JP2002291893A - Oxygen condenser and management system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device capable of correctly keeping the track of a periodical change of the performance of a pressure variation adsorbing oxygen condenser. SOLUTION: In the oxygen condenser having at least one adsorption bed filled with an adsorbent selectively adsorbing nitrogen rather than oxygen and an air supplying means supplying air to the adsorption bed, and an oxygen supplying means supplying enriched oxygen generated in the adsorption bed to a user, a means to measure the actual amount of enriched oxygen generated is provided, and a comparison means to discriminate the periodical change of the performance of the condenser by comparing the result of measurement with an initially set threshold value of amount of oxygen generated is provided.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an oxygen concentrator for separating oxygen in air and supplying the separated oxygen to a user. More specifically, the present invention relates to a pressure fluctuation adsorption type oxygen concentrator using an adsorbent capable of selectively adsorbing nitrogen over oxygen used in home oxygen therapy for medical use, and easily deteriorates the performance of the device over time. The present invention relates to a device capable of detecting the above.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, the number of patients suffering from respiratory diseases such as asthma, emphysema and chronic bronchitis tends to increase. One of the most effective treatments is oxygen inhalation therapy. Oxygen concentrators for directly separating oxygen-enriched gas from the inside have been developed, and are becoming increasingly popular as therapeutic devices for oxygen inhalation therapy because of their convenience in use and ease of maintenance.

[0003] As such an oxygen concentrator, an adsorbent oxygen concentrator in which one or more adsorbents capable of selectively adsorbing nitrogen are filled in an adsorbent bed is known. Among them, a pressure using a compressor as an air supply means is known. A variable adsorption type oxygen concentrator is frequently used. Such an apparatus generally obtains an oxygen-enriched gas by supplying compressed air from a compressor to one or more adsorption beds filled with an adsorbent capable of selectively adsorbing nitrogen and adsorbing nitrogen in a pressurized state. The adsorption step and the desorption step in which the internal pressure of the adsorption bed is reduced to desorb nitrogen to regenerate the adsorbent are repeated in a fixed cycle, and if necessary, immediately before the end of the desorption step, immediately before the completion of the desorption step, dry oxygen-enriched gas This is a device for obtaining an oxygen-enriched gas by adding a pressure equalizing step for the purpose of improving the regeneration efficiency and increasing the pressure by partially backflowing the gas, and sequentially performing the same in a constant cycle.

[0004] Such an oxygen concentrator is a device that takes in air in the atmosphere into the device and physically separates oxygen. Since the raw material is air and the installation place is not so selected, it is used for home medical care. Used at home for patients with respiratory illness.

[0005]

The performance of such a pressure fluctuation adsorption type oxygen concentrator is usually represented by the oxygen concentration at a predetermined product gas flow rate. For example, when an oxygen concentration measured by a certain device at a set flow rate of 3 L / min is 9
It is displayed as 2.5%. As the use time of the device becomes longer, the performance of the adsorbent also deteriorates, so that the oxygen concentration also decreases over time. For this reason, many oxygen concentrators are equipped with an oxygen concentration sensor. For example, when the oxygen concentration falls below 90%, a warning is issued and measures are taken to urge the user or the manufacturer to change the adsorbent. Have been.

[0006] The pressure fluctuation adsorption type oxygen concentrator is a device that separates oxygen and nitrogen by a pressure balance filled with an adsorbent, and the adsorption pressure increases with time due to deterioration of the adsorbent due to moisture adsorption or the like. For example, when an orifice type flow setting device is used, the flow rate changes with time due to the differential pressure fluctuation. For this reason, it is also a feature of the adsorption-type oxygen concentrator that the oxygen concentration may be largely changed by a slight change in the flow rate.

For example, the two devices A and B have the same initial performance during production (oxygen concentration 94 at a flow rate of 3.0 L / min).
%), The performance after the elapse of the predetermined time is as follows: the apparatus A having a flow rate of 2.8 L / min and the oxygen concentration of 94%, and the flow rate of 3.1 L.
In the case of the apparatus B having an oxygen concentration of 88% at / min, an oxygen concentration abnormality occurs in the apparatus B having an oxygen concentration lower than the standard of 90% in the performance evaluation by the conventional oxygen concentration center. However, when compared with the actual amount of oxygen, the initial performance was 3.0 × 0.94.
= 2.82, the performance of device A is 2.8 × 0.94
= 2.63, the performance of apparatus B is 3.1 × 0.88 = 2.7
3, which means that the device B has higher performance.

As described above, in the performance evaluation of the conventional pressure fluctuation adsorption type oxygen concentrator, changes in the oxygen concentration and the flow rate over time are separately judged, and at present, accurate performance evaluation cannot be performed.

