Patent ID: 6832620
Filing Date: 2004-12-21
Classification: F16N,Y10T

Abstract:
A lubricant dosing apparatus for injecting a dosed amount of a lubricant into a pressurized airflow, comprising:a lubricant container adapted to contain a lubricant therein; a pneumatically actuatable lubricant pump having a pump inlet connected to said lubricant container and having a pump outlet; an injection channel connected to said pump outlet; a non-return valve that is interposed between said pump outlet and said injection channel and that is adapted to close said pump outlet and to selectively temporarily open said pump outlet responsive to a pressure of the lubricant to allow the lubricant to flow from said pump outlet to said injection channel; and an electronic sensor that is arranged adjacent to said non-return valve so as to sense at least one of a position and a stroke travel of said non-return valve, and that is adapted to emit an electrical signal responsive to and indicative of said position or said stroke travel; wherein: said non-return valve comprises a valve head that selectively covers and uncovers said pump outlet, a protruding valve plug that protrudes from said valve head and that selectively plugs into and unplugs from said pump outlet, and a valve stem that extends from said valve head toward said electronic sensor; an axial length of said valve plug protruding from said valve head determines a minimum required magnitude of said stroke travel of said non-return valve for opening said pump outlet; and said electronic sensor senses said at least one of said position and said stroke travel of said valve stem of said non-return valve.