FLUID TRANSPORTER AND FLUID TRANSPORTER DRIVING METHOD

• US 20120027624A1
• Filed: 07/07/2011
• Published: 02/02/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/30/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: Miyazaki, Hajime, Kawasumi, Kazuo
• Granted Patent: US 8,926,297 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 417/53
• CPC Class Codes: F04B 43/082 the tubular flexible member being pressed against a wall by a number of elements, each having an alternating movement in a direction perpendicular to the axes of the tubular member and each having its own driving mechanism
• CPC Class Codes: F04B 43/12 having peristaltic action

Abstract

A fluid transporter which transports fluid by pressing a plurality of radially disposed pressing shafts against a tube held in a circular-arc shape in directions from the inside of the circular-arc shape in accordance with rotation of a rotational pressing plate having a plurality of projections on the outer circumference thereof so as to allow flow of fluid includes: a first detecting section which detects the rotation angle of the rotational pressing plate; a second detecting section which detects the rotation angle of either a driving rotor for giving a rotational force to the rotational pressing plate or a reduction transmission mechanism for connecting the driving rotor and the rotational pressing plate; a data table which shows the relationship between the rotation angle of the rotational pressing plate and a cumulative delivery amount; and a controller which controls the drive of the driving rotor.

Claims

1. A fluid transporter comprising:

an elastic tube;

a tube guide wall which holds the tube in a circular-arc shape;

a rotational pressing plate which is disposed inside the circular-arc shape and has a plurality of projections on the outer circumference of the rotational pressing plate;

a plurality of pressing shafts disposed between the tube and the rotational pressing plate and extended radially from a rotation center of the rotational pressing plate;

a driving rotor which gives a rotational force to the rotational pressing plate;

a reduction transmission mechanism which connects the driving rotor and the rotational pressing plate;

a first detecting section which detects the rotation angle of the rotational pressing plate;

a second detecting section which detects the rotation angle of either the driving rotor or the reduction transmission mechanism;

a data table which shows the relationship between the rotation angle of the rotational pressing plate and a cumulative delivery amount; and

a controller which controls the drive of the driving rotor such that the driving rotor rotates through a rotation angle corresponding to a designated cumulative delivery amount by comparing the rotation angle of the rotational pressing plate obtained by the first detecting section and the second detecting section with the data table,

wherein the fluid transporter sequentially presses the plural pressing shafts in the flowing direction of fluid by using the plural projections to allow flow of the fluid by repeatedly closing and opening the tube.

2. The fluid transporter according to claim 1, wherein the controller detects the rotation angle of the rotational pressing plate from a rotation reference position determined as a position where the detection timing obtained by the first detecting section and the detection timing obtained by the second detecting section agree with each other.

3. The fluid transporter according to claim 1, wherein

the rotational pressing plate has n number of the projections and of the rotation reference positions disposed at equal angle intervals in the circumferential direction;

and

the data table is prepared in the range from a position corresponding to one of the rotation reference positions to a position corresponding to 360/n degrees.

4. The fluid transporter according to claim 1, wherein the data table contains values of cumulative delivery amounts corrected based on the difference between a reference inside diameter and an actual inside diameter of the tube.

5. The fluid transporter according to claim 1, wherein the fluid transporter includes a drive control unit having the rotational pressing plate, the driving rotor, the reduction transmission mechanism, the first detecting section, and the second detecting section as one body, and a tube unit having the tube and the plural pressing shafts as one body, the drive control unit and the tube unit being attachable and detachable to and from each other.

6. A method for driving a fluid transporter which includes an elastic tube, a tube guide wall which holds the tube in a circular-arc shape, a rotational pressing plate which is disposed inside the circular-arc shape and has a plurality of projections on the outer circumference of the rotational pressing plate, a plurality of pressing shafts disposed between the tube and the rotational pressing plate and extended radially from a rotation center of the rotational pressing plate, a driving rotor which gives a rotational force to the rotational pressing plate, a reduction transmission mechanism which connects the driving rotor and the rotational pressing plate, a first detecting section which detects a rotation reference position of the rotational pressing plate, a second detecting section which detects the rotation angle of either the driving rotor or the reduction transmission mechanism, and a data table which shows the relationship between the rotation angle of the rotational pressing plate and a cumulative delivery amount, the method comprising:

rotating the rotational pressing plate, and stopping the rotation when the first detecting section detects the rotation angle of the rotational pressing plate to initialize the cumulative delivery amount and the rotation angle of the driving rotor;

rotating the rotational pressing plate to start fluid delivery;

allowing the second detecting section to detect the rotation angle of the rotational pressing plate and comparing the detected rotation angle with the data table; and

rotating the rotational pressing plate through a rotation angle corresponding to a designated cumulative delivery amount and stopping fluid delivery when the rotation angle of the rotational pressing plate reaches the rotational angle corresponding to the designated cumulative delivery amount.

7. A method for driving a fluid transporter which includes an elastic tube, a tube guide wall which holds the tube in a circular-arc shape, a rotational pressing plate which is disposed inside with respect to the position of the tube and has a plurality of projections on the outer circumference of the rotational pressing plate, a plurality of pressing shafts disposed between the tube and the rotational pressing plate and extended radially from a rotation center of the rotational pressing plate, a driving rotor which gives a rotational force to the rotational pressing plate, a reduction transmission mechanism which connects the driving rotor and the rotational pressing plate, a first detecting section which detects a rotation reference position of the rotational pressing plate, a second detecting section which detects the rotation angle of either the driving rotor or the reduction transmission mechanism, and a data table which shows the relationship between the rotation angle of the rotational pressing plate and a cumulative delivery amount, the method comprising:

inputting a delivery stop instruction in the course of fluid delivery to stop the delivery; and

storing the rotation position of the driving rotor from the rotation reference position at the time of the delivery stop.

8. The method for driving the fluid transporter according to claim 7, further comprising:

comparing the data table and the rotation angle of the driving rotor and storing the cumulative delivery amount at the time of stopping the delivery.