US20140294607A1 - Liquid transporting apparatus and liquid transporting method - Google Patents
Liquid transporting apparatus and liquid transporting method Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20140294607A1 US20140294607A1 US14/242,047 US201414242047A US2014294607A1 US 20140294607 A1 US20140294607 A1 US 20140294607A1 US 201414242047 A US201414242047 A US 201414242047A US 2014294607 A1 US2014294607 A1 US 2014294607A1
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- United States
- Prior art keywords
- section
- liquid
- transporting apparatus
- cartridge
- control section
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Classifications
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- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F04—POSITIVE - DISPLACEMENT MACHINES FOR LIQUIDS; PUMPS FOR LIQUIDS OR ELASTIC FLUIDS
- F04B—POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT MACHINES FOR LIQUIDS; PUMPS
- F04B41/00—Pumping installations or systems specially adapted for elastic fluids
- F04B41/02—Pumping installations or systems specially adapted for elastic fluids having reservoirs
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- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F04—POSITIVE - DISPLACEMENT MACHINES FOR LIQUIDS; PUMPS FOR LIQUIDS OR ELASTIC FLUIDS
- F04B—POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT MACHINES FOR LIQUIDS; PUMPS
- F04B43/00—Machines, pumps, or pumping installations having flexible working members
- F04B43/0009—Special features
- F04B43/0081—Special features systems, control, safety measures
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- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F04—POSITIVE - DISPLACEMENT MACHINES FOR LIQUIDS; PUMPS FOR LIQUIDS OR ELASTIC FLUIDS
- F04B—POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT MACHINES FOR LIQUIDS; PUMPS
- F04B43/00—Machines, pumps, or pumping installations having flexible working members
- F04B43/08—Machines, pumps, or pumping installations having flexible working members having tubular flexible members
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- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F04—POSITIVE - DISPLACEMENT MACHINES FOR LIQUIDS; PUMPS FOR LIQUIDS OR ELASTIC FLUIDS
- F04B—POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT MACHINES FOR LIQUIDS; PUMPS
- F04B43/00—Machines, pumps, or pumping installations having flexible working members
- F04B43/08—Machines, pumps, or pumping installations having flexible working members having tubular flexible members
- F04B43/09—Pumps having electric drive
- F04B43/095—Piezo-electric drive
Definitions
- the present invention relates to a liquid transporting apparatus and a liquid transporting method.
- liquid transporting apparatus capable of continuously transporting a liquid.
- an insulin injecting apparatus which is used when a liquid medicine such as insulin is subcutaneously injected.
- an insulin dosing device that injects and transports the insulin using a liquid transporting apparatus into a living body through a catheter is disclosed in JP-T-2006-511263.
- a remote operation is often performed using a controller.
- radio communication or the like is performed between a control section inside the liquid transporting apparatus and the controller and there is no need for the communication unless the liquid transportation operation is required.
- the control section must be on standby so that the communication can be started any time and there is a likelihood of problem that power consumption occurs even during standby.
- An advantage of some aspects of the invention is to suppress power consumption during standby in a liquid transporting apparatus of which an operation is controlled by communication using a controller.
- a liquid transporting apparatus includes: a liquid storage section that stores a liquid; a body section that supports a driving section having at least a part of function for transporting the liquid and is connected to the liquid storage section when transporting the liquid; a body control section that controls an operation of the driving section and determines whether the body section and the liquid storage section are connected; and an external control section that communicates with the body control section and performs instruction to control an operation of the driving section. If it is determined that the body section and the liquid storage section are connected, communication between the body control section and the external control section is started.
- FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of a liquid transporting apparatus.
- FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the liquid transporting apparatus.
- FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the liquid transporting apparatus.
- FIG. 4 is a transparent top view of an inside of the liquid transporting apparatus.
- FIG. 5 is a schematic explanatory view of a driving section.
- FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view illustrating an internal structure of a body.
- FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a back surface of the body.
- FIGS. 8A and 8B are schematic views describing ON/OFF of a switch in a first embodiment.
- FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view illustrating an internal structure of a cartridge.
- FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of a back surface of a base of the cartridge.
- FIG. 11 is a perspective view in which the liquid transporting apparatus is viewed from a side of a bottom surface of an injection set.
- FIG. 12 is a schematic view illustrating an example of a controller.
- FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a using method of the liquid transporting apparatus.
- FIG. 14 is an explanatory view of a priming processing.
- FIG. 15 is a view illustrating a flow when setting of communication is performed.
- FIGS. 16A and 16B are schematic views describing ON/OFF of a communication circuit in a modification example of the first embodiment.
- FIG. 17 is a perspective view of a back surface of a body in a second embodiment.
- FIGS. 18A and 18B are views describing a structure of a pressure sensitive sensor.
- FIGS. 19A and 19B are views describing a connection detection method using the pressure sensitive sensor.
- FIG. 20 is a view describing a state of an electrode when measuring a pressure by the pressure sensitive sensor.
- a liquid transporting apparatus includes: a liquid storage section that stores a liquid; a body section that supports a driving section having at least a part of function for transporting the liquid and is connected to the liquid storage section when transporting the liquid; a body control section that controls an operation of the driving section and determines whether the body section and the liquid storage section are connected; and an external control section that communicates with the body control section and performs instruction to control an operation of the driving section. If it is determined that the body section and the liquid storage section are connected, communication between the body control section and the external control section is started.
- the liquid transporting apparatus with this configuration, it is possible to suppress power consumption during standby if the operation is controlled by the communication using the external controller.
- the body section includes a communication circuit that performs communication with the external control section, the communication circuit has a contact point that is in a closed state by coming into contact with a contact section that is provided in the liquid storage section, and the body control section determines that the body section and the liquid storage section are connected if the contact point is in the closed state.
- the liquid transporting apparatus at first, since there is no communication between the body section and the external control section during standby, the power consumption is small. Then, if it is determined that the liquid storage section and the body section are connected from a conduction state of the communication circuit, the body section and the external control section are in a state in which communication is possible. That is, since the communication between the body section and the external control section starts immediately before the liquid transporting operation is executed, it is possible to suppress the wasteful standby power consumption.
- a pressure detection section that measures the pressure is provided in the body section, and the body control section measures an amount of pressure when the pressure detection section is pressed by a pressing section that is provided in the liquid storage section, and determines that the body section and the liquid storage section are connected if the pressure that is measured has a predetermined amount or more.
- the liquid transporting apparatus at first, since there is no communication between the body section and the external control section, the power consumption is small in the state of the communication standby. Then, if it is determined that the body section and the liquid storage section are connected from a result of measurement of the pressure when the body section and the liquid storage section are connected, the body section and the external control section are in a state of being capable of communicating. That is, since the communication between the body section and the external control section starts immediately before the liquid transporting operation is executed, it is possible to suppress the wasteful standby power consumption.
- the liquid transporting apparatus it is preferable that information including a type and a storage amount of the liquid which is stored in the liquid storage section is recorded in the liquid storage section, and the information is acquired by the external control section.
- the liquid transporting apparatus with this configuration, if the liquid is a medicine, it is possible to safely manage quality and dose of the medicine, based on the information.
- the communication between the external control section and the body control section is performed using radio, and the setting of connection is performed between the external control section and the body control section before the communication is started.
- the body control section is suppressed from being erroneously connected to other external control sections and it is possible to perform safely communication between the body control section and the external control section.
- a liquid transporting method includes: determining whether a liquid storage section that stores a liquid and a body section that supports a driving section having at least a part of function for transporting the liquid and is connected to the liquid storage section when the liquid is transported are in a state of being connected; starting the communication to the external control section if it is determined that the body section and the liquid storage section are connected; and transporting the liquid by an instruction from the external control section.
- FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of a liquid transporting apparatus 1 .
- FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the liquid transporting apparatus 1 . As illustrated in the views, description is given in which a side (a side of a living body) where the liquid transporting apparatus 1 adhere is referred to as “down” and the side opposite the living body is referred to as “up.”
- the liquid transporting apparatus 1 is an apparatus for transporting a liquid.
- the liquid transporting apparatus 1 includes a body 10 , a cartridge 20 and an injection set 30 . Further, a controller 50 (see FIG. 12 ) for remotely controlling the liquid transporting apparatus 1 from outside is provided.
- the body 10 , the cartridge 20 and the injection set 30 can be separated from each other, but as illustrated in FIG. 1 , they are integrally assembled when being used.
- the liquid transporting apparatus 1 is appropriately used to periodically inject liquid (for example, insulin) stored in the cartridge 20 with the injection set 30 adhering to the living body. If the liquid (for example, the insulin) stored in the cartridge 20 runs out, the cartridge 20 is replaced. Further, the injection set 30 is generally replaced at once in every three day. Meanwhile, the body 10 may be continuously used.
- liquid for example, insulin
- FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the liquid transporting apparatus 1 .
- FIG. 4 is a transparent top view of an inside of the liquid transporting apparatus 1 .
- a configuration of a driving section 5 is also illustrated.
- FIG. 5 is a schematic explanatory view of the driving section 5 .
- the driving section 5 has a function as a pump for transporting the liquid stored in the cartridge 20 .
- the driving section 5 of the embodiment includes a cam 11 and a driving mechanism 12 , and transports the liquid by sequentially squeezing a tube 21 by driving a plurality of fingers 22 .
- the tube 21 is a liquid transporting tube for transporting the liquid.
- An upstream side (an upstream side based on a transportation direction of the liquid) of the tube 21 communicates with a storage section 26 of the liquid of the cartridge 20 .
- the tube 21 has elasticity enough to be closed when being pressed by the finger 22 and to be returned to the original shape when releasing a force from the finger 22 .
- the tube 21 is partially disposed in a circular arc shape along an inner surface of a tube guide wall 251 A of the cartridge 20 .
- the portion of the tube 21 in the circular arc shape is disposed between the inner surface of the tube guide wall 251 A and the plurality of fingers 22 .
- a center of a circle arc of the tube 21 is coincident with a rotation center of the cam 11 .
- the finger 22 is a member for closing the tube 21 .
- the finger 22 is operated in a driven basis by receiving a force from the cam 11 .
- the finger 22 has a rod-shaped shaft section and a collar-shaped pressing section, and is in a T-shape.
- the rod-shaped shaft section comes into contact with the cam 11 and the collar-shaped pressing section comes into contact with the tube 21 .
- the finger 22 is supported so as to be movable along an axial direction.
- the plurality of fingers 22 are radially disposed at an equal interval from the rotation center of the cam 11 .
- the plurality of fingers 22 are disposed between the cam 11 and the tube 21 .
- seven fingers 22 are provided.
- the cam 11 has protrusion sections at four positions of an outer periphery thereof.
- the plurality of fingers 22 are disposed on the outer periphery of the cam 11 and the tube 21 is disposed outside the fingers 22 .
- the tube 21 is closed when pressing the fingers 22 by the protrusion sections of the cam 11 . If the finger 22 is disengaged from the protrusion section, the tube 21 returns to the original shape by an elastic force of the tube 21 . If the cam 11 rotates, seven fingers 22 are pressed in order from the protrusion section and then the tube 21 closes in order from the upstream side in the transportation direction. Therefore, the tube 21 performs writhing and the liquid is squeezed and transported by the tube 21 .
- the protrusion sections of the cam 11 are formed so that at least one and preferably two fingers 22 close the tube 21 .
