FR3076224A1 - GAS HUMIDIFIER WITH IMPROVED HEAT TRANSFER - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a gas humidifier (24) comprising a housing (14) comprising a reservoir housing (1) and a first metal plate (6), and a removable reservoir (4) comprising a water tank (8) provided with a second metal plate (5), the second metal plate (5) coming into contact with the first metal plate (6) when the removable tank (4) is inserted into the housing (1). It further comprises at least one elastic element (11) pressing on the removable reservoir (4), when positioned in the reservoir housing (1), so as to push said removable reservoir (4) towards the first metal plate (6). Preferably, it comprises several elastic elements (11), in particular elastic blades, preferably flattened "V" -shaped, which are carried by the housing (14). Humidifier / medical ventilator assembly (24, 25) comprising a ventilator (25) equipped with an electric micro-blower and a humidifier (24) according to the invention.

Description

The invention relates to a heated humidifier device equipped with a removable water tank used for humidifying gases from a medical respiratory assistance device, in which leaf springs ensure good contact between the heating plate. of the water tank and that of the humidifier device case, that is to say with improved heat transfer.

Usually, a heating gas humidification device, generally called a humidifier, comprises a removable tank intended to contain a volume of water. This tank is configured to allow the passage of an air flow between an inlet port and an outlet port. Its bottom has a metal plate intended to transmit to the water, heat coming from a heating box, in which the tank is housed. The bottom of the box has a heating element connected to or in contact with another metal plate whose role is to transmit the heat produced by the heating element of the box to the metal plate of the tank, via the second metal plate. .

During the operation of the humidifier, the air coming from a medical ventilatory assistance device, commonly called a “ventilator”, enters the tank, heats up and is charged there with humidity thanks to the water which is heated in the tank. The humidified hot air is then conveyed to the respiratory tract of a patient, in particular via a flexible gas conduit supplying a respiratory interface, such as a respiratory mask or the like.

When using such a heated humidifier, it is essential to ensure good contact between the two metal plates, failing which the heat produced by the heating element of the case is poorly transmitted and calories are then lost instead of being transmitted to water, which can cause poor humidification of the air and electrical overconsumption.

The problem that arises is therefore to ensure that, when the removable tank is inserted in its housing of the humidifier case, good contact between the metal plates present in the bottom of the water tank and in the bottom of the humidifier housing is guaranteed to ensure good heat transfer (ie calories) between said plates, then to the water present in the removable tank.

The solution of the invention then relates to a humidifier comprising a housing comprising a reservoir housing and a first metal plate, and a removable reservoir comprising a water tank provided with a second metal plate, the second metal plate coming into contact with the first metal plate when the removable tank is inserted into the housing, characterized in that it further comprises at least one elastic element pressing on the removable tank, when it is positioned in the tank housing, so as to push said said removable tank towards the first metal plate.

Depending on the case, the tank of the invention may include one or more of the following technical characteristics:

- The first metal plate is arranged in the bottom of the tank housing and the second metal plate is arranged in the bottom of the tank.

- it includes several elastic elements.

- The elastic elements include elastic blades, in particular two elastic blades.

- The elastic elements have a flattened "V" shape or a similar shape, for example a "Y" or "U" shape.

- It comprises elastic elements arranged in parallel, preferably two elastic elements.

- the elastic elements are flexible.

- The housing includes a closing cover.

- The closure cover is arranged at the upper end of the housing, that is to say the end opposite the bottom of the housing where the first metal plate is arranged.

- the closing cover is pivotally mounted on the housing.

- The closing cover is pivotally mounted between at least one closing position and at least one opening position angularly offset from one another.

- the elastic elements are arranged in the housing.

- At least two elastic elements are arranged in parallel in the housing.

- The elastic elements are integral with at least part of the housing.

- the elastic elements are molded with all or part of the case.

- The case is formed by one or more parts assembled together.

- the removable tank comprising a water tank closed by a cover.

- the elastic elements press on the tank cover when the tank is positioned in the tank housing and the closure cap is pivoted towards the tank.

- The tank housing is configured and dimensioned to receive the removable tank, preferably the removable tank is inserted in translation in the housing.

- The housing includes a side opening dimensioned to allow insertion by the user of the removable tank into the tank housing through said side opening.

- The elastic elements are arranged so as to come to press on the removable tank when said removable tank is inserted by the user into the tank housing through said lateral opening.

- The insertion of the removable tank in the tank housing is operated by translation through said lateral opening.

- the pivoting cover is pivoted in the open position to allow or facilitate the insertion of the removable tank into the tank housing.

- the pivoting cover is pivoted to the closed position after insertion of the removable tank into the tank housing so as to allow use of the humidifier.

