Rotary pump with exclusively hydrodynamically suspended impeller
OwnerJohn C. Woodard, Peter A. Watterson +1inventors
InventorsJohn C. Woodard, Peter A. Watterson, Geoffrey D. Tansley
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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.
Claims104
A rotary blood pump for use in a heart assist 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 which, in use, moves relative to respective facing surfaces on the other of said impeller or said housing thereby to form a relatively moving surface pair which generates relative hydrodynamic thrust between said impeller and said housing which includes everywhere a localized thrust component substantially and everywhere normal to the plane of said first deformed surface and wherein said impeller includes blades which are tapered or non-planar, so that a thrust is created between the edges and the pump housing during relative movement there between and wherein said edges of said blades are shaped such that the gap at the leading edge of the blade is greater than at the trailing edge and thus the fluid which is drawn through the gap experiences a wedge shaped restriction which generates a thrust.
A rotary blood pump for use in a heart assist 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;
- said pump comprising:
- an impeller having a plurality of blades and a hydrodynamic bearing surface;
- and a plurality of magnets, each magnet disposed within one of the blades, wherein an axis of magnetization of each of the magnets is inclined at any angle between and 45° to the impeller axis of rotation.
A rotary blood pump for use in a heart assist 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;
- said housing including a first stator and a second stator, wherein the impeller and the stators are angularly disposed so that the impeller and stators form a radial and axial flux gap hybrid motor.
A rotary blood pump for use in a heart assist 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;
- said pump housing defining a volute therewithin;
- said impeller having a hydrodynamic bearing to provide radial or axial support or both;
- said impeller also having a magnetic bearing to provide or supplement the other of said radial or axial support or both.
A shaftless rotary blood pump for use in a heart assist 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 said impeller includes a hydrodynamic bearing surface adapted to generate thrust, in use, in a direction towards the center of the pump.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.