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Fluid flow control process and apparatus

  • US 4,670,007 A
  • Filed: 02/14/1984
  • Issued: 06/02/1987
  • Est. Priority Date: 08/03/1982
  • Status: Expired due to Fees
First Claim
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1. A process of administering fluid to a patient and maintaining the actual volumetric delivery rate of said fluid in substantial conformity with a selected volumetric delivery rate throughout the administration procedure, comprising the steps of:

  • engaging an administration set, connected to a fluid container, with peristaltic pump means for delivering a flow of said fluid from said container and through said administration set, said pump means being driven by electrical drive motor means,actuating selected means to select a required volumetric delivery rate for said fluid and producing a signal identifying said selected delivery rate,utilising processing means to process said selected delivery rate signal and produce a control signal for said drive motor means corresponding to the speed thereof nominally required to drive said pump means at said selected delivery rate,said control signal being produced by accessing a routine of said processing means providing the relationship between selectable delivery rates and speeds of said drive motor means nominally required to produce said selectable delivery rates,initiating administration and operating said drive motor means at the speed established by said control signal, thereby to control the initial fluid delivery rate of said pump means,monitoring the weight of said fluid container and its contents with weight sensing means and producing weight signals corresponding to the loss in weight as said fluid is dispensed from said container,utilising said processing means to process said weight signals with respect to time and specific gravity of said fluid and produce data identifying the actual volumetric delivery rate of said fluid, comparing said selected delivery rate signal with said actual delivery rate data to produce a further control signal for said drive motor means corresponding to the operating speed of said drive motor means required to conform said actual delivery rate to said selected delivery rate, andsubsequently utilising said further control signal to control said operating speed of said drive motor means and, hence, the delivery rate produced by said pump means after an initial start-up period determined by said processing means.

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