Diaphragm pump

Abstract

A diaphragm pump comprises a housing, a motor supported by the housing, a drive assembly operably connected to the motor and a wobble plate operably connected to the drive assembly. The motor includes a drive shaft defining a rotational axis. The wobble plate orbits about the rotational axis of the drive shaft. The drive assembly includes a reduction gear assembly and a drive member connected to the gear assembly. The gear assembly provides a predetermined gear reduction to reduce the speed of the motor and increase the torque needed to drive the pump.

1 . A diaphragm pump comprising:
 a housing;   a motor supported by the housing, the motor including a drive shaft defining a rotational axis;   a drive assembly operably connected to the motor, the drive assembly including a reduction gear assembly and a wobble plate rotatably connected to the gear assembly, the wobble plate orbiting about the rotational axis of the drive shaft; and   wherein the gear assembly provides a predetermined gear reduction to reduce the speed of the motor and increase the torque needed to drive the pump.   
   
   
       2 . The diaphragm pump of  claim 1 , wherein the reduction gear assembly comprises a planetary gear train. 
   
   
       3 . The diaphragm pump of  claim 2 , wherein the planetary gear train includes a plurality of compound gears and a ring gear, the ring gear at least partially surrounding the plurality of compound gears providing for a compact reduction gear assembly. 
   
   
       4 . The diaphragm pump of  claim 3 , wherein the reduction gear assembly further comprises a spur gear coupled to the drive shaft of the motor, each compound gear including a first gear and a second smaller diameter gear, the spur gear simultaneously engaging the first gears of the plurality of compound gears. 
   
   
       5 . The diaphragm pump of  claim 4 , wherein the ring gear includes a wall having an outer surface and an inner surface, the inner surface including a plurality of circumferentially spaced teeth configured to simultaneously engage the second gears of the plurality of compound gears. 
   
   
       6 . The diaphragm pump of  claim 3 , wherein the ring gear is non-rotatably secured to the housing. 
   
   
       7 . The diaphragm pump of  claim 3 , wherein the drive assembly further includes a separate drive member rotatably coupled to the housing and located between the reduction gear assembly and wobble plate. 
   
   
       8 . The diaphragm pump of  claim 7 , wherein the drive member is at least partially positioned within the ring gear. 
   
   
       9 . The diaphragm pump of  claim 7 , wherein the drive member includes a base, a first outwardly extending shaft for engaging the wobble plate and a plurality of second outwardly extending shafts, each compound gears being non-rotatably secured to one of the second shafts. 
   
   
       10 . The diaphragm pump of  claim 9 , wherein the first shaft of the drive member defines a longitudinal axis which is coincident with the rotational axis of the drive shaft and each second shaft of the drive member defines a longitudinal axis offset from and parallel to the rotational axis of the drive shaft. 
   
   
       11 . The diaphragm pump of  claim 9 , wherein the second shafts extend in a direction opposite to the direction that the first shaft extends. 
   
   
       12 . The diaphragm pump of  claim 1 , wherein the reduction gear assembly provides about a 14:1 gear reduction to reduce the speed of the drive shaft thereby allowing the motor to generate increased torque needed to drive the diaphragm pump. 
   
   
       13 . A diaphragm pump comprising:
 a housing;   a generally small, lightweight motor supported by the housing, the motor including a drive shaft defining a rotational axis;   a drive assembly operably connected to the motor, the drive assembly including:
 a reduction gear assembly including a planetary gear train having a plurality of compound gears and a ring gear, and 
 a wobble plate rotatably connected to the gear assembly, the wobble plate orbiting about the rotational axis of the drive shaft; and 
   wherein the gear assembly provides a predetermined gear reduction to reduce the speed of the motor and increase the torque needed to drive the pump.   
   
   
       14 . The diaphragm pump of  claim 13 , wherein the housing includes a first housing part and a second housing part releasably connected to the first housing part, the first and second housing parts together defining a chamber for housing the reduction gear assembly. 
   
   
       15 . The diaphragm pump of  claim 14 , wherein the ring gear is non-rotatably secured to one of the first housing part and the second housing part, the ring gear including an inner surface configured to engage the plurality of compound gears allowing rotation of the plurality of compound gears about the inner surface of the ring gear. 
   
   
       16 . The diaphragm pump of  claim 15 , wherein the reduction gear assembly further comprises a spur gear coupled to the drive shaft of the motor for simultaneously engaging the plurality of compound gears. 
   
   
       17 . The diaphragm pump of  claim 14 , wherein the drive assembly further includes a separate drive member rotatably coupled to both the reduction gear assembly and wobble plate, the drive member being at least partially positioned within the ring gear. 
   
   
       18 . The diaphragm pump of  claim 13 , wherein the motor is a permanent magnet motor and the reduction gear assembly provides about a 14:1 gear reduction to reduce the speed of the drive shaft thereby allowing the permanent magnet motor to generate increased torque needed to drive the diaphragm pump. 
   
   
       19 . A diaphragm pump comprising:
 a housing;   a permanent magnet motor supported by the housing, the motor including a drive shaft defining a rotational axis;   a drive assembly positioned within the housing and operably connected to the motor, the drive assembly including:
 a reduction gear assembly for reducing the speed and increasing the torque of the permanent magnet motor needed to drive the pump, the gear assembly including a planetary gear train comprised of a plurality of drive gears and a stationary ring gear, a rotation of the drive shaft causing the plurality of drive gears to rotate about the ring gear, 
 a drive member rotatably connected to the reduction gear assembly, and 
 a wobble plate rotatably connected to the drive member. 
   
   
   
       20 . The diaphragm pump of  claim 19 , wherein each drive gear includes a first gear and a second gear, the first gears being simultaneously engaged by the drive shaft, the second gears being mounted to the drive member and simultaneously engaging the ring gear.