Systems and methods for monitoring reduced pressure supplied by a disc pump system

摘要

A disc pump system includes a pump body having a substantially cylindrical shape defining a cavity for containing a fluid, the cavity being formed by a side wall closed at both ends by substantially circular end walls, at least one of the end walls being a driven end wall. The system includes an actuator operatively associated with the driven end wall to cause an oscillatory motion of the driven end wall and an isolator is operatively associated with the peripheral portion of the driven end wall to reduce damping of the displacement oscillations. The isolator comprises a flexible printed circuit material that includes a strain gauge. The strain gauge measures data that may be used to determine the amount of pressure provided by the pump.

主权项

1. A disc pump system comprising:
a pump body having a substantially cylindrical shape defining a cavity for containing a fluid, the cavity being formed by a side wall closed at both ends by substantially circular end walls, at least one of the end walls being a driven end wall having a central portion and a peripheral portion extending radially outwardly from the central portion of the driven end wall; an actuator operatively associated with the central portion of the driven end wall to cause an oscillatory motion of the driven end wall thereby generating displacement oscillations of the driven end wall in a direction substantially perpendicular thereto; an isolator positioned between the peripheral portion of the driven end wall and the side wall to reduce dampening of the displacement oscillations, the isolator comprising a flexible material that stretches and contracts in response to the oscillatory motion of the driven end wall; a first aperture disposed in either one of the end walls and extending through the pump body; a second aperture disposed in the pump body and extending through the pump body; a valve disposed in at least one of the first aperture and second aperture; a strain gauge operatively associated with the flexible material of the isolator to measure the displacement oscillations of the driven end wall for determining a change in pressure across the actuator; and a processor electrically coupled to the strain gauge and operable to: receive a signal from the strain gauge, the signal being indicative of the change in electrical resistance of the strain gauge, determine the displacement of the driven end wall at a node based on the signal received from the strain gauge, determine the average displacement of the driven end wall over a period of time and determine the pressure differential across the disc pump based on the average displacement of the driven end wall over the period of time.