CN114076625A

CN114076625A - Device for measuring flow of conduit

Info

Publication number: CN114076625A
Application number: CN202010818126.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 王若娜; 骆红宇; 朱玮
Original assignee: Baxter Medical Supplies Co ltd; Baxter International Inc
Current assignee: Baxter Medical Supplies Co ltd; Baxter International Inc
Priority date: 2020-08-14
Filing date: 2020-08-14
Publication date: 2022-02-22

Abstract

An apparatus for measuring conduit flow, comprising: a container and a support member. The container has an upper opening. The support member at least partially covers the upper opening of the container, the support member being configured to horizontally support the entire conduit, and the support member having a plurality of holes distributed over a surface of the support member supporting the conduit, wherein the plurality of holes are configured to allow all fluid flowing out of the conduit to flow into the container.

Description

Device for measuring flow of conduit

Technical Field

The present application relates to a device for measuring flow, and more particularly, to a device for measuring flow in a conduit.

Background

According to the requirements of standards (such as BS-EN-1618-1997 and GB-T-15812-1995), the static head of the constant liquid level of the to-be-tested conduit and the constant liquid level container is required to be kept at 1000 +/-5 mm during the measurement of the flow rate of the conduit. In order to meet the requirements specified by the standard, the whole guide pipe is ensured to be in a horizontal state in the measuring process and is in the same horizontal plane with the liquid outlet of the measuring equipment.

In one prior art measurement, after the tube is attached to the measurement device, the end of the tube naturally sags and uses a common plastic or glass beaker as the collection vessel. However, this measurement method does not correctly understand the standard requirement, and the natural sagging of the conduit will make the actual static pressure head at the outlet of the conduit exceed the aforementioned standard requirement regarding "the constant liquid level of the conduit to be measured and the constant liquid level container needs to maintain the static pressure head of 1000 ± 5 mm", resulting in a large measurement result of the flow rate, which cannot reflect the real flow rate of the conduit.

In another prior measurement, the catheter is placed on a temporarily built platform, which is slotted underneath to direct fluid into a beaker for determining the amount of liquid flowing through the catheter per unit time. However, the devices used in this measurement approach use a horizontal surface to support the conduit, and the liquid flowing out of the conduit may adhere to the horizontal surface due to the tension and may not be completely collected in the beaker. In addition, for a catheter with side holes, when the catheter is placed on the platform, the side holes of the catheter will likely be blocked by the surface of the platform toward the platform, impeding the flow of liquid from the catheter. Therefore, this measurement method may result in a small measurement result of the flow rate.

Accordingly, there is a need for an improved device for measuring conduit flow that is capable of measuring conduit flow as accurately as possible.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the problems with the prior art, the present application provides an apparatus for measuring the flow of a conduit.

According to one aspect of the present application, there is provided an apparatus for measuring a flow rate of a conduit, comprising: a container and a support member. The container has an upper opening. The support member at least partially covers the upper opening of the container, wherein the support member is configured to horizontally receive and support the entire conduit, and the support member has a plurality of holes distributed over a surface of the support member supporting the conduit, the plurality of holes configured to allow all fluid flowing out of the conduit to flow into the container.

In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises a weighing device supporting the container.

In some embodiments, the weighing apparatus is a balance or electronic scale.

In some embodiments, the container has a drain opening through a bottom of the container.

In some embodiments, the container has an inner bottom surface configured as a slope, a curved surface, or a conical surface that slopes toward the discharge opening.

In some embodiments, the support member is removably attached to the container.

In some embodiments, the device further comprises at least one additional support member having a plurality of apertures, the plurality of apertures of the additional support member having a size different from the size of the plurality of apertures of the support member.

In some embodiments, the container has a guide mechanism, and the support member and the at least one additional support member are attached to the container by being slidably movable along the guide mechanism.

In some embodiments, the support member and the additional support member are made of a corrosion resistant material.

In some embodiments, the corrosion resistant material is plastic, nylon, ceramic, carbon fiber, or stainless steel.

In some embodiments, the container is made of a transparent material.

In some embodiments, the transparent material is glass or plexiglass.

In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises a lifting platform supporting the vessel for adjusting the height of the vessel in a vertical direction.

In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises a baffle surrounding at least a portion of the upper opening of the container, wherein the baffle extends upwardly from the upper opening beyond the support member.

In some embodiments, the plurality of apertures are rectangular, square, diamond, triangular, or a combination thereof in shape.

In some embodiments, the plurality of holes are defined by a line or strip having a width of less than 1 mm.

The foregoing is a summary of the application that may be simplified, generalized, and details omitted, and thus it should be understood by those skilled in the art that this section is illustrative only and is not intended to limit the scope of the application in any way. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.

