US3909160A

US3909160A - Pump for semi-fluid materials

Info

Publication number: US3909160A
Application number: US409786A
Authority: US
Inventors: Eugene L Sherrod
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1973-10-26
Filing date: 1973-10-26
Publication date: 1975-09-30
Anticipated expiration: 1992-09-30

Abstract

A positive displacement pump having inlet and outlet passages for each pump cylinder, and a single rotary plug type valve to simultaneously control charging and discharging flow of fluid materials through said passages.

Description

United States Patent 1 1 [111 3,909,160 Sherrod Sept. 30, 1975 [54] PUMP FOR SEMI-FLUID MATERIALS 3,663,129 5/1972 Antosh .1 417/900 3,741,691 6/1973 Schwing 417/900 [76] Inventor: EugePe Mnte R25,568 5/1964 Sherrod 417/900 Cervmo 9, 20052 Monza, Italy FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATION [22] Filed: Oct. 26, 1973 8 1,953,405 5/1971 Germany 417/900 [2]] App]. No.: 409,786

Primary Examiner-C. J. Husar 52 us. (:1. 417/517; 417/519; 417/900 Assistant Examiner-G P. LaPOime [51] Int. Cl. F04b 7/00; F04b 15/02 [58] Field of Search 417/900, 516-519, 57 ABSTRACT A positive displacement pump having inlet and outlet [56] References Cited passages for each pump cylinder, and a single rotary plug type valve to simultaneously control charging and UNITED STATES PATENTS discharging flow of fluid materials through said pas- 3,29s,322 l/1967 Sherrod 417/577 sages 3,398,693 8/1968 Schumann 4l7/507 3,647,326 3/1972 Bille 417/517 3 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures US. Patent Sept. 30,1975 Sheet 1 of4 I 3,909,160

FIGJZ.

US. Patent Sept. 30,1975 Sheet 2 of4 3,909,160

FIG.3

Sheet 3 of4. 3,909,160

US. Patent Sept. 30,1975

FIG.6.

US. Patent Sept. 30,1975 Sheet4of4 3,909,160

FIG..5.

PUMP FOR SEMI-FLUID MATERIALS This invention relates to positive displacement pumps of the general type disclosed in my US. Pat. Nos. Re. 25,568 and 3,298,322; and has more particular reference to improvements in the valving for pumps designed especially to handle freshly mixed concrete and other materials of a semi-fluid nature having poor flow characteristics.

All such pumps are equipped with a hopper to hold a supply of the material to be pumped, which material is inducted into pumping chambers in the form of cylinders upon movement of their pistons in charging directions. The material is expelled from the cylinders to a delivery line in consequence of reverse movement of the pump pistons, in discharge directions.

It will be appreciated, therefore, that each pump cylinder must be closed off from the delivery line when it is being charged with material from the hopper. Similarly, it must be closed off from the hopper at times when it is discharging material to the delivery line. Accordingly, it is essential to provide some type of valve mechanism to govern charging and discharging of the pump cylinders in synchronism with piston movements.

Heretofore, most of the valving employed in concrete pumps was quite complicated and costly. In many cases separate inlet and outlet valves were required for each pump cylinder. Needless to say, this not only added to the cost of the valving but it also made synchronization of valve and piston movements more complicated.

In contrast to the above, it is the purpose of this invention to provide a concrete pump of the positive displacement type having inlet and outlet passages for each pumping chamber, and a single rotatable valve mechanism to control charging of material into and discharge of material from said chambers.

More specifically, it is an object of this invention to provide a concrete pump of the character described, wherein the valve mechanism opens the inlet passage and closes the outlet passage for one pumping chamber concurrently with closure of the inlet passage and opening of the outlet passage of another pumping chamber in one operating position of said mechanism; and which valve mechanism, in another operating position thereof, closes the inlet passage and opens the outlet passage for said one chamber concurrently with opening of the inlet passage and closure of the outlet passage for said other chamber.

With these observations and objectives in mind, the manner in which the invention achieves its purpose will be appreciated from the following description and the accompanying drawings, which exemplify the invention, it being understood that changes may be made in the specific apparatus disclosed herein without departing from the essentials of the invention set forth in the appended claims.

The accompanying drawings illustrate two complete examples of the embodiments of the invention constructed according to the best modes so far devised for the practical application of the principles thereof, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic sectional view through a two cylinder concrete pump of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic view looking rearwardly toward the pump cylinders and showing the pump porting and valve mechanism therefor;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the pump seen in FIG. 1, with portions broken away and shown in section; and

FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 are sectional, top and valve section views, respectively, of another embodiment of the invention, FIG. 6 being taken on the line 66 in FIG. 4. Referring now to the accompanying drawings, and particularly to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the numerals l0 and 11 designate the pumping cylinders of a two cylinder pump of this invention. These cylinders have been shown as disposed with their axes horizontal and in spaced apart parallel relationship.

