Peristaltic pump

Abstract

A peristaltic pump is disclosed that includes a plunger, a spring, an actuator, a position sensor, and a processor. The plunger actuates toward and away from a tube. The spring biases the plunger toward the tube. The actuator actuates the plunger away from the tube and mechanically engages and disengages from the plunger. The position sensor senses a position of the plunger. The processor receives the sensed position of the plunger and estimates fluid flow within the tube using a first position of the plunger when the actuator is engaged with the plunger and a second position of the plunger when the actuator is disengaged from the plunger.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A peristaltic pump, comprising:
 a housing;   a door pivotally coupled to the housing the door configured to have a closed position and an open position; and   a lever handle pivotally coupled to the door.   
     
     
         2 . The peristaltic pump according to  claim 1 , wherein the housing has a first slot, wherein the door has a platen configured to receive a tube wherein the door includes a second slot, wherein the peristaltic pump further comprises a carrier having a pivot defining first and second portions pivotally coupled together, wherein the first portion is slidingly disposed within the first slot of the housing wherein the second portion is slidingly disposed within the second slot of door and wherein the lever handle is operatively coupled to the carrier. 
     
     
         3 . The peristaltic pump according to  claim 2 , wherein when the door is open, the first portion of the carrier is disposed within the first slot and the second portion of the carrier is disposed within the second slot, and the first and second portions of the carrier are disposed orthogonal to each other away from a pivot point when the door is open. 
     
     
         4 . The peristaltic pump according to  claim 2  wherein the peristaltic pump is configured such that when the door is shut, the first and second portions of the carrier are positioned adjacent to each other such that the carrier is slidable within the first and second slots as the lever handle moves. 
     
     
         5 . The peristaltic pump according to  claim 4 , wherein the second portion is configured to receive a slide occluder coupled to the tube in the occluded position when the door is in the open position, wherein the door and lever handle are configured such that when the door is in the closed position, movement of the lever handle moves the first and second portions of the carrier towards the first slot to thereby move the slide occluder into an unoccluded position. 
     
     
         6 . The peristaltic pump according to  claim 2 , further comprising a plunger configured to compress the tube in the platen when the door is closed, wherein the lever handle is operatively coupled to the plunger to lift the plunger away from the tube when the lever handle is in an open position and to actuate the plunger towards the tube when the lever handle is in a closed position. 
     
     
         7 . The peristaltic pump according to  claim 2 , wherein the second portion is configured to receive a slide occluder coupled to the tube in the occluded position when the door is in the open position. 
     
     
         8 . The peristaltic pump according to  claim 2 , wherein the housing comprises a rail and the first portion comprises a slot configured to receive the rail. 
     
     
         9 . The peristaltic pump according to  claim 2 , wherein the housing comprises a rail wherein the door comprises a tab and wherein the second portion comprises a slot configured to receive the rail and the tab. 
     
     
         10 . The peristaltic pump according to  claim 2 , wherein the lever handle comprises a rib configured to push the carrier into the first slot of the housing as the lever handle is rotated toward the housing. 
     
     
         11 . The peristaltic pump according to  claim 2 , wherein the second portion comprises a pin wherein the lever handle comprises a slotted rib wherein the peristaltic pump further comprises a lever link having a closed end and an open end wherein the closed end fits over the pin and wherein the open end holds a pin that slides in the slotted rib. 
     
     
         12 . The peristaltic pump according to  claim 2 , further comprising a first link and a second link wherein the second portion comprises a pin wherein the first link fits over the carriage pin wherein the second link is connected to the lever handle at a pivot and wherein the first link connects to the second link at a hinge. 
     
     
         13 . The peristaltic pump according to  claim 12 , wherein the first link has a first flat and the second link has a second flat wherein the first and second flats are configured to limit the relative rotation of the first and second links so that they are unable to cross a center point and are only able to fold toward each other in the same direction. 
     
     
         14 . The peristaltic pump according to  claim 1 , wherein the door comprises a leaf spring wherein the door is configured to latch onto the housing when the door is in the closed position and the lever handle is pivoted against the door such that the leaf spring compresses the door against the housing. 
     
     
         15 . The peristaltic pump according to  claim 1 , wherein the housing comprises a first body pin and a second body pin wherein the lever handle comprises a first latch hook and a second latch hook wherein the lever handle is configured to pivot between a first position in which the lever handle is against the door and a second position in which the lever handle is not against the door wherein when the lever handle is in the first position, the first body pin engages with the first latch hook and the second body pin engages with the second latch hook and wherein when the lever handle is in the second position, the first body pin does not engage with the first latch hook and the second body pin does not engage with the second latch hook.