Rotary pump with exclusively hydrodynamically suspended impeller
AssigneeVentrassist Pty Ltd.
InventorsJohn C. Woodard, Peter A. Watterson, Geoffrey D. Tansley
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A pump assembly 1, 33, 200 adapted for continuous flow pumping of blood. In a particular form the pump 1, 200 is a centrifugal pump wherein the impeller 100, 204 is entirely sealed within the pump housing 2, 201 and is exclusively hydrodynamically suspended therein as the impeller rotates within the fluid 105 urged by electromagnetic means external to the pump cavity 106, 203. Hydrodynamic suspension is assisted by the impeller 100, 204 having deformities therein such as blades 8 with surfaces tapered from the leading edges 102, 223 to the trailing edges 103, 224 of bottom and top edges 221, 222 thereof.
Claims49
A rotary blood pump for use in a heart assist device or like device, said pump having an impeller suspended in use within a pump housing exclusively by hydrodynamic thrust forces generated by relative movement of said impeller with respect to and within said pump housing;
- and wherein at least one of said impeller or said housing includes at least a first deformed surface lying on at least part of a first face and a second deformed surface lying on at least part of a second face which, in use, move relative to respective facing surfaces on the other of said impeller or said housing thereby to form at least two relatively moving surface pairs which generate relative hydrodynamic thrust between said impeller and said housing which includes everywhere a localized thrust component substantially and everywhere normal to the plane of movement of said first deformed surface and said second deformed surface with respect to said facing surfaces;
- and wherein the combined effect of the localized normal forces generated on the surfaces of said impeller is to produce resistive forces against movement in three translational and two rotational degrees of freedom thus supporting the impeller for rotational movement within said housing exclusively by hydrodynamic forces.
A rotary blood pump for use in a heart assist device or like device, said pump having an impeller suspended in use within a pump housing by hydrodynamic thrust forces generated by relative movement of said impeller with respect to and within said pump housing;
- and wherein at least one of said impeller or said housing includes at least a first deformed surface lying on at least part of a first face and a second deformed surface lying on at least part of a second face which, in use, move relative to respective facing surfaces on the other of said impeller or said housing thereby to form at least two relatively moving surface pairs which generate relative hydrodynamic thrust between said impeller and said housing which includes everywhere a localized thrust component substantially and everywhere normal to the plane of movement of said first deformed surface and said second deformed surface with respect to said facing surfaces;
- and wherein the combined effect of the localized normal forces generated on the surfaces of said impeller is to produce resistive forces against movement in three translational and two rotational degrees of freedom thus supporting the impeller for rotational movement within said housing by hydrodynamic forces.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.