DESC:FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an intravenous set. More particularly, the present invention relates to an intravenous set with a drip chamber comprising a flow regulating and stopping member to administer controlled quantities of intravenous fluid into a patient’s body.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Intravenous administration sets with flow regulating and stopping members in a drip chamber are already known and used to administer controlled quantities of intravenous fluid into a patient’s body.

To this end, intravenous set with a flow regulating and a stopping member in the drip chamber are available. The flow regulating and stopping member comprises a lower part, a middle part and an upper part wherein the middle part and lower part are connected by a flexible stud, the flexible stud being a part of lower part. The material and construction of the flow regulating and stopping member is such that specific gravity of the flow regulating and stopping member is less than the specific gravity of the intravenous fluid present in the drip chamber.

The flow regulating and stopping member floats in the drip chamber when the drip chamber is filled with the intravenous fluid thereby allowing the intravenous fluid to pass through the drip chamber into the patient’s body. When the drip chamber is not filled with intravenous fluid or there is abnormal dripping of intravenous fluid from the drip chamber into the patient’s body, the flow regulating and stopping member falls due to its weight at the exit of the drip chamber thereby blocking the exit of the drip chamber and stopping the flow of intravenous fluid from the drip chamber into the patient’s body. Thus, the administration and flow regulation is achieved by the regulation of the movement of the stopping member in the drip chamber.

Generally, the drip chamber housing comprising the said flow regulating and stopping member is made of flexible material. However, such flexible drip chamber poses the disadvantage of distortion during the process of priming.

Priming involves repeated squeezing of the flexible drip chamber to remove the air from the intravenous set prior to administration of the intravenous fluid into the patient’s body. Squeezing the flexible walls repeatedly leads to distortion of flexible walls of the drip chamber. Such distortion of the flexible walls of the drip chamber may lead to ineffective movement of the flow regulating and stopping member in the drip chamber as the flow regulating and stopping member may get stuck at positions where the flexible walls of the drip chambers are distorted. As a result, it may become difficult to control the flow of the intravenous fluid into the patient’s body. Moreover, continuous monitoring is required to ensure that the flow regulating and automatic stopping member is functioning effectively in the drip chamber.

Another disadvantage posed by the available drip chambers comprising a flow regulating and stopping member is that at times the flow regulating and stopping member falls to its lowest position. Such falling of the flow regulating and stopping member occurs at times of abnormal dripping of the intravenous fluid from the drip chamber into the patient’s body due to lack of attention by the medical practitioners.

Such falling of the flow regulating and stopping member causes the flow regulating and stopping member to block the exit of the drip chamber thereby stopping the flow of intravenous fluid from the drip chamber into the patient’s body. When the flow regulating and stopping member falls to its lowest position, a strong suction force is created at the exit of the drip chamber due to which it becomes difficult for the medical practitioner to disengage the flow regulating and stopping member from the exit of the drip chamber. To this end, the flexible tube connected to the exit of the drip chamber is pressed repeatedly by the medical practitioner to create a pressure on the lower part of the flow regulating and stopping member to disengage the flow regulating and stopping member from the exit of the drip chamber. However, in most of the cases, the pressure created by repeatedly pressing the flexible tube is not sufficient to overcome the strong suction force created at the exit of the drip chamber. As a result, the flow regulating and stopping member is stuck at the exit of the drip chamber thereby resulting in the ineffective working of the flow regulating and stopping member when the flow of the intravenous fluid from the drip chamber into the patient’s body is to be resumed.

A further disadvantage posed by the available drip chambers is frequent replacements of the drip chambers due to distortion of the flexible walls during priming which causes ineffective functioning/movement of the flow regulating and stopping members in the flexible drip chambers.

Further disadvantage posed by the available drip chambers is that after priming continuous monitoring by the medical practitioner is required. Priming leads to distortion of the walls that may lead to the ineffective working of the flow regulating and stopping member and can be crucial in critical medical conditions.

Accordingly, it is desired to provide an intravenous set with a drip chamber comprising a flow regulating and stopping member which overcomes the above-discussed disadvantages. Further, it is also desired to provide a drip chamber housing having a flow regulating and stopping member which is inexpensive to manufacture, efficient, effective and simple in its construction and use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an intravenous set with a drip chamber comprising a flow regulating and stopping member to administer controlled quantities of intravenous fluid into the patient’s body. The drip chamber is provided with at least two chambers comprising a flexible chamber and a rigid chamber connected in between by a connecting means such as by a rigid ring defining an opening or a passage. The flexible chamber is used for the purposes of priming and the rigid chamber is used for housing the flow regulating and stopping member.

