GB2183482A

GB2183482A - Liquid tank arrangement of incubators

Info

Publication number: GB2183482A
Application number: GB08627427A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Zsuzsanna Bors; Jozsef Homokay; Ferenc Nagy; Ferenc Toth; Ivan Urban
Original assignee: Medicor Muvek
Current assignee: Medicor Muvek
Priority date: 1985-11-20
Filing date: 1986-11-17
Publication date: 1987-06-10
Also published as: GB8627427D0; HUT41627A; SU1549470A3; HU194491B

Abstract

A liquid tank arrangement of incubators in particular for human babies consisting of a baby compartment with a bed support surface arranged therein, an air-flow channel coupled with said baby compartment via air inlet and outlet openings and containing an air circulating fan, a heating body or bodies and a humidifier unit, where said heating body or bodies is or are arranged between said fan and said air inlet opening. The bottom surface of said airflow channel (1) is provided with a cavity, by the lowermost point of which an impure liquid outlet opening (9), is formed, and an impure liquid tank (10) is coupled with said opening (9), said tank (10) being arranged outside said air-flow channel (1). <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Liquid Tank Arrangement of Incubators Field of the Invention The present invention relates to improvements in incubators, and in particular to liquid tank arrangements of incubators for human babies which ensures higher safety in eliminating the danger of infections.

Description of the Prior Art Modern incubators at hospitals are complex machines which are adapted to maintain the premature or sickly baby in a controlled environment. It is standard nowadays for the temperature and the humidity and oxygen content of the air, which is passed through the chamber or baby compartment in which the baby rests, to be controlled. The air space of the existing incubators is divided into two, functionally well separatable parts, which stay in connection with each other by the flowing air: the baby compartment and the airflow channel, in the latter being arranged the humidifier and the temperature control device.The humidification of the incubator atmosphere is provided by means of an arrangement wherein a part or the whole circulated air is passed over a liquid tank being attached to the air-flow channel, see e.g. the apparatus of type 7510 manufactured by the W. German firm Draeger, or the apparatus of type Neocare made by the English firm Vickers Medical.

Another known possibility is to arrange the liquid tank of the humidifier outside the air-flow channel, and to let the water in the air-flow channel by means of a pump.

The drawback of the known incubators is that the water which condenses in the baby compartment and in the air-flow channel may contain other liquids too, such as urine, blood, vomit, infusion solution, etc. This impure liquid getting back into the liquid tank of the humidifier forms a source of infection.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a liquid tank arrangement for incubators, in which the danger of infections is minimal.

Brief Summary of the Invention Accordingly in one aspect of the present invention, the liquid tank arrangement for incubators for a creature including a human baby consists of a baby compartment comprising a bed supporting surface, and of an air-flow channel, where said air-flow channel stays in connection with said baby compartment via air inlet and outlet openings and contains an air circulating fan, a heating body or bodies arranged between said fan and the air inlet opening and a humidifier. The bottom surface of the air-flow channel is provided with a cavity, by the bottommost point of which an outlet opening is formed, and an outlet water tank is coupled with said outlet opening, whereby said outlet water tank is arranged outside the air-flow channel.According to a preferred embodiment of the liquid tank arrangement for incubators the humidifier is formed by a water tank with a flange which is arranged in the air-flow channel between the heating body and the fresh air inlet opening.

According to another preferred embodiment of the liquid tank arrangement, the humidifying water tank is arranged outside the air-flow channel, and a pump is coupled with said water tank with its suction pipe, whereby the delivery pressure pipe of said pump ends above the fan.

Brief Description of the Drawings Two preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, where the same symbols refer to the same elements and in which: Figs. 1 and 2 are the sectional views of incubators with liquid tank arrangements.

Detailed Description As shown in Fig. 1, an incubator for nursing the premature or sickly baby consists of a baby compartment 6 and an air-flow channel 1,the latter one being coupled with the baby compartment via inlet and outlet openings 5 and 8, furthermore of a lower space 12 arranged preferably under the airflow channel 1. The baby compartment 6 comprises a bed supporting surface 7.

In the air-flow channel 1 are arranged a fan 3 for circulating the air, a heating body 4 and a humidifying water tank 2 between the fan 3 and the inlet opening 5. The air-flow channel 1 has a slanting bottom with a cavity in the middle thereof for collecting condensed liquids. In the bottom most point of the cavity an impure liquid outlet opening 9 is formed, whereby an impure liquid tank 10 is arranged in the lower space 12 just under the outlet opening 9. In Fig. 1 the direction of air circulation is deminstrated with arrows.

Referring now to Fig. 2, a second embodiment of the invention is shown, where the wall separating the baby compartment 6 from the air-flow channel is provided with a cavity in the middle area, under the bed supporting surface 7. This second cavity serves for collecting condensed liquids or humidity so that the bed supporting surface 7 does not become wet.

