Flow Meter
First Claim
1. A flow meter, comprising:
- a coupler adapted to couple to a drip chamber;
a support member operatively coupled to the coupler;
an image sensor having a field of view and operatively coupled to the support member, wherein the image sensor is positioned to view the drip chamber within the field of view;
a background pattern positioned within the field of view of the first image sensor wherein the drip chamber is between the image sensor and the background pattern, wherein the background pattern includes an array of lines having at least one angle relative to an opening of the drip chamber when viewed from the image sensor within the field of view; and
at least one processor operatively coupled to the image sensor, wherein the at least one processor is configured to;
receive image data from the image sensor, the image data including an image at least a portion of the background pattern,compare the image data to a background image to generate a difference image, wherein the difference image corresponds to differences between the image data and the background image; and
determine whether a free flow condition exists in accordance with the difference image.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An flow meter includes a coupler, a support member, an image sensor, and one or more processors. The coupler is adapted to couple to a drip chamber. The support member is operatively coupled to the coupler. The image sensor has a field of view and is operatively coupled to the support member. The image sensor is positioned to view the drip chamber within its field of view. The one or more processors are operatively coupled to the image sensor to receive data thereform. The one or more processors (1) receive image data from the image sensor, and (2) determine an existence of a free flow condition by identifying an optical distortion of an area behind the free flow condition within the drip chamber using the received image data.
143 Citations
21 Claims
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1. A flow meter, comprising:
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a coupler adapted to couple to a drip chamber; a support member operatively coupled to the coupler; an image sensor having a field of view and operatively coupled to the support member, wherein the image sensor is positioned to view the drip chamber within the field of view; a background pattern positioned within the field of view of the first image sensor wherein the drip chamber is between the image sensor and the background pattern, wherein the background pattern includes an array of lines having at least one angle relative to an opening of the drip chamber when viewed from the image sensor within the field of view; and at least one processor operatively coupled to the image sensor, wherein the at least one processor is configured to; receive image data from the image sensor, the image data including an image at least a portion of the background pattern, compare the image data to a background image to generate a difference image, wherein the difference image corresponds to differences between the image data and the background image; and determine whether a free flow condition exists in accordance with the difference image. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method, comprising:
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capturing an image including an image of a drip chamber using an image sensor having a field of view including the drip chamber; subtracting the image from a background image to thereby generate a difference image; converting each pixel of the difference image to a true value if an absolute value of a respective pixel is greater than a predetermined threshold or to a false value if the absolute value of the respective pixel is less than the predetermined threshold; summing each row of the converted difference image to generate a plurality of summation values, wherein each summation value of the plurality of summation values corresponds to a respective row of the converted difference image; and examining the plurality of summation values. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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Specification