Lubricant pump and lubricating system with pump heater

Abstract

A lubricant pump is disclosed for delivering lubricant to at least one lubricating point. The pump features a lubricant container, a pump unit, a drive assigned to the pump unit, and at least one lubricant outlet and a control unit assigned to the drive. At least one heating element is also provided and can be actuated by the control unit and/or another control unit.

1 . A lubricant pump for delivering lubricant to at least one lubricating point, featuring a lubricant container, a pump unit, a drive assigned to the pump unit, at least one lubricant outlet and a control unit assigned to the drive, characterized by the fact that at least one heating element (e) is also provided and can be actuated by the control unit and/or another control unit. 
     
     
         2 . The lubricant pump according to  claim 1 , characterized by the fact that at least one temperature sensor is also provided and connected to the control unit and/or another control unit in order to actuate the at least one heating element in dependence on the temperature determined by the temperature sensor. 
     
     
         3 . The lubricant pump according to  claim 2 , characterized by the fact that at least one pressure sensor is also provided, particularly assigned to the at least one lubricant outlet, and connected to the control unit and/or another control unit in order to actuate the at least one heating element in dependence on the lubricant pressure determined by the pressure sensor. 
     
     
         4 . The lubricant pump according to  claim 3 , characterized by the fact that an agitating device is provided in the lubricant container and can be actuated by means of the drive of the pump unit and/or another drive, wherein a measuring device is assigned to the drive of the agitating device in order to determine the current consumption thereof and connected to the control unit and/or another control unit in order to actuate the at least one heating element in dependence on the current consumption. 
     
     
         5 . The lubricant pump according to  claim 4 , characterized by the fact that the control unit and/or the other control unit are designed such that they detect a state in which the drive for the agitating device is blocked due to excessively low temperatures, based on an evaluation of the data of the temperature sensor, the measuring device and/or the pressure sensor, and by the fact that the control unit and/or the other control unit switches on the at least one heating element in this state. 
     
     
         6 . The lubricant pump according to  claim 4 , characterized by the fact that the control unit and/or the other control unit are designed such that they detect a state in which the pump unit is unable to take in lubricant from the lubricant container due to excessively low temperatures, based on an evaluation of the data of the temperature sensor, the measuring device and/or the pressure sensor, and by the fact that the control unit and/or the other control unit switches on the at least one heating element in this state. 
     
     
         7 . The lubricant pump according to  claim 4 , characterized by the fact that the control unit and/or the other control unit are designed such that they detect a state in which an excessively high flow resistance exists in a line connected to the lubricant outlet due to excessively low temperatures, based on an evaluation of the data of the temperature sensor, the measuring device and/or the pressure sensor, and by the fact that the control unit and/or the other control unit switches off the drive of the pump unit and/or the drive of the agitating device in this state. 
     
     
         8 . The lubricant pump according to  claim 4 , characterized by the fact that the control unit, the temperature sensor, the measuring device, the pressure sensor, the at least one drive and the pump unit are accommodated in a common housing and/or arranged on a common carrier. 
     
     
         9 . A lubricating system with a lubricant pump according to  claim 1  and a line that is connected to a lubricant outlet and a distributor, characterized by the fact that the distributor features a functional sensor that is connected to the control unit and/or the other control unit in order to actuate the at least one heating element in dependence on the operability of the distributor. 
     
     
         10 . The lubricating system according to  claim 9 , characterized by the fact that another heating element is assigned to the distributor and/or the line and can be actuated by the control unit and/or another control unit in dependence on the data of the functional sensor, the temperature sensor, the measuring device and/or the pressure sensor. 
     
     
         11 . The lubricant pump according to  claim 1 , characterized by the fact that at least one pressure sensor is also provided, particularly assigned to the at least one lubricant outlet, and connected to the control unit and/or another control unit in order to actuate the at least one heating element in dependence on the lubricant pressure determined by the pressure sensor. 
     
     
         12 . The lubricant pump according to  claim 11 , characterized by the fact that an agitating device is provided in the lubricant container and can be actuated by means of the drive of the pump unit and/or another drive, wherein a measuring device is assigned to the drive of the agitating device in order to determine the current consumption thereof and connected to the control unit and/or another control unit in order to actuate the at least one heating element in dependence on the current consumption. 
     
     
         13 . The lubricant pump according to  claim 1 , characterized by the fact that an agitating device is provided in the lubricant container and can be actuated by means of the drive of the pump unit and/or another drive, wherein a measuring device is assigned to the drive of the agitating device in order to determine the current consumption thereof and connected to the control unit and/or another control unit in order to actuate the at least one heating element in dependence on the current consumption. 
     
     
         14 . The lubricant pump according to  claim 2 , characterized by the fact that an agitating device is provided in the lubricant container and can be actuated by means of the drive of the pump unit and/or another drive, wherein a measuring device is assigned to the drive of the agitating device in order to determine the current consumption thereof and connected to the control unit and/or another control unit in order to actuate the at least one heating element in dependence on the current consumption.