Agitator Unit for Use with a Blood Product Storage System and Blood Product Storage System

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to an agitator unit for use with a blood product storage system, wherein the agitator unit has a movable compartment to receive blood products and a drive for movement of the compartment. The drive of the agitator unit has at least one motor and a gear system with at least one planetary gear unit, wherein the planetary gear unit has at least one planet wheel, which is eccentrically movable by means of the motor, and a planet disc, wherein the planet wheel is connected to the compartment by means of a spigot and rolls on an internal periphery of the planet disc, wherein the spigot is adjustable in its relative position. In addition, the disclosure relates to a modular blood product storage system with an agitator unit.

Claims

1.-14. (canceled)

15. Agitator unit for use with a blood product storage system, wherein the agitator unit has a movable compartment to receive blood products and a drive for movement of the compartment, wherein the drive of the agitator unit has at least one motor and a gear system with at least one planetary gear unit, wherein the planetary gear unit has at least one planet wheel, which is eccentrically movable by means of the motor, and a planet disc, wherein the planet wheel is connected to the compartment by means of a spigot and rolls on an internal periphery of the planet disc, and wherein the spigot is adjustable in its relative position.

16. The agitator unit of claim 15, wherein the gear system has precisely two identical planetary gear units.

17. The agitator unit of claim 15, wherein the motor drives the gear system by means of a belt.

18. The agitator unit of claim 15, wherein the planet wheel is replaceable, so that the relative position of the spigot on the planet wheel is adjustable by replacing the planet wheel.

19. The agitator unit of claim 18, wherein the agitator unit has at least three removable planet wheels, wherein the spigot is arranged concentrically on a first planet wheel, so that a rotating movement of the spigot relative to the planet disc results, wherein the spigot is arranged eccentrically and non-tangentially on a second planet wheel, so that an elliptical movement of the spigot relative to the planet disc results; and wherein the spigot is arranged tangentially on a third planet wheel, so that a linear movement of the spigot relative to the planet disc results.

20. The agitator unit of claim 15, wherein the spigot (is arranged to be movable on the planet wheel, notably between a concentric position with the planet wheel and a tangential position on the planet wheel.

21. The agitator unit of claim 20, wherein the spigot is movable by means of a moving mechanism.

22. The agitator unit of claim 21, wherein the moving mechanism has a linear guide that is immovable in relation to the planet wheel and a slotted link guide that is rotatable in relation to the planet wheel, wherein the spigot is guided in the linear guide and the slotted link guide.

23. The agitator unit of claim 21, wherein the moving mechanism has a linear guide that is rotatable in relation to the planet wheel and a slotted link guide that is immovable in relation to the planet wheel, wherein the spigot is guided in the linear guide and the slotted link guide.

24. The agitator unit of claim 15, wherein the agitator unit has a guide selected from a slotted link guide and a linear guide which is rotatable in relation to the planet wheel by a motor.

25. The agitator unit of claim 15, wherein the agitator unit has an access opening for the insertion and removal of blood products, wherein the access opening can be closed by a door and wherein the drive stops when the door is opened.

26. Modular blood product storage system for temperature-regulated storage of blood products comprising a temperature regulation unit to regulate the temperature of the interior of the blood product storage system, a base unit and at least one agitator unit according to claim 15, wherein the agitator unit has an upper connection side and a lower connection side, wherein the upper connection side of the agitator unit is selectively connectable to the temperature regulation unit or a further agitator unit, and wherein the lower connection side of the agitator unit is selectively connectable to a unit selected from the base unit and a further agitator unit.

27. The modular blood product storage system of claim 26, wherein the modular blood storage system comprises a plurality of agitator units and in which each agitator unit has its own drive for movement of its compartment.

28. The modular blood product storage system of claim 27, wherein each agitator unit has an access opening for the insertion and removal of blood products, wherein the access opening can be closed by a door and wherein the drive of the agitator unit stops when the door of the agitator unit is opened.

