CN1973132A - Peristaltic pump cassette comprising a unit for adjusting a tube pinching - Google Patents

Abstract

The peristaltic pump cassette (18) comprises a clamping adjustment unit (56) which is immobilised by connection with the part (26) of the cassette. Said connection is disengageable in such a way that the unit is displaceable during the clamping adjustment.

Description

Peristaltic pump kit including tube clamp adjustment member

technical field

[01] The present invention relates to peristaltic pumps.

Background technique

[02] Peristaltic pumps appeared several years ago and are widely used, especially in medicine and research laboratories. It is characterized in that it moves fluid through a tube without the pump parts being in contact with the fluid. Thus, it becomes possible to pump fluids that are sensitive to external contamination, such as blood. In a conventional manner, the peristaltic pump comprises rouleaux rotatifs which move and locally squeeze the hose, which causes the fluid to move in the hose.

[03] Peristaltic pumps of this type are for example disclosed in document EP-339 857. The hose must support the above stresses and maintain an excellent tightness. The peristaltic pump given in the aforementioned document comprises removable cassettes each comprising a tube and a movable sliding cam which urges the hose against the rollers to Ensure good contact between the roller and the hose. To maintain the useful life of the tube, the pump includes adjustment means to adjust the gripping strength of the cam on the hose. Said member comprises two cursors movable inside said box to actuate said cam by means of a corner effect. The traveling members are each connected to a threaded portion of a rod, and the rotation of the rod can be externally controlled by a button. However, the disadvantage of this arrangement is that the adjustment of the clamping member takes a relatively long time when the clamping strength needs to be greatly changed.

Contents of the invention

[04] The object of the invention is to facilitate, in particular to speed up, the use of the clamping member.

[05] To this end, according to the invention, a cassette for a peristaltic pump is proposed, said cassette comprising a clamping adjustment member which is held in place by being connected to a part of said cassette, said The connection is detachable in order to move the members when adjusting the clamping strength.

[06] Thus, once the connection is disengaged, the member can be moved easily and quickly, including in cases of substantial movement.

[07] The box provided by the present invention can also have at least one of the following features:

[08] - the connection is a complementary shape connection;

[09] - said connection is a cogged connection;

[10] - the box is arranged such that the connection can be released by pressing on the member;

[11] - said member is accessible from the exterior of said case, and said member preferably extends to the exterior of said case;

[12] - the member extends protruding from an upper surface of the box;

[13] - the box includes a cam and a spring interposed between the member and the cam; and

[14] - The box includes a cam in contact with the member.

[15] According to the invention there is also proposed a peristaltic pump comprising a clamping adjustment member which is held in place by being connected to a part of the pump, said connection being releasable , to move the member when adjusting the clamping strength.

[16] Finally, according to the present invention, a method for adjusting the clamping of the peristaltic pump is proposed, which includes the following steps:

[17] - disconnecting a member from a part of said pump; and

[18] - Moves the widget.

Description of drawings

[19] Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention will also be set forth in the following description of a preferred embodiment in the name of non-limiting examples and with reference to the accompanying drawings, which include:

[20] - Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of the head and a box of a peristaltic pump according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, wherein the box has been removed;

[21] - Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1, showing the box mounted on the head;

[22] - Figure 3 shows an axial section of the head of the pump with the box shown in Figure 2;

[23] - Figure 4 shows a front view of the box shown in Figure 1, with some parts that are obscured shown in dotted lines; and

[24] - Figure 5 shows a perspective view of the box shown in Figure 1;

Detailed ways

[25] Figures 1 to 5 show the head and a box of a peristaltic pump according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. As is known, the head 2 comprises a casing 4 having a main axis of symmetry 6 . Said head comprises a set 8 of rollers, in this case eight in total. The rollers are arranged symmetrically about the axis 6 . The rollers are rotatably mounted on a central support 10 . Each of the rollers is here in the shape of a column, the axis of each roller being parallel to the main axis 6 . The peristaltic pump includes certain components not shown but known in order to allow the support 10 to rotate about the axis 6 .

