Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 30
Claim 1
Independent Claim
227 words
A hollow fiber dialyzer having an elongated tubular casing containing partitioning that divides its interior into a plurality of separate longitudinally-extending passageways, dialyzate flow directing means for receiving dialyzate from an external source and directing it to flow from one casing end to the other through one of the passageways and then back to said one casing end through another of the passageways and so to and fro lengthwise through the other passageways and finally out of the casing, at least two of the passageways each having a longitudinally-extending bundle of elongated hollow blood dialysis fibers extending lengthwise through it, and means connected to deliver blood to be dialyzed from an inlet to the fiber ends of each of such bundles at the same end of the casing and to receive the blood from the other ends of the hollow fibers for delivery to an outlet, characterized in that only some but not all of the passageways have said bundles of fibers and the remaining passageways do not contain dialysis fibers, and the dialyzate flow directing means directs dialyzate to flow from one casing end to the other in alternating fashion through the passageways having bundles of fibers and the passageways which do not contain fibers so that the dialyzate flow through each of the passageways having bundles of fibers is always in the same lengthwise direction.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
227 words
A hollow fiber dialyzer having an elongated tubular casing containing partitioning that divides its interior into a plurality of separate longitudinally-extending passageways, dialyzate flow directing means for receiving dialyzate from an external source and directing it to flow from one casing end to the other through one of the passageways and then back to said one casing end through another of the passageways and so to and fro lengthwise through the other passageways and finally out of the casing, at least two of the passageways each having a longitudinally-extending bundle of elongated hollow blood dialysis fibers extending lengthwise through it, and means connected to deliver blood to be dialyzed from an inlet to the fiber ends of each of such bundles at the same end of the casing and to receive the blood from the other ends of the hollow fibers for delivery to an outlet, characterized in that only some but not all of the passageways have said bundles of fibers and the remaining passageways do not contain dialysis fibers, and the dialyzate flow directing means directs dialyzate to flow from one casing end to the other in alternating fashion through the passageways having bundles of fibers and the passageways which do not contain fibers so that the dialyzate flow through each of the passageways having bundles of fibers is always in the same lengthwise direction.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
33 words
A hollow fiber dialyzer as in claim 1 wherein the passageways having said bundles of fibers have a relatively larger cross-section than the cross-section of the passageways which do not contain dialysis fibers.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
46 words
A hollow fiber dialyzer as in claim 2 wherein the lengthwise direction of dialyzate flow through the relatively larger cross-section passageways having said bundles of fibers is opposite to the direction of blood flow through the hollow fibers from the blood inlet to the blood outlet.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
16 words
A hollow fiber dialyzer as in claim 1 wherein said casing has a substantially rectangular cross-section.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
20 words
A hollow fiber dialyzer as in claim 1 wherein said plurality of separate longitudinally-extending passageways have a substantially rectangular cross-section.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
28 words
A hollow fiber dialyzer as in claim 1 wherein said casing has a substantially rectangular cross-section and said plurality of separate longitudinally-extending passageways have a substantially rectangular cross-section.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
223 words
A hollow fiber dialyzer having an elongated tubular casing containing partitioning that divides its interior into at least three separate longitudinally-extending passageways, dialyzate flow directing means for receiving dialyzate from an external source and directing it to flow from one casing end to the other through one of the passageways and then back to said one casing end through another of the passageways and so to and fro lengthwise through the other passageways and finally out of the casing, at least two of the passageways each having a longitudinally-extending bundle of elongated hollow blood dialysis fibers extending lengthwise therethrough, at least one of the passageways not containing dialysis fibers, and means connected to deliver blood to be dialyzed from an inlet to the fiber ends of each of such bundles at the same end of the casing and to receive the blood from the other ends of the hollow fibers for delivery to an outlet, characterized in that the passageways having said bundles of fibers have a relatively larger cross-section than the cross-section of the passageways which do not contain dialysis fibers, and the said at least one passageway which does not contain dialysis fibers has a cross-section which is circular and which also is sufficiently narrow to cause the flowing dialyzate to sweep out gas bubbles that may form in the dialyzate.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
223 words
