FLUID LEVEL SENSOR FOR A CONTAINER OF A NEGATIVE PRESSURE WOUND TREATMENT SYSTEM
First Claim
1. An apparatus for collecting medical waste fluids, comprising:
- a medical waste collection container for collecting medical waste fluids;
first and second electrically conductive sensing elements disposed inside said container so as to be exposed to fluid collected in said container, where said first and second sensing elements are located inside said container at a position corresponding to a full fluid level at which point said container is full of fluid; and
an electronic circuit coupled to said sensing elements for generating a full alarm signal when said electronic circuit determines that current can flow between said first and second sensing elements as a result of fluid in said container reaching the full fluid level and thereby completing a current path between said first and second sensing elements.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus is provided for collecting medical waste fluids. The apparatus includes: a medical waste collection container for collecting medical waste fluids; first and second electrically conductive sensing elements disposed inside the container so as to be exposed to fluid collected in the container, where the first and second sensing elements are located inside the container at a position corresponding to a full fluid level at which point the container is full of fluid; and an electronic circuit coupled to the sensing elements for generating a full alarm signal when the electronic circuit determines that current can flow between the first and second sensing elements as a result of fluid in the container reaching the full fluid level and thereby completing a current path between the first and second sensing elements.
136 Citations
29 Claims
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1. An apparatus for collecting medical waste fluids, comprising:
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a medical waste collection container for collecting medical waste fluids; first and second electrically conductive sensing elements disposed inside said container so as to be exposed to fluid collected in said container, where said first and second sensing elements are located inside said container at a position corresponding to a full fluid level at which point said container is full of fluid; and an electronic circuit coupled to said sensing elements for generating a full alarm signal when said electronic circuit determines that current can flow between said first and second sensing elements as a result of fluid in said container reaching the full fluid level and thereby completing a current path between said first and second sensing elements. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A system for the treatment of wounds by applying a negative pressure to a wound site, comprising:
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an electronically controlled suction regulator; a valve connected to said suction regulator for supplying a suction at an output; a medical waste collection container for collecting medical waste fluids and coupled to the output of said valve; first and second electrically conductive sensing elements disposed inside said container so as to be exposed to fluid collected in said container, where said first and second sensing elements are located inside said container at a position corresponding to a full fluid level at which point said container is full of fluid; and a control circuit coupled to said valve and said first and second sensing elements for generating control signals for controlling said valve and for generating a full alarm signal when said control circuit determines that current can flow between said first and second sensing elements as a result of fluid in said container reaching the full fluid level and thereby completing a current path between said first and second sensing elements, wherein said control circuit further generates a control signal to interrupt the supply of the suction at said output when a full alarm signal is generated. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A method of detecting whether a container is full of medical waste fluids comprising the steps of:
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providing first and second electrically conductive sensing elements inside the container so as to be exposed to fluid collected in the container, where the first and second sensing elements are located inside the container at a position corresponding to a full fluid level at which point the container is full of fluid; and generating a full alarm signal when electrical current can flow between the first and second sensing elements as a result of fluid in the container reaching the full fluid level and thereby completing a current path between the first and second sensing elements.
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Specification