Liquid medicine-measuring device for liquid medicine-injecting device

• US 7,611,496 B2
• Filed: 10/27/2003
• Issued: 11/03/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Daiken IkI Kabushiki Kaisha
• Original Assignee: Daiken IkI Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: Yamada, Keiichi, Nakazawa, Hajime, Aida, Koichi, Nakata, Yoshinori
• Primary Examiner(s): Lucchesi; Nicholas D
• Assistant Examiner(s): VU, QUYNH-NHU HOANG
• Application Number:
  US10/532,697
• Publication Number:
  US 20060150725A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,199 Days
• Field of Search: 604/246, 731/49, 73/530.1, 73/11.3, 177/148, 177/149, 177/168, 177/169, 177/170, 177/232, 177/233, 177244-245, 177238-243, 220/752, 220/754, 220/755, 215/399, 215/293, 215/306
• US Class Current: 604/246
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/152 pressurised by contraction of elastic reservoirs containers for dispensing contents by contraction of an elastic bag provided therein, in general B65D83/0061
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/16845 by weight

Abstract

Disclosed is a medical liquid meter (10) for use with a medical liquid feeding device (30) including an expandable container (31), an inlet port (32) for supplying a medical liquid into the expandable container (31) therethrough, and a feed duct (33) for feeding to a patient the medical liquid discharged from one end of the expandable container (31). The medical liquid meter (10) comprises a weight-measuring mechanism (1). The weight of the medical liquid feeding device (30) is measured using the weight-measuring mechanism (1) so as to quantify a remaining amount of the medical liquid stored in the expandable container (31).

Claims

1. A medical liquid feeding unit comprising:

a medical liquid feeding device including an expandable container, an inlet port for supplying a medical liquid into the expandable container therethrough, and a feed duct for feeding to a patient the medical liquid discharged from one end of the expandable container by a contractive force of the expandable container, the medical liquid feeding device further including a hung member;

a medical liquid meter for quantifying a remaining amount of the medical liquid stored in the expandable container, the medical liquid meter including a weight-measuring device for measuring the weight of the medical liquid feeding device and a suspender provided on the weight-measuring device, the suspender being configured for disengageably engaging the hung member for suspending the medical liquid feeding device, and the weight of the medical liquid feeding device being measured under a condition that the medical feeding device is suspended by the suspender; and

a cord-shaped connection member adapted, when the suspender is disengaged from the medical liquid feeding device, to maintain the connection between the medical liquid meter and the medical liquid feeding device therethrough.

2. The medical liquid meter as defined in claim 1, wherein the suspender includes a bag-shaped case for receiving the medical liquid feeding device therein, wherein the medical liquid feeding device is suspended by the suspender under the condition that it is received in the case.

3. The medical liquid feeding unit as defined in claim 1, wherein the weight-measuring device includes a weight-measuring indicator, wherein the weight-measuring device is corrected such that the weight-measuring indicator indicates a zero point of a scale when no medical liquid is stored in the expandable container.

4. The medical liquid feeding unit as defined in claim 3, wherein the weight-measuring device includes an elastic member adapted to support the weight of the medical liquid feeding device, wherein the weight-measuring device serves as a weight gauge capable of measuring the weight of the medical liquid feeding device on the basis of the elongation and contraction of the elastic member.

5. The medical liquid meter as defined in claim 2, wherein the weight-measuring device includes a weight-measuring indicator, wherein the weight-measuring device is corrected such that the weight-measuring indicator indicates a zero point of a scale when no medical liquid is stored in the expandable container.

6. The medical liquid meter as defined in claim 2, wherein the weight-measuring device includes an elastic member adapted to support the weight of the medical liquid feeding device, wherein the weight-measuring device serves as a weight gauge capable of measuring the weight of the medical liquid feeding device on the basis of the elongation and contraction of the elastic member.

7. The medical liquid meter as defined in claim 1 wherein the weight-measuring device includes an elastic member adapted to support the weight of the medical liquid feeding device, wherein the weight-measuring device serves as a weight gauge capable of measuring the weight of the medical liquid feeding device on the basis of the elongation and contraction of the elastic member.

8. The medical liquid feeding unit as defined in claim 1, wherein one of the hung member and the suspender is hook-shaped, and the other of the hung member and the suspender is ring-shaped, the hook-shaped member having an open side configured to disengageably engage one of the ring-shaped member.

9. The medical liquid feeding unit as defined in claim 8, wherein the medical liquid meter includes a substantially tubular case, the weight-measuring device being housed partly in the case so that the suspender projects from one longitudinal end of the substantially tubular case.

10. A medical liquid feeding unit comprising:

a medical liquid feeding device including an expandable container, an inlet port for supplying a medical liquid into the expandable container therethrough, and a feed duct for feeding to a patient the medical liquid discharged from one end of the expandable container by a contractive force of the expandable container, the medical liquid feeding device further including a hung member at the one end of the expandable container;

a medical liquid meter for quantifying a remaining amount of the medical liquid stored in the expandable container, the medical liquid meter including a substantially tubular case having an open first end and a second end opposite the first end, a weight-measuring device movably disposed in the case for measuring the weight of the medical liquid feeding device, and a suspender provided at an end of the weight-measuring device and projecting beyond the open first end of the case, the suspender being configured for disengageably engaging the hung member so that the medical liquid feeding device can be suspended from the medical liquid meter for measuring the weight of the medical liquid feeding device; and

a closed loop at the second end of the case of the medical liquid meter, a cord-shaped connection member being looped through the closed loop at the second end of the case for enabling the medical liquid meter to be retained in proximity to the medical liquid feeding device at times when the hung member is not suspended from the suspender.

11. The medical liquid feeding unit as defined in claim 10, wherein the hung member is hook-shaped and has an open side facing towards an end of the expandable container substantially opposite the one end, the suspender being dimensioned to pass through the open side of the hook-shaped hung member so that the medical liquid feeding device can be suspended from the suspender.