FR3102811A1 - Peristaltic pump with monobloc pump body and easy assembly - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a peristaltic pump (1) comprising: - a rotor (20) comprising a rotating shaft (25) and configured to be driven in rotation so as to deform a flexible tube (30), - a casing (10) comprising a head (18) for receiving the flexible tubing (30) and a support body (19) for the rotation shaft (25) of the rotor (20), the rotation shaft (25) being mounted freely in rotation relative to the support body (19), the receiving head (18) and the support body (19) of the housing (10) being integral. Figure for abstract: figure 1

Description

Peristaltic pump with one-piece pump body and easy assembly

The invention relates to a peristaltic pump for transferring a product, generally liquid, as well as a method of assembling such a peristaltic pump. The invention also relates to a device for dispensing a liquid product comprising such a pump.

Already known in the state of the art, in particular according to the document US5082429, a peristaltic pump consists of two parts, one independent of the other, on the one hand a base carrying a rotor, on the other hand a head , reported above the rotor so as to sandwich a distribution tube between the two parts. The pump includes a clamping arm making it possible to close the space formed by the two parts and to bring the rotor into contact with the tube when the latter is mounted in the pump. The assembly of the pump is done manually. Thanks to the two parts that sandwich the tube, the distribution tube can be changed. This peristaltic pump has the disadvantage of having a relatively complex assembly. Indeed, like any other peristaltic pump known from the state of the art, the peristaltic pump as described in this document requires manual assembly, which has a very long assembly time and a high production cost.

The object of the invention is in particular to provide a peristaltic pump whose assembly is facilitated, preferably which can be industrialized and in particular can be automated.

To this end, the subject of the invention is a peristaltic pump comprising:

- a rotor comprising a rotation shaft and configured to be driven in rotation so as to deform a flexible tube,

- a box comprising a head for receiving the flexible tubing and a support body for the rotation shaft of the rotor, the rotation shaft being mounted free to rotate relative to the support body,

the reception head and the support body of the case being in one piece.

Thus, a single part is provided to ensure the function of supporting the rotor and receiving the flexible tubing, it is therefore not necessary to provide two separate parts which sandwich the flexible tubing. As a result, the number of parts to be assembled is reduced and the number of assembly steps is reduced. The assembly of the pump is easier, which makes industrialization and in particular the automation of assembly possible. The manufacturing cost is thus reduced. It is understood that two one-piece parts are parts in one piece, preferably made from the material, or even from molding.

Following other optional features of the peristaltic pump, taken alone or in combination:

The box includes:

. a mounting opening through which the rotor is assembled in the housing and,

. deformable means allowing deformation of the mounting opening and/or part of the rotor during assembly of the rotor.

The deformable means can thus allow an enlargement of the mounting opening or a reduction in the width of a part of the rotor, for example of the rotating shaft. In the first case, the enlargement of the assembly opening allows the passage of the rotation shaft of the rotor in the opening until it is in the assembled position. An assembly such as snap-fitting or press fitting is then possible. There is no need for tools or extra steps.

- The deformable means comprise a ramp carried by the casing and configured to cooperate with the rotating shaft of the rotor in order to deform the mounting opening.

The ramp guides the rotation shaft in its movement and facilitates the deformation of the assembly opening. Advantageously, the deformable means comprise two ramps intended to cooperate with the two ends of the rotation shaft to facilitate the deformation of the mounting opening.

- The deformable means comprise a recess allowing the deformation of the mounting opening. The recess makes it possible to render deformable a part of the casing arranged in the vicinity of the recess, which promotes the deformation of the casing. More precisely, the presence of the recess promotes the deformation of the part forming the support body. The assembly of the rotor is thus facilitated.

It is understood that a recess is a through hole. Preferably, the recess is shaped along the ramp to further promote deformation of the mounting opening.

- The receiving head comprises a housing configured to receive the flexible tubing and an abutment allowing the lateral retention of the flexible tubing. Thus, the flexible tubing is received and maintained only by the one-piece housing, for better stability and simplified assembly. The maintenance of the tubing achieved by the abutment makes it possible to limit the lateral movement generated by the rotor.

It is understood that a lateral support corresponds to a support which prevents the displacement of the tubing along the axis of rotation of the rotor.

- The housing includes a receiving hole for the rotation shaft, preferably two holes arranged on two opposite walls of the housing to form bearings. Thus, the rotation shaft of the rotor is entirely carried by the housing and not by two parts arranged on either side of the rotor and which must be assembled together. Preferably, the orifice is configured to allow the rotation of the rotation shaft under the action of a drive means of the rotor.

