ROTARY PUMP DRIVEN MEDICAMENT DELIVERY DEVICE

Abstract

A rotary pump is presented for use in a medicament delivery device, where the pump has a back plate having an inner surface and a rotor housing is positioned adjacent to the back plate having a peripheral wall. A front plate support is connected to the back plate and a flexible front plate is positioned between the front plate support and the rotor housing. The pump is rotated using a planetary gear transmission, where an eccentric shaft is operatively connected to the planetary gear mechanism. A rotor is rotationally fixed to the eccentric shaft and movably positioned within rotor housing. The rotor has three lobes, where each lobe has two peripheral curved surfaces sharing a common apex, where a first portion of each peripheral surface adjacent to the apex defines a non-smooth curve.

Claims

1. A pump comprising: a) a back plate having an inner surface; b) a rotor housing positioned adjacent to the back plate and having a peripheral wall; c) a front plate support connected to the back plate; d) a flexible front plate positioned between the front plate support and the rotor housing; e) a planetary gear transmission; e) an eccentric shaft operatively connected to the planetary gear mechanism; and f) a rotor rotationally fixed to the eccentric shaft and movably positioned within rotor housing, the rotor comprising three lobes, where each lobe has two peripheral curved surfaces sharing a common apex, where a first portion of each peripheral surface adjacent to the apex defines a non-smooth curve.

2. The pump of claim 1 where the peripheral wall defines a pump chamber with a trochoidal wall.

3. The pump of claim 2 where the pump chamber comprises a first and second chamber.

4. The pump of claim 1 where the planetary gear transmission comprises: a stationary timing pinion positioned on the back plate; and a ring gear integral with the rotor, where the ring gear has teeth that mesh with cooperating teeth on the timing pinion such that the ring gear rotates eccentrically around the timing pinion.

5. The pump of claim 1 where each of the peripheral curved surfaces terminates at a midpoint located equidistant between two apexes and where a second portion of the peripheral curved surface is located between the first portion and the midpoint and defines a smooth curve.

6. The pump of claim 1 where the rotor housing further comprises an inlet port and a discharge port, each having a longitudinal axis, where the inlet port longitudinal axis is parallel to and offset from the longitudinal axis of the discharge port.

7. The pump of claim 6 where the offset of the longitudinal axes is of a sufficient distance such that rotor cannot open both the inlet port and outlet port at the same time.

8. The pump of claim 1 where the eccentric is connected to a drive shaft that is journaled to a bearing positioned in the rear plate.

9. The pump of claim 1 where the rotor is fabricated of a flexible material such that the apexes do not require separate sealing members.

10. The pump of claim 9 where the flexible material is silicon.

11. The pump of claim 1 where the front plate support comprises both open areas and solid support areas.

12. The pump of claim 1 where the rotor housing further comprises a first chamber and a second chamber, where each chamber has an inlet port and discharge port and each port has a longitudinal axis, where the inlet ports are positioned such that the longitudinal axes are parallel to and offset from the longitudinal axes of the discharge ports.

13. A medicament delivery device comprising: a) a housing having an inlet connected to a reservoir of medicament and an outlet connected to a discharge device, where the housing has a back plate having an inner surface; b) a rotor housing positioned adjacent to the back plate; c) a rotor rotationally fixed to an eccentric shaft and movably positioned within rotor housing, the rotor comprising three lobes, where each lobe has two peripheral curved surfaces sharing a common apex, where a first portion of each peripheral surface adjacent to the apex defines a non-smooth curve; and d) a motor connected to the eccentric shaft to rotate the eccentric shaft during medicament delivery, where medicament is drawn into a chamber from the reservoir in the rotor housing through the inlet as the rotor turns relative to the rotor housing and the medicament is expelled through the outlet and into the discharge device.

14. The medicament delivery device of claim 13 further comprising a front plate support connected to the back plate and a flexible front plate is positioned between the front plate support and the rotor housing, where the rotor housing further comprises a peripheral wall that defines a pump chamber having a first and second chamber.

15. The medicament delivery device of claim 13 where the rotor housing further comprises a planetary gear transmission comprising: a stationary timing pinion positioned on the back plate; and a ring gear integral with the rotor, where the ring gear has teeth that mesh with cooperating teeth on the timing pinion such that the ring gear rotates eccentrically around the timing pinion.

16. The medicament delivery device of claim 15 where each of the peripheral curved surfaces terminates at a midpoint located equidistant between two apexes and where a second portion of the peripheral curved surface is located between the first portion and the midpoint and defines a smooth curve.

