Confectionary pumps

• US 4,259,042 A
• Filed: 09/10/1979
• Issued: 03/31/1981
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/1979
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: H & P Pump Company
• Original Assignee: H & P Pump Company
• Inventors: Heatherly, Lawrence E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Freeh, William L.
• Application Number:
  US06/074,000
• Time in Patent Office: 568 Days
• Field of Search: 366/173, 366/174, 366/176, 137/854, 417/566, 417/570, 417/571
• US Class Current: 417/566
• CPC Class Codes: A23G 9/20 the products being mixed with gas, e.g. soft-ice
• CPC Class Codes: F04B 15/00 Pumps adapted to handle specific fluids, e.g. by selection of specific materials for pumps or pump parts
• CPC Class Codes: F04B 53/1057 the valve being a tube, e.g. normally closed at one end

Abstract

A piston pump for mixing air into a liquid confectionary mixture uses resilient, duck-bill shaped valves in special valve bodies to provide efficient operation, easy assembly and disassembly, and easy cleaning. In one embodiment, a duck-bill valve in a central outlet passageway of a valve body functions as an outlet check valve and has an integral resilient disk portion that fits over a face of the valve body to function as a check valve for a plurality of spaced inlet passageways. In another embodiment, a duck-bill valve within an end of a cylinder of a pump is placed over a central inlet passageway, and a spool with circumferentially spaced holes is positioned about the duck-bill valve to aid in mixing confectionary mixture and air. A separate duck-bill valve as a check valve is positioned in an outlet passageway. By using only duck-bill valves in this embodiment, fruit pulp and seeds in confectionary mixtures can be readily pumped and mixed simultaneously without plugging the valves.

Claims

1. A pump for confections comprising:

a cylinder, a piston within said cylinder, driving means connected to said piston,

a check valve assembly including a valve body, an inlet check valve, and an outlet check valve, one end of said valve body being tightly enclosed within an end of said cylinder,

said valve body having an inlet passageway and an outlet passageway therethrough communicating respectively from outside said cylinder through said valve body and out respective openings in said one end thereof to space within said cylinder,

said inlet check valve being a resilient duck-bill type having a tubular portion at one end thereof and a converging portion with an intermediate slit at the other end thereof, said tubular portion being fit tightly over said opening of said inlet passageway in said one end of said valve body,

a perforated member as a partition within said cylinder extending from said tubular portion of said inlet check valve to said cylinder, said perforated member being spaced from said one end of said valve body to provide a mixing space therebetween, said outlet passageway having an opening through said one end of said valve body into said mixing space,

said outlet check valve being positioned in said outlet passage to permit flow of fluid from said cylinder,

an air passageway communicating from the atmosphere to space within said cylinder, and a check valve within said air passageway to check flow of fluid from said cylinder.

2. A pump as claimed in claim 1 wherein said air passageway extends through a side of said valve body partway through said valve body to connect to said inlet passageway, an adjustable check valve in said air passageway to prevent venting of said inlet passageway during compression strokes of said pump, a spring connected to said check valve to bias said check valve closed, and an adjusting member connected to said spring, said adjusting member being adjustable to determine the amount of bias applied to said check valve for metering the amount of air to be drawn into said cylinder.

3. A pump as claimed in claim 1 wherein said one end of said valve body has an axial tubular projection extending into said cylinder, said tubular projection being a continuation of said inlet passageway through said one end of said valve body, said opening of said inlet passageway being in an end of said tubular portion, and said tubular portion of said inlet check valve being fit tightly to said tubular projection of said valve body for fluidly connecting said inlet check valve to said inlet passageway.

4. A pump as claimed in claim 3 wherein said tubular projection is substantially in the center of said one end of said valve body, said tubular portion of said inlet check valve fits tightly about at least a portion of said tubular projection, said perforated member being a spool fitting closely within said cylinder and about said tubular portion of said inlet check valve, and said spool having a plurality of circumferentially spaced holes therethrough around said tubular portion of said inlet check valve.