US 12,458,760 B2
Liquid delivery cap devices, systems, and methods
Adam Joseph Livingston, Oceanside, CA (US); George Crothall, Oceanside, CA (US); John Christian Love, San Diego, CA (US); Anthony David Barghini, Encinita, CA (US); Jeffrey Michael Johnson, San Diego, CA (US); and Tinh Thanh Tran, San Diego, CA (US)
Assigned to PATIENTS PENDING LTD., London (GB)
Appl. No. 16/954,993
Filed by PATIENTS PENDING LTD., London (GB)
PCT Filed Dec. 18, 2018, PCT No. PCT/IB2018/060265
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Jun. 17, 2020,
PCT Pub. No. WO2019/123258, PCT Pub. Date Jun. 27, 2019.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/599,964, filed on Dec. 18, 2017.
Prior Publication US 2020/0306458 A1, Oct. 1, 2020
Int. Cl. A61M 5/315 (2006.01); A61M 5/31 (2006.01); A61M 5/32 (2006.01)
CPC A61M 5/31568 (2013.01) [A61M 5/3202 (2013.01); A61M 2005/3125 (2013.01); A61M 2205/3306 (2013.01); A61M 2205/3317 (2013.01); A61M 2205/50 (2013.01)] 26 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A liquid delivery system cap device, the cap device comprising:
a body defining a cavity configured to receive at least a portion of a liquid delivery device;
a sensor carriage movable within the cavity of the body between a first position and a second position;
a first sensor configured to output a first sensor signal indicative of a plunger of the liquid delivery device relative to the sensor carriage that is moving between the first position and the second position independent from the plunger of the liquid delivery device;
a second sensor disposed on the sensor carriage, wherein the second sensor is configured to output a second sensor signal indicative of one or more of a position of the sensor carriage and a distance the sensor carriage traveled between the first position and the second position; and
a processor configured to detect the plunger of the liquid delivery device based on a variation in the first sensor signal output by the first sensor, and to determine a corresponding position of the plunger based on the second sensor signal output by the second sensor.
 
17. A method of evaluating a condition of a liquid delivery device, comprising:
receiving at least a portion of a liquid delivery device within a cavity of a cap device;
generating by a first sensor a first sensor signal indicative of a feature of the liquid delivery device relative to a sensor carriage, which comprises moving the sensor carriage within the cavity of the liquid delivery between a first position and a second position independent from the liquid delivery device;
generating by a second sensor, that is disposed on the sensor carriage, a second sensor signal output indicative of one or more of a position of the sensor carriage and a distance the sensor carriage traveled between the first position and the second position; and
evaluating the first sensor signal output by the first sensor and the second sensor signal output by the second sensor to determine a position of the feature of the liquid delivery device.
 
22. A liquid delivery system cap device, the cap device comprising:
a body defining a cavity configured to receive at least a portion of a liquid delivery device;
a first sensor configured to output a first sensor signal indicative of a plunger of the liquid delivery device relative to a sensor carriage that is moving between a first position and a second position within the cavity of the body independent from the plunger of the liquid delivery device;
a second sensor configured to output a second sensor signal indicative of a position; and
a processor configured to detect the plunger of the liquid delivery device based on a variation in the first sensor signal output by the first sensor, and to determine a corresponding position based on the second sensor signal output by the second sensor,
wherein the second sensor comprises a linear encoder including a code strip and an encoder, and the linear encoder is located on the sensor carriage.