Deformable Tube Flow Restriction for Pulsation Suppression
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing liquid feeding systems, such as tube pumps, experience pulsation due to periodic fluctuations in flow velocity, which is undesirable for applications requiring a constant flow velocity.
Innovation Solution
A liquid feeding assistance device with a flexible tube that can expand and contract based on flow velocity, gripped by a member to maintain a smaller orthogonal cross-sectional area than its natural state, using either a spring or magnetic force to manage the tube's expansion and contraction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a tube pump is used to feed liquid, then the liquid can be fed without contact with other members (low contamination risk), but pulsation occurs due to periodic fluctuation of flow velocity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by making the tube itself deformable under fluid pressure. The tube dynamically changes its cross-sectional area in response to pressure fluctuations, expanding during high-pressure phases and contracting during low-pressure phases. This dynamic behavior converts the rigid tube pump system into a flexible system that naturally dampens pulsation, resolving the contradiction between maintaining low contamination risk and achieving stable flow velocity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes parameter changes by altering the physical state of the tube from rigid to flexible/deformable. By changing the tube's mechanical properties (allowing it to expand and contract), the system transforms the flow characteristics from pulsating to steady. This parameter change enables the tube to act as a passive flow regulator, maintaining stable liquid feeding while preserving the contamination-free advantage of tube pump operation.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the orthogonal cross-sectional area of the flow passage is reduced, then pulsation is suppressed, but the flow passage area is smaller
Solution Approach 1:
The patent resolves this contradiction by making the flow passage area dynamic rather than static. The tube's cross-sectional area automatically adjusts based on internal pressure: it constricts during high-pressure phases to suppress pulsation and expands during low-pressure phases to maintain adequate flow capacity. This dynamic area adjustment eliminates the need for a permanently reduced flow passage area while still achieving pulsation suppression.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The device effectively suppresses pulsation by enhancing the difference in cross-sectional area, minimizing working time and errors, and avoiding dead volumes, suitable for feeding expensive liquids like chemicals and regenerative medicine products.
Implementation Method 1
a tube (10) that is expandable and contractible depending on a flow velocity of liquid flowing in the tube
Implementation Method 2
The gripping member may grip the tube with an elastic force of a spring
Data Source
AI summary
There are provided a liquid feeding assistance device, a cell processing apparatus, and a liquid feeding assistance method that can suppress the pulsation of liquid flowing in a flow passage.A liquid feeding assistance device includes a tube that is expandable and contractible depending on a flow velocity of liquid flowing in the tube, and a gripping member that grips the tube such that an orthogonal cross-sectional area of a flow passage formed by the tube, which is an area of a cross section of the flow passage orthogonal to a flow direction of the liquid, is smaller than an orthogonal cross-sectional area of the flow passage in a natural state. The tube is a single-use tube.