JPH055481A - Peristaltic pump - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide miniaturization with simple constitution by providing a plurality of pressing means, by which a tube is pressed from the outside to change its sectional shape, along the deformable tube so as to selectively and successively drive a plurality of the pressing means. CONSTITUTION:A plurality of ring-shaped contractible ring tubes 2 are fitted inserted to a circumference of a tube 1 with an equal space along a direction of the deformable rubber tube 1. A press-fit pipe 3 and a valve 4 are mounted to each ring tube 2 so as to press-inject pressure liquid to the ring tube 2 by on-off operating the valve 4. Increase of an external diameter L1 at liquid injection time of each ring tube 2 is prevented by a wound cotton tape 5. By this constitution liquid is press-injected selectively to a plurality of the adjacent ring tubes 2 expanded, and the rubber tube 1 is tightened. Thus, a flow path part in the rubber tube 1 is closed. Next, a plurality of the adjacent ring tubes 2 are similarly actuated. By repeating this action successively, worm action is performed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a peristaltic pump for feeding a liquid in a tube by artificially causing a peristaltic motion by changing the inner diameter of the tube.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 56-66 has been proposed for this type.
Since a high-viscosity fluid transportation device is disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 470, its outline will be described below. As shown in FIG. 14, sluice valves V1, V2, and V3 for dividing the tube 51 of a coaxial structure whose inner side can freely contract in the tube direction are provided, and liquid is supplied to the tube space 53 in the tube 51. Valves A1 and A2 for introducing and valves B1 and B for discharging the liquid introduced into this space 53 to the outside.
2 is provided. In the device having such a configuration, the fluid in the tube 51 is moved from T1 to T2 by opening and closing the valve in the following order: (1) V3 closed A2 closed B2 open (2) V2 open B1 closed V1 closed (3) A1 open Can be made

[0003]

However, the above-mentioned device requires the tube 51 having the coaxial structure and the valve 52 for partitioning the tube 51, which makes the structure complicated, such as ink feeding in a printer. It was virtually impossible to make a small device with a diameter of a few millimeters. The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a peristaltic pump that has a simple structure and can be downsized.

[0004]

In order to solve the above problems, in the present invention, a plurality of pressing means for pressing a deformable tube from the outside to deform the cross-sectional shape of the flow path in the tube are provided along the tube direction. In addition to providing a single piece, a driving means for selectively operating the plurality of pressing means is provided.

[0005]

When the pressing means is operated, the deformable tube is pressed from the outside and the cross section of the flow passage of the tube is deformed. Depending on the degree of pressing, the flow passage part may be closed and the part may function as the above-mentioned sluice valve, or the flow passage part may be appropriately narrowed like a peristaltic pump. If the pressing means functioning in this way is selectively actuated by the driving means, the same operation as that of the device of FIG. 14 described in the conventional example becomes possible, and the liquid in the tube can be fed in one direction. Further, if the pressing means is not used as a sluice valve but is used for narrowing down the flow path portion, a peristaltic pump can function. As the pressing means, as described in claim 2, a deformable tube is provided so that another contractible tube is attached to the outer periphery of the deformable tube, and the deformable tube is expanded by, for example, expanding. May be pressed, or as described in claim 3, a cylindrical body surrounding the deformable tube is provided, and liquid or gas is press-fitted between the cylindrical body and the tube, and the deformation is performed by the pressure. A free tube may be pressed. Further, as described in claim 4, a restoring force that restores the original shape at the temperature of the reverse transformation point or higher can be used.

[0006]

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a peristaltic pump according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a side sectional view thereof.
Reference numeral 1 denotes a deformable rubber tube, 2 denotes a ring-shaped contractible ring tube, and a plurality of ring tubes are fitted around the rubber tube 1 at equal intervals. Reference numeral 3 denotes a press-fitting pipe for press-fitting the liquid into each ring tube 2, and by turning on / off a valve 4 provided in each press-fitting pipe 2, the liquid is selectively press-fitted into each ring tube 2. The press-fitting pipe 3 and the valve 4 constitute the driving means. Reference numeral 5 is a cotton tape wound so as to cover the outer peripheral portion of each ring tube 2, and when a liquid is press-fitted into the ring tube 2 through the press-fitting pipe 3 to expand the liquid, the outer diameter L _{1 of the} ring tube 2 Prevent it from growing.

Next, an example of the operation of the peristaltic pump having the above structure will be described with reference to FIGS. In these drawings, the introduction pipe 3 and the cotton tape 5 are omitted. FIG. 3 shows that the liquid is pressed into two adjacent ring tubes 2d and 2e and expanded by opening the valve 4. Since the expansion of the outer diameter L ₁ of the ring tubes 2 is restrained by the winding of the cotton tape 5, the inner diameters L ₂ of those ring tubes are conversely reduced, and as a result, the rubber tube 1 is tightened and the portion The flow path inside the rubber tube 1 is closed.

Next, by scanning the valve 4, the ring tube 2
If a liquid is press-fitted into e and 2f, the flow path portion of that portion is closed in the same manner. By sequentially scanning the ring tube 2 to be expanded in this way in the right direction in the figure, the closed part of the flow path portion moves to the right direction, and the liquid Q ₂ in the ring tube 1 on the right side of the closed part is accordingly moved. It is delivered to the right.

When the scanning direction of the valve 4 of the ring tube 2 is reversed, the liquid Q ₁ in the rubber tube 1 on the left side of the closed position is discharged leftward to form a reversible pump. Looking at the movement of the ring tube 2 when shifting from FIG. 3 to FIG. 4, the ring tube 2e is always inflated to keep the flow path portion of that portion closed. When the two ring tubes 2 are thus scanned, the liquid in the rubber tube 1 can be pushed out in one direction by closing the flow portion of the rubber tube 1 with one ring tube.

FIG. 5 shows a case where one ring tube 2 is scanned and expanded in order. Considering the moment when the ring tube 2e is expanded instead of the ring tube 2d which is currently expanded, the ring tube 2d is considered. Even if the valve 4 is turned off, the liquid in the ring tube 2d is not immediately discharged, and when the liquid in the ring tube 1 has a high viscosity, the rubber tube 1 itself immediately Since the original shape is not restored, while the adjacent ring tube 2e is inflated, the flow path portion of the ring tube 1 is still blocked at the location of the ring tube 2d, and therefore, as shown in FIGS. As in the case of, the liquid Q ₂ is delivered to the right because there is always a blockage point.

In FIG. 6, the ring tube 2c and the ring tube 2g apart from the ring tube 2c are inflated. If the ring tubes 2d and 2h are inflated by scanning rightward, both It can deliver a certain amount of the liquid Q ₃ sandwiched ring tube. When feeding a liquid that is not highly viscous, it is not necessary to completely close the flow path portion of the ring tube 1 as shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, and as shown in FIG. The liquid can be fed in one direction by slightly expanding the ring tube to cause the peristaltic motion of the ring tube 1.

FIG. 8 shows another structural example of the present invention.
Providing a hard pipe 6 that coaxially surrounds the rubber tube 1,
A partition 7 is provided to partition the space between the hard pipe 6 and the rubber tube 1 at equal intervals and in an airtight manner, and press-fit pipes 8 (8a, 8b, 8c) for press-fitting a liquid into each space and these press-fits. A valve (not shown) for the pipe 8 is provided. The operation of this pump will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 9, when the liquid is press-fitted into one of the spaces via the press-fitting pipe 8b, the rubber tube 1 at this portion is crushed and the flow passage portion is narrowed. In this case, if the pressure of the liquid is made sufficiently large, it is possible to completely close the flow path portion. Next, if the liquid is similarly press-fitted through the press-fitting pipe 8c, the contracting portion of the rubber tube 1 moves in one direction as in the previous embodiment, and accordingly, the inside of the rubber tube 1 Liquid is delivered in one direction. In the above-mentioned embodiment, gas may be press-fitted from the press-fitting pipe instead of the liquid.

FIG. 10 shows a peristaltic pump according to another configuration. Reference numeral 9 is a shape memory alloy that is inserted through the rubber tube 1 at regular intervals. The reverse transformation point temperature T of the shape memory alloy 9 is higher than room temperature, is formed in a ring shape in advance as shown in FIG. 11, and is deformed into an ellipse so that the rubber tube 1 cannot be penetrated without being deformed. Has been done. This shape memory alloy 9 is plastically deformable at room temperature below the reverse transformation point temperature T, and when the rubber tube 1 is inserted through the shape memory alloy 9 at room temperature as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 12, it is assumed that the rubber tube 1 is not deformed, but the shape memory alloy 9 is plastically deformed by the elastic force of the rubber tube 1. Returning to FIG. 10, 10
Is a power source, and when an electric current is passed through each shape memory alloy 9 through the switch 11, the shape memory alloy 9 generates heat and rises to a temperature of the reverse transformation point T or higher. 12 is
It is a control circuit for switching the switch 11.