[0009]

Means for Solving the Problems As a result of the inventor's intensive study on such a problem, instead of evaluating the conventional oxygen concentration and flow rate alone, the present inventors have evaluated the apparatus performance based on the oxygen generation amount. It has been found that more accurate performance evaluation can be performed.

That is, the present invention provides at least one adsorbent bed filled with an adsorbent capable of selectively adsorbing nitrogen rather than oxygen, an air supply means for supplying air to the adsorbent bed, and a concentrator formed by the adsorbent bed. In an oxygen concentrator provided with oxygen supply means for supplying oxygen to a user, the oxygen concentrator is provided with a means for measuring the actual oxygen production amount of concentrated oxygen, and the performance of the apparatus is compared by comparing the measurement result with an initial set oxygen production amount threshold value. It is an object of the present invention to provide an oxygen concentrator characterized by comprising comparison means for judging a change with time.

Further, according to the present invention, the means for measuring the actual oxygen generation amount is a concentration oxygen concentration measuring means and a flow rate measuring means, and comprises arithmetic means for calculating the oxygen generation amount from the concentration oxygen concentration and flow rate measurement results, It is an object of the present invention to provide an oxygen concentrator characterized by comprising comparison means for judging a change in the performance of the device with time by comparing the threshold value with an initially set oxygen generation amount threshold.

Further, the present invention comprises a storage means for storing initial data of actual oxygen generation amount, actual flow rate, oxygen concentration, adsorption pressure at a plurality of set flow rates and data after a lapse of a predetermined time together with operation time data, and the storage means. An object of the present invention is to provide an oxygen concentrator characterized in that the means is a means capable of taking out a storage result.

The present invention further provides (1) at least one adsorption bed filled with an adsorbent capable of selectively adsorbing nitrogen over oxygen, air supply means for supplying air to the adsorption bed, and An oxygen concentrator having an oxygen supply means for supplying the generated concentrated oxygen to a user, comprising an oxygen concentration measuring means and a flow rate measuring means, and transmitting the measurement result to a receiving means of an information management center by a communication means. An oxygen concentrator having a transmitting means, and (2) a calculating means for obtaining an oxygen generation amount from the measurement result of the concentration and the flow rate of the concentrated oxygen received by the receiving means, and comparing with an initial set oxygen generation amount threshold value. An object of the present invention is to provide an oxygen concentrator management system comprising an information management center having a comparison means for judging a change with time of the apparatus performance.

[0014]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION As shown in FIG. 1, an oxygen concentrator according to the present invention comprises at least one adsorbent bed filled with an adsorbent capable of selectively adsorbing nitrogen rather than oxygen, and supplying air to the adsorbent bed. Air supply means for supplying the concentrated oxygen generated in the adsorption bed to the user. As the adsorbent used in such an adsorbent bed, 5A type or 13X type molecular sieve zeolite, Li type zeolite, or the like can be used. A compressor is used for the air supply means, and a nasal cannula or mask is used for the oxygen supply means.

There is provided a means for measuring the actual amount of oxygen generated by the oxygen concentrating apparatus, and a comparing means for judging a change over time in the performance of the apparatus by comparing the measurement result with an initially set threshold value of the amount of generated oxygen. The actual oxygen production amount can be obtained by multiplying the flow rate (Q) of oxygen and the concentration (C). By taking this as a reference, the amount of oxygen generation can be determined from the oxygen concentration and the flow rate, the performance can be centrally managed, and the deterioration of the apparatus performance can be easily grasped.

Initial performance (oxygen production at initial t ₀ : W
Assuming that O (t ₀ )) and the oxygen generation amount after a certain time t _{1 have} elapsed are WO (t ₁ ), the deterioration coefficient K can be expressed by equation (1). K = WO (t ₀ ) / WO (t ₁ ) (1) (However, WO (t ₁ ) = Q (t ₁ ) × C (t ₁ ), WO (t ₀ ) = Q (t ₀ ) × C
(t ₀ )) The degradation coefficients Ka and Kb of the devices A and B are Ka = 2.6.
3 / 2.82 = 0.93, Kb = 2.73 / 2.82 =
0.97, which can accurately represent the difference in the oxygen generating ability of the oxygen concentrator.

In the actual operation state of the concentrator, in order to secure an oxygen administration device (mask, cannula, etc.) and an active area, the device and the administration device are often connected by a long tube or the like. Since the flow rate of oxygen changes due to these flow resistances, the state of the apparatus cannot be correctly grasped only by paying attention to the oxygen concentration. What is guaranteed to the patient is the amount of oxygen to be supplied, and the actual amount of oxygen generation expressed by the product of the flow rate and the oxygen concentration is appropriate. Until now, the fact that the actual oxygen flow rate was measured and the processing combined with the oxygen concentration was not determined is also one of the reasons that there was no practical means for numerically processing these data.

The performance of the adsorption type oxygen concentrator can be
Certainly, it will vary greatly depending on the usage environment. If the temperature and humidity increase due to seasonal or daily fluctuations, the performance generally decreases, and if the temperature decreases at night, the performance recovers. In the long run, it will deteriorate over time.
The performance of the adsorption oxygen concentrator is greatly influenced by the performance of the adsorbent and the performance of the compressor that sends air. in this way,
In home-use oxygen concentrators that are used in various ways, if the performance of the device can be captured by a certain standard value, it will be easier to manage and will be an index that can be easily judged by an inspector. For example, it can be determined that a deterioration coefficient K of 0.9 or less is used as a reference for performing overhaul. If it is 0.95 or less, it is possible to take measures such as strengthening the inspection.

As means for grasping the deterioration over time, there is provided a storage means for storing initial data of the actual oxygen generation amount, the actual flow rate, the oxygen concentration, the adsorption pressure at a plurality of set flow rates and the data after a lapse of a predetermined time together with the operation time data. use.

The reason why the data such as the actual oxygen generation amount for each set flow rate is stored is to cope with the case where the standardized oxygen concentration differs for each flow rate. Patients who are users are prescribed different amounts of oxygen at rest and at work, and up to 3 L
/ L machine is capable of supplying concentrated oxygen per minute
When using at a supply rate of 3 L / min and when using at a supply rate of 3 L / min, energy-saving operation is performed by controlling the operating conditions of the apparatus, such as changing the adsorption / desorption cycle time and controlling the compressor speed. By acquiring and storing data such as the actual amount of oxygen generation at a plurality of set flow rates in accordance with the operation time, it is possible to cope with operating conditions and standard differences in the amount of oxygen generation.

As shown in FIG. 2, the oxygen concentrator is provided with a means for transmitting the measurement results by the concentration measuring means and the flow rate measuring means of the concentrated oxygen to the receiving means of the information management center by the communication means. Means for calculating the amount of oxygen generation from the concentration and flow rate measurement results of the concentrated oxygen received by the means, and comparing means for judging a change over time in the performance of the apparatus by comparison with an initial set oxygen generation amount threshold value, thereby providing information management. It is possible to collectively manage the performance deterioration of the oxygen concentrator at the patient's home at the center. As the transmission data, in addition to transmitting the oxygen concentration and the flow rate data, it is also possible to calculate and transmit the actual oxygen generation amount in the oxygen concentrator.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of an oxygen concentrator according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of an oxygen concentrator management system according to the present invention.

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Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. At least one adsorbent bed filled with an adsorbent capable of selectively adsorbing nitrogen rather than oxygen, air supply means for supplying air to the adsorbent bed, and concentrated oxygen generated by the adsorbent bed are used. In an oxygen concentrator equipped with oxygen supply means for supplying to a person, a means for measuring the actual oxygen production of concentrated oxygen is provided. An oxygen concentrator comprising a comparing means for judging. 2. The means for measuring the actual amount of generated oxygen is a means for measuring the concentration of concentrated oxygen and a means for measuring the flow rate of the concentrated oxygen. 2. The oxygen concentrator according to claim 1, further comprising comparison means for judging a change over time in the performance of the apparatus by comparing the amount with a threshold value. 3. An actual oxygen generation amount at a plurality of set flow rates,
A storage means for storing initial data of actual flow rate, oxygen concentration, adsorption pressure and data after a lapse of a predetermined time together with operation time data, wherein the storage means is a means capable of taking out a storage result. 3. The oxygen concentrator according to claim 1. 4. An adsorption bed filled with an adsorbent capable of selectively adsorbing nitrogen rather than oxygen, an air supply means for supplying air to the adsorption bed, and a condensate generated by the adsorption bed. An oxygen concentrator having an oxygen supply unit for supplying oxygen to a user, comprising an oxygen concentration measuring unit and a flow rate measuring unit, and transmitting a measurement result to a receiving unit of an information management center by a communication unit. And (2) an arithmetic unit for calculating the amount of oxygen generation from the measurement result of the concentration and flow rate of the concentrated oxygen received by the receiving unit, and comparing the performance with the initially set threshold value of the amount of oxygen generation. An oxygen concentrator management system, comprising: an information management center having comparison means for judging a change with time.