29. Agitator unit wherein the agitator unit is an agitator unit of a blood platelet storage system configured for temperature-regulated storage of blood platelets disposed in bags at a temperature of about +22 C.2 C., wherein the agitator unit has a movable compartment to receive the blood platelets disposed in bags and a drive for movement of the compartment, wherein the drive of the agitator unit has at least one motor and a gear system with at least one planetary gear unit, wherein the planetary gear unit has at least one planet wheel, which is eccentrically movable by means of the motor, and a planet disc, wherein the planet wheel is connected to the compartment by means of a spigot and rolls on an internal periphery of the planet disc, and wherein the spigot is adjustable in its relative position.

Description

[0032] The invention will be explained below on the basis of an exemplary embodiment shown in more detail in the schematic drawings, wherein:

[0033] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an agitator unit according to the invention;

[0034] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a blood product storage system with several agitator units according to the invention;

[0035] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the drive of an agitator unit according to the invention;

[0036] FIG. 4 is a representation of the different positions of the spigot on the planet wheel; and

[0037] FIG. 5 shows a moving mechanism for movement of the spigot.

[0038] FIG. 1 shows an agitator unit 1 according to the invention for use with a blood product storage system 100 (see FIG. 2). The agitator unit 1 has a movable compartment 2 to receive blood products 3. In this exemplary embodiment platelet concentrate in bags is provided as blood products 3. The compartment 2 is provided with passages 7, as shown. In addition, the agitator unit 1 has a drive 4 for moving the compartment 2. In addition, each agitator unit 1 has an upper connection side 5 and a lower connection side 6.

[0039] In addition, the agitator unit 1 has a bottom 8 provided with holes, which is arranged below the compartment 2 in the region of the lower connection side 7. The compartment 2 is surrounded in a U-shape by an insulation 9 so that an access opening 10 is left open for the insertion and removal of blood products 3 into the compartment 2 or from the compartment 2. The access opening 10 can be closed with a door 11. Moreover, the agitator unit 1 has a side chamber 12, in which parts of the drive 9 and also a separate air passage 13 (shown in dotted lines) are arranged. The side chamber 12 is separated from the region, in which the compartment 2 is arranged, by the insulation 9.

[0040] The agitator unit 1 has a connection region 14 on the upper connection side 5 and on the lower connection side 6. The connection region 14 serves to connect the agitator unit 1 to a further agitator unit 1 or other components 101, 102 of the blood product storage system 100, as will be explained in more detail below. The connection region 14 has a power coupling, a bus coupling as well as a fluid coupling for connection of a liquid circuit 15 of the agitator unit 1. The liquid circuit 15 of the agitator unit 1 is directed in a loop or meandering shape below the compartment 2 and serves to (additionally) regulate the temperature of the blood products 3 received in the compartment 2, as will be explained further below in association with the blood product storage system 100 with reference to FIG. 2.

[0041] The drive 4 of the agitator unit 1 will be described in the following. The drive 4 has an electric motor 16 and a gear system 17. The gear system 17 has two planetary gear units 18. The planetary gear units 18 are identical in structure, so that only one planetary gear unit 18 will be described in more detail below.

[0042] The planetary gear unit 18 consists of a planet disc 19 with a toothed internal periphery 20. A planet wheel 21 with a spigot 22 and a toothed external periphery 23 can rotate on the toothed internal periphery 20. The planet disc 19 is fixedly connected to a frame 24 of the drive 4. The planet wheel 21 is driven eccentrically by means of a pulley 25. The pulley 25 is arranged concentrically to the planet disc 19 and connected by means of a belt 29 to a drive wheel 30 of the electric motor 16. The belt 29 is configured as a toothed belt here, which meshes with the two shown pulleys 25 and the drive wheel 30.

[0043] As shown, the spigot 22 is arranged eccentrically on the planet wheel 21 and extends in vertical direction from the frame 24. The spigot 22 is connected to the compartment 2 of the agitator unit 1 and transfers the resulting movement to the compartment 2. An elliptical movement of the compartment 8 is achieved as a result of the eccentric arrangement of the planet wheel 21 to the pulley 25 and the eccentric arrangement of the spigot 22 on the planet wheel 21.

