JP3400515B2 - Air pump - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air pump, and more particularly to an air pump for feeding foaming air into a water tank containing appreciation fish.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in ordinary households and places where many people gather, it has been practiced to raise ornamental fish in an aquarium to raise them as indoor accessories or to delight the eyes of the viewer. . In the aquarium that breeds such ornamental fish, it is often found that a foam generating device is often placed on the bottom of the water and air is sent to the foam generating device from a small air pump to generate air bubbles. A conventional example of this type of air pump is shown in FIG. In this figure, reference numeral 1 is a yoke fixedly attached to a housing 2 to form an electromagnetic circuit, 3 is a core attached to the yoke 1, 4 is an electromagnetic coil wound around the core 3 and connected to a power cord 5. Thus, the yoke 1, the core 3 and the electromagnetic coil 4 constitute an electromagnetic drive mechanism. Reference numeral 6 is an arm, and 7 is a magnet attached to the tip of the arm 6 to reciprocate between the yoke 1 and the electromagnetic coil 4 by electromagnetic action. The arm 6 is attached to the housing 2 so as to be displaceable in the movement direction of the arm 6 according to the reciprocating movement of the magnet 7, and a diaphragm 8 is connected to the longitudinal middle portion thereof. The diaphragm 8 is made of an elastic material such as rubber that contracts and expands due to an external force,
Air is sucked by the electromagnetic action of the electromagnetic drive mechanism, and air is further discharged from the air outlet 9. Therefore, air can be sent to the aquarium by connecting the hose to the air outlet 9.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional air pump, a hose is directly connected to the outlet of the diaphragm 8 and air is sent into the water tank through the hose. The sound when 8 sucks in and discharges air is transmitted from the air outlet 9 to the water tank as it is through the hose, and while the air pump is operating, a low beat noise is generated from the water tank or its periphery. In addition to being harsh to the ears, the sound may continue to sound even after sleeping in the middle of the night in a general household, and some people may disturb sleep. Furthermore, since bubbles are originally formed in the aquarium, the sound of bubbles rising in the water or the clear sound of bubbles popping up to the surface of the water may be audible to the human ear. , These sounds are
There was also a problem that it could not be heard because the pump roared it.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an air pump which prevents a sound generated at the time of sucking and discharging air by a diaphragm from being transmitted to a water tank. is there.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the air pump of the present invention is a housing which is a housing.
When the arm having an electromagnetic drive mechanism, a magnet reciprocating by the electromagnetic action of the electromagnetic drive mechanism, the A
A diaphragm for sucking air is actuated by the over arm is connected to the diaphragm accumulated air temporarily, and a discharge to the tank member, the tank member includes a base
And the base of the box structure, is raised from the base portion, and a diaphragm joints in contact against the air outlet of the diaphragm, and a columnar portion of the launched box structure side by side from the base portion to the diaphragm joint, the columnar
Has a locking portion formed on the base portion and to which the base portion of the arm is fixed, and has a block body structure integrated as a whole, and is substantially L-shaped between the base portion and the columnar portion. A continuous air retention chamber is formed in the diaphragm joint, and an air passage communicating with the air retention chamber is formed in the diaphragm junction from the air intake port that receives the air sent from the diaphragm toward the base portion. together with the air inlet is provided on the base portion side of the air outlet of the air residence chamber is provided in an upper portion of the pillar-shaped portion, the support base of the diaphragm and the arm
All functions and air suction and discharge operation by diaphragm
It also has a function to reduce the sound generated during
Abut on the bottom of the housing to fix it.
It is one in which the hose for air supply is connected to the air outlet of the tank member. Further, the air inlet and the air outlet are provided at positions separated from each other in the air retention chamber, and the outflow direction of the air from the air outlet is oriented at a right angle to the inflow direction of the air from the air inlet. Is preferred.

[0006]

According to the present invention having the above-mentioned structure, the diaphragm performs the intake and discharge operations of air by the operation of the electromagnetic drive mechanism. The air discharged from the diaphragm is introduced into a tank member connected to the diaphragm, passes through the tank member, then enters a hose, and reaches the water tank through the hose. Since an air retention chamber having a certain volume is formed in the tank member, the air sent to the tank member is temporarily stored in the air retention chamber and then enters the hose through the outlet. Therefore, the sound generated during the intake and discharge operations of air in the diaphragm is
It is erased or significantly reduced by the tank members. Then, only air is sent to the water tank through the hose, and quiet air supply is performed.

[0007]

1 is a plan view showing an internal structure of an air pump according to an embodiment of the present invention in an exposed state. In this figure, reference numeral 11 is a yoke fixedly attached to one side wall 12a of a housing 12 which is a housing to form an electromagnetic circuit, 13 is a core attached to the yoke 11 and forming an electromagnetic circuit together with the yoke 12, 14 is the core 13
The electromagnetic coil is wound around and is connected to the power cord 15. The yoke 11, the core 13 and the electromagnetic coil 14 constitute an electromagnetic drive mechanism for performing a pump operation. Reference numeral 16 denotes the other side wall 12b inside the housing 12 that faces the side wall to which the yoke 11 is attached.
Arm extending from the side toward the electromagnetic coil 4, 1
A magnet 7 is attached to the tip of the arm 16 and reciprocates between the yoke 11 and the electromagnetic coil 14 by an electromagnetic action with the electromagnetic drive mechanism.

