Medicine delivery apparatus with flat reservoir

• US 6,485,463 B1
• Filed: 09/02/2000
• Issued: 11/26/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 09/02/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Show-Way Yeh
• Original Assignee: Show-Way Yeh
• Inventors: Yeh, Show-Way
• Primary Examiner(s): WAYNER, WILLIAM E
• Application Number:
  US09/654,239
• Time in Patent Office: 815 Days
• Field of Search: 222/386.5, 222/394, 604/132, 604/131, 604/153
• US Class Current: 604/132
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/148 flexible, e.g. independent bagsA61M5/155 takes precedence

Abstract

The medicine reservoir contains medicine and a bag and may have flat or any other shape. A user programmable controller controls a pump on when and how much air or any kind of fluid is pumped into the bag. The bag then presses the same volume of medicine out of the reservoir into the user'"'"'s body at approximately the same time. Pumping air requires little power so that the pump and the batteries have small weight and size. Hence, the apparatus is light, small, and flat to be attached to the user. The user feels like to use a large Band-Aid.

Claims

1. A medicine delivery for use with an infusion set apparatus that can be carried under the user'"'"'s clothes or be attached to the user'"'"'s skin, comprising:

installing a medicine reservoir that is flat and is filled with medicine;

installing a medicine pipe that connects said reservoir and the infusion set;

installing a bag that is in said medicine reservoir and contains air or water;

installing a fluid pump that can pump finite amount of air or water;

installing a fluid pipe that connects said bag and the outlet of said fluid pump; and

installing a controller that accepts commands from the user and issues commands to said fluid pump to control said fluid pump to pump finite amount of fluid into said bag at the moments of time according to the user'"'"'s desire and displays information to the user;

so that said medicine delivery apparatus can be light, small, and flat, and, hence, can be attached to the user or carried under the user'"'"'s clothes;

the user can program how to deliver the medicine;

appropriate amount of air or water is pumped into said bag via said fluid pipe at the appropriate moments of time; and

appropriate amount of the medicine is pressed out from said reservoir into the user'"'"'s body via said medicine pipe and said infusion set.

2. The medicine delivery apparatus of claim 1 wherein:

said reservoir is divided into many cells and the medicine can drift through all said cells;

said bag is divided into small bags where each said cell contains one said small bag, the fluid can freely flow through all said small bags, and each said small bag has the same or similar shape and volume as the inner side of the cell containing said small bag when said small bag is fully pumped;

so that limited number of bubbles can result from shacking said medicine delivery apparatus.

3. The medicine delivery apparatus of claim 1 wherein:

said reservoir is a narrow tunnel to contain the medicine and the medicine can drift through all space of said narrow tunnel;

said bag is in said narrow tunnel and has the same or similar shape and volume as the inner side of said narrow tunnel when said bag is fully pumped;

so that limited number of bubbles can result from shacking said medicine delivery apparatus.

4. The medicine delivery apparatus of claim 2 wherein:

each of said cells is a small narrow tunnel to contain the medicine and the medicine can drift through all space of said medicine reservoir;

each of said small bags is in one of said small narrow tunnels where the fluid can freely flow through all said small bags and each said small bag has the same or similar shape and volume as the inner side of the small narrow tunnel containing said small bag when said small bag is fully pumped;

so that limited number of bubbles can result from shacking said medicine delivery apparatus.

5. The medicine delivery apparatus of claims 1, 2, 3, and 4 wherein:

said controller is divided into two linked parts, the fluid pump controller and the monitor that can communicate with each other through any kind of communication channel;

said monitor accepts commands from the user, issues commands to said fluid pump controller, receives information from said fluid pump controller, and displays information to the user; and

said fluid pump controller accepts commands from said monitor, controls said fluid pump to pump right amount of fluid into said bag or said small bags at the right time, detects all necessary information, and send said information to said monitor;

so that the weight and the size of the part of said medicine delivery apparatus to be attached to the user can be lighter and smaller, respectively, and the user is easier to program and to see the display.