Pump
AssigneeThe Technology Partnership PLC
InventorsJames Edward McCrone, Justin Rorke Buckland, David Mark Blakey
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A fluid pump comprising a chamber which, in use, contains a fluid to be pumped, the chamber including a main cavity having a substantially cylindrical shape bounded by first and second end walls and a side wall and a secondary cavity extending radially outwards of the main cavity, one or more actuators which, in use, cause oscillatory motion of the first end wall in a direction substantially perpendicular to the plane of the first end wall, and whereby, in use, the axial oscillations of the end walls drive radial oscillations of the fluid pressure in the main cavity, and wherein the secondary cavity spaces the side wall from the first end wall such that the first end wall can move relative to the side wall when the actuator is activated.
Claims23
A fluid pump comprising:
- a chamber which, in use, contains a fluid to be pumped, the chamber including a main cavity having a substantially cylindrical shape bounded by first and second end walls and a side wall and a secondary cavity extending radially outwards of the main cavity;
- one or more actuators which, in use, cause oscillatory motion of the first end wall in a direction substantially perpendicular to the plane of the first end wall, the actuator including an active element which is either a piezoelectric ring or a magnetostrictive ring, the active element being excited in a radial mode to induce axial deflection of one or both of the end walls, the distance between the inner and outer circumferences of the ring being approximately one quarter of a wavelength of the actuator mode-shape;
- and
- whereby, in use, the axial oscillations of the first end wall drives radial oscillations of the fluid pressure in the main cavity;
- and
- wherein the secondary cavity spaces the side wall from the first end wall such that the first end wall can move relative to the side wall when the actuator is activated.
A fluid pump comprising:
- a chamber which, in use, contains a fluid to be pumped, the chamber including a main cavity having a substantially cylindrical shape bounded by first and second end walls and a side wall and a secondary cavity extending radially outwards of the main cavity;
- one or more actuators which, in use, cause oscillatory motion of the first end wall in a direction substantially perpendicular to the plane of the first end wall, the actuator including an active element which is either a piezoelectric ring or a magnetostrictive ring, the active element being excited in a radial mode to induce axial deflection of one or both of the end walls, the radial distance between the inner and outer circumferences of the active element ring being approximately one half of a wavelength of the actuator mode-shape;
- and
- whereby, in use, the axial oscillations of the first end wall drives radial oscillations of the fluid pressure in the main cavity;
- and
- wherein the secondary cavity spaces the side wall from the first end wall such that the first end wall can move relative to the side wall when the actuator is activated.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.