1. A pump adapted to combine first and second substances, the pump comprising:
a housing;
a chamber defined in the housing;
a first substance inlet in fluid communication with the chamber;
a second substance inlet in fluid communication with the chamber;
a mixture outlet in fluid communication with the chamber; and
a pumping member disposed at least partially in the chamber and arranged to draw first and second substances from the first and second substance inlets and to expel a mixture of the first and second substances through the mixture outlet.
2. A pump as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pumping member and the second substance inlet are arranged to cause intermittent delivery of the second substance into the chamber.
3. A pump as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pumping member and the second substance inlet are arranged to cause substantially continuous delivery of the second substance into the chamber.
4. A pump as claimed in claim 1 and which comprises one of a gear pump, a lobe pump, a gerotor and a vane pump.
5. A pump as claimed in claim 4 and comprising a gerotor, wherein:
the chamber is substantially cylindrical so as to define a central axis, first and second circular faces and a circumferential face; and
the pumping member includes:
an outer rotor disposed within the chamber and having n inwardly facing teeth; and
an inner rotor disposed within the outer rotor and having n+1 outwardly facing teeth for variable engagement with the inwardly facing teeth of the outer rotor,
whereby the outer rotor is arranged for rotation about the central axis of the chamber and the inner rotor is arranged for rotation about an offset axis lying substantially parallel to and spaced from the central axis of the chamber.
6. A pump as claimed in claim 5, wherein a plurality of sub-chambers are defined between the outwardly facing teeth of the inner rotor and the inwardly facing teeth of the outer rotor, the smallest sub-chamber being defined at or near a notional reference line extending radially from the offset axis to a nearest point on the circumferential wall of the chamber.
7. A pump as claimed in claim 6, wherein the first substance inlet and the outlet are disposed on opposed sides of the notional reference line.
8. A pump as claimed in claim 5, wherein the first substance inlet and the second substance inlet are both arranged in the first circular face.
9. A pump as claimed in claim 5, wherein the first substance inlet is arranged in the first circular face and the second substance inlet is arranged in the second circular face.
10. A pump as claimed in claim 9, wherein the second substance inlet is arranged in the second circular face at a location substantially opposite the first substance inlet formed in the first circular face.
11. A pump as claimed in claim 9, and further comprising:
a first substance recess provided on the second circular face and arranged substantially opposite the first substance inlet; and
a land defined within the first substance recess substantially co-planar with the remainder of the second circular face, the second substance inlet being defined within that land.
12. A pump as claimed in claim 5, wherein the second substance inlet is arranged on a circumference intersected by the inwardly facing teeth so as to be intermittently closed as the outer rotor rotates within the chamber.
13. A pump as claimed in claim 6, wherein the size of the second substance inlet and the location of the second substance inlet relative to the reference line determine, at least in part, the amount of second substance introduced into the chamber.
14. A pump as claimed in claim 5, wherein the housing comprises a first part and a second part together defining the chamber,
the first part being provided on an auxiliary component and defining:
the first circular surface;
the first substance inlet provided on the first circular face; and
the mixture outlet provided on the first circular face; and
the second part defining:
the circumferential face;
the second circular surface; and
the second substance inlet provided on the second circular face.
15. A pump as claimed in claim 13, and further comprising a pump adaptor detachably mountable to the housing, the pump adaptor defining an inlet passage adapted to communicate fluidly with the second substance inlet formed in the second part and also defining connection means adapted to connect the inlet passage to a second substance supply.
16. A method of converting a pump into a mixing pump capable of combining two or more substances, the pump including a housing defining a chamber, an inlet in fluid communication with the chamber, an outlet in fluid communication with the chamber and a pumping member disposed within the chamber; the method comprising the steps of:
forming a second inlet in the housing in fluid communication with the chamber;
providing an adaptor defining a duct having a pump orifice and a connector orifice;
attaching the adaptor to the pump such that the pump orifice lies in fluid communication with the second inlet and the connector orifice is capable of being connected to a second substance supply.
17. A pump as claimed in claim 10, and further comprising:
a first substance recess provided on the second circular face and arranged substantially opposite the first substance inlet; and
a land defined within the first substance recess substantially co-planar with the remainder of the second circular face, the second substance inlet being defined within that land.
18. A pump as claimed in claim 6, wherein the first substance inlet and the second substance inlet are both arranged in the first circular face.
19. A pump as claimed in claim 6, wherein the first substance inlet is arranged in the first circular face and the second substance inlet is arranged in the second circular face.
20. A pump as claimed in claim 19, wherein the second substance inlet is arranged in the second circular face at a location substantially opposite the first substance inlet formed in the first circular face.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A computer device for modifying dynamic software documentation for a software package, the device comprising:
a first computer configured to:
provide the software documentation including help information related to the software package over a communication link to a second computer;
receive a command from the second computer that corresponds to providing specified help information from the software documentation;
transmit, to the second computer, the specified help information from the software documentation in response to the command;
receive an identification from the second computer indicating an identity of the second computer and a request from the second computer to modify the help information within the software documentation; and
modify the help information within the software documentation in accordance to the request in response to determining that the identity of the second computer corresponds to an agent having authorization to modify the help information within the software documentation.
2. The device of claim 1 wherein the first computer is further configured to modify the help information within the software documentation by adding additional help information that did not previously exist to the software documentation.
3. The device of claim 1 wherein the first computer is configured to store at least one inquiry associated with performing a particular operation with respect to the software package on the software documentation.
4. The device of claim 1 wherein the first computer is further configured to store unique IDs corresponding to indexed sections of the software package.
5. The device of claim 4 wherein the first computer is further configured to transmit the specified help information that corresponds to at least one of the indexed portions of the software package that is being provided by the second computer based on the stored unique IDs in response to the command.
6. The device of claim 1 wherein the communication link corresponds to a Transmission ControlInternet Protocol (TCPIP).
7. The device of claim 1 wherein the first computer is further configured to cooperate with a software code to receive the identification and the request.
8. The device of claim 1 wherein the agent that has authorization is defined as an entity that does not act on behalf of a software provider that provides the software package.
9. A computer apparatus for generating dynamic software documentation that provides help information for a software package, the device comprising:
a first computer configured to:
electrically communicate with a second computer over a communication link that executes the software package;
receive a command from the second computer that corresponds to providing specified help information for the software documentation;
transmit an output to the second computer indicating that the software documentation does not exist;
receive an identification from the second computer indicating an identity of the second computer and a first request from the second computer to generate the software documentation; and
generate the software documentation in accordance to the first request in response to the determining that the identity of the second computer is authorized to generate the software documentation.
10. The device of claim 9 wherein the first computer is further configured to receive a second request from the second computer to add help information that did not previously exist to the software documentation.
11. The device of 10 wherein the first computer is further configured to receive a third request from the second computer to modify the help information within the software documentation.
12. The device of claim 10 wherein the first computer is further configured to receive a third request to store an inquiry associated with performing a particular operation with respect to the software package on the software documentation transmitted from the second computer.
13. The device of claim 10 wherein the communication link corresponds to a Transmission ControlInternet Protocol (TCPIP).
14. The device of claim 10 wherein the first computer is further configured to cooperate with an open source software code to receive the identification and the first request.
15. A computer-implemented method for modifying dynamic software documentation that provides help information for a software package, the method comprising:
transmitting, from a first computer, the software documentation having help information related to the software package over a communication link;
receiving a command, at the first computer, that corresponds to providing specified help information from the software documentation;
transmitting the specified help information from the software documentation in response to the command;
receiving an identification, at the first computer, indicating an identity of an agent;
receiving a request, at the first computer, from the agent to modify the help information within the software documentation; and
modifying, with the first computer, the help information within the software documentation in accordance to the request in response to the determining that the identity of the agent corresponds to an authorized agent.
16. The method of claim 15 wherein modifying, with the first computer includes adding additional help information that did not previously exist to the software documentation with the first computer.
17. The method of claim 15 further comprising storing an inquiry, at the first computer, that is associated with performing a particular operation with respect to the software package.
18. The method of claim 15 further comprising storing unique IDs corresponding to indexed portions of the software package at the first computer.
19. The method of claim 18 further comprising transmitting, from the first computer, the specified help information that corresponds to at least one of the indexed portions of the software package based on the stored unique IDs in response to the command.