Magnetically actuated pump

[0001] This application is the national stage filing under 35 U.S.C. §371 of PCT/NL02/00479, filed Jul. 17, 2002, which claims priority to NL 1018567, filed Jul. 17, 2001, which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] A first aspect of the invention relates to a pump for pumping one or more media, comprising:

• • [0003] a housing having an actuator chamber and at least one pump chamber, which is provided with an inlet port and an outlet port and which is delimited by a displacement member which is movable to and fro between a first position, in which the pump chamber has a maximum volume, and a second position, in which the pump chamber has a minimum volume,
  • [0004] a movable actuator body, accommodated in the actuator chamber and consisting of a magnetizable or magnetic material, for driving the displacement member,
  • [0005] magnetic drive means for creating a magnetic field in order to move the actuator body.

[0006] In U.S. Pat. No. 5,055,011 a pump is disclosed which is provided with an electromagnet and a cylinder in which a piston is accommodated as the displacement member. The piston is provided with a magnetic element. As a result of the magnetic element accommodated therein, the piston can be moved in the cylinder by excitation of the electromagnet.

[0007] The object of the invention is to provide an improved pump.

[0008] To this end, the first aspect of the invention provides a pump according to the preamble of claim 1, in which the actuator body is freely movable relative to the displacement member so that the displacement member can be moved, by means of a impact motion of the actuator body, from the first to the second position.

[0009] With the magnetic drive means, a magnetic field can be generated in the actuator chamber. The magnetic field can be applied such that the actuator body is accelerated in the direction of the at least one pump chamber. The actuator body then impacts against the displacement member. Under the influence of the mass and velocity of the actuator body, the displacement member is moved from the first to the second position so that the volume of the pump chamber is diminished and the medium to be pumped is pumped away through the outlet port of the pump chamber.

[0010] Preferably, electromagnetic drive means are used as the magnetic drive means. The electrical energy required to excite the electromagnetic drive means is converted into kinetic energy by the actuator body. The kinetic energy is used to provide the energy for effecting the pump stroke of the displacement member in the pump chamber. Through continued excitation of the electromagnet during the pump stroke, the electromagnet also continues to supply energy to effect the pump stroke.

[0011] In a preferred embodiment, the pump has two or more pump chambers, the displacement member of each separate pump chamber being able to be impacted against by the common actuator body. It is thus possible to impact against the displacement members of the pump chambers alternately with the same actuator body. One advantage of this is that a medium can be pumped in a simple manner for each pump chamber, using a single actuator body.

[0012] Preferably, the actuator body is movable from the one pump chamber to the other pump chamber. By directing the actuator body from the one pump chamber to the other pump chamber, a multiple pump mechanism is obtained, in which the energy is very efficiently used for the pumping of media. Furthermore, by pumping a different medium for each pump chamber, the pump according to the invention can be used as a metering pump, that quantity of a medium which is to be metered being determined by the number of impacts multiplied by the pump chamber volume and being easy to regulate.

[0013] In a further embodiment, the electromagnetic drive means comprise electromagnets fitted alongside the separate pump chambers. This configuration enables the actuator body to be easily repelled by an electromagnet belonging to a pump chamber and attracted, for example, by an electromagnet belonging to another pump chamber.

[0014] A second aspect of the invention relates to a pump. The pump according to this second aspect is provided with electromagnetic drive means for creating a magnetic field in order to move the actuator body and has a pump chamber which, at the inlet and/or outlet port, is provided with a magnetically operable valve which is operated by a magnetic field generated by the electromagnetic drive means, belonging to the pump chamber, for driving the actuator body.

[0015] It will be clear that the first aspect and the second aspect of the invention can also be used in combination.

[0033] FIG. 1 shows a housing 1 having pump chambers 4 and an actuator chamber 2. The pump chamber 4 has a movable wall 5, which at 6 is hinge-connected to the housing 1. The movable wall 5 is on one side of the housing more precisely denoted by 5a and reproduces a first position, in which the pump chamber 4 has the maximum volume. On the opposite side, the movable wall 5 is denoted by 5b and represents the second position, in which the pump chamber 4 has the minimum volume. The movable wall 5 serves as a displacement member. Attached to the movable wall 5 is a permanent magnet 7.

[0034] In the actuator chamber 2 there is accommodated a single actuator body 3. In this example, the actuator body 3 is realized as a permanent magnet, which is realized as a sliding body. In the example shown, the north pole of the actuator body 3 is situated at the outermost ends of the actuator body 3 and denoted by N. The south pole of the actuator body 3 is situated on the inner edge and is denoted by Z.

