above, the circumference of the flexible ring 30 is determined to be a length that does not substantially change at least in the circumferential direction when the pump is operated. In other words, by setting the circumference of the flexible ring 30 to a predetermined length, the flexible ring 30 is deformed in an elliptical shape when the flexible ring 30 is pressed from the inside by the planetary roller 50, but even if it is so deformed, the flexibility When the circumference of the ring 30 is hardly changed, the outer peripheral surface 31a of the cylindrical portion 31 and the inner wall surface 21a of the cylindrical portion 21 are in close contact with each other to form a closed portion, and the working chamber C can be airtightly divided. Here, the circumference of the flexible ring 30 does not substantially change, which means that the flexible ring 30 is almost in the circumferential direction by the pressing of the planetary roller 50 or the internal pressure applied to the working chamber C in the normal use state. Not scaling. By making the circumference of the flexible ring 30 substantially unchanged, the flexibility of the flexible ring 30 due to expansion and contraction or other changes in time can be reduced, and durability can be improved. Wherein, since the flexible ring 30 has a sufficient wall thickness, it has a corresponding Rigidity. Thereby, the volume change of the working chamber C due to the internal pressure can be sufficiently reduced. Here, the sufficiently reduced volume change means, for example, that the volume change of the working chamber C when the maximum discharge pressure is applied in the working chamber C is 10% or less (and preferably 5% or less, more preferably 1% or less). In this way, since the circumference of the flexible ring 30 is determined so that the flexible ring 30 does not substantially change in the circumferential direction during the operation, the fatigue caused by the expansion and contraction can be reduced and the durability can be improved. Among them, even if the internal pressure of the working chamber C rises, the flexible ring 30 is not elongated, and the volume of the working chamber C is expanded, with the result that the fluid delivery efficiency is not lowered. However, according to this configuration, particularly high durability, discharge pressure, and suction pressure can be obtained as compared with the case of using a diaphragm that expands and contracts during pump operation.

Since the periodic deformation (expansion and diameter reduction) of the cylindrical portion 31 is not forced by a relatively strong elastic restoring force by the pair of planetary rollers 50, it is required The time is shorter. Therefore, even if the planetary roller 50 is rotated at a high speed, the cylindrical portion 31 can be deformed following the action of the planetary roller 50.

Furthermore, the discharge process of the tube pump is performed by a roller forced flattening tube, and the suction process is performed by the relatively weak elastic restoring force (self-recovering force) of the flexible tube itself. Thus, although the ejection process takes less time, the attraction process takes longer. Therefore, when the tube pump is driven at a high speed (to rotate the roller at a high speed), the recovery of the flexible tube cannot keep up with the cycle of the roller rotation, and the next discharge process starts before the suction process is completed, so that the efficiency of liquid transportation is lowered. According to the configuration of the pump unit 3 of the present embodiment, it is possible to operate at a higher speed than the tube pump.

In the fourth (b) diagram, the flexible ring 30 is in an expanded diameter state in which a pair of planetary rollers 50 are expanded from the inner side in one direction (diameter direction), and in the fourth (a) diagram, the outer diameter is narrowed. Reduced diameter.

In the reduced diameter state (reduced diameter direction) of the fourth (a) diagram, the outer diameter of the cylindrical portion 31 of the flexible ring 30 is smaller than the inner diameter of the cylindrical portion 21 of the rigid ring 20, and the flexible ring 30 is present. Cylinder portion 31 A space (studio C) is formed between the outer peripheral surface 31a and the inner wall surface 21a of the rigid ring 20.

In the expanded diameter state (expanded diameter direction) of the fourth (b) diagram, the cylindrical portion 31 of the flexible ring 30 is expanded in the diameter direction in which the pair of planetary rollers 50 are arranged, and the outer peripheral surface 31a and the rigid ring 20 are The inner wall surface 21a is in close contact. Thereby, the annular working chamber C is partially closed near the planetary roller 50.

As shown in the fourth (a) diagram, in the reduced diameter state, the curvature of the same size as the inner wall surface 21a of the rigid ring 20 is applied to the central axis AX direction on the outer peripheral surface 31a of the flexible ring 30. The length of the curvature direction (i.e., the length in the fourth (a) diagram) is the same size on the inner circumferential surface 31a of the rigid ring 20 and the outer circumferential surface 31a of the flexible ring 30. Therefore, as shown in the fourth (b), when the flexible ring 30 is interposed between the planetary roller 50 and the rigid ring 20, the outer peripheral surface 31a of the flexible ring 30 and the inner wall surface 21a of the rigid ring 20 are not loosened and adhered.

