Hand pump

A hand pump for pumping out fluid from a reservoir, comprising a pump body, a faucet, a driving mechanism and a sealing arrangement. The pump body has at a side a connector defining a receptacle radially extending into a cavity of the pump body. The driving mechanism includes an axle inserted in the receptacle of the connector, a sealing sleeve mounted around the axle, a coupling cap axially secured to the sealing sleeve, and a L-shaped handle. The handle having at one end inserted through the coupling cap and the axle, and at the other hand extending outside the coupling cap. Operation of the handle in cyclically up and down motion drives the axle to rotate, which causes a piston in the cavity to move upward and downward so as to suck the fluid into the faucet. The sealing arrangement has at least three O-rings disposed among the parts of the driving mechanism to provide an effective seal between the driving mechanism and the pump body.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a hand pump, and more particularly to a hand pump with a leak-resistant handle arrangement.

2. Description of the Related Art

Attention is initially invited toFIG. 13which illustrates a conventional oil drum9of cylindrical configuration having an upper end wall90with a conventional hand operated dispensing pump91being mounted in fittings in the upper end wall90. The lower end of the pump91is provided with a coupling member95. A suction tube96is mounted in the lower end of the coupling member95and has its lower end positioned adjacent the bottom of the drum9. Pump91is of conventional construction and includes an oscillatable actuator handle92which, when oscillated through an angle of approximately 180 degrees, effects the pumping of liquid93contained within the drum for discharge through a discharge nozzle94. However, it should be understood that an oil leaking at the joint between the handle92and the pump housing91may occur after a long-term use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a hand pump to solve the aforementioned problem. Briefly described, the hand pump of this invention includes a pump body, a faucet, a piston assembly, a driving mechanism and a sealing arrangement.

Specifically, the pump body has a first connector at a side, a second connector at an upper end, a third connector at a lower end, and a cavity formed between the upper and lower ends. The first connector has a receptacle radially extending into the cavity. The faucet has an inlet end attached to the second connector of the pump body and an outlet end for discharge of fluid from the cavity. The piston assembly is slidably mounted in the cavity of the pump body and has an one-way valve reciprocally moved so as to suck the fluid into the faucet. The driving mechanism includes an axle, a sealing sleeve, a first coupling cap and an oscillatable actuator handle. The axle is inserted in the receptacle of the first connector of the pump body and positioned in the cavity of the pump body. The sealing sleeve is mounted around the axle and located inside the receptacle. The first coupling cap is secured to an end of the sealing sleeve and axially aligned with the axle. The actuator handle is generally L-shaped and has at one end a rod portion inserted through a central bore of the first coupling cap to a central bore of the axle, and at the other hand a handle portion extending outside the first coupling cap. As such, operation of the handle portion of the actuator handle in cyclically up and down motion drives the axle to rotate, which causes the piston assembly to move upward and downward so as to suck the fluid into the faucet.

Additionally, the sealing arrangement includes at least one first sealing gasket mounted around the axle and radially interposed between the axle and the sealing sleeve, a second sealing gasket mounted around the sealing sleeve and radially interposed between the first connector and the sealing sleeve, and a third sealing gasket axially interposed between the sealing sleeve and the first coupling cap. This sealing arrangement provides an effective seal between the pump body and the driving member. This configuration is beneficial in that if the first sealing gasket is worn out by long use, the third sealing gasket may be pressed further against the peripheral surface of the axle by the coupling cap so as to restore an effective seal.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Referring toFIGS. 1-12, there is shown a preferred embodiment of the hand pump100for pumping out fluid from a reservoir8(FIG. 7) according to the present invention. As shown inFIGS. 1 and 2, the hand pump100generally includes a pump body1, a faucet2positioned on top of the pump body1, a driving mechanism3located at a side of the pump body1, a sealing gasket4(seeFIG. 9), and a coupling cap5holding the faucet2onto the pump body1.

As shown inFIG. 8, the pump body1has a first connector12at a side, a second connector10at an upper end, a third connector11at a lower end, and a cavity (not numbered) formed between the upper and lower ends.

Referring back toFIGS. 2 and 4, the faucet2has an platelike inlet end21joined to the second connector10of the pump body1and an outlet end22for discharge of the fluid. Moreover, the inlet end21of the faucet2has an upper portion defining a plurality of notches211in a periphery thereof and at a lower end a radial outwardly extending flange210.

As shown inFIG. 2, the second connector10of the pump body1has an opening101extending into the cavity of the pump body1. The second connector10further includes an inner flange102radial inwardly extending from an inner wall of the opening101. The inner flange102defines in a top an annular groove103in which the sealing gasket4is nested, as depicted inFIG. 4.

