Patent Description:
Peristaltic pumps are used to pump fluids. The fluid is in a tube. The pump compresses the tube and causes the movement of fluid through the tube. Peristaltic pumps may be used in medical, agricultural, industrial, laboratory, food preparation, or the like. The movement of fluid in the tube may be controlled by the peristaltic pump. The movement may be metered such that an amount of the fluid is moved. A peristaltic pump may be used in an environment in which air or turbulence cannot be introduced into the fluid.

Document <CIT> discloses a device for delivering a beneficial agent to a user comprising a cassette including a cassette housing with a fluid reservoir, the cassette housing having a cassette base region, and a delivery tube. The device also includes a pump having a pump housing containing a pump assembly and having a receiving region to receive the cassette base region. The pump assembly includes a fluid drive component, a display, a plurality of input buttons. The pump assembly also includes a first processor coupled to the fluid drive component and the display and configured to reduce power to the fluid drive component and the display when the pump is in an inactive state, and a second processor coupled to the first processor and the plurality of input buttons, the second processor configured to provide an activation signal to the first processor when one or more of the plurality of input buttons is deployed.

In summary, the present disclosure provides a self-lubricating linear peristaltic pump having the features described at claim <NUM>. The dependent claims outline advantageous form of embodiment of the peristaltic pump.

The foregoing is a summary and thus may contain simplifications, generalizations, and omissions of detail; consequently, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting.

For a better understanding of the embodiments, together with other and further features and advantages thereof, reference is made to the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The scope of the invention will be pointed out in the appended claims.

Conventional methods and systems for peristaltic pumps may be of the roller type. A fluid is contained in a flexible tube. A fluid is moved or displaced by movement of a roller against the flexible tube. For example, a flexible tube containing a fluid is wrapped around a roller. The roller on the outside circumference of a shaft turns and compresses the tube and the fluid contained therein. As the roller turns, a portion of the tube becomes compressed, partially occluded, or occluded. The tube returns then to an uncompressed state after the roller passes. The roller is switched on and off to deliver an amount of fluid.

A linear peristaltic pump uses another method to compress a tube and fluid contained therein. A series of compressions against the tube in an inline manner, as opposed to a rotating roller, creates movement of fluid through the tube. Linear peristaltic pumps may allow for a higher precision of delivery of a measured volume of fluid. In other words, a series of compression against the tubing in a sequential manner move the fluid through the tube.

Conventional peristaltic pumps suffer from wear over their lifetimes. For example, peristaltic pumps may be constructed of metal and use ball bearings. The ball bearings are located at wear points, for example, in a location where a shaft passes through a plate. This construction method has drawbacks. For example, metal wears over time. The wearing of metal reduces the tolerances of the pump. A reduced tolerance may reduce the ability of the peristaltic pump to deliver precise volumes of fluid as the service time of the pump increases. Also, ball bearings require maintenance. For example, ball bearings may show signs of wear over time. The wear may be due to dust, liquid intrusion, containments, or breakdown of the bearing races and balls over time. Ball bearings also require cleaning and lubrication over time. Metal components may corrode, especially in harsh environments with moisture and contanimants. Additionally, ball bearing and metal represent a higher construction cost as quality materials for medical and/or laboratory grade materials expensive.

A peristaltic pump made of plastic may reduce cost, maintenance, wear, and the like. A properly selected plastic material may self-lubricate. In this manner, bearings may be reduced or even eliminated from the peristaltic pump design. The pump may be made of fewer materials. The design may also reduce the number of parts. This reduces maintenance issues. The complexity of the peristaltic pump may also be reduced. A pump with fewer parts has fewer points of possible failure. Fewer parts may also reduce manufacturing costs. Plastic manufacturing and molding allows for consistent design and high reliability.

