Movable Optical Sensor Pump Tester for Low Flow Rate Measurement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current devices for testing fluid pumps, particularly medical pumps, are limited in their ability to measure flow and volume output at low flow rates, as they require several minutes, hours, or even tens of hours for bubble travel between optical sensors, making timely measurements impractical.
Innovation Solution
A method and device utilizing a signal processor unit with a central processing unit and addressable memory to detect periodic synchronization events, track bubble travel using photo-detectors, and calculate flow characteristics, allowing for rapid and precise measurements by adjusting carriage position and motion based on detected edges of bubbles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If bubbles are introduced into a transparent tube with fixed optical sensors to measure flow rate, then flow measurement can be performed, but at low flow rates the measurement requires several minutes to tens of hours for bubbles to travel between sensors
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the optical sensor system movable rather than fixed. The carriage translates along the tube to dynamically position the optical sensor at different locations, allowing the system to track bubbles and measure flow characteristics without requiring bubbles to travel long fixed distances. This dynamic positioning enables rapid measurements even at low flow rates.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a carriage as an intermediary mechanism between the fixed tube and the optical sensor. This carriage carries the optical sensor and can be positioned at various locations along the tube, serving as a mediator that enables flexible measurement positioning without requiring the entire sensor array to be movable or the tube to be reconfigured.
2Measurement precision
If multiple fixed optical sensors are used to track bubble movement, then flow characteristics can be measured, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the optical sensor from a fixed multi-sensor array and places it on a movable carriage. Instead of using multiple fixed sensors simultaneously, the system uses a single optical sensor that is sequentially positioned at different locations along the tube. This extraction simplifies the device by reducing the number of sensors required while maintaining measurement capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the measurement function into sequential steps rather than simultaneous operations. The carriage moves the optical sensor to different positions along the tube in sequence, performing measurements at each location one after another. This temporal segmentation replaces the spatial segmentation of having multiple fixed sensors operating simultaneously, reducing device complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables rapid and precise measurement of fluid flow rates and volumes, even at low flow rates, by optimizing bubble tracking and data collection through synchronized events, reducing measurement time significantly.
Implementation Method 1
a first light emitting unit and a first photo-receptor; tracking, by the signal processor unit, a travel of at least one of: the leading edge of the inserted first bubble and the trailing edge of the inserted first bubble, the tracking based on photo-detector output of a first photo-detector disposed on a controlled, translatable carriage
Data Source
AI summary
Methods of and devices for testing medical pumps via tracking induced single or multiple bubble trajectories within a fluid flow conduit (60) and methods of synchronized (600) corrections (604) of flow data estimates.