17. The medicament delivery device of claim 16 where the rotor housing further comprises an inlet port and a discharge port, each having a longitudinal axis, where the inlet port longitudinal axis is parallel to and offset from the longitudinal axis of the discharge port.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0017] In the following detailed description of the present disclosure, reference will be made to the accompanying drawings, of which

[0018] FIG. 1 shows a conventional Wankel rotor design known to the art and as depicted in U.S. Pat. No. 4,551,073;

[0019] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of one embodiment of the rotary pump of the present disclosure;

[0020] FIG. 3A shows an exaggerated schematic representation of a rotor design according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0021] FIG. 3B shows an exaggerated schematic representation of a known rotor design;

[0022] [21] FIG. 4 is a cut away view of the rotor housing of the present disclosure showing two inlets and two outlets where the longitudinal axes of the inlets is offset from the longitudinal axes of the outlets;

[0023] FIG. 5 is a graphical representation showing the curvature of a portion of one lobe of the rotor of the present disclosure compared to a known Wankel type rotor;

[0024] FIGS. 6A through 6E graphical represent the filling and discharge of the chambers within an embodiment of the rotary pump of this disclosure;

[0025] FIGS. 7A and 7B graphical illustrate the issue of unwanted transfer of medicament from one chamber to another in the known Wankel type pumps (FIG. 7A) and no such transfer using a rotor design of the present disclosure; and

[0026] FIG. 8 shows another embodiment of the rotary pump of the present disclosure having two inlets and two outlets.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] The conventional or known Wankel type rotary pump design (see FIG. 1) has not been used for the accurate and precise delivery of a medicament to a patient. This is likely because the known design inherently cannot repeatedly deliver an accurate dose of medicament, which is extremely important in all injection or pump type medical devices. The rotary pump design of the present disclosure 1 uses a tri-lobe rotor 2 within a bilobar chamber 16 that differs from the conventional Wankel type rotor in that each of the three lobes 2a, 2b, & 2c (or sides) contains two separate sections (see FIG. 3A). This is in contradistinction to the conventional Wankel design that only has a single continuous curved section per side of the rotor (see FIG. 3B). The rotor 2 of the present disclosure further has pairs of two peripheral curved surfaces 20 sharing a common apex 22, where a first portion of each peripheral surface 21 adjacent to the apex defines a non-smooth curve. A comparison of the smooth cure of the conventional Wankel design compared to present disclosure is illustrated in FIG. 5. The non-smooth curve 21 of the present disclosure ensures sealing between the outer rotor surface 26 and the peripheral wall 6 of the rotor housing 3. This sealing prevents the unwanted transfer of fluid, e.g., medicament, from one chamber to another, which has a detrimental effect on dose accuracy. This unwanted transfer, i.e., area of spillover, is illustrated in FIG. 7A for the known Wankel rotor design. FIG. 7B illustrates that the non-smooth curve portion 21 of the present disclosure creates a tight seal of the rotor 2 with the rotor housing 3, which prevents the deleterious transfer of fluid 28. From these figures it is evident that the difference between the known Wankel geometry and the rotary pump design of the present disclosure is not directed to the sealing between the apexes of the rotor lobes and the peripheral wall of the rotor housing, but instead is the sealing between the rotor sections that terminate at the apexes.

[0028] FIG. 2 shows an exploded view of at least one possible embodiment of the rotary pump design of the present disclosure. In this design, the rotor housing 3 is bilobar, i.e., has two lobes 30a, 30b, each lobe having an inlet port 14a, 14d and an outlet port 14b, 14c. In some cases, it is desirable to use one set of the inlet/outlet ports to monitor the pump performance and not to actually move fluid into and out of the chambers 31, 32 defined by the position of the rotor within the one or the other housing lobes (see FIG. 6A). Stated differently, in some embodiments of the rotary pump there is only a single inlet 14a and a single outlet port 14b, both of which are associated with the same housing lobe 30b and both are used to move fluid (medicament) 28 in and out of the pump. In such an embodiment with one inlet and one outlet, a large empty chamber 32 occurs at certain times in the opposite housing lobe 30a. To compensate for the possibility of a vacuum forming in an empty chamber it may be desirable to have additional ports that can be used as pressure compensators. FIG. 6A shows one possible embodiment where a reservoir 50 containing multiple doses of medicament 28 is connected via conduit 51 to the inlet 14a of the rotary pump. The outlet 14b is connected via conduit 52 with a discharge device, for example, an injection needle, a catheter, nozzle, jet or similar component that can introduce a single dose, or bolus, or continuous flow of the medicament 28 to an injection site.

[0029] As mentioned, the rotor housing 3 can include a single set of inlet and outlet ports, preferably configured as bore holes 14a, 14b in the rotor housing wall 6. Conduit and/or fittings can be connected to these bore holes to form and define the inlet and outlet ports (see FIG. 4). In other embodiments, it is advantageous to have two sets of inlet and outlet ports. The inlet and outlet ports could also include check valves 34a, 34b, 34c, & 34d to insure proper flow direction and/or pressurization of the medicament through the rotary pump. For dose accuracy purposes, the bore holes must be located such that the rotor can completely close the inlet and not allow any leakage of medicament. Likewise, the outlet bore hole should be positioned relative to the rotor to ensure complete closure by the rotor outer surface. For these reasons, it preferred that the bore holes are located in the peripheral wall of the rotor housing. Known prior rotary pump designs require that both the inlet and outlet are open at the same time at least some of the time. The rotary pump of the present disclosure does not have this feature. Stated differently, the pump of the present disclosure never has both an inlet and an outlet open at the same time. Either the inlet is open or the outlet is open, but not both. This ensures that medicament fluid in a first chamber is expelled completely out of the outlet in fluid communication with that chamber and not carried over to a next or second chamber.

