Granted Patent B2

US 12,616,790 · App. 17/674,113 · Granted May 5, 2026

Inventors: Daniel Barrett (Somerville, MA); Soroush Kamrava (Everett, MA); Maureen Mccaffrey (Arlington, MA)

Assignee: INSULET CORPORATION

A61M5/14232A61M5/14248A61M5/1452A61M2005/14252A61M2005/1426A61M2005/31518A61M2205/0266A61M2205/3592

Abstract

Claims (44)

1 . A device comprising:

a reservoir having walls including a first wall and a second wall and a distal end comprising a fluid port;

a plunger configured to be linearly translated through the reservoir;

a flexible member, rigidly coupled to the plunger, that is configured to move across an interior of the reservoir inside the walls in a longitudinal direction towards the distal end of the reservoir, and configured to move across an exterior of the reservoir outside the walls in a reverse-longitudinal direction opposite the longitudinal direction, wherein the flexible member extends through the first wall at the distal end of the reservoir and through the second wall of the reservoir on a second end opposite the distal end; and

a drive mechanism for pulling the flexible member to cause a linear translation of the plunger through the reservoir.

2 . The device of claim 1 ,

wherein linear translation of the plunger through the reservoir forces a fluid contained in the reservoir through the fluid port.

3 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the flexible member is a wire.

4 . The device of claim 3 , further comprising:

an opening, defined in an end of the reservoir; and

a septum, sealing the opening and allowing the wire to pass therethrough.

5 . The device of claim 3 , wherein the drive mechanism comprises:

a pair of rollers in frictional engagement with the wire and rotating in opposite directions.

6 . The device of claim 5 , further comprising:

a gear, coupled to each of the rollers;

wherein the gears are in rotational engagement with each other.

7 . The device of claim 6 wherein at least one of the gears is rotationally driven such as to cause the rotation of the rollers in opposite directions.

8 . The device of claim 3 wherein the wire is insulated such as to be able to form a fluid seal with a septum.

9 . The device of claim 8 wherein a circumferential surface of each of a pair of rollers defines a knurled pattern, such as to cause a frictional engagement with the insulation of the wire.

10 . The device of claim 3 wherein the wire is a stranded wire.

11 . The device of claim 3 wherein the wire forms a complete, taut loop and further wherein the wire passes through the plunger such as to prevent movement of the plunger absent a movement of the wire caused by the drive mechanism.

12 . The device of claim 11 further comprising:

a plurality of roller members for forming the wire into the taut loop.

13 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the flexible member is a ribbon.

14 . The device of claim 13 wherein the drive mechanism comprises:

a clutch mechanism engaging the ribbon; and

a leadscrew in threaded engagement with the clutch mechanism, wherein rotation of the leadscrew causes a linear translation of the clutch mechanism along an outside surface of the reservoir.

15 . The device of claim 14 , wherein the clutch mechanism comprises:

a housing;

a spring; and

an engagement member;

wherein the spring holds the ribbon in frictional engagement between the housing and the engagement member.

16 . The device of claim 15 wherein the clutch mechanism further comprises:

a trigger mechanism for holding the engagement member away from the ribbon such as to allow free movement of the ribbon prior to the trigger mechanism being tripped.

17 . The device of claim 14 wherein an exterior surface of the reservoir defines a guide thereon and further wherein the clutch mechanism is engaged with the guide as the clutch mechanism translates linearly along the exterior surface of the reservoir.

18 . The device of claim 13 wherein the ribbon is composed of coated fiberglass or metal.

19 . The device of claim 13 wherein the ribbon forms a complete, taut loop and further wherein the ribbon passes through the plunger such as to prevent movement of the plunger absent a movement of the ribbon caused by the drive mechanism.

20 . The device of claim 19 further comprising:

a plurality of rollers for forming the ribbon into the taut loop.

21 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the flexible member is configured to move in the longitudinal direction inside the reservoir at a same time as the flexible member is configured to move in the reverse longitudinal direction outside the reservoir.

22 . A method of linearly translating a plunger through a reservoir, the reservoir comprising walls including a first wall and a second wall and a distal end comprising a fluid port, the method comprising:

attaching a flexible member to the plunger, the flexible member passing through the first wall of the reservoir toward which the plunger is being linearly translated and the second wall on an opposite side of the reservoir from the first wall; and

pulling the flexible member to linearly translate the plunger across an interior of the reservoir inside the walls of the reservoir in a longitudinal direction toward the distal end of the reservoir, and across an exterior of the reservoir outside the walls of the reservoir in a reverse-longitudinal direction opposite the longitudinal direction.

23 . The method of claim 22 wherein the flexible member is an insulated wire or a ribbon.

Assignments (2)

Continuity (3)

References Cited (377)