The distal section of the flexible chamber is connected with a cap member having a piercing means such as a sharp tooth extending axially outwards for puncturing a medical container such as a bottle or a bag containing intravenous fluid. The proximal section of the flexible chamber is connected to the distal section of the rigid chamber. The inner surface/wall of the proximal section of the flexible chamber is also connected with a connecting means such as a rigid ring. The said connecting means may be connected either partially or fully in the proximal section of the flexible chamber.

The drip chamber is provided with an exit in the bottom. A reservoir made of flexible material is by a joint on the underside of drip chamber, which is in communication with the solution of drip chamber through exit. Reservoir has a top opening and a bottom exit. The said reservoir acts as a pressure exerting means. A flexible tube is connected to the bottom exit of the reservoir which in turn ends in a valve which is connected to a catheter or the like. The intravenous fluid is administered into the patient’s body from the drip chamber into the patient’s body via flexible tube. The flexible tube is preferably provided with a manual fluid flow control device to control the flow of the intravenous fluid being administered into the patient’s body.

The rigid chamber of the intravenous set comprises a flow regulating and stopping member for automatic control of flow of fluid through the drip chamber. In one embodiment, the flow regulating and stopping member comprises a lower part, a middle part and an upper part wherein the middle part and lower part are connected by a flexible stud, the flexible stud being a part of lower part. In another embodiment, the flow regulating and stopping member comprises a lower part and an upper part wherein the upper part and the lower part are connected by a flexible stud. The flexible nature of the stud allows free movement of the lower part while the drip chamber is slanted, shaking or in cases of abnormal dripping of intravenous solution in the drip chamber.

The outer diameter of the flow regulating and stopping member is greater than the inner diameter of the rigid ring restricting the entry of the flow regulating and stopping member in the flexible chamber of the drip chamber. Further, the outer diameter of the flow regulating and stopping member is less than the inner diameter of the rigid chamber of the drip chamber to facilitate free movement of the flow regulating and stopping member in the rigid chamber with varying levels of intravenous solution in the drip chamber.

Thus, there is provided an Intravenous (IV) set with an automatic stopping mechanism, the IV set comprising: a drip chamber comprising a cap with a piercing means extending radially outwards for puncturing a container or bottle of intravenous fluid; wherein a proximal end of the drip chamber is connected to a joint; wherein the joint is connected to a flexible reservoir which is connected to a flexible tube ending in a valve to be connected to a catheter or the like; wherein the drip chamber is provided with at least two chambers comprising a flexible chamber and a rigid chamber connected in between by a connecting means defining an opening or a passage for the fluid; wherein a flow regulating and stopping member arranged inside the rigid chamber for automatic control of flow of fluid through drip chamber comprising; a lower part, a middle part and an upper part wherein the middle part and lower part are connected by a flexible stud, the flexible stud being a part of the lower part; and wherein the outer diameter of the flow regulating and stopping member is greater than the inner diameter of the connecting means restricting the entry of the flow regulating and stopping member in the flexible chamber of the said drip chamber.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS:

The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view depicting the Intravenous (IV) set with an automatic stopping mechanism provided in the drip chamber according to the present invention;
Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the flow regulating and stopping member for automatic control of flow of fluid through the drip chamber of the Intravenous (IV) set according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to Fig. 1 a preferred embodiment of Intravenous (IV) set 10 with an automatic stopping mechanism in the drip chamber 12 in accordance with the present invention is provided. As depicted, the drip chamber 12 is provided with at least two chambers comprising a flexible chamber 14 and a rigid chamber 16 connected in between by a connecting means 18 such as by a rigid ring defining an opening or a passage 20. The flexible chamber 14 is used for the purposes of priming and the rigid chamber 16 is used for housing the flow regulating and stopping member 32.

The flexible chamber 14 is made of a flexible material having a proximal end 22 and a distal end 24 defining flexible walls between the proximal end 22 and the distal end 24. The said connecting means 18 may be connected either partially or fully in the proximal section 28 of the flexible chamber 14. In one embodiment, the said connecting means 18 is connected to the inner surface of the distal section 30 of the rigid chamber 16 of the drip chamber 12.

