Peristaltic pump system
First Claim
1. A flexible resilient tube for peristaltic pumps wherein fluid or gas is propelled through the tube by rotating members transversely progressively compressing the tube at spaced intervals against a raceway, comprising an inlet end, an outlet end, a passage extending therethrough having a surface, an exterior surface, and a pair of longitudinally extending and oppositely disposed notches defined in said exterior surface for enhancing and regulating the flexing characteristics of said tube, said notches having a base, an outer circumferential opening, a radial depth, and inwardly converging side walls.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The invention relates to a tube for peristaltic pumps wherein rotating members progressively compress the tube to force fluid therethrough for discharging at an outlet end. The tube includes a pair of oppositely disposed longitudinally extending notches or grooves defined in the exterior surface thereof which enhance the flexing characteristics of the tube, permit the flattened cross-sectional area to completely seal with minimal force applied by the rotating members and controls the vacuum pressures generated. The depth and geometric configuration of the notches and the durometer of the tube may be selected to control the compression and expansion characteristics of the tube section to generate and control the desired vacuum or subatmospheric pressure levels for a particular application.
29 Citations
15 Claims
- 1. A flexible resilient tube for peristaltic pumps wherein fluid or gas is propelled through the tube by rotating members transversely progressively compressing the tube at spaced intervals against a raceway, comprising an inlet end, an outlet end, a passage extending therethrough having a surface, an exterior surface, and a pair of longitudinally extending and oppositely disposed notches defined in said exterior surface for enhancing and regulating the flexing characteristics of said tube, said notches having a base, an outer circumferential opening, a radial depth, and inwardly converging side walls.
- 11. The method of controlling the generation characteristics of subatmospheric pressure produced by a peristaltic pump having a flexible elongated resilient tube having an exterior surface and a radial wall thickness locally radially compressed to a flattened form by a roller longitudinally translated along the tube, comprising the steps of forming a pair of longitudinal extending notches on opposite sides of the tube exterior surface, said notches having a depth extending into the tube wall thickness and a geometric configuration related to the resiliency of the tube to produce a predetermined rate and resiliency of return form the flattened form to generate predetermined subatmospheric characteristics within the tube.
Specification