This application claims the benefit of the European patent (EP) application number 07116299.4 filed on Sep. 13, 2007 and entitled Roller Pump the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention pertains to peristaltic pumps and more specifically to roller pumps for medical purposes.
In medical technology peristaltic and roller pumps are particularly popular, since the aseptic part of the pump, which is the pump hose, is replaced from time to time without the need to sterilize any part of the pump including the pump hose. The pump hose may actually be a part of the pouch which comprises the liquid to be delivered to a subject.
The United States patent U.S. Pat. No. 4,867,744 discloses a peristaltic linear pump, which is particularly useful as a blood pump. The pump is equipped with a series of rollers eccentrically mounted upon a drive shaft. The pump also includes an elastomeric fluid delivery tube, which is supported to extend in a direction parallel with the axis of the drive shaft. Each roller has a generally cylindrical outer surface equipped with a concentric annular rim that projects radially outwardly beyond the cylindrical surface to occlude a section of the tube when that roller is at its perigee with respect to the tube.
German patent DE 198 08 590 discloses a humidifying system. A hose or peristaltic pump delivers water from a commercial water pouch through an evaporator to a breathing air conduit. United States patent U.S. Pat. No. 5,062,775 describes a roller pump in an extracorporeal support system also for pumping blood through a blood treatment device such as an oxygenator. The roller pump has a housing with a keyhole-shaped recess, which has a throat and an arcuate recessed surface. The opposite sides of the throat connect with opposite ends of the arcuate recessed surface. An axle is centrally positioned within the recess with respect to the arcuate recessed surface. A pump head is removably secured to the axle and positioned within the recess. The pump head comprises a base and an upper member for holding two rollers. The rollers are each formed to be conical in shape with an outer surface positioned to be proximate the arcuate recessed surface. A tube is positioned between the outer surface of the roller and the arcuate recessed surface to be pressed or urged against the arcuate recessed surface by the roller. Upon rotation, the roller rolls over the tube squeezing it and thereby urging liquid or fluid in the tube therethrough. Since both, the rollers and the arcuate recessed surface are conical, the distance between the outer surfaces of the rollers and the arcuate recessed surface may be adjusted by moving the pump head axially toward and away from the axle and the arcuate recessed surface. The angle between the central axle and the arcuate recessed surface is approximately 30°. The angle between the surface of a roller and the axis of a roller is approximately 17°. For the axial movement of the pump head a screw, which may be operated by a screwdriver, and a spring are provided. A key fixes the pump had to the central axle. The key may be shifted between a locked and an unlocked position. In the unlocked position, the pump head may be removed for example for replacing the tube.
Roller pumps are also used for administering contrast agents to subjects in order to provide superior image quality when carrying out CT and MRI scans. Injectors ulrich Ohio tandem, ulrich Missouri, ulrich Ohio M, ulrich Mississippi and Swiss Medical Care CT Exprés come with roller pumps which pump contrast agent and/or saline solution from one of at least two different containers into the subject. This architecture enables the application of several injections consecutively from one contrast agent container.
CT, originally known as computed axial tomography (CAT or CT scan) and body section roentgenography, is a medical imaging method for generating a three-dimensional image of the internals of an object from a large series of two-dimensional X-ray images taken around a single axis of rotation. The word “tomography” is derived from the Greek tomos (slice) and graphein (to write). CT produces a volume of data which can be manipulated, through a process known as windowing, in order to demonstrate various structures based on their ability to block the X-ray beam. Modern CT scanners allow this volume of data to be reformatted in various planes or even as volumetric (3D) representations of structures.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), formerly referred to as magnetic resonance tomography (MRT) is a non-invasive method used to render images of the inside of an object. It is primarily used in medical imaging to demonstrate pathological or other physiological alterations of living tissues.
From an injector point of view, there is no big difference between CT and MRI. However, injectors for MRI must not be disturbed by high magnetic fields in the range of 1 T and the injectors must not disturb the magnetic field of the MRI. For the latter reason, injectors for MRI are often powered by batteries or direct current (DC).
In the following we will focus on the injectors ulrich Missouri and ulrich Mississippi, which are identical apart from the power supply. Ulrich Mississippi is battery-powered which enables MRI application.
A core element of the ulrich injectors is a cross-shaped hose system for delivering contrast agent and saline solution from one of a left container for a first contrast agent, a middle container for saline solution and a right container for a second contrast agent to the subject.
The cross-shaped hose system comprises a left contrast agent hose, a saline solution hose, a right contrast agent hose and a pump hose which are connected by a cross connector. The pump hose is fixed by a mounting and guidances to the casing of the injector. The hose system is replaced after each working day or after 24 hours of operation.
