Agricultural sampling system and related methods

Abstract

A double diaphragm slurry pump (7080) comprises: a pump body (8200) defining a vertical longitudinal axis (LA) and first (8201) and second (8202) pumping chambers; an inlet flow manifold (8203) and an outlet flow manifold (8204) coupled to the pump body; a first pump head (8230a) coupled to the body adjacent the first pumping chamber, the first pump head comprising a longitudinal flow bore (8231) separate from the first pumping chamber and fluidly coupled to the inlet and outlet flow manifolds, an upper air vent bore (8232), and a lower slurry exchange bore (8233), the upper air vent bore and lower slurry exchange bore each fluidly coupling the longitudinal flow bore in turn to the first pumping chamber; and an operating shaft (8240) coupled to a resiliently deformable diaphragm (8241) disposed in the first pumping chamber; wherein the shaft is moveable in a pump stroke to pump a fluid through the longitudinal bore of the first pump head and the first pumping chamber from the inlet flow manifold to the outlet flow manifold; and wherein the upper air vent bore (8232) is smaller in diameter than the lower slurry exchange bore (8233) such that air is preferentially ejected from the first pumping chamber rather than slurry during the pump stroke.

1 . A double diaphragm pump comprising:
 a pump body defining a vertical longitudinal axis and first and second pumping chambers;   an inlet flow manifold and an outlet flow manifold coupled to the pump body;   a first pump head coupled to the body adjacent the first pumping chamber, the first pump head comprising a longitudinal flow bore separate from the first pumping chamber and fluidly coupled to the inlet and outlet flow manifolds, an upper air vent bore, and a lower slurry exchange bore, the upper air vent bore and lower slurry exchange bore each fluidly coupling the longitudinal flow bore in turn to the first pumping chamber; and   an operating shaft coupled to a resiliently deformable diaphragm, the diaphragm disposed in the first pumping chamber;   wherein the shaft is moveable in a pump stroke to pump a fluid through the longitudinal bore of the first pump head and the first pumping chamber from the inlet flow manifold to the outlet flow manifold;   wherein the upper air vent bore is smaller in diameter than the lower slurry exchange bore such that air is preferentially ejected from the first pumping chamber rather than slurry during the pump stroke.   
     
     
         2 . The diaphragm pump according to  claim 1 , further comprising an inlet check valve fluidly coupled to a bottom end of the longitudinal flow bore and the inlet flow manifold, and an outlet check valve fluidly coupled to a top end of the longitudinal flow bore and the outlet flow manifold. 
     
     
         3 . The diaphragm pump according to  claim 1 , wherein the diaphragm does not enter the longitudinal bore of the first pump head during the pump stroke. 
     
     
         4 . The diaphragm pump according to  claim 1 , wherein the lower slurry exchange bore is configured and operable for bidirectional exchange of the fluid between the longitudinal bore and the first pumping chamber. 
     
     
         5 . The diaphragm pump according to  claim 1 , wherein the upper air vent bore and the lower slurry exchange bores are transversely oriented relative to the longitudinal flow bore and formed integrally in the first pump head. 
     
     
         6 . The diaphragm pump according to  claim 5 , wherein longitudinal flow bore is vertically oriented and the upper and lower slurry exchange bores are arranged perpendicularly to the longitudinal flow bores. 
     
     
         7 . The diaphragm pump according to  claim 1 , wherein the upper air vent bore is fluidly coupled to an upper end portion of the first pumping chamber, and the lower slurry exchange bore is fluidly coupled to a lower end portion of the first pumping chamber. 
     
     
         8 . The diaphragm pump according to  claim 1 , wherein there are no other bores fluidly coupling the first pumping chamber to the first longitudinal bore other than the upper air vent bore and the lower slurry exchange bore. 
     
     
         9 . The diaphragm pump according to  claim 1 , further comprising an air distribution system fluidly coupled to the first pumping chamber on a dry side of the diaphragm, the air distribution system being configured to alternatingly inject or extract air from the first and pumping chamber to translate the shaft back and forth to pump the fluid. 
     
     
         10 . The diaphragm pump according to  claim 1 , wherein the first pump head comprises an integrally formed outboard concavity having an arcuately curved wall which cooperates with a mating complementary configured inboard concavity having an arcuately curved wall integrally formed in the pump body to form a shared volume which collectively defines the first pumping chamber. 
     
     
         11 . The diaphragm pump according to  claim 10 , wherein the upper air vent bore and the lower slurry exchange bore is fluidly coupled directly to the outboard concavity. 
     
     
         12 . The diaphragm pump according to  claim 10 , wherein the arcuately curved wall of the inboard concavity is a mirror-image of the arcuately curved wall of the outboard concavity. 
     
     
         13 . The diaphragm pump according to  claim 1 , wherein the longitudinal flow bore, upper air vent bore, and lower slurry exchange bore are cylindrical in configuration having a circular transverse cross section. 
     
