Mobile infusion device

• US 8,715,236 B2
• Filed: 11/30/2012
• Issued: 05/06/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/02/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TrendyMED Inc.
• Original Assignee: TrendyMED Inc.
• Inventors: Bailey, Kevin, Barrelli, Aharon Ronny, Bailey, Matthew, Sayal, Gautam, Dickie, Robert
• Primary Examiner(s): Lucches, Nicholas
• Assistant Examiner(s): LANDRY II, GERALD ERNEST
• Application Number:
  US13/690,862
• Publication Number:
  US 20130237915A1
• Time in Patent Office: 522 Days
• Field of Search: 417/477.8, 604/131, 604/136
• US Class Current: 604/131
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 12/002 Supply appliances, e.g. columns for gas, fluid, electricity supply vertical ducts or channels for receiving utility lines E04F17/08; installations of electric cables or lines, wall trunking H02G3/0431; structural combinations of lighting devices with other articles F21V33/0068; stands or trestles as supports for apparatus or articles F16M11/00; buildings for public purposes E04H3/08
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 1/10 Bag-type containers
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2005/14506 mechanically driven, e.g. spring or clockwork
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/1415 Stands, brackets or the like for supporting infusion accessories
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/1417 Holders or handles for hanging up infusion containers
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/142 Pressure infusion, e.g. using pumps
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/14232 Roller pumps
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/14244 adapted to be carried by the patient, e.g. portable on the body
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/148 flexible, e.g. independent bagsA61M5/155 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 83/0061 the contents of a flexible bag being expelled by the contracting forces inherent in the bag or a sleeve fitting snugly around the bag
• CPC Class Codes: F04C 2270/0421 Controlled or regulated

Abstract

Various embodiments are described herein for a mobile infusion device that does not use gravity to expel fluid from a bag. The device has a housing with a central chamber connected with an opening to receive a portion of the bag during use. A rotation assembly is coupled to the housing and includes at least one roller located within the central chamber and a spring mechanism operatively coupled to the at least one roller to rotate it to move the bag and apply a force to a portion of the bag to expel fluid therefrom during use. A control mechanism is operatively coupled to the rotation assembly and has a control assembly to control rotation of the rotation assembly and a user interface coupled to the control assembly to allow a user to select a mode of operation for the device. The spring mechanism is recharged in standby mode. Various mechanisms can be used in various embodiments to improve functionality such as a gearing mechanism.

Claims

1. A mobile infusion device that does not use gravity to expel fluid from a bag, wherein the mobile infusion device comprises:

a housing including a first portion shaped to define a central chamber in the housing and a second portion shaped to define a first opening in the housing that is in communication with the central chamber and adapted to receive a portion of the bag during use;

a rotation assembly mounted at a fixed location in the housing, the rotation assembly including a first member and a second member mounted in opposition to one another located within the central chamber and a spring mechanism operatively coupled to the first member to rotate the first member in order to move the bag between the first and second members thereby applying a force to a portion of the bag to expel fluid from the bag during use; and

a control mechanism operatively coupled to the rotation assembly, the control mechanism having a control assembly to control rotation of the rotation assembly and a user interface coupled to the control assembly to allow a user to select one of a start mode, and a stop mode for the mobile infusion device during use,

wherein the opening, the central chamber and the first and second members have a length that is long enough to accommodate bags of various sizes.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the housing has a third portion shaped to define an upper chamber disposed above the central chamber, the upper chamber being shaped to receive an empty portion of the bag during use.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein a fourth portion housing is a cover that is removable to allow access to the central chamber.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein the housing has a fifth portion shaped to define a second opening in communication with the central chamber, the second opening being shaped to receive an emptied portion of the bag after it passes through the central chamber and allow the emptied portion of the bag to exit the device during use.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein the device comprises a handle located at an upper portion thereof to allow the device to be carried or moved during use.

6. The device of claim 5, wherein the user interface of the control mechanism is located near the handle to allow the user to hold and control the device using one hand.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein the bag is an Intravenous (IV) bag and the device further comprises a removable drip chamber holder having a first portion that is removably coupled to the housing and a second portion that is configured to releasably hold a drip chamber in a substantially vertical position.

8. The device of claim 7, wherein the device further comprises an IV connector having an angled portion that has a first end that is coupled to an exit nozzle of the IV bag and a second end that is coupled to regular IV tubing for infusion to a patient.