A hollow fiber dialyzer having an elongated tubular casing containing partitioning that divides its interior into at least three separate longitudinally-extending passageways, dialyzate flow directing means for receiving dialyzate from an external source and directing it to flow from one casing end to the other through one of the passageways and then back to said one casing end through another of the passageways and so to and fro lengthwise through the other passageways and finally out of the casing, at least two of the passageways each having a longitudinally-extending bundle of elongated hollow blood dialysis fibers extending lengthwise therethrough, at least one of the passageways not containing dialysis fibers, and means connected to deliver blood to be dialyzed from an inlet to the fiber ends of each of such bundles at the same end of the casing and to receive the blood from the other ends of the hollow fibers for delivery to an outlet, characterized in that the passageways having said bundles of fibers have a relatively larger cross-section than the cross-section of the passageways which do not contain dialysis fibers, and the said at least one passageway which does not contain dialysis fibers has a cross-section which is circular and which also is sufficiently narrow to cause the flowing dialyzate to sweep out gas bubbles that may form in the dialyzate.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
31 words
A hollow fiber dialyzer as in claim 7 wherein the passageways having said bundles of fibers are generally circular in cross-section throughout their length between the dialyzate entrance and exit ends.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
27 words
A hollow fiber dialyzer as in claim 7 wherein there are two passageways having said bundles of fibers and one passageway which does not contain dialysis fibers.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
27 words
A hollow fiber dialyzer as in claim 7 wherein there are three passageways having said bundles of fibers and two passageways which do not contain dialysis fibers.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
32 words
A hollow fiber dialyzer as in claim 7 wherein the number of passageways which do not contain dialysis fibers is one less than the number of passageways having said bundles of fibers.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
177 words
A hollow fiber dialyzer having an elongated tubular casing containing partitioning that divides its interior into at least five separate longitudinally-extending passageways, dialyzate flow directing means for receiving dialyzate from an external source and directing it to flow from one casing end to the other through one of the passageways and then back to said one casing end through another of the passageways and so to and fro lengthwise through the other passageways and finally out of the casing, at least three of the passageways each having a longitudinally-extending bundle of elongated hollow blood dialysis fibers extending lengthwise therethrough, and means connected to deliver blood to be dialyzed from an inlet to the fiber ends of each of such bundles at the same end of the casing and to receive the blood from the other ends of the hollow fibers for delivery to an outlet, characterized in that there are at least two passageways which do not contain dialysis fibers, and the said at least three passageways having bundles of fibers are arranged in closely-packed triangular relationship.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
177 words
A hollow fiber dialyzer having an elongated tubular casing containing partitioning that divides its interior into at least five separate longitudinally-extending passageways, dialyzate flow directing means for receiving dialyzate from an external source and directing it to flow from one casing end to the other through one of the passageways and then back to said one casing end through another of the passageways and so to and fro lengthwise through the other passageways and finally out of the casing, at least three of the passageways each having a longitudinally-extending bundle of elongated hollow blood dialysis fibers extending lengthwise therethrough, and means connected to deliver blood to be dialyzed from an inlet to the fiber ends of each of such bundles at the same end of the casing and to receive the blood from the other ends of the hollow fibers for delivery to an outlet, characterized in that there are at least two passageways which do not contain dialysis fibers, and the said at least three passageways having bundles of fibers are arranged in closely-packed triangular relationship.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
61 words
A hollow fiber dialyzer as in claim 12 wherein the said at least two passageways which do not contain dialysis fibers are smaller in cross-section than those passageways having said bundles of fibers and said at least two passageways of smaller cross-section are located adjacent the lateral periphery of the elongated casing, and the casing is molded of a transparent material.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
60 words
A hollow fiber dialyzer as in claim 12 wherein the said at least two passageways which do not contain dialysis fibers are smaller in cross-section than those passageways which contain dialysis fibers and are located adjacent the lateral periphery of the elongated casing, and the casing is molded of a resin selected from the group consisting of polystyrene and polycarbonate.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
27 words
A hollow fiber dialyzer as in claim 12 wherein there are three passageways having said bundles of fibers and two passageways which do not contain dialysis fibers.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
42 words
A hollow fiber dialyzer as in claim 15 wherein said two passageways which do not contain dialysis fibers are smaller in cross-section than said three passageways having said bundles of fibers and are located adjacent the lateral periphery of the elongated casing.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
202 words
A hollow fiber dialyzer having an elongated tubular casing containing partitioning that divides its interior into a plurality of separate longitudinally-extending passageways, dialyzate flow directing means for receiving dialyzate from an external source and directing it to flow from one casing end to the other through one of the passageways and then back to said one casing end through another of the passageways and so to and fro lengthwise through the other passageways and finally out of the casing, at least two of the passageways each having a longitudinally-extending bundle of elongated hollow blood dialysis fibers extending lengthwise therethrough, and means connected to deliver blood to be dialyzed from an inlet to the fiber ends of each of said bundles at the same end of the casing and to receive the blood from the other ends of the hollow fibers for delivery to an outlet, characterized in that at one end of the casing the flow directing means contains a gas by-pass connected between successive passageways to permit gas bubbles trapped at that end, when the dialyzer is operated with that end up, to be discharged out of the casing without having to be carried by the dialyzate to the other end.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