[26] The casing 4 includes a front main wall 12 and a rear main wall 14, and the two walls define a slot 16 therebetween for receiving a plurality of boxes 18 as shown in FIG. 1 . The boxes can be placed in the housing 16 one after the other, parallel to each other and in contact with each other as shown in FIG. 2 , each box extending in a direction parallel to the walls 12 and 14 . Said walls 12 and 14 are connected by two bars 20 extending parallel to said axis 6 and cooperating with said boxes serving as supports for each of said boxes 18 and locking components. Each box is substantially planar and therefore extends in a plane perpendicular to said axis 6 .

[27] As shown in Figure 3, each box includes a main body 22 and a hose 24, the hose especially passes through the limiting groove 25 of the main body and is detachably installed on the main body 22 Inside. The body is substantially in the shape of an inverted U and includes an elongated top forming a beam portion 26 having two ends from which two arms 28 extend downward. . The limiting groove 25 is disposed near the lower end of the arm 28 . The same ends constitute fixing and locking means for fixing and locking the box 18 to the head 2 .

[28] A cavity 30 is arranged opposite to the beam portion 26, between the arms 28. The cassette 18 includes a cam 32 received in the cavity 30 . The cam 32 has a rectangular flat shape with a herringbone-shaped hollow on its lower surface 34 facing the roller 8 . As shown in Figure 3, the hose 24 abuts against the edge 34 of the cam. The part of the hose close to the edge is the part extending between the parts of the hose received in the limiting groove 25 . The box has two tandem walls 36 each extending from one of the arms 28 to the other to partially cover each face of the cam 32 .

[29] In this embodiment, the box 18 includes a thin spring 38. A middle portion of the spring extends near the middle portion of the beam portion 26 . The end of the spring is fastened to the cam 32 by means of a hook 40 which for this purpose extends beyond the upper edge 41 of the cam. In FIGS. 4 and 5 the hoses have been omitted for better clarity.

[30] Holes 42 in said wall 36 are provided for viewing the ends of said spring 38 from each side of the box.

[31] The box 18 includes a slider 50 whose overall shape is a cuboid. The slider 50 is in contact with the upper surface of the middle region of the spring 38 via its lower surface. Preferably, the slider is fixed to the surface. The slider is movably installed in two grooves 52 in a sliding manner, and the grooves are respectively disposed on the front surface and the rear surface of the beam portion 26 and extend facing each other. The middle part of the slider is not in the groove. The groove extends vertically so that the slider can move vertically.

[32] The middle area of the beam portion 26 has a hollow portion 54 on the opposite side of the concave channel 52, and the hollow portion 54 accepts an adjustment member, and the adjustment member is constituted by a floating piece 56 here. The hollow part 54 extends upwards through a channel, and the channel extends to the upper surface of the beam part 26, and forms a hole in the upper surface, through which a finger rod 60 of the floating part passes. extending through the hole and protruding from the upper surface. On either side of the bottom of the channel, the cavity 54 has an upper surface 55 oriented towards the bottom, and the upper surface has a gullet formed by a series of teeth. Said traveling member 56 has an upper surface 57 on both sides of a finger 60, said upper surface being provided with a cog of complementary shape. In this way, the upper surface 57 can be in contact with the upper surface 55 of the beam portion 26 so that through complementary shapes—that is, by engaging the tooth grooves of the floating member with the tooth grooves of the beam portion 26— - to fix the moving part 60.

[33] The traveling member has an inclined lower surface 62, so that the traveling member has the shape and function of a corner. The lower surface is in contact with the upper surface of the slider 50 to push the slider downward, ie along the direction of the hose 24 .

[34] Thus, the function of the spring 38 is to tend to move the traveler 56 and the cam 32 away from each other, which can push the cam 32 by pushing the traveler towards the top respectively. This is achieved by pushing towards the bottom. As for the cam, it is locked towards the lower part through the hose. In other words, the floating member 56 is supported on the slider 50, and the slider is in contact with the spring 38, and the spring pushes the cam 32 to move downward, as for the Cam, which can push the tube in the direction of said roller 8 .

