Intravenous tube and controller therefor
AssigneeBeta Phase, Inc.
InventorJohn F. Krumme
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A tube for use in a flow controller of an intravenous or other slow flow control apparatus has a configuration somewhat like the opening defined by the open eyelids of the human eye whereby to provide relatively sharp corners and narrow width of the opening to reduce materially the force required to close relative to that required to close a round tube and to reduce the movement of the flow control element of the controller, which controller is configured to take advantage of the shape of the tube and employs a shape memory control element to adjust rate of flow of the fluid; the controller also including a brake element to lock the flow rate at a particular preselectable rate.
Claims8
An intravenous flow rate controller comprising:
- a passage means in said controller for receiving a tube through which intravenous fluid may flow;
- a knife edge means located on one side of said passage means,
- a wall means projecting into said passage opposite said knife edge means;
- a first spring in operative contact with said knife edge means for biasing said knife edge means into engagement with said wall means;
- a first shape-memory member in operative contact with said knife edge means, said first shape-memory member when heated capable of countering the force of said spring and causing said knife edge means to move away from said wall means proportional to the degree of heating of said first shape-memory member;
- and
- brake means operatively connected to said knife edge means for locking said knife edge means with respect to said wall means and countering the force of said spring when said first shape-memory member is unheated to maintain precise positioning of said knife edge means with respect to said wall means.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.