Pump valve with controlled stroke
AssigneeHargraves Technology Corporation
InventorsDonald Edwin Hargraves, Douglas Allan Curtis
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A valve assembly for a pump includes a pump chamber and a pump head having complementary recesses formed therein which cooperate to define a valve compartment including a pocket and an opposed seat. A flexible valve element is disposed between the recesses and adapted to move between a closed position against the seat which prevents fluid flow and an open position away from the valve seat which permits fluid flow. The dimensions of the valve compartment are selected to limit the movement of the valve element in the open position, which increases the pump efficiency and prevents damage to the valve element and/or valve overlap.
Claims12
A valve assembly comprising:
- a pump chamber having a first recess formed therein;
- a pump head having a second recess formed therein cooperating with the first recess to define a valve compartment, an annular valve seat extending into the valve compartment, and an opposing side of the valve compartment opposite the annular valve seat;
- and
- an apertureless flexible valve element positioned in the valve compartment and comprising:
- a generally circular central portion that is movable between the annular valve seat and the opposing side of the valve compartment;
- a pair of end tabs that are diametrically opposed to each other with respect to the generally circular central portion and that are trapped between the pump chamber and the pump head;
- and
- a pair of diametrically opposed necked down portions by which the end tabs are attached to the central portion;
- the flexible valve element having a flat closed configuration in which a first side of the central portion contacts the annular valve seat and a centrally-flexed open configuration in which a second side of the central portion contacts the opposing side of the valve compartment.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.