Patent Application
20230355864
Embodiments of the present invention relate to feeding pump systems, and more particularly, to enteral feeding pump systems and valve assemblies for use with such systems.
In general, enteral feeding pump systems are used to supply fluid nutrition to patients who are unable to eat. The pumping system typically includes a pump and disposable tubing sets (see, e.g.,
In order to maintain cleanliness and prevent contamination of the liquids being pumped, any component directly in contact with liquid must be disposable.
The following presents a simplified summary of the innovation in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the invention. This summary is not an extensive overview of the invention. It is intended to neither identify key or critical elements of the invention nor delineate the scope of the invention. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of the invention in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.
In an aspect of the invention, an enteral feeding pump system includes disposable fluid delivery set with two separate source containers connected by tubing to a tubing adapter that combines flow from the two separate tubes into a single fluid stream, an integral peristaltic tube section, and an enteral feeding pump. The enteral feeding pump including a rotor that engages the peristaltic tube section and, when rotated, causes liquid to flow in a direction of rotation. In another aspect, the tubing from the two fluid source containers passes through an adapter designed to install onto an eccentric, rotating bearing which selectively closes or opens a flow of fluid from either container into a patient, the eccentric bearing is actuated by a motor.
In another aspect of the invention, an enteral feeding pump system includes a disposable fluid delivery set with two separate source containers connected by tubing to a tubing adapter that combines flow from the two separate tubes into a single fluid stream, an integral peristaltic tube section and an enteral feeding pump. The enteral feeding pump includes a rotor that engages the peristaltic tube section and, when rotated, causes liquid to flow in the direction of rotation. In another aspect, the tubing from the two fluid source containers passes through a pinching mechanism for selectively closing or opening the flow of fluid from either container into the patient. The pinching mechanism is actuated by an inflatable bladder linked to a micro air pump. Alternatively, the pinching mechanism is actuated by an inflatable bellows linked to a micro air pump.
In another aspect of the invention, an enteral feeding pump system includes a disposable fluid delivery set, an enteral feeding pump, the enteral feeding pump including rotor that engages a peristaltic tubing section of the disposable fluid delivery set, and a pinching mechanism for regulating the flow of nutrient formula or water out of the fluid delivery set.
In another aspect of the invention, a flow selector valve assembly comprises a tube adapter having two input flexible tubing channels and one output tubing channel. The two input tubing channels are configured to receive two respective tubes connected to two fluid sources and the output tubing channel is configured to receive a feeding tube. The tube adapter is configured to position the flexible tubing channels in relation with a receiver, the receiver having a central shaft and an eccentric bearing extending from a digitally controlled motor. The eccentric bearing is moveable between a first position in which neither of the input flexible tubing channels nor the respective tubes therein is compressed, and a second position in which the eccentric bearing compresses one of the input flexible tubing channels and the tube therein to prevent flow therethrough.
In another aspect of the invention, a flow selector valve assembly comprises a tube adapter having two input flexible tubing channels and one output tubing channel. The tube adapter is configured to position the flexible tubing channels in relation with a receiver which has a central shaft and an eccentric bearing. The eccentric bearing is moveable between a first position in which neither of the input flexible tubing channels is compressed, and a second position in which the eccentric bearing compresses one of the input flexible tubing channels therein to prevent flow therethrough.
In another aspect of the invention, a method of controlling fluid flow in an enteral feeding pump system comprising the steps of: (a) providing a flow selector valve assembly including a disposable tube adapter having two input flexible tubing channels being configured to receive two respective tubes connected to two fluid sources, and an output tubing channel being configured to receive a feeding tube for providing fluids/nutrients to a patient, wherein the flow selector valve assembly is configured to select either one of the two fluid sources, or both simultaneously; (b) inserting the two respective tubes within the two input flexible tubing channels; (c) positioning the flexible tubing channels of the tube adapter in relation with a receiver, the receiver having an eccentric bearing extending from a digitally controlled motor in the enteral feeding pump system; (d) placing the eccentric bearing in a first position, wherein neither of the input flexible tubing channels nor the respective tubes therein is compressed, whereby loading and unloading of the disposable tube adapter of the tubing assembly is facilitated; and (e) moving the eccentric bearing to a second position in which the eccentric bearing compresses one of the input flexible tubing channels and the tube therein to prevent flow therethrough.
These and other features and advantages will be apparent from a reading of the following detailed description and a review of the associated drawings. It is also to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are explanatory only and not restrictive of aspects as claimed.
For the purpose of illustration, certain embodiments of the present invention are shown in the drawings described below. Like numerals in the drawings indicate like elements throughout. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements, dimensions, and instruments shown. In the drawings:
It is to be appreciated that certain aspects, modes, embodiments, variations and features of the invention are described below in various levels of detail in order to provide a substantial understanding of the present invention.
For convenience, the meaning of some terms and phrases used in the specification, examples, and appended claims, are provided below. Unless stated otherwise, or implicit from context, the following terms and phrases include the meanings provided below. The definitions are provided to aid in describing particular embodiments, and are not intended to limit the claimed invention, because the scope of the invention is limited only by the claims. Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. If there is an apparent discrepancy between the usage of a term in the art and its definition provided herein, the definition provided within the specification shall prevail.
As used in this specification and the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” include plural referents unless the content clearly dictates otherwise. For example, reference to “a cell” includes a combination of two or more cells, and the like.
As used herein, the term “approximately” or “about” in reference to a value or parameter are generally taken to include numbers that fall within a range of 5%, 10%, 15%, or 20% in either direction (greater than or less than) of the number unless otherwise stated or otherwise evident from the context (except where such number would be less than 0% or exceed 100% of a possible value). As used herein, reference to “approximately” or “about” a value or parameter includes (and describes) embodiments that are directed to that value or parameter. For example, description referring to “about X” includes description of “X”.
