JP2006136513A - Oxygen enrichment apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an oxygen enrichment apparatus for producing oxygen enriched air appropriate for a user on the basis of the oxygen concentration in the blood. <P>SOLUTION: The oxygen enrichment apparatus comprises an oxygen enrichment membrane unit 2 for generating oxygen enriched air by increasing the oxygen concentration in the air, an oxygen enriched air discharging means 7 for discharging the oxygen enriched air, and a measuring device 15 for measuring the oxygen concentration in the blood of a user. By measuring the oxygen concentration in the blood, which shows the changes in the body due to oxygen supply most clearly, using the measuring device 15, the user recognizes clearly the changes in the body that result from inhalation of the oxygen enriched air. In addition, the user can control the action of the oxygen enrichment membrane unit 2 on the basis of the measured oxygen concentration of the blood so as to obtain most appropriate oxygen enriched air. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an oxygen enricher that provides a user with oxygen-enriched air obtained using oxygen enrichment means.

As a conventional oxygen enricher, the basic structure is an apparatus main body that generates oxygen-enriched air by concentrating oxygen in the air, and an oxygen discharge port that discharges oxygen-enriched air connected to the main body. It has been developed in various ways by including a generating means (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-234836

  However, conventional oxygen-enriched machines are not equipped with a function that can recognize any changes in the user's body due to the inhalation of oxygen-enriched air, so relaxation due to inhalation of oxygen-enriched air Although there are effects, etc., it is difficult for some users to understand the effects, and the changes in the body due to the inhalation of oxygen-enriched air could not be clearly expressed by changes in numerical values or displays.

  In addition, it is a configuration that only supplies a predetermined amount of air with a predetermined oxygen concentration, without being involved in changes in the physical condition of the user and individual differences in the basic constitution of the individual, and is not necessarily for the user. The optimal oxygen-enriched air was not supplied. In the conventional configuration, since the concentration is not too high for any user, depending on the user's conditions, a sufficient concentration of oxygen-enriched air may not be supplied, limiting the effect. was there.

  The present invention solves the above-described conventional problems, and allows the user to clearly recognize changes in the body due to inhalation of oxygen-enriched air. An object of the present invention is to provide an oxygen-enriching machine that can supply the optimum oxygen-enriched air according to individual differences in constitution.

  In order to solve the above-described conventional problems, an oxygen enricher of the present invention includes an oxygen enrichment unit that generates oxygen enriched air by increasing the oxygen concentration in the air, and an oxygen enrichment that discharges the oxygen enriched air. It is equipped with a measuring air discharge means and a measuring device that measures the blood oxygen concentration of a person, and the oxygen measuring device knows the oxygen concentration in the blood where changes in the body due to the supply of oxygen are most clearly seen Therefore, it becomes possible to clearly recognize the state of change in the body due to the user himself / herself sucking the oxygen-enriched air.

  The oxygen enricher of the present invention allows the user himself to confirm the blood oxygen concentration that can most accurately represent the changes in the body due to the inhalation of oxygen-enriched air. It is possible to supply the oxygen-enriched air most suitable for the user by changing the flow rate, concentration, etc. of the oxygen-enriched air in accordance with the blood oxygen concentration.

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an oxygen enriching unit that generates oxygen-enriched air by increasing an oxygen concentration in the air, an oxygen-enriched air ejecting unit that ejects the oxygen-enriched air, and a human blood oxygen concentration. It is equipped with a measuring instrument that can measure the oxygen concentration in the blood where the changes in the body due to the supply of oxygen to the body are most clearly seen. It becomes possible to clearly recognize the state of change in the body due to inhalation.

  In the second invention, in particular, the oxygen-enriching means is controlled in accordance with the blood oxygen concentration measured by the measuring device of the first invention, and the user sucks the oxygen-enriched air. The oxygen-enriched air that best suits the internal condition of each individual user is linked to the output information obtained from changes in the blood oxygen concentration in the body due to or individual differences in the blood oxygen level that is the basis of each individual user. As described above, the concentration and flow rate of the oxygen-enriched air can be adjusted. Therefore, it is more effective for the user and more efficient operation for the oxygen enricher.