Drawings

The above-described and other features of the present disclosure will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is appreciated that these drawings depict only several embodiments of the disclosure and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope. The present disclosure will be described more clearly and in detail by using the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic perspective view of an apparatus for measuring conduit flow according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2a to 2c show schematic top views of support members having differently shaped apertures according to embodiments of the present invention.

Fig. 3a to 3c show a schematic perspective view, a longitudinal sectional view, and a transverse sectional view, respectively, of a device for measuring a flow rate of a conduit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4a to 4b each show a schematic perspective view of a device for measuring the flow of a conduit according to another embodiment of the present invention, with the support member of the device shown in fig. 4b removed.

Fig. 5a to 5b show a schematic perspective view, a longitudinal sectional view, respectively, of a device for measuring the flow of a conduit according to a further embodiment of the present invention. .

Fig. 6a to 6b show a schematic perspective view, a front view, respectively, of a device for measuring the flow of a conduit according to a further embodiment of the present invention.

List of reference numerals in the description:

Detailed Description

In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof. In the drawings, like reference numerals generally refer to like parts throughout the various views unless the context dictates otherwise. The illustrative embodiments described in the detailed description, drawings, and claims are not intended to limit the scope of the application. Other embodiments may be utilized, and other changes may be made, without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matter of the present application. It will be understood that aspects of the present disclosure, as generally described in the present disclosure and illustrated in the figures herein, may be arranged, substituted, combined, and designed in a wide variety of different configurations, all of which form part of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 shows an apparatus 10 for measuring conduit flow, the apparatus 10 comprising: a container 11 and a support member 21. The container 11 has an upper opening 12 (see fig. 3 a). In the embodiment shown in fig. 1, the support member 21 partially covers the upper opening 12 of the container. In some embodiments, the support member 21 may completely cover the upper opening 12 of the container. The support structure 21 may be fixedly attached to the top or side walls of the vessel 11.

The support member 21 is configured and positioned to support the entire conduit 31 horizontally (not shown). The holes 23 are distributed over the surface of the support member 21 that supports the entire conduit, and the holes 23 are configured to allow all of the fluid flowing out of the conduit 31 to flow into the container 11. Since the conduit 31 is typically an elongated member made of a flexible material (e.g., plastic, nylon, polyurethane, silicone rubber, etc.), it is relatively flexible and drooping. On the one hand, the size of the hole 23 should not be too large in order to avoid local natural sagging of the conduit 31 affecting the measurement accuracy. On the other hand, the undersized holes 23 do not facilitate the timely collection of all the liquid flowing out of the conduit 31 into the container 11, since they would create a greater resistance to the liquid flowing out of the conduit 31. It is therefore necessary to select an appropriately sized aperture 23 to prevent the conduit from flexing as much as possible and to allow all of the liquid flowing from the conduit to be collected in the container 11. The choice according to the size and shape of the holes 23 will be further explained below in connection with fig. 2a to 2 c.

Fig. 2a to 2c show support members with differently shaped holes, the holes 23 on the support member 21 being defined by lines or strips 25 crossing each other. In the embodiment shown in fig. 2a, the holes 23 in the support member 21 are configured as rectangles, the dimensions of the long sides thereof may be 10-50mm, such as 50mm, 45mm, 40mm, 35mm, 30mm, 25mm, 20mm, 19mm, 18mm, 17mm, 16mm, 15mm, 14mm, 13mm, 12mm, 11mm, 10mm, and the dimensions of the short sides thereof may be 1-10mm, such as 10mm, 9mm, 8mm, 7mm, 6mm, 5mm, 4mm, 3mm, 2mm, 1mm, wherein the dimensions of the long and short sides listed above may be combined arbitrarily.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 2b to 2c, the apertures 23 in the support member 21 are configured as triangles (e.g. equilateral triangles, isosceles right triangles or any other suitable triangular shape), wherein the size of the longest side of the triangle may be 10-30mm, e.g. 30mm, 25mm, 20mm, 19mm, 18mm, 17mm, 16mm, 15mm, 14mm, 13mm, 12mm, 11mm, 10 mm.

In some embodiments, the holes 23 on the support member 21 are configured as a parallelogram, wherein triangular holes are formed at the edges of the support member 21 and parallelogram holes are formed at the rest, the largest dimension of the triangular holes may be 10-30mm, such as 30mm, 25mm, 20mm, 19mm, 18mm, 17mm, 16mm, 15mm, 14mm, 13mm, 12mm, 11mm, 10mm, while the largest dimension of the parallelogram holes may be 10-30mm, such as 30mm, 25mm, 20mm, 19mm, 18mm, 17mm, 16mm, 15mm, 14mm, 13mm, 12mm, 11mm, 10 mm.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that where the material and width of the lines or strips defining the holes on the support member surface are the same, the smaller the size of the holes, the more points of support for the conduit, the less likely the supported conduit will be deformed. Although the shape and size of all the holes of the single support member shown in the drawings are the same, it is not necessarily limited thereto, and the shape and size of the holes of the different regions may be set to be different from each other as appropriate.