The arm 16 has a kind of cantilever structure (where the displacement direction is the vertical direction in FIG. 1) by fixedly connecting the root end to the tank member described later. . The arm 16 is connected to the magnet 17
It is attached to the housing 12 so as to be bent and displaced in the movement direction of the magnet 17 with the reciprocating movement of the diaphragm 17.
Are connected. The diaphragm 18 is made of an elastic material such as rubber, leather, reinforced paper, or plastic having a hollow interior that contracts and expands due to an external force, and has a valve mechanism. It inhales and exhales air. Tank members 19 are installed next to each other on the exhaust side of the diaphragm 18, and the air discharged from the diaphragm 18 is guided to the tank member 19.

FIG. 2 shows a tank member 1 according to this embodiment.
9 is a plan view, FIG. 3 is a front view of the tank member 19, and FIG. 4 is a front sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 2 for explaining the internal structure of the tank member 19.
The tank member 19 includes the diaphragm 19 and the arm 1.
It also has a function as a support for supporting 6, and has a block structure as a whole. The tank member 19 includes a base portion 20 that comes into contact with the bottom surface of the housing 12 and serves as a base, a diaphragm joint portion 21 that is integrally formed with the base portion 20 and is in contact with an exhaust portion of the diaphragm 18, and a base portion. 20 and a diaphragm joint portion 21 and a columnar portion 22 integrally formed.

The columnar portion 22 is formed so as to rise from the base portion 20 at a position adjacent to the diaphragm joint portion 21. A continuous air retention chamber 23 is formed between the portions 20 and 22 inside the base portion 20 and inside the columnar portion 22. That is, since the base portion 20 and the columnar portion 22 have a box structure, and the columnar portion 22 rises in a direction substantially perpendicular to the base portion 20, the inside of these portions is shown in FIG. Thus, the substantially L-shaped air retention chamber 23 is formed. Further, a nozzle portion 24 is provided at the upper end of the columnar portion 22,
The nozzle portion 24 is provided with an air outlet 25 that communicates with the air retention chamber 23 and discharges air to the outside of the air pump. The air outlet 25 extends in the horizontal direction with respect to the tank member 19, and by connecting a hose, air can be sent to the water tank.

Further, a locking portion 33 for supporting the arm 16 is provided at a portion of the columnar portion 22 adjacent to the nozzle portion 24.
Is provided, and the base portion of the arm 16 is fixed to the locking portion 33. The locking portion 33, as is clear from FIG.
A space 34, which has a substantially annular shape in plan view, is formed of a wall piece protruding from the outer wall of the tank member 19 and having a tip end halfway through, and a circular cutout 34 with the main body of the tank member 19. Is formed. The arm 16 may be directly attached to the locking portion 33 to have a cantilever structure as described above, but in this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the gap 34 is provided with elasticity such as rubber. A holding member 35 made of a material having the above is embedded, and the arm 16 is embedded in the holding member 35.
The root part of is connected. As a result, the displacement of the arm 16 is restricted by the elastic deformation of the holding member.

On the other hand, the diaphragm joint portion 21 is formed in a circular shape similar to the shape of the exhaust side portion of the diaphragm 18. A screw through hole 26 for fixing the drum portion of the diaphragm 18 is formed at the center of the diaphragm joint portion 21, and the diaphragm 18 is fed to a position slightly below the screw through hole 26. An air intake 27 is formed to receive the fresh air. From the air intake 27 of the diaphragm joint portion 21, the air passage 2
8 extends vertically downward toward the base portion 20,
The tip of this air passage 28 communicates with the air retention chamber 23 in the base portion 20.

A mounting flange 29 having a screw through hole 32 is provided on a side portion of the tank member 19 for fixing the tank member 19 to the housing 12 in a fixed manner. Screw 30
The tank member 19 is fixedly attached to the housing 12 by inserting the screw into the bottom plate portion 12c of the housing 12 and inserting the same. When attaching the tank member 19 to the housing 12, as is apparent from FIG. 4, a fitting recess 31 into which the base portion 20 of the tank member 19 is tightly fitted is formed at a predetermined position of the bottom plate portion 12a of the housing 12. The base portion 20 of the tank member 19 is provided in the fitting recess 31.
After fitting, the screw 30 is screwed in. As a result, the tank member 19 is fixedly attached without rattling due to vibrations, etc., the generation of noise is suppressed to the maximum, and the tank member 19 can sufficiently function as a support base for the diaphragm 18.

