US 4,391,291 AGranted

Apparatus for reconstituting a concentrate

OwnerRonald W. Humeinventor

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Abstract

An apparatus of the prime mover type for reconstituting a liquid concentrate. Water under pressure, supplied by a municipal system, alternately flows into and out of opposite ends of a first cylinder in which a double-acting piston is slideably mounted, thereby reciprocating the same. From the first cylinder, the water flows to a collection hopper where it is mixed with a concentrate requiring reconstitution. The concentrate is pumped to the collection hopper by a single-acting piston means, disposed in a second cylinder, that is mechanically connected to the double-acting piston. The displacement volumes of the first and second cylinders are the same so that each cycle of the double acting piston pumps two parts of water into the collection hopper for every one part of concentrate pumped thereinto by the single-acting piston. The mechanical connection between the double and single acting pistons comprises a yoke means that is specifically structured to introduce play into such mechanical connection so that greater ratios of water to concentrate may be pumped into the collection hopper.

An apparatus of the type designed to reconstitute a liquid concentrate, said apparatus including a first reservoir for storing the concentrate and a second reservoir for storing the reconstituted concentrate, and said apparatus further comprising, in combination,

a pumping means operable to transfer predetermined amounts of concentrate from said first reservoir to said second reservoir,
said pumping means including a first piston means carried by a first piston rod means,
a motor means operable to deliver predetermined amounts of a reconstituting fluid to said second reservoir,
said motor means including a second piston means carried by a second piston rod means,
a yoking means for interconnecting said motor means in driving relation to said pumping means,
said first and second piston rod means disposed in axial alignment with one another and operably interconnected to one another through said yoking means,
a pair of multi-port, bi-directional valve means for operably interconnecting an external source of fluid under pressure in driving relation to said motor means,
said pair of valve means operably interconnected to one another so that one of said pair is a driving valve and the other of said pair is a driven valve,
said driving valve being operably interconnected to said yoking means so that the position of said yoking means determines the opening and closing of the ports of said driving valve,
said first piston rod means having a reduced diameter portion to provide a shoulder means between the reduced and un-reduced portions of said first piston rod means,
said yoking means provided with an aperture means for receiving only the reduced diameter portion of said first piston rod means so that travel of said first piston rod means in a first direction toward said yoking means displaces and yoking means by abutting a leading portion of said yoking means, but travel of said first piston rod means in a second direction away from said yoking means does not displace said yoking means.

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Facts

Application

06/237,757Filed 24 Feb 1981

Granted

5 Jul 1983

Term ends

Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification9 codes

F04B 13/02
Pumps specially modified to deliver fixed or variable measured quantities: of two or more fluids at the same time
B01F 35/831
By controlling the ratio of two or more flows, e.g. using flow sensing or flow controlling devices: using one or more pump or other dispensing…
F04B 9/1056
Reciprocating movement of the pumping member being obtained by a double-acting liquid motor: with fluid-actuated inlet or outlet valve
G05D 11/008
Control of flow ratio: involving a fluid operating a pump motor

Abstract

Claims8