US5692882A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Axial pump
Assignee: National Aeronautics and Space Administration
•
Filing: 1996-05-22
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Granted: 1997-12-02
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Expires: 2016-05-22
Abstract
Abstract A rotary blood pump includes a pump housing for receiving a flow straightener, a rotor mounted on rotor bearings and having an inducer portion and an impeller portion, and a diffuser. The entrance angle, outlet angle, axial and radial clearances of blades associated with the flow straightener, inducer portion, impeller portion and diffuser are optimized to minimize hemolysis while maintaining pump efficiency. The rotor bearing includes a bearing chamber that is filled with cross-linked blood or other bio-compatible material. A back emf integrated circuit regulates rotor operation and a microcomputer may be used to control one or more back emf integrated circuits. A plurality of magnets are disposed in each of a plurality of impeller blades with a small air gap. A stator may be axially adjusted on the pump housing to absorb bearing load and maximize pump efficiency.
Inventors
- 👤 Richard J. Bozeman, Jr.
- 👤 James W. Akkerman
- 👤 Gregory S. Aber
- 👤 George Arthur Van Damm
- 👤 James W. Bacak
- 👤 Paul A. Svejkovsky
- 👤 Robert J. Benkowski
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-23 00:14
CPC Classifications
F; F16; F16C; F16C17/00; F16C17/04; F16C17/08; F04; F04B; F04B17/00; F04B17/03; A; A61; A61M; A61M60/00; A61M60/10; A61M60/104; A61M60/109; A61M60/113; A61M60/122; A61M60/165; A61M60/178; A61M60/20; A61M60/205; A61M60/216; A61M60/237; A61M60/40; A61M60/403; A61M60/422; A61M60/50; A61M60/508; A61M60/538; A61M60/546; A61M60/562; A61M60/80; A61M60/802; A61M60/81; A61M60/812; A61M60/816; A61M60/818; A61M60/82; A61M60/822; A61M60/824; A61M60/825; A61M60/827; F04B49/00; F04B49/06; A61M2205/00; A61M2205/33; A61M2205/3331; A61M2205/3334; A61M60/126; A61M60/148; B; B33; B33Y; B33Y80/00; F16C2316/00; F16C2316/10; F16C2316/18; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S415/00; Y10S415/90; Y10T; Y10T29/00; Y10T29/49; Y10T29/49229; Y10T29/49236; Y10T29/49238; Y10T29/49245
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 26
Claim 1
Independent Claim
201 words
A fluid pump, comprising: a pump housing having a fluid flow path therethrough; a first stator mounted to said pump housing, said first stator having a first stator field winding for producing a first stator magnetic field; a first rotor mounted within said pump housing for rotation about a longitudinal axis of said first rotor in response to said first stator magnetic field, said first rotor carrying a blade thereon for propelling fluid through said pump housing along said fluid flow path, at least a portion of said blade being affixed to said rotor at an angle that is offset with respect to said longitudinal axis; a plurality of magnets secured to said at least a portion of said blade affixed to said rotor at an angle that is offset with respect to said longitudinal axis, said plurality of magnets producing a first rotor magnetic field that passes through said first stator field winding during said rotation of said first rotor to induce a back emf within said first stator field winding; and back emf sensor circuitry connected to said first stator field winding to sense said back emf produced during said rotation of said first rotor within said pump housing.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
201 words
A fluid pump, comprising: a pump housing having a fluid flow path therethrough; a first stator mounted to said pump housing, said first stator having a first stator field winding for producing a first stator magnetic field; a first rotor mounted within said pump housing for rotation about a longitudinal axis of said first rotor in response to said first stator magnetic field, said first rotor carrying a blade thereon for propelling fluid through said pump housing along said fluid flow path, at least a portion of said blade being affixed to said rotor at an angle that is offset with respect to said longitudinal axis; a plurality of magnets secured to said at least a portion of said blade affixed to said rotor at an angle that is offset with respect to said longitudinal axis, said plurality of magnets producing a first rotor magnetic field that passes through said first stator field winding during said rotation of said first rotor to induce a back emf within said first stator field winding; and back emf sensor circuitry connected to said first stator field winding to sense said back emf produced during said rotation of said first rotor within said pump housing.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
96 words
A fluid pump, comprising: a pump housing defining therein a fluid path for fluid flow through said pump; a rotor mounted within said pump housing for rotation therein about a rotor axis; impeller means for moving a fluid through said fluid path, said impeller means comprising at least one impeller blade on said rotor; a plurality of magnets secured to said rotor; a stator in surrounding relationship to said pump housing, said stator and said plurality of magnets being positioned to define a magnetic flux gap therebetween having a radial spacing of less than 0.025 inches.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
96 words
A fluid pump, comprising: a pump housing defining therein a fluid path for fluid flow through said pump; a rotor mounted within said pump housing for rotation therein about a rotor axis; impeller means for moving a fluid through said fluid path, said impeller means comprising at least one impeller blade on said rotor; a plurality of magnets secured to said rotor; a stator in surrounding relationship to said pump housing, said stator and said plurality of magnets being positioned to define a magnetic flux gap therebetween having a radial spacing of less than 0.025 inches.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
66 words
The pump of claim 2, further comprising: at least one rotor mount for rotably securing said rotor; and at least one clamp for securing said at least one rotor mount within said pump housing, said pump housing being sufficiently thin-walled such that tightening of said at least one clamp acts to deform said pump housing so as to affix said at least one rotor mount thereto.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
29 words
The pump of claim 2, wherein: said plurality of magnets are arranged in helical fashion about said rotor, said plurality of magnets being movable with respect to said stator.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
28 words
The pump of claim 2, wherein: said stator is adjustable with respect to said pump housing and said rotor along an axis substantially collinear with said rotor axis.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
41 words