- the driving mechanism 12 is a mechanism for driving the cam 11 to rotate.
- the driving mechanism 12 has a piezoelectric motor 121 , a rotor 122 and a reduction transmission device 123 (see FIG. 4 ).
- the piezoelectric motor 121 is a motor for rotating the rotor 122 by using vibration of a piezoelectric element.
- the piezoelectric motor 121 vibrates a vibration body by applying a drive signal to the piezoelectric element that adheres to both surfaces of a rectangular vibration body.
- An end section of the vibration body comes into contact with the rotor 122 and the end section vibrates while drawing a predetermined orbit such as an elliptic orbit or an 8-shaped orbit, if the vibration body vibrates.
- the end section of the vibration body comes into contact with the rotor 122 in a part of the vibration orbit and then the rotor 122 is driven to rotate.
- the piezoelectric motor 121 is biased toward the rotor 122 by a pair of springs so that the end section of the vibration body comes into contact with the rotor 122 .
- the rotor 122 is a driven body that is rotated by the piezoelectric motor 121 .
- a rotor pinion that configures a part of the reduction transmission device 123 is formed in the rotor 122 .
- the reduction transmission device 123 is a device that transmits the rotation of the rotor 122 to the cam 11 with a predetermined reduction ratio.
- the reduction transmission device 123 is configured of a rotor pinion, a transmission wheel and a cam gear.
- the rotor pinion is a small gear which is integrally attached to the rotor 122 .
- the transmission wheel has a large gear that meshes with the rotor pinion and a pinion that meshes with the cam gear, and has a function for transmitting a rotational force of the rotor 122 to the cam 11 .
- the cam gear is integrally attached to the cam 11 and is rotatably supported with the cam 11 .
- FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a configuration of an inside of the body 10 .
- FIG. 7 is a perspective view of aback surface of the body 10 .
- the configuration of the body 10 is described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 and the drawings.
- the body 10 has a body base 13 and a body case 14 . Then, the driving mechanism 12 described above and a control substrate 15 are maintained on the body base 13 . Further, a bearing 13 A is provided in the body base 13 . A rotation shaft of the cam 11 passes through the body base 13 and the bearing 13 A rotatably supports the rotation shaft of the cam 11 with respect to the body base 13 .
- the cam 11 is integrally formed with the cam gear configuring the reduction transmission device 123 and the cam gear is disposed inside the body 10 by being covered by the body case 14 , and the cam 11 is exposed from the body 10 . If the body 10 and the cartridge 20 are combined together, the cam 11 which is exposed from the body 10 meshes with the end section of the finger 22 of the cartridge 20 .
- the body case 14 is a member configuring an exterior of the liquid transporting apparatus 1 .
- the driving mechanism 12 (the piezoelectric motor 121 , the rotor 122 and the reduction transmission device 123 ) or the control substrate 15 provided in the body base 13 is covered and protected by the body case 14 .
- a function button 145 is provided in the body case 14 .
- the function button 145 is a button which can set a plurality of functions and can realize any function which is set when the button is pressed.
- the function button 145 of the embodiment has functions which performs setting of the communication or functions which perform switching of a plurality of control patterns which are set in the control substrate 15 described below. Moreover, setting of the functions of the function button 145 is done using the controller 50 .
- the control substrate 15 is a body control section that controls an operation of the driving section 5 .
- the body control section in the embodiment has functions which determines whether the body 10 and the cartridge 20 are correctly connected, and which starts the communication between the liquid transporting apparatus 1 (the body 10 ) and the controller 50 .
- a storage section (a memory) storing a plurality of control patterns (control programs) for controlling the piezoelectric motor 121 or the like is provided in the control substrate 15 . Then, the cam 11 is driven, based on one of the plurality of control patterns stored in the storage section, and writhing of the tube 21 can be controlled by the finger 22 . Moreover, the control patterns are set by using the controller 50 .
- the body 10 has a hook hanger 16 , a switch 17 , a battery storage section 18 and a receiving section (not illustrated).
- the hook hanger 16 is a member for fixing the cartridge 20 and the body 10 being connected.
- a fixed hook 234 of the cartridge 20 described below is caught on the hook hanger 16 and the body 10 is fixed to the cartridge 20 .
- the battery storage section 18 stores a battery 19 that is a power supply of the liquid transporting apparatus 1 (see FIG. 9 ).
- the receiving section receives a signal or a radio wave that is transmitted from the controller 50 described below.
- the switch 17 is a protrusion member that protrudes downward from a back surface (a lower surface side) of the body 10 (the body base 13 ) and corresponds to a push-button switch turning ON/OFF of a communication circuit (not illustrated in FIG. 7 ) incorporated inside the body base 13 .
- the switch 17 is movable so as to be pushed into the body base 13 (that is, in an upper direction of the body 10 ).
- the communication circuit In a state where the switch 17 protrudes from the body base 13 , the communication circuit is in an open state (OFF state) and a current does not flowed.
- the switch 17 is pushed into the body base 13 , the communication circuit is in a closed state (ON state) and the current flows, and then the communication circuit is capable of communicating with the controller 50 .
- FIGS. 8A and 8B are schematic views describing ON/OFF of the switch 17 in the first embodiment.
- FIG. 8A when the body 10 and the cartridge 20 are not connected to each other, the switch 17 is in a state of protruding from the side of the lower surface of the body 10 and a contact point of the communication circuit provided inside the body 10 is open and then the circuit is in the OFF state.
- FIG. 8A when the body 10 and the cartridge 20 are not connected to each other, the switch 17 is in a state of protruding from the side of the lower surface of the body 10 and a contact point of the communication circuit provided inside the body 10 is open and then the circuit is in the OFF state.
- FIG. 8A when the body 10 and the cartridge 20 are not connected to each other, the switch 17 is in a state of protruding from the side of the lower surface of the body 10 and a contact point of the communication circuit provided inside the body 10 is open and then the circuit is in the OFF state.
- FIG. 8A when the body 10 and the cartridge
- FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a configuration of an inside of the cartridge 20 .
- FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of aback surface of the cartridge 20 .
- a configuration of the cartridge 20 is described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5 and the drawings.
- the cartridge 20 has a cartridge base 23 and a base receiver 24 .
- a tube unit 25 is provided on an upper side of the cartridge base 23 .
- the tube unit 25 has the tube 21 and the plurality of fingers 22 which are described above, a unit base 251 and a unit cover 252 .
- the tube guide wall 251 A is formed in the unit base 251 and the tube 21 is disposed inside the unit base 251 in a circular arc shape. Further, the unit base 251 movably supports the fingers 22 in the axial direction.
- the tube 21 and the fingers 22 inside the unit base 251 are covered by the unit cover 252 .
- the tube unit 25 is in a planar cylindrical shape and the cam 11 exposed from the body 10 is inserted into a cavity of a center of the tube unit 25 . Therefore, the cam 11 on the side of the body 10 meshes with the fingers 22 on the side of the cartridge 20 .
- a supply-side joint 231 and a discharge-side joint 232 are provided in the cartridge base 23 . End sections of the tube 21 inside the tube unit 25 are connected to the supply-side joint 231 and the discharge-side joint 232 , respectively. If the plurality of fingers 22 squeeze the tube 21 in order, the liquid is supplied from the supply-side joint 231 to the tube 21 and the liquid is discharged from the discharge-side joint 232 .
- a connection needle 233 communicates with the discharge-side joint 232 and the liquid discharged from the discharge-side joint 232 is supplied to the side of the injection set 30 through the connection needle 233 .
- the fixed hook 234 is formed in the cartridge base 23 .
- the fixed hook 234 is caught on the hook hanger 16 of the body 10 and fixes the body 10 to the cartridge 20 .
- the contact plate 236 that is a contact section coming into contact with the leading end section of the switch 17 when connecting with the body 10 is provided on the upper surface of the cartridge base 23 .
- the switch 17 is pressed to the upper side (the side of the body 10 ) by coming into contact with the contact plate 236 (see FIGS. 8A and 8B ).
- a reservoir film 28 is interposed between the cartridge base 23 and the base receiver 24 . Circumference of the reservoir film 28 comes into close contact with a bottom surface of the cartridge base 23 .
- the storage section 26 is formed between the cartridge base 23 and the reservoir film 28 , and the liquid (for example, the insulin) is stored in the storage section 26 .
- the storage section 26 communicates with the supply-side joint 231 and the liquid stored in the storage section 26 is supplied to the tube 21 through the supply-side joint 231 .
- the storage section 26 is configured on the lower side of the cartridge base 23 . Since the tube 21 and the fingers 22 configuring the driving section 5 are disposed on the upper side of the cartridge base 23 , the driving section 5 and the storage section 26 are disposed up and down. Therefore, miniaturization of the liquid transporting apparatus 1 is achieved. Further, the storage section 26 is disposed further to the side of the living body than the driving section 5 . Therefore, the liquid stored in the storage section 26 is likely to maintain the temperature thereof with the temperature of the living body and a difference between the temperature of the liquid and the temperature of the living body is suppressed.
- the cartridge 20 is detached from the liquid transporting apparatus 1 and is replaced with new cartridge 20 .
- the liquid can be injected from outside into the storage section 26 through a cartridge septum 27 using an injection needle.
- the cartridge septum 27 is configured of a material (for example, rubber, silicon or the like) that closes a hole if the injection needle is pulled out.
- FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the liquid transporting apparatus 1 viewed from a side of the bottom surface of the injection set 30 .
- a configuration of the injection set 30 is described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5 and the drawing.
- the injection set 30 has a soft needle 31 , an introduction needle folder 32 , a port base 33 , an injection set base 34 and an adhesive pad 35 .
- the soft needle 31 is a tube for injecting the liquid into the living body and has a function of a catheter.
- the soft needle 31 is configured of a soft material such as fluorine resin. An end of the soft needle 31 is fixed to the port base 33 .
- the introduction needle folder 32 is a member for holding an introduction needle 32 A. An end of the introduction needle 32 A is fixed to the introduction needle folder 32 .
- the introduction needle 32 A is a needle made of a metal for inserting the soft needle 31 which is soft into the living body.
- the introduction needle 32 A is a hollow tubular needle which is long and narrow, and has a transverse hole (not illustrated). If the liquid is supplied from the transverse hole of the introduction needle 32 A, the liquid is discharged from a leading end of the introduction needle 32 A. Therefore, before the soft needle 31 punctures the living body, priming processing which fills the inside a flow path of the liquid transporting apparatus 1 with the liquid can be performed.
- the introduction needle folder 32 is attached to the port base 33 , the introduction needle 32 A is inserted into the soft needle 31 and then a needle tip is exposed from the lower side of the soft needle 31 .
- the introduction needle folder 32 is withdrawn (removed) from the port base 33 together with the introduction needle 32 A. Since the introduction needle 32 A which is hard does not need to be continuously placed in the living body, a load on the living body is small. Moreover, although the soft needle 31 is continuously placed on the living body, the soft needle 31 is soft, and thus, the load on the living body is small.
- the port base 33 is a member that supplies the liquid supplied from the connection needle 233 of the cartridge 20 to the soft needle 31 .
- the port base 33 has a connection needle septum 33 A and an introduction needle septum 33 B.
- the connection needle septum 33 A and the introduction needle septum 33 B are configured of a material (for example, rubber, silicon or the like) that closes the hole if the needle is pulled out.
- the connection needle 233 of the cartridge 20 is inserted into the connection needle septum 33 A and the liquid is supplied from the side of the cartridge 20 to the side of the injection set 30 through the connection needle 233 over the connection needle septum 33 A.
- connection needle 233 of the cartridge 20 is pulled out from the injection set 30 to replace the cartridge 20 , the hole of the connection needle septum 33 A that is generated by the connection needle 233 is closed naturally.
- the introduction needle 32 A is inserted into the introduction needle septum 33 B and if the introduction needle 32 A is pulled out, the hole of the introduction needle septum 33 B that is generated by the introduction needle 32 A is closed naturally.
- the liquid inside the injection set 30 is prevented from leaking to the outside or a body liquid of the living body is prevented from flowing back to the side of the injection set 30 by the connection needle septum 33 A and the introduction needle septum 33 B.
- a region (a region except the introduction septum) in which the introduction needle 32 A is present inside the port base 33 is a flow path of the liquid after the introduction needle 32 A is pulled out.
- the injection set base 34 is a planar member fixed to the port base 33 .
- the injection set base 34 has a fixing section 34 A for fixing the base receiver 24 .
- the adhesive pad 35 is attached to the bottom surface of the injection set base 34 .
- the adhesive pad 35 is an adhesive pad for bonding the injection set 30 to the living body or the like.
- the driving section 5 and the storage section 26 are vertically disposed and reduction of the size of the liquid transporting apparatus 1 is achieved. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the size of the adhesive pad 35 .
- FIG. 12 is a schematic view illustrating an example of the controller 50 .
- the controller 50 is an external control section that makes the liquid transporting apparatus 1 perform the liquid transportation operation or sets the functions and, for example, is capable of remotely operating the liquid transporting apparatus 1 using wireless communication such as “Bluetooth” (registered trademark) or “ZigBee” (registered trademark), or infrared beams.
- the controller 50 has operation buttons 51 and a display section 52 , a reading section and a storage section (both not illustrated).
- the user can start/stop the liquid transportation operation or set the control patterns (programs) defining the liquid transport amount per unit time or the like by operating the operation buttons 51 . Further, the operation buttons 51 are also used in start or setting of the communication with the body 10 .
- Information (for example, information indicating the liquid transport amount) regarding the liquid transportation operation is displayed on the display section 52 and the user can perform various types of setting while recognizing the information which is displayed. A present time, an alarm concerning the liquid transportation operation or the like is also displayed on the display section 52 .
- controller 50 it is possible to use commercially available smartphone as the controller 50 .
- smartphone when performing the communication for controlling the liquid transporting apparatus 1 , occurrence of malfunction or the like is suppressed by pairing (described below) with the body 10 .
- FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a using method of the liquid transporting apparatus 1 .
- the user prepares a kit of the liquid transporting apparatus 1 (S 001 ).
- the body 10 , the cartridge 20 , the injection set 30 or the like for configuring the liquid transporting apparatus 1 is included in the kit.
- the user assembles the liquid transporting apparatus 1 by assembling the body 10 , the cartridge 20 and the injection set 30 , and then performs setting of starting for the liquid transportation operation (S 002 ).
- the user makes the cam 11 on the side of the body 10 mesh with the finger 22 on the side of the cartridge 20 by assembling the body 10 and the cartridge 20 .
- the communication circuit is turned to ON state and is in a state of being capable of communicating with the controller 50 according to the body 10 and the cartridge 20 being connected to each other. Further, the user inserts the connection needle 233 of the cartridge 20 into the connection needle septum 33 A of the injection set 30 and makes the liquid be capable of being supplied from the side of the cartridge 20 to the side of the injection set 30 .
- FIG. 14 is an explanatory view of the priming processing.
- the priming processing is a processing that fills the inside the flow path of the liquid transporting apparatus 1 with the liquid by driving the driving section 5 of the liquid transporting apparatus 1 . Gas inside the flow path of the liquid transporting apparatus 1 is discharged from the introduction needle 32 A by the priming processing. Further, the tube 21 which is vacant is filled with the liquid by the priming processing. The user drives the driving section 5 of the liquid transporting apparatus 1 until the liquid is discharged from the leading end of the introduction needle 32 A.
- the user After the priming processing, the user makes the introduction needle 32 A and the soft needle 31 puncture perpendicularly the living body, after that, withdraws the introduction needle folder 32 from the port base 33 , and removes the introduction needle 32 A from the soft needle 31 (S 004 ). Since there is the introduction needle septum 33 B, even if the introduction needle 32 A is removed, the hole of the introduction needle septum 33 B that is generated by the introduction needle 32 A is closed naturally. At this time, the user peels a protective sheet of the adhesive pad 35 of the injection set 30 and the liquid transporting apparatus 1 may adhere to the living body by attaching the adhesive pad 35 to the skin of the living body.
- the user performs pre-operation of the driving section 5 so that the liquid for a capacity of a region (a region except the introduction septum) in which the introduction needle 32 A is present is transported (S 005 ). Therefore, it is possible to fill a space with the liquid at which the introduction needle 32 A is present.
- the user makes the liquid transporting apparatus 1 perform a liquid transport processing (S 006 ).
- the cam 11 is rotated by driving the piezoelectric motor 121 of the driving mechanism 12 , seven fingers 22 are pressed in order by the protrusion sections of the cam 11 and the tube 21 is closed in order from the upstream side in the transportation direction, and then the liquid is transported by writhing of the tube 21 .
- the rotation amount of the cam 11 is controlled so that the liquid of a predetermined amount is transported in a predetermined time.
- the operation of the liquid transporting apparatus 1 is controlled by communicating with the controller 50 .
- the liquid transporting apparatus 1 is in a state of being capable of communicating at a necessary timing by performing the setting of the communication at an appropriate time before the liquid transportation operation is practically performed. Therefore, wasteful standby power consumption is suppressed.
- the liquid transporting apparatus 1 is also used as the insulin injection device, high accuracy of the liquid transportation operation is required. Therefore, in order to suppress occurrence of a malfunction, the setting of the communication with the controller 50 is important.
- FIG. 15 is a view illustrating a flow when the setting of the communication is performed.
- the specific information of the cartridge 20 used in the liquid transportation operation is obtained by using the controller 50 (S 101 ).
- the specific information of the cartridge 20 is a type and a storage amount of a liquid that is stored in the storage section 26 of the cartridge 20 , a manufacturing number of the cartridge and the like.
- the information is stored as a bar code or a two-dimension code (for example, “QR code” (registered trademark)) associated with an ID of the cartridge.
- QR code registered trademark
- the user obtains the specific information of the cartridge 20 by reading the two-dimension code or the like given to the cartridge 20 using the reading section of the controller 50 , and the specific information is temporarily stored in the storage section of the controller 50 .
- the liquid transporting apparatus 1 as the insulin injection device or the like, it is also possible to perform safety management of quality or dosage of the medicine, based on the information.
- pairing information for communication with one to one between the body 10 connected to the cartridge 20 and the controller 50 is also included in the specific information of the cartridge. Pairing is to perform setting of connection between two devices communicating using radio or the like. For example, if “Bluetooth” described above is used as means for communication, it is necessary to make the controller 50 and the body 10 be accessible to each other by the Bluetooth device. At this time, the setting of the connection of two devices is performed, based on the pairing information given to the cartridge 20 .
- the correction coefficient is a coefficient for correcting the liquid transport amount per unit time by the liquid transporting apparatus 1 .
- writhing of the tube 21 is performed by the plurality of fingers 22 thereby performing the transportation of the liquid.
- quality of the tube 21 is not necessarily uniform. For example, a slight difference occurs in a wall thickness (a thickness of a wall surface) or elasticity of the tube 21 when manufacturing the tube 21 and variation in quality may occur. If such variation occurs in the tube 21 , difference occurs in timing when the tube 21 that is squeezed returns to the original shape or in the writhing property and thus, an error may occur in the liquid transport amount of the cartridge 20 .
- the length of the finger 22 on the squeezing side of the tube 21 is not uniform, there is a concern that an error in the liquid transport amount may also occur. Then, change in the liquid transport amount when replacing the cartridge 20 is suppressed by setting the correction coefficient for the cartridge 20 individually. Moreover, the correction coefficient is determined when quality test or the like is performed in a manufacturing processing of the cartridge 20 .
- connection between the cartridge 20 and the body 10 is performed and it is determined whether or not both are properly connected (S 102 ).
- the connection of the cartridge 20 and the body 10 is performed as described in FIGS. 2 and 9 , and the switch 17 described above is turned to ON and the current flows on the communication circuit by connecting the both members.
- the control substrate 15 determines that the cartridge 20 and the body 10 are correctly connected when communication circuit is in a conduction state and if it is determined that the connection is achieved, the body 10 is in a state of being capable of communicating.
- the pairing of the body 10 (the cartridge 20 ) and the controller 50 is performed (S 103 ).
- the body 10 is in a state of being capable of pairing by continuously pressing (long press) the function button 145 provided in the body 10 in a predetermined time (for example, three seconds).
- the button is long pressed to prevent occurrence of malfunction in which the pairing is immediately started when the button is accidentally touched by mistake.
- the pairing may be started by other methods.
- the pairing processing is performed after searching a communication target device (in this case, the body 10 ) by operating the operation buttons 51 of the controller 50 and finding the body 10 .
- the pairing processing the setting of the connection of the body 10 connected to the cartridge 20 , and the controller 50 is performed, based on the pairing information obtained from the cartridge 20 , and the state of being capable of communicating is made between two devices by “the Bluetooth” or the like. Therefore, safe communication can be performed between the controller 50 and the body 10 .
- a personal identification number or a password may be input to the controller 50 during the pairing.
- the liquid transporting apparatus 1 is remote controlled using radio or the like by the controller 50 .
- control system becomes confused and then the malfunction may occur.
- the liquid transporting apparatus 1 is used as the insulin injection device, since personal information such as the insulin injection amount is handled, it is preferable to ensure security by setting the personal identification number described above.
- the liquid transportation operation may be started by the liquid transporting apparatus 1 using the controller 50 and it is possible to change the liquid transport amount.
- the liquid transporting apparatus 1 is used as the insulin injection device, it is possible to continuously inject the insulin of a certain amount by normal liquid transportation operation (such an injecting method is referred to as “a basal”).
- a basal normal liquid transportation operation
- a blood glucose level temporarily increases when the user takes a meal
- Adjustment of the transport amount is performed by controlling the operation of the driving section 5 , based on a predetermined control pattern among a plurality of control patterns stored in the control substrate 15 .
- an injection speed of 1 U/h is set as the control pattern for the basal.
- the injection amount of 20 U is set as the control pattern for the bolus. Then, the insulin injection is normally performed at the injection speed of 1 U/h, based on the control pattern for the basal. Meanwhile, the control pattern for the bolus is used and the insulin of 20 U is injected within 24 hours of taking a meal.
- controller 50 is also used when storing the control pattern during the liquid transportation operation in the control substrate 15 of the body 10 .
- the power consumption in the communication standby state is small. Then, if it is determined that the cartridge 20 that is a liquid storage section, and the body 10 are connected, the body 10 and the controller 50 are in a state of being capable of communicating. That is, communication between the body 10 and the controller 50 starts immediately before executing the liquid transportation operation. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the wasteful standby power consumption.
- ON/OFF of communication circuit is performed using the switch 17 that is a mechanical contact point (see FIGS. 8A and 8B ), ON/OFF of the communication circuit may be performed by other means.
- the communication circuit can be ON/OFF using terminals 172 instead of the switch 17 .
- FIGS. 16A and 16B are schematic views describing ON/OFF of the communication circuit in a modification example.
- a basic configuration of a liquid transporting apparatus 1 of the modification example is substantially the same as that of the first embodiment, but the terminals 172 are provided instead of the switch 17 of the body 10 and a metal plate 237 having conductivity is provided as the contact section instead of the contact plate 236 of the cartridge 20 .
- the terminals 172 are a set of contact points provided on the side of the lower surface of the body 10 and, as illustrated in FIG. 16A , when the body 10 and the cartridge 20 are not connected to each other, the communication circuit is in a state of being open (OFF). Then, as illustrated in FIG.
- a connection state between a body 10 and a cartridge 20 is determined by detecting the pressure when the cartridge 20 are set to the body 10 by a pressure sensitive sensor and this is used as a trigger when starting the communication between the body 10 and a controller 50 .
- a configuration of a liquid transporting apparatus 1 in the second embodiment is substantially the same as that of the first embodiment, but a pressure sensitive sensor 71 is provided on a back surface of the body 10 instead of the switch 17 or the terminal 172 of the first embodiment. Similarly, a pressing section 72 is provided on an upper surface of the cartridge 20 instead of the contact plate 236 or the metal plate 237 of the first embodiment. The pressure sensitive sensor 71 and the pressing section 72 have a positional relationship of facing each other when the body 10 and the cartridge 20 are connected.
- FIG. 17 is a perspective view of the back surface of the body 10 in the second embodiment.
- FIGS. 18A and 18B are views describing a structure of the pressure sensitive sensor 71 .
- FIGS. 19A and 19B are views describing a connection detection method using the pressure sensitive sensor.
- FIG. 20 is a view describing a state of an electrode when measuring a pressure by the pressure sensitive sensor 71 .
- the plate-shaped pressure sensitive sensor 71 is provided on the back surface side of the body 10 .
- the pressure sensitive sensor is a pressure detection section that is capable of detecting the amount of pressure applied on the sensor portion by using that a resistance value is reduced when the pressure is applied to the sensor section.
- the connection state of the cartridge 20 and the body 10 is determined by measuring the amount of pressure when the pressing section 72 that is provided in the cartridge 20 presses the pressure sensitive sensor 71 that is provided in the body 10 .
- the pressure sensitive sensor 71 has an electrode sheet 711 , a spacer 712 and a conductive sheet 713 in a vertical direction.
- the pressure that is applied to the surface side of the pressure sensitive sensor 71 (the electrode sheet 711 ) is measured when measuring the pressure.
- the electrode sheet 711 is a film-shaped member of which the back surface has an electrode.
- electrodes 711 a and electrodes 711 b are finely spread so there is no contact between them. That is, in this state, the electrodes 711 a and the electrodes 711 b are not conductive.
- the spacer 712 is a member that is provided between the electrode sheet 711 and the conductive sheet 713 , and is for isolating the electrodes 711 a and the electrode 711 bs so there is no contact between them.
- the conductive sheet 713 is a sheet-shaped member that is provided to face the electrodes 711 a and the electrodes 711 b of the electrode sheet 711 , and has conductivity.
- the electrodes 711 a and the electrodes 711 b are connected respectively, to a pressure-sensitive determination section 75 and it is possible to detect a resistance value of the pressure sensitive sensor 71 by the pressure-sensitive determination section 75 . The pressure is measured, based on the resistance value that is detected, and the determination of the connection state of the cartridge 20 and the body 10 is performed.
- the pressure-sensitive determination section 75 is provided in a control substrate 15 (a body control section).
- FIG. 19A illustrates a state before the cartridge 20 and the body 10 are connected.
- the electrode 711 a and the electrode 711 b are not conductive.
- a great resistance value is detected in the pressure-sensitive determination section 75 .
- FIG. 19B illustrates a state that the cartridge 20 and the body 10 are connected. Both members are connected and then the pressing section 72 that is provided in the cartridge 20 presses the pressure sensitive sensor 71 from the surface side to the back surface side (from the lower side to the upper side).
- the electrode sheet 711 is pressed against the conductive sheet 713 and a region (a contact region) coming into contact with the conductive sheet 713 is formed on a surface (the back surface side) of the electrode sheet 711 on which the electrodes is provided.
- a region illustrated in a hatched section of FIG. 20 is the contact region that is formed on the electrode sheet 711 . Since the electrode 711 a and the electrode 711 b are conductive through the conductive sheet 713 in the contact region, the resistance value that is detected by the pressure-sensitive determination section 75 is smaller than that of the non-contact state (the state of FIGS. 18A and 18B ).
- the resistance value that is detected by the pressure-sensitive determination section 75 is small. Conversely, if the cartridge 20 and the body 10 are not correctly connected, the resistance value that is detected by the pressure-sensitive determination section 75 is great. Therefore, if the resistance value that is detected is a predetermined threshold or less, the pressure-sensitive determination section 75 determines that the connection state of the cartridge 20 and the body 10 is normal, and if the resistance value that is detected is greater than a predetermined threshold, the pressure-sensitive determination section 75 determines that the connection state of the cartridge 20 and the body 10 is not normal. In other words, if the pressure when the pressure sensitive sensor 71 is pressed by the pressing section 72 is a predetermined amount or more, it is determined that the connection state of the cartridge 20 and the body 10 is normal.
- a setting position of the pressure sensitive sensor 71 is not limited to the example described above.
- the pressure sensitive sensor may be provided in a position facing a tube 21 and when the cartridge 20 and the body 10 are connected, the pressure to the pressure sensitive sensor by the tube 21 may be detected.
- the structure of the sensor itself is also not limited to the example described above and it may be a method for detecting the pressure in a manner other than using the change in the resistance value.
- a setting of the communication in the second embodiment is basically the same as that of the first embodiment. That is, the setting of the communication is performed according to the flow described in FIG. 15 .
- the determination that the cartridge 20 and the body 10 are correctly connected is performed by the pressure determination using the pressure sensitive sensor.
- the pressure is detected that is applied to the body 10 by the cartridge 20 as the resistance value, and determines the connection state, based on the resistance value that is detected. If it is determined that the connection state of the cartridge 20 and the body 10 is normal, the body control section causes the communication circuit to be ON and to be a state of being capable of communicating with the controller 50 . Thereafter, pairing of the body 10 between the controller 50 is performed (S 103 ) and the communication starts practically (S 104 ).
- the liquid transporting apparatus 1 of the second embodiment since the communication with the controller 50 is not started before the body 10 and the cartridge 20 are correctly connected, it is possible to reduce the power consumption during the communication standby. Then, the body 10 and the controller 50 are in a state being capable of communicating for the first time in a stage in which it is determined that the connection state of the both members is normal from a result of measurement of the pressure when the body 10 and the cartridge 20 are connected.
Abstract
An operation of a liquid transporting apparatus is controlled by communication using a controller, and the power consumption during communication standby is reduced. The liquid transporting apparatus includes a liquid storage section that stores a liquid; a body section that is connected to the liquid storage section when transporting the liquid; a body control section that controls an operation of a driving section having at least a part of function for transporting the liquid. The body control section determines whether the body section and the liquid storage section are connected. If it is determined that the body section and the liquid storage section are connected, the communication between the body control section and an external control section that performs instruction to control the operation of the driving section starts.
Description
- 1. Technical Field
- The present invention relates to a liquid transporting apparatus and a liquid transporting method.
- 2. Related Art
- There is a liquid transporting apparatus capable of continuously transporting a liquid. As a practical example of the liquid transporting apparatus, an insulin injecting apparatus is known which is used when a liquid medicine such as insulin is subcutaneously injected. For example, an insulin dosing device that injects and transports the insulin using a liquid transporting apparatus into a living body through a catheter is disclosed in JP-T-2006-511263.
- When controlling a liquid transportation operation by the liquid transporting apparatus, a remote operation is often performed using a controller. At this time, radio communication or the like is performed between a control section inside the liquid transporting apparatus and the controller and there is no need for the communication unless the liquid transportation operation is required. Regardless, the control section must be on standby so that the communication can be started any time and there is a likelihood of problem that power consumption occurs even during standby.
- An advantage of some aspects of the invention is to suppress power consumption during standby in a liquid transporting apparatus of which an operation is controlled by communication using a controller.
- A liquid transporting apparatus according to an aspect of the invention includes: a liquid storage section that stores a liquid; a body section that supports a driving section having at least a part of function for transporting the liquid and is connected to the liquid storage section when transporting the liquid; a body control section that controls an operation of the driving section and determines whether the body section and the liquid storage section are connected; and an external control section that communicates with the body control section and performs instruction to control an operation of the driving section. If it is determined that the body section and the liquid storage section are connected, communication between the body control section and the external control section is started.
- Other features of the invention will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings.
- The invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like numbers reference like elements.
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FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of a liquid transporting apparatus. -
FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the liquid transporting apparatus. -
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the liquid transporting apparatus. -
FIG. 4 is a transparent top view of an inside of the liquid transporting apparatus. -
FIG. 5 is a schematic explanatory view of a driving section. -
FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view illustrating an internal structure of a body. -
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a back surface of the body. -
FIGS. 8A and 8B are schematic views describing ON/OFF of a switch in a first embodiment. -
FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view illustrating an internal structure of a cartridge. -
FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of a back surface of a base of the cartridge. -
FIG. 11 is a perspective view in which the liquid transporting apparatus is viewed from a side of a bottom surface of an injection set. -
FIG. 12 is a schematic view illustrating an example of a controller. -
FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a using method of the liquid transporting apparatus. -
FIG. 14 is an explanatory view of a priming processing. -
FIG. 15 is a view illustrating a flow when setting of communication is performed. -
FIGS. 16A and 16B are schematic views describing ON/OFF of a communication circuit in a modification example of the first embodiment. -
FIG. 17 is a perspective view of a back surface of a body in a second embodiment. -
FIGS. 18A and 18B are views describing a structure of a pressure sensitive sensor. -
FIGS. 19A and 19B are views describing a connection detection method using the pressure sensitive sensor. -
FIG. 20 is a view describing a state of an electrode when measuring a pressure by the pressure sensitive sensor. - At least matters below will become clear by the description of the specification and the accompanying drawings.
- A liquid transporting apparatus includes: a liquid storage section that stores a liquid; a body section that supports a driving section having at least a part of function for transporting the liquid and is connected to the liquid storage section when transporting the liquid; a body control section that controls an operation of the driving section and determines whether the body section and the liquid storage section are connected; and an external control section that communicates with the body control section and performs instruction to control an operation of the driving section. If it is determined that the body section and the liquid storage section are connected, communication between the body control section and the external control section is started.
- According to the liquid transporting apparatus with this configuration, it is possible to suppress power consumption during standby if the operation is controlled by the communication using the external controller.
- Further, in the liquid transporting apparatus, it is preferable that the body section includes a communication circuit that performs communication with the external control section, the communication circuit has a contact point that is in a closed state by coming into contact with a contact section that is provided in the liquid storage section, and the body control section determines that the body section and the liquid storage section are connected if the contact point is in the closed state.
- According to the liquid transporting apparatus with this configuration, at first, since there is no communication between the body section and the external control section during standby, the power consumption is small. Then, if it is determined that the liquid storage section and the body section are connected from a conduction state of the communication circuit, the body section and the external control section are in a state in which communication is possible. That is, since the communication between the body section and the external control section starts immediately before the liquid transporting operation is executed, it is possible to suppress the wasteful standby power consumption.
- Further, in the liquid transporting apparatus, it is preferable that a pressure detection section that measures the pressure is provided in the body section, and the body control section measures an amount of pressure when the pressure detection section is pressed by a pressing section that is provided in the liquid storage section, and determines that the body section and the liquid storage section are connected if the pressure that is measured has a predetermined amount or more.
- According to the liquid transporting apparatus with this configuration, at first, since there is no communication between the body section and the external control section, the power consumption is small in the state of the communication standby. Then, if it is determined that the body section and the liquid storage section are connected from a result of measurement of the pressure when the body section and the liquid storage section are connected, the body section and the external control section are in a state of being capable of communicating. That is, since the communication between the body section and the external control section starts immediately before the liquid transporting operation is executed, it is possible to suppress the wasteful standby power consumption.
- Further, in the liquid transporting apparatus, it is preferable that information including a type and a storage amount of the liquid which is stored in the liquid storage section is recorded in the liquid storage section, and the information is acquired by the external control section.
- According to the liquid transporting apparatus with this configuration, if the liquid is a medicine, it is possible to safely manage quality and dose of the medicine, based on the information.
- Further, in the liquid transporting apparatus, it is preferable that the communication between the external control section and the body control section is performed using radio, and the setting of connection is performed between the external control section and the body control section before the communication is started.
- According to the liquid transporting apparatus with this configuration, the body control section is suppressed from being erroneously connected to other external control sections and it is possible to perform safely communication between the body control section and the external control section.
- Further, it will become clear that a liquid transporting method includes: determining whether a liquid storage section that stores a liquid and a body section that supports a driving section having at least a part of function for transporting the liquid and is connected to the liquid storage section when the liquid is transported are in a state of being connected; starting the communication to the external control section if it is determined that the body section and the liquid storage section are connected; and transporting the liquid by an instruction from the external control section.
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FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of aliquid transporting apparatus 1.FIG. 2 is an exploded view of theliquid transporting apparatus 1. As illustrated in the views, description is given in which a side (a side of a living body) where theliquid transporting apparatus 1 adhere is referred to as “down” and the side opposite the living body is referred to as “up.” - The
liquid transporting apparatus 1 is an apparatus for transporting a liquid. Theliquid transporting apparatus 1 includes abody 10, acartridge 20 and an injection set 30. Further, a controller 50 (seeFIG. 12 ) for remotely controlling theliquid transporting apparatus 1 from outside is provided. - As illustrated in
FIG. 2 , thebody 10, thecartridge 20 and the injection set 30 can be separated from each other, but as illustrated inFIG. 1 , they are integrally assembled when being used. Theliquid transporting apparatus 1 is appropriately used to periodically inject liquid (for example, insulin) stored in thecartridge 20 with the injection set 30 adhering to the living body. If the liquid (for example, the insulin) stored in thecartridge 20 runs out, thecartridge 20 is replaced. Further, the injection set 30 is generally replaced at once in every three day. Meanwhile, thebody 10 may be continuously used. -
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of theliquid transporting apparatus 1.FIG. 4 is a transparent top view of an inside of theliquid transporting apparatus 1. InFIG. 4 , a configuration of adriving section 5 is also illustrated.FIG. 5 is a schematic explanatory view of thedriving section 5. - The
driving section 5 has a function as a pump for transporting the liquid stored in thecartridge 20. Thedriving section 5 of the embodiment includes acam 11 and adriving mechanism 12, and transports the liquid by sequentially squeezing atube 21 by driving a plurality offingers 22. - The
tube 21 is a liquid transporting tube for transporting the liquid. An upstream side (an upstream side based on a transportation direction of the liquid) of thetube 21 communicates with astorage section 26 of the liquid of thecartridge 20. Thetube 21 has elasticity enough to be closed when being pressed by thefinger 22 and to be returned to the original shape when releasing a force from thefinger 22. Thetube 21 is partially disposed in a circular arc shape along an inner surface of atube guide wall 251A of thecartridge 20. The portion of thetube 21 in the circular arc shape is disposed between the inner surface of thetube guide wall 251A and the plurality offingers 22. A center of a circle arc of thetube 21 is coincident with a rotation center of thecam 11. - The
finger 22 is a member for closing thetube 21. Thefinger 22 is operated in a driven basis by receiving a force from thecam 11. Thefinger 22 has a rod-shaped shaft section and a collar-shaped pressing section, and is in a T-shape. The rod-shaped shaft section comes into contact with thecam 11 and the collar-shaped pressing section comes into contact with thetube 21. Thefinger 22 is supported so as to be movable along an axial direction. - The plurality of
fingers 22 are radially disposed at an equal interval from the rotation center of thecam 11. The plurality offingers 22 are disposed between thecam 11 and thetube 21. Here, sevenfingers 22 are provided. - The
cam 11 has protrusion sections at four positions of an outer periphery thereof. The plurality offingers 22 are disposed on the outer periphery of thecam 11 and thetube 21 is disposed outside thefingers 22. Thetube 21 is closed when pressing thefingers 22 by the protrusion sections of thecam 11. If thefinger 22 is disengaged from the protrusion section, thetube 21 returns to the original shape by an elastic force of thetube 21. If thecam 11 rotates, sevenfingers 22 are pressed in order from the protrusion section and then thetube 21 closes in order from the upstream side in the transportation direction. Therefore, thetube 21 performs writhing and the liquid is squeezed and transported by thetube 21. In order to prevent backflow of the liquid, the protrusion sections of thecam 11 are formed so that at least one and preferably twofingers 22 close thetube 21. - The
driving mechanism 12 is a mechanism for driving thecam 11 to rotate. Thedriving mechanism 12 has apiezoelectric motor 121, arotor 122 and a reduction transmission device 123 (seeFIG. 4 ). - The
piezoelectric motor 121 is a motor for rotating therotor 122 by using vibration of a piezoelectric element. Thepiezoelectric motor 121 vibrates a vibration body by applying a drive signal to the piezoelectric element that adheres to both surfaces of a rectangular vibration body. An end section of the vibration body comes into contact with therotor 122 and the end section vibrates while drawing a predetermined orbit such as an elliptic orbit or an 8-shaped orbit, if the vibration body vibrates. The end section of the vibration body comes into contact with therotor 122 in a part of the vibration orbit and then therotor 122 is driven to rotate. Thepiezoelectric motor 121 is biased toward therotor 122 by a pair of springs so that the end section of the vibration body comes into contact with therotor 122. - The
rotor 122 is a driven body that is rotated by thepiezoelectric motor 121. A rotor pinion that configures a part of thereduction transmission device 123 is formed in therotor 122. - The
reduction transmission device 123 is a device that transmits the rotation of therotor 122 to thecam 11 with a predetermined reduction ratio. Thereduction transmission device 123 is configured of a rotor pinion, a transmission wheel and a cam gear. The rotor pinion is a small gear which is integrally attached to therotor 122. The transmission wheel has a large gear that meshes with the rotor pinion and a pinion that meshes with the cam gear, and has a function for transmitting a rotational force of therotor 122 to thecam 11. The cam gear is integrally attached to thecam 11 and is rotatably supported with thecam 11. - Hereinafter, configurations of the
body 10, thecartridge 20, the injection set 30 and thecontroller 50 are described. -
FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a configuration of an inside of thebody 10.FIG. 7 is a perspective view of aback surface of thebody 10. Hereinafter, the configuration of thebody 10 is described with reference toFIGS. 1 to 4 and the drawings. - The
body 10 has abody base 13 and abody case 14. Then, thedriving mechanism 12 described above and acontrol substrate 15 are maintained on thebody base 13. Further, abearing 13A is provided in thebody base 13. A rotation shaft of thecam 11 passes through thebody base 13 and thebearing 13A rotatably supports the rotation shaft of thecam 11 with respect to thebody base 13. Thecam 11 is integrally formed with the cam gear configuring thereduction transmission device 123 and the cam gear is disposed inside thebody 10 by being covered by thebody case 14, and thecam 11 is exposed from thebody 10. If thebody 10 and thecartridge 20 are combined together, thecam 11 which is exposed from thebody 10 meshes with the end section of thefinger 22 of thecartridge 20. - The
body case 14 is a member configuring an exterior of theliquid transporting apparatus 1. The driving mechanism 12 (thepiezoelectric motor 121, therotor 122 and the reduction transmission device 123) or thecontrol substrate 15 provided in thebody base 13 is covered and protected by thebody case 14. - In the embodiment, a
function button 145 is provided in thebody case 14. Thefunction button 145 is a button which can set a plurality of functions and can realize any function which is set when the button is pressed. Thefunction button 145 of the embodiment has functions which performs setting of the communication or functions which perform switching of a plurality of control patterns which are set in thecontrol substrate 15 described below. Moreover, setting of the functions of thefunction button 145 is done using thecontroller 50. - The
control substrate 15 is a body control section that controls an operation of thedriving section 5. The body control section in the embodiment has functions which determines whether thebody 10 and thecartridge 20 are correctly connected, and which starts the communication between the liquid transporting apparatus 1 (the body 10) and thecontroller 50. A storage section (a memory) storing a plurality of control patterns (control programs) for controlling thepiezoelectric motor 121 or the like is provided in thecontrol substrate 15. Then, thecam 11 is driven, based on one of the plurality of control patterns stored in the storage section, and writhing of thetube 21 can be controlled by thefinger 22. Moreover, the control patterns are set by using thecontroller 50. - In addition, the
body 10 has ahook hanger 16, aswitch 17, abattery storage section 18 and a receiving section (not illustrated). Thehook hanger 16 is a member for fixing thecartridge 20 and thebody 10 being connected. A fixedhook 234 of thecartridge 20 described below is caught on thehook hanger 16 and thebody 10 is fixed to thecartridge 20. Thebattery storage section 18 stores abattery 19 that is a power supply of the liquid transporting apparatus 1 (seeFIG. 9 ). The receiving section receives a signal or a radio wave that is transmitted from thecontroller 50 described below. - As illustrated in