The part of the drip chamber 12 made of a rigid material constituting a rigid chamber 16 is also provided with a proximal end 22 and a distal end 24 defining walls between the proximal end 22 and the distal end 24. The distal section 30 of the rigid chamber 16 is connected to the proximal section 28 of the flexible chamber 14 by connecting means 18. Both the flexible 14 and rigid chamber 16 can be connected by means known in the art such as by glue, heat sealing material or the like etc. and other means/methods commonly known in the art.

The rigid chamber 16 of the Intravenous set 10 comprises a flow regulating and stopping member 32 for automatic control of flow of fluid through the drip chamber 12. The construction of the flow regulating and stopping member 32 and the material used in the construction of the flow regulating and stopping member 32 are such that the specific gravity of the flow regulating and stopping member 32 is always less than the specific gravity of the intravenous fluid in the drip chamber 12. In other words, the flow regulating and stopping member 32 floats in the intravenous fluid available in the rigid chamber 16 of the drip chamber 12.

The flexible chamber 14 is connected to a cap with piercing means 36 such as a sharp tooth. The sharp tooth has slits or holes for fluid to flow in to the drip chamber 12. The sharp tooth may be plunged or attached to a container (not shown here) which contains the intravenous fluid to be administered to the patient.

The rigid chamber 16 is provided with an exit 26 in the bottom. A reservoir 38 made of flexible material is coupled to the joint 40 on the proximal end 22 of the rigid chamber 16 of the drip chamber 12, which is in communication with the solution of drip chamber 12 through exit 26. The flexible reservoir 38 has a top opening 42 and a bottom exit 44. The said flexible reservoir 38 acts as a pressure exerting means. A flexible tube 46 is connected to the bottom exit 44 of the flexible reservoir 38 which in turn ends in a valve 48 which is connected to a catheter or the like. The valve 48 has a hard tube 50 as a part of its construction. This hard tube 50 attaches itself to the catheter or any other medical device that is being used to administer fluid in to a patient body by a healthcare worker. The intravenous fluid is administered into the patient’s body from the drip chamber 12 into the patient’s body via flexible tube 46. The flexible tube 46 has a slidably mounted manual fluid flow control device 52 to control the flow of the intravenous fluid being administered into the patient’s body.

As depicted in Fig. 1, the Intravenous (IV) set 10 comprises a flow regulating and stopping member 32 for automatic control of flow of fluid through the drip chamber 12 which is disposed inside a rigid chamber 16 of the drip chamber 12. The flow regulating and stopping member 32is a semi-rigid and thin member that can be made of any flexible material such as rubber and plastic or their combination or the like material.

In one embodiment, as shown in Fig. 2 the flow regulating and stopping member 32 comprise a lower part 54, a middle part 56 and an upper part 58 wherein the middle part 56 and lower part 54 are connected by a flexible stud 60, the flexible stud 60 being a part of the lower part 54. In another embodiment, the flow regulating and stopping member 32 comprises a lower part 54 and an upper part 58 wherein the upper part 58 and the lower part 54 are connected by a flexible stud 60. The flexible nature of the stud 60 allows free movement of the lower part 54 while the drip chamber 12 is slanted, shaking or even in cases of abnormal dripping of intravenous solution in the drip chamber 12.

Preferably, an annular flange 62 is provided on the top periphery of the upper part 58 increasing the stability when flow regulating and stopping member 32 is submerged in the solution in the rigid chamber 16 and even while slanted or tilted. The buoyancy of flow regulating and stopping member 32 is slightly less than one (1). The outer diameter of the lower part 54 is slightly smaller than that of the inner diameter of the rigid chamber 16 of the drip chamber 12. The stud is a part of the lower part 54 and is usually made of same flexible material such as rubber or plastic as of which the lower part 54 is made. The lower part 54 is round and convex shaped and can be designed according to the design of the rigid chamber 16 of the drip chamber 12. The lower part 54 is adhered to block the fluid exit by the suction of solution when solution in the drip chamber 12 is nearly used up.

The outer diameter of the flow regulating and stopping member 32 is greater than the inner diameter of the connecting means i.e. rigid ring 18 restricting the entry of the flow regulating and stopping member 32 in the flexible chamber 14 of the drip chamber 12. Further, the outer diameter of the flow regulating and stopping member 32 is less than the inner diameter of the rigid chamber 16 of the drip chamber 12 to facilitate free movement of the flow regulating and stopping member 32 in the rigid chamber with varying levels of intravenous solution in the drip chamber 12.