Accordingly, the present disclosure provides a device and method for the precise deliver of a fluid in a tube using a self-lubricating peristaltic pump. In particular, the peristaltic pump is constructed of a plastic material containing one or more components that lubricate moving parts that wear upon one another. The peristaltic pump has no or very few metal components. The peristaltic pump has no or very few bearings. The peristaltic pump is a linear peristaltic pump. In an embodiment, one or more lengths of tubing containing a fluid are positioned or clamped to the pump. The peristaltic pump has a plurality of compression blocks and at least one pinch block. A face end of the compression block compresses the tube to move the fluid within the tube. A face end of a pinch block partially occludes or occludes the tubing and stop flow. In an embodiment, the compression and pinch blocks slide in a slide area of a housing. The sliding of the block is in a longitudinal axis from the face end to a base end of the block. The base end of a compression or a pinch block contacts a cam that moves a block in a track or groove. The plastic construction of the peristaltic pump is self-lubricating. The plastic may contain glass fibers, polycarbonate, silicone, Teflon™. ultra-high-molecular weight polyethylene (UHMW), nylon, polyoxymethylene (POM), polyetheretherketone (PEEK), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), or a combination thereof.

The illustrated example embodiments will be best understood by reference to the figures. The following description is intended only by way of example, and simply illustrates certain example embodiments.

Referring to <FIG>, an example device for a self-lubricating linear peristaltic pump is illustrated. <FIG> is provided as a cutaway view of an embodiment of the peristaltic pump. The device <NUM> is used the movement of a fluid contained in a tube. The peristaltic pump may be used for medical, industrial, laboratory, agricultural, or the like environments. The peristaltic pump uses a plurality of blocks that contact and compress the tube in a sequence to facilitate the movement of a fluid through the tube.

The peristaltic pump has a cover <NUM>. The cover is a cover for a slide area of the housing <NUM>. The cover <NUM> has a functional purpose. For example, the cover <NUM> is removable and serves as a clamp to keep at least one piece of tubing (not pictured) in contact with a plurality of compression blocks <NUM> and/or an at least one pinch block <NUM>. The tubing is of a compressible material. The cover <NUM> may snap or slid into place upon the slide area of a housing <NUM>. Additionally or alternatively, the cover <NUM> may be affixed with a hinge, latch, fastener, or the like. The cover <NUM> may snap, swing, click, or the like into a closed position. The cover <NUM>, may be easily opened to allow at least one length of tubing to be placed under the cover. The cover <NUM> applies enough force to the tubing to keep it against the plurality of compression blocks <NUM> and the at least one pinch block <NUM>. The force may be gentle enough such that the at least one piece of tubing is not crimped and/or constricted by the cover <NUM>. In an embodiment, the pump has a tubing cartridge <NUM>. The tubing cartridge <NUM> may hold one or more tubes, may allow for easier changing of tubing, and/or align one or more pieces of tubing. The tubing cartridge <NUM> is located between the cover <NUM>, and the plurality of compression blocks <NUM> and the at least one pinch block <NUM>. In an embodiment, tubing cartridge <NUM> has indentations aligned with indentations of the slide area of a housing <NUM> to hold one or more pieces of tubing in place against the faces of the plurality of compression blocks <NUM> and the at least one pinch block <NUM>. The cover <NUM> holds the tubing cartridge <NUM> in place.

The peristaltic pump has a plurality of compression blocks <NUM>. The compression blocks have a face end and a base end. The face end may be in contact or opposed to at least one piece of tubing. The base end of a compression block may be in contact with or opposed to a cam <NUM>. The face end of a compression block <NUM> may be shaped or contoured. For example, the face of a compression block <NUM> has a semicircular indentation. The semicircular indentation may be beveled around the edges. The semicircular indentation may be of a diameter corresponding to a diameter of a piece of tubing or similar to a piece of tubing. A compression block <NUM> is shaped such that the face end compresses the tubing.

A plurality of compression blocks are present. For example, a plurality of compression blocks parallel to one another. The face end of each compression block compresses the tubing in a sequence to facilitate movement of a fluid in a tube. The plurality of compression blocks move in a sequence or in a different order to cause peristalsis of fluid through the tube. The sequence is from one compression block to an adjacent block and so forth. Other sequences are possible depending on the use or application of the peristaltic pump.

