Detecting blockage of a reservoir cavity during a seating operation of a fluid infusion device
First Claim
1. A method of operating a fluid infusion device comprising a drive motor assembly, a force sensor associated with the drive motor assembly, a reservoir cavity that accommodates a fluid reservoir having a piston, and an actuator coupled to the drive motor assembly to actuate the piston, the method comprising:
- obtaining a plurality of force measurements during a reservoir seating action of the drive motor assembly, the plurality of force measurements indicating measures of force imparted to the force sensor during the reservoir seating action;
comparing an initial force measurement from the plurality of force measurements to an early detection threshold force value;
initiating an analysis of additional force measurements from the plurality of force measurements only when the initial force measurement is greater than the early detection threshold force value;
determining that a vent for equalizing air pressure inside the reservoir cavity is blocked and preventing air in the reservoir cavity from venting externally, based on the analysis of the additional force measurements, wherein the determining occurs before actual seating of the actuator in contact with the piston; and
initiating corrective action for the fluid infusion device in response to determining that the vent in the reservoir cavity is blocked.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A fluid infusion device and related operating methods are presented here. An exemplary embodiment of the device includes a drive motor assembly, a force sensor associated with the drive motor assembly, and a reservoir cavity that accommodates fluid reservoirs. An exemplary operating method for the device obtains force measurements for a reservoir seating action of the drive motor assembly, where the force measurements indicate measures of force imparted to the force sensor during the reservoir seating action. The method continues by determining that a vent in the reservoir cavity is blocked, based on an analysis of the force measurements, and by initiating corrective action for the fluid infusion device in response to determining that the vent in the reservoir cavity is blocked.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A method of operating a fluid infusion device comprising a drive motor assembly, a force sensor associated with the drive motor assembly, a reservoir cavity that accommodates a fluid reservoir having a piston, and an actuator coupled to the drive motor assembly to actuate the piston, the method comprising:
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obtaining a plurality of force measurements during a reservoir seating action of the drive motor assembly, the plurality of force measurements indicating measures of force imparted to the force sensor during the reservoir seating action; comparing an initial force measurement from the plurality of force measurements to an early detection threshold force value; initiating an analysis of additional force measurements from the plurality of force measurements only when the initial force measurement is greater than the early detection threshold force value; determining that a vent for equalizing air pressure inside the reservoir cavity is blocked and preventing air in the reservoir cavity from venting externally, based on the analysis of the additional force measurements, wherein the determining occurs before actual seating of the actuator in contact with the piston; and initiating corrective action for the fluid infusion device in response to determining that the vent in the reservoir cavity is blocked. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of operating a fluid infusion device comprising a drive motor assembly, an actuator coupled to the drive motor assembly, and a reservoir that accommodates a fluid reservoir having a piston, the method comprising:
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initiating a reservoir seating action intended to seat the actuator with the piston of the fluid reservoir; obtaining, for each of a plurality of travel distance measurement points associated with the reservoir seating action, a respective force measurement that is indicative of air pressure inside the reservoir cavity, resulting in a plurality of obtained force measurements; comparing an initial force measurement from the plurality of obtained force measurements to an early detection threshold force value; initiating processing of additional force measurements from the plurality of obtained force measurements and for at least two of the plurality of travel distance measurement points only when the initial force measurement is greater than the early detection threshold force value; determining that a vent for equalizing air pressure inside the reservoir cavity is blocked and preventing air in the reservoir cavity from venting externally, based on the processing of the additional force measurements, wherein the determining occurs before actual seating of the actuator in contact with the piston; and initiating corrective action for the fluid infusion device in response to determining that the vent in the reservoir cavity is blocked. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A device for delivering fluid to a user, the device comprising:
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a housing; a reservoir cavity within the housing to accommodate fluid reservoirs; a drive motor assembly in the housing to advance an actuator for a piston of a fluid reservoir; a force sensor associated with the drive motor assembly to generate output levels in response to force imparted thereto, the output levels corresponding to force measurements; and an electronics module coupled to the force sensor to process the output levels during a reservoir seating action intended to seat the actuator with the piston of the fluid reservoir by; obtaining a plurality of force measurements from the force sensor during the reservoir seating action, the plurality of force measurements indicating measures of force imparted to the force sensor during the reservoir seating action; comparing an initial force measurement from the plurality of force measurements to an early detection threshold force value; initiating an analysis of additional force measurements from the plurality of force measurements only when the initial force measurement is greater than the early detection threshold force value; determining that a vent for equalizing air pressure inside the reservoir cavity is blocked and preventing air in the reservoir cavity from venting externally, based on the analysis of the additional force measurements, wherein the determining occurs before actual seating of the actuator in contact with the piston; and initiating corrective action for the fluid infusion device in response to determining that the vent in the reservoir cavity is blocked. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification