Self-loading peristaltic pump for extracorporeal blood circuit

1. A peristaltic pump comprising:

a pump motor having a rotating motor shaft with a shaft axis;

a peristaltic pump head mounted on the motor shaft;

a raceway having a semi-circular track arranged around the pump head and coaxial with the shaft axis, said track having a beveled edge at an entrance to the raceway to receive a tube loop being loaded into the pump;

said pump head further comprising at least one roller riding in said raceway and orbiting said shaft axis, said roller compressing the tube loop against said raceway when said tube loop is mounted in the raceway, and

a cartridge to which the tube loop is attached and is mountable on the raceway, wherein said cartridge positions the tube loop between the track and roller when the cartridge is mounted on the raceway, and the loop is inclined at an angle with respect to a plane of the cartridge.

2. A pump as in claim 1 wherein said roller comprises a large diameter roller section positioned near the entrance to the raceway and adjacent to the track, and a small diameter roller section adjacent the raceway track and inward of the entrance in the raceway, wherein the tube loop slides from the large diameter roller section to the small diameter roller section.

3. A pump as in claim 1 wherein said inclined angle of the tube loop is inclined towards the raceway base and the plane of the cartridge is perpendicular to the motor shaft axis.

4. A pump as in claim 3 wherein said angle of the tube loop is in a range of 5 to 30 degrees with respect to the plane of the cartridge.

5. A peristaltic pump comprising:

a pump motor having a rotating motor shaft with a shaft axis;

a peristaltic pump head mounted on the motor shaft;

a raceway having a semi-circular track arranged around the pump head and coaxial with the shaft axis, said track having a beveled edge at an entrance to the raceway to receive a tube loop being loaded into the pump;

said pump head further comprising at least one roller riding in said raceway and orbiting said shaft axis, said roller compressing the tube loop against said raceway when said tube loop is mounted in the raceway;

a cartridge to which the tube loop is attached and mountable on the raceway, wherein said cartridge positions the tube loop between the track and roller when the cartridge is mounted on the raceway, and

wherein the pump head further comprises a guide tab extending from a distal end head towards the track, wherein the guide tab prevents the tube loop from sliding beyond the distal end of the peristaltic pump roller.

6. A peristaltic pump comprising:

a pump motor having a rotating motor shaft with a shaft axis;

a peristaltic pump head mounted on the motor shaft;

a raceway having a semi-circular track arranged around the pump head and coaxial with the shaft axis, said track having a beveled edge at an entrance to the raceway to receive a tube loop being loaded into the pump;

said pump head further comprising at least one roller riding in said raceway and orbiting said shaft axis, said roller compressing the tube loop against said raceway when said tube loop is mounted in the raceway;

a cartridge to which the tube loop is attached and mountable on the raceway, wherein said cartridge positions the tube loop between the track and roller when the cartridge is mounted on the raceway, and

wherein said raceway includes a boss adjacent the semi-circular track and over which the cartridge is mounted and the boss defines inner sides of a pair of tube slots that intersect tangentially with the semi-circular track, and said cartridge when mounted on the boss positions the straight sections of the tube loop in each of the tube slots.

7. A peristaltic pump comprising:

a pump motor having a rotating motor shaft with a shaft axis;

a peristaltic pump head mounted on the motor shaft, wherein the pump head includes at least one roller in said raceway and orbiting the shaft axis, said roller compressing the tube loop against said raceway when a tube loop is mounted in the raceway;

a raceway having a semi-circular track arranged around the pump head and coaxial with the shaft axis, said track being an entrance to a raceway to receive a the tube loop being loaded into the pump;

wherein the pump head further comprises a guide tab at a rear end of the head and extending radially towards the track, wherein the guide tab has a surface facing the tube loop and said surface is forward of a plane defined by a rear end of the at least one roller, wherein said guide tab prevents the tube loop from sliding beyond the end of the roller.

8. A pump as in claim 7 wherein said roller comprises a large diameter roller section positioned near the entrance to the raceway and adjacent to the track, and a small diameter roller section adjacent the raceway track and inward of the entrance in the raceway, wherein the tube loop slides from the large diameter roller section to the small diameter roller section.

9. A pump as in claim 7 wherein said raceway having a semi-circular track arranged around the pump head and coaxial with the shaft axis, said track has a beveled edge at an entrance to the raceway to receive a tube loop being loaded into the pump.

10. A pump as in claim 9 wherein the tube loop is at an angle in a range of 5 to 30 degrees with respect to the plane of the semi-circular track.

11. A pump as in claim 7 wherein said cartridge to which the tube loop is attached and mountable on the raceway, such wherein the said tubing loop forms an angle with respect to a plane of the cartridge and the angle is forward of the cartridge.

12. A pump as in claim 7 wherein said raceway includes a boss over which a cartridge is to be mounted and the boss defines inner sides of a pair of tube slots that intersect tangentially with the semi-circular track, and said cartridge when mounted on the boss positions a lower section of a tube loop in one of the tube slots.

13. A peristaltic pump comprising:

a pump motor having a rotating motor shaft with a shaft axis;

a peristaltic pump head mounted on the motor shaft;

a raceway having a semi-circular track arranged around the pump head and coaxial with the shaft axis, said track being an entrance to a raceway to receive a tube ioop being loaded into the pump and a cartridge to which the tube loop is attached and is mountable on the raceway, wherein the cartridge positions the tube loop between the track and roller and the said cartridge is mounted on the raceway, and the loop is inclined at an angle with respect to a plane of the cartridge.