The present disclosure relates to an inline pump. Particularly, but not exclusively, the disclosure relates to an inline pump comprising a motor and a manifold. Aspects of the invention relate to an inline pump, and a method of manufacturing an inline pump.
BACKGROUND
Inline pumps have various industrial uses, such as in blood sampling machines for the diagnostic sector. Inline pumps (also referred to as positive displacement pumps) are used for precise dispensing and aspirating applications. The key function of the product is for aspiration and dispensing of body fluids and chemicals.
The current inline pumps that are available in market have a three piece design, consisting of Stepper Motor, Body and Manifold.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Aspects and embodiments of the invention provide an inline pump, and a method of manufacturing an inline pump as claimed in the appended claims.
According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided an inline pump comprising a motor and a manifold, wherein the manifold is an elongate body with a rectangular cuboid shape having a first end and a second end, the second end terminating in a collar, wherein the body is provided a flute or a slot which extends along at least one edge between adjacent sides of the body, between the first end and the collar, wherein the flute terminates adjacent the collar to expose a respective fastener aperture in the collar for inserting a respective fastener to join the motor and the manifold, the motor directly abutting the manifold.
The inline pump comprises only the manifold and the motor. The motor directly abuts the manifold such that their opposing surfaces are in contact. Final assembly time for the inline pump is therefore extremely short. The machining time for the manifold and motor is short and a reduced number of fasteners are required as compared with known in-line pumps.

Final assembly is one-way, simplifying the manufacturing steps necessary to produce the inline pump. One-way assembly further reduces the risk of error during the assembly process. The manifold may be assembled by a single bolt design when the opposite side is provided with a hinge or mechanical connection means.
Two flutes may extend along two edges between adjacent sides of the body, between the first end and the collar, to expose two fastener apertures in the collar.
The flutes may extend along four edges of the four sides of the body, to expose four fastener apertures in the collar.
The motor may be a stepper motor. In an alternate embodiment, the stepper motor may be a servo motor.
At least a portion of the manifold may be transparent. In an alternate embodiment the body and or the collar may be transparent. In an alternate embodiment at least a portion of the manifold is non-transparent or translucent.
Internal workings of the components are visible. Any malfunction of the inline pump, for example leakage of a seal, or failure of a piston can be identified during the operating cycle.
The body and or the collar may be made of acrylic.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided an inline pump comprising a motor and a manifold, wherein the manifold is an elongate body having a first end and a second end, the second end terminating in a collar, wherein the body is provided with mechanical connections comprising grooves which receive respective pins projecting from the motor, the motor directly abutting the manifold.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing an inline pump comprising the steps of: providing a motor and a manifold, wherein the manifold is elongate body having a first end and a second end, the second end terminating in a collar, wherein the body is provided with a flute or a slot which extends along at least an edge between adjacent sides of the body, between the first end and the collar, wherein the flute terminates adjacent the collar to expose a respective fastener aperture in the collar for inserting a respective fastener to join the motor and the manifold, aligning the manifold and the motor along a longitudinal axis, directly abutting the manifold and the motor, joining the

manifold to the motor using a fastener, the fastener being inserted through the fastener aperture of the collar.
Four fasteners may be used to join the manifold to the collar.
The method may comprise the further step of providing an annular seal, an annular stopper plate and a piston, wherein the annular seal, annular stopper plate and the piston may be inserted into the bore of the manifold before the manifold is joined to the motor.
Within the scope of this application it is expressly intended that the various aspects, embodiments, examples and alternatives set out in the preceding paragraphs, in the claims and/or in the following description and drawings, and in particular the individual features thereof, may be taken independently or in any combination. That is, all embodiments and/or features of any embodiment can be combined in any way and/or combination, unless such features are incompatible. The applicant reserves the right to change any originally filed claim or file any new claim accordingly, including the right to amend any originally filed claim to depend from and/or incorporate any feature of any other claim although not originally claimed in that manner.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
One or more embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of the inline pump; and
Figure 2 is a partial cutaway view of the inline pump of Figure 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The inline pump 10 comprises a stepper motor 20 and a manifold 40. The inline pump has a longitudinal axis X.
The stepper motor 20 is approximately cube shaped with bevelled edges 22 on four sides. Motor connectors 24 project from an upper face 25 of the stepper motor 20.

The manifold 40 is an elongate body 42 with a rectangular cuboid shape having a first end 50 and a second end 52. The second end 52 terminates in a collar 44. The body 42 and collar 44 of the manifold 40 are made of acrylic and are transparent so that the inner workings of the inline pump 10 are visible.
Sensor connectors 54 project from an upper face 55 of the body 42, adjacent the collar 44 of the second end 52. The sensor connectors 54 are connected to sensor 58, positioned within the body 42.
The collar 44 has bevelled edges 46 on four sides which coincide with the bevelled edges 22 of the stepper motor 20.
The body 42 has four flutes 48 which extend along the edges of four sides of the body 42, between the first end 50 and the collar 44. The flutes 48 terminate adjacent the collar 44 to expose four fastener apertures 56.
The external surfaces of the body 42 are provided with an inlet 60, an outlet 62, a seal wash inlet 64 and a seal wash outlet (not shown). The inlet 60 is located adjacent the first end 50, on the upper face 55. The outlet 62 is located on an end surface of the first end 50. The seal wash inlet 64 is located approximately halfway along a side face of the body 42.
The internal structure of the inline pump 10 is best seen in Figure 2.
A centrally aligned bore 70 extends from the second end 52 towards the first end 50 of the body 42. The bore 70 terminates at an end wall 72, defined by the first end 50 of the body 42. The end wall defines an outlet channel 63 which is fluidly connected to outlet 62. The bore includes a shoulder 74 approximately halfway along the body 42. A pump cavity 76 is defined between the end wall 72 and the shoulder 74. The pump cavity 76 is fluidly connected to the inlet 60 and the outlet 62 by respective channels.
A piston 80 is centrally aligned within bore 70 and driven longitudinally by lead screw 90. A guide pin 82 is provided to stop the anti-rotation of the piston 80 and helps in aligning the piston 80. An annular seal 92 and annular stopper plate 94 limits longitudinal movement of the piston 80 towards the first end 52 of the body 42. The annular seal 92 includes an annular seal channel 96, which is fluidly connected to the seal wash inlet 64 via a bore.

