US2855934A - Self-propelled tube - Google Patents

Description

SELF-PROPELLED TUBE Filed Feb. 9, 1956 William-E. Doug/raday, Jr.

INVENTOR.

' Q BY United States Patent SELF-PROPELLED 3 WilliamE. Daughaday,Jr-, Baltimore, Md. ApplicationFebruary 9,1956; S erial No. 564,436 Glaims.-- (Cl- ;12 8 ,-3.49.)

This invention generallyrelates to a tube and' more specifically provides a tube which is self=propelled for entry into and exit out of-various lumina to facilitate drainage of, such lumina or. positioning of materials at' adesired point in the lumina as well as for many other purposes towhich the 'devi'cewill readily adapt itself;

Anyobject of the present invention is to provide a tube which is self-propelled in a stepeby-step operation which operation may be controlled from a remote point to permit the tube to proceed into and" be extracted from various lumina whereby the device lends itself'to rapid access to such lumina. and accurate movement and. positioning of the device so that'the proper lumina maybe enteredfor treatment or other purposes.

The specific embodiment of the present invention. is. in the form of a self-propelled catheter or tubular memher which includes in its construction longitudinally spaced laterally expandingf elements in conjunction with longitudinally extendingand'retracting elements between the laterally expanding elements together with control means for sequentially expanding and contracting the laterally expanding, elements. and sequentially extending and retracting the longitudinally extendingand' retracting elements to propel the catheter in either longitudinal direction'in a step-by-step manner.

Other objects of the present invention. will reside in its simplicity of construction, ease. of operation, its adaptation for its varied'purposes and its relatively inexpensive manufacturing cost.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequentially apparent reside in the details of construction-and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawing forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals. refer to like parts throughout, and. in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the self propelled tube of the present invention in the form of a catheter;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal, vertical sectional view taken substantially upon the plane passing through the longitudinal center of the head of the catheter together with a portion of the actuating means therefor;

Figure 3 is a transverse, vertical sectional view taken substantially upon a plane passing along section line 3-3 of Figure 2 illustrating the details of construction of the proximal expandable element;

Figure 4 is a detailed sectional view taken substantially upon a plane passing along section line 4-4 of Figure 2 illustrating the details of the distal expandable element; and

Figure 5 is a schematic illustration of means for controlling the self-propelled catheter either manually or by a power motor.

The specification is limited to a description of the invention in the form of a catheter which is propelled by air pressure through the various body lumina. However, it will be understood that the present invention en- Patented Oct. 14, 1958 compasses a self-propelled elongated flexible member preferably rod-like or tubular in CQBStTUCtiOIIWlllGh'IIIfiY be propelled in any tubularor' hollow body by the employment ofany suitable fluid pressure or mechanical actuating means andthe terms; employed in the specificaa tion are for the purposes of description of the illustrated form of the invention and are not to be construed as limiting the scope thereof; I

Referring now specifically to the drawing, the numeral 10 generally designates the" self propel'l'ed' catheter of the present invention which includes a generally elongated tubular member 12 terminating in a rounded end 14 which is provided with a, plurality of laterally disposedf openings 16 disposed in the side wall thereof to" permit. drainage of material inwardly therethroufgh or'topermit the discharge ofmaterial' outwardly therefrom dependent upon the use of the catheter.

Adjacent the rounded end 14 of the tubular member 12 is provided an actuated step-by-step mechanism gen: erally designated by the numeral 18' for propelling the catheter in a manner described hereinafter.

The propelling mechanism 18 includes an integrally formed circumferential sleeve 20 which is expandable and connected to the tube 12" in airtight relationship whereby the admission of a pressurized fluid such as air into the annular pocket 22' formed by the sleeve 20 will expand the sleeve 20; circumferentially'. of the tube 12 for bring,- ing the outer surface of the sleeve 20 into contacting relat e a d. clamp ng eng g ment w h h nner snrfaqe of a body passageway or. lumen.

Disposed proximal to the sleeve, 20is a second sleeve 2.4 of substantially identical construction for providing an annular pocket 26 for receiving pressurized air where} by the rearmostsleeve 24' may be brought into clamping engagement with the inner peripheral surface of a body passageway or cavity.

Disposed at the distal end of the sleeve 24 and at the proximal end of the sleeve 20 is an annular flexible and stretchable element 28 forming a portion of the. tube 12 wherein the longitudinally aligned portions of the tube 12 may be. moved in relation to each other to a limited extent. i

At the end of the proximal portion of the tubular member 12 and the distal end of the sleeve 24 a cylinder 30 is provided with a longitudinal. enlarged passage 34 slidably receiving a piston 36 which has an. enlarged outer end 33 in engagement with the inner surface of the distal portion of the tubular member .12 whereby. ad; vancement of the piston 36 and subsequent. advancement of the cylinder 30 by selectively admitting. and exhausting pressurized air or fluid between the .cylinder 'zQi and the piston 38 will cause outward or inward relative movement of the portions of the tubular member 12 and flexing of the annular flexible member 28.

