Power device and patch insulin pump

Abstract

The present invention relates to the technical field of medical instruments. Disclosed are a power device and a patch insulin pump. The power device comprises a power output module, a transmission assembly, a lead screw and a sliding block. The power output module comprises a power output shaft that is in transmission connection with the transmission assembly. The transmission assembly is in transmission connection with the lead screw, and is configured such that the power that is output by the power output shaft is transmitted to the lead screw so as to drive the lead screw to rotate around its own axis. The sliding block is sleeved on the lead screw, and abuts against the end of a push rod away from a drug-delivery piston. When the lead screw rotates around its own axis, the sliding block is driven to move relative to the lead screw along the axis of the lead screw, so that the sliding block drives the push rod to move along the axis of the lead screw. The axis of the power output shaft is parallel to the axis of the lead screw, and the power output direction of the power output shaft is opposite to the moving direction of the sliding block. The power device disclosed in the present invention is conducive to reducing the volume of the patch insulin pump.

Description

[0001] This invention relates to the field of medical device technology, and particularly to a power unit and a patch-type insulin pump. Background Art Currently, patch-type insulin pumps have achieved fully automated drug delivery. To achieve automated drug delivery, the power unit in a patch-type insulin pump typically includes a power output module, a transmission module, and a drive module arranged sequentially along the delivery direction. The power output module transmits power to the transmission module, which in turn transmits it to the drive module, which then performs the drug delivery. However, due to the limitations of the aforementioned power unit structure, the overall size of the patch-type insulin pump is relatively large, thus affecting the user experience. Summary of the Invention This invention provides a power unit and a patch-type insulin pump that, while achieving drug delivery, also reduces the product size. In a first aspect, the present invention provides a power device applied to a patch insulin pump. The patch insulin pump includes a reservoir, a dispensing piston, and a push rod. The reservoir stores medication. The dispensing piston is movable relative to the reservoir to compress the internal space of the reservoir. The push rod is connected to the side of the dispensing piston away from the internal space of the reservoir. The power device includes a power output module, a transmission assembly, a lead screw, and a slider. The power output module includes a power output shaft, which is driven by the transmission assembly. The transmission assembly is driven by the lead screw and transmits the power output from the power output shaft to the lead screw, driving the lead screw to rotate around its own axis. The slider is fitted onto the lead screw, and the slider abuts against the end of the push rod away from the dispensing piston. When the lead screw rotates around its own axis, it drives the slider to move relative to the lead screw along the axial direction of the lead screw, thereby driving the push rod to move along the axial direction of the lead screw. The axis of the power output shaft is parallel to the axis of the lead screw, and the power output direction of the power output shaft is opposite to the movement direction of the slider. The power device provided by this invention transmits the power output from the power output module to the lead screw through a transmission assembly, driving the lead screw to rotate around its own axis. This, in turn, drives the slider to move relative to the lead screw along the axial direction of the lead screw, thereby pushing the drug delivery piston to move and realizing the drug delivery of the patch insulin pump.Because the axis of the power output shaft is parallel to the axis of the lead screw, and the power output direction of the power output shaft is parallel to the movement direction of the slider, the power transmission path of the power output shaft is U-shaped. In other words, the power output module and the lead screw are structurally parallel and superimposed, which effectively shortens the length of the power unit in the movement direction of the drug delivery piston, thereby facilitating a reduction in the size of the patch insulin pump. In some possible embodiments, the power output module includes a stepper motor. In some possible embodiments, a gearbox is also included, connected between the power output shaft and the transmission assembly. In some possible embodiments, the transmission assembly includes at least two gears, which mesh sequentially along the arrangement direction of the power output shaft and the lead screw. The gearbox and the lead screw are respectively connected to the two gears located at both ends. In some possible embodiments, a bracket is also included, on which the power output module, the transmission assembly, and the lead screw are all mounted. In some possible implementations, the bracket includes a first connecting plate, a second connecting plate, and a third connecting plate. The first and second connecting plates are parallel and spaced apart, and the third connecting plate connects between the first and second connecting plates, making the bracket U-shaped. The power output module is mounted on the side of the third connecting plate opposite to the first connecting plate. The two ends of the lead screw are respectively connected to the first and second connecting plates, and the slider is located between the first and second connecting plates. In some possible implementations, the transmission assembly is mounted on the side of the first connecting plate opposite to the second connecting plate. One end of the lead screw passes through the first connecting plate and is drively connected to the transmission assembly. A portion of the transmission assembly protrudes from the end of the first connecting plate near the third connecting plate. In some possible implementations, a guide plate is also included, connected between the first and second connecting plates, and one side of the slider contacts the guide plate. In some possible implementations, the orthographic projection of the medicine reservoir on a first plane covers the orthographic projection of the power device on the first plane, where the first plane is a plane perpendicular to the axis of the lead screw. Secondly, the present invention provides a patch-type insulin pump, including a power unit as described in any possible embodiment of the first aspect. Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the power unit and the drug delivery piston in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 is an exploded schematic diagram of the connection between the power unit and the drug delivery piston in Figure 1. (Figures:)

