Abstrict This combination device consists primarily of a stem with a pointed
float with plate means at one end, which is freely received in an
opaque walled sensing chamber, that removably receives a sensing
plug, which is attached to an alerting device, for indicating the
ceasing of flow, of intra-venous fluid to a patient. The pointed
float also serves as a means, for easy insertion of the flow-meter
stylus of the assembly, during insertion, into a bottle of intra-venous
fluid. The sensing plug includes a pair of prongs, one of which,
has a light emitting diode therein, and the other prong includes
a photo-sensitive transistor, and the plate end of the float stem,
when lowered between the prongs by low fluid level, will activate
the circuitry of an alerting device.
Claims What I claim is:
1. A combination intra-venous flow-meter and low level fluid mechanism,
comprising, a hollow square housing of suitable material, a stylus
tube fixedly secured at one end, over a central opening included
in the top wall of said hollow square housing, and the opposite
end of said stylus tube is removably received in the stopper of
a bottle of intra-venous fluid, a stem freely and elevatably received
in said stylus tube, a float fixedly secured at one end, to one
end of said stem, for floatation on the intra-venous fluid level
in its bottle, and a plate integral with the opposite end of said
stem within said hollow square housing, in which the fluid travels,
the bore of the stylus tube being the passageway means for fluid
travel into said hollow square housing, and the end of said float
is pointed, for easy insertion into the stopper of the bottle of
intra-venous fluid.
2. A combination intra-venous flow-meter and low level fluid mechanism,
comprising a hollow square housing of suitable material, a stylus
tube fixedly secured at one end, over a central opening included
in the top wall of said hollow square housing, and the opposite
end of said stylus tube is removably received in the stopper of
a bottle of intra-venous fluid, a stem freely and elevatably received
in said stylus tube, a float fixedly secured at one end, to one
end of said stem, for floatation on the intra-venous fluid level
in its bottle, and a plate integral with the opposite end of said
stem within said hollow square housing, in which the fluid travels,
the bore of the stylus tube being the passageway means for fluid
travel into said hollow square housing, and the end of said float
is pointed, for easy insertion into the stopper of the bottle of
intra-venous fluid, a pair of parallel spaced apart and transparent
sleeves, closed on one end, extend inwardly, partially past the
vertical axis of said hollow square housing, and the open end of
each, is fixedly secured in an opening included in one of the side
walls of said hollow square housing, and provides receptacle means
for a pair of prongs of a sensing plug, and said pair of parallel
spaced apart and transparent sleeves are disposed just above the
bottom wall of said hollow square housing, and said bottom wall
includes an orifice for passing fluid out of said hollow square
housing.
3. A combination intra-venous flow-meter and low level fluid mechanism
comprising a hollow square housing of suitable material, a stylus
tube fixedly secured at one end, over a central opening included
in the top wall of said hollow square housing, and the opposite
end of said stylus tube is removably received in the stopper of
a bottle of intra-venous fluid, a stem freely and elevatably received
in said stylus tube, a float fixedly secured at one end, to one
end of said stem, for floatation on the intra-venous fluid level
in its bottle, and a plate integral with the opposite end of said
stem within said hollow square housing, in which the fluid travels,
the bore of the stylus tube being the passageway means for fluid
travel into said hollow square housing, and the end of said float
is pointed, for easy insertion into the stopper of the bottle of
intra-venous fluid, and said plate is disposed on a plane centrally
between a pair of parallel spaced apart and transparent sleeves,
and when the intra-venous fluid attains a low level, the action
of said float in the fluid, descends said plate between said pair
of parallel spaced apart and transparent sleeves, for activating
an alerting device, and an orifice in the wall of said stylus tube,
spaced just above the bottle stopper, enables fluid to continue
to enter said hollow square housing, after the fluid in the bottle
passes the top end of said stylus tube.
4. A combination intra-venous flow-meter and low level fluid mechanism,
comprising a hollow square housing of suitable material, a stylus
tube fixedly secured at one end, over a central opening included
in the top wall of said hollow square housing, and the opposite
end of said stylus tube is removably received in the stopper of
a bottle of intra-venious fluid, a stem freely and elevatably received
in said stylus tube, a float fixedly secured at one end, to one
end of said stem, for floatation on the intra-venous fluid level
in its bottle, and a plate integral with the opposite end of said
stem within said hollow square housing in which the fluid travels,
the bore of the stylus tube being the passageway means for fluid
travel into said hollow square housing, and the end of said float
is pointed, for easy insertion into the stopper of the bottle of
intra-venous fluid, one of a pair of prongs of a sensing plug, removably
received in one of a pair of parallel spaced apart and transparent
sleeves fixedly secured in a side wall of said hollow square housing,
and said one of a pair of prongs, has fixedly secured therein, a
light emitting diode, near the tip, and said light emitting diode
is flush therewith, and faces towards one side of said plate in
said hollow square housing, and the other of said pair of prongs
in said sensing plug, has fixedly secured therein, a photo-sensitive
transistor, near the tip, which is flush therewith and faces towards
the opposite side of said plate, and the light from said light emitting
diode is normally transmitted through the intra-venous fluid in
said hollow square housing, to said photo-sensitive transistor,
until said plate desends, by low fluid level in the bottle, which
causes the transmitted light to said photo-sensitive transistor
to be blocked, which activated an alerting device, and said photo-sensitive
transistor is coupled to an amplifier that is coupled to a relay,
and said relay is couple to said alerting device.