[0044] The type of movement of the compartment 2 can be influenced by changing the relative position of the spigot 22 on the planet wheel 21. As mentioned, a rotating movement EB of the compartment 2 results in the case of the eccentric position of the spigot 22 on the planet wheel 21 shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4b. A rotating movement EB of the compartment 2 results in the case of the concentric arrangement of the spigot 22 on the planet wheel 21 shown in FIG. 4a. A linear movement LB of the compartment 2 results in the case of the tangential arrangement of the spigot 22 on the planet wheel 21 shown in FIG. 4c, i.e. an arrangement substantially in the region of the toothed external periphery 23.

[0045] The desired position of the spigot 22 on the planet wheel 21 can firstly be achieved by several replaceable planet wheels 21 being provided, on which the spigot 22 is respectively arranged in another relative position. For example, three types of planet wheel 21 can thus be provided, which have the spigot 22 at the relative positions shown in FIGS. 4a to 4c. Thus, the type of movement of the compartment 2 can be adjusted by replacing the planet wheel 21.

[0046] In addition, it is also possible to change the relative position of the spigot 22 on the planet wheel 21 by a moving mechanism 26, see FIG. 5c. In this case, only one planet wheel 21 with a spigot 22 movably arranged thereon is provided. The moving mechanism 26 has a slotted link guide 27 and a linear guide 28. In the shown exemplary embodiment the slotted link guide 27 is a worm guide. The spigot 22 is guided in both guides 27, 28, as is shown in a simplified manner in FIG. 5c. One of the two guides 27, 28 is immovable in relation to the planet wheel 21, while the other of the two guides 27, 28 is rotatable in relation to the planet wheel 21. For example, the slotted link guide 27 can be rotatably mounted. If the slotted link guide 27 is now rotated with the spigot 22 guided therein, this slides along the slotted link guide 27. As a result of the additional forced guidance of the spigot 22 in the linear guide 28, there thus results a necessarily linear movement of the spigot 22 along the linear guide 28. The rotation of the slotted link guide 28 can occur by means of an electric motor, for example, which is supplied with power by means of sliding contacts.

[0047] FIG. 2 shows a blood product storage system 100 according to the invention for the temperature-regulated storage of blood products 2 with a temperature regulation unit 101, a base unit 102 and, in this exemplary embodiment, seven agitator units 1. The blood product storage system 100 has a layered vertical structure, wherein the base unit 102 forms the bottom unit and the temperature regulation unit 101 the top unit in vertical direction. Moreover, the base unit 102 is conceived to stand the blood product storage system 100 upright, e.g. on a table or the floor. For this, the base unit 102 can have rotating feet (not shown) on the underside to also place the blood product storage system 1 horizontally on uneven support surfaces.

[0048] The temperature regulation unit 101 and/or the base unit 102 has an air circulation device (not shown) for generation of a temperature-regulated air flow L. The temperature-regulated air flow L is represented by arrows in FIG. 2. In this exemplary embodiment the temperature-regulated air flow L is generated by the temperature regulation unit 101. The temperature-regulated air flow L regulates the interior of the blood product storage system 100 to the temperature necessary for platelet concentrates of 222 C. by flowing from the temperature regulation unit 101 through the agitator units 1 to the base unit 102. In the base unit 102 the air flow L is then directed laterally in the direction of the side chamber 12 of the agitator units 1, and through the separate air passages 13 of the agitator units 1 from the base unit 102 again in the direction of the temperature regulation unit 101. It can thus be ensured that the blood products 3 are regulated to the desired temperature with freshly temperature-regulated air. To enable or not hinder the air flow L, each agitator unit 1 has passages 7 in the respective compartment 2 as well as the bottom 8 provided with openings.

[0049] Moreover, the (additional) liquid circuit 15 of each of the agitator units 1 is provided for temperature regulation of the blood products 3. In particular if the blood product storage system 100 has a relatively high number of agitator units 1 (e.g. 24), regulation to the desired temperature can be ensured by the additional liquid circuit 15. For this, a combined liquid circuit is generated by means of the fluid couplings provided in the connection region 14, into which all the individual liquid circuits 15 of the respective agitator units 1 are incorporated. The temperature regulation unit 101 or the base unit 102 has a pump for circulating the combined liquid circuit. The combined liquid circuit is preferably pre-regulated to the desired temperature by means of an additional temperature regulation element.