202 words
A hollow fiber dialyzer having an elongated tubular casing containing partitioning that divides its interior into a plurality of separate longitudinally-extending passageways, dialyzate flow directing means for receiving dialyzate from an external source and directing it to flow from one casing end to the other through one of the passageways and then back to said one casing end through another of the passageways and so to and fro lengthwise through the other passageways and finally out of the casing, at least two of the passageways each having a longitudinally-extending bundle of elongated hollow blood dialysis fibers extending lengthwise therethrough, and means connected to deliver blood to be dialyzed from an inlet to the fiber ends of each of said bundles at the same end of the casing and to receive the blood from the other ends of the hollow fibers for delivery to an outlet, characterized in that at one end of the casing the flow directing means contains a gas by-pass connected between successive passageways to permit gas bubbles trapped at that end, when the dialyzer is operated with that end up, to be discharged out of the casing without having to be carried by the dialyzate to the other end.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
201 words
A tubular casing integrally molded to contain longitudinal partitioning that subdivides it into five longitudinally extending side-by-side passageways, three of them being of much wider cross-section than the other two, the three wider passageways being about equal in size, the partitioning containing inter-passage communication openings that permit fluid introduced into one of the wider passageways near one end of the casing to move through that passageway to a location near the other end of the casing, then move from there into one of the smaller passageways and back through that smaller passageway to a location near said one end, from there move into a second wider passageway and through that passageway to a location near said other end, from there into the second smaller passageway and through that passageway back to a location near said one end, from there into the third wider passageway and through that passageway to a location near said other end, characterized in that the casing is about 6 to about 12 inches long, and in that the five passageways are clustered about a common longitudinal centerline with the three wider passageways arranged in closely-packed triangular relationship, and the two smaller passageways are each circular in cross-section.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
201 words
A tubular casing integrally molded to contain longitudinal partitioning that subdivides it into five longitudinally extending side-by-side passageways, three of them being of much wider cross-section than the other two, the three wider passageways being about equal in size, the partitioning containing inter-passage communication openings that permit fluid introduced into one of the wider passageways near one end of the casing to move through that passageway to a location near the other end of the casing, then move from there into one of the smaller passageways and back through that smaller passageway to a location near said one end, from there move into a second wider passageway and through that passageway to a location near said other end, from there into the second smaller passageway and through that passageway back to a location near said one end, from there into the third wider passageway and through that passageway to a location near said other end, characterized in that the casing is about 6 to about 12 inches long, and in that the five passageways are clustered about a common longitudinal centerline with the three wider passageways arranged in closely-packed triangular relationship, and the two smaller passageways are each circular in cross-section.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
206 words
A hollow fiber dialyzer having an elongated tubular casing containing partitioning that divides its interior into at least five separate longitudinally-extending passageways, dialyzate flow directing means for receiving dialyzate from an external source and directing it to flow from one casing end to the other through one of the passageways and then back to said one casing end through another of the passageways and so to and fro lengthwise through the other passageways and finally out of the casing, at least three of the passageways each having a longitudinally-extending bundle of elongated hollow blood dialysis fibers extending lengthwise therethrough, at least two of the passageways not containing dialysis fibers, and means connected to deliver blood to be dialyzed from an inlet to the fiber ends of each of said bundles at the same end of the casing and to receive the blood from the other ends of the hollow fibers for delivery to an outlet, characterized in that the passageways having said bundles of fibers are generally circular in cross-section throughout their length between the dialyzate entrance and exit ends and are clustered around a common centerline, and the passageways which do not contain dialysis fibers are located adjacent the lateral periphery of the elongated casing.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
206 words
