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US 6,185,442 B2Granted
Valve controlled flow into a tube
OwnerIlan Zadik Samsoninventor
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OwnerIlan Zadik Samsoninventor
Estimating the term…
Vacuum in a non-invasive medical probe having a source of vacuum interconnected with a suction cup by a resilient walled tube, is reduced in a controlled manner by creating a valve aperture in the wall of the tube at a desired location through which aperture no appreciable leakage will occur when vacuum is applied and the tube is in a relaxed state, whereby with the suction cup secured by vacuum on a patient's skin, application of a force to the tube wall will open the aperture and permit a controlled reduction of vacuum in the suction cup to a specified amount. Releasing the force permits the aperture to close so that lower vacuum is maintained and the suction cup continues to be secured on the patient's skin. In a preferred application there is provided a probe adapted for application to the scalp of a fetus with the rim of the suction cup in sealing contact with the surface of the scalp. There is also provided a method of enabling a controlled flow into a resilient walled tube inside which the pressure is lower than outside the tube, by creating a valve aperture in the wall of the tube in a desired location through which no appreciable leakage will occur when the tube is in a relaxed state. The aperture opens on application of a force to the tube wall and permits a controlled flow therethrough into the tube, and the aperture closes when the force is released.
A method of controlling flow into a resilient walled tube inside which the pressure is lower than outside the tube, which tube has in its wall a preformed valve slit created by piercing the wall of the tube with the end of a tool whereby the slit is capable of opening and self closing under said lower pressure within the tube when a force on the tube is respectively applied and released, the method comprising applying said force to open the slit and to permit a controlled flow therethrough into the tube, and releasing said force so that the slit closes and the flow stops.
A method of securing a non-invasive medical probe to a patient's skin, the probe comprising a source of vacuum interconnected with a suction cup by a resilient walled tube structure, the cup being adapted to be secured by vacuum on a patient's skin, comprising the steps of:
A non-invasive medical probe comprising:
A non-invasive medical probe comprising a source of vacuum interconnected with a suction cup by a resilient walled tube structure, the suction cup being adapted to be secured on a patient's skin by a vacuum created within the suction cup by said vacuum source, a vacuum reducing arrangement provided at an end of said resilient walled tube structure remote from the suction cup for controllably reducing the vacuum within the suction cup from a first upper value to a predetermined lower value in relation to said upper value, said vacuum reducing arrangement permitting maintenance of the vacuum at said lower value until the suction cup is to be removed, said source of vacuum comprising a bellows which is expansible to create said vacuum in the suction cup, and further comprising an indicator to indicate a state of contraction of the bellows corresponding to said predetermined lower vacuum value.
A non-invasive medical probe comprising a source of vacuum interconnected with a suction cup by a resilient walled tube structure, the suction cup being adapted to be secured on a patient's skin by a vacuum created within the suction cup by said vacuum source, a vacuum reducing arrangement provided at an end of said resilient walled tube structure remote from the suction cup for controllably reducing the vacuum within the suction cup from a first upper value to a predetermined lower value in relation to said upper value, said vacuum reducing arrangement permitting maintenance of the vacuum at said lower value until the suction cup is to be removed, the vacuum reducing arrangement includes a valve aperture in a tube wall of the resilient walled tube structure permitting no appreciable leakage into the vacuum when the tube is in a relaxed state, the aperture being openable by application of a force to the tube wall to permit said reduction of vacuum in the suction cup.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.