  In particular, the third invention is provided with an information transmission / reception system capable of transmitting and receiving the output information of the measuring instrument of the first invention from a distance, and is enriched with oxygen in conjunction with the reception information from the information transmission / reception system. It controls the means to transmit the output information of the user's blood oxygen concentration to a facility such as a distant hospital, and the facility provides the user with the most appropriate oxygen-enriched air. Since the signal for controlling the enrichment means can be received, the user can obtain the optimum oxygen-enriched air and can also manage the data at the facility.

  In particular, the fourth invention is provided with a storage medium for arbitrarily storing the output information of the measuring instrument of the first invention, or for automatically automatically storing it, and based on the information stored in the storage medium, oxygen Since it controls the enrichment means and output information can be stored, for example, output information for several days is stored, and the flow rate of oxygen-enriched air given to the user every day based on the past output information data Therefore, the concentration and the like can be optimally controlled, and more appropriate oxygen-enriched air can be provided to the user.

  In the fifth invention, particularly when the blood oxygen concentration measured by the measuring instrument according to any one of the first to fourth inventions exceeds a predetermined concentration, the operation of the oxygen enriching means is stopped, or the oxygen The amount of generation of enriched air is reduced, and oxygen-enriched air is not wastedly supplied to the user, so that the energy consumption of the device can be reduced.

  In a sixth aspect of the present invention, in particular, the measuring machine according to any one of the first to fifth aspects includes a sensor unit that measures blood oxygen concentration by contacting a human finger, tongue, etc. Measured easily because the sensor part of the measuring instrument is placed near the user, provided on the outer shell of the body containing the oxygen-enriching device or part of the outer shell of the oxygen-enriched air discharge device. It can be done and the sensor part is not lost.

  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)
Hereinafter, the oxygen enricher according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 (a) is a front view of the oxygen enricher according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, FIG. 1 (b) is a side view of the oxygen enricher, and FIG. 1 (c) is the oxygen enricher. FIG. 1D is a cross-sectional view of the oxygen enricher.

  In FIG. 1, the oxygen enricher main body (hereinafter referred to as the main body 1) has an oxygen enrichment that generates so-called oxygen-enriched air, ie, air with a higher oxygen concentration in the air sucked into the main body 1. An oxygen-enriched membrane unit 2 as means is provided. By passing through the oxygen-enriched membrane unit 2, the oxygen concentration of air is increased from 21% (about 79% nitrogen) before passing to about 30% (about 70% nitrogen).

  Further, inside the main body 1, outside air is sucked into the main body 1 from the intake port 3 provided on the back surface of the main body 1 by the intake means 26 and is sent to the oxygen-enriched membrane unit 2. Air that does not pass through the oxygen-enriched film (not shown) is exhausted to the outside through the exhaust port 4 provided on the side surface of the main body 1. 5 is a pump that is a suction means for allowing a part of the air sucked into the main body 1 to pass through an oxygen-enriched film (not shown) of the oxygen-enriched film unit 2, and the discharge side is a side surface of the main body 1. The oxygen-enriched air is discharged into the oxygen-enriched air discharge means 7 connected to the discharge port 6, and the pump 5 and the intake means 26 are operated. These are controlled by the control means 10 disposed in the main body 1. The oxygen-enriched air discharge means 7 supplies oxygen-enriched air from the mouse 9 to the user's mouth via a tube 23 made of a soft body and a capsule 24 for storing condensed water. Further, the mouse 9 is positioned at the mouth by putting the headset 8 on the ear and neck of the user.