In the peristaltic pump having the above-mentioned structure, when one of the switches 11 is turned on and a current flows through the shape memory alloy 9 and the temperature of the reverse transformation point temperature T or higher is generated due to the heat generated by itself,
This shape memory alloy 9 is restored to the original shape shown in FIG. 11, and as a result, the rubber tube 1 is crushed and deformed as shown in FIG. After that, when the switch 11 is turned off and the shape memory alloy 9 is cooled to the temperature of the reverse transformation point T or lower, it is plastically deformed by the elastic force of the rubber tube 1 and returns to the state of FIG. Therefore, the control circuit 1
By appropriately turning the switch 11 on and off by 2, the rubber tube 1 is deformed as shown in FIGS. 3 to 7, and functions as a peristaltic pump. In the pump of this structure, mechanical elements such as valves can be eliminated, and further miniaturization is possible.

[0015]

As described above, according to the present invention, when the deformable tube is pressed from the outside by applying the pressing means, the cross section of the flow passage of the tube is deformed. It is also possible to close the valve and make it function as the sluice valve described above in that part, or to appropriately narrow the flow path part like a peristaltic pump. Therefore, the pressing means that functions in this way is driven by the driving means. By selectively acting, it is possible to push the liquid in the tube in one direction or to function as a peristaltic pump. According to the present invention, since a mechanical sluice valve is unnecessary, a pump having a small inner diameter can be easily manufactured at low cost.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a peristaltic pump showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the peristaltic pump of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of scanning two adjacent ring tubes in the peristaltic pump of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram when scanning is performed in the right direction in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of scanning one ring tube.

FIG. 6 is a view showing an example of scanning of a ring tube when feeding a fixed amount of liquid.

FIG. 7 is a view showing an example of scanning of a ring tube for causing a peristaltic motion in a rubber tube.

FIG. 8 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing a second configuration example of the peristaltic pump of the present invention.

9 is a cross-sectional view showing an operation example of the peristaltic pump of FIG.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a third configuration example of the peristaltic pump of the present invention.

11 is a plan view showing a shape memory alloy used as a pressing means in the peristaltic pump of FIG.

12 is a diagram showing the deformation of the shape memory alloy when a deformable tube is inserted into the ring-shaped shape memory alloy of FIG.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a cross section of a rubber tube which is deformed by heating the shape memory alloy of FIG.

FIG. 14 is a schematic configuration diagram of a device cited as a conventional technique.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 rubber tube 2 ring tube 3 press fit pipe 4 valve 5 cotton tape 6 hard pipe 7 bulkhead 8 press fit pipe 9 shape memory alloy 10 power supply 11 control circuit

Claims (1)

Claim: What is claimed is: 1. A plurality of pressing means are provided along the tube direction for pressing a deformable tube from the outside to deform the cross-sectional shape of the flow path in the tube, and the plurality of pressing means are provided. A peristaltic pump provided with a drive means for selectively operating the means. 2. The peristaltic pump according to claim 1, wherein the pressing means is provided with another shrinkable tube attached to the outer circumference of the tube. 3. The pressing means is provided with a tubular body that coaxially surrounds the tube, partition walls that partition the space between the tubular body and the tube in the tubular direction in an airtight manner are provided at predetermined intervals, and the partition wall partitions the partition wall. The peristaltic pump according to claim 1, further comprising a press-fitting means for press-fitting a liquid or a gas into each of the defined spaces. 4. The pressing means is a shape memory alloy provided so as to tighten the tube, and the tube has an elastic force for plastically deforming the shape memory alloy at a temperature not higher than the reverse transformation point temperature of the shape memory alloy. However, when the temperature is higher than the reverse transformation point temperature, the shape memory alloy is deformed by the restoring force of the shape memory alloy, and the driving means selectively switches the temperature of the shape memory alloy to a temperature higher than the reverse transformation point temperature. A peristaltic pump according to claim 1 including means.