Peristaltic pump
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A pump assembly for use in pumping a viscous material through a pumping tube which can be engage by the pump assembly, the pump assembly comprising;
- a pump body;
a rotor rotatably retained on the pump body;
the rotor having a pair of plates for operatively retaining a plurality of rollers therebetween, the plates having generally rectangular shape and having rounded corners extending sufficiently to generally cover ends of the corresponding rollers retained between the plates and to support the rollers;
a stator pivotably retained on the pump body;
a lever arm operatively retained on the pump body;
a cam assembly associated with the lever arm and the stator for use in engaging the stator to move the stator to an engaged position engaging a pumping tube between the rotor and the stator, and for use in disengaging the pumping tube from between the rotor and the stator; and
the stator being pivotably retained on the pump body at a single pivot point and pivoting at that pivot point spaced from a rotation point of the rotor, the lever arm being movable relative to a fixed rotation axis on the pump body and spaced from the pivot point and the rotation point for engaging and disengaging the stator, the lever arm including a portion extending over a portion of the tube engaged between the stator and rotor in the engaged position.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A peristaltic pump assembly and system that facilitates reliable and efficient engagement and removal of a flexible tube. A stator is pivotally retained on a structure and cooperatively operated by a lever arm and cam to engage and disengage the stator from the tube and a corresponding rotor. The stator pivots at a point distal from a point of rotation of the rotor and the lever arm moves about a fixed rotation axis to engage and disengage the stator with the tube relative to the rotor.
73 Citations
21 Claims
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1. A pump assembly for use in pumping a viscous material through a pumping tube which can be engage by the pump assembly, the pump assembly comprising;
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a pump body; a rotor rotatably retained on the pump body;
the rotor having a pair of plates for operatively retaining a plurality of rollers therebetween, the plates having generally rectangular shape and having rounded corners extending sufficiently to generally cover ends of the corresponding rollers retained between the plates and to support the rollers;a stator pivotably retained on the pump body; a lever arm operatively retained on the pump body; a cam assembly associated with the lever arm and the stator for use in engaging the stator to move the stator to an engaged position engaging a pumping tube between the rotor and the stator, and for use in disengaging the pumping tube from between the rotor and the stator; and the stator being pivotably retained on the pump body at a single pivot point and pivoting at that pivot point spaced from a rotation point of the rotor, the lever arm being movable relative to a fixed rotation axis on the pump body and spaced from the pivot point and the rotation point for engaging and disengaging the stator, the lever arm including a portion extending over a portion of the tube engaged between the stator and rotor in the engaged position. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 19, 20, 21)
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17. A beverage dispenser including at least one modular pump assembly for use in pumping a viscous material through a pumping tube which can be engage by the pump assembly, the modular pump assembly comprising;
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a pump body retained in the beverage dispenser; a rotor rotatably retained on the pump body;
the rotor having a pair of plates for operatively retaining a plurality of rollers therebetween, the plates having generally rectangular shape and having rounded corners extending sufficiently to generally cover ends of the corresponding rollers retained between the plates and to support the rollers;a stator pivotably retained on the pump body; a lever arm operatively retained on the pump body; the pumping tube extending from a beverage material source, the pumping tube extending in a compressible condition between opposing portions of the stator and rotor; a cam assembly associated with the lever arm and the stator for use in engaging the stator to move the stator to engage the pumping tube between the rotor and the stator, and for use in disengaging the pumping tube from between the rotor and the stator; and the stator being operatively retained on the pump body at a single pivot point and pivoting at that pivot point spaced from a rotation point of the rotor, the lever arm being movable relative to a fixed rotation axis and spaced from the pivot point and the rotation point for engaging and disengaging the stator, the lever arm including a pivot end and a distal end with the distal end having a protrusion engaging a stop when the pumping tube is engaged between the rotor and the stator.
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18. A pump assembly for use in pumping a viscous material through a pumping tube which can be engage by the pump assembly, the pump assembly comprising;
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a pump body; a rotor rotatably retained on the pump body;
the rotor having a plurality of rollers;a stator pivotably retained on the pump body;
the stator and rollers defining a path for a pumping portion of the tube;a lever arm operatively retained on the pump body; a cam assembly associated with the lever arm and the stator for use in engaging the stator to move the stator to engage the pumping tube between the rotor and the stator in an engaged position, and for use in disengaging the pumping tube from between the rotor and the stator to achieve a disengaged position, the lever arm extending adjacent but not across the tube in the disengaged position and the lever arm extending across the tube in the engaged position; the stator being operatively retained on an upper portion of the pump body at a single pivot point and pivoting generally downwardly at that pivot point spaced from a rotation point of the rotor, the lever arm being movable relative to a fixed rotation axis and spaced from the pivot point and the rotation point for engaging and disengaging the stator; in a first plane the lever arm fixed rotation axis and the pivot point of the stator are located on one side of the path and the rotation point of the rotor is positioned on one an opposite side of the path; a cam assembly movable relative to the fixed rotation axis and generally in an area between the fixed rotation axis and both of the pivot point and the rotation point, and the cam assembly movable relative to the to the fixed rotation axis and spaced distal from the pivot point and generally closer to the fixed rotation axis than the pivot point.
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Specification