Roller pump with radial members

A roller pump comprising:

• (a) a housing having longitudinally spaced end walls and an intermediate circumferential wall forming a generally cylindrical pumping chamber;
• (b) a rotor rotatably mounted within said pumping chamber with its axis offset from that of the cylindrical pumping chamber;
• (c) said rotor having a plurality of roller receiving slots formed into and across the circumferential surface thereof and uniformly angularly spaced therearound, a central concentric bore extending inwardly from a first lateral surface thereof, and a plurality of radially extending bores beginning at said central concentric bore and terminating at the bottom of said roller receiving slots;
• (d) a cylindrical cam shaft secured to one of said end walls and extending into said central concentric bore in said rotor;
• (e) a cylindrical roller disposed in each roller receiving slot and having a length corresponding to the length of said roller receiving slot;
• (f) a push rod disposed in each of said radially extending bores and having a length such that the sum of the radius of said cam shaft, the length of said push rod and the diameter of said cylindrical roller is substantially equal to the radius of said generally cylindrical pumping chamber, said push rods engaging said cylindrical rollers along a line of contact;
• and
• (g) fluid inlet and outlet ports formed in said housing and communicating with said cylindrical pumping chamber and effectively separated from one another at a point determined by the offset between said rotor and said cylindrical pumping chamber, the arrangement being such that as the rotor is turned, the axes of said cylindrical rollers are held parallel to the axis of said cylindrical pumping chamber, the surface of said cylindrical rollers being held in positive engagement with the walls of said cylindrical pumping chamber such that viscous fluids may be handled by said pump.