9. The device of claim 1, wherein the second drive member comprises a pressure applicator disposed within the central chamber and the first member comprises a single roller in close proximity to the pressure applicator, the single roller and the pressure applicator being configured to apply pressure to the bag as the bag passes therebetween during use.

10. The device of claim 9, wherein the pressure applicator is one of a rod, a squeegee, a roller, or a constriction member having slot with a width that is slightly larger than the thickness of the bag.

11. The device of claim 1, wherein the first member comprises an attachment member to releasably attach to the bag during use.

12. The device of claim 1, wherein the first member comprises one of a soft pliable outer surface and a non-smooth rough surface to improve grip on the bag during use.

13. The device of claim 1, wherein the housing comprises first and second endcaps disposed near opposite ends of the central chamber, the spring mechanism comprises a drive spring disposed within one of the endcaps and operatively coupled to a first end of the first member to transmit a drive force thereto during use, and the user interface comprises a control button coupled to the drive spring and disposed near the endcap having the drive spring, the control button being configured to allow a user to start and stop rotation of the first member.

14. The device of claim 1, wherein the housing comprises first and second endcaps disposed near opposite ends of the central chamber, the spring mechanism comprises a first drive spring disposed within the first endcap and a second drive spring disposed within the second endcap, the first and second drive springs being operatively coupled to opposite ends of the first member to transmit a drive force thereto during use, and the user interface comprises at least one control button coupled to one of the drive springs and disposed near one of the endcaps, the at least one control button being configured to allow a user to start and stop rotation of the first member.

15. The device of claim 1, wherein the device further comprise a stand that is removably coupled to a bottom portion of the housing.

16. The device of claim 1, wherein the housing comprises first and second endcaps disposed near opposite ends of the central chamber and the device further comprises a first pair of legs that are removably coupled to the first endcap and a second pair of legs that are removably coupled to the second endcap, wherein the first and second pair of legs have legs that are pivotable between an open position to allow the device to stand and a closed position to allow the device to be carried and to form a protective frame for the device.

17. The device of claim 1, wherein the first and second members comprises first and second rollers disposed within the central chamber, having outer surfaces in close proximity to one another and configured to apply the force to the bag when the bag passes therebetween during use.

18. The device of claim 17, wherein the housing further comprises a first set of angled walls on a first side of the rollers defining an entry pathway for the bag between the rollers and a second set of angled walls on an opposite side of the rollers defining an exit pathway out of the rollers for the bag, the first and second set of angled walls also being configured to prevent the bag from coiling around the rollers.

19. The device of claim 17, wherein the rotation assembly further comprises a latch mechanism having a knob having a first engagement surface and a rotatable drive member having a first engagement surface, the drive member being operatively coupled to the spring mechanism and the first roller, the knob being movable between a first position in which the first and second engagement surfaces engage one another and the spring mechanism, the drive member and the at least one roller are operatively coupled and a second position in which the first and second engagement surfaces do not engage one another and the spring mechanism is configured to be recharged.

20. The device of claim 19, wherein the spring mechanism comprises a spool that is rotatably coupled to the housing and a drive spring having a first end coupled to the drive member and a second end coupled to the spool, wherein during the start mode the drive spring is configured to coil around the spool thereby imparting a rotational drive force to the drive member which is translated to the first roller.

21. The device of claim 20, wherein the device further comprises a gearing mechanism having first and second gears that are operatively coupled to the first and second rollers respectively, and the first and second gears are operatively coupled to one another so that the drive force is transferred from the first roller to the second roller during the start mode.

22. The device of claim 1, wherein the control assembly is movable between a locked position and an unlocked position due to actuation of the user interface, wherein, during use, the first member is allowed to rotate when the control assembly is in the unlocked position during the start mode and during recharging of the spring mechanism and the first member is prevented from rotating when the control assembly is in the locked position during the stop mode.

23. The device of claim 1, wherein the user interface of the control mechanism comprises a toggle switch, a slide-switch, a lever or at least one button.

24. The device of claim 1, wherein the spring mechanism comprises at least one spring that is a constant force spring, a clock spring, a self-coiling spring, a variable force spring, a conforce spring, a contorque spring, a torsion spring or a power spring.

25. The device of claim 1, wherein the device further comprises a rotatable crank that is operatively coupled to the first member and the spring mechanism to allow a user to rotate the first member in an opposite direction of a drive direction to remove the bag and to charge the spring mechanism.