Pistons

12 and 13 in the cylinders 10 and 11, respectively, are reciprocally driven by any suitable means in opposite phase relation to one another. Hydraulic actuating cylinders (not shown) such as employed in the pumps of my US. Pat. Nos. Re. 25,563 and 3,298,322, may be employed to drive the pump pistons.

As is customary, the front ends 14 of the cylinders are open to enable concrete to be inducted thereinto during the rearward charging strokes of their pistons, and to enable material in the cylinders to be expelled therefrom during the forward or discharge strokes of their pistons.

A supply of concrete or other material to be pumped is held in a hopper 15 which opens downwardly toward a zone directly ahead of the open front ends 14 of the pump cylinders 10, and 11. The hopper can be carried by a manifold structure 16 to which are affixed the front end portions of the pump cylinders.

Formed in the interior of the manifold 16 are

separate inlet passages

17 and 18 for the cylinders 10 and 11, respectively. These passages are controlled by the valve mechanism 20 of this invention, and they lie at opposite sides of an upright septum like wall 19 in the manifold which provides a barrier between the open ends of the pump cylinders. The inner ends of these inlet passages are in communication with the open ends 14 of their respective cylinders. Their outer ends, however, open upwardly and at a forward inclination, into the interior of the supply hopper 15, through a down- 7 wardly and forwardly inclined surface 21 on the manifold structure 16 transverse to the cylinder axes.

Also formed in the interior of the manifold structure at opposite sides of the barrier 19 are

outlet passages

22 and 23 for the cylinders 10 and l 1, respectively. The

outlet passages

22 and 23 are in direct communication with the

inlet passages

17 and 18, respectively, and also with the one ends of their respective cylinders 10 and 11. Consequently, it can be said that the open front 14 of each pump cylinder opens to the rear of a passageway having an inlet branch leading to the interior of the supply hopper and also to an outlet branch through which material expelled from the cylinder discharges.

The outlet passages or

branches

22 and 23 open forwardly into a common delivery chamber 25 which can be coupled to a delivery line, not shown. It is important to note, however, that the

outlet passages

22 and 23 also open through a lower portion of the aforementioned inclined surface 21, as downward continuations of the two inlet passages. Thus, the inlet passages open in side by side relation through the upper half of the surface 21, while the outlet passages open in side by side relation through the lower half of said surface. It will also be seen that the inlet port for each cylinder is located in the surface 21 substantially directly above and in communication with the outlet port for said cylinder.

Due to the symmetrical arrangement of two side by side port forming apertures in the surface 21, at opposite sides of the wall 19, the inlet port for each cylinder will be diametrically opposite the outlet port for the other cylinder. This makes it possible to control ingress and egress flow of material through the inlet and outlet ports by means of valve mechanism 20 comprising a single valve member 27 journalled to rotate on an axis co' cident with the common center about which said ports are grouped. While the valve member may have any of a number of configurations, it must have a surface 28 which is in mating contiguous relation to the surface 21 through which the inlet and outlet ports open, and which surface is at the underside of a pair of diametrically opposite sector-

like lobes

29 and 30. A plate or disc type of valve member, such as shown, admirably meets these requirements. While the

surfaces

21 and 28 have been shown as being flat, they could just as well be conical, or spherical mating surfaces.

With this arrangement, the

lobes

30 and 29 can simultaneously close the upper inlet passage portion 18 for pump cylinder 11 and the lower outlet passage portion 22 for pump cylinder 10, in one operating position of the disc at which it leaves the upper inlet passage portion for cylinder and the lower outlet passage portion for cylinder 11 open. Hence, cylinder 10 can then be charged in consequence of rearward movement of its piston; while cylinder 11 discharges in consequence of forward movement of its piston.

In a second operating position of the valve disc displaced substantially 90 from its first position, the lobes thereon will close the upper inlet passage portion for cylinder 10 and the lower outlet passage portion for cylinder 11, so that cylinder 11 will be charged during rearward movement of its piston while cylinder 10 will be discharged during forward movement of its piston.

The valve disc 27 is mounted on a shaft 32 and constrained to rotate therewith by any suitable means. A bearing 33 on the manifold 16 journals the shaft for rotary movement about an axis which is normal to the flat surface 21 on the manifold and coincident with the common center about which the inlet and outlet ports are grouped. The valve disc 27 can be confined between the manifold surface 21 and the adjacent end of the bearing 33, to keep the

surfaces

21 and 28 in contiguity.