[0035] In addition, in the housing 1, electromagnets 8a, 8b are fitted. The electromagnets 8a, 8b have a soft iron core 9 with, round about it, a winding 11. The soft iron core 9 is connected to the arms 10. The field lines of the electromagnets 8a, 8b shown result in a force which is directed parallel to the plane of motion of the actuator body 3.

[0036] The actuator body 3 and the magnet 7a, 7b of the movable wall 5 are oppositely polarized. As can be seen in FIG. 1, in this illustrative embodiment that side of the magnet 7a, 7b which faces the actuator body 3 is the magnetic north pole, denoted by N. The magnet 7a, 7b of the movable wall 5 will thus always repel the actuator body 3. It is also possible to polarize the magnet 7a, 7b in the same direction as the actuator body 3, so that the movable wall 5 will attract the actuator body 3.

[0037] When the electromagnets 8a, 8b are not excited, the magnet 7a, 7b will always be attracted by the soft iron core.

[0038] By excitation of the electromagnets 8a, 8b, the actuator body 3 can be attracted or repelled. In FIG. 1, a situation is represented in which the actuator body 3 is located alongside a pump chamber 4 and its associated electromagnet 8b. The electromagnet 8b is now excited such that it repels the actuator body 3. At the same time, the electromagnet 8a is excited such that it attracts the actuator body 3. By virtue of the resultant force of the magnetic field generated by the electromagnets 8a, 8b, the actuator body 3 is accelerated from the electromagnet 8b in the direction of the electromagnet 8a. The pump chamber which is located there has the movable wall 5 in the first position, that is to say has the maximum volume.

[0039] By virtue of its velocity and mass, the actuator body 3 moving towards the pump chamber 4 will push the movable wall 5 from the first to the second position, whereby the volume of the pump chamber 4 is reduced. A medium present in the pump chamber 4 will consequently be pumped via the outlet port (not shown in this figure) out of the pump chamber 4.

[0040] The motion of the actuator body 3 is somewhat dampened close to the movable wall 5 by the repellant effect of the oppositely polarized magnet 7a.

[0041] If, in a non-illustrated alternative, the magnet 7a, 7b is polarized in line with the actuator body 3, then whenever the actuator body 3 is repelled by an electromagnet 8, the displacement member (the wall 5) is repelled by the same electromagnet 8 and taken along by the actuator body 3. The displacement member is then moved from the second to the first position.

[0042] The wall 5 with magnet 7b remains in the second position as a result of the attraction force of the electromagnet 8b. When the electromagnet 8b, in a following excitation, is excited the other way round in order thereby to attract the actuator body 3, the electromagnet 8b will also repel the magnet 7b, whereby the movable wall 5b is moved from the second to the first position. The volume of the pump chamber 4 is enlarged and medium will be drawn via an inlet port (not shown) into the pump chamber 4. The magnets 7a and 7b thus act as resetting means for the displacement member, which is here realized as the movable walls 5a, 5b.

[0043] It is also possible to make the movable wall 5a, 5b itself out of a magnetic or magnetizable material, so that the wall 5a, 5b itself reacts to the magnetic field generated by the neighbouring electromagnet.

[0044] Good functioning of the pump can also be obtained by providing each movable wall 5, instead of with the magnet 7a, 7b, with a spring (not shown). The spring pushes the movable wall 5 back from the second position to the first position after the actuator body 3 has been removed from the movable wall 5. The movable wall 5 can also itself be realized as a spring, for example a leaf spring.

[0045] Another possible embodiment is shown in FIG. 10. In this case, the pump chamber 4 is situated below or above the actuator chamber. The actuator body 3 is provided with a cam 103. The free end of the movable wall 5 is provided with a protruding ring 104. When the actuator body moves up to the chamber 4, then the movable wall 5 stands obliquely (represented by a dotted line and denoted by 104b). The cam 103 enters the ring 104 substantially in the radial direction thereof, impacts against the ring and takes this along with it in its direction of motion. The cam 103 is then located in the ring 104. When the movable wall 5 comes into the second position (represented with a continuous line and denoted by 104a), it will be unable to move any further. When the actuator body 3 is moved away from the pump chamber 4, then the cam 103 located in the ring 104 takes along the movable wall 5 in its motion from the second position to the first position, whereupon the pump chamber volume is enlarged. The movable wall 5 tilts, whereby the ring 104 also tilts to the point where the cam 103 is able to move back out of the ring 104.

