US3734648A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Mechanical heart system
Assignee: Individual
•
Filing: 1971-11-12
•
Granted: 1973-05-22
•
Expires: 1991-11-12
Abstract
Abstract A mechanical heart system including an artificial heart having a rigid exterior casing which is partitioned into two halves, each half being divided into chambers by a flexible diaphragm which collapses to pump blood out of the artificial heart when subjected to fluid pressure and which expands to withdraw blood into the artificial heart when the fluid pressure is removed therefrom. A mechanical driving pump forces driving fluid into and withdraws driving fluid from the artificial heart to control the operation of the diaphragm, the pump (a) forcing driving fluid into the artificial heart at a rate which is greater than the withdrawal of driving fluid from the artificial heart and (b) providing a more uniform rate of fluid flow between the pump and the artificial heart and modulating the transition between injection and withdrawal of driving fluid from the artificial heart. A pump regulator is connected to the power input of the mechanical pump, the regulator responding to the breathing rate of the user of the system to control the power input to the mechanical pump whereby the breathing rate of the user will determine the rate at which blood pumps from the artificial heart. In an alternative preferred embodiment, a fluid pump is substituted for the mechanical heart pump, the fluid pump accommodating injection of driving fluid into the artificial heart at a relatively constant rate and withdrawal of driving fluid from the artificial heart at another relatively constant rate. An alternate heart embodiment includes fluid-receiving cylinders and displaceable pistons alternately reciprocated in the cylinders due to fluid pressure developed by the fluid pump. An accumulator associated with the cylinders allows the pistons to travel in one direction at one rate and in the other direction at another rate.
Inventors
- 👤 J Nielson
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-23 00:14
CPC Classifications
F; F04; F04B; F04B49/00; F04B49/20; A; A61; A61M; A61M60/00; A61M60/10; A61M60/122; A61M60/196; A61M60/40; A61M60/424; A61M60/438; A61M60/441; A61M60/443; A61M60/457; A61M60/462; A61M60/80; A61M60/855; A61M60/89; A61M60/894; F04B43/00; F04B43/02; F04B43/06; F04B9/00; F04B9/02; F04B9/08; F04B9/10; A61M2205/00; A61M2205/33; A61M2205/3331; A61M2205/3334; A61M60/20; A61M60/247; A61M60/253; A61M60/268; A61M60/892; Y; Y10; Y10T; Y10T137/00; Y10T137/2496; Y10T137/2544; Y10T137/2554
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 5
Claim 1
Independent Claim
365 words
A REVERSIBLE FLUID PUMP COMPRISING: A CASING; A UNIDIRECTIONALLY ROTATING SHAFT JOURNALED IN SAID CASING; A PAIR OF TOOTHED ROTORS, ONE OF SAID ROTORS DRIVINGLY ENGAGED BY SAID SHAFT, AN INNER ONE OF SAID ROTORS DISPOSED ECCENTRICALLY WITHIN AN OUTER ONE OF SAID ROTORS AS A RESULT OF SAID OUTER ROTOR BEING DISPOSED FOR ROTATION IN FIXED ECCENTRIC RELATIONSHIP WITH RESPECT TO SAID CASING, SAID INNER ROTOR HAVING A SERIES OF OUTWARD TEETH AND SAID OUTER ROTOR HAVING A SERIES OF INWARD TEETH COMPLEMENTARY TO AND ONE MORE IN NUMBER THAN SAID OUTWARD TEETH, SAID TEETH HAVING DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSED FULL MESH AND OPEN MESH POSITIONS AS SAID ONE ROTOR ROTATES AND DRIVES THE OTHER ROTOR THROUGH INTERENGAGEMENT OF THE RESPECTIVE TEETH, EACH OF SAID INNER ROTOR TEETH REMAINING IN CONTACT WITH SAID OUTER ROTOR DURING ROTATION, THEREBY DEFINING PUMPING CHAMBERS WHICH EXPAND BETWEEN FULL MESH AND OPEN MESH AND WHICH CONTACT BETWEEN OPEN MESH AND FULL MESH; PORTING MEANS INCLUDING A LOW PRESSURE PORT AND A HIGH PRESSURE PORT, SAID PORTING MEANS DISPOSED FOR ROTATION COAXIALLY WITH SAID SHAFT BETWEEN TWO POSITIONS ANGULARLY DISPLACED FROM ONE ANOTHER BY SUBSTANTIALLY LESS THAN 90*, AT ANY POSITION OF SAID PORTING MEANS BETWEEN SAID TWO POSITIONS, SAID LOW PRESSURE PORT BEING IN SUBSTANTIAL FLUID COMMUNICATION WITH SAID EXPANDING CHAMBERS ROTATING BETWEEN FULL MESH AND OPEN MESH AND SAID HIGH PRESSURE PORT BEING IN SUBSTANTIAL FLUID COMMUNICATION WITH SAID CONTRACTING CHAMBERS ROTATING BETWEEN OPEN MESH AND FULL MESH, EACH OF SAID PORTS HAVING AN OPENING, SAID OPENINGS BEING MUTUALLY DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSITELY DISPOSED; A PAIR OF FLUID PASSAGES FIXED IN RELATION TO SAID CASING, EACH OF SAID PASSAGES HAVING A PAIR OF ORIFICES, ONE ORIFICE OF EACH PAIR BEING IN FLUID COMMUNICATION WITH ONE OF SAID OPENINGS WITH SAID PORTING MEANS DISPOSED AT ONE OF SAID POSITIONS, AND THE OTHER ORIFICE OF EACH PAIR BEING IN FLUID COMMUNICATION WITH AN OPPOSITE ONE OF SAID OPENINGS WITH SAID PORTING MEANS DISPOSED AT THE OTHER ONE OF SAID POSITIONS; AND MEANS FOR ROTATING SAID PORTING MEANS ALTERNATIVELY BETWEEN SAID TWO POSITIONS THEREBY TO CAUSE SAID TWO PASSAGES TO CORRESPONDINGLY ALTERNATE BETWEEN COMMUNICATION WITH SAID HIGH PRESSURE PORT AND SAID LOW PRESSURE PORT.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
