Patent ID: 9683562
Date: 2017-06-20
CPC Classifications: A61M,F04B

Claim:
1. A pumping segment with a low shut-off force, the pumping segment comprising: a medical-grade tube for delivering medical fluid, the tube comprising an interior surface comprising a first notch and a second notch on opposite sides of the interior surface such that the first and second notches divide a wall of the tube into a first wall region and a second wall region and divide the interior surface into a first interior surface and a second interior surface respectively forming interior surfaces of the first wall region and the second wall region; a first spring element coupled to an exterior surface of the first wall region of the tube, the exterior surface of the first wall region separated from the first interior surface by a thickness of the first wall region, and the first spring element configured to elastically deform as the first wall region of the tube is displaced toward the second wall region by a compressive force provided by an external compressive member and to rebound without assistance from the external compressive member to separate the first wall region of the tube from the second wall region as the first spring element returns to an undeformed shape when the external compressive force is removed; and a second spring element coupled to the second wall region of the tube, the second spring element configured to elastically deform as the second wall region of the tube is displaced toward the first wall region and to separate the second wall region of the tube from the first wall region as the second spring element returns to an undeformed shape.