  The main body 1 further includes a blood oxygen concentration measuring device 15 as a measuring device for measuring the blood oxygen concentration of the user. As shown in FIG. 2, the blood oxygen concentration measuring device 15 has a sensor unit 12 incorporating a light emitting / receiving sensor 13 and is connected to the main body 1 through a signal line 14, and the signal line 14 is connected to the light emitting / receiving sensor. 13 is connected to a control means 10 having a determination means (not shown) for determining the output from 13. Further, the signal from the determining means is sent to the display unit 11 provided on the front surface of the main body 1 via a signal line (not shown).

  Next, the operation of the oxygen enricher in the present embodiment based on the above configuration will be described.

  Blood oxygen concentration is a numerical value that indicates how much oxygen is taken up by red blood cells present in human blood. More specifically, blood red blood cells have hemoglobin, and red blood cells have taken up oxygen in the lungs. Is the mechanism by which hemoglobin binds and oxygen is transported throughout the body by the hemoglobin. Hemoglobin in a state of binding to oxygen is called oxygen hemoglobin C (HbO2), hemoglobin not binding to oxygen is called reduced hemoglobin C (Hb), and the ratio of oxygen hemoglobin to the total amount of hemoglobin is shown in the blood. The oxygen concentration is expressed by the following equation.

  The measurement method uses the fact that oxygen hemoglobin and reduced hemoglobin absorb light differently, and by inserting a finger between the light emitting / receiving sensor 13 as shown in FIG. The oxygen concentration in blood can be known from the difference between the wavelength and the extinction coefficient. Since the output signal from the sensor unit 12 is output as a numerical value to the display unit 11 via the signal line 14 and the determining means in the control means 10, the user can change the numerical value of the display unit 11 into the body. It can be confirmed by more specific values that the oxygen-enriched air has been absorbed.

  The normal blood oxygen concentration in the state where oxygen-enriched air is not inhaled is generally said to be 95% to 99%. Even if a person stays in an oxygen-deficient space for a long time, a low concentration of 81% to 94% may be reached.

  If the concentration is low as shown above, people may experience symptoms such as palpitation, shortness of breath, dizziness, poor concentration, headaches, etc., especially when the low concentration state is chronic or normal. However, when the concentration is low due to the surrounding environment, it can be remarkably confirmed that the numerical value increases by sucking the oxygen-enriched air while measuring the blood oxygen concentration.

  Therefore, before the user sucks the oxygen-enriched air, the user's initial state is normal or not normal by inserting a finger into the sensor unit 12 of the blood oxygen concentration measuring device 15 It is possible to confirm at the same time whether or not the person has recovered normally by sucking oxygen-enriched air.

  As for the display method in the display unit 11, as shown in FIG. 3 (a), a digital numerical value display is generally used for blood oxygen concentration, but a bar is used as shown in FIG. 3 (b). Even with this analog display, it is easy for the user to confirm the increase or decrease in the blood oxygen concentration. Furthermore, if the display unit 11 is provided with a sound generating means (not shown) such as a buzzer to notify the change of the numerical level by sound, it is easier for the user to confirm, for example, the blood oxygen concentration is in a low concentration range. There are methods such as sounding a buzzer when entering, or sounding a buzzer when reaching the normal range.

  Further, not only the change in blood oxygen concentration due to the user sucking in oxygen-enriched air but also the output information from the determining means that determines the output information from the light emitting / receiving sensor 13 is used. The operation of the pump 5 may be varied (controlled) by the control means 10. For example, when the blood oxygen concentration of the user rises early, the operation of the pump 5 can be made low power by the control means 10 and the output flow rate of the oxygen-enriched air can be reduced to save energy. .

  In addition, when the blood oxygen concentration of the user exceeds a predetermined concentration, the operation of the pump 5 is stopped by the control means 10 or the operation is performed with low power in order to reduce the generation amount of oxygen-enriched air. But it can save energy.

  In addition, information on the blood oxygen concentration of the user is transmitted to a facility such as a distant hospital, and the oxygen-enriched membrane unit 2 is set so that the most appropriate oxygen-enriched air is provided to the user from the facility. By installing an information receiving and delivering system (not shown) that can receive signals to be controlled, it is possible to deliver the physical condition of daily users to the attending physician, etc., and obtain oxygen-enriched air that is optimal for the users. In addition, it becomes possible to manage data at the facility.

