Method of forming a diaphragm for a liquid pump
AssigneeWalbro Corporation
InventorsNobuyuki Kuroki, Katsuaki Hamataka, Mark S. Swanson, Tetsuya Takahashi, Teruhiko Tobinai
Life of this patent
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Abstract
In at least some implementations, a method of forming a diaphragm for a liquid pump, includes clamping a substantially planar piece of material about a periphery, and plastically deforming the piece of material inboard of the clamped periphery. In at least some implementations, the material is plastically deformed by pressing a forming member against the material, or the material is plastically deformed by applying a fluid under pressure against the material.
Claims23
A method of forming a diaphragm for a liquid pump, comprising:
- securing a substantially planar piece of material, about a periphery thereof, between a set of opposed clamps;
- plastically deforming the piece of material inboard of the clamped periphery by applying a fluid under pressure against the material to cause the piece of material to stretch beyond an elastic limit and retain an offset non-planar shape after removal of the fluid pressure;
- and
- assembling the plastically deformed diaphragm into a pump housing of the liquid pump such that the diaphragm separates a liquid fuel chamber from a pressure chamber and is operable, in response to pressure differentials, to vary the volume of the liquid fuel chamber to pump liquid through an inlet valve and an outlet valve.
A method of forming a diaphragm for a liquid pump, comprising:
- securing a substantially planar piece of material, about a periphery thereof, through a plurality of apertures between a set of opposed clamps;
- plastically deforming the piece of material inboard of the clamped periphery by applying a fluid under pressure against the material to cause the piece of material to stretch beyond an elastic limit and retain an offset non-planar shape;
- assembling the plastically deformed diaphragm into a pump housing of the liquid pump to separate a liquid fuel chamber from a pressure chamber;
- and
- in response to pressure differentials, varying the volume of the liquid fuel chamber with the plastically deformed diaphragm to pump liquid through an inlet valve and an outlet valve.
A method of forming a diaphragm for a liquid pump, comprising:
- providing a substantially planar piece of material with a periphery and a radially inward portion, inboard of the periphery;
- clamping the material by trapping the periphery between opposed clamps, exposing the radially inward portion;
- plastically deforming the central portion by pressing the radially inward portion with a central forming member until the substantially planar piece of material deforms beyond an elastic limit to retain an offset non-planar shape including a frustoconical portion with a generally flat center region, while maintaining the diaphragm continuous and without perforations;
- and
- assembling the plastically deformed diaphragm into a pump housing of the liquid pump to separate a liquid fuel chamber from a pressure chamber.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.