This invention relates to a roller clamp used to control liquid flow through a flexible tube. The invention finds particular application in the medical field for controlling flow, for example, through I.V. tubing.
It is important accurately to control the flow of I.V. fluid to a patient and this is commonly achieved by means of an adjustable clamp on tubing which delivers the fluid to the patient from an I.V. bag or the like. In use, the clamp is opened or closed on the tube to control the rate of flow.
The prior art is replete with different designs of tube clamps for the above purpose. One common form of clamp comprises an elongate channel-like housing in which is mounted a wheel or roller on an inclined track which extends lengthwise of the channel. The tubing is clamped between the wheel and the base of the channel, and the flow rate through the tubing is varied by moving the wheel along the inclined track so as to increase or decrease its distance from the base of the channel thereby adjusting the degree to which the wheel exerts pressure on the tubing.
Tubing clamps of the above kind may suffer certain disadvantages namely, because of the linear motion of the wheel along the channel to adjust the flow rate, there may not be a positive positioning of the wheel and should the clamp inadvertently be moved along the tube, the flow rate may be altered.
The present invention, therefore, seeks to provide an improved tubing clamp generally of the above type.