[0046] In the pump chamber 4 a liquidtight bellows 12 can be fitted, as shown in FIG. 3. This bellows 12 is connected to an inlet port 13 and an outlet port 14 of the pump chamber 4. Through the use of the bellows 12, a liquidtight circuit is obtained and no further sealing of the pump chamber 4 is necessary, especially with respect to the actuator chamber 2.

[0047] It is also possible to fit a liquidtight bellows with which there is no movable wall but with which the bellows are impacted against directly by the actuator body. This is represented in FIG. 11. The bellows 212 is located in the actuator chamber 2 and forms, in fact, a pump chamber 204. The wall of the bellows 212 acts as a displacement member and is provided, on the side facing the actuator body 3, with magnetic elements 207, which are polarized oppositely to the actuator body and have the same function as the magnets 7a, 7b in the example of FIG. 1, that is to say they act as resetting means.

[0048] The pump chamber 4 can also be realized differently, as represented in FIG. 4. The pump chamber 4 is realized as a cylinder in which a piston 25 can be moved to and fro. The inlet port and outlet port of the pump chamber are denoted by 13 and 14 respectively. In the case shown, the piston 25 has a piston rod 26. This piston rod 26 can extend into the actuator chamber 2 and can be impacted against by the actuator body 3.

[0049] In connection with possible damage to the media to be pumped, caused by the magnetic fields of the electromagnets, it may be desirable, for example, for the pump chamber 4 to be distanced from the actuator chamber 2, as shown in FIG. 5. In this illustrative embodiment, a system of rods 27 forms a transmission, which transmits the impact motion of the actuator body 3 to the piston 25, but it is clear that other transmissions are also conceivable.

[0050] The pump chamber 4 can also be distanced from the actuator chamber 2 through the use of a hydraulic transmission, as shown in FIG. 8. In this case, a first chamber 40 filled with hydraulic fluid is diminished in volume by a movable wall 50 being rotated about a hinge 60 by means of the impact of the actuator body 3. The hydraulic fluid is pumped via a pipe 45 to a subchamber 4a of the pump chamber 4. The subchamber 4a of the pump chamber 4 is separated by a flexible membrane 55 from a subchamber 4b containing the medium to be pumped. When the subchamber 4a is filled with hydraulic fluid, then the membrane 55 deforms and the medium to be pumped is forced out into the subchamber 4b and pumped away. In this example, the membrane 55 acts as the displacement member.

[0051] In FIG. 2a the actuator chamber 2 is represented with the actuator body 3 therein, the latter being realized as a radially polarized annular magnet. The actuator body 3 could also be realized as a disc-shaped magnet. Four electromagnets 8a to 8d are placed in diametrically opposing pairs round about the actuator chamber 2. The actuator body 3 has in an associated plane of motion two degrees of freedom and can be directed to any desired position in the actuator chamber 2. In the position shown in FIG. 2a, the actuator body 3 is in the central position. This position can be maintained, for example, by exciting the electromagnets 8a to 8d in such a way that they repel the actuator body 3 with equal force.

[0052] In FIG. 2b the actuator body 3 is represented in the position in which the pump chamber 4 belonging to the electromagnet 8b is served. From this position, the electromagnets 8a to 8d can be excited in such a way that a magnetic field moves the actuator body 3 to the opposite pump chamber 4 alongside the electromagnet 8a. It is also possible to make the actuator body 3 move to one of the other pump chambers belonging to the electromagnets 8c, 8d. This might be done in a direct motion, that is to say in a straight line, but this might also be done, if required, via the middle position shown in FIG. 2a, in order to obtain a sufficiently large velocity component in accordance with the direction of motion of the displacement member in the pump chamber 4 to be able to transfer sufficient kinetic energy to that displacement member.

[0053] The actuator chamber 2 can be filled with a fluid having approximately the same specific weight as the actuator body 3. The actuator body 3 can consequently be moved through the actuator chamber 2 with virtually no friction.

[0054] The filling of the actuator chamber 2 with the fluid also offers the possibility of making the actuator body 3 perform three-dimensional motions within the actuator chamber 2, independently of the gravitational force.