- The housing further comprises a heating element in contact with the first metal plate.

- The water tank comprising a bottom provided with the second metal plate and a peripheral wall projecting upwards from said bottom.

- The cover is fixed integrally to the peripheral wall of the tank.

- the tank cover is removable.

- The cover comprises a first inclined roof portion and a second inclined roof portion forming between them an inverted "V" roof portion.

- the water tank has a general shape of a rectangular parallelepiped.

- The cover of the tank comprises means or a fixing system making it possible to secure it to the peripheral wall of the tank, for example a fitting system.

- The cover and / or the water tank is made of polymer, for example plastic of the polypropylene (PP) type.

- The first and second metal plates are made of aluminum, aluminum alloy, stainless steel or any other metal or metallic alloy having good heat transfer properties, that is to say calories.

- the heating element is in contact with the first metal plate arranged at the bottom of the case which is itself in contact with the second metal plate located in the bottom of the tank, when the tank is inserted in the housing of the humidifier .

the cover comprising a humidified gas evacuation pipe in fluid communication with the gas outlet orifice of the humidifier tank.

- The cover comprising a humidified gas discharge pipe comprising at least one seal, preferably an O-ring.

Furthermore, the invention further relates to a humidifier / medical ventilator assembly comprising a medical ventilator equipped with an electric micro-blower and a humidifier according to the invention, said gas humidifier serving to humidify the gas, typically air , supplied by the electric micro-blower thanks to water vapor generated in humidifier by heating by means of the heating element and the two metal plates.

The invention will now be better understood thanks to the following detailed description, given by way of illustration but not limitation, with reference to the appended figures among which:

- Figure 1 shows schematically a ventilator / humidifier of medical gas,

FIG. 2 is a side view showing the insertion of the reservoir into the housing of a humidifier according to the invention, and

- Figure 3 shows the elastic elements pressing on the top of the tank,

- Figure 4 shows schematically an elastic blade fixed to the humidifier box of Figure 2,

- Figure 5 shows schematically the action of the elastic blade of Figure 4,

- Figure 6 shows schematically the humidifier of Figure 2 after insertion of the tank in the housing of the box, and

- Figure 7 shows the pivoting cover and the cover support of the humidifier of Figures 2 and 6.

Figure 1 shows schematically an embodiment of a medical ventilator / medical gas humidifier assembly comprising a medical ventilator 25, that is to say an apparatus for supplying respiratory assistance gas, and a gas humidifier 24 according to invention in fluid communication (at 21) and electrical communication (at 19) with each other.

More specifically, the medical ventilator 25 comprises means for supplying gas, such as an electric micro-blower, also called a "turbine" or "compressor", making it possible to supply a gas flow, for example air, to the humidifier 24, and control means 20, 22, namely an electronic card 20 with a (micro) processor 22.

The gas flow delivered by the gas supply means of the medical ventilator 25 is conveyed, via an internal gas circuit of the ventilator comprising one or more gas conduits or the like, to a gas outlet 21, such as a pneumatic connector , ensuring fluid communication between the medical ventilator 25 and the gas humidifier 24.

Furthermore, the gas humidifier 24 comprises a housing 14 defining an internal volume or housing 1 intended to receive a water tank 4 comprising a tank or tank 8 intended to contain water 4d used to humidify the flow of gas originating of the fan 25. The tank 8 comprises a cover 9, preferably removable, closing the top of the tank 4.

The tank 8 of the water tank 4 comprises an inlet 2 for dry gas through which the gas to be humidified coming from the fan 25 enters the water tank 4 and an outlet 3 for humidified gas through which the gas humidified within the tank 8 spring from the water tank 4 and is then sent to the patient, via a flexible gas line (not shown) for example, connected to a patient breathing gas distribution interface, such as a breathing mask or the like. The flexible pipe can be fixed, for example fitted, to an outlet connector or end piece 13 carried by the pivoting cover 10 of the housing 14, as illustrated in FIG. 2.

The gas humidifier 24 further comprises a heating element 7, such as an electrical resistance, and a first metal plate 6 which are arranged in the bottom 15 of the housing 14 of the humidifier 24. The heating element 7 is controlled by the control means 20, 22 of the medical ventilator 25 and is also in contact with the first metal plate 6 so as to heat the first metal plate 6 in response to a heating control signal delivered by the control means 20, 22 of the medical ventilator 25.

As visible in FIG. 1, the water tank 4 is arranged in the housing 14 of the gas humidifier 24. The tank of the tank 4 comprises a second metal plate 5 which is itself in mechanical contact, that is to say i.e. they touch, with the first metal plate 6 arranged in the bottom 15 of the housing 14 so that the calories (ie, heat) generated by the heating element 7 and transmitted to the first metal plate 6 can then pass to the second metal plate 5, then to the water 4d from the tank 8 so as to heat this water.