Although the shape and size of the aperture 23 in the support member 21 is described above in connection with the drawings, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the shape and size of the aperture 23 may be combined in many more variations. The shape and shape of the plurality of holes on the surface of the support member may be set according to various measurement conditions (e.g., material, diameter, etc. of the catheter), material of the support member, and processing technique.

In addition, the width of the line or strip 25 used to define the hole can also affect the accuracy of the measurement. In order to reduce the resistance of the thread or tape to the fluid, the width of the thread or tape 25 is preferably set to 1mm or less, for example, 1mm, 0.9mm, 0.8mm, 0.7mm, 0.6mm, 0.5mm, 0.4mm, 0.3mm, 0.2mm, 0.1 mm.

In some embodiments, materials having a lower specific gravity may be selected as the materials of the container 11 and the support member 21 according to the requirement of light weight. In some embodiments, the container 11 may be made of a transparent material (such as glass or plexiglass) to facilitate a user's observation of the level of fluid in the container.

In some embodiments, the conduit flow test is performed with distilled or deionized water. However, other fluids, such as physiological saline, glucose solution, etc., may be used according to actual needs. Accordingly, the material of the container 11 may be selected in accordance with the chemistry of the test fluid to avoid chemical reaction of the container material with the fluid.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 1, the container 11 is configured in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape with an open top. Fig. 3a is a perspective view of the container 11, fig. 3b is a longitudinal sectional view of the container 11, and fig. 3c is a transverse sectional view of the container 11.

As shown in fig. 3b to 3c, the container 11 has a discharge port 13 penetrating the bottom of the container 11, so that the fluid flowing into the container 11 through the plurality of holes 23 on the surface of the support member 21 can flow from the discharge port 13 of the bottom of the container 11 into a measuring instrument such as a beaker, etc., in order to measure the volume of the fluid more accurately, thereby calculating the flow rate of the conduit.

As shown in fig. 3b to 3c, the inner bottom surface 14 of the container 11 may be configured as a slope inclined toward the discharge port 13 so as to guide the fluid to flow out from the discharge port 13 at the bottom of the container 11, preventing the fluid from remaining in the container 11 and affecting the measurement accuracy. Of course, the inner bottom surface 14 of the container 11 may be configured in other forms, such as a curved surface, or a tapered surface, or include a plurality of inclined surfaces that collectively incline toward the discharge opening 13, as desired. Although a rectangular discharge opening 13 is shown in fig. 3a to 3c, the discharge opening may have other shapes, such as a circular shape, and the shape of the discharge opening is not limited in the present application. The position of the discharge port 13 is not limited to the corner of the container shown in the drawing, and may be provided at other positions, such as the center of the container, as needed.

As shown in fig. 3 b-3 c, the apparatus 10 further comprises a baffle 71 surrounding at least a portion of the upper opening 12 of the container 11, and wherein the baffle 71 extends from the upper opening 12 beyond the support member 21. When a side hole is provided on the catheter (not shown), the baffle 71 can block the fluid flowing out of the side hole from flowing into the container 11, so as to avoid flow measurement errors caused by incomplete fluid collection.

In some embodiments, the baffle 71 may be made of the same material as the vessel 11. The baffle 71 may further be integrally formed with the container 11. In some embodiments, the baffle 71 may be made of a transparent material (such as glass or plexiglass) to facilitate the user's observation of the fluid outflow.

Fig. 4a to 4b show a device 10 for measuring catheter flow according to yet another embodiment of the present application, wherein the container 11 has a guiding means 41 and a support member 21 slidably attached to the guiding means 41.

As shown in fig. 4 a-4 b, the device 10 may include a removable support member 21, and the device 10 may include two or more support members. When the apparatus 10 has a plurality of support members, each support member has a plurality of apertures, respectively, and the size of the apertures of one of the support members may be different from the size of the apertures of the other support members for supporting different models of conduits.

In the illustrated embodiment, the guide means 41 are configured as substantially horizontally extending guide slots 41, the guide slots 41 being dimensioned to receive and guide corresponding guide rails 42 on the support member 21 and allow the latter to slide in the guide slots 41 so as to cover at least part of the opening 12 of the receptacle 11. In some embodiments, the guide means 41 may also be formed as a horizontally extending rail with guide slots formed in corresponding side walls of the support structure 21 in sliding engagement therewith.

