Rotating piston for pumps
AssigneeGraco Minnesota Inc.
InventorsJeromy D. Horning, Christopher A. Lins, James A. Klaverkamp
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A piston is the driven component within a pump. The piston is driven along a longitudinal axis to pump a fluid through the pump. The fluid flows through the piston between an upstream end of the pump and a downstream end of the pump. The piston outputs the fluid into the downstream end of the pump at a vector offset from the longitudinal axis, thereby inducing rotation of the piston throughout the pumping process. Rotating the piston encourages even wear on various components within the pump, such as sealing rings surrounding the piston, thereby increasing the lifespan of the components and increasing the efficiency of the pump.
Claims19
A piston for pumping paint by being driven by a drive mechanism of a paint spraying system to reciprocate within a cylinder of the paint spraying system along a longitudinal axis for spraying of the paint by the paint spraying system, the piston comprising:
- a piston head;
- a piston rod connected to the piston head, the piston rod comprising:
- a first end including a neck and a rod head, wherein the first end is configured to extend out of the cylinder and engage the drive mechanism;
- and
- a second end disposed opposite the first end, wherein the piston head is connected to the second end;
- a central bore extending through a portion of the piston;
- and
- one or more side bores extending through the piston, the one or more side bores in fluid communication with the central bore, wherein the paint is forced to flow through the central bore and then out of the piston through the one or more side bores by reciprocation of the piston;
- wherein the one or more side bores are shaped to redirect the paint from the central bore and expel the paint from the piston at one or more respective orientations offset from the longitudinal axis thereby imparting a moment on the piston about the longitudinal axis to cause the piston to rotate during reciprocation of the piston;
- and
- wherein the piston head and the piston rod are joined such that the piston head and the piston rod simultaneously rotate during reciprocation of the piston.
A piston for pumping fluid in a displacement pump of a paint spraying system by reciprocating along a longitudinal axis, the piston comprising:
- a piston head;
- and
- a piston rod connected to the piston head;
- wherein the piston rod comprises one or more internal paint passages through which the paint is forced to flow by reciprocation of the piston;
- wherein the one or more internal paint passages are shaped to expel the paint from the piston at one or more orientations offset from the longitudinal axis thereby imparting a moment on the piston about the longitudinal axis to cause the piston to rotate during reciprocation of the piston;
- wherein the one or more internal paint passages comprise one or more angled surfaces, the one or more angled surfaces configured to redirect the flow of the paint along one or more vectors oriented away from the piston and offset from the longitudinal axis during reciprocation of the piston;
- wherein the one or more internal paint passages comprises one or more flutes formed on an exterior of the piston rod and the one or more flutes respectively comprise the one or more angled surfaces which redirect the flow of the paint;
- and
- wherein at least a portion of each one of the one or more flutes is disposed between and bounded by the piston head and the piston rod.
A pump for pumping fluid paint for a paint spraying system, the pump comprising:
- a cylinder;
- and
- a piston at least partially disposed within the cylinder, the piston comprising:
- a piston head;
- and
- a piston rod connected to the piston head, the piston rod comprising:
- a first end configured to extend out of the cylinder through a throat of the cylinder;
- a second end disposed opposite the first end, wherein the piston head is connected to the second end;
- a central bore extending through a portion of the piston;
- and
- one or more side bores extending through the piston, the one or more side bores providing a flowpath through the piston from the central bore to expel the paint from the piston;
- a first seal disposed in the throat of the cylinder between the piston rod and the cylinder;
- and
- a second seal disposed between the piston head and the cylinder;
- wherein the piston is configured to pump paint by reciprocating with respect to the cylinder along a longitudinal axis, thereby forcing paint to flow through the central bore and the one or more side bores;
- wherein the piston is disposed within the cylinder such that the one or more side bores are disposed between the first seal and the second seal;
- wherein the one or more side bores are shaped to redirect the paint from the central bore and expel paint from the piston at one or more respective orientations that are each offset from the longitudinal axis, thereby imparting a moment on the piston about the longitudinal axis to cause the piston to rotate relative to the cylinder during reciprocation of the piston;
- and
- wherein the piston head and the piston rod are joined such that the piston head and the piston rod simultaneously rotate relative to the cylinder during reciprocation of the piston.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.