Magnetically levitated pump utilizing magnetic bearings

• US 7,467,930 B2
• Filed: 10/21/2004
• Issued: 12/23/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 10/23/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NTN Corporation
• Original Assignee: NTN Corporation, Terumo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: Ozaki, Takayoshi, Suzuki, Kenichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Kramer; Devon
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hamo; Patrick
• Application Number:
  US10/968,931
• Publication Number:
  US 20050089422A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,524 Days
• Field of Search: 417/420, 417/423.1, 417/423.7, 417/423.12, 417/423.14, 310/90.5
• US Class Current: 417/423.14
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 60/148 in line with a blood vessel using resection or like techniques, e.g. permanent endovascular heart assist devices
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 60/178 drawing blood from a ventricle and returning the blood to the arterial system via a cannula external to the ventricle, e.g. left or right ventricular assist devices
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 60/216 including a rotating member acting on the blood, e.g. impeller
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 60/419 the force acting on the blood contacting member being permanent magnetic, e.g. from a rotating magnetic coupling between driving and driven magnets
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 60/422 the force acting on the blood contacting member being electromagnetic, e.g. using canned motor pumps
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 60/82 Magnetic bearings
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 13/0666 the motor being of the plane gap type
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 29/048 magnetic; electromagnetic

Abstract

In a magnetically levitated pump, an impeller-side ferromagnetic body (second ferromagnetic body) provided on a circumferential surface of an impeller facing a casing unit on the side of a position sensor and a casing-side ferromagnetic body (third ferromagnetic body) opposite to the impeller-side ferromagnetic body (second ferromagnetic body) to attract the impeller toward the casing unit on the side of the position sensor are adapted to have opposite portions of mutually different shapes, so that the maximum required attractive force of an electro-magnet for magnetic bearing is suppressed and length of the electro-magnet for magnetic bearing is made shorter.

Claims

1. A magnetically levitated pump, comprising:

a pump unit including a disk-shaped impeller for feeding liquid;

a magnetic bearing unit provided opposite to one of end faces along an axial direction of said impeller; and

a casing unit provided opposite to the other of said end faces;

wherein said magnetic bearing unit includes;

rotary driving means for transmitting a rotational driving force to said impeller, and

an electro-magnet for a magnetic bearing;

said pump unit includes;

a soft magnetic member opposite to the electro-magnet provided on said one of said end faces of said impeller and provided opposite to said electro-magnet for magnetic bearing, and

an impeller-side ferromagnetic body provided on said other of said end faces of said impeller;

said casing unit includes a casing-side ferromagnetic body provided opposite to said impeller-side ferromagnetic body and attracting said impeller toward said casing unit;

said electro-magnet for the magnetic bearing has a magnetizing current flowing therethrough controlled to balance an attractive force between said electro-magnet for the magnetic bearing and said soft magnetic member opposite to the electro-magnet, an attractive force between said impeller-side ferromagnetic body and said casing-side ferromagnetic body, a force acting on said impeller generated by said rotary driving means, and other disturbance influencing said impeller; and

opposite surfaces of said impeller-side ferromagnetic body and said casing-side ferromagnetic body are adapted to have mutually different shapes from each other, so that a maximum required attractive force is suppressed between said electro-magnet for the magnetic bearing and said soft magnetic member opposite to the electro-magnet.

2. The magnetically levitated pump according to claim 1, wherein said impeller-side ferromagnetic body or said casing-side ferromagnetic body has a ring-shape.

3. The magnetically levitated pump according to claim 1 wherein said impeller-side ferromagnetic body or said casing-side ferromagnetic body is formed of a plurality of ferromagnetic bodies arranged in a circumferential direction.

4. The magnetically levitated pump according to claim 1, wherein diameter of an approximated inscribed circle of said impeller-side ferromagnetic body is larger than diameter of an approximated inscribed circle of said casing-side ferromagnetic body.

5. The magnetically levitated pump according to claim 1, wherein diameter of an approximated inscribed circle of said impeller-side ferromagnetic body is smaller than diameter of an approximated inscribed circle of said casing-side ferromagnetic body.

6. The magnetically levitated pump according to claim 1, wherein diameter of an approximated circumscribed circle of said impeller-side ferromagnetic body is larger than diameter of an approximated circumscribed circle of said casing-side ferromagnetic body.

7. The magnetically levitated pump according to claim 1, wherein diameter of an approximated circumscribed circle of said impeller-side ferromagnetic body is smaller than diameter of an approximated circumscribed circle of said casing-side ferromagnetic body.

8. The magnetically levitated pump according to claim 1, wherein said impeller-side ferromagnetic body or said casing-side ferromagnetic body is formed of a permanent magnet.

9. The magnetically levitated pump according to claim 1, wherein said casing unit further includes a ferromagnetic body arranged on that side of casing-side ferromagnetic body which does not face to said impeller.

10. The magnetically levitated pump according to claim 1, wherein said rotary driving means includes a rotor provided opposite to said impeller,

said impeller has an impeller-side permanent magnet arranged on said one of said end faces,

said rotor has a rotor-side permanent magnet arranged opposite to said impeller-side permanent magnet,

said rotary driving means rotationally drives said impeller by a magnetic coupling formed between said impeller-side permanent magnet and said rotor-side permanent magnet.

11. The magnetically levitated pump according to claim 1, used as a blood pump.

12. A magnetically levitated pump, comprising:

a pump unit including a disk-shaped impeller for feeding liquid;

a magnetic bearing unit provided opposite to one of end faces along an axial direction of said impeller; and

a casing unit provided opposite to the other of said end faces,

wherein said magnetic bearing unit includes;

rotary driving means for transmitting a rotational driving force to said impeller, and

an electro-magnet for said magnetic bearing,

said pump unit includes;

a soft magnetic member opposite to said electro-magnet provided on said one of said end faces of said impeller and provided opposite to said electro-magnet for said magnetic bearing, and

an impeller-side ferromagnetic body provided on the other of said end faces of said impeller,

said casing unit includes a casing-side ferromagnetic body provided opposite to said impeller-side ferromagnetic body and attracting said impeller toward said casing unit,

said electro-magnet for said magnetic bearing has a magnetizing current flowing therethrough controlled to balance an attractive force between said electro-magnet for said magnetic bearing and said soft magnetic member opposite to said electro-magnet, an attractive force between said impeller-side ferromagnetic body and said casing-side ferromagnetic body, a force acting on said impeller generated by said rotary driving means, and other disturbance influencing said impeller, and

a surface of said impeller-side ferromagnetic body opposite to said casing-side ferromagnetic body and a surface of said casing-side ferromagnetic body opposite to said impeller-side ferromagnetic body are adapted to have shapes mutually different from each other, so that an area of said surface of said impeller-side ferromagnetic body is smaller than an area of said surface of said casing-side ferromagnetic body.