The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jul. 25, 2000
Filed:
Sep. 16, 1997
Olivier L Tremoulet, Jr, Edmonds, WA (US);
Chidambaram Raghavan, Kent, WA (US);
Edmund Y Ting, Kent, WA (US);
Flow International Corporation, Kent, WA (US);
Abstract
A method and apparatus for diagnosing components in high-pressure pumps to indicate when a component of the pump head is malfunctioning and to identify the malfunctioning component. In one embodiment, a high-pressure pump head incorporating a diagnostic system in accordance with the invention has a pressurization chamber and a pressurizing member at least partially received in the pressurization chamber. The pressurizing member moves within the pressurization chamber along an intake action to draw fluid into the pressurization chamber and along a pressurizing action to compress fluid in the pressurization chamber. An inlet fluid control assembly is coupled to the pressurization chamber to allow fluid to enter the pressurization chamber during the intake action, and a pressurized fluid control assembly is coupled between the pressurization chamber and an outlet chamber to selectively allow pressurized fluid into the outlet chamber during the pressurizing action. The pump head may also include a diagnostic system to indicate the operational status of each of the inlet fluid control assembly, the pressurized fluid control assembly and other components of the pump head upstream from the inlet fluid control assembly with respect to a fluid flow through the pump head during the pressurizing action.