1. A syringe assembly for use with an infusion pump having a drive piston, the syringe assembly comprising:
a substantially hollow syringe housing;
a plunger axially movable within the syringe housing to expel a fluid therefrom, the plunger having a body with a portion configured to engage a radially elastic member associated with the drive piston such that the plunger is releasably axially secured relative to the drive piston.
2. The syringe assembly of claim 1 wherein the plunger body has a substantially hollow tubular configuration with an open end configured to receive a portion of the drive piston, the tubular body including an interior annular groove configured to receive a portion of the radially elastic member.
3. The syringe assembly of claim 2 wherein the interior annular groove has opposed side walls which are angled relative to one another by approximately 90 to 175 degrees.
4. The syringe assembly of claim 2 wherein the interior annular groove has opposed side walls which are angled relative to one another by approximately 135 degrees.
5. The syringe assembly of claim 2 wherein the plunger body open end is tapered inwardly.
6. The syringe assembly of claim 1 wherein at least a portion of the plunger body is configured to be received within a portion of the drive piston and the plunger body includes an exterior annular groove configured to receive a portion of the radially elastic member.
7. An infusion pump assembly comprising:
an insulin pump including a drive piston having a radially elastic member associated therewith; and
a syringe assembly including a substantially hollow syringe housing and a plunger axially movable within the syringe housing to expel a fluid therefrom, the plunger having a body with a portion configured to engage the radially elastic member associated with the drive piston such that the plunger is releasably axially secured relative to the drive piston.
8. The infusion pump assembly of claim 7 wherein the plunger body includes a first annular groove configured to receive a portion of the radially elastic member and the drive piston includes a second annular groove configured to receive a portion of the radially elastic member.
9. The infusion pump assembly of claim 8 wherein the first and second annular grooves are axially aligned when the plunger is positioned in a final assembled position relative to the drive piston.
10. The infusion pump assembly of claim 8 wherein the first annular groove has opposed side walls which are angled relative to one another by approximately 90 to 175 degrees.
11. The infusion pump assembly of claim 8 wherein the interior annular groove has opposed side walls which are angled relative to one another by approximately 135 degrees.
12. The infusion pump assembly of claim 8 wherein the second annular groove is radially deeper than the first annular groove.
13. The infusion pump assembly of claim 8 wherein the plunger body has a substantially hollow tubular configuration with an open end configured to receive a portion of the drive piston and the first annular groove is an interior groove and the second annular groove is an external groove.
14. The infusion pump assembly of claim 8 wherein at least a portion of the plunger body is configured to be received within a portion of the drive piston and the first annular groove is an exterior groove and the second annular groove is an internal groove.
15. The infusion pump assembly of claim 7 wherein the radially elastic member is a canted coil spring.
16. The infusion pump assembly of claim 7 wherein the radially elastic member is a solid ring manufactured from an elastomeric material.
17. An infusion pump assembly comprising:
an insulin pump including a drive piston with a first annular groove;
a syringe assembly including a substantially hollow syringe housing and a plunger axially movable within the syringe housing to expel a fluid therefrom, the plunger having a body engagable with the drive piston and including a second annular groove; and
a radially elastic member positional within the first and second grooves to releasably, axially secure the plunger relative to the drive piston.
18. The infusion pump assembly of claim 17 wherein the plunger is engaged with and releasably axially secured to the drive piston via an axial force in a first direction.
19. The infusion pump assembly of claim 18 wherein a sufficient axial force in a second direction opposite the first direction releases the plunger with respect to the drive piston.
20. The infusion pump assembly of claim 19 wherein a friction force exists between the syringe housing and the plunger which is greater than the force required to engage the plunger to the drive piston and greater than the force required to release the plunger with respect to the drive piston.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A method for driving a light emitting diode coupled to an output of a current mirror, comprising steps of:
providing a control terminal voltage of said current mirror as a reference voltage;
increasing a voltage of an input of said current mirror and providing an input of said light emitting diode as a voltage feedback point for keeping a constant voltage difference between said input and said output of said current mirror; and
driving said light emitting diode by a voltage at said output of said current mirror.
2. The method according to claim 1 used for driving a plurality of light emitting diodes, which are arranged in parallel.
3. The method according to claim 1, wherein said current mirror is formed by coupling a plurality of MOS transistors.
4. The method according to claim 1, wherein said light emitting diode is one of a white light emitting diode and a blue light emitting diode.
5. The method according to claim 1, wherein increasing said voltage of said input of said current mirror is performed by an inductor.
6. A method for driving a light emitting diode coupled to an output of a current mirror, comprising steps of:
subtracting an offset voltage from a voltage of said input of said current mirror to obtain a reference voltage.
increasing said voltage of said input of said current mirror and providing an input of said light emitting diode as a voltage feedback point for keeping a constant voltage difference between said input and said output of said current mirror; and
driving said light emitting diode by a voltage of said output of said current mirror.
7. The method according to claim 6 used for a plurality of light emitting diodes, which are arranged in parallel.
8. The method according to claim 6, wherein said current mirror is formed by coupling a plurality of MOS transistors.
9. The method according to claim 6, wherein said light emitting diode is one of a white light emitting diode and a blue light emitting diode.
10. The method according to claim 6, wherein said increasing said voltage of said input of said current mirror is performed by an inductor.
11. A method for driving a plurality of groups of light emitting diodes coupled to an output of a current mirror, wherein said plurality of groups of light emitting diodes are connected in parallel and said light emitting diodes in each group are connected in series, comprising steps of:
increasing a voltage of an input of said current mirror to a fixed voltage to obtain a group containing a maximal amount of light emitting diodes;
providing a control terminal voltage of said current mirror as a reference voltage;
providing an input of said group containing said maximal amount of light emitting diodes as a voltage feedback point and regulating said voltage of said input of said current mirror for keeping a constant voltage difference between said input and said output of said current mirror; and
driving said plurality of groups of light emitting diodes by a voltage of said output of said current mirror.
12. The method according to claim 11, wherein said current mirror is formed by coupling a plurality of MOS transistors.
13. The method according to claim 11, wherein said light emitting diodes are white light emitting diodes.
14. The method according to claim 11, wherein said light emitting diodes are blue light emitting diodes.
15. The method according to claim 11, wherein increasing said voltage of said input of said current mirror is performed by an inductor.
16. A method for driving a plurality of groups of light emitting diodes coupled to an output of a current mirror, wherein said plurality of groups of light emitting diodes are connected in parallel and said light emitting diodes in each group are connected in series, comprising steps of:
increasing a voltage of an input of said current mirror to a fixed voltage to obtain a group containing a maximal amount of light emitting diodes
subtracting an offset voltage from said voltage of said input of said current mirror to obtain a reference voltage;
providing an input of said group containing said maximal amount of light emitting diodes as a voltage feedback point and regulating said voltage of said input of said current mirror for keeping a constant voltage difference between said input and said output of said current mirror; and
driving said plurality of groups of light emitting diodes by a voltage of said output of said current mirror.
17. The method according to claim 16, wherein said current mirror is formed by coupling a plurality of MOS transistors.
18. The method according to claim 16, wherein said light emitting diodes are white light emitting diodes.
19. The method according to claim 16, wherein said light emitting diodes are blue light emitting diodes.
20. The method according to claim 16, wherein increasing said voltage of said input of said current mirror is performed by an inductor.