Flow rate accuracy of a fluidic delivery system
First Claim
1. A method for optimizing, flow rate accuracy of a fluidic delivery system by compensating for at least one fluidic parameter effecting the flow rate accuracy of fluid dispensed by a valve, a block representing a predetermined duration of time over which the valve opens once and closes once, the valve being associated with a fluidic delivery device including a first fluidic delivery device processor and a first non-volatile memory device having stored therein at least one calibrated fluidic parameter determined for the fluidic delivery device, the fluidic delivery device being programmable by a control device having a control device processor, the method comprising the steps of:
- (a) calculating using the control device processor an Integer Compensated Valve OPENING Time Per Block and a Remainder Compensated Valve Opening Time Per Predetermined Time Interval based on the at least one calibrated fluidic parameter retrieved from the first non-volatile memory device;
wherein the Integer Compensated Valve OPENING Time Per Block is determined as;
Integer Compensated Valve OPENING Time Per Block=integer(Maximum Flow Rate Compensation Component Valve OPENING Time Compensation Component Valve CLOSING Time Compensation Component Compliance Effect Compensation Component Temperature-Pressure Relationship Compensation Component);
(b) transmitting from the control device to the fluidic delivery device the calculated Integer Compensated Valve OPENING Time Per Block and the Remainder Compensated Valve Opening Time Per Predetermined Time Interval;
(c) distributing the Remainder Compensated Valve OPENING Time Per Predetermined Time Interval as uniformly as possible to the blocks in the predetermined time interval;
(d) determining for each block per predetermined time interval a Total Compensated Valve OPENING Time by adding the integer Compensated Valve OPENING Time Per Block and, if distributed to that particular block in the predetermined time interval, the uniformly as possible distributed Remainder Compensated Valve OPENING Time Per Predetermined Time Interval; and
(e) Optimizing the flow rate accuracy of the fluidic delivery device by opening the valve based on the Total Compensated Valve OPENING time which has compensated for the fluidic parameters.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Improving the accuracy of the flow rate of a valve in a fluidic delivery device in which a desired flow rate may be achieved by varying the duty cycle of the valve. The flow rate of fluid delivery from the valve over its lifetime is stabilized by minimizing the voltage OPENING time of the valve to account for valve and piezoelectric actuator drift. Also, the valve OPENING time of one or more fluidic parameters that impact on the flow rate delivery by the valve and differ among fluidic delivery devices is compensated to optimize the flow rate accuracy.
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Citations
30 Claims
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1. A method for optimizing, flow rate accuracy of a fluidic delivery system by compensating for at least one fluidic parameter effecting the flow rate accuracy of fluid dispensed by a valve, a block representing a predetermined duration of time over which the valve opens once and closes once, the valve being associated with a fluidic delivery device including a first fluidic delivery device processor and a first non-volatile memory device having stored therein at least one calibrated fluidic parameter determined for the fluidic delivery device, the fluidic delivery device being programmable by a control device having a control device processor, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) calculating using the control device processor an Integer Compensated Valve OPENING Time Per Block and a Remainder Compensated Valve Opening Time Per Predetermined Time Interval based on the at least one calibrated fluidic parameter retrieved from the first non-volatile memory device;
wherein the Integer Compensated Valve OPENING Time Per Block is determined as;
Integer Compensated Valve OPENING Time Per Block=integer(Maximum Flow Rate Compensation Component Valve OPENING Time Compensation Component Valve CLOSING Time Compensation Component Compliance Effect Compensation Component Temperature-Pressure Relationship Compensation Component);(b) transmitting from the control device to the fluidic delivery device the calculated Integer Compensated Valve OPENING Time Per Block and the Remainder Compensated Valve Opening Time Per Predetermined Time Interval; (c) distributing the Remainder Compensated Valve OPENING Time Per Predetermined Time Interval as uniformly as possible to the blocks in the predetermined time interval; (d) determining for each block per predetermined time interval a Total Compensated Valve OPENING Time by adding the integer Compensated Valve OPENING Time Per Block and, if distributed to that particular block in the predetermined time interval, the uniformly as possible distributed Remainder Compensated Valve OPENING Time Per Predetermined Time Interval; and (e) Optimizing the flow rate accuracy of the fluidic delivery device by opening the valve based on the Total Compensated Valve OPENING time which has compensated for the fluidic parameters.