More specifically, the second metal plate 5 is arranged in the bottom 4a of the tank 8 of the tank 4, which bottom 4a defines with the peripheral wall 4b of the tank 8 of the tank 4, an internal volume 4c containing the water 4d to be heated which is used to humidify the gas supplied by the medical ventilator 25. The water 4d contained in the reservoir 4 is therefore vaporized by heating in contact with the second metal plate 5. The metal plates 5, 6 are for example made of aluminum, an alloy aluminum or stainless steel.

The medical ventilator 25 is supplied with electric current by an electric power supply 17, for example the sector delivering a current having a voltage between 110 and 230 V. The current supplied by the electric current source 17 is conveyed by an electric cable coming from electrically connect to the ventilator 25 at an upstream electrical connector 18. The medical ventilator 25 is electrically connected to the gas humidifier 24 by a downstream electrical connector 19 or the like. The electric current is then conveyed from the downstream electrical connector 19 to the heating element 7 by one or more electrical cables 23.

The cover 9 forms a removable roof which closes the opening located at the top of the tank 8. It is made integral with the peripheral wall 4b of the tank 8, by means of a suitable fixing system, for example a system by interlocking or the like. carried by the tank 4, the cover 9 or both. The fixing system also ensures a fluid tight seal between the cover 9 and the upper peripheral rim of the tank 8. To this end, these come, for example, to fit one into the other. This makes it possible to make the cover 9 removable, that is to say detachable or removable, which makes it possible to easily fill the tank 4 of the tank 8 with water, when it is empty.

In the embodiment of Figures 1 to 6, the water tank 8 is a rectangular parallelepiped, that is to say here of rectangular section. It therefore comprises 4 walls facing 2 to 2, ie parallel 2 to 2 and perpendicular 2 to 2, including two small walls and two large walls, the small walls having a width less than that of the large walls, the height of the small and large walls being equal. Of course, the tank 8 could have another shape.

The insertion of the reservoir 8 into the housing 1 of the housing 14 of the gas humidifier 24 is illustrated in FIG. 2. As can be seen, the reservoir 8 is introduced into the housing 1 through a lateral opening 14b made in the peripheral wall of the case

14, in particular in one 14a of the faces of the housing 14, for example the front face 14a, of a housing 14 of parallelepiped shape.

The user can insert the reservoir 8 into the housing 14 through the lateral opening 14b and in a translational movement (arrow F1 in Fig. 2). The pivoting cover 10 is, during this insertion, in its open position so as to allow and / or facilitate the insertion of said reservoir 8 into the housing 1 of the housing 14.

When the reservoir 8 is positioned in its housing 1 of the housing 14 (Fig. 6), the first and second metal plates 6, 5 are positioned face to face and in contact with each other.

Once the housing 14 is in position in the housing 1, which is configured and dimensioned to receive it, that is to say the housing, the pivoting cover 10 is folded back into the closed position, by pivoting around its axis 12 , in the direction of the metal plates 5, 6, that is to say downwards (cf. arrow F2) in FIG. 2. The internal passage of the tubular endpiece 13 is then in fluid communication with the orifice of outlet 3 of tank 8.

In the embodiment presented in FIG. 2, in order to guarantee a good fluid tightness in particular at the level of the gas inlet 2 and outlet 3 ports of the reservoir 4 of the gas humidifier 24, the cover 9 which forms a " roof ”covering and closing the top of the tank 8 is configured in a particular way, namely in the form of an inverted“ V ”. O-rings or other sealing means can be provided to improve the fluid tightness between the housing 14 and the reservoir 8.

Figure 6 shows the gas humidifier 24 of Figure 2 after insertion of the reservoir 8 into the housing 1 of the housing 14 of the gas humidifier 24 and after tilting of the pivoting cover 10 in the closed position, i.e. say when the gas humidifier 24 is ready to be connected to a medical ventilator 25, as shown diagrammatically in FIG. 1. When the cover 10 is in the folded down position, that is to say in the closed position, it presses on the top of the tank 8. In other words, when the user closes, by pivoting around the axis 12, the cover 10 arranged at the top or upper end 14c of the housing 14, this cover 10 presses on the tank 8 , that is to say to exert a vertical pressure making it possible to press the bottom 4a with a metal plate 6 of the tank 4 of the tank 8 against the other metal plate 6 situated in the bottom of the housing, itself in contact with a heating element 7, such as a resistance or anal ogue, which ensures heat transmission to the water.