[0030] The configuration and shape of the peripheral wall 6 that defines the rotor housing 3 follows a traditional double lobe trochoid shape having smooth curves. Smooth curved walls in the rotor housing 3 allow a good liquid and pressure seal to be maintained between each of the three rotor apexes 22 as they rotate around and contact the peripheral housing wall. For this reason, it is not desirable to modify the peripheral wall of the rotor housing, e.g., making wall sections having non-smooth cures. Changing the peripheral wall design may result in leakage where the apexes could lose contact with the wall.

[0031] FIG. 3A illustrates a preferred rotor 2 design has two distinct arcuate sections 20 between each apex 22. This compares to the known Wankel type rotor that has only one arcuate section between each apex, as illustrated in FIG. 3B for comparison to FIG. 3A. The smooth curve of the known rotor designs inherently causes the unwanted transfer of medicament between the chambers at certain rotor positions. As mentioned, this is detrimental to dose accuracy. The non-smooth curve of the present disclosure ensures that the chambers are always sealed off from each other. As such, each filling of a chamber is precise and with the same known volume of medicament, which is ultimately delivered to the patient. Preferably, there is one non-smooth geometry of the two peripheral curved surfaces that share a common apex that fits to a given geometry of the peripheral wall of the rotor housing.

[0032] The ratio of the diameters of the timing pinion 38 and ring gear 10 can vary, but have to match to the eccentricity and to the trochoid. Otherwise, the eccentric shaft 12 could not be turned to actuate the rotary pump 1 of the present disclosure. One possible ratio is 3:1. Another parameter that can be adjusted is the offset distance 39 of the shaft axis of rotation S.sub.c 11 to the eccentric axis of rotation e.sub.c 9 (see FIG. 2). Although the offset distance 39 is not a unique number it must be a distance that works with the ratio of diameters and to the trochoid.

[0033] The eccentric shaft 12 is driven and rotated by any known mechanical motor means. Preferably, an electric motor 15 having a rotatable connection can be used that connects with the eccentric shaft 12 on one side of the motor such that the eccentric shaft is rotated by the motor using a planetary gear transmission 42 that includes an eccentric 8, a ring gear 10, eccentric shaft 12 and timing pinion 38. The electric motor 15 which can be used, can be any conventional electric motor of the high-speed low torque type, namely, in alternating current or a direct current motor with or without brushes or commutators. The planetary gear transmission 42 transmits the rotational drive force of the motor to rotate the rotor 2 within the rotor housing 2. One example of this planetary gear transmission is shown in FIG. 2 where the eccentric shaft 12 is connected to an eccentric 8, which in turn is connected to the rotor 2. As the motor shaft 15a rotates the connected eccentric shaft 12, the eccentric 8 and rotor 2 must also rotate. The ring gear 10 on the inside of the rotor 2 is engaged with a stationary pinion gear 38 attached to the back plate 4. As the rotor 2 is rotated the ring gear 10 moves around the pinion gear 38 and traces out the epicycloid shape, i.e., bilobar chamber 16, of the rotor housing 3.

[0034] The material of construction of the rotor 2 is preferably a flexible material so as to avoid the use of inserted seals in the rotor or the peripheral housing wall. Preferably the rotor is fabricated from one or more flexible materials or a combination of flexible and non-flexible materials. One preferred flexible material is silicon, however, other materials can be used in the manufacturing process, provided that the portions of the rotor that are in contact with the medicament fluid are biocompatible and have no deleterious effects on the medicament. In some cases, it may be desirable to fabricate the apexes 22 of the rotor with a material more flexible than the rest of the rotor to ensure that a tight seal is formed with the wall.

[0035] The material of construction of the flexible front plate 7, like the material of construction of the rotor must be selected so that it is compatible with the liquid medicament being pumped, i.e., the fabrication material cannot have a deleterious effect on the medicament. Preferably, the material of construction is chosen so the flexible front plate 7 can compensate for pressure differences by flexing and retracting as need to maintain a constant internal operating pressure of the pump. The front plate support should be sufficiently rigid enough to hold the flexible parts together and ensure adequate sealing so that leakage does not occur. Sealing is important in order to maintain consistent and reproducible dose accuracy. In a preferred configuration the front plate support can have one or more open areas 11 (see FIG. 2) where the pressure compensation is needed. The solid parts of the front plate support 5 are positioned to ensure that the front plate 7 has stability in those locations.

[0036] Operation of one possible embodiment of the rotary pump 1 of this disclosure is graphically illustrated in FIGS. 6A-6E. Operation of another possible rotary pump design is illustrated in FIG. 8.

[0037] It is to be understood that the embodiments described above and shown in the drawings are to be regarded only as non-limiting examples of the possible designs of the safety assembly and such designs may be modified in many ways.