JP2006021955A - Oxygen concentrator - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an oxygen concentrator capable of increasing the supply amount of concentrated oxygen without using a pressure-reduction pump. <P>SOLUTION: The supply amount of the concentrated oxygen can be increased by mixing oxygen generated by applying a large current to a solid electrolyte 1 having an oxygen ion-conductivity and open air taken in by a mixing means 8. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an oxygen concentrating device that concentrates oxygen in air and supplies high-concentration oxygen.

Conventionally, as a means for separating oxygen from air, there has been a method of physically allocating using an oxygen permeable membrane (see, for example, Patent Document 1). There is also a method of electrochemically moving only oxygen ions to separate them. In the method, a mixed conductor having both ionic conductivity and electronic conductivity is used (for example, see Patent Document 2). The mixed conductor allows oxygen to permeate using an oxygen partial pressure difference as a driving force without an external circuit. In addition, there is a system in which a voltage is applied between the electrode films in order to increase the temperature of the mixed conductor (see, for example, Patent Document 3).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-136631 Japanese Patent No. 2813596 Japanese Patent No. 3295306

  However, the method using an oxygen permeable membrane requires a vacuum pump, which is inconvenient in terms of noise, weight, and overall volume. Further, the oxygen concentration that can be separated was limited to 30 to 40%. On the other hand, the electrochemical method using a mixed conductor can provide a quiet and compact structure, and has the advantage that the generated oxygen concentration is 100%, but it can supply high concentration oxygen when the apparatus is used. There was a problem that the amount was small.

  The present invention solves the above-described conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an oxygen concentrator with an increased supply amount of high-concentration oxygen.

  In order to solve the above-described conventional problems, a solid electrolyte having high conductivity only of oxygen ions is used to supply a stable large current to mix generated oxygen with the outside air.

  Thus, a large amount of high-concentration oxygen concentrated compared to the atmosphere can be supplied by mixing a large amount of oxygen proportional to a large current and the outside air.

  The oxygen concentrator of the present invention can supply a large amount of high-concentration oxygen concentrated compared to the atmosphere.

  The first invention includes an oxygen pump element having electrode films formed on both surfaces of a solid electrolyte having oxygen ion conductivity, a heater for heating the oxygen pump element, a power source for applying a voltage to the oxygen pump element, A housing that houses the heater and the oxygen pump; a heat insulating material that is located inside the housing and provided outside the oxygen pump element; and an inlet that takes in outside air provided in the housing; Mixing means for mixing oxygen generated from the oxygen pump element and the outside air taken in from the inflow port is provided. Oxygen proportional to the current is generated by heating a solid electrolyte having an oxygen ion conductivity number of about 1 and applying a voltage at all times. That is, a large amount of oxygen can be generated when a large current is passed. And the supply amount of 30-40% high concentration oxygen can be increased by mixing the produced | generated oxygen and external air.

  In the second invention, in particular, the heater of the oxygen concentrator according to the first invention is arranged with the oxygen pump element interposed therebetween. Thereby, the energy loss of the heater can be suppressed. Furthermore, during operation, the oxygen pump element itself also generates heat, so that mutual heat generation energy can be obtained and oxygen ion conductivity can be enhanced. That is, a large amount of oxygen can be generated. And the supply amount of 30-40% high concentration oxygen can be increased by mixing the produced | generated oxygen and external air.

  In particular, the third invention uses a fan as the mixing means of the first invention. Thereby, it can be made to mix with the oxygen which generate | occur | produced by flowing in external air from an inflow pipe, and the supply amount of high concentration oxygen can be increased.

  The fourth aspect of the invention is particularly capable of changing the rotational speed of the fan of the third aspect of the invention. The amount of outside air flowing in can be adjusted by changing the rotational speed of the fan, whereby the oxygen concentration can be changed. By increasing the energization amount of the oxygen pump element and increasing the rotational speed of the fan, the supply amount of high concentration oxygen can be increased.

  5th invention is equipped with the heating means which heats external air. Thereby, it can prevent that an oxygen pump element is cooled with the external air which flows in. That is, since the oxygen pump element can be maintained at a high temperature, a stable oxygen generation amount can be secured and the supply amount of high concentration oxygen can be increased.

  In the sixth aspect of the invention, in particular, the inflow pipe that forms the inflow port for taking in outside air is formed in close contact with the outer peripheral portion of the casing. Since the housing is at a high temperature, the outside air flowing in can be warmed using this heat, and a device such as a heater is not required.

  In the seventh aspect of the invention, in particular, the inflow pipe is provided in contact with the outflow pipe through which the generated oxygen flows out. Thereby, the inflow air of outside air can be heated by the outflow air, and at the same time, the outflow air can be cooled.

  In the eighth invention, the solid electrolyte material is a lanthanum gallate metal oxide. Lanthanum gallate is a high oxygen ion conductor having a transport number of approximately 1.0 and has little loss of applied voltage. Therefore, by supplying a large current, a large amount of oxygen corresponding to the large current can be generated. By mixing the generated oxygen and the outside air, the supply amount of high concentration oxygen can be increased.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1A is a perspective view of an oxygen concentrator according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view of FIG.

  Electrode films 2a and 2b are formed on both surfaces of the oxygen ion conductive solid electrolyte 1 to constitute an oxygen pump element. The solid electrolyte 1 is a metal oxide having oxygen ion conductivity, and may be a general-purpose solid electrolyte such as yttria-stabilized zirconia. However, a lanthanum gallate perovskite oxide having lanthanum and gallium in its composition is more preferable. . In particular, those added with other metals so that the transport number is approximately 1.0 are preferable. In the present embodiment, lanthanum gallate added with strontium and magnesium and sintered is processed to have a diameter of 30 mm and a thickness of 0.2 mm.

