Abstract: An axial flow blood pump for intracorporeal or extracorporeal use pumps blood axially through a cylindrical conduit disposed in the bloodstream of a patient. The pump further includes a pump stator mounted in the conduit and a motor stator located either externally or internally of the conduit which applies a magnetic flux in the conduit. A rotor located in the conduit carries permanent magnets which interact with the applied magnetic flux to rotate the rotor. The rotor also carries impeller blades which, during rotation, produces an axial flow of blood through the conduit. During rotor rotation, the rotor is radially suspended solely by one or more hydrodynamic bearings formed by blood flowing through the conduit, with the location of at least one hydrodynamic bearing defined by a radial gap between the inside surface of the conduit and the rotor.

Abstract: A motor/blood pump which axially pumps blood to a patient connected to a heart/lung machine includes a cylindrical pump housing, a rotor located in the housing, at least one impeller blade attached to the rotor, a pair of stator halves mechanically connectable to the outside of the housing and a motor controller electrically connected to the stator halves. The controller electrically actuates the interconnected stator halves to rotatably drive the rotor on a hydrodynamic bearing of the blood in the housing, and the impeller blade axially pumps blood through the housing. Mechanically and electrically interconnectable stator halves enable the reusable stator to be connected to and disconnected from the disposable pump housing without interrupting the blood flow path.

Abstract: A brushless DC motor has a rotor with impeller blades mounted thereon to pump blood through the central portion of the motor. Over a portion of its length, the rotor has a cylindrical surface that is spaced from a cooperating cylindrical surface on the motor stator. There is a gap between these cylindrical surfaces through which there is a leakage flow of blood. The relative motion between the cylindrical surfaces provides a hydrodynamic bearing that suspends the rotor in the stator.

Abstract: A liquid fogging apparatus has a motor which operates from the 12 volt power supply of a vehicle and delivers high torque at high speed, operating aproximately at 0.2 horsepower at 28,000 RPM. A rotating ring of porous ceramic material atomizes the liquid. The motor is small, 1.6" in diameter with a 5/8" diameter rotor. The stator has four phases each preferably containing eight three-turn windings of four strand wire, wound in slots in the outer surface of a short laminated stack, which is reinforced in epoxy with its inner surface honed to minimum thickness to reduce flux leakage. Eight bipolar permanent magnets are set in axial slots of a rotor stack with like poles facing tangentially toward each other around the rotor shaft. A controller commutates the motor sensing back-EMF on the windings to control speed and detect motion during start-up.

Abstract: Two redundant hearts are operated simultaneously for normal patient activity, one of said hearts having sufficient capacity to maintain life at a reduced activity in the event of failure of the other.A single housing contains two brushless DC motors that pump hydraulic fluid to diaphragms which are part of the two respective hearts. The diaphragms operate, on the blood side, to pump blood in a single blood system connected respectively to the aorta, left atrium, right atrium and pulmonary artery.If one motor fails, the remaining motor will pump sufficient blood to keep the patient alive until the heart can be replaced.

Abstract: A housing for enclosing a power source for operating an implanted artificial organ is provided. The housing has an annular rim defining an aperture and is mounted in the human body such that replacement of the power source through the aperture is effected from outside the body without resort to surgical means. The housing is secured in the body by attachment to internal tissue, preferably bone.

Abstract: An arthroscopic cutting device has an external tube, a knife telescopically received within and rotatably mounted with respect to the external tube, a dc motor drivably connected to the knife and means for controlling the motor to periodically reverse the direction of rotation of the knife about every two revolutions, thus providing increased speed and efficiency in bidirectional cutting action during arthroscopic surgery.

Abstract: A machine includes a rotor with a magnetic field produced therein that is fixedly oriented with respect to the rotor. The rotor is rotatably mounted within a stator which has a plurality of windings. Means are provided for applying voltage pulses to the stator windings. When voltage pulses are applied to the stator windings, there is a torque due to the interaction of a magnetic field produced in the stator windings and the rotor magnetic field that causes the rotor to rotate. A control system responds to voltage induced across unpowered stator windings by the rotating rotor magnetic field and controls application of the voltage pulses to the stator windings. The voltage pulse sequence, frequency, and duration are determined by the control system. The control system may also adjust the voltage pulse amplitude. The voltage pulses are applied to the stator windings in such a way that the machine operates at optimum efficiency and at a selectable speed over a wide range of loads and/or line voltages.

Abstract: A hydrodynamic bearing system for a motor. The motor is illustrated and described as driving a pump for an artificial heart. The motor stator has a cylindrical bore which is closed at one end. The rotor is slidable and rotatable in the bore. The rotor has affixed to its shaft an impeller with its outside diameter concentric to the rotor outside diameter. Both rotor and impeller are supported hydrodynamically such that the tendency is for the entire rotor/impeller assembly (the only moving element) to be completely suspended by fluid. The rotor can be rapidly reversed to provide heart pumping action or can be driven unidirectionally for artificial heart pumping action of another type. The fluid cannot easily escape from the closed end of the stator, thereby providing a dashpot effect which tends to keep the rotor from changing position.

Abstract: A heart pumpconsisting of a housing having an inlet and an outlet and a diaphragm adapted to be reciprocated to cause flow of flood through the inlet and the outlet, a brushless dc motor mounted on the housing, the motor having a fixed ball screw nut and a ball screw mounted for axial movement with respect to the motor rotor while being fixed against rotation with respect to the rotor whereby rotation of the rotor causes the screw to move axially with respect to the motor thereby actuating the pump diaphragm.

Abstract: A machine includes a rotor with a magnetic field produced therein that is fixedly oriented with respect to the rotor. The rotor is rotatably mounted within a stator which has a plurality of windings. Means are provided for applying voltage pulses to the stator windings. When voltage pulses are applied to the stator windings, there is a torque due to the interaction of a magnetic field produced in the stator windings and the rotor magnetic field that causes the rotor to rotate. A control system responds to voltage induced across unpowered stator windings by the rotating rotor magnetic field and controls application of the voltage pulses to the stator windings. The voltage pulse sequence, frequency, and duration are determined by the control system. The control system may also adjust the voltage pulse amplitude. The voltage pulses are applied to the stator windings in such a way that the machine operates at optimum efficiency and at a selectable speed over a wide range of loads and/or line voltages.

Abstract: An elongated tub-like container is supported for vibration by a set of springs mounted on a frame, and a plurality of sets of opposing electromagnets are positioned on opposite sides of corresponding armatures connected to the container for vibrating the container. A regulator is connected to vary the electric power supplied to only one set or a portion of the electromagnets while the remaining electromagnets are either energized or not energized depending on the level of power required for vibrating the container. In the embodiment illustrated with three sets of opposing electromagnets, the center set of electromagnets is controlled by a voltage regulator, and the outer sets of electromagnets are selectively energized to provide for obtaining any desired power between zero and the maximum in three stages with a voltage regulator of minimum size.

Abstract: A machine which operates like a DC commutator motor continuously variable in speed with load change or held to a fixed selectable speed. The machine includes a rotor member with means for producing a magnetic field therein fixedly oriented with respect to the rotor. The rotor is rotatably mounted within a stator which has a plurality of windings. Means are provided for applying periodic power pulses to the stator windings. When current passes through a stator winding, there is a torque due to the interaction of the winding generated flux and the rotor field, that causes the rotor to rotate. A power control system responds to signals induced in unpowered stator windings by the rotating rotor field to produce power pulses at a predetermined frequency. The pulse duration and amplitude are adjusted by the control system.