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2. The method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the at least one calibrated fluidic parameter for the fluidic delivery device is stored in the first non-volatile memory device at a time of manufacture of the fluidic delivery device.
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3. The method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the at least one calibrated fluidic parameters comprises at least one of compliance effect, maximum flow rate, temperature-pressure relationship of reservoir fluid, valve OPENING time, and valve CLOSING time.
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4. The method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the Maximum Flow Rate Compensation Component is determined as:
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Maximum Flow Rate Compensation Component=(programmed flow rate/calibrated maximum flow rate)*Duration of Blockwherein, the programmed flow rate is programmed by the user; the calibrated maximum flow rate is calibrated at a time of manufacture of the fluidic delivery; and the Duration of Block is a duration of time for the block in which the valve is opened once and closed once.
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5. The method in accordance with claim 4, wherein the Remainder Compensated Valve Opening Time Per Predetermined Time Interval is determined as:
Remainder Compensated Valve OPENING Time Per Predetermined Time interval=MOD((((Maximum Flow Rate Compensation Component)*Duration of the Block*Number of Blocks in the predetermined time interval) (Valve OPENING Time Compensation Component Number of Blocks in the predetermined time interval) (Valve CLOSING Time Compensation Component*Number of Blocks in the predetermined time interval) (Temperature-Pressure Relationship Compensation Component*Number of Blocks in the predetermined time interval)),Number of Blocks in the predetermined time interval).
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6. The method in accordance with claim 1, wherein step (c) comprises the steps of:
if the Remainder Compensated Valve OPENING Time Per Predetermined Time interval is a whole number equally divisible among the total number of blocks in the predetermined time interval without a remainder, diving the Remainder Compensated Valve OPENING Time Per Predetermined Time Interval by the number of blocks per predetermined time interval and distributing equally to each block; and
if the Remainder Compensated Valve OPENING Time Per Predetermined Time Interval is a whole number that is not equally divisible among the total number of blocks in the predetermined time interval without a remainder, distributing as uniformly as possible as a whole number of one or more seconds among less than all the blocks within the predetermined time interval.
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7. The method in accordance with claim 1, wherein in step (a) the Integer Compensated Valve OPENING Time Per Block and Remainder Compensated Valve OPENING Time Per Predetermined Time Interval are calculated by the control device processor twice to verify the consistency of the data prior to being transmitted to the fluidic delivery device.
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8. The method in accordance with claim 7, wherein verification of the consistency of the data comprises the steps of performing a first calculation of the Integer Compensated Valve OPENING Time Per Block and Remainder Compensated Valve OPENING Time Per Predetermined Time Interval using a first portion of the programming source code for the control device processor, and performing a second calculation of the Integer Compensated Valve OPENING Time Per Block and Remainder Compensated Valve OPENING Time Per Predetermined Time Interval using a second portion of the programming source code of the control device processor, different than the first portion.
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9. The method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the Integer Compensated Valve OPENING Time Per Block and Remainder Compensated Valve OPENING Time Per Predetermined Time Interval are stored in a second non-volatile memory device associated with the fluidic delivery device.
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10. The method in accordance with claim 9, wherein the first non-volatile memory device is to FLASH memory and the second non-volatile memory device is an EEPROM.
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11. The method in accordance with claim 10, further comprising the step of checking for corruption of the at least one calibrated fluidic parameters stored in the FLASH memory by calculating a FLASH code memory CRC and comparing this calculated value with a FLASH code memory CRC previously stored in the FLASH memory at the time of manufacture of the fluidic delivery device.
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12. The method in accordance with claim 11, wherein the checking of the FLASH memory occurs during self-testing of the fluidic delivery device.
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13. The method in accordance with claim 10, wherein the first fluidic delivery device processor has an associated RAM, the method further comprising the steps of:
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copying entire contents of the EEPROM to the RAM; and calculating the EEPROM checksum and verifying the calculated value with a previously stored checksum in the EEPROM.
