Pumping mechanism with wire-pulled plunger
AssigneeInsulet Corporation
InventorsDaniel Barrett, Soroush Kamrava, Maureen Mccaffrey
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Disclosed herein are devices and methods for causing the linear translation of a plunger through a reservoir containing a fluid. A flexible member, for example, a wire or a ribbon, is coupled to the plunger and extends through a wall of the reservoir toward which the plunger is being linearly translated. A pulling force on the flexible member caused by a drive mechanism causes the plunger to linearly translate toward the end wall of the reservoir, thereby forcing any fluid contained in the reservoir out of the reservoir through a fluid port.
Claims23
A device comprising:
- a reservoir having walls including a first wall and a second wall and a distal end comprising a fluid port;
- a plunger configured to be linearly translated through the reservoir;
- a flexible member, rigidly coupled to the plunger, that is configured to move across an interior of the reservoir inside the walls in a longitudinal direction towards the distal end of the reservoir, and configured to move across an exterior of the reservoir outside the walls in a reverse-longitudinal direction opposite the longitudinal direction, wherein the flexible member extends through the first wall at the distal end of the reservoir and through the second wall of the reservoir on a second end opposite the distal end;
- and
- a drive mechanism for pulling the flexible member to cause a linear translation of the plunger through the reservoir.
A method of linearly translating a plunger through a reservoir, the reservoir comprising walls including a first wall and a second wall and a distal end comprising a fluid port, the method comprising:
- attaching a flexible member to the plunger, the flexible member passing through the first wall of the reservoir toward which the plunger is being linearly translated and the second wall on an opposite side of the reservoir from the first wall;
- and
- pulling the flexible member to linearly translate the plunger across an interior of the reservoir inside the walls of the reservoir in a longitudinal direction toward the distal end of the reservoir, and across an exterior of the reservoir outside the walls of the reservoir in a reverse-longitudinal direction opposite the longitudinal direction.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.