365 words
A REVERSIBLE FLUID PUMP COMPRISING: A CASING; A UNIDIRECTIONALLY ROTATING SHAFT JOURNALED IN SAID CASING; A PAIR OF TOOTHED ROTORS, ONE OF SAID ROTORS DRIVINGLY ENGAGED BY SAID SHAFT, AN INNER ONE OF SAID ROTORS DISPOSED ECCENTRICALLY WITHIN AN OUTER ONE OF SAID ROTORS AS A RESULT OF SAID OUTER ROTOR BEING DISPOSED FOR ROTATION IN FIXED ECCENTRIC RELATIONSHIP WITH RESPECT TO SAID CASING, SAID INNER ROTOR HAVING A SERIES OF OUTWARD TEETH AND SAID OUTER ROTOR HAVING A SERIES OF INWARD TEETH COMPLEMENTARY TO AND ONE MORE IN NUMBER THAN SAID OUTWARD TEETH, SAID TEETH HAVING DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSED FULL MESH AND OPEN MESH POSITIONS AS SAID ONE ROTOR ROTATES AND DRIVES THE OTHER ROTOR THROUGH INTERENGAGEMENT OF THE RESPECTIVE TEETH, EACH OF SAID INNER ROTOR TEETH REMAINING IN CONTACT WITH SAID OUTER ROTOR DURING ROTATION, THEREBY DEFINING PUMPING CHAMBERS WHICH EXPAND BETWEEN FULL MESH AND OPEN MESH AND WHICH CONTACT BETWEEN OPEN MESH AND FULL MESH; PORTING MEANS INCLUDING A LOW PRESSURE PORT AND A HIGH PRESSURE PORT, SAID PORTING MEANS DISPOSED FOR ROTATION COAXIALLY WITH SAID SHAFT BETWEEN TWO POSITIONS ANGULARLY DISPLACED FROM ONE ANOTHER BY SUBSTANTIALLY LESS THAN 90*, AT ANY POSITION OF SAID PORTING MEANS BETWEEN SAID TWO POSITIONS, SAID LOW PRESSURE PORT BEING IN SUBSTANTIAL FLUID COMMUNICATION WITH SAID EXPANDING CHAMBERS ROTATING BETWEEN FULL MESH AND OPEN MESH AND SAID HIGH PRESSURE PORT BEING IN SUBSTANTIAL FLUID COMMUNICATION WITH SAID CONTRACTING CHAMBERS ROTATING BETWEEN OPEN MESH AND FULL MESH, EACH OF SAID PORTS HAVING AN OPENING, SAID OPENINGS BEING MUTUALLY DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSITELY DISPOSED; A PAIR OF FLUID PASSAGES FIXED IN RELATION TO SAID CASING, EACH OF SAID PASSAGES HAVING A PAIR OF ORIFICES, ONE ORIFICE OF EACH PAIR BEING IN FLUID COMMUNICATION WITH ONE OF SAID OPENINGS WITH SAID PORTING MEANS DISPOSED AT ONE OF SAID POSITIONS, AND THE OTHER ORIFICE OF EACH PAIR BEING IN FLUID COMMUNICATION WITH AN OPPOSITE ONE OF SAID OPENINGS WITH SAID PORTING MEANS DISPOSED AT THE OTHER ONE OF SAID POSITIONS; AND MEANS FOR ROTATING SAID PORTING MEANS ALTERNATIVELY BETWEEN SAID TWO POSITIONS THEREBY TO CAUSE SAID TWO PASSAGES TO CORRESPONDINGLY ALTERNATE BETWEEN COMMUNICATION WITH SAID HIGH PRESSURE PORT AND SAID LOW PRESSURE PORT.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
70 words
A pump according to claim 1 further comprising: pressure relief means including a pressure relief passageway disposed within said porting means and directly interconnecting said high pressure port and said low pressure port and a fluid pressure responsive relief valve disposed in said relief passageway and opening so as to bypass fluid between said ports in response to pressure in said high pressure port in excess of a given pressure.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
21 words
A fluid pump according to claim 1 wherein said pair of fluid passages comprise fluid reservoirs integrally cast within said casing.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
158 words
A fluid pump according to claim 1 wherein said means for rotating said porting means comprises: a pair of pressure chambers, each in fluid communication with a respective one of said fluid passages at any position of said porting means between said two positions, each of said pressure chambers including one radial wall formed by said casing and at least one radial wall formed by said porting means such that fluid pressure in one of said chambers, resulting from said porting means being in a related one of said two positions so that said high pressure port is in communication with the corresponding one of said passageways, drives the related one of said radial walls formed by said porting means to rotate said porting means toward the other one of said positions; and a spring-biased toggle means connected between said casing and said porting means to positively drive said porting means to said other one of said positions.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US23086A
Cited
US1885820A
Cited
US2223570A
Cited
US2380783A
Cited
US2509321A
Cited
US2496879A
Cited
US3008419A
Cited
US3406631A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1976-05-21 | 1976-11-20 | 1977-05-22 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1980-05-21 | 1980-11-20 | 1981-05-22 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1984-05-21 | 1984-11-20 | 1985-05-22 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |