JP2003180838A - Medical oxygen concentration device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an oxygen concentration device by which maintenance operation by a patient such as exchanging of a humidifier is not required. <P>SOLUTION: This medical oxygen concentration device of a pressure-swing adsorption type is provided with at least one adsorption bed filled with an adsorbent capable of selectively adsorbing oxygen than nitride, an air feeding means for feeding pressurized air to the adsorption bed, an oxygen collecting means provided with a port for discharging nitride to the opposite side of the pressurized air feeding side of the adsorption bed and collecting the oxygen adsorbed in the adsorption bed, and an oxygen feeding means for feeding collected gaseous oxygen to a user. The oxygen collecting means collects the adsorbed gas from the pressurized air feeding side of the adsorption bed and is provided with a port for exhausting adsorbed gas of the primary stage of collection to the outside of a system and a means for allowing a tank means to pressurize and store the collected adsorbed gas. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pressure fluctuation adsorption type for medical use which concentrates oxygen from the air and supplies it to a user by a pressure fluctuation adsorption method using an adsorbent that selectively adsorbs oxygen from nitrogen. The present invention relates to an oxygen concentrator. More specifically,
The present invention relates to a pressure fluctuation adsorption type oxygen concentrator in which a humidifying means is omitted to humidify concentrated oxygen by simultaneously adsorbing oxygen and water molecules in the atmosphere, recovering the oxygen and water molecules at the same time, and providing the oxygen to the user. It is a thing.

[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 treatment methods is oxygen inhalation therapy, Oxygen concentrators that directly separate oxygen-enriched gas from the inside have been developed, and are becoming increasingly popular as therapeutic devices for oxygen inhalation therapy because of convenience in use and ease of maintenance.

As such an oxygen concentrator, there is known an adsorption type oxygen concentrator having one or a plurality of adsorbent beds filled with an adsorbent capable of selectively adsorbing nitrogen rather than oxygen. Among them, a compressor is used as an air supply means. A pressure fluctuation adsorption type oxygen concentrating device using is used as a therapeutic device for home oxygen inhalation therapy.

Normally, the pressure fluctuation adsorption type oxygen concentrator supplies air to the adsorption bed by means of an air compression means to bring the inside of the bed into a pressurized state so as to adsorb nitrogen and water in the air, and to absorb unadsorbed oxygen. PSA for repeating the adsorption step for extracting and the desorption step for desorbing adsorbed nitrogen and water to regenerate the adsorbent after repeating the adsorption step and decompressing the adsorption bed to the atmosphere
(Pressure Swing Adsorption), or reversely using air compression means, exhausting until the pressure inside the adsorption bed becomes negative pressure, and repeating the desorption process of desorbing adsorbed nitrogen and water to regenerate the adsorbent (Vacuum Pressure Sw
ing Adsorption) to generate oxygen-enriched air.

In the adsorption type oxygen concentrator, zeolite 5A or 13X which selectively adsorbs nitrogen rather than oxygen as an adsorbent for oxygen separation, and more recently, a cation species is exchanged with Li based on a 13X type zeolite. In addition, a zeolite containing a large amount of cations by changing the composition ratio of elements is used, and a method is adopted in which oxygen that is difficult to be adsorbed by such an adsorbent is recovered and provided to the user.

[0006]

Oxygen gas produced by such an oxygen concentrator is used for patients suffering from respiratory diseases, so that not only the safety but also the stability of the device performance such as oxygen concentration is stable. In addition, it is desired that the supplied gas is humidified to an appropriate humidity. However, since the adsorbent used in the conventional oxygen concentrator simultaneously adsorbs and removes water molecules when adsorbing nitrogen, the oxygen gas produced is very dry.

When this dry oxygen is supplied to a user who has a respiratory disease, he or she complains of nasal pain or thirst, and impairs the treatment. Therefore, such a medical oxygen concentrator is equipped with a water contact type humidifier as a means for humidifying oxygen gas, in which water is filled in a container and oxygen gas is bubbled through the container or passed through the water surface.

However, in such an oxygen concentrator, an oxygen deficiency is caused in the patient due to oxygen gas leakage due to a poor connection of the water contact type humidifier, and it is extremely rare that the patient has respiratory distress. In order to avoid accidents due to this water contact type humidifier, facilitation of connection of the water contact type humidifier to the oxygen concentrator and connection failure detection technology are being studied, and as a measure to improve the connection failure of the humidifier, Patent 2773
Improvement of the structure of the humidifier connection part as described in Japanese Patent No. 100, detection of connection failure using a limit switch, etc., and further incorporation of a polymer humidifying film into the device to bring water molecules in the air into contact with the humidifying film. Therefore, various known means such as permeation of water molecules through the membrane to humidify dry oxygen have been investigated.

However, there are still many problems such as the fact that the polymer humidifying membrane is very expensive and that the humidity of oxygen gas is dominated by the humidity of the outside air, making it difficult to adjust the humidity. Is hard to say.

The present invention solves the above problems and improves the safety and comfort when using an adsorption type oxygen concentrator, which is a medical device used at home for a long period of time, and reduces the mental burden on the patient. To do.

[0011]

Means for Solving the Problems As a result of diligent studies on the above problems, the present inventor adsorbed oxygen and water to the adsorbent, and desorbed and recovered the adsorbent to generate humidified oxygen. I found that I could do it.

That is, according to the present invention, at least one adsorbent bed filled with an adsorbent capable of selectively adsorbing oxygen over nitrogen, air supply means for supplying pressurized air to the adsorbent bed, and pressurization of the adsorbent bed Pressure fluctuation adsorption equipped with a port for discharging nitrogen on the opposite side of the air supply, an oxygen recovery means for recovering the oxygen adsorbed in the adsorption bed, and an oxygen supply means for supplying the recovered oxygen gas to the user. Type medical oxygen concentrator, the oxygen recovery means is means for recovering the adsorbed gas from the pressurized air supply side of the adsorption bed, and is equipped with a port for exhausting the adsorbed gas at the initial stage of recovery to the outside of the system, The present invention provides a medical oxygen concentrating device comprising means for pressurizing and storing the adsorbed gas in a tank means.

The present invention also provides a medical oxygen concentrator, wherein the adsorbent is 4A type zeolite or molecular sieve activated carbon.

[0014]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The medical oxygen concentrator of the present invention comprises:
At least one adsorption bed filled with an adsorbent capable of selectively adsorbing oxygen from nitrogen, air supply means for supplying air to the adsorption bed, and oxygen recovery means for recovering oxygen adsorbed in the adsorption bed And a pressure fluctuation adsorption type medical oxygen concentrator equipped with an oxygen supply means for supplying the recovered gas to the user, wherein oxygen and water molecules in the atmosphere are adsorbed at the same time, and the oxygen and water molecules are absorbed. Equipped with a function to collect at the same time. Humidified oxygen is generated by such a device, the user as a user can be freed from the trouble of replenishing and attaching and detaching the water contact type humidifier, is freed from the mental burden of daily maintenance, and is attached to the humidifier poorly. It is a device that reduces the risk of physical condition deterioration.

In the medical oxygen concentrator provided by the present invention, by using an adsorption column filled with 4A type zeolite as an adsorption bed, oxygen and water molecules in the air introduced into the adsorption bed are adsorbed and adsorbed. Nitrogen which is difficult to be discharged is exhausted out of the system through an exhaust port provided on the opposite side of the adsorption bed to the pressurized air supply side. And the oxygen and water molecules adsorbed in the adsorbent,
In the desorption process, it is desorbed from the adsorbent, collected, and supplied to the patient as a user. At this time, since oxygen and water molecules are simultaneously recovered in the recovered gas, it is humidified at this point,
No special humidifying means is required, the patient does not need to replenish water to the water contact type humidifier, and the humidifier itself is not required. Therefore, problems such as improper mounting of the humidifier are eliminated.

As the adsorbent that can be used, in addition to 4A type zeolite, it is also possible to use molecular sieve activated carbon.

When compressed air is introduced into the adsorption bed by a compressor, adsorption is carried out in the order of water molecules and oxygen molecules, which have higher diffusion rates. The non-adsorbed nitrogen is exhausted from the exhaust port of the adsorption bed, but when the adsorption pressure in the adsorption bed becomes high, the adsorption of nitrogen molecules is started, and therefore the process proceeds to the desorption recovery step before the adsorption of nitrogen molecules is started.

The desorption / recovery step is carried out by pressure-recovering with a compressor from the pressurized air supply end side of the adsorption bed.
Since water molecules are mainly adsorbed by the adsorbent on the pressurized air supply end side, it is necessary to recover the adsorbed gas from the pressurized air supply end side for water recovery. Since the nitrogen gas remaining in the adsorption bed is contained in the gas at the initial stage of recovery, the initial fraction of the recovered gas is exhausted outside the system from the flow path switching valve such as the three-way valve, and the oxygen and moisture fractions are Store in a tank.

FIG. 1 shows an example of the medical oxygen concentrator of the present invention. Such a device is a pressure fluctuation adsorption type oxygen concentrator equipped with one adsorption cylinder filled with a 4A type zeolite which is an adsorbent that selectively adsorbs oxygen from nitrogen, and a compressor is equipped with a poppet valve to pressurize. It has both the function of reducing pressure.

Raw material air is taken from the outside air, and pressurized air is supplied from the compressor to the adsorption cylinder through the poppet valve. In the adsorption column, water molecules and oxygen are adsorbed on the adsorbent,
The unadsorbed nitrogen is exhausted into the atmosphere from an exhaust port provided at the opposite end of the adsorption cylinder through an orifice and a check valve. On the other hand, the desorption / recovery process is started by switching the flow path of the poppet valve. That is, water molecules and oxygen adsorbed from the adsorption column via the compressor are collected in the storage tank. At that time, since the initial fraction of the recovered gas contains nitrogen, it is exhausted from the three-way valve and only the oxygen-rich fraction is recovered. Oxygen in the storage tank is humidified because water in the air is also collected at the same time and is supplied to the patient as it is via the pressure regulating valve and the flow rate setting device.

By controlling the opening and closing of the valve in this way, adsorption separation according to the diffusion rate difference is carried out, water and oxygen are adsorbed, nitrogen is left in the gas, and then the desorption step is carried out, whereby the adsorbed oxygen molecules are adsorbed. Water molecules are desorbed, collected, and sent to a storage tank. By sequentially switching such steps, it becomes possible to continuously supply oxygen.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a medical oxygen concentrator equipped with two adsorption cylinders as another embodiment of the present invention. A pressure fluctuation adsorption type oxygen concentrator equipped with two adsorption cylinders filled with 4A type zeolite, which is an adsorbent that selectively adsorbs oxygen from nitrogen, a pressurizing compressor and a depressurizing compressor are combined, and a flow path is further provided. An example of an oxygen concentrator equipped with a rotary flow path switching means as the switching means will be shown. The functions of the basic components of the apparatus are the same as those of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1. Adsorption separation is performed using a compression compressor due to the difference in diffusion rate, nitrogen is left in the gas and exhausted, and then the desorption process is started. A decompression compressor is used to desorb and collect adsorbed oxygen molecules and water separation, and send them to a storage tank. At this time, the flow passage is switched from the desorption process to the adsorption process by the rotary flow passage switching means, and the concentration of oxygen is started again.

When the rotary on-off valve means is used as the flow path switching means, the rotational speed of the valve is inversely proportional to the opening / closing time, and the rotation of the rotary on-off valve is usually electrically controlled by using a motor. This electrical control is the same for compressors and depends on the type of motor installed. This is achieved by controlling the frequency of the power supply for energizing AC motors and voltage control for DC power motors. Further, with respect to the stepping motor, it is possible to control the rotation speed of the stepping motor depending on the frequency of turning on / off the power. Further, it has a rotation speed monitoring means represented by a tachometer, etc., and the stability of the device is improved by a rotation speed stabilizing means such as a feedback circuit for adjusting and stabilizing the rotation speed based on the detection result of the rotation speed monitoring means Further improve.

When an opening / closing solenoid valve is used as the flow path switching means, the opening / closing time can be controlled by a signal from the control circuit.

Further, the compressor means used in the adsorption type oxygen concentrator of the present invention is not particularly limited, and a reciprocating type compressor, a scroll type compressor or the like can be used.

[0026]

The adsorption-type oxygen concentrator of the present invention has a capacity of 50H.
It operates without abnormality in both z and 60 Hz power supplies, humidified oxygen of about 40% is obtained, and the safety and comfort of the patient can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a one-cylinder oxygen concentrator that is a medical oxygen concentrator of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a two-cylinder oxygen concentrator that is a medical oxygen concentrator of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1. compressor 2. Adsorption cylinder 3. Orifice 4. Check valve 5. Three-way valve 6. Storage tank 7. Regulator valve 8. Flow rate setting device 9. Switching control means 10. Rotary on-off valve 11. Decompression compressor

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. At least one adsorbent bed filled with an adsorbent capable of selectively adsorbing oxygen from nitrogen, air supply means for supplying pressurized air to the adsorbent bed, and pressurized air supply for the adsorbent bed. A pressure fluctuation adsorption type medical device equipped with a port for discharging nitrogen on the opposite side, an oxygen recovery means for recovering oxygen adsorbed in the adsorption bed, and an oxygen supply means for supplying the recovered oxygen gas to a user. In the oxygen concentrating apparatus for use, the oxygen recovery means is a means for recovering the adsorbed gas from the pressurized air supply side of the adsorption bed, and is provided with a port for exhausting the adsorbed gas at the initial stage of recovery to the outside of the system, and the recovered adsorbed gas An oxygen concentrating device for medical use, comprising means for pressurizing and storing in a tank means. 2. The medical oxygen concentrator according to claim 1, wherein the adsorbent is 4A type zeolite or molecular sieve activated carbon.