[0002] 10 - Medicine reservoir; 20 - Medicine pusher piston; 30 - Push rod; 100 - Power output module; 110 - Stepper motor; 200 - Transmission assembly; 210, 210a, 210b, 210c - Gears; 300 - Lead screw; 400 - Slider; 500 - Gearbox; 600 - Bracket; 610 - First connecting plate; 620 - Second connecting plate; 621 - Clearance hole; 630 - Third connecting plate; 700 - Guide plate. Detailed Description of the Embodiments The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention. Referring to Figures 1 and 2, the power device of this invention can be applied to a patch insulin pump to realize the injection of insulin. Specifically, the patch insulin pump in this embodiment may include a reservoir 10, a push piston 20, and a push rod 30. The reservoir 10 has an internal space for storing medication, and one end of the reservoir 10 has an opening. The push piston 20 covers the opening and is sealed to it. The push piston 20 can move relative to the reservoir 10 to compress the internal space of the reservoir 10, thereby allowing the medication stored in the reservoir 10 to flow into the catheter and be injected into the user's body. The push rod 30 is connected to the side of the push piston 20 away from the internal space of the reservoir 10. The extension direction of the push rod 30 is consistent with the movement direction of the push piston 20. The power device can act on the push rod 30 to transmit power to the push piston 20 through the push rod 30, thereby realizing the movement of the push piston 20. The power unit may include a power output module 100, a transmission assembly 200, a lead screw 300, and a slider 400. The power output module 100 may include a power output shaft (not shown in the figure), which is connected to the transmission assembly 200. The transmission assembly 200 is connected to the lead screw 300. The slider 400 is sleeved on the lead screw 300 and is connected to the lead screw 300.In this embodiment, the axial direction of the lead screw 300 is consistent with the moving direction of the drug-push piston 20. After the power output shaft outputs power to the transmission assembly 200, the transmission assembly 200 then transmits the power to the lead screw 300 to drive the lead screw 300 to rotate around its own axis. This allows the lead screw 300 to convert rotational torque into linear transmission thrust, thereby pushing the slider 400 to move relative to the lead screw 300 along the axial direction of the lead screw 300. The slider 400 abuts against the end of the push rod 30 away from the drug-push piston 20. When the slider 400 moves relative to the lead screw 300, it can push the push rod 30 to move along the moving direction of the lead screw 300, thereby pushing the drug-push piston 20 to achieve the purpose of drug injection. In addition, in this embodiment, the power output shaft is parallel to the axis of the lead screw 300, and the power output direction of the power output shaft is opposite to the moving direction of the slider 400. In other words, as shown in Figure 1, the arrows in Figure 1 can be understood as indicating the power transmission direction in the power unit. In this embodiment, the power transmission path is U-shaped. Thus, by structurally superimposing the power output module 100 and the push rod 30 in parallel, the power unit in this embodiment can effectively shorten the length space of the push rod 30 in the direction of movement, which is beneficial to reducing the overall volume of the patch insulin pump. In some embodiments, as shown in Figure 2, the power output module 100 may include, for example, a stepper motor 110. Furthermore, the power unit may also include a reduction gearbox 500. The reduction gearbox 500 is connected between the power output shaft of the stepper motor 110 and the transmission component 200. That is, the torque output by the stepper motor 110 can be reduced and then increased through the reduction gearbox 500 before being transmitted to the transmission component 200. The reduction gearbox 500 may be, for example, but not limited to, a multi-stage planetary gear reducer, so that the stepper motor 110, in conjunction with the multi-stage planetary gear reducer, can accurately control the movement speed of the push rod 30, thereby controlling the injection accuracy and improving the user experience. Referring again to Figure 2, in some embodiments, the transmission assembly 200 may include at least two gears 210. It is understood that the transmission assembly 200 may include two gears 210, three gears 210, four gears 210, etc. Each gear 210 may mesh sequentially along the arrangement direction of the power output module 100 and the lead screw 300, thereby forming a multi-stage gear 210 transmission structure. Furthermore, the reduction gearbox 500 and the lead screw 300 are respectively connected to the transmission rods of the two gears 210 located at both ends.Taking the three gears 210 in Figure 2 as an example, the reduction gearbox 500 is connected to the leftmost gear 210a, the lead screw 300 is connected to the rightmost gear 210c, and the middle gear 210b meshes with both gears 210a and 210c. All three gears 210 are located on the same plane to ensure that when power is transmitted from gear 210a to gear 210c, it moves along the axis perpendicular to the lead screw 300, thus saving space in the direction of movement of the push rod 30. Alternatively, in some other embodiments, the transmission assembly 200 can also be a pulley structure. Specifically, the transmission assembly 200 may include a driving pulley, a driven pulley, and a belt. The driving pulley can be connected to the reduction gearbox 500, the driven pulley can be connected to the lead screw 300, and the belt is wound around the driving pulley and the driven pulley. The power output by the stepper motor 110 can be transmitted to