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14. The method in accordance with claim 10, wherein the fluidic delivery device has at least one additional processor, each of the at least one additional processors having an associated FLASH memory and an associated RAM, the method further comprising the steps of:
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storing drug delivery profile data received from the control device in the EEPROM; during reset of any of the processors, copying drug delivery profile data stored in the EEPROM to the respective associated RAMs of each of the processors; and during self-testing of the fluidic delivery device detecting any discrepancy between the drug profile data stored in EEPROM and that stored in any of the RAMs in the associated processors.
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15. The method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the predetermined time interval is one hour.
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16. A fluidic delivery system with optimized flow rate accuracy by compensating for at least one fluidic parameter effecting the flow rate accuracy of fluid dispensed by a valve, a block representing a predetermined duration of time over which the valve opens once and closes once, comprising:
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a control device having a control device processor; and a fluidic delivery device including the valve, a first fluidic delivery device processor and a first non-volatile memory device for storing the flow rate and at least one calibrated fluidic parameter associated with the fluidic delivery device;
the fluidic delivery device being programmed by the control device;the control device processor being programmed to;
(a) calculate using the control device processor an Integer Compensated Valve OPENING Time Per Block and a Remainder Compensated Valve Opening Time Per Predetermined Time Interval based on the at least one calibrated fluidic parameter retrieved from the first non-volatile memory device;
(b) transmit from the control device to the fluidic delivery device the calculated Integer Compensated Valve OPENING Time Per Block and the Remainder Compensated Valve Opening Time Per Predetermined Time Interval;
wherein the programming of the first fluidic delivery device processor to calculate the Integer Compensated Valve OPENING Time Per Block is determined as;
Integer Compensated Valve OPENING Time Per Block=Integer(Maximum Flow Rate Compensation Component Valve OPENING Time Compensation Component Valve CLOSING Time Compensation Component Compliance Effect Compensation Component Temperature-Pressure Relationship Compensation Component);the first fluidic delivery device processor being programmed to;
(c) distribute the Remainder Compensated Valve OPENING Time Per Predetermined Time interval as uniformly as possible to the blocks in the predetermined time interval;
(d) determine for each block per the predetermined time interval a Total Compensated Valve OPENING Time by adding the integer Compensated Valve OPENING Time Per Block and, if distributed to that particular block in the predetermined time interval, the uniformly as possible distributed Remainder Compensated Valve OPENING Time Per Predetermined Time Interval; and
(e) optimize the flow rate accuracy of the fluidic delivery device by opening the valve based on the Total Compensated Valve OPENING time which has compensated for the fluidic parameters.
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17. The system in accordance with claim 16, wherein the at least one calibrated fluidic parameter for the fluidic delivery device is stored in the first non-volatile memory device at a time of manufacture of the fluidic delivery device.
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18. The system in accordance with claim 16, wherein the at least one calibrated fluidic parameters comprises at least one of compliance effect, maximum flow rate, temperature-pressure relationship of reservoir fluid, valve OPENING time, and valve CLOSING time.
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19. The system in accordance with claim 16, wherein the predetermined time interval is one hour.
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20. The system in accordance with claim 16, wherein the programming of the first fluidic delivery device processor to calculate the Maximum Flow Rate Compensation Component is determined as:
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Maximum Flaw Rate Compensation Component=(programmed flow rate/calibrated maximum flow rate)*Duration of Blockwherein, the programmed flow rate is programmed by the user; the calibrated maximum flow rate is calibrated at a time of manufacture of the fluidic delivery; and the Duration of Block is a duration of time for the block in which the valve is opened once and closed once.
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21. The system in accordance with claim 20, wherein the programming of the first fluidic delivery device processor to calculate the Remainder Compensated Valve Opening Time Per Predetermined Time Interval is determined as:
Remainder Compensated Valve OPENING Time Per Predetermined Time Interval=MOD((((Maximum flow Rate Compensation Component)*Duration of the Block*Number of Blocks in the predetermined time interval) (Valve OPENING Time Compensation Component*Number of Blocks in the predetermined time interval) (Valve CLOSING Time Compensation Component*Number of Blocks in the predetermined time interval) (Temperature-Pressure Relationship Compensation Component*Number of Blocks in the predetermined time interval)),Number of Blocks in the predetermined time interval).
