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:
May. 28, 2002
Filed:
Jan. 31, 2000
Christopher R. Clare, Los Altos Hills, CA (US);
Ethicon, Inc., Somerville, NJ (US);
Abstract
A fluid sensor for determining the presence of fluid in a light-transmissive conduit includes a light emitter and a light detector positioned proximate to the conduit. The light detector is juxtaposed relative to the light emitter to receive light emitted by the light emitter. The light received by the light detector is dependent upon the presence of fluid in the conduit. The light received by the light detector varies due to the different optical properties between a conduit that is empty and one that has fluid in it. The light detector may be a phototransistor whose output is amplified to increase the signal attributable to the presence or absence of fluid in the conduit. The light emitter may be an