JP7670585B2 - Pressure Control Device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a pressure control device.

Patent Document 1 discloses, as an example of a pressure control device, a device for non-invasively measuring the blood pressure of a subject. The device is equipped with a pump that delivers or draws in fluid to control the internal pressure of a cuff that is attached to the subject's arm, etc. An air passage is formed in the housing of such a device to balance the internal pressure of the housing, which changes as the pump delivers or draws in fluid, with atmospheric pressure.

JP 2020-006096 A

The object of the present invention is to improve the liquid resistance of a pressure control device having an air passage.

One aspect of the present invention to achieve the above object is a pressure control device, comprising:
A housing and
A pump housed within the housing for pumping or suctioning a fluid;
a tube at least a portion of which is disposed outside the housing;
a connector for connecting the tube to the pump;
Equipped with
The connector is attached to the housing so as to form an air passage that communicates between the inside and the outside of the housing in a first direction,
The connector has a first wall portion that protrudes in a second direction intersecting the first direction in the air passage.

With the above-mentioned configuration, an air passage is formed that reduces the air pressure fluctuations inside the housing caused by the operation of the pump, while the first wall portion prevents liquid from entering from outside the housing. This makes it possible to improve the liquid resistance of a pressure control device that has an air passage. In addition, since the connector that connects the tube to the pump is provided with a structure that provides both ventilation and liquid resistance, there is less need to provide a structure for individually ensuring the liquid resistance of the various parts housed inside the housing. This makes it possible to prevent the pressure control device from becoming larger and the number of parts from increasing.

1 illustrates an external view of a pressure control device according to an embodiment. 2 illustrates an example of the appearance of each element constituting the pressure control device of FIG. 1; 2 illustrates an external view of a connector in the pressure control device of FIG. 1; 2 illustrates an external view of a connector in the pressure control device of FIG. 1; 2 illustrates an external appearance of an upper housing in the pressure control device of FIG. 1 . 4 shows an example of the configuration of the connector of FIG. 3 . 4 shows another example of the configuration of the connector of FIG. 3. 4 shows another example of the configuration of the connector of FIG. 3. 13 illustrates an external appearance of a connector according to another embodiment. 10 shows an example of the configuration of the connector of FIG. 9 . 10 illustrates another example of the configuration of the connector in FIG. 9 .

An example of an embodiment will be described in detail below with reference to the attached drawings. In the attached drawings, arrow F indicates the forward direction of the illustrated structure. Arrow B indicates the rearward direction of the illustrated structure. Arrow U indicates the upward direction of the illustrated structure. Arrow D indicates the downward direction of the illustrated structure. Arrow R indicates the rightward direction of the illustrated structure. Arrow L indicates the leftward direction of the illustrated structure. These directional expressions are used for convenience of explanation and do not limit the posture or direction of the illustrated structure in actual use.

The term "front-rear direction" used in this specification means a direction along the above-mentioned front and rear directions. The term "up-down direction" used in this specification means a direction along the above-mentioned upward and downward directions. The term "left-right direction" used in this specification means a direction along the above-mentioned left and right directions.

Figure 1 illustrates an example of the external appearance of a pressure control device 10 according to one embodiment. Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the external appearance of each element constituting the pressure control device 10.

The pressure control device 10 includes a housing 11. In this example, the housing 11 is formed by joining an upper housing 111 and a lower housing 112 to define an internal space 113. The housing 11 can be made of a relatively hard material such as ABS resin.

The pressure control device 10 includes a pump 12. The pump 12 is housed in the internal space 113 of the housing 11. In this example, the pump 12 is configured to pump and suck air through a pipe 121. Air is an example of a fluid.

The pressure control device 10 includes a control circuit 13. The control circuit 13 is housed in the internal space 113 of the housing 11. The control circuit 13 includes circuit components for controlling the operation of the pump 12.

The pressure control device 10 includes a tube 14. A portion of the tube 14 is disposed outside the housing 11.

The pressure control device 10 includes a connector 15. The connector 15 supports the tube 14. The connector 15 may be made of a relatively soft material such as silicone rubber.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the connector 15 connects one end of the tube 14 to the piping 121, thereby connecting the tube 14 to the pump 12.

In this example, the other end of the tube 14 is configured to be connected to a cuff (not shown) for non-invasively measuring the subject's blood pressure. In other words, the pressure control device 10 is used to control the internal pressure of the cuff when measuring the non-invasive blood pressure.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the connector 15 is attached to the housing 11. Specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the connector 15 has a flange portion 15a. On the other hand, as illustrated in FIG. 2 and FIG. 5, the upper housing 111 and the lower housing 112 have an upper mating recess 111a and a lower mating recess 112a, respectively.

The dimensions of the upper fitting recess 111a illustrated in FIG. 5 are set to allow for surface contact fitting of the upper half of the flange 15a. The dimensions of the lower fitting recess 112a illustrated in FIG. 2 are set to allow for surface contact fitting of the lower half of the flange 15a. Airtightness and liquid resistance are ensured for the internal space 113 in the portion where surface contact fitting is performed.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the connector 15 has a groove 15b. The groove 15b is formed so as to cross a portion of the flange 15a in the front-rear direction. The front-rear direction is an example of the first direction.

Figure 6 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a portion of the pressure control device 10 with the connector 15 attached to the housing 11. The groove portion 15b forms an air passage 16 that connects the inside and outside of the housing 11.

When the pump 12 pumps out air, the pressure in the internal space 113 of the housing 11 drops. At this time, outside air flows into the internal space 113 through the air passage 16, thereby achieving pressure equilibrium inside and outside the housing 11. On the other hand, when the pump 12 sucks in air, the pressure in the internal space 113 rises. At this time, the air inside the housing 11 flows out of the housing 11 through the air passage 16, thereby achieving pressure equilibrium inside and outside the housing 11.

As illustrated in Figures 3 and 6, the connector 15 has a first wall portion 15c. The first wall portion 15c is formed so as to protrude upward from the bottom surface of the groove portion 15b. The upward direction is an example of the second direction.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, the protruding height h1 of the first wall portion 15c is smaller than the height dimension h2 of the flange portion 15a. Therefore, when the connector 15 is attached to the housing 11, a gap is formed between the upper end of the first wall portion 15c and the bottom of the upper fitting recess 111a of the upper housing 111. Therefore, the first wall portion 15c is positioned within the ventilation path 16 without obstructing ventilation through the ventilation path 16.

With this configuration, while forming an air passage 16 that reduces the air pressure fluctuations inside the housing 11 caused by the operation of the pump 12, the first wall portion 15c prevents liquid from entering from outside the housing 11. This improves the liquid resistance of the pressure control device 10 that has the air passage 16. In addition, since the connector 15 for connecting the tube 14 to the pump 12 is provided with a structure that provides both a ventilation function and a liquid resistance function, there is less need to provide a structure for individually ensuring the liquid resistance of the various parts housed inside the housing 11. This makes it possible to prevent the pressure control device 10 from becoming larger and the number of parts from increasing.

When the connector 15 is provided as an integrally molded product, i.e., when the first wall portion 15c is provided as an inseparable part of the connector 15, there is no need to provide a liquid-resistant film or the like in the ventilation path, and the above-mentioned effect becomes more pronounced.

ここで、σは液体の表面張力を表している。θは、液体接触角度を表している。ρは、液体の密度を表している。ρ’は、空気の密度を表している。ｇは、重力加速度を表している。ｄは、通気路の断面が円形である場合における直径を表している。 The protruding height h1 of the first wall portion 15c can be determined so as to exceed the height h3 of the liquid level rise due to capillary action that can occur in the air passage 16. The height h3 of the liquid level rise due to capillary action is given by the following formula.

Here, σ represents the surface tension of the liquid, θ represents the liquid contact angle, ρ represents the density of the liquid, ρ' represents the density of air, g represents the acceleration of gravity, and d represents the diameter of the cross section of the air passage when it is circular.

ここで、ｄは、矩形における縦方向の辺長を表しており、ｗは、矩形における横方向の辺長を表している。通気路の断面形状は、円形と矩形に限られない。楕円形、台形、半円と矩形の組合せなど、適宜の幾何学的形状が採用されうる。 In the illustrated example, the cross section of the air passage can be treated as a rectangle. In this case, the above formula can be modified as follows:

Here, d represents the length of the vertical side of the rectangle, and w represents the length of the horizontal side of the rectangle. The cross-sectional shape of the air passage is not limited to a circle or a rectangle. Any suitable geometric shape can be used, such as an ellipse, a trapezoid, or a combination of a semicircle and a rectangle.

In this example, the ventilation path 16 is formed by the groove 15b formed in the connector 15, so liquid may accumulate in the groove 15b. However, by determining the protruding height h1 of the first wall 15c as described above, it is possible to prevent the liquid accumulated in the groove 15b from climbing over the first wall 15c and entering the housing 11.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, the groove 15b of the connector 15 may have a first inclined surface 15d that forms an upward gradient in the up-down direction as it approaches the first wall 15c in the front-rear direction. The inclination of the upward gradient may be, for example, 10° to 15°.

