The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Mar. 12, 2002
Filed:
Apr. 14, 2000
Dilip H. Shah, Buffalo Grove, IL (US);
Gary Howell, Elkton, MD (US);
Kenneth E. Pawlak, Vernon Hills, IL (US);
Masatoshi Ozono, Tokyo, JP;
Wade Fournier, Spring Grove, IL (US);
Mete Alpan, LaGrange, IL (US);
Other;
Abstract
A set of bottles for containing dialysate chemical formulations, chemical cleaning agents or the like is described. The chemical formulation bottles come in two varieties, sodium bicarbonate and liquid acid formulations, each bottle having a slightly different shape. The different shapes cooperate with a bottle mounting structure in the dialysis machine to insure that bottles are correctly installed on their respective bottle opening mechanism. The bottles also have a detection feature comprising either a raised rim or groove extending around the periphery of the bottle. A sensor assembly in the bottle mounting and opening system detects the detection feature. The detection feature is used by the machine to distinguish between dialysate formulation bottles and chemical cleaning bottles, which do not have the detection feature. The detection feature prevents unintentional installation of the chemical bottle on the opening mechanism for the dialysate chemical formulation bottles. A chemical loading system for use with the bottles, and having a detection system for detecting the detection feature is also described. The detection system can be either a mechanical detection system or an optical detection system.