- The peristaltic pump is configured to receive a flexible tubing having a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet, the housing comprising means for fixing the fluid inlet and/or the fluid outlet of the flexible tubing, for example slots for receiving the fluid inlet and/or the fluid outlet. The fixing means make it possible to minimize the movement of the flexible tubing generated by the deformation of the latter. They make it possible to maintain the tubing in a position and in a tension necessary for its stability for the passage of the fluid when the rotor is in motion. This arrangement also improves the life of the tubing and avoids possible leakage due to wear. In the case of slots, this allows fixing of the flexible tubing by clamping.

- The peristaltic pump comprises flexible tubing, the flexible tubing comprising complementary fastening means configured to cooperate with the fastening means, the complementary fastening means and the flexible tubing preferably being in one piece.

- The peristaltic pump comprises at least one connector, attached, configured to put the flexible tubing in communication with a reservoir of liquid product or a unit for dispensing the liquid product, the connector comprising complementary fixing means configured to cooperate with the means of fixation.

The invention also relates to a method for assembling a peristaltic pump as described above, comprising the following steps:

- The flexible tubing is assembled on the rotor or in the receiving head of the housing,

- The rotor is assembled in the housing,

- The rotating shaft of the rotor is connected to a drive means.

The invention also relates to a device for dispensing a liquid product comprising:

- A liquid product distribution unit,

- A tank of the liquid product,

- A peristaltic pump as described above, connecting the dispensing unit and the reservoir.

Brief description of figures

The invention will be better understood on reading the following description given solely by way of example and made with reference to the appended drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a sectional view of a peristaltic pump according to a first embodiment of the invention;

Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of the peristaltic pump of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a sectional and perspective view of a housing of the peristaltic pump of Figure 1;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a peristaltic pump according to a second embodiment of the invention;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the peristaltic pump of Figure 4, assembled;

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of a peristaltic pump according to a third embodiment of the invention;

Figure 7 is a perspective view of the peristaltic pump of Figure 6, assembled.

detailed description

There is shown in Figures 1 to 3 a peristaltic pump according to a first embodiment of the invention, designated by the general reference 1. The peristaltic pump 1 comprises a one-piece housing 10 as seen in Figure 2. The housing 10 comprises an upper part, forming a head 18 for receiving the flexible tubing 30, having the general shape of a half-cylinder, and a lower part forming a support body 19. The lower part forming a support body 19 consists of two opposite vertical walls 191, arranged in the extension of the cylindrical surface of the upper part forming a reception head 18, and two opposite side walls 192, which are substantially in the same plane as the flat surfaces of the upper part forming a receiving head 18.

The peristaltic pump 1 is configured to receive a flexible tubing 30 which is illustrated in Figures 1 and 2. The flexible tubing 30 has a fluid inlet 31 and a fluid outlet 32. The fluid inlet 31 is intended to be connected to a liquid product reservoir and the fluid outlet 32 is intended to be connected to a liquid product dispensing unit. Thus, the peristaltic pump 1, once put into operation, makes it possible to transfer liquid product from the reservoir to the dispensing unit. In this example, the product dispensed is a drug, and the dispensing is done by injection through a catheter.

The upper part forming a receiving head 18 of the flexible tubing 30 and comprises a housing 181 configured to receive the flexible tubing 30. This is visible in Figure 3 which is a sectional view in perspective of a first half part of the housing 10 along a first plane of symmetry P1 of housing 10. Consequently, it is understood that housing 181 has a U-shaped profile along the first plane of symmetry P1 of housing 10.

The receiving head 18 further comprises an abutment 14 as shown in Figure 3, allowing the lateral maintenance of the flexible tubing 30. It is understood that this abutment 14 is also present on the other semi-part of the housing 10 (not shown in this figure).

The peristaltic pump 1 also comprises a rotor 20 comprising a rotation shaft 25 visible in FIG. a receiving head 18 of the housing 10. Thus, the upper part forms a receiving head 18 of the housing 10 of the flexible tubing 30. The rotor 20 comprises three rollers 23 mounted respectively on a rod 24 allowing the free rotation of each associated roller . The rotor 20 further comprises a first plate 21 and a second plate 22 mounted on either side of the rollers 23. At least the first plate 21 comprises in its center a hollow 27 intended to cooperate with a drive means 40 such as visible in Figure 2 actuated by an electric motor. For example, drive means 40 may be a cylinder provided with a protuberance 41 having a shape complementary to that of recess 27. Thus, protuberance 41 on drive means 40 mates with recess 27 of the first plate 21 so that the drive means 40 can drive the first plate 21 as well as the entire rotor 20 in rotation. The first plate 21 and the second plate 22 further comprise holes 26 making it possible to receive one of the ends of each rod 24 so that when the rotor 20 is rotated, the first plate 21 and the second plate 22 drive the rods 24 which themselves drive the rollers 23 so that they perform a rotational movement around the rotation shaft 25.

