Pump control based on bubble detection

Abstract

Aspects are provided for pumps and methods and systems for controlling pumps based on a bubble sensor. A pump system includes a drive motor, a pump head that receives tubing, and a controller configured to control a rotation of the drive motor to move a liquid within the tubing from an inlet to an outlet. The bubble sensor is coupled to the tubing downstream from the outlet and configured to send a signal to the controller in response to presence of a gas bubble within the tubing. The controller is configured to: determine a quantity of bubbles detected based on the signal; determine an alert in response to the quantity of bubbles detected exceeding a threshold; and stop the drive motor after a safe operating time from the alert. The threshold and the safe operating time are based, at least in part, on a characteristic of the tubing.

1 . A pump system comprising:
 a drive motor;   a pump head including a rotor coupled to the drive motor, wherein the pump head is configured to receive tubing;   a controller coupled to the drive motor and configured to control a rotation of the drive motor and rotor, wherein rotation of the rotor compresses tubing to move a liquid within the tubing from an inlet to an outlet of the pump head; and   a bubble sensor coupled to the tubing downstream from the outlet, wherein the bubble sensor is configured to send a signal to the controller in response to presence of a gas bubble within the tubing,   wherein the controller is configured to:
 determine a quantity of bubbles detected based on the signal; 
 determine an alert in response to the quantity of bubbles detected exceeding a threshold; and 
 stop the drive motor after a safe operating time from the alert, wherein the threshold and the safe operating time are based, at least in part, on a characteristic of the tubing. 
   
     
     
         2 . The pump system of  claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to:
 receive an indication of the characteristic of the tubing; and   look up the threshold and the safe operating time in a memory storing preconfigured values.   
     
     
         3 . The pump system of  claim 1 , wherein the characteristic of the tubing includes a material formulation of the tubing. 
     
     
         4 . The pump system of  claim 1 , wherein the characteristic of the tubing includes a manufacturer of the tubing. 
     
     
         5 . The pump system of  claim 1 , wherein the threshold and the safe operating time are further based on one or more operating parameters of the pump system. 
     
     
         6 . The pump system of  claim 5 , wherein the one or more operating parameters include one or more of: pressure within the tubing, flow rate within the tubing, a speed of the rotor, or a composition of the liquid. 
     
     
         7 . The pump system of  claim 1 , wherein the controller being configured to determine the quantity of bubbles detected based on the signal includes the controller being configured to accumulate a number of detected bubbles over a time period. 
     
     
         8 . The pump system of  claim 1 , wherein the signal indicates a size of each detected bubble, and wherein the quantity of bubbles is based on a number of bubbles and the size of each detected bubble. 
     
     
         9 . A method of operating a pump system, comprising:
 identifying a configuration of a pump system including characteristics of a tubing;   operating the pump system according to the configuration to pump liquid to a destination via the tubing;   receiving a signal from a bubble sensor indicating presence of a gas bubble within the tubing;   determining a quantity of bubbles detected based on the signal;   determining an alert in response to the quantity of bubbles detected exceeding a threshold; and   stopping the pump system after a safe operating time from the alert, wherein the threshold and the safe operating time are based, at least in part, on the characteristics of the tubing.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein identifying the configuration of the pump system comprises:
 receiving an indication of the characteristic of the tubing; and   looking up the threshold and the safe operating time in a memory storing preconfigured values.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the characteristic of the tubing includes a material formulation of the tubing. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the characteristic of the tubing includes a manufacturer of the tubing. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the threshold and the safe operating time are further based on one or more operating parameters of the pump system. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the one or more operating parameters include one or more of: pressure within the tubing, flow rate within the tubing, a speed of a rotor, or a composition of the liquid. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein determining the quantity of bubbles detected based on the signal comprises accumulating a number of detected bubbles over a time period. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein determining the quantity of bubbles detected based on the signal comprises determining a volume of the bubbles. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising transmitting the alert to one or more devices in the pump system. 
     
     
         18 . A pump controller, comprising:
 a memory storing computer executable instructions; and   a processor communicatively coupled to the memory and configured to execute the instructions to:
 identify a configuration of a pump system including characteristics of a tubing; 
 operate the pump system according to the configuration to pump liquid to a destination via the tubing; 
 receive a signal from a bubble sensor indicating presence of a gas bubble within the tubing; 
 determine a quantity of bubbles detected based on the signal; 
 determine an alert in response to the quantity of bubbles detected exceeding a threshold; and 
 stop the pump system after a safe operating time from the alert, wherein the threshold and the safe operating time are based, at least in part, on the characteristics of the tubing. 
   
     
     
         19 . The pump controller of  claim 18 , wherein to identify the configuration of the pump system, the processor is configured to execute the instructions to:
 receive an indication of the characteristic of the tubing; and   look up the threshold and the safe operating time in a second memory storing preconfigured values.   
     
     
         20 . The pump controller of  claim 18 , wherein to determine the quantity of bubbles detected based on the signal, the processor is configured to execute the instructions to accumulate a number of detected bubbles over a time period.