Diaphragm Pump with Automatic Priming Function
AssigneeIngersoll-Rand Company
InventorWarren A. Seith
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Illustrative embodiments of diaphragm pumps having an automatic priming function, as well as related systems and methods, are disclosed. In one illustrative embodiment, a method of priming a diaphragm pump includes sensing, with a pressure sensor disposed at a fluid outlet of the diaphragm pump, a pressure of a fluid being pumped by the diaphragm pump, transmitting a pressure signal associated with the sensed pressure from the pressure sensor to a controller of the diaphragm pump, and identifying, on the controller, whether the diaphragm pump is primed by determining whether a characteristic of the pressure signal has reached a threshold.
Claims20
A pump system comprising:
- a diaphragm pump including (i) a shaft coupled to a diaphragm and configured to move reciprocally between a first end-of-stroke position and a second end-of-stroke position, (ii) a stroke sensor configured to sense whether the shaft has reached one of the first and second end-of-stroke positions, (iii) a pressure sensor disposed at a fluid outlet of the diaphragm pump and configured to sense a pressure of a fluid pumped by the diaphragm pump, and (iv) a drive configured to cause the shaft to move between the first and second end-of-stroke positions;
- and
- a controller communicatively coupled to the diaphragm pump and configured to (i) identify whether the shaft has reached one of the first and second end-of-stroke positions using a stroke signal received from the stroke sensor, (ii) identify whether the diaphragm pump is primed by determining whether a characteristic of a pressure signal received from the pressure sensor has reached a threshold, and (iii) transmit a control signal to the drive in response to identifying that the shaft is in one of the first and second end-of-stroke positions and that the diaphragm pump is not primed, the control signal actuating the drive such that the drive causes the shaft to move between the first and second end-of-stroke positions.
A method of priming a diaphragm pump, the method comprising:
- sensing whether a shaft coupled to a diaphragm has reached an end-of-stroke position using a stroke sensor of the diaphragm pump;
- identifying, on a controller of the diaphragm pump, whether the shaft is in the end-of-stroke position using a stroke signal generated by the stroke sensor;
- sensing a pressure of a pumped fluid at a fluid outlet of the diaphragm pump using a pressure sensor disposed at the fluid outlet;
- identifying, on the controller, whether the diaphragm pump is primed by determining whether a characteristic of a pressure signal generated by the pressure sensor has reached a threshold;
- and
- actuating a drive, in response to identifying that the shaft is in the end-of-stroke position and that the diaphragm pump is not primed, to cause the shaft to move from the end-of-stroke position.
A method of priming a diaphragm pump, the method comprising:
- sensing, with a pressure sensor disposed at a fluid outlet of the diaphragm pump, a pressure of a fluid being pumped by the diaphragm pump;
- transmitting a pressure signal associated with the sensed pressure from the pressure sensor to a controller of the diaphragm pump;
- and
- identifying, on the controller, whether the diaphragm pump is primed by determining whether a characteristic of the pressure signal has reached a threshold.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.