As used herein, the term “or” means “and/or.” The term “and/or” as used in a phrase such as “A and/or B” herein is intended to include both A and B; A or B; A (alone); and B (alone). Likewise, the term “and/or” as used in a phrase such as “A, B, and/or C” is intended to encompass each of the following embodiments: A, B, and C; A, B, or C; A or C; A or B; B or C; A and C; A and B; B and C; A (alone); B (alone); and C (alone).
As used herein, the term “comprising” means that other elements can also be present in addition to the defined elements presented. The use of “comprising” indicates inclusion rather than limitation.
The term “consisting of” refers to compositions, methods, and respective components thereof as described herein, which are exclusive of any element not recited in that description of the embodiment.
Disclosed herein are pinch valves for with an enteral feeing pump systems. Such as system is shown in
As shown in
As shown in
In another embodiment, the pinching mechanism is controlled via an inflatable bellows linked to the micro air pump. In a preferred embodiment, the inflatable bellows operates in the pressure range of 0.1 to 1 bar.
As shown in
In another embodiment, the inflatable bladder is replaced by an inflatable bellows linked to the micro air pump. In a preferred embodiment, the inflatable bellows operates in the pressure range of 0.1 to 1 bar.
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
Also disclosed herein are flow selector valve assemblies for with an enteral feeing pump.
Referring again to
a-10c illustrate an exemplary flow selector valve assembly 20 of the present invention that is used with the enteral feeding pump 10 of
As shown in
The disposable tube adapter 22 (i.e., set section) is easily installed (as part of the flow selector valve assembly 20) on the enteral feeding pump 10 (i.e., durable actuator).
The flow selector valve assembly 20 is configured to select either one of two fluid sources, or both simultaneously. The two input flexible tubing channels 24, 26 are separate from the mechanism that closes the fluid flow through either of them (i.e., their respective tubes 24a, 24b). The tube adapter 22 positions the flexible tubing channels 24, 26 in relation with a receiver 30. The receiver 30 has a central shaft 32 and an eccentric bearing 34 extending from a digitally controlled motor (e.g., in the feeding pump system 10).
As shown in
As shown in
The flow selector valve assembly 20 therefore operates in coordination with the enteral feeding pump 10 to selectively close one of the input flexible tubing channels 24, 26 and the respective tubes 24a, 26a therein.
One advantage of the invention disclosed herein is the ease of installation of the disposable tube adapter 22 (i.e., set section) on the enteral feeding pump 10 (i.e., durable actuator).
Unless otherwise defined herein, scientific and technical terms used in connection with the present application shall have the meanings that are commonly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. It should be understood that this invention is not limited to the particular methodology, protocols, examples, etc., described herein and as such can vary. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, which is defined solely by the claims.
Other terms are defined herein within the description of the various aspects of the invention.
The description of embodiments of the disclosure is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise form disclosed. While specific embodiments of, and examples for, the disclosure are described herein for illustrative purposes, various equivalent modifications are possible within the scope of the disclosure, as those skilled in the relevant art will recognize. For example, while method steps or functions are presented in a given order, alternative embodiments may perform functions in a different order, or functions may be performed substantially concurrently. The teachings of the disclosure provided herein can be applied to other procedures or methods as appropriate. The various embodiments described herein can be combined to provide further embodiments. Aspects of the disclosure can be modified, if necessary, to employ the compositions, functions and concepts of the above references and application to provide yet further embodiments of the disclosure. These and other changes can be made to the disclosure in light of the detailed description. All such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.
Specific elements of any of the foregoing embodiments can be combined or substituted for elements in other embodiments. Furthermore, while advantages associated with certain embodiments of the disclosure have been described in the context of these embodiments, other embodiments may also exhibit such advantages, and not all embodiments need necessarily exhibit such advantages to fall within the scope of the disclosure.
The foregoing written specification is considered to be sufficient to enable one skilled in the art to practice the present aspects and embodiments. The present aspects and embodiments are not to be limited in scope by examples provided, since the examples are intended as a single illustration of one aspect and other functionally equivalent embodiments are within the scope of the disclosure. Various modifications in addition to those shown and described herein will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoing description and fall within the scope of the appended claims. The advantages and objects described herein are not necessarily encompassed by each embodiment. Those skilled in the art will recognize, or be able to ascertain using no more than routine experimentation, many equivalents to the specific embodiments described herein. Such equivalents are intended to be encompassed by the following claims.
All patents and other publications; including literature references, issued patents, published patent applications, and co-pending patent applications; cited throughout this application are expressly incorporated herein by reference for the purpose of describing and disclosing, for example, the methodologies described in such publications that might be used in connection with the technology described herein. These publications are provided solely for their disclosure prior to the filing date of the present application. Nothing in this regard should be construed as an admission that the inventors are not entitled to antedate such disclosure by virtue of prior invention or for any other reason. All statements as to the date or representation as to the contents of these documents is based on the information available to the applicants and does not constitute any admission as to the correctness of the dates or contents of these documents.
This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 17/820,385 filed Aug. 17, 2022, which claims priority from (1) U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/234,451, filed Aug. 18, 2021, (2) U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/280,405, filed Nov. 17, 2021, and (3) U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/355,291, filed Jun. 24, 2022, the disclosures of all of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63234451 | Aug 2021 | US | |
| 63280405 | Nov 2021 | US | |
| 63355291 | Jun 2022 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 17820385 | Aug 2022 | US |
| Child | 18352824 | US |
