Pump assembly
First Claim
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1. A pump component tracking and diagnostic system, comprising:
- a pump comprising a sensor to generate a signal responsive to a physical parameter from a pump component, wherein the pump component is associated with an identifier, wherein the pump component comprises an interchangeable pump body module, wherein the pump is assembled from a plurality of the pump body modules, and secured with fasteners between opposite end plates;
a controller to acquire the component identifier and pump component information based on the signal from the sensor for transfer to a computer network; and
a pump database accessible from the network to provide access to the pump component information based on the component identification.
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Abstract
A pump assembly and maintenance system and method. An inventory of pump components has an identifier to track the pump component and a sensor to gather operating data associated with the pump component. A population of pumps is assembled from the pump components. The operating data are correlated with the pump components based on the identifiers in a network-accessible database. The pump components can include interchangeable pump body modules that are separately tracked, whereby the pumps can be repaired by removing and replacing the interchangeable pump body modules.
20 Citations
10 Claims
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1. A pump component tracking and diagnostic system, comprising:
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a pump comprising a sensor to generate a signal responsive to a physical parameter from a pump component, wherein the pump component is associated with an identifier, wherein the pump component comprises an interchangeable pump body module, wherein the pump is assembled from a plurality of the pump body modules, and secured with fasteners between opposite end plates; a controller to acquire the component identifier and pump component information based on the signal from the sensor for transfer to a computer network; and a pump database accessible from the network to provide access to the pump component information based on the component identification.
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2. A pump assembly, comprising:
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a plurality of pump bodies secured with fasteners between opposite end plates, at least one of the pump bodies comprising a piston bore, an inlet bore, an outlet bore and a unique identifier; a sensor attached to at least one of the pump bodies to generate signal data responsive to a physical parameter from the pump body, wherein the sensor comprises one or more for temperature, pressure, acceleration, inclination, humidity, light, density, viscosity, flow rate, chemical composition, strain, deformation, positron decay, acoustic emission, Barkhausen noise, accumulated fatigue damage or a combination thereof; a communications link to upload the identifier and the signal data. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5)
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6. A method, comprising:
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attaching a sensor to a pump body comprising a piston bore, an inlet bore and an outlet bore, wherein the sensor comprises one or more for temperature, pressure, acceleration, inclination, humidity, light, density, viscosity, flow rate, chemical composition, strain, deformation, positron decay, acoustic emission, Barkhausen noise, accumulated fatigue damage or a combination thereof; attaching an RF ID tag encoded with an identifier to the pump body to receive a data signal from the sensor; assembling a multiplex pump with the pump body to form a plurality of pump bodies secured with fasteners between opposite end plates; operating the multiplex pump by reciprocating a plunger in the piston bore; uploading operating data from the RF ID tag to a network accessible database wherein the operating data comprise at least one of operating pressure, operating temperature, number of cycles of operation, operating time, flow rate, throughput, and fatigue accumulation, wherein the operating data are correlated with the identifiers to build a data history for the pump bodies. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10)
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Specification