It is noteworthy that the drip chambers available prior to the present invention comprises only a single chamber made of flexible material. However, such drip chambers have the limitation of distortion of the flexible walls of the drip chamber during priming which involves squeezing the walls of the flexible chamber repeatedly which generally lead to a faulty administration of fluid to the patient. The drip chamber 12 of the present invention is made in two parts i.e. flexible chamber 14 and the rigid chamber 16 to overcome the limitations of such single chamber drip chambers.

The process of priming is done at the beginning of the fluid administration process to remove the air from the intravenous set by facilitating the flow of fluid so that air is removed from the drip chamber 12, flexible tubes 46 and related components prior to the administration of the intravenous fluid into the patient’s body.

Repetitive squeezing during the process of priming leads to the distortion of the flexible walls of the drip chamber. Such distortion of the flexible walls leads to ineffective working of the flow regulating and stopping members such as the flow regulating and stopping member being stuck in the areas of drip chamber which have narrowed down due to distortion of the flexible walls of the drip chamber during the priming process. The flexible walls of the available drip chambers can also be distorted due to ineffective handling of the drip chamber by the medical practitioner.

To address the above-mentioned shortcomings, the drip chamber 12 in the present invention comprises two chambers i.e. the flexible chamber 14 and the rigid chamber 16. The flexible chamber 14 is used for the purposes of priming and the rigid chamber 16 is used for housing the flow regulating and stopping member 32. Moreover, a connecting means i.e. rigid ring 18 having its inner diameter lesser than the outer diameter of the flow regulating and stopping member 32 is provided at the junction of the flexible chamber 14 and the rigid chamber 16 of the drip chamber 12 to restrict the entry of flow regulating and stopping member 32 from the rigid chamber 16 into the flexible chamber 14. The restriction of the flow regulating and stopping member 32 from entering the flexible chamber 14 ensures effective functioning of the flow regulating and stopping member 32 in the drip chamber 12 even when the flexible walls are distorted during the priming process.

The operation of the flow regulating and stopping member 32 in the drip chamber of the present invention is now described with reference to Fig. 1. When the drip chamber 12 is not connected to the intravenous fluid container/bottle, the flow regulating and stopping member 32 is located at the proximal section 28 of the rigid chamber of the drip chamber 12 blocking the exit 26 of the drip chamber 12. The fluid starts flowing from the fluid container (not shown here) through the slits in the sharp tooth 36 into the drip chamber 12. As the fluid starts filling in the drip chamber 12, the flow regulating and stopping member 32 starts floating upwards because of buoyancy and the specific gravity of flow regulating and stopping member 32 being smaller than one (1). In this state the, the total weight that is the weight of solution plus the weight of stopping member 32 is slightly smaller than the buoyancy of fluid. The fluid flows through exit 26 in a normal dripping of solution into the flexible reservoir 38 and in the flexible tube 46 and through the manual flow controlling device 52, and then goes to a valve 48 in the end to a catheter or the like.

As the fluid exits the drip chamber 12, the fluid level starts dropping. The flow regulating and stopping member 32, accordingly, falls due to its weight. In case of abnormal solution dropping such as excessive dripping of fluids occurs due to the carelessness of healthcare operator, the fluid level is still maintained at a constant. However, flow regulating and stopping member 32 will immediately fall a distance due to the sensitive design of the invention. A strong suction force is formed at exit 26 when the flow regulating and stopping member 32 falls to its lowest position, thereby causing the lower part 54 of the flow regulating and stopping member 32 to block exit 26 and thereby stopping the fluid flow.

The process of forcing lower part 54 of the flow regulating and stopping member 32 adhered to the exit 26 back to its normal position will now be described. In operation, operator may squeeze flexible reservoir 38 by hand or fingers so as to force solution stored in flexible reservoir 38 to reversely flow upward through joint 40 to disengage lower part 54 and in turn the flow regulating and stopping member 32 from exit 26.

Another manner of disengaging the flow regulating and stopping member 32 can be by squeeze the flexible tube 46 containing some of the fluid by hand or fingers so as to force solution stored in the flexible tube 46 to flow back and upward through tube 46 to disengage lower part 54 from exit 26.