[35] The traveling member 56 can adjust the clamping force applied by the cam to the hose. When at rest, the floating member 56 is fixed by the cogged connection, and the cogged connection is realized by complementing the shape of the beam portion 26 . In order to change the clamping strength applied by the cam to the tube, a pressing force is applied downwards on the finger 60 , which causes connection is disconnected. In other words, the shape complementary connection is interrupted. The floating element can thus be moved to the left or to the right by pinching the finger lever 60 . Considering the inclination of the lower surface 62 and the direction of inclination in this embodiment, if the traveling member is moved to the right, the clamping strength will decrease, and if the traveling member is moved to the left, the clamping strength will decrease. will rise. When the desired clamping strength is obtained, it is only necessary to loosen the movable member, and the movable member is pushed by the spring to engage with the upper surface of the beam portion 26 again at a desired position.

[36] This system makes it possible to adjust the clamping force of the hose 24, for example according to the diameter of the tube, in order to optimize the flow-pressure of the tube and its life. In this way, certain properties of the fluid flowing in the tube can also be taken into account.

[37] The movement of the traveling member can vary the compression of the spring and thus, by interaction with the cam, the clamping force of the tube. Holding the mobile element in position at rest is ensured by the cogs running complementary in shape. The strength of the clamping produced by the corner effect can be changed simply and quickly by direct displacement of the slide.

[38] Marks may be made on the upper surface of the box to indicate the different positions of the traveling member corresponding to predetermined clamping strengths. Graduations for adjusting the clamping strength can thus also be provided. The scale can depend, for example, on the diameter of the tube used.

[39] The adjustment of the clamping force and the observation of the adjustment thus achieved is facilitated by the position of the traveler at the top of the box. The present invention makes it possible to optimize the clamping to achieve higher efficiency while giving the tube a longer life.

[40] The invention facilitates the repeatability of said adjustment, ie the ability to reproduce the same clamping strength at different times.

[41] The existence of the slider 60 or the intermediate member can prevent lateral force from being transmitted between the traveling member and the cam.

[42] Of course, many modifications can be made to the invention within the scope of the invention.

[43] The shape-complementary connection can be formed in other ways than the alveolar portion. This involves, for example, an undulation.

[44] It can also be designed as follows: the disengagement of the connection is realized by means other than pressing the moving part.

[45] The box may not be equipped with a spring. Therefore, it can be designed such that the movable member is in direct contact with the cam.

[46] The invention can be put into practice in a peristaltic pump without a removable cassette.

[47] The adjusting member may be a rotating member, which is matched with a screw-nut connection, for example.

[48] It may be considered to arrange the adjustment member so that it is accessible in the upper part of the box, regardless of the disengagement feature of the connection part associated with the adjustment member.

Claims (10)

1. the box spare (18) of peristaltic pump (2) usefulness, described box spare comprises that one clamps adjusting member (56), described clamping adjusting member by with being connected of parts (26) of described box spare be held motionless, it is characterized in that, described connection can be thrown off, so that move described clamping adjusting member when regulating chuck strength.

2. according to the described box spare of claim 1, it is characterized in that described connection is that a shape complementarity formula connects.

3. according to claim 1 or 2 described box spares, it is characterized in that described connection is that a teeth groove type connects.

4. according to each described box spare in the claim 1 to 3, it is characterized in that described box spare is arranged to described connection and can upward throws off by pressing on described member (56).

5. according to each described box spare in the aforementioned claim, it is characterized in that described member (56) is to touch from the outside of described box spare (18), and described member preferably extends to the outside of described box spare.

6. according to each described box spare in the aforementioned claim, it is characterized in that the upper surface ground that described member (56) protrudes from described box spare extends.

7. according to each described box spare in the aforementioned claim, it is characterized in that described box spare comprises a cam (32) and a spring (38), places between described spring between described member (56) and the described cam.

8. according to each described box spare in the aforementioned claim 1 to 6, it is characterized in that described box spare comprises one and the contacted cam of described member.

9. peristaltic pump (2), described peristaltic pump comprises that one clamps adjusting member (56), and described member is characterized in that by being held motionless with being connected of described pump one parts (26), described connection can be thrown off, so that move described member when regulating chuck strength.

10. regulate the method that peristaltic pump (2) clamps, it is characterized in that, said method comprising the steps of:

-throw off being connected of a member (56) and described pump one parts (26); And

-mobile described member.

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