FIG. 7 , theswitch 17 is a protrusion member that protrudes downward from a back surface (a lower surface side) of the body 10 (the body base 13) and corresponds to a push-button switch turning ON/OFF of a communication circuit (not illustrated inFIG. 7 ) incorporated inside thebody base 13. Theswitch 17 is movable so as to be pushed into the body base 13 (that is, in an upper direction of the body 10). In a state where theswitch 17 protrudes from thebody base 13, the communication circuit is in an open state (OFF state) and a current does not flowed. On the other hand, if theswitch 17 is pushed into thebody base 13, the communication circuit is in a closed state (ON state) and the current flows, and then the communication circuit is capable of communicating with thecontroller 50. - In the
liquid transporting apparatus 1 of the embodiment, ON/OFF of theswitch 17 is switched by connecting thebody 10 and thecartridge 20.FIGS. 8A and 8B are schematic views describing ON/OFF of theswitch 17 in the first embodiment. InFIG. 8A , when thebody 10 and thecartridge 20 are not connected to each other, theswitch 17 is in a state of protruding from the side of the lower surface of thebody 10 and a contact point of the communication circuit provided inside thebody 10 is open and then the circuit is in the OFF state. On the other hand, as illustrated inFIG. 8B , when thebody 10 and thecartridge 20 are connected, a leading end of a lower side of theswitch 17 protruding from the lower surface side of thebody 10 comes into contact with a contact plate 236 (seeFIG. 9 ) provided on the side of the upper surface of thecartridge 20 and then thecontact plate 236 pushes theswitch 17 in the upper direction. Therefore, the leading end of the upper side of theswitch 17 causes the contact point of the communication circuit provided inside thebody 10 to be closed and the circuit is in the ON state. That is, in the embodiment, theswitch 17 functions as a so-called mechanical contact point. Moreover, if thecartridge 20 is detached from thebody 10, theswitch 17 returns to an initial state (a state ofFIG. 8A ) and the communication circuit is turned to OFF again. A communication method with thecontroller 50 after the communication circuit is turned to ON is described below. -
FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a configuration of an inside of thecartridge 20.FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of aback surface of thecartridge 20. Hereinafter, a configuration of thecartridge 20 is described with reference toFIGS. 1 to 5 and the drawings. - The
cartridge 20 has acartridge base 23 and abase receiver 24. - A
tube unit 25 is provided on an upper side of thecartridge base 23. Thetube unit 25 has thetube 21 and the plurality offingers 22 which are described above, aunit base 251 and aunit cover 252. Thetube guide wall 251A is formed in theunit base 251 and thetube 21 is disposed inside theunit base 251 in a circular arc shape. Further, theunit base 251 movably supports thefingers 22 in the axial direction. Thetube 21 and thefingers 22 inside theunit base 251 are covered by theunit cover 252. - The
tube unit 25 is in a planar cylindrical shape and thecam 11 exposed from thebody 10 is inserted into a cavity of a center of thetube unit 25. Therefore, thecam 11 on the side of thebody 10 meshes with thefingers 22 on the side of thecartridge 20. - A supply-side joint 231 and a discharge-side joint 232 are provided in the
cartridge base 23. End sections of thetube 21 inside thetube unit 25 are connected to the supply-side joint 231 and the discharge-side joint 232, respectively. If the plurality offingers 22 squeeze thetube 21 in order, the liquid is supplied from the supply-side joint 231 to thetube 21 and the liquid is discharged from the discharge-side joint 232. Aconnection needle 233 communicates with the discharge-side joint 232 and the liquid discharged from the discharge-side joint 232 is supplied to the side of the injection set 30 through theconnection needle 233. - The fixed
hook 234 is formed in thecartridge base 23. The fixedhook 234 is caught on thehook hanger 16 of thebody 10 and fixes thebody 10 to thecartridge 20. Thecontact plate 236 that is a contact section coming into contact with the leading end section of theswitch 17 when connecting with thebody 10 is provided on the upper surface of thecartridge base 23. Theswitch 17 is pressed to the upper side (the side of the body 10) by coming into contact with the contact plate 236 (seeFIGS. 8A and 8B ). - A
reservoir film 28 is interposed between thecartridge base 23 and thebase receiver 24. Circumference of thereservoir film 28 comes into close contact with a bottom surface of thecartridge base 23. Thestorage section 26 is formed between thecartridge base 23 and thereservoir film 28, and the liquid (for example, the insulin) is stored in thestorage section 26. Thestorage section 26 communicates with the supply-side joint 231 and the liquid stored in thestorage section 26 is supplied to thetube 21 through the supply-side joint 231. - As described above, the
storage section 26 is configured on the lower side of thecartridge base 23. Since thetube 21 and thefingers 22 configuring thedriving section 5 are disposed on the upper side of thecartridge base 23, thedriving section 5 and thestorage section 26 are disposed up and down. Therefore, miniaturization of theliquid transporting apparatus 1 is achieved. Further, thestorage section 26 is disposed further to the side of the living body than the drivingsection 5. Therefore, the liquid stored in thestorage section 26 is likely to maintain the temperature thereof with the temperature of the living body and a difference between the temperature of the liquid and the temperature of the living body is suppressed. - If the liquid stored in the
storage section 26 runs out, thecartridge 20 is detached from theliquid transporting apparatus 1 and is replaced withnew cartridge 20. However, the liquid can be injected from outside into thestorage section 26 through acartridge septum 27 using an injection needle. Moreover, thecartridge septum 27 is configured of a material (for example, rubber, silicon or the like) that closes a hole if the injection needle is pulled out. -
FIG. 11 is a perspective view of theliquid transporting apparatus 1 viewed from a side of the bottom surface of the injection set 30. Hereinafter, a configuration of the injection set 30 is described with reference toFIGS. 1 to 5 and the drawing. - The injection set 30 has a
soft needle 31, anintroduction needle folder 32, aport base 33, an injection setbase 34 and anadhesive pad 35. - The
soft needle 31 is a tube for injecting the liquid into the living body and has a function of a catheter. For example, thesoft needle 31 is configured of a soft material such as fluorine resin. An end of thesoft needle 31 is fixed to theport base 33. - The
introduction needle folder 32 is a member for holding anintroduction needle 32A. An end of theintroduction needle 32A is fixed to theintroduction needle folder 32. Theintroduction needle 32A is a needle made of a metal for inserting thesoft needle 31 which is soft into the living body. Theintroduction needle 32A is a hollow tubular needle which is long and narrow, and has a transverse hole (not illustrated). If the liquid is supplied from the transverse hole of theintroduction needle 32A, the liquid is discharged from a leading end of theintroduction needle 32A. Therefore, before thesoft needle 31 punctures the living body, priming processing which fills the inside a flow path of theliquid transporting apparatus 1 with the liquid can be performed. - In a state prior to use, the
introduction needle folder 32 is attached to theport base 33, theintroduction needle 32A is inserted into thesoft needle 31 and then a needle tip is exposed from the lower side of thesoft needle 31. When the injection set 30 is attached to the living body, after thesoft needle 31 and theintroduction needle 32A puncture the living body, theintroduction needle folder 32 is withdrawn (removed) from theport base 33 together with theintroduction needle 32A. Since theintroduction needle 32A which is hard does not need to be continuously placed in the living body, a load on the living body is small. Moreover, although thesoft needle 31 is continuously placed on the living body, thesoft needle 31 is soft, and thus, the load on the living body is small. - The
port base 33 is a member that supplies the liquid supplied from theconnection needle 233 of thecartridge 20 to thesoft needle 31. Theport base 33 has aconnection needle septum 33A and anintroduction needle septum 33B. Theconnection needle septum 33A and theintroduction needle septum 33B are configured of a material (for example, rubber, silicon or the like) that closes the hole if the needle is pulled out. Theconnection needle 233 of thecartridge 20 is inserted into theconnection needle septum 33A and the liquid is supplied from the side of thecartridge 20 to the side of the injection set 30 through theconnection needle 233 over theconnection needle septum 33A. Even if theconnection needle 233 of thecartridge 20 is pulled out from the injection set 30 to replace thecartridge 20, the hole of theconnection needle septum 33A that is generated by theconnection needle 233 is closed naturally. Theintroduction needle 32A is inserted into theintroduction needle septum 33B and if theintroduction needle 32A is pulled out, the hole of theintroduction needle septum 33B that is generated by theintroduction needle 32A is closed naturally. The liquid inside the injection set 30 is prevented from leaking to the outside or a body liquid of the living body is prevented from flowing back to the side of the injection set 30 by theconnection needle septum 33A and theintroduction needle septum 33B. Moreover, a region (a region except the introduction septum) in which theintroduction needle 32A is present inside theport base 33 is a flow path of the liquid after theintroduction needle 32A is pulled out. - The injection set
base 34 is a planar member fixed to theport base 33. The injection setbase 34 has afixing section 34A for fixing thebase receiver 24. Theadhesive pad 35 is attached to the bottom surface of the injection setbase 34. Theadhesive pad 35 is an adhesive pad for bonding the injection set 30 to the living body or the like. - In the
liquid transporting apparatus 1, thedriving section 5 and thestorage section 26 are vertically disposed and reduction of the size of theliquid transporting apparatus 1 is achieved. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the size of theadhesive pad 35. -
FIG. 12 is a schematic view illustrating an example of thecontroller 50. Thecontroller 50 is an external control section that makes the liquid transportingapparatus 1 perform the liquid transportation operation or sets the functions and, for example, is capable of remotely operating theliquid transporting apparatus 1 using wireless communication such as “Bluetooth” (registered trademark) or “ZigBee” (registered trademark), or infrared beams. Thecontroller 50 hasoperation buttons 51 and adisplay section 52, a reading section and a storage section (both not illustrated). - The user can start/stop the liquid transportation operation or set the control patterns (programs) defining the liquid transport amount per unit time or the like by operating the
operation buttons 51. Further, theoperation buttons 51 are also used in start or setting of the communication with thebody 10. Information (for example, information indicating the liquid transport amount) regarding the liquid transportation operation is displayed on thedisplay section 52 and the user can perform various types of setting while recognizing the information which is displayed. A present time, an alarm concerning the liquid transportation operation or the like is also displayed on thedisplay section 52. - Moreover, in the embodiment, it is possible to use commercially available smartphone as the
controller 50. In this case, when performing the communication for controlling theliquid transporting apparatus 1, occurrence of malfunction or the like is suppressed by pairing (described below) with thebody 10. -
FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a using method of theliquid transporting apparatus 1. - First, the user prepares a kit of the liquid transporting apparatus 1 (S001). The
body 10, thecartridge 20, the injection set 30 or the like for configuring theliquid transporting apparatus 1 is included in the kit. As illustrated inFIG. 2 , the user assembles theliquid transporting apparatus 1 by assembling thebody 10, thecartridge 20 and the injection set 30, and then performs setting of starting for the liquid transportation operation (S002). The user makes thecam 11 on the side of thebody 10 mesh with thefinger 22 on the side of thecartridge 20 by assembling thebody 10 and thecartridge 20. At this time, as described above, the communication circuit is turned to ON state and is in a state of being capable of communicating with thecontroller 50 according to thebody 10 and thecartridge 20 being connected to each other. Further, the user inserts theconnection needle 233 of thecartridge 20 into theconnection needle septum 33A of the injection set 30 and makes the liquid be capable of being supplied from the side of thecartridge 20 to the side of the injection set 30. - Next, the user performs the priming processing (S003).