The peristaltic pump has at least one pinch block <NUM>. In an embodiment there is only a single pinch block. The pinch block stops the flow of a fluid in a tube. The stoppage of fluid may be at a time when the pump is turned off. The pinch block <NUM> has a face end and a base end. The face end of a pinch block is in contact or opposed to at least one piece of tubing. The base end of a pinch block is in contact with or opposed to a cam <NUM>. The face end of a pinch block is shaped or contoured. For example, the face of a pinch block has a raised portion on the face end. The raised portion may be beveled around the edges. The raised portion has dimensions corresponding to a diameter of a piece of tubing or similar to a piece of tubing. A pinch block <NUM> is shaped such that the face end compresses and/ or occludes the tubing. The pinch block <NUM> is retractable. In other words, the pinch block <NUM> is moved such that the face end does not contact the tubing while the peristaltic pump is moving fluid through a tube. The pinch block <NUM> is moved such that the raise portion occludes or stops the movement of a fluid in the tubing when the pump is stopped or when the flow is shut off.

The peristaltic pump has a slide area of a housing <NUM>. The slide area is a portion of the housing of the peristaltic pump. The plurality of compression blocks <NUM> and the at least one pinch block <NUM>, are partially located in the slide area. The slide area has tracks or grooves. A single track or groove, has a corresponding compression or pinch block. As an analogy, the slide area may be akin to a dresser, and the compression or pinch blocks akin to the drawers in the dresser. Each compression or pinch block slides in its respective groove or track independently of one another. The number of slides or tracks are adapted to the use or application of the peristaltic pump. The compression or pinch block slides in its respective groove or track in an axis from the base end to the face end or each compression or pinch block.

At the base of the slide area, the peristaltic pump has a cam <NUM>. The cam <NUM> contacts the base end of the plurality of compression blocks <NUM> and the at least one pinch block <NUM>. The rotation of the cam <NUM> around its longitudinal axis causes the plurality of compression blocks <NUM> and the at least one pinch block <NUM> to slide in the slide area. The sliding of the plurality of compression blocks <NUM> and the at least one pinch block <NUM>, in turn, cause the face end of each of the plurality of compression blocks <NUM> and the at least one pinch block <NUM> to contact the tubing and move fluid through the tube.

The cam <NUM>, has lobes. Lobes may be raised portions away from the longitudinal centerline of the cam that correspond to each of the compression of pinch blocks. A cam <NUM> and associated lobes are selected based upon the desired movement of the compression and pinch blocks. In other words, the lobes of the cam <NUM>, are indexed to raise and lower a block in a particular order and at a particular time. Different cams and lobe configurations may yield different peristaltic movement of fluid in the tube.

A spur gear <NUM> is mechanically coupled to or molded with the cam <NUM>. In other words, to reduce the number of pieces and complexity of the pump, the cam <NUM>, lobes of the cam, spur gear <NUM>, and other associated components are a single molded piece. The spur gear <NUM> meshes with a pinion gear <NUM>. The pinion gear is mechanically coupled to a motor <NUM>. The number of teeth, diameter, and ratio of the spur <NUM> and pinion <NUM> gears may be selected for speed, precision, application, or the like of the peristaltic pump. Gear reduction may allow a smaller and cheaper motor to be used. The motor may be a stepper motor. The motor may have an extended service life as well. This configuration also reducing the number of parts and moving parts as compared to a traditional peristaltic pump.

The peristaltic pump has a mounting plate <NUM>. The mounting plate serves to attach the slide area of the housing <NUM> and the cam cover <NUM> together. Fasteners <NUM> such as screws, rivets, clips, bolts, plastic pieces, or the like are used to hold the pieces together. The mounting plate <NUM> may also be used to place and mount the peristaltic pump a device. For example, the peristaltic pump may be a part of a larger device such as medical, laboratory, diagnostic, or the like equipment.

The peristaltic pump is mostly constructed from self-lubricating plastic. The plastic reduces complexity, cost, and required maintenance of the peristaltic pump. The self-lubricating plastic contains components to reduce wear and lubricate moving parts when in use. For example, the plastic may be glass filled and/or have glass fibers. The plastic may be a polycarbonate. The plastic may be <NUM>% Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). The plastic may contain silicone. The plastic may contain Teflon™. The plastic may be ultra-high-molecular weight polyethylene (UHMW), nylon, polyoxymethylene (POM), polyetheretherketone (PEEK), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), or a combination thereof. Other self-lubricating plastic may be used. These ingredients and/or properties of the plastic provide good wear resistance characteristics. The wear resistance is more pronounced as pieces wear against one another. The design of the peristaltic pump with self-lubricating parts, smaller motor, and precise movement of the compression and pinch blocks allows a very precise delivery of a volume of fluid from the tubing.