Here, as described above, the cylindrical portion 31 of the flexible ring 30 has a uniform wall thickness, and as shown in the fourth (b), when the outer peripheral surface 31a of the flexible ring 30 is in close contact with the inner wall surface 21a of the rigid ring 20, The outer peripheral surface 31a of the flexible ring 30 and the inner wall surface 21a of the rigid ring 20 are warped in the same direction. Therefore, at this time, the inner wall surface 21a of the flexible ring 30 also protrudes from the outer peripheral side like the inner wall surface 21a of the rigid ring 20. A uniform pressure is applied to the inner wall surface 21a of the flexible ring 30 thus curved, and the outer circumferential surface of the planetary roller 50 is also curved in a meandering shape with the same curvature as the inner wall surface 21a of the rigid ring 20.

In the extended state, the working chamber C is flattened by the respective planetary rollers 50 and divided into two. When the planetary rollers 50 rotate around the sun roller 40, the blocking portions of the respective working chambers C also move in the circumferential direction along the inner wall surface 21a of the rigid ring 20 together with the planetary rollers 50, and are transported and stored in the working chamber C. liquid.

As described above, the pump unit 3 of the present embodiment is configured such that the rotational movement of the sun roller 40 is converted into a rotation (revolution) movement of the planetary roller 50 along the inner wall surface 21a of the rigid ring 20, The liquid in the working chamber C moves along the inner wall surface 21a of the rigid ring 20 by the rotation of the planetary roller 50. Since the inner circumference of the flexible ring 30 is longer than the outer circumference of the sun roller 40, the rotational motion is decelerated, and the planetary roller 50 is rotated at a slower speed than the rotation of the sun roller 40. That is, the rotational driving force transmitting mechanism constituted by the sun roller 40, the planetary roller 50, and the flexible ring 30 built in the pump unit 3 described above has a deceleration function like the planetary gear mechanism. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a speed reduction device on the side of the drive unit 2, and a simple and compact configuration is realized.

Among them, the pump unit 3 of the present embodiment is provided with two planetary rollers 50. Therefore, when the rotor 60 is rotated once, each portion on the circumference of the flexible ring 30 is in an expanded state in which the planetary roller 50 is pressed to be in close contact with the rigid ring 20, and is separated from the rigid ring 20 to form a working chamber C. The reduction of the diameter state is repeated twice. That is, when the rotor is rotated once, the suction and discharge are performed for two cycles. Therefore, compared with the pump using the single planetary roller or the eccentric rotor described in the patent document 2 (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2012/0020822), since the number of cycles per one rotation of the rotor is large, the pulsation is smoothed and can be performed. Smooth pumping. Among them, the amount of transportation per revolution of the rotor increases, and the transportation efficiency is also improved.

Next, the operation of the pump device 1 will be described. For example, when the pump device 1 is given a control signal for instructing operation from the outside, the drive unit 2 rotationally drives the drive shaft 2a in accordance with the control signal. As described above, since the sun roller 40 (shell portion) is coaxially fixed to the end portion of the drive shaft 2a, the sun roller 40 is rotationally driven together with the drive shaft 2a.

As shown in the third figure, when the sun roller 40 is rotationally driven in the direction of the arrow A1, the rotational driving force of the sun roller 40 is transmitted to one of the planetary rollers 50 in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the sun roller 40 by the frictional force. As a result, each of the planetary rollers 50 rotates (rotates) in the direction of the arrow A2. At this time, since the planetary rollers 50 also receive the frictional force from the inner circumferential surface 31b of the flexible ring 30, the frictional force is utilized. On the other hand, the inner peripheral surface 31b of the flexible ring 30 is rotated (revolved) in the direction of the arrow A3. Thereby, each of the working chambers C moves along the inner wall surface 21a of the rigid ring 20. Further, the flexible ring 30 does not rotate, but is repeatedly expanded in diameter and reduced in diameter with the rotation of the planetary roller 50.

In the vicinity of the groove 22a, the working chamber C is divided into two working chambers C1, C2 by the partition wall 34. The studio C1 is connected to the suction port 23, and the working chamber C2 is connected to the discharge port 24. When the studio C is connected to the groove 22a, the working chamber C1 is gradually moved in the clockwise direction in the third drawing, and the working chamber C1 is gradually expanded (at the same time, the working chamber C2 is gradually reduced), and the liquid flows from the suction port 23 into the working chamber C1. Then, when the working chamber C is blocked from the groove 22a, the working chamber C moves along the inner wall surface 21a of the rigid ring 20 (clockwise direction in the fifth drawing) with a constant volume. Then, the working chamber C is again connected to the groove 22a, and the working chamber C2 is gradually reduced as the working chamber C moves, and the liquid is discharged from the working chamber C2 to the discharge port 24. As described above, the liquid is transported by the pump device 1.