The coupling cap5has an internally threaded cylindrical body51and a neck portion52inwardly extending from an upper end of the cylindrical body51. The cylindrical body51of the coupling cap5is provided to be threadably engaged with the second connector10of the pump body1, as depicted inFIG. 4. On the other hand, the flange210of the inlet end21of the faucet2abuts downward against both of the inner flange102of the second connector10of the pump body1and the sealing gasket4received in the annular groove103of the inner flange102. The neck portion52of the coupling cap5holds the flange210of the inlet end21of the faucet2onto the inner flange102of the second connector10of the pump body1. The cooperation between the flange210of the inlet end21of the faucet2and the inner flange102of the second connector10allows the faucet2to rotate with respect to the second connector10.

Referring toFIG. 5, the hand pump100further includes a lower coupling cap6to be attached to the third connector11of the pump body1. Similar to the upper coupling cap5, the lower coupling cap6has an internally threaded cylindrical body61and a neck portion62inwardly extending from a lower edge of the cylindrical body61. On the other hand, the third connector11of the pump body1includes an upper externally threaded section111and a lower externally threaded section112axially aligned with the upper externally threaded section111, and a threaded coupling pipe113passing through the upper and lower externally threaded sections111,112.

As shown inFIG. 6, the upper externally threaded section111of the third connector11has a greater diameter than the lower externally threaded section112and is provided to be threadably engaged with the cylindrical body61of the lower coupling cap6. The lower externally threaded section112of the third connector11is configured to be threadably mounted to a threaded fitment80of the reservoir8while the neck portion62of the lower coupling cap6abuts against an upper end of the threaded fitment80of the reservoir8, thereby securing the pump body1onto the reservoir8. Besides, the threaded coupling pipe113is provided to connect with a suction tube81in a known manner.

Referring toFIG. 8, a piston assembly7is slidably mounted in the cavity of the pump body1. The piston assembly7has a piston71and an one-way valve72reciprocally moved so as to suck the fluid into the faucet2. As best seen inFIGS. 9-11, the first connector12of the pump body1has a receptacle120radially extending into the cavity, and the driving mechanism3includes an axle30, a sealing sleeve33, a coupling cap35, a pair of screws39, and an oscillatable actuator handle37. The axle30is inserted in the receptacle120of the first connector12of the pump body1and positioned in the cavity of the pump body1. The sealing sleeve32is mounted around the axle30and located inside the receptacle120. The coupling cap35is secured to an end of the sealing sleeve33by the screws39and axially aligned with the axle30. Additionally, the oscillatable actuator handle37is generally L-shaped, and has at one end a rod portion371inserted through a central bore of the coupling cap35to a central bore of the axle30, and at the other hand a handle portion372extending outside the coupling cap35. In particular, the rod portion371of the actuator handle37has a polygonal cross-section, and the central bore of the axle30has a polygonal cross-section configured in size and shape to receive the rod portion371of the actuator handle37. The pump body1further has a positioning alcove13defined in a wall of the cavity to receive a distal end of the axle30so that the axle30can be firmly held in position. In addition, a metal retainer clip36is placed in between the axle30and the coupling cap35and has its inner edge received in a retainer groove (not numbered) defined in the rod portion371to stop the actuator handle37from falling off the pump body12.

As shown inFIG. 11, the actuator handle37has a lug373radially extending from an end of the rod portion371adjacent to the handle portion372. On the other hand, the coupling cap35has a protrusion351on a wall of the central bore thereof and corresponding to the lug373of the actuator handle37. In such a manner as depicted inFIG. 12, the protrusion351of the coupling cap35limits swinging movement of the handle portion372of the actuator handle37with respect to the pump body1by an angle of about 180 degrees.

Furthermore, operation of the handle portion372of the actuator handle37in cyclically up and down motion drives the axle30as well as a pinion38integrally forming on the axle30to rotate. Since the pinion38meshes with a rack73formed underneath the piston72, rotation of the pinion38causes the rack73as well as the rest portion of the piston assembly7to move upward and downward so as to suck the fluid into the faucet2.

To provide a leak resistant connection between the pump body1and the driving mechanism3, a sealing arrangement may be employed in the hand pump100to include two first sealing gasket31, a second sealing gasket32and a third sealing gasket34. As shown inFIG. 9, the two first sealing gaskets31are axially spaced and mounted around the axle30and radially interposed between the axle30and the sealing sleeve33. The second sealing gasket32is mounted around the sealing sleeve33and radially interposed between the first connector12and the sealing sleeve33. The third sealing gasket34is axially interposed between the sealing sleeve33and the coupling cap35. This sealing arrangement provides an effective seal between the pump body1and the driving member3when the parts are in the position illustrated inFIG. 9. This configuration is beneficial in that if the first sealing gaskets31are both worn out by long-term use, a user may simply tighten the screws39with a screwdriver to have the coupling cap35push a bit further against the third sealing gasket34so as to restore an effective seal.

It should be evident that this disclosure is by way of example and that various changes may be made by adding, modifying or eliminating details without departing from the fair scope of the teaching contained in this disclosure.