  For the electrode films 2a and 2b, a noble metal such as platinum or silver, a metal oxide composed of samarium and cobalt, or the like is used. These electrode films are formed by application by screen printing, vapor deposition, or sputtering. In the present embodiment, an electrode film composed of samarium and cobalt is formed with a thickness of 10 to 20 μm by screen printing.

  Two oxygen pump elements are arranged so as to sandwich the heater 3 in which the stainless wire is wound around the mica frame. Further, the oxygen pump element is covered with a heat insulating material 4. Here, the heat insulating material 4 is a porous body formed by filling silica powder, and has both air permeability and heat insulating properties. The thickness of the heat insulating material was 100 to 120 mm.

  A stainless steel housing A containing the oxygen pump element, the heater 3 and the heat insulating material 4 is provided with an inflow pipe 5 for taking in outside air and an outflow pipe 6 for discharging high-concentration oxygen. A mixing means 8 with 7 is connected. In the present embodiment, the mixing means 7 is connected to the outflow pipe 6, but may be connected to the inflow pipe 5. The fan 7 is preferably a centrifugal fan or a blower type fan having a high static pressure, but may be a small pump. Further, the housing A may be provided with an inflow pipe 5 (or an inflow port) that takes in a plurality of outside air.

  The operation and action of the oxygen concentrator configured as described above will be described. First, the oxygen pump element is heated to 600 ° C. or higher by energizing the heater 3. When DC voltage is applied by the power sources B1 and B2 using the electrode film 2a as the anode electrode and the electrode film 2b as the cathode electrode, oxygen molecules in the external space on the cathode electrode side are solidified as oxygen ions from the cathode electrode. It is taken into the electrolyte 1 and moves to the anode electrode. Oxygen ions that have reached the anode electrode become oxygen molecules and are discharged into the internal space on the anode electrode side. Next, by operating the fan, outside air with an oxygen concentration of 20% flows from the inflow pipe 5 and mixes with the oxygen concentration of 100% inside the apparatus to obtain several hundred ml of high concentration oxygen with an oxygen concentration of 30 to 40%. be able to.

  With the configuration as described above, the amount of current per square centimeter of the electrode film can be 0.8 amperes, and 250 ml of mixed air with an oxygen concentration of 30% per minute can be supplied. This is a supply amount that is 8 times or more the generation amount of 30 ml with an oxygen concentration of 100%.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 2A is a perspective view of an oxygen concentrator according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view of the heating means 9 of FIG.

  In this embodiment, in particular, a heating means 9 is connected to the inflow pipe 5, and a heater 11 embedded in a heat insulating material 10 is provided.

  The operation and action of the oxygen concentrator configured as described above are the same as those in the first embodiment, but with the above configuration, the amount of current per square centimeter of the electrode film can be 1.2 amperes. It is possible to supply 350 ml or more of mixed air having an oxygen concentration of 30% per minute.

(Embodiment 3)
FIG. 3A is a perspective view of an oxygen concentrator according to a third embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view of a casing of the oxygen concentrator in FIG.

  In the present embodiment, in particular, the inflow pipe 5 that forms an inflow port for taking in outside air is formed in close contact with the outer peripheral portion of the casing A. Further, the inflow pipe 5 is in contact with the casing A and the outflow pipe 6. Since the outside air that has flowed into the inflow pipe 5 is warmed by the heat generated from the casing A, the power consumption for setting the current amount per square centimeter of the electrode film to 0.8 amperes can be reduced by about 5%. More than 250 ml of mixed air with an oxygen concentration of 30% per minute can be supplied. The operation and action of the oxygen concentrator configured as described above are the same as those in the first embodiment.

  As described above, the oxygen concentrator according to the present invention can supply high-concentration oxygen at a large flow rate, and therefore can be used as an application product of high-concentration oxygen for inhalation. Examples of such an electric appliance include an air conditioner, an air cleaner, a blower, an oxygen inhaler, or a product in which they are incorporated as a part of a function.

(A) is a perspective view of the oxygen concentrator in Embodiment 1 of the invention (b) is a sectional view of (a) (A) is a perspective view of the oxygen concentrator in Embodiment 2 of this invention (b) is sectional drawing of a heating means. (A) is a perspective view of the oxygen concentrator in Embodiment 3 of this invention (b) is sectional drawing of (a).

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Solid electrolyte 2a, 2b Electrode film 3 Heater 4 Heat insulating material 7 Fan 8 Mixing means 9 Heating means A Housing B1, B2 Power supply

Claims (8)

An oxygen pump element having electrode films formed on both surfaces of a solid electrolyte having oxygen ion conductivity; a heater for heating the oxygen pump element; a power source for applying a voltage to the oxygen pump element; the heater and the oxygen pump; Generated from the oxygen pump element, a heat insulating material provided inside the casing and provided outside the oxygen pump element, an inlet for taking in outside air provided in the casing, and the oxygen pump element An oxygen concentrator provided with mixing means for mixing oxygen and outside air taken in from the inlet. The oxygen concentrator according to claim 1, wherein an oxygen pump element is disposed with a heater interposed therebetween. The oxygen concentrator according to claim 1, wherein a fan is used as the mixing means. The oxygen concentrator according to claim 3, wherein the rotational speed of the fan changes. The oxygen concentrator according to claim 1, further comprising a heating means for heating outside air. The oxygen concentrator according to claim 1, wherein the inflow pipe that forms an inflow port for taking in outside air is formed in close contact with the outer peripheral portion of the housing. The oxygen concentrator according to claim 6, wherein the inflow pipe is provided in contact with an outflow pipe through which the generated oxygen flows out. The oxygen concentrator according to claim 1, wherein the solid electrolyte is a lanthanum gallate metal oxide.

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