As the drip chamber 12 and the flexible tube 46 in connection with one end of the drip chamber 12 contains air, priming is done to remove the air in the drip chamber 12 and the flexible tube 46 before insertion of the intravenous needle or catheter at the other end of the flexible tube 46 into the patient’s body. The flexible chamber 14 of the drip chamber 12 facilitates priming which requires repetitive squeezing of the flexible chamber 14 of the drip chamber 12.

When the rate of outflow of the intravenous fluid from the drip chamber 12 is less than the rate of inflow of the intravenous fluid from the intravenous fluid container/bottle to the drip chamber 12, the fluid level in the drip chamber 12 start rising. The flow regulating and stopping member 32 starts floating upwards as the specific gravity of the flow regulating and stopping member 32 is less than the specific gravity of the intravenous fluid present in the drip chamber 12 thereby unblocking the exit 26 of the drip chamber 12. As a result, the intravenous fluid flows through the exit 26 of the rigid chamber 16 of the drip chamber 12 into the flexible tube 46 which may be connected to the patient’s body by means of a needle, catheter or the likes.

On the contrary, when the rate of outflow of the intravenous fluid from the drip chamber 12 is greater than the inflow of the intravenous fluid from the intravenous fluid container/bottle to the drip chamber 12, the fluid level in the drip chamber 12 starts dropping. The flow regulating and stopping member 32, accordingly, falls due to its weight thereby blocking the exit 26 of the drip chamber 12. In cases of abnormal solution dropping such as excessive dripping of intravenous fluid from the drip chamber 12 to the patient’s body due to lack of attention of the health care operator, the flow regulating and stopping member 32 will immediately fall a distance due to the sensitive design of the invention blocking the exit 26 of the rigid chamber 16 and stopping the flow of the intravenous fluid from the drip chamber 12 into the patient’s body. When the flow regulating and stopping member 32 falls to its lowest position, a strong suction force is formed at the exit 26 of the rigid chamber 16 of the drip chamber 12 thereby causing the lower part 54 of the flow regulating and stopping member 32 to block the exit 26 of the rigid chamber 16 of the drip chamber 12.

Although the suction force formed at the exit 26 of the rigid chamber 16 causes the lower part 54 of the flow regulating and stopping member 32 to block the exit 26 of the rigid chamber 16, it becomes difficult to free the flow regulating and stopping member 32 from the exit 26 of the drip chamber 12 when the drip chamber 12 is filled again with the intravenous fluid and the process of administration is to be resumed. As a result, the flow of intravenous fluid from the drip chamber 12 into the patient’s body via flexible tube is stopped.

Prior to the present invention, the flow regulating and stopping member was released from the exit position of the drip chamber by pressing the drip chamber or the flexible tube repeatedly to free the flow regulating and stopping member from its position at the exit. However, such repeated pressing of the drip chamber led to the distortion of the walls of the drip chamber and the force exerted by pressing the flexible tube or the flexible walls of the drip chamber was found to be not sufficient to overcome the suction force at the exit of the drip chamber. The distortion of the flexible walls of the drip chamber also led to the ineffective movement of the flow regulating and stopping member in the drip chamber resulting in the inefficient working of the flow regulating and stopping member in the drip chamber.

In order to overcome such limitations, the drip chamber 12 in the present invention is in communication with pressure exerting means such as flexible reservoir 38 made of generally flexible materials such as latex at the proximal end 22 of the rigid chamber 16 of the drip chamber 12. The other end of the flexible reservoir 38 is in communication with the flexible tube 46. When the flexible reservoir 38 is squeezed, it forces air or liquid into the proximal section 28 of the rigid chamber 16. The design of the flexible reservoir 38 is such that the force exerted by repetitive squeezing of the reservoir 38 at the exit 26 of the rigid chamber 16 is sufficient to overcome the suction force created at the exit 26 of the rigid chamber 16 when the flow regulating and stopping member 32 falls to its lowest position thereby releasing the flow regulating and stopping member 32 from its position at the exit 26.

Although this invention has been disclosed in the context of certain preferred embodiments and examples, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention extends beyond the specifically disclosed embodiments to other alternative embodiments and/or uses of the invention and obvious modifications and equivalents thereof. Thus, from the foregoing description, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that many changes and modifications can be made thereto without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as set forth in the claims.

Accordingly, it is not intended that the scope of the foregoing description be limited to the exact description set forth above, but rather that such description be construed as encompassing such features that reside in the present invention, including all the features and embodiments that would be treated as equivalents thereof by those skilled in the relevant art.