[0055] If the actuator chamber 2 is filled with a fluid, then an underpressure can arise at the moment when the volume of the actuator chamber 3 is enlarged by the reduction in the volume of the adjacent pump chamber. This can be compensated for by fitting in the actuator chamber 3 an air chamber in open connection with the environment, the air chamber increasing in volume whenever an underpressure is present in the actuator chamber 3. The volume increase is thereby compensated for and the underpressure abates.

[0056] With the embodiment shown in FIGS. 2a and 2b, a plurality of media, for example, could be pumped. It is also possible to use the pump as a metering pump. This can be done by making the different pump chambers 4 pump different media and by operating the displacement members of these pump chambers 4 in a certain order and in a certain number of pump motions. For instance, different media which have thus been controlled can be pumped and metered to form a desired mixture of these media. The number of pump chambers 4 and associated electromagnets is not, of course, limited to four. More pump chambers 4 can also be fitted around the actuator chamber 2. Given constant dimensions of the pump chambers and associated electromagnets, this number is only limited, in fact, by the dimensions of the actuator chamber 3.

[0057] In the previous illustrative embodiment the annular magnet is radially magnetized, but the actuator body 3 can also be realized as an axially magnetized ring or disc, as represented diagrammatically in FIG. 6a. The electromagnets 8a to 8d must then generate a field which is perpendicular to the direction of motion of the actuator body 3 in the actuator chamber 2.

[0058] In FIG. 6b an embodiment is shown in which the annular magnet is radially magnetized. The electromagnets 8 have a soft iron core 9, which at one end 9a adjoins the actuator chamber 3. In FIG. 9, an actuator chamber 2 is shown with an actuator body 3 therein and provided with electromagnets 8 round about, as shown in FIG. 6b. The ends 9a of the soft iron cores 9 lie alongside the actuator chamber 2. The other pole 9b is connected to a soft iron ring 19. When, in this configuration, two electromagnets 8 are oppositely excited, so that the one attracts the actuator body 3 and the other repels the actuator body, then the field lines are conducted via the soft iron ring 19 from the end 9b of the one electromagnet 8 to the end 9b of the other electromagnet.

[0059] The inlet or outlet port 13 and 14 respectively of the pump chamber 4 is preferably provided with a non-return valve. This valve can be a magnetically operated valve which can be opened and closed by the application of a magnetic field. This is preferably the magnetic field which is generated by the electromagnet 8 mounted alongside the pump chamber 4 for the operation of the actuator body 3.

[0060] A non-return valve of this kind can be realized, for example, as shown in FIG. 7. From the pump chamber 4, fluid is pumped away via the outlet port 14 and a valve chamber 31 to a discharge pipe 30. In the valve chamber 31 there is a valve comprising an arm 32, which, at 35, is hinge-connected to the valve chamber 31. Attached to the free end of the arm 32 is a sealing body 33 for sealing the outlet port 14. In the sealing body 33 there is fitted a magnet 34, which reacts to the magnetic field of the electromagnet 8. During the pump stroke of the pump chamber 4, whereupon the electromagnet 8 is excited and the displacement member is moved from the first to the second position, the magnetic field of the electromagnet 8 pulls the magnet 34 away from the outlet port 14 and opens the valve so that the medium is conducted through the discharge pipe 30. Preferably, the region around the seat of the valve is provided with a magnetic or magnetizable element 36. This ensures that, when the electromagnet 8 is not excited, the sealing body 33 is attracted by the seat and the valve is kept closed.

[0061] In FIG. 12 another pump 100 is shown, having a housing 101 containing at least one pump chamber 102 provided with an inlet port 104 and an outlet port 103. The pump chamber 102 is delimited by a displacement member 105 in the form of a membrane connected to a magnetic element 106. The magnetic element 106 forms the actuator body of this pump 100 and has a north pole N and a south pole Z, as indicated in the figure. The displacement member 105 is movable to and fro between a first position, in which the pump chamber 102 has a maximum volume, and a second position, in which the pump chamber has a minimum volume. By “movable” is meant in this embodiment the convex or concave deformation of the membrane 105.

[0062] The pump 100 further comprises magnetic drive means in the form of an electromagnet 107 for creating a magnetic field in order to move the actuator body 106. The electromagnet 107 comprises a coil 107a and a soft iron yoke 107b. When, by the electromagnet 107, a field is created having a north pole N and a south pole Z, as indicated in FIG. 12, then the actuator body 106 is attracted by the electromagnet 107 and the membrane 105 will deform inwards, whereby the volume of the pump chamber 102 is diminished. If the electromagnet 107 is excited the other way round, then a reverse magnetic field is created, as indicated in FIG. 12, and the actuator body 106 is repelled, whereby the membrane 105 is concavely deformed and the volume of the pump chamber 102 is enlarged.

