Magnetically suspended miniature fluid pump and method of designing the same
AssigneesUniversity of Pittsburgh, The United States of America as represented by the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration
InventorsJames F. Antaki, Bradley Paden, Gregory Burgreen, Nelson Groom
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Abstract
A rotary pump for pumping fluids through a patient having a housing with an internal region, a stator member and an impeller positioned within the housing and having impeller blades, wherein the impeller is magnetically suspended and rotated, and wherein the geometric configuration of the rotary pump is sized and proportioned to minimize stagnant and traumatic fluid flow within the rotary pump. The plurality of magnetic impeller blades are preferably rare earth, high-energy-density magnets selected from the group consisting of samarium cobalt and neodymium-iron-boron alloy.
Claims24
A device for pumping fluid, comprising:
- (a) a housing having an upstream end a downstream end and an internal region through which said fluid flows when the device is pumping;
- (b) an impeller positioned within said housing and having a substantially conically shaped nose, a substantially conically shaped tail and a mid-section extending between the nose and the tail that has a plurality of substantially helically shaped magnetic impeller blades;
- (c) a stator
- (c1) downstream stator blades extending from the housing such that the impeller tail is axially aligned with the downstream stator, the downstream stator blades being curved to conform to the substantially conically shaped tail, the downstream stator blades being for recovering velocity energy as pressure energy from said fluid exiting said downstream end of said plurality of magnetic impeller blades;
- (c2) upstream stator blades extending from the housing such that the impeller nose is axially aligned within the upstream stator, the upstream stator blades being curved to conform to the substantially conically shaped nose, the upstream stator blades being for directing fluid to the impeller;
- (d) means for levitating said impeller within said housing such that said impeller is substantially centered within said housing and the impeller nose is axially aligned within the upstream stator blades and the impeller tail is axially aligned within the downstream stator blades;
- and
- (e) means for rotating said impeller which exerts a force on said plurality of magnetic impeller blades.
A rotary pump for pumping fluid through a patient comprising:
- (a) a housing having an internal region through which said fluid flows when the rotary pump is pumping;
- (b) an impeller positioned within said housing and having
- (b1) an upstream end and a downstream end;
- (b2) an exterior wall;
- (b3) an interior wall defining a void;
- (b4) a plurality of outboard magnetic impeller blades extending outwardly from the exterior wall which each having an upstream end and a downstream end;
- (b5) a plurality of inboard blades extending inwardly from said interior wall;
- (c) a first stator member for recovering velocity energy as pressure energy from said fluid exiting said downstream end of said plurality of impeller blades, said first stator member being attached to said housing;
- (d) means for levitating said impeller which substantially centers said impeller within said housing comprising a plurality of electromagnets positioned inside the interior wall of the impeller and outside of the housing and ferromagnetic material disposed within the first stator member;
- and
- (e) means for rotating said impeller which exerts a torque on said plurality of outboard magnetic impeller blades causing said impeller to rotate.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.