Though not herein shown, my US. Pat. No. 3,298,322, suggests how a double acting hydraulic cylinder can have its piston rod operatively connected to an arm on the shaft 33 so as to provide for rocking of the shaft through an angle of about 90 from either operating position of the valve disc to the other. It will be appreciated, of course, that such shifting of the valve mechanism to its operating positions is effected in timed relation to movement of the pistons in opposite phase relation to one another.

It will be appreciated that the manifold structure 16 can, for convenience of assembly, be made in two complementary parts separable from one another on the plane of the surface 21 and detachably held together by means of quick opening toggles, wedges or even machine screws 35 such as illustrated. It will also be understood that, following more or less conventional practice in the art relating to concrete pumps, the housing comprising the cylinders and manifold can be equipped with replaceable liners and wear plates at the points of greatest wear, as for example on the valve disc itself.

The arrangement of the valve and the passages controlled thereby is especially advantageous in that it least impedes natural flow of materials into and out of the pumping chambers during reciprocation of the pistons therein.

It is also noteworthy that the valve disc can operate with only small clearances at its opposite sides, which clearances can be effectively sealed by the stowing action of particles of the concrete or other material being pumped. Consequently, the valve disc is able to most effectively close off the pressurized passage portions from the non-pressurized passage portions during operation of the pump.

The

outlet passages

22 and 23 which are coaxial with their respective pump cylinders open into a common delivery chamber 25, so as to achieve the desirable flow characteristics mentioned above. The delivery chamber, of course, is connectable with a delivery line, not shown, at the open front end of the chamber.

The two cylinder pump illustrated in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 differs from that first described substantially only in the specific construction of its valve member 75. While the valve member may still be of the disc type, it is here shown as having substantial axial length, being nearly half as long in its axial dimension as the diameter of its flat underside 76.

The underside 76 of the valve member again flatwise overlies a flat surface 77 on the manifold through which the inlet and outlet passages open. The two outlet passages open coaxially forwardly of the pump cylinders, at opposite sides of the septum'19 and through the lower half of the flat manifold surface 77. The two inlet passages open through the upper half of the surface 77, and are also separated from one another by the barrier provided by the septum 19 but in open communication with the outlet passages.

The valve member has sufficient axial lengthto enable a side portion thereof to extend across the open bottom of the supply hopper l5. Formed in the valve member are diametrically opposite channels or

pilot passage portions

79 and 80, between its

passage closing lobes

81 and 82.

In one operating position of the valve member seen in FIG. 6, its lobe 81 closes the inlet passage 17 while the other lobe 82 closes the outlet passage 23. In that position, the pilot passage portion 79 is in register with the inlet passage 18 for cylinder 11 to provide for charging of material thereinto', while the pilot passage portion is in register with the outlet passage 22 for cylinder 10 to provide for expulsion of material therefrom to the delivery means.

In the other operating position of the valve member, cylinder 10 will be charged through pilot passage portion 80 then in register with its inlet passage 17; while cylinder 11 will be discharging through pilot passage portion 79 then in register with its outlet passage 23.

From the foregoing description, together with the accompanying drawings, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that this invention provides improved valve mechanism which is readily adaptable for use in concrete pumps of the single as well as the plural,

cylinder type.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention can be embodied in forms other than as herein disclosed for purposes of illustration.

The invention is defined by the following claims.

I claim:

1. A pump comprising a supply hopper and a pair of pump cylinders each having a front end with an opening thereat and a piston operable during its charging strokes to induct material from the hopper into its cylinder through said opening, and operable during its discharge strokes to expel material from its cylinder through said opening, characterized by:

A. the pump cylinders being mounted side by side with their axes substantially horizontal and their front ends adjacent to the underside of the hopper;

B. a manifold connected with the front ends of the cylinders and having the hopper mounted thereon, said manifold having 1. a pair of outlet passages, one for each cylinder and communicating with said opening thereof to conduct material expelled from the cylinder to delivery means,

2. and a pair of inlet passages, one for each cylinder and communicating with said opening thereof, each of said inlet passages opening upwardly to the interior of the supply hopper;

C. valve means rotatable on an axis which is inclined upwardly and forwardly with respect to the cylinder axes, and passes through said manifold D. said manifold having a forwardly facing surface that is substantially perpendicularly intersected by the upwardly and forwardly inclined axis about which said valve means turns and which has a pair of apertures therein each defining the forward ends of said inlet and outlet passages for one of the cylinders, said manifold surface being intersected by the cylinder axes; and

E. said valve means having passage blocking lobe structure in surface-to-surface contiguity with said surface on the manifold.

