Fluid concentration measuring device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9562858-B2
Application number	US-201314785200-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 18, 2013
Priority date	Apr 18, 2013
Publication date	Feb 7, 2017
Grant date	Feb 7, 2017

Abstract

A fluid concentration measuring device measures the concentration of a fluid flowing through a duct having a light-transmissive, deformable duct wall. The device includes a light source; a light receiving element which receives the light, which passed through the wall of the duct and the fluid inside the duct, and outputs a signal indicating the intensity of the light; light path distance setting means and fluid concentration output means which obtains a plurality of relational expressions, which indicate the relation between the light intensity and the fluid concentration when the light from the light supply part is received by the light receiving part over each of the light path distances, and obtains the fluid concentration from the light intensity at the light receiving part based on the relational expressions for the plurality of light path distances and outputs the fluid concentration.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A fluid concentration measuring device which measures concentration of a fluid flowing through a resin tube being light-transmissive, at least a portion of the resin tube having a continuous cylindrical tube wall being compressively deformable in a diametrical direction thereof, the device comprising:
a light source which supplies light into the tube from a light supply part on a surface of the tube;
a light receiving element which receives the light, which has been supplied and passed through the wall of the tube and the fluid inside the tube, at a light receiving part located on an opposite side in a diametrical direction of the tube relative to the light supply part, and outputs a signal indicating an intensity of the light;
light path distance setting means which sets a plurality of light path distances between the light supply part and the light receiving part by compressively deforming the portion of the resin tube having the continuous cylindrical tube wall while holding the tube; and
fluid concentration output means which, from the light intensity at the light receiving part located at each of the plurality of light path distances, obtains a plurality of relational expressions, which indicate relation between the light intensity and the fluid concentration when the light from the light supply part is received by the light receiving part over each of the light path distances, based on the Beer-Lambert law, and obtains the fluid concentration from the light intensity at the light receiving part based on the relational expressions for the plurality of light path distances and outputs the fluid concentration.

2. The fluid concentration measuring device according to claim 1 , wherein the light path distance setting means has a plurality of pairs of light supply part and light receiving part having different intervals therebetween, and changes the light path distance of at least one of the plurality of light path distances by selectively using a corresponding at least one of the pairs of light supply part and light receiving part.

3. The fluid concentration measuring device according to claim 1 , wherein the light path distance setting means changes the light path distance of at least one of the plurality of light path distances between the light supply part and the light receiving part by varying the interval between the light supply part and the light receiving part.

4. The fluid concentration measuring device according to claim 2 , wherein the light path distance setting means changes the light path distance of at least one of the plurality of light path distances between the light supply part and the light receiving part by varying the interval between the light supply part and the light receiving part.

5. The fluid concentration measuring device according to claim 1 , wherein the fluid concentration output means uses a table, which is obtained and stored in advance and shows the relation between the light intensity and the fluid concentration at the light receiving part located at each of the plurality of light path distances, to obtain the fluid concentration from the light intensity at the light receiving part and output the fluid concentration.

6. The fluid concentration measuring device according to claim 2 , wherein the fluid concentration output means uses a table, which is obtained and stored in advance and shows the relation between the light intensity and the fluid concentration at the light receiving part located at each of the plurality of light path distances, to obtain the fluid concentration from the light intensity at the light receiving part and output the fluid concentration.

7. The fluid concentration measuring device according to claim 3 , wherein the fluid concentration output means uses a table, which is obtained and stored in advance and shows the relation between the light intensity and the fluid concentration at the light receiving part located at each of the plurality of light path distances, to obtain the fluid concentration from the light intensity at the light receiving part and output the fluid concentration.

8. The fluid concentration measuring device according to claim 4 , wherein the fluid concentration output means uses a table, which is obtained and stored in advance and shows the relation between the light intensity and the fluid concentration at the light receiving part located at each of the plurality of light path distances, to obtain the fluid concentration from the light intensity at the light receiving part and output the fluid concentration.

9. A fluid concentration measuring device which measures concentration of a fluid flowing through a resin tube having a light-transmissive, a cylindrical tube wall of the resin tube being compressively deformable in a diametrical direction thereof, the device comprising:
a light source which supplies light into the tube from a light supply part on a surface of the tube;
a light receiving element which receives the light, which has been supplied and passed through the wall of the tube and the fluid inside the tube, at a light receiving part located on an opposite side in a diametrical direction of the tube relative to the light supply part, and outputs a signal indicating an intensity of the light;
light path distance setting means which sets a plurality of light path distances between the light supply part and the light receiving part by compressively deforming the cylindrical tube wall while holding the tube, wherein the light path distance setting means has a plurality of pairs of light supply part and light receiving part having different intervals therebetween, and changes the light path distance by selectively using the pairs of light supply part and light receiving part; and
fluid concentration output means which, from the light intensity at the light receiving part located at each of the plurality of light path distances, obtains a plurality of relational expressions, which indicate relation between the light intensity and the fluid concentration when the light from the light supply part is received by the light receiving part over each of the light path distances, based on the Beer-Lambert law, and obtains the fluid concentration from the light intensity at the light receiving part based on the relational expressions for the plurality of light path distances and outputs the fluid concentration.

10. A fluid concentration measuring device which measures concentration of a fluid flowing through a resin tube having a light-transmissive, a cylindrical tube wall of the resin tube being compressively deformable in a diametrical direction thereof, the device comprising:
a light source which supplies light into the tube from a light supply part on a surface of the tube;
a light receiving element which receives the light, which has been supplied and passed through the wall of the tube and the fluid inside the tube, at a light receiving part located on an opposite side in a diametrical direction of the tube relative to the light supply part, and outputs a signal indicating an intensity of the light;
light path distance setting means which sets a plurality of light path distances between the light supply part and the light receiving part by compressively deforming the cylindrical tube wall while holding the tube, wherein the light path distance setting means changes the light path distance between the light supply part and the light receiving part by varying the interval between the light supply part and the light receiving part; and
fluid concentration output means which, from the light intensity at the light receiving part located at each of the plurality of light path distances, obtains a plurality of relational e

Assignees

• Nipro Corp
• Harada Electronics Co Ltd

Inventors

• Sano Yoshihiko
• Harada Masahide

Classifications

• G01N33/49

  Blood {(chemical methods for determining blood cell populations G01N33/5094; chemical analysis of blood groups or blood types G01N33/80)} · CPC title

• G01N21/0303

  Optical path conditioning in cuvettes, e.g. windows; adapted optical elements or systems; path modifying or adjustment (G01N21/031 - G01N21/15 take precedence) · CPC title

• G01N33/4915

  using flow cells (flow cytometry G01N15/14) · CPC title

• G01N21/85

  Investigating moving fluids or granular solids · CPC title

• G01N2021/0364

  flexible, compressible · CPC title