the following is a description of a preferred embodiment of the invention , embodied in an intravenous monitor . the device includes a drip chamber 1 . the chamber is a conventional drip chamber found on most i . v . sets . an infrared emitter 2 and pick - up ( sensor ) is included as well . there is also a circuit board 3 . an electromechanical device 4 , preferably a solenoid , is included . other components such as a thermo strip could be used instead of the solenoid depending on the reaction time required . a thumbwheel 5 is used to manually rotate the rotary pincher 6 to the open position . this motion loads a torsion spring ( not shown ) that supplies the force to the pincher . the rotary pincher is mounted on the thumbwheel and “ pinches ” the tube ( stopping the flow ) as it rotates 90 degrees counterclockwise . this occurs when the signal is received from the circuit board . a lever 7 is attached to the electromechanical device ( emd ) and is used to increase the force of the emd . this allows the selection of a smaller , more cost - effective emd . the torsion spring ( not shown ) provides the force for “ pinching - off ” the tube . a front cover 9 provides protection to all internal components . as well , it provides a “ slot ” to insert the drip apparatus tubing . the slot locates the tube in a way that allows the pincher to effectively stop the fluid flow when it is in the closed position . a back cover 10 provides protection to all internal components and includes the holding mechanism that attaches the entire unit to the drip chamber . a holding mechanism 11 being a serrated compression fitting provides the means of attachment to the drip chamber . a more detailed description of the electronics of the flowcheck now follows . the electronics is implemented with an embedded micro - controller to control excitation of the infrared emitter , read the values of sensor 31 and sensor 32 ( see fig2 and 3 ), read the battery voltage , operate the indicator light - emitting diodes and the alarm beeper , and operate and verify operation of the fluid shutoff solenoid . the micro - processor includes a dedicated real - time operating system to implement the following task schedule : beeper on / off — determine requested beeper , status indicator off — shut off indicators if required time elapsed solenoid trip task — energize solenoid until trip sensor asserted detect fluid task — turn off emitter , read sensors 31 and 32 , turn on emitter read sensors 31 and 32 determine presence of fluid from readings — request alarm task if vial is empty alarm task request — red indicator led shut off flow request — solenoid trip task if vial is empty indicator on task — turn on indicators if requested ( green “ heartbeat ”, red and yellow indicators ) read battery volts — read battery voltage , request low indication ( yellow indicator ) if voltage is less than 7 volts the system senses the presence of a transparent fluid ( for example , saline , ringers , glucose , etc .) in a cylindrical transparent vial which constitutes the drip chamber of an intravenous system . the presence of this fluid is sensed by determining the refractive properties of the vial using a doubly - differential optical strategy . this strategy also results in very low sensitivity to ambient light . optical determination of the refractive properties of the vial is performed by comparing the infrared light received by two sensors from a single infrared emitter . fig3 shows a top view of the vial 33 , the infrared emitter 34 and the two infrared sensors 31 and 32 . the vial is shown in cross section . the two infrared sensors are positioned as shown on one side of the vial . the emitter is on the other side such that the emitter &# 39 ; s principal emission direction forms a chord of both the inner and outer surfaces of the vial as shown . alternatively , the same principle could be used by aligning both the infrared emitter and the two sensors on the same side of the vial and using a reflective surface ( e . g . mirror ) on the opposite side of the vial . this alternate arrangement would take advantage of the same refractive properties , while optimizing the configuration of the device . the fundamental principle of operation is as follows . when the vial is empty , the principal beam ( that beam emitted in the emitter &# 39 ; s principal emission direction ) is refracted twice by the air - vial interface both outside and inside the empty vial . since the inside and outside walls of the vial are locally parallel , the light beam inside the vial is parallel to the incident principal beam . similarly , the refracted beam is parallel to the beam inside the vial and therefore parallel with the incident beam . sensor 32 is positioned so as to receive the majority of the refracted beam when the vial is empty . the small amount of beam energy which falls on sensor 31 is due to scattering and the highly divergent beam from the infrared emitter . when the vial contains a clear fluid , the optical properties of the full vial are quite different . since the refractive index of the fluid is much higher than for air and very similar to the refractive index of the vial aterial , the incident beam is refracted by the first air - vial interface , but is not refracted significantly by the vial - fluid interface . thus , the light beam inside the vial is not at all parallel to the incident beam . proper positioning of the infrared emitter results in the beam in the filled vial meeting the vial wall near sensor 31 , perpendicular to the vial wall . this beam will fall primarily on sensor 31 , with very little beam energy received at sensor 32 . the situation is shown in fig3 . the small amount of beam energy received at sensor 32 is due to scattering and the highly divergent beam from the infrared emitter . an optical fluid sensor typically must operate in normal room illumination without extensive light baffles . to cancel any effect of ambient light , two readings are made for each sensor . with the emitter off , each sensor is read to determine the amount of incident illumination . these readings are termed s 1 n and s 2 n . then the emitter is turned on and two more