The roll pump consists of a pump wheel and two wings. The pump wheel comprises three rolls and three guidances, which have the form of circular arcs. Each of the wings comprises a circular-arc-shaped abutment. The axes of the circular-arc-shaped abutments coincide with the central axis of the pump wheel. The rolls have a cylindrical shape. During operation the pump wheel turns clockwise, whereas the rolls turn counterclockwise. At least one of the rolls squeezes the pump hose against one of the abutments so that no fluid may flow through the squeezed portion of the pump hose. When the pump wheel turns clockwise, the squeezed portion moves towards the subject thereby pumping fluid towards the subject.
For inserting and removing the hose system, the wings may be swung outward and downward by about 45° around a pivot. For cleaning purposes the wings may be detached. The rolls are adjusted to the wings and in particular the circular-arc-shaped abutments. Therefore, the wings of different injectors must not be exchanged for example during cleaning by the operating personal. It is the object of this invention to provide a roller pump, which is serviced more easily.
This object is achieved by the subject matter of the independent claims.
Preferred embodiments of the invention are the subject matter(s) of the dependent claims.
In the following preferred embodiments of this invention are described referring to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:
While the present invention is described with reference to the embodiments as illustrated in the following detailed description as well as in the drawings, it should be understood that the following detailed description as well as the drawings are not intended to limit the present invention to the particular illustrative embodiments disclosed, but rather the described illustrative embodiments merely exemplify the various aspects of the present invention, the scope of which is defined by the appended claims.
The internal toothing gear 33 is fixed to the bottom 6 of the injector head 1 by eight columns 34. Four of the columns 34 are visible in
Only one of the three holders 24 is visible in
Furthermore, the roller assemblies are disassembled to different degrees in order to show the construction of the roller assemblies. The roller assembly on the left-hand side is complete. Therefore, the satellite 37 with its fastening portion 38, a roller shaft 44 and a shear splint pin 39 are visible. The satellite has been taking off from the front roller assembly. Consequently, a ball bearing 43 for turnably securing the respective roller shaft 44 to the roller carrier 35 becomes visible. The ball bearing has been additionally removed from the roller assembly on the right-hand side. Consequently, the bottom side of a roller 36 and a small part of a pump hose 42 are visible.
In
The conical portions 51 of the rollers press the pump hose 42 against the rubber roll member 52. Thereby, the pump hose 42 is squeezed off at least one position. If the rollers are moved clockwise or counterclockwise, the one or more squeezed-off portions of the pump hose 42 move, which delivers liquid within the pump hose 42. Thicker parts of the pump hose 42 are pressed deeper into the rubber roll member 52. The rubber roll member 52 may also be designed to compensate tolerances within the injector head 1, the abutment 31, the conical portions 51 of the rollers etc.
Since the abutment 31 is hinged by hinge splint pin 5, the abutment 31 may easily be opened. Then the disposable 41 together with the pump hose 42 may be easily replaced. On the opposite side of the hinge splint pin 5 a lock is provided which is not shown in the figures. The lock mechanically connects the abutment of 31 with the injector head 1.
The ball bearing 26 is retained by a snap ring 66 within a sleeve portion 65. Above the bottom 6 and apart from the modified sleeve portion 65 the embodiment shown in
A drive axle 111 extends out of the gearbox 22 into a coupling 112. A driver 113 (Mädler GmbH: item number 29301400) is fixed by a bolt to the upper, cylindrical end of the coupling 112. The drive axle 111 and the coupling 112 are torque-proof connected.
A big gear 139 engages with the driver 113. The big gear 139 is torque-proof connected to a sleeve portion 141 of a closing gear support 140. The sleeve portion 141 is pivot-mounted by two grooved ball bearings 151 within the upper pump unit 150. The torque is transmitted to a support portion 142, which constitutes part of kind of a planetary drive. The sun gear 160 is non-pivotably fixed to the lower pump unit 110 by a sun gear shaft 130. There are two kinds of satellites, namely closing gears 161 and roller gears 162. The closing gears 161 are pivotably mounted on the support portion 142. The shaft 165, to which the sleeve portion 163 of the roller gear 162 is non-pivotably fixed by pin 164, are pivotably mounted within a lower arm 167 and an upper arm 168. The lower and upper arms 167 and 168 are also pivotably mounted at the pivot of the respective closing gear 161. Consequently, the shaft 165 may move a short distance in radial direction to the central axis defined by the sun gear shaft 130. The radial movement is limited by a long hole 166 within a movable cap 153.
