Method for providing consistent liquid pressure output from an accumulator

Abstract

A method for control of the drive means for a reciprocating piston pump delivering liquid to a spring loaded piston liquid accumulator providing high volume compliance whereby the accumulator liquid volume is controlled within narrow limits by continuous control of power to the pump drive motor. The accumulator achieves high volume compliance by arranging the kinematics of a main spring loading the accumulator piston to have a negative spring rate equal to the sum of all other positive spring rates produced by a second spring used to adjust the accumulator pressure, by the diaphragm (piston), and by a flexure support for a sensor lever. This sensor lever moves with the accumulator diaphragm to actuate an optical sensor producing an electric signal indicative of small changes in liquid volume in the accumulator. This signal in turn continuously modulates the power to the motor driving the pump so as to maintain the accumulator liquid volume close to a datum value during a large portion of the pump delivery cycle. This close control of liquid volume in a high compliance accumulator provides substantially constant pulse free pressure liquid delivery from a pulsatile pump. The second spring may be adjusted to modify this constant pressure without disturbing the balance between positive and negative spring rates. Adjustment may be manual or automatic in response to liquid temperature whereby liquid pressure is automatically increased with lower liquid temperatures to compensate for increased liquid viscosity to maintain liquid flow substantially constant through an apparatus such as flow cytometry used for particle analysis or particle sorting.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.