In Fig. 2 too a fan 3 is arranged in the air-flow channel 1 and a heating body 4 is positioned between the fan 3 and the air inlet opening 5. The humidifying water tank 2 is placed outside the airflow channel 1, in the lower space 12, whereby a suction pipe of a pump 11 stretches into the tank 2.

The pump 11 itself may be placed outside or-as shown in Fig. 2-inside the airflow channel 1, the end of the delivery pressure pipe of the pump 11 is to be found just above the fan 3 for circulating the air. In this second example, the shape of the condensed liquid collecting cavity formed in the bottom surface of the air-flow channel 1 differs from the shape shown in the first example, however, this second one is also provided with an outlet opening 9 at its bottom most point, which opening 9 is placed just above the impure water tank 10 arranged in the lower space 12.

The direction of air stream is indicated with arrows here, too.

The incubator provided with a liquid tank arrangement according to the invention can be operated as follows: The air which is circulated by means of the fan 3 and heated by means of the heating body 4 is streaming over the humidifying water tank 2 arranged in the air-flow channel 1. The air with increased humidity content gets in the baby compartment 6 via the inlet opening 5, streams over the bed supporting surface 7, leaves the baby compartment 6 via the outlet opening 8 and gets back into the air-flow channel 1. The condensed humidity and other liquids which get in the air-flow channel 1 via the inlet opening 5 and the outlet opening 8 from the baby compartment 6 flow in the impure water tank 10 via the outlet opening 9 in the bottommost point of the cavity formed in the airflow channel 1.The humidifying water tank 2 is provided with a flange (not shown in Fig. 1), which serves for keeping back the impure water from the humidifying water, whereby the water tank 2 is arranged in such a way that the impure liquid or water coming from the baby compartment 6 via the air inlet opening 5 can flow to the outlet opening 9.

The arrangement shown in Figure 2 is similar to that one shown in Figure 1, with a difference only that in this latter case the humidifying water tank 2 is arranged outside the air-flow channel 1, the water is pumped by means of a pump 11, which forms a control means of a control circuit, and led to the fan 3 or to the heating body 4 respectively for atomizing or evaporating it.

Figures 1 and 2 illustrate but two possible embodiments of our invention. It goes without saying that within the scope of the invention, more than one impure water tank 10 may be arranged outside the air-flow channel, and/or the air-flow channel may be divided into several spaces with cavities, which cavities are suitable for transmitting the impure water in the impure water tank(s) 10, or the humidifying watertank(s) 2 and the impure water tank(s) 10 may be fixed to each other or inserted in each other. Embodiments also lie within the scope of the invention in which the impure water is extracted from the air-flow channel not by the gravity, but by means of a second pump. Similarly, an embodiment also lies within the scope of the invention in which the impure water tank 10 is arranged not within the incubator housing but outside the incubator housing, e.g. it is fixed to the bottom or to the wall of the housing.

Claims

1. A liquid tank arrangement of incubators, in particular for human babies, consisting of a compartment with a bed support surface arranged therein, an airflow channel coupled with said compartment via air inlet and outlet openings and containing an air circulating fan, a heating body or bodies and a humidifier unit, where said heating body or bodies is or are arranged between said fan and said air inlet opening, and wherein the bottom surface of said air-flow channel is provided with a cavity at the lowermost point of which is an outlet opening for impure liquid coupled to an impure liquid tank which is arranged outside said air-flow channel.

2. A liquid tank arrangement as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said humidifier unit consists of a humidifying water tank arranged in said air-flow channel between said heating body and said air inlet opening, said tank being provided with a flange.

3. A liquid tank arrangement as claimed in claim 2, wherein the or each said humidifying water tank is arranged outside said air-flow channel, a suction pipe of a pump is coupled with the or each said tank, whereby the delivery pipe of said pump ends above the fan.

3. A liquid tank arrangement as claimed in Claim 2, wherein said humidifying watertank is arranged outside said air-flow channel a suction pipe of a pump is coupled with said tank, whereby the delivery pipe of said pump ends above the fan.

4. An arrangement or incubator according to Claim 1 substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in Figure 1 or Figure 2 of the accompanying drawing.

Amendments to the claims have been filed, and have the following effect: Claims 1-3 above have been deleted or textually ammended.

New or textually amended claims have been filed as follows:-

1. A liquid tank arrangement of incubators, in particular for human babies, consisting of a compartment with a bed support surface arranged therein, an air-flow channel coupled with said compartment via air inlet and outlet openings and containing an air circulating fan; a heater body or bodies arranged between said fan and said air inlet opening; impure water tank(s) on the one hand and humidifying water tank(s) on the other hand separated from one another; and wherein the bottom surface of said air-flow channel is provided with a cavity at the lowermost point of which is an outlet opening for impure liquid coupled to an impure liquid tank which is arranged outside said air-flow channel.

2. A liquid tank arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the or each said humidifying water tank is arranged in said air-flow channel between said heater body(ies) and said air inlet opening, the or each said tank being provided with a flange.