Radial Diaphragm Pump

Abstract

A pump includes a housing, an output member supported for eccentric rotation on a drive shaft of the housing, and a plurality of pumping assemblies supported on the housing about the drive shaft. Each pumping assembly includes a linear sliding pump shaft, a diaphragm oriented transversely to the shaft in sealing engagement with the housing to define a wall portion of a respective pumping chamber, an inlet check valve, and an outlet check valve. A linkage assembly connects the output member to the pump shafts of the pumping assemblies such that the pump shafts are arranged to be reciprocated along radially oriented axes about the drive shaft in response to rotation of the drive shaft.

1 . A pump comprising:
 a housing;   a drive shaft supported on the housing for rotation about a drive axis extending in a longitudinal direction of the drive shaft;   an output member supported on the drive shaft radially offset from the drive axis so as to be arranged for eccentric rotation about the drive axis;   a plurality of pumping assemblies supported on the housing, each pumping assembly comprising:
 a pump shaft supported for linear sliding movement relative to the housing along a respective pump axis oriented in a radial direction relative to the drive axis; 
 a diaphragm oriented transversely to the drive axis and being joined in sealing engagement to the housing about a peripheral edge of the diaphragm so as to define a wall portion of a respective pumping chamber; 
 the diaphragm being flexible and being fixed to the pump shaft at an intermediate portion spaced from the peripheral edge such that the intermediate portion of the diaphragm is movable with the pump shaft relative to the housing; 
 an inlet check valve in communication with the pumping chamber so as to be arranged to allow air to be drawn into the pumping chamber only when the pump shaft is displaced in a first direction; and 
 an outlet check valve in communication with the pumping chamber so as to be arranged to allow air to be expelled from the pumping chamber only when the pump shaft is displaced in a second direction opposite to the first direction; and 
   a linkage assembly connecting the output member to the pump shafts of the pumping assemblies such that the pump shafts are arranged to be reciprocated in response to rotation of the drive shaft.   
     
     
         2 . The pump according to  claim 1  wherein the diaphragm of each pumping assembly defines the wall portion at an inner side of the respective pumping chamber such that an exterior side of the diaphragm which faces away from the drive axis is in open communication with the respective pumping chamber. 
     
     
         3 . The pump according to  claim 2  wherein the first direction of movement of each pump shaft corresponds to a movement of the pump shaft towards the drive axis and the second direction of movement of each pump shaft corresponds to a movement of the pump shaft away from the drive axis. 
     
     
         4 . The pump according to  claim 1  wherein interior sides of the respective diaphragms which face inwardly towards the drive axis communicate with a common drive chamber of the housing, the linkage assembly being located in said common drive chamber of the housing. 
     
     
         5 . The pump according to  claim 1  wherein each pump shaft extends radially outward from the intermediate portion of the respective diaphragm to an outer end supported in a sleeve mounted on the housing for linear sliding movement of the pump shaft relative to the sleeve. 
     
     
         6 . The pump according to  claim 5  wherein there is provided at least one roller bearing in communication between each pump shaft and the respective sleeve. 
     
     
         7 . The pump according to  claim 1  wherein each pump shaft extends radially outward from an outer side of the respective diaphragm and wherein each diaphragm includes a pivot mount at an inner side of the diaphragm which is connected to the respective pivot shaft through the diaphragm. 
     
     
         8 . The pump according to  claim 1  wherein the linkage assembly comprises an oscillating drive member coupled to the output member on the shaft for rotation relative to the output member about an offset axis of the output member which is parallel to the drive axis and a link member coupled between each pump shaft and the oscillating drive member. 
     
     
         9 . The pump according to  claim 8  wherein each link member is pivotally coupled to the respective pump shaft about a link axis oriented parallel to the drive axis. 
     
     
         10 . The pump according to  claim 9  wherein the link axes are oriented parallel to the drive axis. 
     
     
         11 . The pump according to  claim 8  wherein only one of the link members is connected in fixed relation to the oscillating drive member. 
     
     
         12 . The pump according to  claim 11  wherein the other link members are pivotally connected to the oscillating drive member. 
     
     
         13 . The pump according to  claim 1  wherein the pump assemblies are circumferentially spaced apart about the drive axis such that the pump axes of the pump shafts lie in a generally common plane. 
     
     
         14 . The pump according to  claim 1  wherein the linkage assembly is coupled between the output member and the pump shafts such that the pump shafts are arranged to be sequentially reciprocated relative to the housing. 
     
     
         15 . The pump according to  claim 1  wherein the housing comprises an end wall oriented perpendicularly to the drive axis and supporting the drive shaft rotatably therethrough and a plurality of side walls joined to the end wall so as to define a polygonal perimeter about the drive axis, each side wall of the polygonal perimeter of the housing supporting a respective one of the pumping assemblies therein. 
     
     
         16 . The pump according to  claim 1  in combination with a wind turbine assembly having a turbine rotor arranged to be rotated by the wind and an output shaft mechanically coupled to the turbine rotor, the output shaft being directly mechanically coupled to the drive shaft of the pump. 
     
     
         17 . The pump according to  claim 16  wherein the turbine rotor is supported on an upright supporting structure and the output shaft extends vertically between the turbine rotor at a top end of the upright supporting structure and the drive shaft of the pump at a bottom end of the upright supporting structure, the drive shaft of the pump being coupled to the output shaft of the wind turbine such that the pump shafts extend radially outward from a vertical axis of the output shaft of the turbine.