Description This invention relates to intra-venous devices, and more particularly
to a combination intra-venous flow-meter and low level fluid mechanism,
which will alert hospital personnel to the ceasing of flow, of intra-venous
fluid to a patient, from a bottle of the fluid, which is suspended
from a bedside, etc.
Another object of this invention is to provide a combination intra-venous
flow-meter, and low level fluid mechanism, which will employ the
use of a float on the end of a stem which will have plate means
on the opposite end, that when in the down position, will activate
an alerting device, when the aforementioned fluid is being exhausted
in the bottle.
Another object of this invention is to provide a combination intra-venous
flow-meter and low level fluid mechanism, which will have the plate
portion of the float stem, elevatable between a pair of transparent
sleeves secured in an opaque housing, that the plate portion is
carried in, and the transparent sleeves serve as a means for receiving
the prongs of a sensing plug, that is secured to the alerting device.
A further object of this invention is to provide a combination
intra-venous flow-meter and low level fluid mechanism, which will
employ a light emitting diode in one of the prongs, and a photo-sensitive
transistor in the other, the combination of the light emitting diode,
the photo-sensitive transistor, and the plate portion of the float
stem descending there-between, being the means of activating the
alerting device, or devices.
A still further object of this invention is to provide a combination
intra-venous flow-meter and low level fluid mechanism, which will
employ a nipple on the bottom of the opaque housing, the nipple
having a metering orifice in it, for metering the aforementioned
fluid into a sump tube, that receives a flexible tube, and the stylus
tube of the opaque housing will also include an orifice in its wall,
above the bottle stopper, for low level fluid entry.
Other objects of the invention are to provide a combination intra-venous
flow-meter and low level fluid mechanism, which will be simple in
design, inexpensive to manufacture, rugged in construction and easy
to use.
These and other objects of the invention, will be readily understood,
upon a study of the specification and the accompanying drawing,
in which:
FIG. 1 is a side view of the present invention, shown in section,
and installed in a bottle of fluid, which is illustrated fragmentary
and in elevation;
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 2--2 of FIG.
1 and
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the electronic portion of the invention.
According to this invention, intra-venous flow-meter and low level
fluid mechanism 10 is shown to include an opaque housing 11 of
hollow and square configuration. Housing 11 is fabricated of side
walls 12 a top wall 13 and a bottom wall 14. A tubular flow-meter
stylus 15 is fixedly secured to top wall 13 over opening 13a therein,
for a purpose, which hereinafter, will be described. Stylus 15 is
received in stopper 16 of bottle 17 containing intra-venous fluid
18 and a nipple 19 integral of, and extending outwards from the
bottom wall 14 of opaque housing 11 is provided with a metering
orifice 20 from which, fluid 18 is dispensed by gravity means,
into a transparent sump tube 21. Sump tube 21 is fixedly secured
in a suitable manner, to bottom wall 14 of housing 11 at one end,
and is provided with a neck 22 that is removably received within
flexible polyethylene tube 23 that extends to a patient.
Stem 24 is freely elevatable, in the bore of stylus tube 15 and
has secured fixedly, on one end, a hollow and conically configurated
float 25.
The point 25a of float 25 serves as tool means, for insertion
of stylus tube 15 into bottle 17. A rectangular plate 26 integral
of the opposite end of stem 24 is carried on the interior of opaque
housing 11 within the fluid 18 therein, and fluid 18 feeds into
the bore of stylus tube 15 and into housing 11. When fluid 18 is
at a low level, it enters the orifice 15a of tube 15 so as to feed
into housing 11.
A pair of parallel spaced apart and transparent sleeves 27 which
are closed on one end, are fixedly secured, one each, in an opening
27a of one of the side walls 12 of opaque housing 11 and serve
as receptacle means for the pair of prongs 28 of removable sensing
plug 29 having cord 30. Plate 26 is so disposed, so as to descend
down between sleeves 27. One of the prongs 28 of plug 29 has a
photo-sensitive transistor 31 exposed towards, and in alignment
with, a light emitting diode 32 in the other prong 28 and when
fluid 18 reaches a low level in bottle 17 the float 25 will lower
plate 26 between the sleeves 27 and the prongs 28 thus blocking
the light from the light emitting diode 32.
Photo-sensitive transistor 31 as shown in FIG. 3 is coupled to
amplifier 33 and amplifier 33 is coupled to a relay 34 and when
the light is blocked by plate 24 relay 34 is activated, which will
start the alerting device, or devices 35. The numerical character
36 in FIG. 3 indicates the light from the light emitting diode
32.
In use, the pointed float 25 is urged into the common stopper 16
of bottle 17 and it provides guide means, for easily entering the
stylus tube 15 into the stopper 16. After securing tube 23 to neck
22 of sump tube 21 bottle 17 is then suspended in a manner common
in the art. The cord 30 is secured in the usual manner, to the remotely
located amplifier, relay 34 and alerting device 35 circuitry, that
is housed in a suitable manner in the vicinity of the patient who
is to receive the fluid 18. When the bottle 17 is depending, the
prongs 28 of plug 29 are urged into the sleeves 27 of housing.
While various changes may be made in the detail construction, such
changes will be within the spirit and scope of the present invention,
as is defined by the appended claims. |