Vacuum Pump
AssigneeMedela Holding AG
InventorArmin Felber
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A vacuum pump for generating an underpressure has a pump chamber (14, 15) with an inlet (143) and an outlet (150), wherein the outlet (150) is equipped with a valve (3). According to the invention, the pump chamber (14, 15) is provided with a pressure sensor (23, 23′, 24). This vacuum pump has a relatively precise and inexpensive vacuum sensor. It is also advantageous that the sensor, being integrated in the pump chamber, is not susceptible to failure and takes up a small amount of space.
Claims20
Vacuum pump for generating an underpressure, wherein the vacuum pump has a pump chamber with an inlet and an outlet wherein the outlet is equipped with a valve, wherein the pump chamber is provided with a pressure sensor.
A vacuum pump for generating an underpressure, comprising:
- a vacuum pump;
- a pump chamber having an inlet and an outlet, the outlet being equipped with a valve;
- a pressure sensor including a sensor diaphragm having a vane arranged thereon;
- an optical detection means including a light emitter and a light detector, the vane being movable, by deflection of the sensor diaphragm, out of and into a light path between the light emitter and light detector, an amount of light passing from the light emitter to the light detector varying in relation to an extent to which the vane of the sensor diagram is moved out of the light path, which extent is determined by an amount of underpressure generated by the vacuum pump;
- and
- an evaluation electronics unit that assigns vacuum value based on the amount of light passing between the light emitter and the light detector.
A method for measuring underpressure generated by a vacuum pump, comprising:
- providing a pump chamber of a vacuum pump with a pressure sensor including a sensor diaphragm having a vane arranged thereon;
- providing an optical detection means including a light detector and a light emitter, the vane being movable, by deflection of the sensor diaphragm, out of and into a light path between the light emitter and the light detector;
- operating the vacuum pump to generate an underpressure, thereby causing the vane to move to an extent out of the light path,
- determining an amount of light passing from the light emitter to the light detector upon said movement of the vane, and
- assigning a vacuum value based on the determined amount of light, the vacuum value being indicative of underpressure generated by the vacuum pump.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.