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22. The system in accordance with claim 16, wherein the programming of the fluidic delivery device processor to distribute the Remainder Compensated Valve OPENING Time Per Predetermined Time Interval comprises the functions of:
- if the Remainder Compensated Valve OPENING Time Per Predetermined Time Interval is a whole number equally divisible among the total number of blocks in the predetermined time interval without a remainder, dividing the Remainder Compensated Valve OPENING Time Per Predetermined Time Interval by the number of blocks per the predetermined time interval and distributing equally to each block; and
if the Remainder Compensated Valve OPENING Time Per Predetermined Time Interval is a whole number that is not equally divisible among the total number of blocks in the predetermined time interval without a remainder, distributing as uniformly as possible as a whole number of one or more seconds among less than all the blocks within the predetermined time interval.
- if the Remainder Compensated Valve OPENING Time Per Predetermined Time Interval is a whole number equally divisible among the total number of blocks in the predetermined time interval without a remainder, dividing the Remainder Compensated Valve OPENING Time Per Predetermined Time Interval by the number of blocks per the predetermined time interval and distributing equally to each block; and
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23. The system in accordance with claim 16, wherein the programming of the control device processor to calculate the Integer Compensated Valve OPENING Time Per Block and Remainder Compensated Valve OPENING Time Per Predetermined Time Interval are calculated by the control device processor twice to verify the consistency of the data prior to being transmitted to the fluidic delivery device.
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24. The system in accordance with claim 23, wherein the consistency of the calculated Integer Compensated Valve OPENING Time Per Block and Remainder Compensated Valve OPENING Time Per Predetermined Time Interval is verified by performing a first calculation of the Integer Compensated Valve OPENING Time Per Block and Remainder Compensated Valve OPENING Time Per Predetermined Time Interval using a first portion of the programming source code for the control device processor, and performing a second calculation of the Integer Compensated Valve OPENING Time Per Block and Remainder Compensated Valve OPENING Time Per Predetermined Time interval using a second portion of the programming source code of the control device processor, different than the first portion.
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25. The system in accordance with claim 16, wherein the Integer Compensated Valve OPENING Time Per Block and Remainder Compensated Valve OPENING Time Per Predetermined Time Interval are stored in a second non-volatile memory associated with the fluidic delivery device.
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26. The system in accordance with claim 25, wherein the first non-volatile memory device is a FLASH memory and the second non-volatile memory device is an EEPROM.
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27. The system in accordance with claim 26, wherein the first fluidic delivery device processor is programmed to check for corruption of the at least one calibrated fluidic parameters stored in the FLASH memory by calculating a FLASH code memory CRC and comparing this calculated value with a FLASH code memory CRC previously stored in the FLASH memory at the time of manufacture of the fluidic delivery device.
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28. The system in accordance with claim 27, wherein the checking of the FLASH memory occurs during self-testing of the fluidic deliver device.
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29. The system in accordance with claim 26, wherein the first fluidic delivery processor has an associated RAM, the first fluidic delivery device processor is programmed to:
- copy entire contents of the EEPROM to the RAM;
calculate the EEPROM checksum; and
verify the calculated EEPROM checksum with a previously stored checksum in the EEPROM.
- copy entire contents of the EEPROM to the RAM;
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30. The system in accordance with claim 26, wherein the fluidic delivery device has at least one additional processor, each of the at least one additional processors having an associated FLASH memory and an associated RAM;
- wherein the EEPROM stores drug delivery profile data received from the control device; and
wherein the first fluidic delivery processor is programmed to;
copy drug delivery profile data stored in the EEPROM to the respective associated RAMs of each of the processors, during reset of any of the processors; and
detect any discrepancy between the drug profile data stored in EEPROM and that stored in any of the RAM'"'"'s in the associated processors, during self-testing of the fluidic delivery device.
- wherein the EEPROM stores drug delivery profile data received from the control device; and
Specification