[0050] The temperature regulation unit 101 additionally has a power supply (not shown), a temperature curve display 103, a control device 104 and also a control panel 105. The control panel 105 is configured as a touch screen in this exemplary embodiment. The temperature curve display 103 shows the current temperature in the interior of the blood product storage system 100 as well as a temperature-time curve. The control device 104 controls all functions of the temperature regulation unit 101 and the incorporated agitator units 1. The power supply in this exemplary embodiment is a conventional 220 V connection, but can also have additional batteries, for example, to also guarantee function of the blood product storage system 100 in the event of a power cut. Moreover, the power supply can also be arranged in the base unit 102.

[0051] For construction of the blood product storage system 100 the base unit 102 is firstly erected. The first agitator 1 is placed with the lower connection side 6 on the base unit 102 and is firmly connected to this, for example, by means of one or more connecting elements. A second agitator unit 1 can then be placed with the lower connection side 6 on the upper connection side 5 of this first agitator unit 1. In this case, the liquid circuit 15 of the first agitator unit 1 is connected to the liquid circuit 15 of the second agitator unit 1 by means of the fluid couplings provided in connection region 14. In addition, a power-carrying connection is created between the first agitator unit 1 and the second agitator unit 1 by means of the contacts provided in the respective connection region 15. A bus connection is also created accordingly by means of a contact or a coupling. A further agitator unit 1 can then be placed with the lower connection side 6 onto the upper connection side 5 of the second agitator unit 1 and integrated as just described. The temperature regulation unit 101 is lastly placed onto the upper connection side 6 of the last desired agitator unit 1. In this case, the combined liquid circuit is connected to the circulation pump of the temperature regulation unit 101 by means of corresponding fluid couplings. In addition, the power supply of the agitator units 1 is created by a connection with the power supply of the temperature regulation unit 101. Moreover, the agitator units 1 are integrated into a bus system connected to the control device 104.

[0052] The entire blood product storage system 100 can now be controlled by means of the control device 104 via control panel 105. For example, the combined liquid circuit can be activated or deactivated. In addition, the drive 4 of an agitator unit 1 can be actuated selectively, for example, and thus be reduced in speed, for example. In the case where the agitator units 1 have a motor-driven moving mechanism 26, it is also possible to adjust the relative position of the spigot 22 on the planet wheel, and thus also the resulting movement of the compartment 2, via the control panel 105. In addition, the control panel 105 can also be used to cause the drive 4 of an agitator unit 1 to stop when the door 11 of the access opening 10 is opened. It is also conceivable that the drive 4 is connected to the door 11 by means of a contact switch, so that stoppage of the drive 4 can occur independently of an actuation through the control device 104.

[0053] For the modular extension and reduction of the storage capacity of the blood product storage system 100 the temperature regulation unit 101 is firstly removed from the upper connection side 5 of the uppermost agitator unit 1. Either additional agitator units 1 can then be put in place or agitator units 1 can be removed. Once the desired storage capacity has been reached, the temperature regulation unit 101 is placed on the upper connection side 5 of the now uppermost agitator unit 1 again.

LIST OF REFERENCES

[0054] 1 agitator unit

[0055] 2 compartment

[0056] 3 blood product/platelet concentrate

[0057] 4 drive

[0058] 5 upper connection side

[0059] 6 lower connection side

[0060] 7 passage

[0061] 8 bottom

[0062] 9 insulation

[0063] 10 access opening

[0064] 11 door

[0065] 12 side chamber

[0066] 13 air passage

[0067] 14 connection region

[0068] 15 liquid circuit

[0069] 16 motor

[0070] 17 gear system

[0071] 18 gear unit

[0072] 19 planet disc

[0073] 20 toothed internal periphery

[0074] 21 planet wheel

[0075] 22 spigot

[0076] 23 toothed external periphery

[0077] 24 frame

[0078] 25 pulley

[0079] 26 moving mechanism

[0080] 27 slotted link guide

[0081] 28 linear guide

[0082] 29 belt

[0083] 30 drive wheel

[0084] 100 blood product storage system

[0085] 101 temperature regulation unit

[0086] 102 base unit

[0087] 103 temperature display

[0088] 104 control device

[0089] 105 control panel

[0090] L air flow

[0091] EB elliptical movement

[0092] KB rotating movement

[0093] LB linear movement