In the pump unit 3 of the present embodiment, the width (for example, 1/3 or less) of the groove 22a of the rigid ring 20 is formed relatively small with respect to the diameter of the planetary roller 50, wherein the flexible ring 30 has the same degree as the width of the groove 22a. Since the wall thickness is such that the planetary roller 50 passes through the groove 22a of the rigid ring 20, the force received by the planetary roller 50 from the rigid ring 20 does not largely change. Therefore, since the sun roller 40 always receives a balanced force from the pair of planetary rollers 50 in the radial direction, there is no large vibration in the radial direction. As a result, no large noise is generated from the sun roller 40, and the life of the sun roller 40 is also prolonged.

In the pump unit 3 of the present embodiment, since the sun roller 40, the pair of planetary rollers 50, and the rotor 60 are rotated around the center of gravity (the point on the central axis AX), the pump unit 3 does not change due to the center of gravity during the operation of the pump unit 3. It produces vibration or noise. Among them, since the suction and the discharge are performed at regular intervals (pulsation occurs in a predetermined cycle), the fluctuation of the discharge amount can be reduced.

Further, in the present embodiment, the central axis AX is sandwiched and equidistant from the central axis AX. A configuration in which a pair of planetary rollers 50 are disposed. Specifically, for example, the central axis AX is rotationally symmetric, or a pair of planetary rollers are symmetrically arranged on a plane including the central axis AX. Thereby, the pressing force applied from the planetary rollers 50 to the sun roller 40 is offset, and the balance at the time of rotation is improved, and noise or vibration can be reduced.

However, the number of the planetary rollers 50 need not be a pair (two), and a configuration in which three or more planetary rollers 50 are used may be used. At this time, it is also preferable to arrange a plurality of planetary rollers 50 at equal distances from the central axis AX, symmetrically disposed on the central axis AX, and/or equally spaced in the circumferential direction around the central axis AX. According to this configuration, during the operation of the pump unit 3, the movement of the entire center of gravity of the plurality of planetary rollers 50 and the flexible ring 30 is avoided, and vibration or noise during operation can be reduced. Among them, the fluctuation of the discharge amount can also be reduced.

However, in the above-described embodiment, the center of gravity of the cylindrical portion 31 of the flexible ring 30 does not move, or the center of gravity is deformed symmetrically (stretched). Therefore, the cylindrical portion 31 of the flexible ring 30 does not move in parallel with the cylindrical portion 21 of the rigid ring 20 in the enlarged diameter portion (the position indicated by the symbol S in the sixth drawing) (sliding up and down in the sixth drawing). As a result, no shearing force acts on the flexible ring 30 to accelerate fatigue. Further, for example, Patent Document 2 includes only the configuration of one planetary roller 50, etc., because the flexible ring 30 is eccentric to the side of the planetary roller 50 with respect to the rigid ring 20 (for example, below the sixth figure), so the symbol in the sixth figure The position indicated by S has a large shear force acting on the flexible ring 30, resulting in a shortened life of the flexible ring 30.

In the above embodiment, the rotational driving force transmission mechanism including the sun roller 40, the planetary roller 50, and the flexible ring 30 may be applied to other types of rotary pumps such as a tubular pump using a flexible tube as a working chamber. .

The embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but the present invention is not limited to the constituents of the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the technical idea.

In the above embodiment, the flexible ring 30 is formed of a single material. However, the flexible member 30 may be formed by combining a member having elasticity and a member having no large stretchability (expansion suppressing member). For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the expansion/contraction members 311a and 311b having only low stretchability may be embedded in the cylindrical portion 31 formed of the stretchable base. Further, the expansion and contraction restraining members 311a and 311b have sufficient flexibility. The seventh (a) diagram shows a modification in which the linear expansion-preventing member 311a wound in a spiral shape is embedded in the cylindrical portion 31. The seventh (b) diagram shows a modification in which the film-shaped stretch suppressing member 311b wound in a cylindrical shape is buried in the cylindrical portion 31. Thus, by combining materials having low stretchability, the strength of the flexible ring 30 can be increased and durability can be improved.