The purpose of this construction is to squeeze a pump hose (not shown) between an abutment 154 and a roller 169, if the support portion 142 turns clockwise and to free the pump hose by moving the rollers 169 to the center defined by sun gear shaft 130, if the support portion 142 turns counterclockwise. This operation will be explained in connection with
In
In the embodiments described above, the planetary drive could be replaced by a belt drive, which transmits the torque from a central shaft to satellite shafts by one or more belts for each satellite shaft.
In yet another embodiment each roller could be driven by a separate motor. A gear is fixed to each shaft of each motor. Each gear engages with an outer gear having an inner toothing for synchronizing motors and concentrating the mechanical power of all motors on the engaging rollers. The non-engaging rollers basically run free and require a neglectable amount of power. In yet a further embodiment, the pump hose could run around a cone. Cone-shaped rollers squeeze the pump hose against the cone. The code defines a central axis. The axises of the cone-shaped rollers intersect with the central axis perpendicularly. Bevel gears transmit the mechanical power from a central shaft aligned with the central axis to the cone-shaped rollers. In the embodiment above the number of rollers could be different from four, more specifically three as in the following embodiments or any other number.
In
Also in the second embodiment, which was explained in connection with
The most significant difference between the second and third embodiment that the sun gear shaft 130 is not necessary in the third embodiment, rather the sun gear 260 is fixed to a sleeve portion of an upper pump unit 250. Roller gears 262 are driven by a movable cap 253 and a drive shaft 240. This constructions further obviates the need for a thin section bearing.
Within the sleeve portion of the upper pump unit 250 the drive shaft 240 is supported by an upper ball bearing 251 (DIN 625-1-6001) and a lower ball bearing 256 (DIN 625-1-6001). The upper ball bearing 251 is fixed to the sleeve portion of the upper pump unit 250 by a locking ring 258 (DIN 472-28x1,2) and to the drive shaft 240 by a locking ring 259 (DIN 471-12x1). The lower ball bearing 256 is fixed to the sleeve portion by a locking ring 257 (DIN 472-28x1,2). DIN is short for Deutsches Institut für Normungen e.V. (German Institute for Standards). Items specified by DIN or item numbers may be reworked e.g. by drilling holes for pins or milling groves for feather keys. So such items are not necessarily identical to the ones shown in the figures.
A big gear 239 (Mädler GmbH: item number 29310000) is torque proof fixed to the drive shaft 240 by a feather key 238 (DIN 6885-A-3x3x16) and two locking rings 236 and 237 (DIN 471-12x1).
At the upper end of the drive shaft 240, a movable cap 253 is torque proof fixed to this upper end by a washer 235 (DIN 125-A-4,3 HV-A2) and a lens head screw 234 (DIN EN ISO 7045 M4x6). The form fit between the drive shaft 240 and the movable cap 253 is shown in more detail in
A support portion 242 is pivot mounted by a slide bearing 247 to the outside of the sleeve portion. The support portion 242 is fixed to an inner cap 255 by three arm shafts 248, three locking rings 244 (DIN 471-6x0,7) and three spacers 243. The arm shafts 248 form an integral part of the support portion 242. The inner cap 255 is supported by a slide bearing 249. On each of the three arm shafts 248, an arm 268 is pivot mounted by two slide bearings 245 and 246 (Igus GmbH: Iglidur GFM-1011-026). In addition, a closing gear 261, which engages with the fixed sun gear 260 (Mädler GmbH: item number 29304800) and a respective roller gear 262, is pivot mounted on each arm shaft 248.
On the outer ends of each arm 268 a roller shaft 265 is supported by a slide bearing 278 (Igus GmbH: Iglidur GFM-1011-026) and 279 (Igus GmbH: Iglidur GFM-0607-024). The roller shaft 265 is secured by a locking ring 280 (DIN 471-6x0,7) to the slide bearing 279 and a lower portion 286 of a respective arm 268. A roller gear 262 is torque proof fixed by a breaker bolt 281 to a respective roller shaft 265. A sliding block 275 is pivot mounted on each of the roller shafts 265 by slide bearings 276 and 277 (both: Igus GmbH: Iglidur GFM-1416-04). On top of each roller shaft 265 a roller 269 is fixed by a feather key 271 (DIN 6885-A-3x3x10), a washer 272 (DIN 125-A-4-3 HV-A2) and a screw 274.
Reverting to
Further modifications and variations of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of this description. Accordingly, this description is to be construed as illustrative only and is for the purpose of teaching those skilled in the art the general manner of carrying out the present invention. It is to be understood that the forms of the invention shown and described herein are to be taken as the presently preferred embodiments.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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07116299.4 | Sep 2007 | DE | national |