Oxygen monitoring apparatus
First Claim
1. A respiratory flow component of an oxygen monitoring apparatus, comprising:
- a flow passage;
a luminescable composition having a window adjacent thereto, said luminescable composition in communication with said flow passage and positioned so as to be exposed to gases flowing through the respiratory flow component, luminescence of said luminescable composition being quenched when said luminescable composition is exposed to oxygen; and
a thermal communication component in contact with at least one of said luminescable composition and a matrix or support structure for said luminescable composition, said thermal communication component configured to effect at least one of;
preventing condensation from collecting on said window;
monitoring of a temperature of said luminescable composition; and
maintaining a temperature of said luminescable composition.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Apparatus or systems which employ luminescence quenching to produce a signal indicative of oxygen concentration. Components of such systems include: an airway adapter, sampling cell, or the like, having a sensor which is excited into luminescence with the luminescence decaying in a manner reflecting the concentration of oxygen in gases flowing through the airway adapter or other flow device; a transducer which has a light source for exciting a luminescable composition in the sensor into luminescence and a light sensitive detector for converting energy emitted from the luminescing composition as that composition is quenched into an electrical signal indicative of oxygen concentration in the gases being monitored; and subsystems for maintaining the sensor temperature constant and for processing the signal generated by the light sensitive detector. Sensors for systems of the character just described, methods of fabricating those sensors, and methods for installing the sensors in the flow device are also described.
136 Citations
46 Claims
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1. A respiratory flow component of an oxygen monitoring apparatus, comprising:
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a flow passage;
a luminescable composition having a window adjacent thereto, said luminescable composition in communication with said flow passage and positioned so as to be exposed to gases flowing through the respiratory flow component, luminescence of said luminescable composition being quenched when said luminescable composition is exposed to oxygen; and
a thermal communication component in contact with at least one of said luminescable composition and a matrix or support structure for said luminescable composition, said thermal communication component configured to effect at least one of;
preventing condensation from collecting on said window;
monitoring of a temperature of said luminescable composition; and
maintaining a temperature of said luminescable composition. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46)
an absolute pressure transducer;
a differential pressure transducer; and
a valve which is selectively operable to provide communication between said flow passage and said absolute pressure transducer, said flow passage and ambient surroundings, and said flow passage and said differential pressure transducer.
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35. The respiratory flow component of claim 32, wherein said pressure transducer comprises a differential pressure transducer and further including a flow restrictor in said flow passage.
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36. The respiratory flow component of claim 4, wherein said sampling cell communicates with ambient surroundings to establish atmospheric pressure as a baseline pressure in said sampling cell.
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37. The respiratory flow component of claim 4, wherein said sampling cell is removable from the oxygen monitoring apparatus.
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38. The respiratory flow component of claim 1, wherein said thermal communication component comprises at least a portion of a temperature control component configured to maintain said luminescable composition at a substantially constant temperature.
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39. The respiratory flow component of claim 38, comprising a first member of said temperature control component, a transducer component that is configured to be assembled with the respiratory flow component comprising a second member of said temperature control component.
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40. The respiratory flow component of claim 39, wherein, upon assembly of the respiratory flow component and the transducer component, said first and second members of said temperature control component are biased against one another.
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41. The respiratory flow component of claim 39, wherein said first member comprises a thermal capacitor.
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42. The respiratory flow component of claim 41, wherein said thermal capacitor is in intimate contact with a matrix that carries said luminescable composition.
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43. The respiratory flow component of claim 41, wherein said thermal capacitor provides at least one of a heat sink and a support for a matrix on which said luminescable composition is carried.
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44. The respiratory flow component of claim 42, wherein said thermal capacitor and adjacent edges of an aperture of the respiratory flow component within which said thermal capacitor is at least partially located retain at least edge portions of said matrix therebetween.
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45. The respiratory flow component of claim 39, including a resiliently displaceable member which is configured to be displaced and to expose said first member upon assembly of the respiratory flow component with the transducer component.
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46. The respiratory flow component of claim 39, further comprising a temperature sensor configured to sense a temperature of at least one of said temperature control component, said first member, and said second member.
Specification