Patent ID: 8157484

Claim:
An apparatus for pumping free-flowing materials, comprising: a vacuum pipe connected to a vacuum pump; a pumping gas pipe connected to a pumping gas source; a receptacle coupled to the vacuum pipe and the pumping gas pipe; at least one supply pipe; at least one drainage pipe for a material being associated with the receptacle; a vertically extending cylindrical pump chamber with a base region and defining a longitudinal axis, the vacuum pump and the pumping gas source configured to pneumatically pump a liquid, a powder, a suspension and a paste into the pump chamber; a device mounted in an upper region of the pump chamber configured to separate liquid and powder, the device having a float member configured as a sealing element, wherein a lower region of the pump chamber is coupled to the at least one supply pipe for supplying at least one of the liquid, the powder, the suspension, and the paste to the pump chamber and wherein the float member has a first ball end and a second ball end, the first ball end and the second ball end being axially coupled by a tubular portion, and wherein the device forms an axial apex chamber of the pump chamber and is disposed so as to be axially movable; and a filter element disposed between the device and the base region of the pump chamber.