The system and method may determine the proper volume, rate of delivery, type of fluid, or like. The system may have flow sensors, fluid level sensors, pressure sensor, or any sensor to determine a volume or rate of flow of a fluid. Additionally or alternatively, the peristaltic pump may be calibrated. For example, the system may be programmed that given certain parameters, one cycle of the peristaltic pump delivers a certain volume of a fluid. The parameters may include tubing diameter, fluid viscosity, peristaltic pump speed, or the like. The sensors may be located upstream, downstream, or with in the peristaltic pump unit. The sensors may provide feedback to a system and/or the pump to regulate the delivery of a fluid. The system may also monitor and measure the flow of a plurality of tubes that may deliver fluid.

Measurement of the delivery of a fluid may be at periodic intervals set by the user or preprogrammed frequencies in the device. A measurement of the delivery of a fluid may be an output upon a device in the form of a display, printing, storage, audio, haptic feedback, or the like. Alternatively or additionally, the output may be sent to another device through wired, wireless, fiber optic, Bluetooth®, near field communication, or the like. An embodiment may use an alarm to warn of a measurement or fluid delivery outside acceptable levels. An embodiment may use a system to shut down the peristaltic pump or alter the peristaltic pumping during periods of unacceptable parameters, parameters, or thresholds. For example, a measuring device may use a relay coupled to an electrically actuated valve, or the like. As another example, the system and method may have an automated release of a clamp on the tubing. The automated release may be a solenoid, shift the cover <NUM>, relax the tubing compression of the like. The automated release may release compression on one or more of the pieces of tubing, and may be activated when the system is stagnant for a period of time.

If the fluid delivery is outside acceptable parameters, the system may take corrective action. For example, the system may provide an input to the peristaltic pump to increase speed, increase volume, increase pressure, or the like. In an embodiment, a peristaltic pump may be switched to a faster pumping state to increase pressure, flow, volume, or the like.

Additionally or alternatively, the system may output an alarm, log an event, or the like. An alert may be in a form of audio, visual, data, storing the data to a memory device, sending the output through a connected or wireless system, printing the output or the like. The system may log information such as the measurement location, a corrective action, geographical location, time, date, number of measurement cycles, rate of flow, volume of fluid, a log of the type of fluid being delivered, or the like. The alert or log may be automated, meaning the system may automatically output whether a correction was required or not. The system may also have associated alarms, limits, or predetermined thresholds. For example, if fluid delivery reaches or falls below a threshold or limit. Alarms or logs may be analyzed in real-time, stored for later use, or any combination thereof.

The various embodiments described herein thus represent a technical improvement to conventional peristaltic pump techniques. Using the techniques as described herein, an embodiment may use a method and device for peristaltic pumps. This is in contrast to conventional methods with limitations mentioned above. Such techniques provide a better method to construct and operate peristaltic pumps.

While various other circuits, circuitry or components may be utilized in information handling devices, with regard to a peristaltic pump according to any one of the various embodiments described herein, an example is illustrated in <FIG>. Device circuitry <NUM>' may include a measurement system on a chip design found, for example, a particular computing platform (e.g., mobile computing, desktop computing, etc.) Software and processor(s) are combined in a single chip <NUM>'. Processors comprise internal arithmetic units, registers, cache memory, busses, I/O ports, etc., as is well known in the art. Internal busses and the like depend on different vendors, but essentially all the peripheral devices (<NUM>') may attach to a single chip <NUM>'. The circuitry <NUM>' combines the processor, memory control, and I/O controller hub all into a single chip <NUM>'. Also, systems <NUM>' of this type do not typically use SATA or PCI or LPC. Common interfaces, for example, include SDIO and I2C.

There are power management chip(s) <NUM>', e.g., a battery management unit, BMU, which manage power as supplied, for example, via a rechargeable battery <NUM>', which may be recharged by a connection to a power source (not shown). In at least one design, a single chip, such as <NUM>', is used to supply BIOS like functionality and DRAM memory.

