Flow Sensor Calibrated by Volume Changes
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An inline flow sensor, comprising:
- a conduit defining a flow passageway between a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet;
a ball member movable within said flow passageway;
a spring for urging said ball member in a direction opposite a direction of fluid flow through said conduit; and
an optical sensor for determining a position of said ball member within saidconduit.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An infusion pump and method are provided which combine flow rate measurements calibrated by accurate volume measurements over time.
97 Citations
21 Claims
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1. An inline flow sensor, comprising:
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a conduit defining a flow passageway between a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet; a ball member movable within said flow passageway; a spring for urging said ball member in a direction opposite a direction of fluid flow through said conduit; and an optical sensor for determining a position of said ball member within said conduit. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A flow control system for a fluid delivery system of a type for delivering a volume of fluid from a container, the fluid control system comprising:
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an inline flow sensor fluidically coupled to an output of the fluid delivery system for generating a signal representative of a sensed flow rate of the fluid; means for calculating volume of the liquid remaining in the container; and a computer-based information handling system including; means for monitoring the signal from the inline flow sensor; means for calibrating said inline flow sensor using the signal from the inline flow sensor and successive calculations of volume of the liquid remaining in the container; and means for determining a flow rate of the fluid using one or both of;
the successive calculations of volume of the liquid remaining in the container; and
the signal from the inline flow sensor.
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11. A method of determining an absolute flow rate of a fluid to be delivered in a fluid delivery system, comprising:
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sensing a relative flow rate using an inline flow sensor fluidically coupled to an output of the fluid delivery system for generating a signal representative of the sensed relative flow rate of the fluid; and determining the absolute flow rate of the fluid from the sensed relative flow rate of the fluid. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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Specification