[0063] The pump chamber 102 is provided at the inlet port 104 and outlet port 103 with a valve 108, which is realized, for example, as a rubber flap which at one end 109 is fixed to the housing 101 and with the other end 110 can move between the inlet port 104 or the outlet port 103. The valve 108 is provided with a magnet 109, which reacts to the magnetic field created by excitation of the electromagnet 107. The valve 108 thus reacts to a magnetic field generated by the electromagnetic drive means, belonging to the pump chamber 102, for driving the actuator body 106. The valve 108 seals the inlet 104 during the pumping stroke of the displacement body 105, thus as the volume of the pump chamber 102 is reduced. The valve 108 seals the outlet 103 during the suction stroke of the displacement body 105, thus as the volume of the pump chamber 102 is enlarged. The fact that the valve 108 is operated by the magnetic field applied for the execution of a pumping stroke or a suction stroke means that the inlet port 104 and the outlet port 103 respectively are quickly closed once the end of the suction stroke and pumping stroke respectively is reached. Few pump losses are consequently incurred. This is especially favourable if the pump 100 is small in construction and is used to pump very small quantities of medium, as can be the case in medical applications. A pump of this kind, by virtue of the very small pump losses, allows for very accurate metering.

[0064] In FIG. 12, an inlet pipe 120 is connected to the inlet port 104, which inlet pipe is provided with a first non-return valve 121, which is represented diagrammatically. Connected to the outlet port 103 is an outlet pipe 122, which is provided with a second non-return valve 123. The non-return valves 121 and 123 can be differently realized. For example, spring-pretensioned non-return valves can be used. Preferably, a magnetic resetting means is used. In FIG. 13, an example of an embodiment of such a non-return valve 121, 123 is represented diagrammatically. The non-return valve 121, 123 comprises a valve housing 124 having a valve inlet 128 and a valve outlet 129.

[0065] In the valve housing 124 there is accommodated a magnetic closing member 126, which in the closed state of the valve bears against a valve seat 125. The closing member 126 has a north pole N and a south pole Z, as indicated in the figure. Attached to the valve housing 124 is a permanent magnet 130, which is polarized in such a way that this repels the closing member 126 in the direction of the valve seat 125. The distance x between the closing member 126 and the magnet 130 determines the force with which the magnet 130 repels the closing member 126 and hence the pretension with which the closing member 126 is pressed against the seat 125.

[0066] The pressure of a medium current through the valve inlet 128 must overcome the pretension in order to open the valve. By making the distance x adjustable, the pretension with which the valve is held in the sealed state is also adjustable.

[0067] In FIG. 14, a system of non-return valves 130 for the inlet pipe 120 and the outlet pipe 122 is shown. The valve system 130 comprises the first non-return valve 121 and the second non-return valve 123. The closing members 126 of the first non-return valve 121 and the second non-return valve 123 are polarized in such a way and the first non-return valve 121 and the second non-return valve 123 are positioned one relative to the other in such a way that the closing members 126 repel each other and are thus each pressed with the same pretension against their associated valve seat 125. In this illustrative embodiment, the first non-return valve 121 and the second non-return valve 123 are thus pretensioned by the same magnetic resetting means comprising two closing members 126.

[0068] The first non-return valve 121 and the second non-return valve 123 can be placed one against the other, as shown in FIG. 14a, the pretension of both valves being maximal. By placing the non-return valves 121 and 123 at a distance y apart, as shown in FIG. 14b, the pretension can be reduced. By making the distance y adjustable, the pretension of the valves 121, 123 can be made adjustable.

[0069] The valves 121, 123, in the form as shown in FIG. 14, have the same pretension. If, for the first non-return valve 121, a lower pretension is desired than for the second non-return valve 123, then an element made of magnetic or magnetizable material, for example, can be fitted alongside the seat 125 of the first non-return valve 121, so that the closing member 126 is attracted and the pretension is reduced.

[0070] It should be noted that in FIG. 12 a non-limiting example is given of a pump according to the second aspect of the invention. It will be clear, for example, that a pump according to the first aspect of the invention, which is provided with a valve 32 as shown in FIG. 7, should also be regarded as an example of a pump according to the second aspect of the invention.