Each roller 23 is arranged so as to compress a portion of the flexible tubing 30 opposite against the receiving head 18 when the peristaltic pump 1 is assembled. Thus, once the rotor 20 has been set in rotation, the rollers 23 which close portions of the flexible tube 30 during their rotation will move the retained liquid product in the same direction. The suction of the liquid product at the inlet of the peristaltic pump 1 is then possible due to the elasticity of the flexible tubing 30. This is the conventional operation of a peristaltic pump known in the technical field and which will not be therefore not described in detail here.

Still in FIGS. 1 to 3, the lower part forms a support body 19 of the casing 10 of the rotation shaft 25 of the rotor 20, the rotation shaft 25 being mounted free to rotate relative to the support body 19. For To do this, the housing 10 comprises two orifices 11 for receiving the rotation shaft 25, the orifices 11 being arranged on the two side walls 192 of the housing 10 to form bearings. The rotor 20, for its part, comprises respectively on the first plate 21 and the second plate 22 a disc 211 extending from the first plate 21 or the second plate 22 and having a diameter substantially identical to that of the orifices 11, each disc 211 cooperating with a corresponding orifice 11 for holding the rotor 20 in the support body 19. In the example shown, the disc 211 forms the rotation shaft 25.

As illustrated in Figures 1 to 3, the housing 10 includes a mounting opening 12 arranged at the end of the support body 19 which is disposed on the side opposite the receiving head 18. The rotor 20 is assembled in the housing 10 by this mounting opening 12. The housing 10 further comprises deformable means 13, 13' allowing the deformation of the mounting opening 12 during the assembly of the rotor 20. In the example illustrated, the deformable means 13, 13' include ramps 13 carried by the housing 10, in particular at the level of the support body 19. For example, each ramp 13 is arranged on a vertical wall 191 as seen in Figures 2 and 3. The ramps 13 come into contact with the shaft of rotation 25 of the rotor 20. When the rotor 20 is passed through the mounting opening 12 by force, the rotation shaft 25 exerts a pressure on the ramps 13, as well as on the side walls 192, tending to separate them which makes it possible to deform the assembly opening 12 to facilitate the assembly of the rotor 20. In this illustrated example and as visible in FIG. 3, the ramp 13 extends between the assembly opening 12 and the orifice 11.

Advantageously, the deformable means 13, 13' further comprise recesses 13' making it possible to promote the deformation of the assembly opening 12. In the example illustrated in FIG. 3, each side wall 192 comprises two longitudinal recesses 13' arranged either side of orifice 11 and ramp 13.

In order to maintain the flexible tubing 30 in place during the movement of the rotor 20, the housing 10 comprises means 15 for fixing the fluid inlet 31 and the fluid outlet 32 of the flexible tubing 30. In the example illustrated in FIG. 2, the fixing means 15 are receiving slots 15 having a first semi-circular zone 151 connected to a second longitudinal zone 152. Each receiving slot 15 is arranged on a vertical wall 191 at the level of the mounting opening 12. As seen in Figures 1 and 2, the flexible tubing 30 comprises complementary fixing means 33 comprising, in this first embodiment , a first cylindrical portion 331 having a diameter slightly greater than the width of the second zone 152 of the receiving slot 15 for tight mounting. The complementary fixing means 33 further comprise a second portion 332 having the shape of a disk and connected to the first portion 331. The diameter of the disk formed by the second portion 332 is greater than that of the first zone 151 of the slot. reception 15. Each of the first and second portions 331, 332 is connected to the flexible tubing 30 and form a single block therewith. In this example, they are molded with the flexible tubing 30. The complementary fixing means 33 are arranged at two places of the flexible tubing 30 to cooperate with all the receiving slots 15 present on the housing 10.

When assembling the peristaltic pump 1, the flexible tubing 30 is first assembled on the rotor 20 or in the receiving head 18 of the housing 10. Then, the rotor is assembled in the housing 10 and the shaft is connected. rotation 25 of the rotor 20 by the drive means 40 while taking care to pass the first portion 331 of the complementary fastening means 33 into the receiving slot 15.