At the time of measurement, an appropriate support member 21 may be selected according to the specific model of the catheter to be measured, and the selected support member 21 is attached to the container 11 to ensure that the liquid flowing out of the catheter is allowed to flow into the container 11 through the holes 23 as completely as possible while horizontally supporting the respective portions of the catheter. Since the support mechanism 21 is detachable with respect to the container 11, it is also convenient to replace a damaged support member 21 and to clean the container 11.

The support member 21 may be made of a corrosion resistant material to extend the service life of the support member 21. In some embodiments, the corrosion resistant material (such as plastic, nylon, ceramic, carbon fiber, or stainless steel) may be selected based on different measurement conditions and the chemistry of the fluid.

Fig. 5a to 5b show a device 50 for measuring the flow of a conduit according to a further embodiment of the present application, which device 50 mainly differs from the device 10 in that: the apparatus 50 further comprises a lifting platform 51, which lifting platform 51 can support the container 11 for adjusting the height of the container 11 in the vertical direction, so as to adjust the height of the container 11 according to the outlet height of the constant level container, ensuring the static head required for the test.

Fig. 6a to 6b show a device 60 for measuring the flow of a conduit according to another embodiment of the present application, the device 60 mainly differing from the device 50 shown in fig. 1 in that the device 60 further comprises a weighing device 61 for supporting the container 11 in order to obtain the weight of the fluid flowing from the conduit 31 into the container 11 during the measurement, and then dividing the weight of the fluid by the time and density of the fluid during the measurement, i.e. the flow of the fluid can be calculated.

The device 60 may have a drain plug 62 for blocking the drain 13 to collect the weight of the fluid flowing into the container 11 for measurement, and after the measurement is completed, the drain plug 62 may be opened to allow the fluid in the container 11 to flow out through the drain 13.

In some embodiments, the total weight of the container 11, support member 21, lift platform 51, conduit 31, etc. components may be measured with a weighing apparatus 61 after the device 60 is deployed prior to taking the measurement. The weight displayed by the weighing device 61 is then read at the end of the measurement, the difference being the weight of the fluid flowing from the conduit into the container during the measurement. In some embodiments, zeroing and calibration of the weighing device 61 may be performed before the measurement is taken, after the device 60 is deployed, so that the subsequent reading of the weighing device 61 is the weight of the fluid flowing from the conduit 31 into the container 11 during the measurement. The weighing device 61 may be, for example, a balance or an electronic scale, or other suitable means of weighing a weight.

In some embodiments, the lifting platform 51 may also be omitted and the container 11 supported directly on the weighing device 61. In other embodiments, the container 11 may also be supported on the weighing device 61 and supported on the weighing device 61 by the lifting platform 51.

Various embodiments of the present application are described above with reference to the accompanying drawings. It will be appreciated by a person skilled in the art that the solutions in the embodiments presented above may be combined with each other. For example, the baffle 71, the outlet 13, the sloped inner bottom surface 14, and the guide mechanism 41 features of the container may be combined in any combination. Other variations to the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art from a study of the specification, the disclosure, the drawings, and the appended claims. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps, and the words "a" or "an" do not exclude a plurality. In the practical application of the present application, one element may perform the functions of several technical features recited in the claims. Any reference signs in the claims shall not be construed as limiting the scope.

Claims

1. A device for measuring conduit flow, wherein the device comprises:

a container having an upper opening;

A support member at least partially covering the upper opening of the container, wherein the support member is configured to support the entire conduit horizontally, and the support member has a plurality of holes distributed in the On the surface of the support member that supports the conduit, the plurality of apertures are configured to allow all fluid flowing from the conduit to flow into the container.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a weighing device supporting the container.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the weighing device is a balance or an electronic scale.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the container has a discharge opening through the bottom of the container.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the container has an inner bottom surface configured as a sloped, curved or tapered surface inclined toward the discharge opening.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein the support member is removably attached to the container.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, further comprising at least one additional support member having a plurality of holes, the size of the plurality of holes of the additional support member Different from the size of the plurality of holes of the support member.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the container has a guide mechanism, and wherein the support member and the at least one additional support member are attached by slidably moving along the guide mechanism to the container.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the support member and the additional support member are made of a corrosion-resistant material.

10. The device of claim 9, wherein the corrosion-resistant material is plastic, nylon, ceramic, carbon fiber, or stainless steel.

11. The device of claim 1, wherein the container is made of a transparent material.

12. The device of claim 11, wherein the transparent material is glass or plexiglass.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a lift platform supporting the container for vertically adjusting the height of the container.

14. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a baffle surrounding at least a portion of an upper opening of the container, wherein the baffle extends upwardly from the upper opening beyond the support member.

15. The device of any preceding claim, wherein the plurality of apertures are rectangular, square, diamond, triangular, or combinations thereof in shape.

16. The device of claim 15, wherein the plurality of apertures are defined by lines or strips, the lines or strips having a width of less than 1 mm.