According to the present invention, in order to improve this contact between the two metal plates 5, 6, one or more elastic elements 11 are provided which come to bear on the removable reservoir 4, when it is positioned in the housing 1 of the housing 14 of the humidifier 24, so as to push the removable reservoir 4 towards the first metal plate 6, that is to say towards the bottom 1 5 of the housing 14.

Preferably, two elastic elements 11 are provided, preferably arranged in parallel with one another.

As illustrated in Figure 3 and 7, the elastic elements 11 are arranged at the upper end 14c of the housing 14. In particular, in the embodiment of Figure 3, the housing 14 comprises an upper part 14c comprising a support 16 for the cover 10, which support 16 is located at and / or forming all or part of the upper end 14c of the housing 14, which receives the pivoting cover 10 and carries the two elastic elements 11.

Preferably, the two elastic elements 11 are located on either side of the housing 14, that is to say on opposite walls 26 and facing each other within the housing 14 of the humidifier, as visible in FIG. 7.

These elastic elements 11 can be elastic blades, for example forming a flattened "V", as illustrated in FIGS. 3 to 5, or have any other suitable shape, for example "Y", "U" or other shapes.

More precisely, as illustrated in FIG. 4, each elastic element 11 comprises two arms 11a coming to be connected to a support base 11b which is integral with the pivoting cover 10, so as to have, in this embodiment, a general shape in " Y "or" V "; other forms are of course possible.

The elastic elements 11 are preferably formed in one piece with all or part of the rest of the housing 14. In this case, they are advantageously made of polymer.

In order to press the tank 8 into the housing 1 so that the two metal plates 5, 6 are in good contact with each other, the elastic elements 11 press on the top of the tank 14, typically the cover 9 of the reservoir 8 when the reservoir 8 is inserted into the housing 1 via the lateral opening 14b through which it is introduced by the user.

Thus, in Figure 5, we have diagrammed the elastic flexibility (arrows FE) of the arms 11 carried by the walls 26 facing each other within the housing 14, which are represented before their contact with the cover 9 of the reservoir 8 (in solid line : -) and when they are in contact with the cover 9 of the reservoir 8 (in solid line: .....).

As can be seen, by their “V” shape, these polymer arms 11 of the two elastic elements 11 undergo elastic deformation when the reservoir 8 is inserted into the internal housing 1 of the housing 14, which makes it possible to press, under the effect of the resulting elastic force, the reservoir 8 in the housing 14 so that good mechanical contact can be established between the first and second metal plates 5,

6 in order to guarantee an efficient passage of the calories from the first 6 to the second plate and therefore good heating of the water in the tank of the tank 8.

The gas humidifier 24 of the invention can be used to humidify a respiratory gas, in particular air, coming from a medical ventilator 25 and intended to be supplied to the airways of a patient.

Claims (12)

claims 1. Gas humidifier (24) comprising: a housing (14) comprising a reservoir housing (1) and a first metal plate (6), and - a removable reservoir (4) comprising a water tank (8) provided with a second metallic plate (5), the second metallic plate (5) coming into contact with the first metallic plate (6) when the reservoir (4) removable is inserted into the housing (1), characterized in that it further comprises at least one elastic element (11) pressing on the removable reservoir (4), when it is positioned in the reservoir housing (1) , so as to push said removable reservoir (4) towards the first metal plate (6). 2. Humidifier according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the first metal plate (6) is arranged in the bottom (15) of the reservoir housing (1) and the second metal plate (5) is arranged in the bottom (4a) of the tank (8) of the tank (4). 3. Humidifier according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises several elastic elements (11). 4. Humidifier according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the elastic elements (11) comprise elastic blades, preferably in the form of a flattened "V". 5. Humidifier according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises elastic elements (11) arranged in parallel, preferably two elastic elements (11). 6. Humidifier according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the elastic elements (11) are arranged in the housing (14), preferably the elastic elements (11) are molded with all or part of the housing (14). 7. Humidifier according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a closure cover (10) pivotally mounted (12) on the housing (14). 8. Humidifier according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the removable tank (4) comprises a water tank (8) closed by a cover (9). 9. Humidifier according to claim 8, characterized in that the elastic elements (11) press on the cover (9) of the tank (4) when the tank (4) is positioned in the housing (1) with tank. 10. Humidifier according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the reservoir housing (1) is configured and dimensioned to receive the removable reservoir (4), preferably the removable reservoir (4) is inserted in translation in the housing (1). 11. Humidifier according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the housing (14) further comprises a heating element (7) in contact with the first metal plate (6). 12. Humidifier / medical ventilator assembly (24,25) comprising a ventilator (25) equipped with an electric micro-blower and a humidifier (24) according to one of the preceding claims.