FIG. 14 is an explanatory view of the priming processing. The priming processing is a processing that fills the inside the flow path of theliquid transporting apparatus 1 with the liquid by driving thedriving section 5 of theliquid transporting apparatus 1. Gas inside the flow path of theliquid transporting apparatus 1 is discharged from theintroduction needle 32A by the priming processing. Further, thetube 21 which is vacant is filled with the liquid by the priming processing. The user drives thedriving section 5 of theliquid transporting apparatus 1 until the liquid is discharged from the leading end of theintroduction needle 32A. - After the priming processing, the user makes the
introduction needle 32A and thesoft needle 31 puncture perpendicularly the living body, after that, withdraws theintroduction needle folder 32 from theport base 33, and removes theintroduction needle 32A from the soft needle 31 (S004). Since there is theintroduction needle septum 33B, even if theintroduction needle 32A is removed, the hole of theintroduction needle septum 33B that is generated by theintroduction needle 32A is closed naturally. At this time, the user peels a protective sheet of theadhesive pad 35 of the injection set 30 and theliquid transporting apparatus 1 may adhere to the living body by attaching theadhesive pad 35 to the skin of the living body. - Next, the user performs pre-operation of the
driving section 5 so that the liquid for a capacity of a region (a region except the introduction septum) in which theintroduction needle 32A is present is transported (S005). Therefore, it is possible to fill a space with the liquid at which theintroduction needle 32A is present. - After that, the user makes the liquid transporting
apparatus 1 perform a liquid transport processing (S006). In theliquid transporting apparatus 1, thecam 11 is rotated by driving thepiezoelectric motor 121 of thedriving mechanism 12, sevenfingers 22 are pressed in order by the protrusion sections of thecam 11 and thetube 21 is closed in order from the upstream side in the transportation direction, and then the liquid is transported by writhing of thetube 21. In a quantitative transport processing, the rotation amount of thecam 11 is controlled so that the liquid of a predetermined amount is transported in a predetermined time. - Setting of the communication among settings which are performed in S002 of
FIG. 13 is described. The operation of theliquid transporting apparatus 1 is controlled by communicating with thecontroller 50. However, if a state where the communication is possible is maintained for all times, the power consumption on the communication standby is increased and there is a concern that an important liquid transportation operation may be interrupted, theliquid transporting apparatus 1 is in a state of being capable of communicating at a necessary timing by performing the setting of the communication at an appropriate time before the liquid transportation operation is practically performed. Therefore, wasteful standby power consumption is suppressed. Further, since it is assumed that theliquid transporting apparatus 1 is also used as the insulin injection device, high accuracy of the liquid transportation operation is required. Therefore, in order to suppress occurrence of a malfunction, the setting of the communication with thecontroller 50 is important. -
FIG. 15 is a view illustrating a flow when the setting of the communication is performed. - First, specific information of the
cartridge 20 used in the liquid transportation operation is obtained by using the controller 50 (S101). The specific information of thecartridge 20 is a type and a storage amount of a liquid that is stored in thestorage section 26 of thecartridge 20, a manufacturing number of the cartridge and the like. The information is stored as a bar code or a two-dimension code (for example, “QR code” (registered trademark)) associated with an ID of the cartridge. The user obtains the specific information of thecartridge 20 by reading the two-dimension code or the like given to thecartridge 20 using the reading section of thecontroller 50, and the specific information is temporarily stored in the storage section of thecontroller 50. When using theliquid transporting apparatus 1 as the insulin injection device or the like, it is also possible to perform safety management of quality or dosage of the medicine, based on the information. - Further, pairing information for communication with one to one between the
body 10 connected to thecartridge 20 and thecontroller 50 is also included in the specific information of the cartridge. Pairing is to perform setting of connection between two devices communicating using radio or the like. For example, if “Bluetooth” described above is used as means for communication, it is necessary to make thecontroller 50 and thebody 10 be accessible to each other by the Bluetooth device. At this time, the setting of the connection of two devices is performed, based on the pairing information given to thecartridge 20. - Further, information regarding a correction coefficient when the liquid transportation operation is performed is included in the specific information of the cartridge. The correction coefficient is a coefficient for correcting the liquid transport amount per unit time by the
liquid transporting apparatus 1. In theliquid transporting apparatus 1, writhing of thetube 21 is performed by the plurality offingers 22 thereby performing the transportation of the liquid. However, quality of thetube 21 is not necessarily uniform. For example, a slight difference occurs in a wall thickness (a thickness of a wall surface) or elasticity of thetube 21 when manufacturing thetube 21 and variation in quality may occur. If such variation occurs in thetube 21, difference occurs in timing when thetube 21 that is squeezed returns to the original shape or in the writhing property and thus, an error may occur in the liquid transport amount of thecartridge 20. Further, if the length of thefinger 22 on the squeezing side of thetube 21 is not uniform, there is a concern that an error in the liquid transport amount may also occur. Then, change in the liquid transport amount when replacing thecartridge 20 is suppressed by setting the correction coefficient for thecartridge 20 individually. Moreover, the correction coefficient is determined when quality test or the like is performed in a manufacturing processing of thecartridge 20. - After the
controller 50 obtains the specific information of thecartridge 20, connection between thecartridge 20 and thebody 10 is performed and it is determined whether or not both are properly connected (S102). The connection of thecartridge 20 and thebody 10 is performed as described inFIGS. 2 and 9 , and theswitch 17 described above is turned to ON and the current flows on the communication circuit by connecting the both members. Thecontrol substrate 15 determines that thecartridge 20 and thebody 10 are correctly connected when communication circuit is in a conduction state and if it is determined that the connection is achieved, thebody 10 is in a state of being capable of communicating. - Next, the pairing of the body 10 (the cartridge 20) and the
controller 50 is performed (S103). When performing the pairing, first, thebody 10 is in a state of being capable of pairing by continuously pressing (long press) thefunction button 145 provided in thebody 10 in a predetermined time (for example, three seconds). The button is long pressed to prevent occurrence of malfunction in which the pairing is immediately started when the button is accidentally touched by mistake. However, the pairing may be started by other methods. Subsequently, after searching a communication target device (in this case, the body 10) by operating theoperation buttons 51 of thecontroller 50 and finding thebody 10, the pairing processing is performed. In the pairing processing, the setting of the connection of thebody 10 connected to thecartridge 20, and thecontroller 50 is performed, based on the pairing information obtained from thecartridge 20, and the state of being capable of communicating is made between two devices by “the Bluetooth” or the like. Therefore, safe communication can be performed between thecontroller 50 and thebody 10. - Moreover, a personal identification number or a password may be input to the
controller 50 during the pairing. In the embodiment, theliquid transporting apparatus 1 is remote controlled using radio or the like by thecontroller 50. At this time, there is a concern that if thebody 10 is paired with a device other than thecontroller 50, control system becomes confused and then the malfunction may occur. For example, in a case of the Bluetooth device, one device can be paired with a plurality of devices and there is a concern that two external control device may be connected to onebody 10. Then, such a erroneous connection is suppressed by requesting input of the personal identification number when performing the pairing. Further, if theliquid transporting apparatus 1 is used as the insulin injection device, since personal information such as the insulin injection amount is handled, it is preferable to ensure security by setting the personal identification number described above. - After performing the pairing, practical communication starts (S104). In the embodiment, the liquid transportation operation may be started by the
liquid transporting apparatus 1 using thecontroller 50 and it is possible to change the liquid transport amount. For example, if theliquid transporting apparatus 1 is used as the insulin injection device, it is possible to continuously inject the insulin of a certain amount by normal liquid transportation operation (such an injecting method is referred to as “a basal”). Meanwhile, since a blood glucose level temporarily increases when the user takes a meal, it is necessary to increase the injection amount of the insulin according to the increase in the blood glucose level (such an injecting method is referred to as “a bolus”). Thus, in theliquid transporting apparatus 1, it is possible to change the liquid transport amount by using thecontroller 50. Adjustment of the transport amount is performed by controlling the operation of thedriving section 5, based on a predetermined control pattern among a plurality of control patterns stored in thecontrol substrate 15. - For example, if the normal insulin injection of the user is 1 U (1 unit=approximately 10 μliters) per hour, an injection speed of 1 U/h is set as the control pattern for the basal. Further, if it is necessary to inject the insulin of 20 U (20 units) in a short term when taking a meal, the injection amount of 20 U is set as the control pattern for the bolus. Then, the insulin injection is normally performed at the injection speed of 1 U/h, based on the control pattern for the basal. Meanwhile, the control pattern for the bolus is used and the insulin of 20 U is injected within 24 hours of taking a meal.
- Moreover, the
controller 50 is also used when storing the control pattern during the liquid transportation operation in thecontrol substrate 15 of thebody 10. - As described above, in the
liquid transporting apparatus 1, since it is a state where thebody 10 cannot communicate with thecontroller 50 initially, the power consumption in the communication standby state is small. Then, if it is determined that thecartridge 20 that is a liquid storage section, and thebody 10 are connected, thebody 10 and thecontroller 50 are in a state of being capable of communicating. That is, communication between thebody 10 and thecontroller 50 starts immediately before executing the liquid transportation operation. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the wasteful standby power consumption. - In the first embodiment, when the
body 10 starts the communication with thecontroller 50, ON/OFF of communication circuit is performed using theswitch 17 that is a mechanical contact point (seeFIGS. 8A and 8B ), ON/OFF of the communication circuit may be performed by other means. For example, the communication circuit can be ON/OFF using terminals 172 instead of theswitch 17. -
FIGS. 16A and 16B are schematic views describing ON/OFF of the communication circuit in a modification example. A basic configuration of aliquid transporting apparatus 1 of the modification example is substantially the same as that of the first embodiment, but theterminals 172 are provided instead of theswitch 17 of thebody 10 and ametal plate 237 having conductivity is provided as the contact section instead of thecontact plate 236 of thecartridge 20. Theterminals 172 are a set of contact points provided on the side of the lower surface of thebody 10 and, as illustrated inFIG. 16A , when thebody 10 and thecartridge 20 are not connected to each other, the communication circuit is in a state of being open (OFF). Then, as illustrated inFIG. 16B , when thebody 10 and thecartridge 20 are connected, theterminals 172 come into contact with themetal plate 237 so that the contact points are electrically connected and the communication circuit is in a state of being closed (ON). Therefore, it is determined that thebody 10 and thecartridge 20 is normally connected. Then, similar to the first embodiment, if it is determined that thebody 10 and thecartridge 20 are normally connected, thebody 10 and thecontroller 50 are in a state of being capable of communicating. Therefore, in the modification example, it is also possible to suppress the wasteful standby power consumption. - In the second embodiment, a connection state between a
body 10 and acartridge 20 is determined by detecting the pressure when thecartridge 20 are set to thebody 10 by a pressure sensitive sensor and this is used as a trigger when starting the communication between thebody 10 and acontroller 50. - A configuration of a
liquid transporting apparatus 1 in the second embodiment is substantially the same as that of the first embodiment, but a pressuresensitive sensor 71 is provided on a back surface of thebody 10 instead of theswitch 17 or theterminal 172 of the first embodiment. Similarly, apressing section 72 is provided on an upper surface of thecartridge 20 instead of thecontact plate 236 or themetal plate 237 of the first embodiment. The pressuresensitive sensor 71 and thepressing section 72 have a positional relationship of facing each other when thebody 10 and thecartridge 20 are connected. -
FIG. 17 is a perspective view of the back surface of thebody 10 in the second embodiment.FIGS. 18A and 18B are views describing a structure of the pressuresensitive sensor 71.FIGS. 19A and 19B are views describing a connection detection method using the pressure sensitive sensor.FIG. 20 is a view describing a state of an electrode when measuring a pressure by the pressuresensitive sensor 71. - In the second embodiment, the plate-shaped pressure