A centrally aligned bore 26 extends through the stepper motor 20. Sensor flag pin 56 is assembled with the piston 80. When the piston 80 moves in forward or reverse direction the sensor flag pin 56 also moves. When the sensor flag pin 56 passes in front of the sensor 58 then a signal is provided to the system, which stops the stepper motor resulting in stopping of the piston 80 and sensor flag pin 56. This avoids damage to the manifold 40.
Assembly
Assembly of the inline pump 10 is one-way.
The annular seal 92, annular stopper plate 94, piston 80 and lead screw 90 are inserted into the bore 70 of the manifold 40, from the second end of the body 52.
The manifold 40 and stepper motor 20 are then aligned along the longitudinal axis X. The manifold 40 is abutted against the stepper motor 20 such that the lead screw 90 projects into the centrally aligned bore 26 of the stepper motor 20, and the bevelled edges 46 of the collar 44 are flush with the bevelled edges 22 of the stepper motor 20.
The stepper motor 20 is joined to the manifold 40 by four fasteners (not shown). The fasteners are inserted through the fastener apertures 56 of the collar 44. This arrangement allows one-way assembly of the inline pump 10. The inline pump 10 comprises only the manifold 40 and the stepper motor 20. Final assembly time for the inline pump 10 is therefore extremely short.
Usage
In use, the seal wash inlet 64 may be connected to a source of cleaning fluid. The seal wash inlet 64 is used to insert the cleaning fluid to clean the piston area that comes in between the annular seals 92 which are assembled on both sides of the seal cartridge 96.
In an alternate embodiment, the manifold may be assembled by a single bolt design where the opposite side is provided with a hinge or mechanical connection means.
In an alternate embodiment, the inline pump 10 can comprise a servo motor in place of the stepper motor 20.

In an alternate embodiment, the manifold 40 is an elongate body 42 with a cylindrical, conical or spinal shape.
In an alternate embodiment, the body 42 is provided with slots rather than flutes 48.
In an alternate embodiment, the manifold 40 is joined to the motor 20 by mechanical connections. This may be completed by a twist and lock connection. The motor 20 may be provided with three pins which slot and engage with corresponding grooves provided in the manifold 20.

We Claim:

An inline pump comprising a motor and a manifold, wherein
the manifold is an elongate body having a first end and a second end, the second end terminating in a collar, wherein the body is provided with a flute or a slot which extends along at least one edge between adjacent sides of the body, between the first end and the collar, wherein the flute or slot terminates adjacent the collar to expose a respective fastener aperture in the collar for inserting a respective fastener to join the motor and the manifold, the motor directly abutting the manifold.
2. An inline pump according to claim 1, wherein two flutes extend along two edges between adjacent sides of the body, between the first end and the collar, to expose two fastener apertures in the collar.
3. An inline pump according to claim 1, wherein the flutes extend along four edges of the four sides of the body, to expose four fastener apertures in the collar.
4. An inline pump according to claim 1, wherein the motor is further connected to the manifold by a hinge or mechanical connection means, wherein the hinge or mechanical connection means are provided on an opposite side of the inline pump to the flute or slot.
5. An inline pump according to claim 1, wherein the motor is a brushed DC motor, brushless DC Motor, stepper motor or a servo motor.
6. An inline pump according to claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the manifold is transparent, non-transparent or translucent.
7. An inline pump according to claim 1, wherein the body and or the collar is transparent.
8. An inline pump according to claim 1, wherein the manifold is made of acrylic, metal or plastic.
9. An inline pump according to claim 1, wherein the elongate body is one of a rectangular cuboid, a cylinder, a cone or spine.
10. An inline pump comprising a motor and a manifold, wherein

the manifold is an elongate body having a first end and a second end, the second end terminating in a collar,
wherein the body is provided with mechanical connections comprising grooves which receive respective pins projecting from the motor, the motor directly abutting the manifold.
11. A method of manufacturing an inline pump comprising the steps of:
providing a motor and a manifold, wherein the manifold is elongate body having a first end and a second end, the second end terminating in a collar, wherein the body is provided with a flute or a slot which extends along at least one edge between adjacent sides of the body, between the first end and the collar, wherein the flute or slot terminates adjacent the collar to expose respective fastener aperture in the collar for inserting a respective fastner, aligning the manifold and the motor along a longitudinal axis, directly abutting the manifold and the motor, joining the manifold to the motor using a fastener, the fastener being inserted through the fastener aperture of the collar.
12. A method of manufacturing an inline pump according to claim 11, wherein four fasteners are used to join the manifold to the motor.
13. A method of manufacturing an inline pump according to claim 11, comprising the further step of providing an annular seal, an annular stopper plate and a piston, wherein the annular seal, annular stopper plate and the piston are inserted into the bore of the manifold before the manifold is joined to the motor.