In FIG. 1, the upper half of the housing 12 is removed to show the inside of the air pump, but the upper half of the housing 12 is covered as a lid to complete the air pump.

The operation of the air pump having the above structure will be described. When the air pump is operated, the magnet 17 reciprocates together with the arm 16 by the driving action of the electromagnetic drive mechanism, and the diaphragm 18 performs the intake and exhaust operations of air accordingly. The air discharged from the diaphragm 18 is taken into the tank member 19 from the air intake port 27 of the tank member 19, flows vertically downward through the air passage 28, and first to the base portion 20 side portion of the air retention chamber 23. Pour in. Then, the air is temporarily stored in the air retention chamber 23. The air is continuously sent from the diaphragm 18 to the air retention chamber 23, so that the air outlet 25 of the nozzle portion 24 provided at the upper end of the columnar portion 22 from the air retention chamber 23.
Through which air is expelled horizontally. Then, the discharged air is guided to the water tank by a hose (not shown) connected to the air outlet 25, and bubbles are generated in the water tank.

At this time, since the volume of the air retention chamber 23 is extremely large with respect to the diameter of the air passage 28, the diaphragm 1
The sound generated by the operation of 8 can be significantly reduced. Moreover, the air taken into the tank member 19 flows into the air retention chamber 23 in the base portion 20, is discharged from the upper end of the columnar portion 22 away from the inflow position, and when the air flows into the air retention chamber 23. Combined with the fact that the direction of air flow at the time of flowing out from this is different from that at a right angle, the effect of reducing the sound is further promoted. Therefore, the sound of the air pump hardly leaks from the air outlet 25, and only the air is sent to the water tank through the hose, and a quiet air supply operation is realized.

[0017]

As described above, according to the present invention, the tank member serves as a support for the diaphragm and the arm.
Function and the suction and discharge of air by the diaphragm
It also has a function to reduce the sound
As it is fixedly attached to the housing, it is attached to the tank
Support the yaf ram and arm and attach to the housing
At the same time, the sound generated during the intake and discharge of air by the diaphragm during the operation of the air pump is greatly reduced by the volume of the air retention chamber, and the air inflow and outflow positions by the air retention chamber, and The direction of air flow further enhances the sound reduction effect, and the sound is muted or significantly reduced to provide a quiet air supply to the aquarium. Also, since the air is supplied quietly, the sound of bubbles rising in the water of the aquarium, or the clear sound of bubbles bursting at the surface of the water, reaches the ears of people, and people who hear this hear it. It also has the effect of giving a refreshing feeling and calming.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an internal structure of an embodiment of an air pump according to the present invention in an exposed state.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a tank member in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a front view of a tank member in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a front cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 2 for explaining the internal structure of the tank member in the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing an inside of an example of a conventional air pump.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 York 12 housing 13 cores 14 Electromagnetic coil 15 power cord 16 arms 17 magnets 18 diaphragm 19 Tank member 20 Base 21 Diaphragm joint 22 Column 23 Air retention chamber 24 nozzle 25 air outlet 26 screw holes 27 Air intake 28 air passages 31 Fitting recess 33 Locking part 35 holding member

Continuation of the front page (56) Bibliography Flat 3-114586 (JP, U) Real development Sho 55-117692 (JP, U) Real development Sho 54-117513 (JP, U) Real public Sho 51-24562 (JP , Y1) Actual public 52-57453 (JP, Y1) Actual public 54-8401 (JP, Y1) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) F04B 25/00-41/06 F04B 43/00-47/14 F04B 53/00-53/22

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A housing, which is a housing, and an electromagnetic drive mechanism.
And reciprocate by the electromagnetic action of this electromagnetic drive mechanism
An arm having a magnet, a diaphragm that is operated by this arm to suck in air, and a tank member that is connected to the diaphragm and temporarily stores and discharges air, and the tank member is a base of a box structure that serves as a base. When,
A box that is started up from the base part and faces the air discharge part of the diaphragm, and a box that is started up next to the diaphragm connection part from the base part
The columnar part of the structure and the base of the arm formed on this columnar part
The block has a locking part to which the part is fixed,
An air retention chamber continuous in an L-shape is formed between the base part and the columnar part in a hollow body structure, and an air intake port for receiving air sent from the diaphragm is formed in the diaphragm joint part from the base part. extending towards, is formed an air passage communicating with the air residence chamber, together with the air inlet of the air residence chamber is provided on the base portion side, the air outlet of the air residence chamber is provided in an upper portion of the pillar-shaped portion, the diaphragm
And function as a support for the arm and the diaphragm
To reduce the noise generated when inhaling and exhaling air
Combine the function with the base part on the bottom of the housing.
An air pump characterized in that the hose for air supply is connected to the air outlet of the tank member by abutting and fixedly attached . 2. An air inlet and an air outlet are provided at positions separated from each other in the air retention chamber, and an outflow direction of the air from the air outlet is perpendicular to an inflow direction of the air from the air inflow port. The air pump according to claim 1, wherein: