Micropump, Inc.

Tim J Altham

Paul A Johnson

Pump heads comprising at least two gear-pump chambers are disclosed. Each chamber comprises a housing which defines a corresponding pump cavity. Each cavity contains a driving gear and at least one driven gear and has a separate inlet and outlet. The pump cavities are hydraulically interconnected by a fluid conduit allowing passage whenever the pump chambers are pumping a fluid so as to generate a higher pressure in one cavity relative to the other cavity, of the fluid from the higher-pressure cavity to the lower-pressure cavity sufficient to maintain hydraulic prime of both cavities. The invention is particularly useful for ink jet printing applications.

Multiple-chamber gear pump for ink jet printing

Pump heads comprising at least two gear-pump chambers are disclosed. Each chamber comprises a housing which defines a corresponding pump cavity. Each cavity contains a driving gear and at least one driven gear and has a separate inlet and outlet. The pump cavities are hydraulically interconnected by a fluid conduit allowing passage whenever the pump chambers are pumping a fluid so as to generate a higher pressure in one cavity relative to the other cavity, of the fluid from the higher-pressure cavity to the lower-pressure cavity sufficient to maintain hydraulic prime of both cavities.

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Castle Bytham, United Kingdom

Tim J Altham