Flowmeter, dialysis machine and medicinal solution injection device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10101187-B2
Application number	US-201414564179-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 9, 2014
Priority date	Jul 5, 2012
Publication date	Oct 16, 2018
Grant date	Oct 16, 2018

Abstract

Provided are a flowmeter that can measure a flow rate of a liquid with high accuracy and that is easy to carry and handle, and a dialysis machine and a medicinal solution injection device that employ the flowmeter. A flowmeter includes a tube connection member and a measurement instrument body. The tube connection member includes a tube-shaped body, a plurality of resonators that are arranged with gaps there between on an inner wall surface of the body, resonator-side antennas that are connected to the plurality of resonators and a heating element that is arranged between the pluralities of resonators. The measurement instrument body includes measurement-instrument-side antennas, temperature measurement units that are connected to the measurement-instrument-side antennas and measure a temperature, and a flow rate calculation unit that calculates a flow rate on the basis of the temperatures measured by the temperature measurement units.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A flowmeter comprising:
a tube connection member; and
a measurement instrument body;
wherein the tube connection member includes:
a body that is tube shaped,
a plurality of resonators arranged with gaps there between on an inner wall surface of the body,
a resonator-side antenna that is connected to the plurality of resonators, and
a heating element that is arranged between the plurality of resonators, and

wherein the measurement instrument body includes:
a measurement-instrument-side antenna,
a temperature measurement unit that is connected to the measurement-instrument-side antenna and measures a temperature of the plurality of resonators, and
a flow rate calculation unit that calculates a flow rate on the basis of the temperature of the plurality of resonators measured by the temperature measurement unit.

2. The flowmeter according to claim 1 , wherein the heating element is an element that is supplied with electricity by electromagnetic field coupling and is embedded in the tube connection member.

3. The flowmeter according to claim 1 , wherein the heating element is arranged outside of the tube connection member and adjacent to the tube connection member.

4. The flowmeter according to claim 1 , wherein the tube connection member includes a flow straightening member arranged inside the tube connection member.

5. A dialysis machine comprising:
the flowmeter according to claim 1 and a tube that is connected to the flowmeter,
the dialysis machine controlling a flow rate of blood flowing in the tube in accordance with the flow rate calculated by the flow rate calculation unit.

6. A medicine injection device comprising:
the flowmeter according to claim 1 ; and a tube connected to the flowmeter.

7. The flowmeter according to claim 2 , wherein the tube connection member includes a flow straightening member arranged inside the tube connection member.

8. The flowmeter according to claim 3 , wherein the tube connection member includes a flow straightening member arranged inside the tube connection member.

9. A dialysis machine comprising:
the flowmeter according to claim 2 and a tube that is connected to the flowmeter,
the dialysis machine controlling a flow rate of blood flowing in the tube in accordance with the flow rate calculated by the flow rate calculation unit.

10. A dialysis machine comprising:
the flowmeter according to claim 3 and a tube that is connected to the flowmeter,
the dialysis machine controlling a flow rate of blood flowing in the tube in accordance with the flow rate calculated by the flow rate calculation unit.

11. A dialysis machine comprising:
the flowmeter according to claim 4 and a tube that is connected to the flowmeter,
the dialysis machine controlling a flow rate of blood flowing in the tube in accordance with the flow rate calculated by the flow rate calculation unit.

12. A medicine injection device comprising:
the flowmeter according to claim 2 ; and a tube connected to the flowmeter.

13. A medicine injection device comprising:
the flowmeter according to claim 3 ; and a tube connected to the flowmeter.

14. A medicine injection device comprising:
the flowmeter according to claim 4 ; and a tube connected to the flowmeter.

15. The flowmeter comprising according to claim 1 , wherein the resonator-side antenna that is connected to the plurality of resonators is arranged within the outer peripheral wall of the body.

Assignees

• Murata Manufacturing Co

Inventors

• Kondo Nobuhiro

Classifications

• A61M2205/3368

  Temperature · CPC title

• A61M1/3663

  Flow rate transducers; Flow integrators · CPC title

• A61B5/01

  Measuring temperature of body parts {; Diagnostic temperature sensing, e.g. for malignant or inflamed tissue} (clinical contact thermometers G01K13/20) · CPC title

• G01F1/6882

  making use of temperature dependence of acoustic properties, e.g. propagation speed of surface acoustic waves · CPC title

• G01F1/69 Primary

  of resistive type · CPC title