The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 14, 1999
Filed:
Nov. 18, 1997
Applicant:
Inventors:
Lynn P Taylor, Camino, CA (US);
Pieter W le Blanc, Pollock Pines, CA (US);
Kenneth C Butler, Carmichael, CA (US);
Timothy R Maher, Orangevale, CA (US);
Assignee:
Nimbus, Inc., Rancho Cordova, CA (US);
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Assistant Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
F04B / ; F03B / ; A61M / ;
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
417356 ; 41742312 ; 415900 ; 604151 ;
Abstract
An axial-flow blood pump has a rotor suspended in ball-and-cup bearings which are blood-cooled but not actively blood-lubricated. The ball-and-cup structures are made of highly heat-conductive material and are in heat-transferring contact with heat-conductive stator blades that serve as heat sinks for the bearings. The ball-and-cup structures are radially much smaller than the stator blades. The ball-to-cup interface has so small a gap that the ball-to-cup structures present an essentially continuous surface to the blood flow.