A hollow fiber dialyzer having an elongated tubular casing containing partitioning that divides its interior into at least five separate longitudinally-extending passageways, dialyzate flow directing means for receiving dialyzate from an external source and directing it to flow from one casing end to the other through one of the passageways and then back to said one casing end through another of the passageways and so to and fro lengthwise through the other passageways and finally out of the casing, at least three of the passageways each having a longitudinally-extending bundle of elongated hollow blood dialysis fibers extending lengthwise therethrough, at least two of the passageways not containing dialysis fibers, and means connected to deliver blood to be dialyzed from an inlet to the fiber ends of each of said bundles at the same end of the casing and to receive the blood from the other ends of the hollow fibers for delivery to an outlet, characterized in that the passageways having said bundles of fibers are generally circular in cross-section throughout their length between the dialyzate entrance and exit ends and are clustered around a common centerline, and the passageways which do not contain dialysis fibers are located adjacent the lateral periphery of the elongated casing.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
27 words
A hollow fiber dialyzer as in claim 19 wherein there are three passageways having said bundles of fibers and two passageways which do not contain dialysis fibers.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
213 words
A hollow fiber dialyzer having an elongated tubular casing containing partitioning that divides its interior into at least three separate longitudinally-extending passageways, dialyzate flow directing means for receiving dialyzate from an external source and directing it to flow from one casing end to the other through one of the passageways and then back to said one casing end through another of the passageways and so to and fro lengthwise through the other passageways and finally out of the casing, at least two of the passageways each having a longitudinally-extending bundle of elongated hollow blood dialysis fibers extending lengthwise therethrough, and means connected to deliver blood to be dialyzed from an inlet to the fiber ends of each of such bundles at the same end of the casing and to receive the blood from the other ends of the hollow fibers for delivery to an outlet, characterized in that at least one of said passageways does not contain dialysis fibers, and said dialysate flow directing means is adapted to direct dialysate to flow through said at least three passageways so that the direction in which dialysate flows through said at least one of said passageways is opposite the direction in which dialysate flows through at least one of the two passageways having dialysis fibers.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
213 words
A hollow fiber dialyzer having an elongated tubular casing containing partitioning that divides its interior into at least three separate longitudinally-extending passageways, dialyzate flow directing means for receiving dialyzate from an external source and directing it to flow from one casing end to the other through one of the passageways and then back to said one casing end through another of the passageways and so to and fro lengthwise through the other passageways and finally out of the casing, at least two of the passageways each having a longitudinally-extending bundle of elongated hollow blood dialysis fibers extending lengthwise therethrough, and means connected to deliver blood to be dialyzed from an inlet to the fiber ends of each of such bundles at the same end of the casing and to receive the blood from the other ends of the hollow fibers for delivery to an outlet, characterized in that at least one of said passageways does not contain dialysis fibers, and said dialysate flow directing means is adapted to direct dialysate to flow through said at least three passageways so that the direction in which dialysate flows through said at least one of said passageways is opposite the direction in which dialysate flows through at least one of the two passageways having dialysis fibers.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
213 words
A hollow fiber dialyzer having an elongated tubular casing containing partitioning that divides its interior into at least three separate longitudinally-extending passageways, dialysate flow directing means for receiving dialysate from an external source and directing it to flow from one casing end to the other through one of the passageways and then back to said one casing end through another of the passageways and so to and fro lengthwise through the other passageways and finally out of the casing, at least two of the passageways each having a longitudinally-extending bundle of elongated hollow blood dialysis fibers extending lengthwise therethrough, and means connected to deliver blood to be dialyzed from an inlet to the fiber ends of each of such bundles at the same end of the casing and to receive the blood from the other ends of the hollow fibers for delivery to an outlet, characterized in that at least one of said passageways does not contain dialysis fibers, and said dialysate flow directing means is adapted to direct dialysate to flow through said at least three passageways so that the direction in which dialysate flows through said at least one of said passageways is opposite the direction in which dialysate flows through said at least two of the passageways having dialysis fibers.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
213 words
A hollow fiber dialyzer having an elongated tubular casing containing partitioning that divides its interior into at least three separate longitudinally-extending passageways, dialysate flow directing means for receiving dialysate from an external source and directing it to flow from one casing end to the other through one of the passageways and then back to said one casing end through another of the passageways and so to and fro lengthwise through the other passageways and finally out of the casing, at least two of the passageways each having a longitudinally-extending bundle of elongated hollow blood dialysis fibers extending lengthwise therethrough, and means connected to deliver blood to be dialyzed from an inlet to the fiber ends of each of such bundles at the same end of the casing and to receive the blood from the other ends of the hollow fibers for delivery to an outlet, characterized in that at least one of said passageways does not contain dialysis fibers, and said dialysate flow directing means is adapted to direct dialysate to flow through said at least three passageways so that the direction in which dialysate flows through said at least one of said passageways is opposite the direction in which dialysate flows through said at least two of the passageways having dialysis fibers.