In the above embodiment, the sun roller 40 having a substantially conical outer peripheral surface inclined at the same angle as the inner wall surface 21a of the rigid ring 20 is used, and the central axis pair of the planetary roller (pushing roller) 50 is used. The central axis of the rigid ring 20 is inclined at the same angle as the inner wall surface 21a, but the configuration of the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the planetary roller 50 having a substantially conical outer peripheral surface inclined to the central axis at the same angle as the inner wall surface 21a of the rigid ring 20 may be used without forming a tapered surface on the outer circumferential surface of the sun roller 40.

In the above embodiment, the planetary roller mechanism that uses the sun roller 40 and the planetary roller 50 to transmit power by the frictional force between the rollers is used. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration. For example, instead of the sun roller 40 and the planetary roller 50, a configuration of a sun gear and a planetary gear (planetary gear mechanism) may be employed. In this case, an inner gear that is engaged with the planetary roller 50 may be provided on the inner circumferential surface of the flexible ring 30. Alternatively, the rotor unit 60 may be directly driven by the drive unit 2 without a planetary mechanism. At this time, it is sometimes necessary to provide a speed reducer for increasing the torque in the drive unit 2.

Wherein, in the case of conveying a liquid having low light resistance (or photoreactivity), The outer casing and/or the flexible ring 30 may be formed of a material having a light-shielding property (or ultraviolet shielding property).

The above embodiment is an example in which the present invention is applied to a liquid feeding pump for conveying a liquid, but the present invention is also applicable to an air supply pump for conveying a gas. Among them, the present invention can be utilized in addition to the general industry including the food industry or the chemical industry, and can be utilized in medical, water treatment, tap water, agriculture, transportation, construction, and other broad technical fields.

Claims (9)

A pump comprising: a cylindrical inner wall surface; a flexible ring disposed along the inner wall surface and forming a working chamber extending in a circumferential direction between the inner wall surface; The pressing member presses the flexible ring to the inner wall surface in one of the circumferential directions, forms a closing portion in the working chamber, and moves the blocking portion along the inner wall surface to move the aforementioned blocking portion a fluid movement in the working chamber; a rotor that maintains the plurality of pressing members in a predetermined arrangement relationship and rotates along an inner circumferential surface of the flexible ring; and a sun roller disposed in the rotation The central axis is coaxial and is rotationally engaged with the plurality of pressing members, and the flexible ring is disposed in a state of maintaining the same circumference as the natural state, and the plurality of pressing members are rotatably supported by the rotor. a plurality of pressing rollers, wherein the plurality of pressing members sandwiched by the sun roller and the inner circumferential surface of the flexible ring are attached to the outer circumferential surface of the sun roller when the sun roller rotates The inner peripheral surface of the flexible ring is rotated in the circumferential direction. In the hollow portion of the flexible ring, the plurality of pressing members and the sun roller are inserted from one side in the axial direction of the hollow portion. In a combined manner, the inner wall surface is formed in a dome shape or a conical shape so as to expand in diameter toward the one side. The sun roller has an outer peripheral surface having a meandering shape or a conical shape parallel to the inner wall surface. The pump of claim 1, wherein the diameter of the inner wall surface is larger than an outer diameter of the flexible ring in a natural state, and the difference between the outer diameter and the diameter is such that the flexible ring is deformed by a pump action. The difference in the relationship between the abutment of the flexible ring and the inner wall surface is established without changing the length in the circumferential direction. The pump of claim 1 or 2, wherein the inner diameter of the flexible ring in a natural state is smaller than a diameter of a circumcircle of one of the plurality of pressing members, and the flexible ring does not have a plurality of pushes The portion where the pressing member abuts is deformed such that the curvature in the circumferential direction is smaller than the natural state, and the circumference does not elongate. The pump of claim 1 or 2, wherein the inner wall surface is: a suction port for attracting the transported fluid from the outside to the working chamber; and a discharge port for the fluid from The flexible chamber is provided to the outside, and the flexible ring includes a partition wall that partitions the working chamber between the suction port and the discharge port, and the partition wall protrudes from a peripheral surface of the flexible ring and has a partition wall One of the flexible plate members. The pump of claim 1 or 2, wherein the center of gravity of the plurality of pressing members is on the aforementioned central axis of the aforementioned rotation. The pump of claim 5, wherein the plurality of pressing members are disposed at equal intervals around a central axis of the inner wall surface. Such as applying for the pump of the first or second patent scope, in which the offset is pushed from the foregoing plurality The roller is applied to the pressing force of the aforementioned sun roller. The pump according to the first or second aspect of the invention, wherein the portion of the outer circumference of the flexible ring that does not abut against the plurality of pressing members has a curvature protruding inward in the axial direction of the cylindrical shape. The pump of claim 8, wherein the inner wall surface has a curvature protruding from the outer side in the axial direction.