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US 11,635,073 B2Granted
Linear peristaltic pump
OwnerJohn Patrick Millerinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An improved linear peristaltic pump that is able to be manufactured using fewer parts while also improving the performance and the reliability of the pump. The linear peristaltic pump utilizes a leaf spring in direct contact with a tube and is therefore able to provide smooth transitions in the forces exerted on the tube.
Claims18
A linear peristaltic pump comprising:
- a housing that includes a cover;
- a camshaft mounted on the housing;
- a plurality of offset cams mounted on the camshaft;
- and
- a leaf spring comprising a plurality of unitary fingers having proximal ends integrated into a single comb of unitary construction, each unitary finger of the plurality of fingers having a bendable intermediate portion and a distal end portion affixed to a corresponding, respective offset cam of the plurality of offset cams;
- wherein a flexible tube is inserted between the leaf spring and the cover;
- wherein a rotation of the camshaft causes each respective cam of the plurality of offset cams to displace a respective corresponding distal end of each unitary finger of the plurality of unitary fingers of the leaf spring by a distance corresponding to an offset of the respective, corresponding offset cam from a top dead center of the camshaft, thereby causing a corresponding bending displacement of each of the bendable intermediate portions of the plurality of unitary fingers as the camshaft rotates,
- such that each respective bendable intermediate portion of each respective unitary finger of the plurality of unitary fingers impinges directly upon the flexible tube and deforms a cross-sectional area of the flexible tube in accordance with the corresponding bending displacement and in a deforming direction.
5 more elements
A method of manufacturing a linear peristaltic pump, the method comprising:
- forming a plurality of offset cams;
- installing the plurality of offset cams on a camshaft, inserting the camshaft in a housing, wherein the camshaft freely rotates within the housing;
- attaching a leaf spring to the housing, wherein the leaf spring includes a plurality of unitary fingers having proximal ends that are integrated into a single comb of unitary construction, wherein each of the plurality of the unitary fingers having a distal end and a bendable intermediate portion, affixing the distal end of each unitary finger of the plurality of unitary fingers to a corresponding, respective offset cam of the plurality of offset cams via the cam insert;
- and connecting a cover to the housing;
- wherein a rotation of the camshaft causes the plurality of offset cams to displace the distal end portions of the plurality of unitary fingers of the leaf spring in accordance with a displacement of the respective, corresponding offset cam from a top dead center of the camshaft, and bending each of the corresponding, respective bendable intermediate portions in accordance with the displacement;
- the bending of the bendable intermediate portions of the plurality of unitary fingers causing a deformation in a corresponding, respective cross-sectional area of a circular flexible tube inserted between the leaf spring and the cover of the housing.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.