This configuration makes it difficult for liquid to approach the first wall portion 15c, particularly when the pressure control device 10 is installed so that the groove portion 15b opens upward, thereby further reducing the occurrence of a situation in which liquid overcomes the first wall portion 15c and enters the housing 11.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, in this example, the front end 15e of the groove 15b forms a step with respect to the upper surface of the connector 15. It is preferable that the height h4 of the step be set to be less than the protruding height h1 of the first wall 15c.

In this case, the discharge of liquid from the groove 15b can be promoted, which further prevents the liquid from climbing over the first wall 15c and entering the housing 11. To achieve this effect, a configuration can be adopted in which the front end 15e of the groove 15b is connected to the top surface of the connector 15 without any step, as illustrated in FIG. 8.

As illustrated in Figures 9 and 10, the connector 15 has a second wall portion 15f. The second wall portion 15f is formed so as to protrude in the left-right direction from the inner surface of the groove portion 15b. The left-right direction is an example of the third direction.

This configuration can provide a configuration that can prevent liquid from entering the housing 11 through the air passage 16 even when the pressure control device 10 is installed so that the groove portion 15b opens to the side. In other words, it is possible to increase the degree of freedom regarding the installation position of the pressure control device 10.

The protruding height h5 of the second wall portion 15f illustrated in FIG. 10 can also be set to exceed the liquid level rise height h3 due to capillary action that may occur in the aforementioned air passage 16.

This configuration makes it possible to prevent liquid remaining in the groove 15b from climbing over the second wall 15f and entering the housing 11, regardless of the installation position of the pressure control device 10.

As illustrated in FIG. 11, the groove 15b of the connector 15 may have a second inclined surface 15g that forms an upward gradient in the left-right direction as it approaches the second wall 15f in the front-rear direction. The inclination of the upward gradient may be, for example, 10° to 15°.

This configuration makes it difficult for liquid to approach the second wall portion 15f, particularly when the pressure control device 10 is installed so that the groove portion 15b opens to the side, thereby further reducing the occurrence of a situation in which liquid overcomes the second wall portion 15f and enters the housing 11.

As illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, the pressure control device 10 includes an electric wire 17. The electric wire 17 is used to supply power to the pump 12. The electric wire 17 may supply power to the pump 12 via the control circuit 13, or may supply power directly to the pump 12. The electric wire 17 is supported by the connector 15.

By having the connector 15, which is responsible for the ventilation and liquid resistance functions, support not only the tube 14 but also the electric wire 17, the increase in the number of parts of the pressure control device 10 can be further suppressed.

The above-described embodiment is merely an example to facilitate understanding of the present invention. The configurations according to the above-described embodiments may be modified or improved as appropriate without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

In the above embodiment, a portion of the tube 14 is disposed inside the housing 11 and connected to the piping 121. However, the tube 14 may be connected to the pump 12 by directly connecting the connector 15, which supports the entire tube 14 so that it is positioned outside the housing 11, to the piping 121.

The air delivered by the pump 12 does not necessarily need to reach a closed space such as a cuff used in non-invasive blood pressure measurement. The configuration described with reference to the above embodiment is applicable to various pressure control devices that have an air passage to ensure pressure balance inside and outside the housing when delivering or drawing in fluid using a pump.

10: Pressure control device, 11: Housing, 12: Pump, 14: Tube, 15: Connector, 15c: First wall, 15d: First inclined surface, 15f: Second wall, 15g: Second inclined surface, 16: Air passage, 17: Electric wire, h1: Protruding height of first wall, h5: Protruding height of second wall

Claims (7)

A housing defining an internal space ;
a pump housed within the interior space for pumping or suctioning a fluid;
a tube at least a portion of which is disposed outside the interior space ;
a connector attached to the housing and connecting the tube to the pump;
Equipped with
the housing has a portion that forms a recess outside the internal space,
The connector includes:
a flange portion having a first height and engaging with the recess portion to ensure liquid resistance to the internal space;
A groove portion formed so as to cross a part of the flange portion in a first direction;
a first wall portion protruding in a second direction intersecting the first direction within the groove portion by a second height that is lower than the first height ,
Pressure control device. The connector has a first inclined surface that forms an upward gradient in the second direction as it approaches the first wall portion in the first direction.
The pressure control device of claim 1 . The connector has a second wall portion protruding in a third direction intersecting the first direction and the second direction in the groove portion .
The pressure control device according to claim 1 or 2 . the connector has a second inclined surface that forms an upward gradient in the third direction as it approaches the second wall portion in the first direction,
The pressure control device according to claim 3 . an electrical line for supplying power to the pump;
The electric wire is held by the connector.
A pressure control device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 . The tube is configured to be connected to a cuff for non-invasively measuring the blood pressure of a subject.
A pressure control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 . The connector is an integrally molded product.
A pressure control device according to any one of claims 1 to 6 .

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