Thus, it is intended that the scope of the present invention herein disclosed should not be limited by the particular disclosed embodiments described above but should be determined only by a fair reading of the appended claims.

List of Reference numerals:

10 Intravenous (IV) Set
12 drip chamber
14 flexible chamber
16 rigid chamber
18 connecting means (rigid ring)
20 opening/passage
22 proximal end
24 distal end
26 exit
28 proximal section
30 distal section
32 flow regulating and stopping member
34 cap
36 piercing means (sharp tooth)
38 flexible reservoir
40 joint
42 top opening
44 bottom exit
46 flexible tube
48 valve
50 hard tube
52 fluid flow control device
54 lower part
56 middle part
58 upper part
60 flexible stud
62 annular flange

,CLAIMS:WE CLAIM:

1. An Intravenous (IV) set (10) with an automatic stopping mechanism, the IV set comprising:
a drip chamber (12) comprising a cap (34) with a piercing means (18) extending radially outwards for puncturing a container or bottle of intravenous fluid;
wherein a proximal end (22) of the drip chamber (12) is connected to a joint (40);
wherein the joint (40) is connected to a flexible reservoir (38) which is connected to a flexible tube (46) ending in a valve (48) to be connected to a catheter or the like;
wherein the drip chamber (12) is provided with at least two chambers comprising a flexible chamber (14) and a rigid chamber (16) connected in between by a connecting means (18) defining an opening or a passage (20) for the fluid;
wherein a flow regulating and stopping member (32) arranged inside the rigid chamber (16) for automatic control of flow of fluid through drip chamber (12 comprising;
a lower part (54), a middle part (56) and an upper part (58) wherein the middle part (56) and lower part (54) are connected by a flexible stud (60), the flexible stud (60) being a part of the lower part (54); and
wherein the outer diameter of the flow regulating and stopping member (32) is greater than the inner diameter of the connecting means (18) restricting the entry of the flow regulating and stopping member (32) in the flexible chamber (14) of the said drip chamber (12).

2. The Intravenous (IV) set (10) with an automatic stopping mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the flexible chamber (14) is made of a flexible material having a proximal end (22) and a distal end (24) defining flexible walls between the proximal end (22) and the distal end (24).

3. The Intravenous (IV) set (10) with an automatic stopping mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rigid chamber (16) is made of a rigid material having a proximal end (22) and a distal end (24) defining walls between the proximal end (22) and the distal end (24).

4. The Intravenous (IV) set (10) with an automatic stopping mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rigid chamber (16) has an exit (26) in the bottom which is in communication with the said flexible reservoir (38) connected to a flexible tube (46) which in turn ends in a valve (48) connected to a catheter or the like for administration of intravenous fluid.

5. The Intravenous (IV) set (10) with an automatic stopping mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the upper part has an annular flange provided on the top periphery increasing the stability when flow regulating and stopping member is submerged in the solution in the rigid chamber and even while slanted or tilted.

6. The Intravenous (IV) set (10) with an automatic stopping mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the said connecting means (18) is connected to the inner surface of the distal section (30) of the rigid chamber (16) of the drip chamber (12).

7. The Intravenous (IV) set (10) with an automatic stopping mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the flow regulating and stopping member (32) is a semi-rigid and thin member made of any flexible material such as rubber and plastic or their combination or the like material.

8. The Intravenous (IV) set (10) with an automatic stopping mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lower part (54) of the flow regulating and stopping member (32) is round and convex shaped and is capable to block the fluid exit by the suction of solution when solution in the drip chamber (12) is nearly used up.

9. The Intravenous (IV) set (10) with an automatic stopping mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the outer diameter of the flow regulating and stopping member (32) is less than the inner diameter of the rigid chamber (16) of the drip chamber (12) facilitating free movement of the flow regulating and stopping member (32) in the rigid chamber (16) with varying levels of intravenous solution in the drip chamber (12).

10. The Intravenous (IV) set (10) with an automatic stopping mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the flexible stud (60) is a part of the lower part (54) and is usually made of same flexible material such as rubber or plastic as of which the lower part (54) is made.

11. The Intravenous (IV) set (10) with an automatic stopping mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the flexible reservoir (38) has a top opening (42) and a bottom exit (44) connected to a flexible tube (46) which in turn ends in a valve (48) which is connected to a catheter or the like.