Axial flow pump with multi-grooved rotor
First Claim
1. An axial flow blood pump comprising:
- a tubular pump housing;
a contactless rotor body within said housing having a rotational axis and a plurality of axially opening inlets at a leading end thereof and a plurality of axially opening outlets at a trailing end thereof, said axially opening outlets being wider than said axially opening inlets, each pair of an inlet and an outlet opening into a discrete substantially axially directed groove formed in and extending along the length of said rotor body, each of said grooves being spaced from and parallel to an adjacent groove and terminating at one of said axially opening outlets;
said rotor body having a plurality of discrete peripheral radially and axially facing surface portions intermediate said grooves, each of said radially facing portions having a permanent drive magnet and an interior base width substantially narrower than its radially facing surface width along the length of said rotor body, each of said radially facing surface widths having at least one hydrodynamic bearing surface extending oblique to said rotational axis of said rotor body to assist radial stability of said rotor body when rotating;
a curved off-axis portion of said grooves is between and narrower than each of the axially opening inlets and axially opening outlets such that when said rotor body rotates blood enters said inlets axially and is directed through said grooves from said axially opening inlets at said leading end of said rotor body to exit axially from said axially opening outlets at said trailing end of said rotor body.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An axial-flow blood pump for pumping blood includes a substantially cylindrical outer enclosure. A tubular housing concentric with and located within the outer enclosure has at one end an inlet and at an opposite end an outlet. A motor stator is concentric with and located between the outer enclosure and the tubular housing. An impeller is concentric with and located within the tubular housing. The impeller is suspended in operation by a combination of passive magnetic forces between magnets within the impeller or magnetized regions of the impeller and the motor stator and hydrodynamic thrust forces generated as blood flows between the tubular housing and a plurality of hydrodynamic thrust bearing surfaces located on the impeller. A volute may be in fluid-tight connection with the outlet of the tubular housing for receiving blood in the axial direction and directing blood in a direction normal to the axial direction. The volute has a flow-improving member extending axially from the volute and into and coaxially with the tubular housing.
279 Citations
29 Claims
-
1. An axial flow blood pump comprising:
-
a tubular pump housing; a contactless rotor body within said housing having a rotational axis and a plurality of axially opening inlets at a leading end thereof and a plurality of axially opening outlets at a trailing end thereof, said axially opening outlets being wider than said axially opening inlets, each pair of an inlet and an outlet opening into a discrete substantially axially directed groove formed in and extending along the length of said rotor body, each of said grooves being spaced from and parallel to an adjacent groove and terminating at one of said axially opening outlets; said rotor body having a plurality of discrete peripheral radially and axially facing surface portions intermediate said grooves, each of said radially facing portions having a permanent drive magnet and an interior base width substantially narrower than its radially facing surface width along the length of said rotor body, each of said radially facing surface widths having at least one hydrodynamic bearing surface extending oblique to said rotational axis of said rotor body to assist radial stability of said rotor body when rotating; a curved off-axis portion of said grooves is between and narrower than each of the axially opening inlets and axially opening outlets such that when said rotor body rotates blood enters said inlets axially and is directed through said grooves from said axially opening inlets at said leading end of said rotor body to exit axially from said axially opening outlets at said trailing end of said rotor body. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
-
Specification