Pressure-driven attachable topical fluid delivery system

Claim 1

A fluid delivery device for delivering fluid to a patient comprising: a reservoir for containing a supply of the fluid; an inlet channel disposed in fluid communication with the reservoir; an outlet channel disposed in series and in fluid communication with the inlet channel such that said inlet channel resides between the reservoir and the outlet channel; pressure means disposed on the reservoir for exerting a continuous positive pressure within said reservoir; a housing having interior walls including first and second interior side walls defining an intermediate dosing chamber, said first side wall having an inlet port formed therein and said second side wall having an outlet port and an intermediate port formed therein, the inlet and outlet channels being disposed in communication with the dosing chamber via the inlet port and the outlet port, respectively; a resilient membrane sealably attached in an expanded configuration along a circumferential portion thereof to the interior walls of the housing to divide the dosing chamber into first and second sections, said membrane having a first side facing the inlet port to define the first section and an opposing second side facing the outlet port and the intermediate port to define the second section, such that elastic memory of the molecular structure of the membrane acts to contract the membrane toward the inlet port, said membrane being alternately expandable toward the outlet port to a diastolic position and contractible toward the inlet port to a systolic position; guide channel means disposed in communication with the inlet channel, inlet port and intermediate port for channeling fluid between the inlet channel and the inlet port, and between the inlet port and the intermediate port; dosing actuation means disposed on the guide channel means including a reciprocating portion being movable in a reciprocating motion between second and first positions for respectively (i) releasing fluid flow between the inlet channel and the inlet port while blocking fluid flow between the inlet port and the intermediate port to permit pressure exerted by the pressure means to force a dose of fluid from the reservoir into the first section of the dosing chamber and against the membrane to forcibly expand the membrane into a diastolic position, and (ii) releasing fluid flow between the inlet port and the intermediate port while blocking fluid flow between the inlet channel and the inlet port to thereby shield the membrane from pressure exerted by the pressure means and permit the elastic memory of the membrane to contractably move the membrane toward the inlet port to a systolic position to force the dose of fluid out of the first section of the dosing chamber back through the inlet port toward the intermediate port to thereby force a dose of fluid through the intermediate port into the second section of the dosing chamber, such that when said reciprocating portion of the actuation means is moved into the second position the dose of fluid which is forced into the first section of the dosing chamber and which forcibly expands the membrane toward the outlet port into a diastolic position thereby causes the membrane to eject a previous dose of fluid residing in the second section of the dosing chamber out of the outlet channel to the patient.