Pressure equalized flow control apparatus and method for endoscope channels
First Claim
1. A pressure equalized valve, comprising:
- an enclosed valve chamber having inlet and outlet ports allowing passage of fluid into and out of the valve chamber;
a hollow valve conduit positioned within the valve chamber and connecting the inlet port with the outlet port, the valve conduit including a resilient tube with an interior and an exterior;
a valve actuator positioned at least partially within the valve chamber, the valve actuator being configured to control pinching and unpinching of the resilient tube to regulate fluid flow through the resilient tube of the valve conduit; and
a pressure equalizing vent coupling the interior of the valve conduit with the exterior of the valve conduit within the valve chamber in a manner that ensures that a fluid pressure within the valve conduit substantially equals a fluid pressure on the exterior of the valve conduit within the valve chamber.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A pressure equalized flow control apparatus and method controls the flow of fluid through a resilient tube. The resilient tube is surrounded by an enclosed chamber having inlet and outlet ports in fluid communication with the interior of the resilient tube. A vent connecting the interior of the resilient tube with the interior of the enclosed chamber equalizes the fluid pressure inside the resilient tube with the fluid pressure outside the resilient tube within the enclosed chamber. By equalizing the pressures inside and outside of the resilient tube, the vent prevents the resilient tube from collapsing when the resilient tube is under suction. Similarly, the pressure equalization prevents a positive fluid pressure from exerting an outward force on the wall of the tube which must be overcome to pinch the tube. Thus, by using pressure equalization, the vent enables the resilient tube to have a relatively thin wall that is easily pinched to close the resilient tube.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A pressure equalized valve, comprising:
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an enclosed valve chamber having inlet and outlet ports allowing passage of fluid into and out of the valve chamber; a hollow valve conduit positioned within the valve chamber and connecting the inlet port with the outlet port, the valve conduit including a resilient tube with an interior and an exterior; a valve actuator positioned at least partially within the valve chamber, the valve actuator being configured to control pinching and unpinching of the resilient tube to regulate fluid flow through the resilient tube of the valve conduit; and a pressure equalizing vent coupling the interior of the valve conduit with the exterior of the valve conduit within the valve chamber in a manner that ensures that a fluid pressure within the valve conduit substantially equals a fluid pressure on the exterior of the valve conduit within the valve chamber. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A pressure equalized apparatus for providing controllable fluid flow, comprising:
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an enclosed chamber having inlet and outlet ports allowing passage of fluid into and out of the chamber; a hollow fluid conduit being positioned within the chamber and connecting the inlet port with the outlet port, the fluid conduit including a resilient tube and having an interior; and a pressure equalizing vent coupling the interior of the fluid conduit with the chamber outside the fluid conduit in a manner that ensures that a fluid pressure within the fluid conduit substantially equals a fluid pressure on the exterior of the fluid conduit within the chamber. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method of allowing controllable fluid flow through a resilient tube having an interior an an exterior, comprising:
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providing an enclosed chamber surrounding at least a portion of the resilient tube, the enclosed chamber having inlet and outlet ports in fluid communication with the interior of the resilient tube; equalizing fluid pressure on the exterior of the resilient tube within the enclosed chamber with fluid pressure within the resilient tube by venting the interior of the resilient tube to the enclosed chamber. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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Specification