sensitive sensor 71 is provided on the back surface side of thebody 10. The pressure sensitive sensor is a pressure detection section that is capable of detecting the amount of pressure applied on the sensor portion by using that a resistance value is reduced when the pressure is applied to the sensor section. In the embodiment, the connection state of thecartridge 20 and thebody 10 is determined by measuring the amount of pressure when thepressing section 72 that is provided in thecartridge 20 presses the pressuresensitive sensor 71 that is provided in thebody 10. - The pressure
sensitive sensor 71 has anelectrode sheet 711, aspacer 712 and aconductive sheet 713 in a vertical direction. The pressure that is applied to the surface side of the pressure sensitive sensor 71 (the electrode sheet 711) is measured when measuring the pressure. Theelectrode sheet 711 is a film-shaped member of which the back surface has an electrode. In theelectrode sheet 711 of the embodiment, as illustrated in A-A cross-sectional view ofFIG. 18B ,electrodes 711 a andelectrodes 711 b are finely spread so there is no contact between them. That is, in this state, theelectrodes 711 a and theelectrodes 711 b are not conductive. Thespacer 712 is a member that is provided between theelectrode sheet 711 and theconductive sheet 713, and is for isolating theelectrodes 711 a and theelectrode 711 bs so there is no contact between them. Theconductive sheet 713 is a sheet-shaped member that is provided to face theelectrodes 711 a and theelectrodes 711 b of theelectrode sheet 711, and has conductivity. Further, theelectrodes 711 a and theelectrodes 711 b are connected respectively, to a pressure-sensitive determination section 75 and it is possible to detect a resistance value of the pressuresensitive sensor 71 by the pressure-sensitive determination section 75. The pressure is measured, based on the resistance value that is detected, and the determination of the connection state of thecartridge 20 and thebody 10 is performed. The pressure-sensitive determination section 75 is provided in a control substrate 15 (a body control section). -
FIG. 19A illustrates a state before thecartridge 20 and thebody 10 are connected. In this state, as described inFIGS. 18A and 18B , theelectrode 711 a and theelectrode 711 b are not conductive. Thus, a great resistance value is detected in the pressure-sensitive determination section 75. On the other hand,FIG. 19B illustrates a state that thecartridge 20 and thebody 10 are connected. Both members are connected and then thepressing section 72 that is provided in thecartridge 20 presses the pressuresensitive sensor 71 from the surface side to the back surface side (from the lower side to the upper side). Therefore, theelectrode sheet 711 is pressed against theconductive sheet 713 and a region (a contact region) coming into contact with theconductive sheet 713 is formed on a surface (the back surface side) of theelectrode sheet 711 on which the electrodes is provided. A region illustrated in a hatched section ofFIG. 20 is the contact region that is formed on theelectrode sheet 711. Since theelectrode 711 a and theelectrode 711 b are conductive through theconductive sheet 713 in the contact region, the resistance value that is detected by the pressure-sensitive determination section 75 is smaller than that of the non-contact state (the state ofFIGS. 18A and 18B ). Then, if the pressure by thepressing section 72 is great, since a contact area between theelectrode 711 a and theelectrode 711 b, and theconductive sheet 713 is great, the resistance value that is detected by the pressure-sensitive determination section 75 is further reduced. - That is, if the
cartridge 20 and thebody 10 are correctly connected, since the pressuresensitive sensor 71 is pressed strongly by thepressing section 72, the resistance value that is detected by the pressure-sensitive determination section 75 is small. Conversely, if thecartridge 20 and thebody 10 are not correctly connected, the resistance value that is detected by the pressure-sensitive determination section 75 is great. Therefore, if the resistance value that is detected is a predetermined threshold or less, the pressure-sensitive determination section 75 determines that the connection state of thecartridge 20 and thebody 10 is normal, and if the resistance value that is detected is greater than a predetermined threshold, the pressure-sensitive determination section 75 determines that the connection state of thecartridge 20 and thebody 10 is not normal. In other words, if the pressure when the pressuresensitive sensor 71 is pressed by thepressing section 72 is a predetermined amount or more, it is determined that the connection state of thecartridge 20 and thebody 10 is normal. - Moreover, a setting position of the pressure
sensitive sensor 71 is not limited to the example described above. For example, when the pressure sensitive sensor may be provided in a position facing atube 21 and when thecartridge 20 and thebody 10 are connected, the pressure to the pressure sensitive sensor by thetube 21 may be detected. Further, the structure of the sensor itself is also not limited to the example described above and it may be a method for detecting the pressure in a manner other than using the change in the resistance value. - A setting of the communication in the second embodiment is basically the same as that of the first embodiment. That is, the setting of the communication is performed according to the flow described in
FIG. 15 . - However, in the second embodiment, in S102 of
FIG. 15 , the determination that thecartridge 20 and thebody 10 are correctly connected is performed by the pressure determination using the pressure sensitive sensor. Particularly, in S102, the pressure is detected that is applied to thebody 10 by thecartridge 20 as the resistance value, and determines the connection state, based on the resistance value that is detected. If it is determined that the connection state of thecartridge 20 and thebody 10 is normal, the body control section causes the communication circuit to be ON and to be a state of being capable of communicating with thecontroller 50. Thereafter, pairing of thebody 10 between thecontroller 50 is performed (S103) and the communication starts practically (S104). - According to the
liquid transporting apparatus 1 of the second embodiment, since the communication with thecontroller 50 is not started before thebody 10 and thecartridge 20 are correctly connected, it is possible to reduce the power consumption during the communication standby. Then, thebody 10 and thecontroller 50 are in a state being capable of communicating for the first time in a stage in which it is determined that the connection state of the both members is normal from a result of measurement of the pressure when thebody 10 and thecartridge 20 are connected. - The embodiments described above are intended to facilitate understanding of the invention and are not intended to be constructed as limiting the invention. The invention may be altered and improved as long as there is no departure from the spirit thereof, and it is needless to say that equivalents thereof are included in the invention.
- The entire disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2013-076630, filed Apr. 2, 2013 is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
Claims (12)
1. A liquid transporting apparatus comprising:
a liquid storage section that stores a liquid;
a body section that supports a driving section having at least a part of function for transporting the liquid and is connected to the liquid storage section when transporting the liquid; and
a body control section that controls an operation of the driving section and determines whether the body section and the liquid storage section are connected,
wherein if it is determined that the body section and the liquid storage section are connected, communication between the body control section and an external control section that communicates with the body control section and performs instruction to control operation of the driving section is started.
2. The liquid transporting apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the body section includes a communication circuit that performs communication with the external control section,
wherein the communication circuit has a contact point that is in a closed state by coming into contact with a contact section that is provided in the liquid storage section, and
wherein the body control section determines that the body section and the liquid storage section are connected if the contact point is in the closed state.
3. The liquid transporting apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein a pressure detection section that measures the pressure is provided in the body section, and
wherein the body control section measures an amount of pressure when the pressure detection section is pressed by a pressing section that is provided in the liquid storage section, and determines that the body section and the liquid storage section are connected if the pressure that is measured has a predetermined amount or more.
4. The liquid transporting apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the body section includes a battery storage section that stores a battery as a power supply of the liquid transporting apparatus, and holds the body control section.
5. The liquid transporting apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein information including a type and a storage amount of the liquid which is stored in the liquid storage section is recorded in the liquid storage section, and
wherein the information is acquired by the external control section.
6. The liquid transporting apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the communication between the external control section and the body control section is performed using radio, and
wherein the setting of connection is performed between the external control section and the body control section before the communication is started.
7. The liquid transporting apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a battery as a power supply of the liquid transporting apparatus.
8. The liquid transporting apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
the external control section.
9. A liquid transporting apparatus comprising:
a liquid storage section that stores a liquid;
a body section that supports a driving section having at least a part of function for transporting the liquid and is connected to the liquid storage section when transporting the liquid; and
a body control section that controls an operation of the driving section and determines whether the body section and the liquid storage section are connected,
wherein if it is determined that the body section and the liquid storage section are connected, the body control section is set to be capable of communicating with an external control section that communicates with the body control section and performs instruction to control operation of the driving section.
10. The liquid transporting apparatus according to claim 9 ,
wherein if it is determined that the body section and the liquid storage section are connected, the communication between the external control section and the body control section is started.
11. The liquid transporting apparatus according to claim 9 , further comprising:
the external control section.
12. A liquid transporting method comprising:
determining whether a liquid storage section that stores a liquid and a body section that supports a driving section having at least a part of function for transporting the liquid and is connected to the liquid storage section when the liquid is transported are in a state of being connected;
starting the communication to the external control section if it is determined that the body section and the liquid storage section are connected; and
transporting the liquid by an instruction from the external control section.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
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JP2013076630A JP2014200349A (en) | 2013-04-02 | 2013-04-02 | Liquid transport device and liquid transport method |
JP2013-076630 | 2013-04-02 |
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US20140294607A1 true US20140294607A1 (en) | 2014-10-02 |
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US14/242,047 Abandoned US20140294607A1 (en) | 2013-04-02 | 2014-04-01 | Liquid transporting apparatus and liquid transporting method |
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US (1) | US20140294607A1 (en) |
JP (1) | JP2014200349A (en) |
CN (1) | CN104096295A (en) |
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JP6558002B2 (en) * | 2015-03-16 | 2019-08-14 | セイコーエプソン株式会社 | Piezoelectric driving device manufacturing method, piezoelectric driving device, robot, and pump |
JP2016174024A (en) * | 2015-03-16 | 2016-09-29 | セイコーエプソン株式会社 | Piezoelectric element for ultrasonic motor and method of manufacturing the same, ultrasonic motor, robot, and pump |
US20180076381A1 (en) * | 2015-03-16 | 2018-03-15 | Seiko Epson Corporation | Method for producing piezoelectric element, piezoelectric element, piezoelectric drive device, robot, and pump |
EP3602806B1 (en) * | 2017-03-29 | 2023-07-19 | Becton, Dickinson and Company | Systems, apparatuses and methods for device pairing having range control and unintended device coexistence detection |
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WO2008136845A2 (en) * | 2007-04-30 | 2008-11-13 | Medtronic Minimed, Inc. | Reservoir filling, bubble management, and infusion medium delivery systems and methods with same |
EP2303359B1 (en) * | 2008-05-29 | 2020-02-26 | Roche Diabetes Care GmbH | Modular medical infusion device with means for identification/authentication between its components |
JP2010239994A (en) * | 2009-04-01 | 2010-10-28 | Misuzu Kogyo:Kk | Small fluid transporting apparatus |
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- 2013-04-02 JP JP2013076630A patent/JP2014200349A/en not_active Withdrawn
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- 2014-04-01 US US14/242,047 patent/US20140294607A1/en not_active Abandoned
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US20070106218A1 (en) * | 2005-11-07 | 2007-05-10 | Ofer Yodfat | Systems and methods for sustained medical infusion and devices related thereto |
US20070112298A1 (en) * | 2005-11-17 | 2007-05-17 | Medtronic Minimed, Inc. | External infusion device with programmable capabilities to time-shift basal insulin and method of using the same |
US20080077081A1 (en) * | 2006-08-23 | 2008-03-27 | Medtronic Minimed, Inc. | Infusion medium delivery device and method with drive device for driving plunger in reservoir |
US20100143168A1 (en) * | 2008-12-05 | 2010-06-10 | Seiko Epson Corporation | Tube unit, control unit, and micropump |
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EP3104425A3 (en) * | 2015-06-12 | 2017-08-02 | Seiko Epson Corporation | Piezoelectric driving device for motor, motor, robot, and pump |
US10236795B2 (en) | 2015-06-12 | 2019-03-19 | Seiko Epson Corporation | Piezoelectric driving device for motor, motor, robot, and pump |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
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JP2014200349A (en) | 2014-10-27 |
CN104096295A (en) | 2014-10-15 |
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