System <NUM>' typically includes one or more of a WWAN transceiver <NUM>' and a WLAN transceiver <NUM>' for connecting to various networks, such as telecommunications networks and wireless Internet devices, e.g., access points. Additionally, devices <NUM>' are commonly included, e.g., a transmit and receive antenna, oscillators, PLLs, etc. System <NUM>' includes input/output devices <NUM>' for data input and display/rendering (e.g., a computing location located away from the single beam system that is easily accessible by a user). System <NUM>' also typically includes various memory devices, for example flash memory <NUM>' and SDRAM <NUM>'.

It can be appreciated from the foregoing that electronic components of one or more systems or devices may include, but are not limited to, at least one processing unit, a memory, and a communication bus or communication means that couples various components including the memory to the processing unit(s). A system or device may include or have access to a variety of device readable media. System memory may include device readable storage media in the form of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory such as read only memory (ROM) and/or random access memory (RAM). By way of example, and not limitation, system memory may also include an operating system, application programs, other program modules, and program data. The disclosed system may be used in an embodiment of a peristaltic pump.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, various aspects may be embodied as a system, method or device program product. Accordingly, aspects may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment or an embodiment including software that may all generally be referred to herein as a "circuit," "module" or "system. " Furthermore, aspects may take the form of a device program product embodied in one or more device readable medium(s) having device readable program code embodied therewith.

It should be noted that the various functions described herein may be implemented using instructions stored on a device readable storage medium such as a non-signal storage device, where the instructions are executed by a processor. In the context of this document, a storage device is not a signal and "non-transitory" includes all media except signal media.

Program code for carrying out operations may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. The program code may execute entirely on a single device, partly on a single device, as a stand-alone software package, partly on single device and partly on another device, or entirely on the other device. In some cases, the devices may be connected through any type of connection or network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made through other devices (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider), through wireless connections, e.g., near-field communication, or through a hard wire connection, such as over a USB connection.

Claim 1:
A self-lubricating linear peristaltic pump (<NUM>) for delivering volumes of fluid, comprising:
a housing (<NUM>) comprising a plurality of tracks or grooves defining a slide area and a cover (<NUM>) for the slide area;
at least one pinch block (<NUM>) located within a track or groove of the slide area of the housing, wherein the at least one pinch block (<NUM>) comprises a base end and a face end;
a plurality of compression blocks (<NUM>) located, each, within a track or groove of the slide area of the housing, wherein each of the plurality of compression blocks comprises a base end and a face end;
a cam (<NUM>) located within the housing (<NUM>), wherein the mechanically contacts the base end of each of the at least one pinch block (<NUM>) and the base end of each of the plurality of compression blocks (<NUM>);
a motor (<NUM>) mechanically coupled to the cam, wherein the motor moves the cam (<NUM>) upon operation of the motor; and
at least one tube of compressible material clamped between the cover (<NUM>) and the slide area of the housing, the at least one tube being kept in contact with the face end of each of the at least one pinch block and the face end of each of the plurality of compression blocks (<NUM>), wherein the pump further comprises a tubing cartridge (<NUM>) located between the cover (<NUM>) and the plurality of compression blocks (<NUM>) and the at least one pinch block (<NUM>), the tubing cartridge having indentations aligned with indentations of the slide area of the housing (<NUM>) and configured to hold one or more tubes in place against the faces of the plurality of compression blocks (<NUM>) and the at least one pinch block (<NUM>),
wherein each of the housing, the at least one pinch block (<NUM>), the plurality of compression blocks (<NUM>), and the cam (<NUM>) comprise a self-lubricating plastic,
wherein the motor comprises a pinion gear meshed with a spur gear (<NUM>) , the spur gear being mechanically coupled to the cam (<NUM>),
wherein the cam (<NUM>) has lobes away from a longitudinal centerline thereof, corresponding to each of the compression or pinch blocks (<NUM>, <NUM>), and
wherein the cam (<NUM>), the lobes of the cam and the spur gear (<NUM>) are constituted by a single molded piece.