26. The device of claim 1, wherein the control mechanism further comprises a latch mechanism that is movable between first and second positions during use due to actuation by a user and the control assembly is movable between first and second positions during use due to actuation of the user interface, wherein during use, the first member is allowed to rotate when the control assembly and the latch mechanism are in the first position and the first member is prevented from rotating when at least one of the control assembly and the latch mechanism is in the second position.

28. The device of claim 19, wherein the spring mechanism comprises a drive spring that is located along with the drive member inside the housing.

29. The device of claim 1, wherein the device further comprises an element disposed at a location of the rotation assembly to prevent rotation in the opposite direction of a drive direction after the rotation assembly has been recharged so that tension in the spring mechanism will not be released.

30. The device of claim 1, wherein the device further comprises a standby mode during which the spring mechanism is recharged for future use.

31. The device of claim 1, wherein the housing has a compact, tube-like shape.

32. The device of claim 1, wherein a middle portion of the housing has a smaller diameter than end portions of the housing.

33. The device of claim 1, wherein the housing comprises a groove disposed near each end portion thereof to allow the device to be hung or carried in use.

34. The device of claim 5, wherein the handle comprises an aperture that allows the device to be coupled to another object.

27. A mobile infusion device that does not use gravity to expel fluid from a bag, wherein the mobile infusion device comprises:

a housing including a first portion shaped to define a central chamber in the housing and a second portion shaped to define a first opening in the housing that is in communication with the central chamber and adapted to receive a portion of the bag during use;

a rotation assembly coupled to the housing, the rotation assembly including at least one roller located within the central chamber, a drive member operatively coupled to the at least one roller, and a drive spring operatively coupled to the drive member, the drive spring and the drive member being configured to rotate the at least one roller in order to move the bag and apply a force to a portion of the bag to expel fluid from the bag during use; and

a control mechanism operatively coupled to the rotation assembly, the control mechanism having a control assembly that can be actuated between an unlocked position and a locked position and a user interface for allowing a user to control the actuation of the control assembly, the control assembly allowing the drive member and the at least one roller to rotate or the drive spring to be recharged when the control assembly is in the unlocked position and the control assembly preventing rotation of the drive member and the at least one roller or recharging of the drive spring when the control assembly is in the locked position,

wherein the opening, the central chamber and the at least one roller have a length that is long enough to accommodate bags of various sizes.

35. A mobile infusion device that can expel fluid from a bag during use, wherein the mobile infusion device comprises:

a housing including a first portion shaped to define a central chamber in the housing, and a second portion shaped to define a first opening in the housing that is in communication with the central chamber and adapted to receive a portion of the bag during use;

a rotation assembly coupled to the housing, the rotation assembly including at least one member located within the central chamber and a spring mechanism operatively coupled to the at least one member to rotate the at least one member in order to move the bag and apply a force to a portion of the bag to expel fluid from the bag during use;

a control mechanism operatively coupled to the rotation assembly, the control mechanism having a control assembly to control rotation of the rotation assembly and a user interface coupled to the control assembly to allow a user to select one of a start mode and a stop mode for the mobile infusion device during use, and

a first pair of legs that are removably coupled to a first end of the housing and a second pair of legs that are removably coupled to a second end of the housing, the first and second pair of legs having legs that are pivotable between an open position to allow the device to stand and a closed position to allow the device to be carried and to form a protective frame for the device,

wherein the opening, the central chamber and the at least one member have a length that is long enough to accommodate bags of various sizes.

36. A mobile infusion device that can expel fluid from a bag during use, wherein the mobile infusion device comprises:

a housing including;

a first portion shaped to define a central chamber in the housing;

a second portion shaped to define a first opening in the housing that is in communication with the central chamber and adapted to receive a portion of the bag during use, and

a handle disposed along a top portion of the housing;

a rotation assembly coupled to the housing, the rotation assembly including at least one member located within the central chamber and a spring mechanism operatively coupled to the at least one member to rotate the at least one member in order to move the bag and apply a force to a portion of the bag to expel fluid from the bag during use; and

a control mechanism operatively coupled to the rotation assembly, the control mechanism having;

a control assembly to control rotation of the rotation assembly; and

a user interface located near the handle and coupled to the control assembly, the user interface being adapted to allow a user to hold and control the device using one hand and to allow the user to select one of a start mode, a stop mode and a standby mode for the mobile infusion device during use,

wherein the opening, the central chamber and the at least one roller have a length that is long enough to accommodate bags of various sizes and in the standby mode the spring mechanism is rechargeable for future use.