A second embodiment is shown in Figures 4 and 5 and only the differences from the first embodiment of the invention are shown as follows:

The complementary fixing means 34, in this second embodiment, comprise two rings 34 arranged at two places of the flexible tubing 30, the rings 34 and the flexible tubing 30 being in one piece. The fixing means 16 in this second embodiment comprise two housings 16 having a substantially complementary shape to the ring 34. Thus, when the peristaltic pump 1 is assembled as illustrated in FIG. 5, each ring 34 is inserted into the housing 16 tightly to hold the flexible tubing 30.

A third embodiment is shown in Figures 6 and 7 and only the differences from the first embodiment of the invention are shown as follows:

The peristaltic pump 1 comprises two connectors 50 having a tubular body which are added and connected respectively to the fluid inlet 31 and to the fluid outlet 32. The connectors 50 thus put the flexible tubing 30 in communication with a reservoir of liquid product. and a liquid product dispensing unit. Each connector 50 comprises a complementary fixing means 35 between the two ends of the connector 50 and extending from the latter. The fixing means 17 in this third embodiment comprise two housings 17 having a shape substantially complementary to a part, for example half of the complementary fixing means 35. Thus, when the peristaltic pump 1 is assembled as illustrated in FIG. 7, each complementary fastening means 35 is inserted tightly into the housing 17 to hold the flexible tubing 30.

The invention is not limited to the embodiments shown and other embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. It is in particular possible to deform part of the rotor 20, for example the rotating shaft 25 during assembly. The rotation shaft 25 can be retracted and retracted during the assembly of the peristaltic pump in order to allow the passage of the rotor 20 in the mounting opening 12.

Claims (11)

Peristaltic pump (1) including:

• a rotor (20) comprising a rotating shaft (25) and configured to be driven in rotation so as to deform a flexible tube (30),
• a housing (10) comprising a receiving head (18) of the flexible tubing (30) and a supporting body (19) of the rotation shaft (25) of the rotor (20), the rotation shaft (25 ) being mounted free in rotation relative to the support body (19),

the reception head (18) and the support body (19) of the casing (10) being one-piece. A peristaltic pump (1) according to the preceding claim, wherein the housing (10) comprises:

• a mounting opening (12) through which the rotor (20) is assembled in the housing (10) and,
• deformable means (13, 13') allowing the deformation of the assembly opening (12) and/or of a part of the rotor (20) during assembly of the rotor (20).

Peristaltic pump (1) according to the preceding claim, in which the deformable means (13, 13') comprise a ramp (13) carried by the casing (10) and configured to cooperate with the rotation shaft (25) of the rotor ( 20) in order to deform the mounting opening (12). Peristaltic pump (1) according to any one of claims 2 or 3, in which the deformable means (13, 13') comprise a recess (13') allowing the deformation of the mounting opening (12). Peristaltic pump (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the receiving head (18) comprises a housing (181) configured to receive the flexible tubing (30) and a stop (14) allowing the lateral holding of the flexible tubing (30). Peristaltic pump (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the casing (10) comprises an orifice (11) for receiving the rotation shaft (25), preferably two orifices arranged on two opposite walls of the casing (10) to form bearings. A peristaltic pump (1) according to any preceding claim configured to receive flexible tubing (30) having a fluid inlet (31) and a fluid outlet (32), the peristaltic pump (1) wherein the housing (10 ) comprises means (15, 16, 17) for fixing the fluid inlet (31) and/or the fluid outlet (32) of the flexible tubing (30), for example slots for receiving the fluid inlet (31) and/or fluid outlet (32). Peristaltic pump (1) according to the preceding claim, comprising flexible tubing (30), and in which the flexible tubing (30) comprises complementary fixing means (33, 34, 35) configured to cooperate with the fixing means (15 , 16, 17), the complementary fastening means (33, 34) and the flexible tubing (30) preferably being in one piece. Peristaltic pump (1) according to the preceding claim comprising at least one connector (50), attached, configured to put the flexible tubing (30) in communication with a liquid product reservoir or a liquid product distribution unit, the connector (50 ) comprising complementary fixing means (35) configured to cooperate with the fixing means (17). A method of assembling a peristaltic pump (1) according to any preceding claim, comprising the following steps:

• The flexible tubing (30) is assembled on the rotor (20) or in the receiving head (18) of the housing (10),
• The rotor (20) is assembled in the housing (10),
• The rotating shaft (25) of the rotor (20) is connected to a drive means (40).

Device for dispensing a liquid product comprising:

• A liquid product dispensing unit,
• A tank of the liquid product,
• A peristaltic pump (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 9, connecting the dispensing unit and the reservoir.