2. A pump comprising a supply hopper and a pair of pump cylinders each having an opening in its front end and a piston operable during its charging strokes to induct material from the hopper into its cylinder through said opening, and operable during its discharge strokes to expel material from its cylinder through said opening, characterized by:

C. rotatable valve mechanism to govern flow of material through said passages, said valve mechanism having means I. to block the outlet passage for one of said cylinders while providing for charging flow of material from the hopper thereinto via the inlet passage therefor in one operating position of said valve mechanism,

2. and to block the outlet passage for the other cylinder in another operating position of said valve mechanism at which it provides for charging flow of material from the hopper into said other cylinder via the inlet passage therefor;

D. said manifold having a flat forwardly facing surface with a pair of apertures therein, each of which defines the forward ends of the inlet and outlet passages for one of said cylinders, said surface lying in a plane which is inclined downwardly and forwardly with respect to the cylinder axes and transversely thereof; and

E. said valve mechanism comprising a member having passage blocking lobes thereon in flat surface to surface contiguity with said inclined surface on the manifold, said member being mounted for rotary movement about an axis which is normal to said inclined surface and diverges upwardly and forwardly of a plane containing the cylinder axes.

3. The pump of claim 2, wherein said lobes on the valve member are diametrically opposite one another.

Claims

1. A pump comprising a supply hopper and a pair of pump cylinders each having a front end with an opening thereat and a piston operable during its charging strokes to induct material from the hopper into its cylinder through said opening, and operable during its discharge strokes to expel material from its cylinder through said opening, characterized by: A. the pump cylinders being mounted side by side with their axes substantially horizontal and their front ends adjacent to the underside of the hopper; B. a manifold connected with the front ends of the cylinders and having the hopper mounted thereon, said manifold having 1. a pair of outlet passages, one for each cylinder and communicating with said opening thereof to conduct material expelled from the cylinder to delivery means, 2. and a pair of inlet passages, one for each cylinder and communicating with said opening thereof, each of said inlet passages opening upwardly to the interior of the supply hopper; C. valve means rotatable on an axis which is inclined upwardly and forwardly with respect to the cylinder axes, and passes through said manifold D. said manifold having a forwardly facing surface that is substantially perpendicularly intersected by the upwardly and forwardly inclined axis about which said valve means turns and which has a pair of apertures therein each defining the forward ends of said inlet and outlet passages For one of the cylinders, said manifold surface being intersected by the cylinder axes; and E. said valve means having passage blocking lobe structure in surface-to-surface contiguity with said surface on the manifold.

2. and a pair of inlet passages, one for each cylinder and communicating with said opening thereof, each of said inlet passages opening upwardly to the interior of the supply hopper; C. valve means rotatable on an axis which is inclined upwardly and forwardly with respect to the cylinder axes, and passes through said manifold D. said manifold having a forwardly facing surface that is substantially perpendicularly intersected by the upwardly and forwardly inclined axis about which said valve means turns and which has a pair of apertures therein each defining the forward ends of said inlet and outlet passages For one of the cylinders, said manifold surface being intersected by the cylinder axes; and E. said valve means having passage blocking lobe structure in surface-to-surface contiguity with said surface on the manifold.

2. and a pair of inlet passages, one for each cylinder and communicating with said opening thereof, each of said inlet passages opening upwardly to the interior of the supply hopper; C. rotatable valve mechanism to govern flow of material through said passages, said valve mechanism having means

2. and to block the outlet passage for the other cylinder in another operating position of said valve mechanism at which it provides for charging flow of material from the hopper into said other cylinder via the inlet passage therefor; D. said manifold having a flat forwardly facing surface with a pair of apertures therein, each of which defines the forward ends of the inlet and outlet passages for one of said cylinders, said surface lying in a plane which is inclined downwardly and forwardly with respect to the cylinder axes and transversely thereof; and E. said valve mechanism comprising a member having passage blocking lobes thereon in flat surface to surface contiguity with said inclined surface on the manifold, said member being mounted for rotary movement about an axis which is normal to said inclined surface and diverges upwardly and forwardly of a plane containing the cylinder axes.

2. A pump comprising a supply hopper and a pair of pump cylinders each having an opening in its front end and a piston operable during its charging strokes to induct material from the hopper into its cylinder through said opening, and operable during its discharge strokes to expel material from its cylinder through said opening, characterized by: A. the pump cylinders being mounted side by side with their axes substantially horizontal and their front ends adjacent to the underside of the hopper; B. a manifold connected with the front ends of the cylinders and having the hopper mounted thereon, said manifold having