     
         14 . The diaphragm pump according to  claim 1 , wherein the longitudinal flow bore is physically separated from the first pump chamber by a partition wall formed integrally by a body of the first pump head. 
     
     
         15 . The diaphragm pump according to  claim 1 , wherein the diaphragm pump is a double diaphragm pump further comprising:
 a second pump head coupled to the body adjacent the second pumping chamber, the second pump head comprising a second longitudinal flow bore separate from the second pumping chamber and fluidly coupled to the inlet and outlet flow manifolds, a second upper air vent bore, and a second lower slurry exchange bore, the second upper air vent bore and second lower slurry exchange bore each fluidly coupling the second longitudinal flow bore in turn to the second pumping chamber;   wherein the operating shaft is linearly translatable and coupled to a resiliently deformable second diaphragm, the second diaphragm disposed in the second pumping chamber;   wherein the shaft is moveable back and forth in reciprocating pump strokes to pump the fluid alternatingly through the longitudinal bore of the first pump head and the second longitudinal bore of the second pump head from the first and second pumping chambers.   
     
     
         16 . A method for pumping slurry comprising:
 providing a double diaphragm slurry pump comprising a vertical longitudinal axis and a pair of first and second pumping chambers, a first and second pump head enclosing the first and second pumping chambers respectively, and a translatable operating shaft comprising a resiliently deformable diaphragm coupled to each of opposite ends of the shaft, one of the diaphragms disposed in each of the first and second pumping chambers;   moving the operating shaft in a first direction during an intake stroke;   drawing slurry from an inlet manifold into the first pumping chamber through a longitudinal bore of the first pump head and a lower slurry exchange bore each formed in the first pump head separate from the first pumping chamber;   moving the operating shaft in a second direction during a pumping stroke; and   expelling the slurry back through the lower slurry exchange bore during the pumping stroke from the first pumping chamber back into the longitudinal bore of the first pump head, while simultaneously expelling air from the first pumping chamber into the longitudinal bore of the first pump head through an upper air vent bore; and   expelling air from the first pump chamber through an upper air vent bore during the pumping stroke into the longitudinal flow bore of the first pump head simultaneous to the step of expelling the slurry;   wherein the upper air vent bore is smaller in diameter than the lower slurry exchange bore such that air is preferentially ejected from the first pumping chamber rather than slurry.   
     
     
         17 . The method according to  claim 16 , wherein the expelling step further comprises flowing the slurry through the longitudinal bore of the first pump head to an outlet manifold. 
     
     
         18 . The method according to  claim 17 , wherein the slurry flows to the outlet manifold through an outlet check valve. 
     
     
         19 . The method according to  claim 17 , wherein the drawing step further comprises drawing the slurry first through the longitudinal flow bore from the intake manifold prior to drawing the slurry through the lower slurry exchange bore into the first pumping chamber. 
     
     
         20 . The method according to  claim 17 , the upper air vent bore fluidly couples the longitudinal flow bore of the first pump head directly to an upper portion of first pump chamber, and the lower slurry exchange bore fluidly couples the longitudinal flow bore of the first pump head directly to a lower simultaneous to the step of expelling the slurry. 
     
     
         21 . The method according to  claim 20 , wherein there are no other bores fluidly coupling the first pumping chamber to the longitudinal bore of the first pump head other than the upper air vent bore and the lower slurry exchange bore. 
     
     
         22 . The method according to  claim 16 , wherein the slurry is drawn from the inlet manifold through an inlet check valve during the drawing step. 
     
     
         23 . The method according to  claim 16 , wherein the step of moving the operating shaft in the first direction comprises moving the diaphragm in the first pump chamber towards the first pump head, and the step of moving the operating shaft in the second direction comprises moving the diaphragm in the first pump chamber away the first pump head in an opposite direction. 
     
     
         24 . The method according to  claim 16 , further comprising drawing slurry from the inlet manifold into the second pumping chamber through a longitudinal flow bore and a lower slurry exchange bore formed in the second pump head simultaneous with the step of expelling the slurry back through the lower slurry exchange bore into the first pump head. 
     
     
         25 . The method according to  claim 16 , wherein the shaft is moved by applying pressurized air to the diaphragms in the first or second pumping chambers which deforms the diaphragms to move the shaft. 
     
     
         26 . The method according to  claim 16 , wherein the longitudinal bore is vertically oriented and elongated, and the inlet and outlet manifolds are both horizontally oriented and elongated. 
     
     
         27 . The method according to  claim 25 , wherein slurry flows upwards in the longitudinal bore during the drawing slurry step, the slurry flows downwards in the longitudinal bore during the expelling the slurry step. 
     
     
         28 . The method according to  claim 16 , wherein an entrance of each of the lower slurry exchange bore into the first pumping chamber comprises a concave depression to facilitate expelling sediment entrained in the slurry outwards from the first pumping chamber.