The piston 38 is provided with a longitudinal passage 40 receiving a tube 42 extending through the tubular member 12 and communicating with the pocket 22 for inflating and deflating the sleeve 20. A tube 44 is provided within the tubular member 12 and communicates with the pocket 26 for selectively inflating and deflating the sleeve 24. The cylinder 30 is provided with a longitudinal end passageway 46 on which is attached a tubular member 48. The tubes 42, 44 and 48 extend and branch outwardly from the tubular member 12 for attachment to suitable air pressure members. As illustrated, the tubes 42, 44 and 48 are each attached to a cylinder 50 having a piston-type plunger 52 slidably mounted therein together with finger grips 54 on the cylinder 5d and a finger grip 56 on the piston 52 wherein movement of the piston 52 will selectively force pressure between the piston 38 and the cylinder 30 for extending C) and retracting the piston 36 in relation to the cylinder 30 for moving the portions of the tubular member 12 longitudinally of each other.

In operation, air orfluid may be forced into the pocket 22 after the rounded end 14 and the adjacent area of the tubular member 12 has, been inserted into a lumen beyond sleeve 24 whereby the sleeve 20 will expand and grip the lumen. With the sleeve 20 being held in a locked relation to the lumen, air is exhausted from between the piston 38 and the cylinder 30 for moving the cylinder 30 and the portion of the tube 12 attached thereto towards the rounded end 14 of the tubular member 12. After the cylinder 30 has moved as far as possible towards the piston 38, and locked in this position, air is forced into the pocket 26 for expanding the sleeve 24 against the inner surface of the lumen after which the air in the pocket 22 is evacuated to permit contraction of the sleeve 20 after which pressurized air is forced between the cylinder 30 and the piston 38 for expanding the piston 38 and driving the rounded end 14 of the tubular member 12 longitudinally forwardly inasmuch as the sleeve 24 is anchored. By sequentially expanding the sleeves 20 and 24 with properly timed and associated extension and retraction of the piston 38, the catheter may be advanced in either direction from a point remote from the rounded end 14 thereof.

Figure 5 illustrates an electric motor 58 having a cam shaft 60 extending therefrom for operating valves 62 for controlling fluid pressure from supply lines 64 to discharge line 66 which are connected to selective tubes 42, 44 and 48. One of the lines 64 is communicated with a source of a vacuum for selective communication with the area between the piston and cylinder through tube 48 for retraction of the piston 38. If desired, a hand crank 68 may be provided for operating the device by hand rather than by motor 58. By reversing the rotation of the cam shaft 60, the direction of movement of the catheter 10 may be reversed and withdrawn from the body passage in a very easy manner. The passageways or openings 16 permit fluids to be drained from the body passageways as desired or may be employed for administering material such as liquids to a desired point in the body passageways or lumina.

The device may be constructed of any suitable material such as rubber or plastics and may be constructed in extremely small sizes for entry and exit through any size lumina. The device may be employed and constructed of such a size to be employed for entering through the mouth downwardly through the esophagus into the stomach to permit easy pumping thereof or the bowel may be relieved of gas by applying a vacuum to the tubular member 12. The uses of the above device are substantially limitless in the treatment of various ailments and in many and varied uses in the field of medicine.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A catheter comprising a generally elongated tubular member having a closed end for insertion into a passageway, said tubular member having at least one opening to communicate the interior of the tubular member with the passageway, and step-by-step driving means for moving the tubular member in the passageway, said driving means including a stretchable element in said tubular member to permit relative longitudinal movement between adjacent portions of said tubular member, means forwardly of the stretchable element for clamping the passageway, means rearwardly of the stretchable element for clamping the passageway, means between the clamping means for sequentially extending and retracting said stretchable element thereby driving the tubular member longitudinally of the passageway.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said clamping means includes an expandable resilient sleeve sealed to the tubular member, and means for regulating the inflation and deflation of the sleeves in timed relation to the means for extending and retracting the stretchable element.

3. The combination of claim 1 wherein said last named means includes a piston and cylinder arrangement disposed centrally in said tubular member with the cylinder being attached to the tubular member on one side of said stretchable member with the piston attached to the tubular member on the opposite side.

4. The combination of claim 3 wherein said clamping means includes an expandable resilient sleeve sealed to the tubular member, and means for regulating the inflation and deflation of the sleeves in timed relation to the means for extending and retracting the stretchable element.

5. The combination of claim 4 wherein said clamping means and piston and cylinder arrangement is communicated with air pressure supply, and cam operated means for operating the clamping means and arrangement in predetermined order for propelling the catheter forwardly or rearwardly.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,128,746 -Bierce Feb. 16, 1915 2,458,305 Sanders Jan. 4, 1949 2,610,626 Edwards Sept. 16, 1952 2,687,131 Raiche Aug. 24, 1954 2,727,722 Conboy Dec. 20, 1955

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