the lead screw 300 sequentially through the driving pulley, belt, and driven pulley, thereby driving the lead screw 300 to rotate around its own axis. Referring again to Figures 1 and 2, the power unit in this embodiment may further include a bracket 600. The power output module 100, reduction gearbox 500, transmission assembly 200, and lead screw 300 can all be mounted on the bracket 600 to ensure the overall stability of the power unit structure. Specifically, the bracket 600 may include a first connecting plate 610, a second connecting plate 620, and a third connecting plate 630. The first connecting plate 610 and the second connecting plate 620 are parallel and spaced apart, and the third connecting plate 630 connects the first connecting plate 610 and the second connecting plate 620, thus making the bracket 600 have a U-shaped structure. Both the stepper motor 110 and the gearbox 500 are mounted on the surface of the third connecting plate 630 opposite to the first connecting plate 610. The transmission assembly 200 is mounted on the surface of the first connecting plate 610 opposite to the second connecting plate 620. The gear 210a protrudes from the end of the first connecting plate 610 facing the third connecting plate 630, so that the gear 210a can be driven by the gearbox 500, ensuring that the transmission direction of the power output by the stepper motor 110 is parallel to the movement direction of the pusher piston 20. The two ends of the lead screw 300 are respectively connected to the first connecting plate 610 and the second connecting plate 620. For example, the first connecting plate 610 and the second connecting plate 620 are respectively provided with connecting holes (not shown in the figure). One end of the lead screw 300 passes through the connecting hole of the first connecting plate 610 and is driven by the gear 210c, while the other end of the lead screw 300 passes through the connecting hole of the second connecting plate 620.The connecting holes of the first connecting plate 610 and the second connecting plate 620 can limit the radial movement of the lead screw 300, ensuring that the lead screw 300 can only rotate relative to either the first connecting plate 610 or the second connecting plate 620. Referring again to Figure 2, the slider 400 is located between the first connecting plate 610 and the second connecting plate 620. The first connecting plate 610 and the second connecting plate 620 can restrict the movement path of the slider 400, ensuring that the maximum distance the slider 400 can travel is the distance between the first connecting plate 610 and the second connecting plate 620. Furthermore, a guide plate 700 is connected between the first connecting plate 610 and the second connecting plate 620. The two ends of the guide plate 700 are connected to the first connecting plate 610 and the second connecting plate 620 respectively, and the guide plate 700 is parallel to the axis of the lead screw 300. Specifically, there is a certain gap between the guide plate 700 and the lead screw 300 to avoid the guide plate 700 interfering with the rotation of the lead screw 300. The surface of the slider 400 facing the guide plate 700 can contact the surface of the guide plate 700 so that the guide plate 700 can not only support the slider 400, but also guide the slider 400 when it moves, ensuring that the slider 400 can move along the axis of the lead screw 300. The second connecting plate 620 is also provided with a clearance hole 621 for avoiding the push rod 30, so that one end of the push rod 30 can pass through the clearance hole 621 and abut against the slider 400. The push rod 30 can also contact the end face of the clearance hole 621 and the surface of the guide plate 700 respectively, so that when the slider 400 drives the push rod 30 to move, the clearance hole 621 and the guide plate 700 cooperate to guide the push rod 30, thereby ensuring that the push piston 20 can compress the internal space of the medicine storage device 10 in a preset direction. As an optional implementation scheme, the first plane is assumed to be a plane perpendicular to the axis of the lead screw 300, and the orthographic projection of the medicine storage device 10 on the first plane can cover the orthographic projection of the power device on the first plane. In other words, along the arrangement direction of the stepper motor 110 and the lead screw 300, the size of the reservoir 10 is larger than the size of the power unit. Thus, even though the stepper motor 110 and the push rod 30 are stacked in parallel in this embodiment, the length of the patch insulin pump in the width of the reservoir 10 will not be increased, thereby effectively reducing the volume of the patch insulin pump.Based on the same design concept, embodiments of the present invention can also provide a patch-type insulin pump. This patch-type insulin pump may include a circuit board, a drug reservoir 10, a drug delivery piston 20, a push rod 30, and a power device as described in the above embodiments. The power output module 100 can receive drug delivery electrical signal commands from the circuit board and output power to the transmission assembly 200 via a power output shaft. The transmission assembly 200 transmits power to the lead screw 300, which in turn drives the slider 400 to move the push rod 30, thereby compressing the internal space of the drug reservoir 10 by the drug delivery piston 20, ultimately completing the drug delivery. Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations to the embodiments of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, if these modifications and variations of the present invention fall within the scope of the claims of the present invention and their equivalents, the present invention also intends to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

Claims 1. A power unit for use in a patch insulin pump, the patch insulin pump comprising a reservoir, a dispensing piston, and a push rod, wherein the reservoir is used to store medication, the dispensing piston is movable relative to the reservoir to compress the space inside the reservoir, and the push rod is connected to the side of the dispensing piston opposite to the space inside the reservoir; characterized in that, The power unit includes a power output module, a transmission assembly, a lead screw, and a slider. The power output module includes a power output shaft, which is connected to the transmission assembly. The transmission assembly is connected to the lead screw and transmits the power output from the power output shaft to the lead screw to drive it to rotate around its own axis. The slider is fitted onto the lead screw and abuts against the end of the push rod away from the drug-push piston. When the lead screw rotates around its own axis, it drives the slider to move relative to the lead screw along the axial direction of the lead screw, thereby driving the push rod to move along the axial direction of the lead screw. The axis of the power output shaft is parallel to the axis of the lead screw, and the power output direction of the power output shaft is opposite to the movement direction of the slider.

2. The power unit according to claim 1, characterized in that, The power output module includes a stepper motor.

3. The power unit according to claim 2, characterized in that, It also includes a gearbox, which is connected between the power output shaft and the transmission assembly.

4. The power unit according to claim 1, characterized in that, The transmission assembly includes at least two gears, which mesh sequentially along the arrangement direction of the power output shaft and the lead screw. The reduction gearbox and the lead screw are respectively connected to the two gears located at both ends. 9 5. The power unit according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes a bracket, on which the power output module, the transmission assembly, and the lead screw are all mounted.

6. The power unit according to claim 5, characterized in that, The bracket includes a first connecting plate, a second connecting plate, and a third connecting plate. The first connecting plate and the second connecting plate are parallel and spaced apart. The third connecting plate is connected between the first connecting plate and the second connecting plate, so that the bracket is U-shaped. The power output module is installed on the side of the third connecting plate away from the first connecting plate. The two ends of the lead screw are respectively connected to the first connecting plate and the second connecting plate. The slider is located between the first connecting plate and the second connecting plate.

7. The power unit according to claim 6, characterized in that, The transmission assembly is installed on the side of the first connecting plate away from the second connecting plate. One end of the lead screw passes through the first connecting plate and is connected to the transmission assembly. A portion of the transmission assembly protrudes from the end of the first connecting plate near the third connecting plate.

8. The power unit according to claim 6, characterized in that, It also includes a guide plate, which is connected between the first connecting plate and the second connecting plate, and one side of the slider is in contact with the guide plate.

9. The power unit according to claim 1, characterized in that, The orthographic projection of the medicine storage device on the first plane covers the orthographic projection of the power device on the first plane, which is a plane perpendicular to the axis of the lead screw.

10. A power device for a patch-type insulin pump to deliver or inject medication, characterized in that, Includes the power unit as described in any one of claims 1 to 9.

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