The pump of claim 2, further comprising: a radially peripheral edge of said at least one impeller blade, said plurality of magnets being mounted along said radially peripheral edge, at least two of said plurality of magnets being in close proximity.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
92 words
A rotary motor, comprising: a motor housing; a rotor mounted within said motor housing for rotation about a rotor axis, said rotor having a circumference; a stator mounted to said motor housing to produce a magnetic field for rotatably driving said rotor; and a plurality of individual permanent magnets positioned along said circumference of said rotor with a variable axial position with respect to said rotor axis such that said plurality of individual permanent magnets define at least a portion of a helical pattern and are moveable with respect to said stator.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
92 words
A rotary motor, comprising: a motor housing; a rotor mounted within said motor housing for rotation about a rotor axis, said rotor having a circumference; a stator mounted to said motor housing to produce a magnetic field for rotatably driving said rotor; and a plurality of individual permanent magnets positioned along said circumference of said rotor with a variable axial position with respect to said rotor axis such that said plurality of individual permanent magnets define at least a portion of a helical pattern and are moveable with respect to said stator.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
43 words
The rotary motor of claim 7, further comprising: at least one clamp disposed around said motor housing, said motor housing being sufficiently thin-walled to facilitate deformation of said motor housing for mounting of said rotor by tightening of said at least one clamp.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
30 words
The rotary motor of claim 7, wherein: said plurality of individual permanent magnets are mounted with a radial magnetic flux gap spacing to said stator of less than 0.025 inches.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
55 words
The rotary motor of claim 7, further comprising: at least one impeller blade mounted to said rotor, said plurality of individual magnets being affixed along a peripheral edge of said at least one impeller blade such that at least two of said individual permanent magnets are closely proximate to each other along said peripheral edge.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
37 words
The rotary motor of claim 7, wherein said stator further comprises: a plurality of laminations, said laminations being stacked together such that a passageway is formed therein, said passageway being skewed with respect to said rotor axis.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
17 words
The rotary motor of claim 7, wherein: said at least one impeller blade has a variable pitch.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
103 words
A rotary motor, comprising: a motor housing; a rotor mounted within said motor housing for rotation about a rotor axis, said rotor having a circumference; a plurality of individual permanent magnets positioned along said circumference of said rotor; and a stator mounted to said motor housing to produce a magnetic field for rotatably driving said rotor, said stator comprising a plurality of laminations, said laminations being stacked together such that a passageway formed therein is skewed with respect to said rotor axis, a stator winding within said passageway that follows said passageway so as to be skewed with respect to said rotor axis.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
103 words
A rotary motor, comprising: a motor housing; a rotor mounted within said motor housing for rotation about a rotor axis, said rotor having a circumference; a plurality of individual permanent magnets positioned along said circumference of said rotor; and a stator mounted to said motor housing to produce a magnetic field for rotatably driving said rotor, said stator comprising a plurality of laminations, said laminations being stacked together such that a passageway formed therein is skewed with respect to said rotor axis, a stator winding within said passageway that follows said passageway so as to be skewed with respect to said rotor axis.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
18 words
The rotary motor of claim 13, wherein: said stator is axially adjustable with respect to said motor housing.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
26 words
The rotary motor of claim 13, further comprising: a clamp external to said motor housing for securing said rotor axially with respect to said motor housing.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
19 words
The rotary motor of claim 15, wherein: said motor housing is sufficiently thin-walled to be deformable by said clamp.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
19 words
The rotary motor of claim 13, wherein: said plurality of individual permanent magnets include more than two individual magnets.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
80 words
A fluid pump, comprising: a pump housing defining therein a fluid path for fluid flow through said pump; a rotor mounted within said pump housing for rotation therewith; a rotor mount within said pump housing for rotatable mounting of said rotor within said pump housing; and a clamp surrounding an external portion of said pump housing, said pump housing being deformable in the locus of said clamp for securing said rotor mount within said housing by tightening of said clamp.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
80 words
A fluid pump, comprising: a pump housing defining therein a fluid path for fluid flow through said pump; a rotor mounted within said pump housing for rotation therewith; a rotor mount within said pump housing for rotatable mounting of said rotor within said pump housing; and a clamp surrounding an external portion of said pump housing, said pump housing being deformable in the locus of said clamp for securing said rotor mount within said housing by tightening of said clamp.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
20 words
The fluid pump of claim 18, wherein: said rotor mount is comprised of reinforced plastic to prevent plastic creep deformation.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
16 words
The fluid pump of claim 18, further comprising: a plurality of magnets secured to said rotor.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
38 words
The fluid pump of claim 20, further comprising: a stator surrounding said pump housing, said plurality of magnets being positioned radially outwardly on said rotor to minimize a gap formed between said plurality of magnets and said stator.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2000-12-01 | 2001-06-02 | 2001-12-02 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2004-12-01 | 2005-06-02 | 2005-12-02 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2008-12-01 | 2009-06-02 | 2009-12-02 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |