Volute Spring Syringe Micro Pump for Compact Portability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional syringe pumps are cumbersome and difficult to port due to their length, which impedes portability and can cause mechanical issues, and are often electrically powered, making them less portable and requiring additional space and weight for battery storage.
Innovation Solution
A removable syringe micro pump with a volute spring that is compact and attaches to the syringe, using a volute spring to dispense medication without the need for an external plunger, allowing for operation in any orientation and reducing the overall length of the syringe pump system.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a traditional mechanical syringe pump is designed to accommodate the full range of motion of the plunger, then the pump can mechanically induce plunger progress from extended to fully depressed state, but the overall length of the syringe pump becomes at least as long as the extended plunger, making portage difficult and adding vulnerability to mechanical damage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the plunger from the syringe pump system, making it a separate, removable component rather than an integrated part. The pump housing is designed to accommodate only the syringe barrel, while the plunger is attached directly to the syringe by the user. This separation eliminates the need for the pump housing to accommodate the full length of the plunger, significantly reducing pump length and improving portability while maintaining the mechanical function of plunger depression through direct user application of force to the syringe plunger.
Solution Approach 2:
The system is segmented into distinct functional components: the pump housing containing the syringe barrel, and the plunger as a separate component attached to the syringe. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently - the pump housing can be compact without needing to accommodate the plunger, while the plunger maintains its full functional length when attached to the syringe. The segmented design resolves the contradiction by allowing the pump to be short while still enabling full plunger range of motion through external attachment.
2Ease of operation
If the syringe pump housing is made long enough to accommodate the actuation of the plunger, then the plunger can be mechanically induced from initially extended state to fully depressed state, but the added length makes portage during use potentially undesirable and difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The plunger is extracted from the pump housing and becomes a separate component attached directly to the syringe. This allows plunger actuation to occur externally on the syringe rather than requiring internal accommodation within the pump housing. The housing length is reduced to only what is necessary to contain the syringe barrel, while plunger actuation functionality is maintained through external attachment and direct force application to the syringe plunger by the user.
3Duration of action of stationary object
If the syringe pump is electrically powered by connection to an electrical grid, then the pump can operate continuously, but reliance upon an electrical grid makes the syringe pump less than easily portable during use where the patient may desire to leave the area of the grid connection
Solution Approach 1:
The simplified mechanical design of the pump, with no electrical components required, enables the system to be self-service and portable. The pump housing with syringe barrel can be easily carried and used anywhere without dependence on electrical infrastructure. The mechanical plunger actuation system requires no power source, making the system fully portable and adaptable to any location where the patient needs treatment.
4Ease of operation
If batteries are used to power the syringe pump, then the pump can be portable, but storage of batteries requires extra space and weight for the syringe pump, which again may reduce the ease of portability
Solution Approach 1:
The mechanical pump design eliminates the need for batteries or any electrical power source entirely. The system uses direct mechanical force applied by the user to the syringe plunger to drive infusion, making the pump ultra-lightweight and maximally portable. No weight is added for battery storage, while full portability is maintained through the simple, passive mechanical design that requires no power source.
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 solution provides a compact, portable, and efficient syringe pumping system that is reusable and can be easily stored, eliminating the need for a separate plunger and reducing the risk of mechanical interference, while maintaining effective infusion control.
Implementation Method 1
a volute spring nested within the housing and attached proximate to the base, the volute spring having a compressed first position wherein, coils of the volute spring are concentrically disposed under tension
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a system and method for a removable syringe micro pump. More specifically, the removable syringe micro pump includes a pump housing having a first end and opposite thereto an attaching end, and at least one sidewall there between, the housing having a base proximate to the first end and, the attaching end having an attacher structured and arranged to temporarily engage a syringe. A volute spring is nested within the housing and attached proximate to the base, the volute spring having a compressed first position wherein coils of the volute spring are concentrically disposed under tension such that an initial height of the volute spring is equivalent to a width of a coil, and an extended second position wherein the release of tension extends the volute spring normally away from the pump housing. The volute spring has a diameter pre-selected to pass within a barrel of the engaged syringe. The volute spring further having a distal end structured and arranged to engage a plunger seal of the engaged syringe, wherein the release of tension between the first position and the second position permits the distal end of the volute spring to move the plunger seal towards a nozzle of the syringe. An associated method of use is also provided.