readings , s 1 l and s 2 l , are made . are formed and compared . these differences remove the effects of illumination of the two sensors by ambient light , since this light is not synchronous with the operation of the infrared emitter . the vial is deemed to contain fluid if d 1 is greater than d 2 , because this situation occurs when more light due to the infrared emitter is received at sensor 31 than sensor 32 . if d 2 is greater than d 1 , the vial is deemed to be empty since the incident principal beam does not undergo significant net refraction and so it falls largely on sensor 32 . a pinch - off mechanism is also described . it was designed to use the minimum number of parts , all of which are designed to be very simple , to achieve the goal of shutting off fluid flow ( e . g . intravenous fluid ) when actuated . the goal was to achieve complete shutoff with a simple , reliable and low - cost mechanism that consumes the minimum amount of energy . the pinch - off mechanism is suitable for use with the intravenous monitor described herein , but is not restricted to such use . the design of the pinch - off mechanism is described below , in a preferred embodiment , applied to intravenous tubing . the mechanism consists of the following parts , with reference to fig1 and 4 : thumbwheel 5 with integral rotary pincher 6 , the torsion spring ( not shown ) that is cocked by the thumbwheel , the front cover 9 and specifically the narrow channel just off the center of the front of the domed part of the cover , the electromechanical device ( solenoid by preference ) 4 , and the lever 7 that is spring - loaded into the ‘ loaded ’ position by a scissor spring ( not shown ). the mechanism is configured as follows : 1 . the lever 7 is normally held by the scissor spring to cause it to engage a pawl molded on the back of the thumbwheel 5 . 2 . the electromechanical device 4 when actuated pulls on the lever 7 against the force of the scissor spring ( not shown ) so as to cause the lever to disengage from the pawl molded on the back of the thumbwheel 5 . 3 . the rotary pincher 6 consists of a half - cylinder that is integral to the thumbwheel 5 and that protrudes through a hole in the front cover 9 and capable of rotating in the front cover and is positioned such that at one position its flattened surface is flush with the side of the narrow channel that is just off center of the domed part of the front cover and that when rotated 90 degrees from this position it completely blocks the narrow channel . 4 . a torsion spring is connected to the back cover 10 and the thumbwheel in such a manner that the thumbwheel can be rotated so as to store energy in the torsion spring , and that when released the thumbwheel will rotate to release the stored energy . 2 . the user of the intravenous monitor cocks the mechanism by rotating the thumbwheel 5 90 degrees counter - clockwise when facing the front cover 9 . this has the effect of storing energy in the torsion spring ( not shown ) and of rotating the rotary pincher 6 so that the narrow channel in the domed part of the front cover 9 is free of obstruction . when fully rotated , the scissor spring ( not shown ) on the lever 7 engages the pawl ( not shown ) on the back of the thumbwheel 5 so as to prevent the thumbwheel from rotating when released by the user of the invention . 3 . the user of the intravenous monitor then inserts the intravenous tube into the narrow channel by stretching the tube slightly . 4 . the user activates the intravenous monitor by turning it on . 5 . when the infrared emitter and pickup 2 sense the absence of fluid in the drip chamber 1 , the electronics on the circuit board 3 actuate the electromechanical device momentarily . 6 . the electromechanical device then moves the lever 7 against the scissor spring ( not shown ) so that the lever no longer engages the pawl on the back of the thumbwheel . 7 . the thumbwheel is now rotated through 90 degrees by the torsion spring ( not shown ) releasing the energy stored therein . 8 . the rotary pincher 6 being integral to the thumbwheel 5 is also rotated through 90 degrees causing it to exert very high localized pressure on the intravenous tubing . this pressure is sufficiently high so as to completely occlude the tube . 9 . to ensure actuation of the mechanism , the electronics on the circuit board 3 issues repeated , momentary actuation signals to the electromechanical device . this action stops at such time as the thumbwheel is released . the release of the thumbwheel is determined by an optical reflective sensor mounted so as to sense the presence of a small reflective surface ( not shown ) on the back of the thumbwheel 5 . this provides a positive indication that guarantees release of the thumbwheel while minimizing energy consumption from the battery of the invention . the design of the rotary actuator , the thumbwheel , the torsion spring and all other components has been optimized to provide reliable pinchoff of the intravenous tube at minimum cost and with minimum energy consumption . it will be appreciated that the above description relates to the preferred embodiment by way of example only . many variations on the invention will be obvious to those knowledgeable in the field , and such obvious variations are within the scope of the invention as described and claimed , whether or not expressly described .
this invention relates to a device to monitor the administration of a fluid through a conduit , such as intravenous fluid , and detect the completion of fluid delivery by monitoring the fluid level inside a chamber . the device will monitor , through an optical fluid sensor comprising a radiation source , two sensors , a logic means , and an indicating means , the bottom half of any “ user supplied ” drip chamber that is normally full during the administration of fluids . when the fluid level in the chamber drops below a predetermined level , the indicating means will initiate an electromechanical device that releases a pinching device to occlude the conduit . the pinching device is a rotary pincher that derives its force from a torsion spring and is held in the open position by the electromechanical device .