  In addition, by providing a storage medium (not shown) that can store information related to the user's blood oxygen concentration by any operation or automatically, the information from the storage medium can be read on a personal computer, etc. It is also possible to manage the blood oxygen concentration. Furthermore, today's user's blood oxygen concentration is compared with the changes in blood oxygen concentration stored in the storage medium so far, and the optimal flow rate and oxygen-enriched air to supply today are Control by the control means 10 is also possible.

  In addition, as for the place where the sensor unit 12 for blood oxygen concentration is attached, as shown in FIG. 4, it may be built in the outline of the main body 1 (see 12-a) or attached to the headset 8 (see 12-b). . When it is provided outside the main body 1, the wiring does not have to be external and it looks good. However, when the tube 23 is extended to the maximum and the main body 1 is not placed near the user, the usability is improved. bad.

  On the other hand, when attached to the headset 8, the user always wears and uses the headset 8, so that the measurement can always be performed in the vicinity, but it is necessary to wire the signal line 14 to the main body 1. Because it is, it looks bad. In this case, the sensor unit 12 and the main body 1 are not connected by the signal line 14, but the blood oxygen concentration is wirelessly transmitted from the sensor unit 12 to a receiver (not shown) built in the main body 1. Just do it.

  Since the oxygen enrichment apparatus according to the present invention can also measure blood oxygen concentration at the same time, even if the user is originally normal blood oxygen concentration, is the state below the normal range due to the surrounding environment? Since it can be confirmed immediately, it can be applied as a physical condition improving device for checking blood oxygen concentration in a space where oxygen tends to be deficient and raising the blood oxygen concentration to a normal range.

(A) Front view of the oxygen enricher in Embodiment 1 of the present invention (b) Side view of the oxygen enricher (c) Back view of the oxygen enricher (d) Cross section of the oxygen enricher Figure Side view of the sensor part of the blood oxygen measuring device of the oxygen enricher (A) Digital display unit diagram of the oxygen enricher (b) Analog display unit diagram of the oxygen enricher Side view showing another installation example of sensor unit of oxygen enricher

Explanation of symbols

1 Oxygen enrichment machine (main unit)
2 Oxygen-enriched membrane unit (oxygen-enriching means)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 5 Pump 6 Discharge port 7 Oxygen-enriched air discharge means 10 Control means 11 Display unit 12 Sensor part 14 Signal line 15 Blood oxygen concentration measuring machine (measuring machine)

Claims (6)

An oxygen-enriching means for generating oxygen-enriched air by increasing the oxygen concentration in the air, an oxygen-enriched air ejecting means for ejecting the oxygen-enriched air, and a measuring instrument for measuring the blood oxygen concentration of a person Oxygen enrichment machine. Claims to adjust the concentration and flow rate of oxygen-enriched air by controlling the oxygen-enriched means so that the oxygen-enriched air most suitable for the user is obtained according to the blood oxygen concentration measured by the measuring machine Item 2. The oxygen enricher according to Item 1. An information transmission / reception system capable of transmitting and receiving output information of the measuring device to a distant place is provided, and the most appropriate oxygen-enriched air is provided to the user in conjunction with the received information from the information transmitting / receiving system. The oxygen enricher according to claim 1, wherein the oxygen enrichment means is controlled to adjust the concentration and flow rate of the oxygen enriched air. A storage medium for arbitrarily storing the output information of the measuring machine or automatically storing it periodically is provided, and the most appropriate oxygen-enriched air is provided to the user based on the information stored in the storage medium. The oxygen enricher according to claim 1, wherein the oxygen enrichment means is controlled to adjust the concentration and flow rate of the oxygen enriched air. The operation of the oxygen enrichment means is stopped when the blood oxygen concentration measured by the measuring machine exceeds a predetermined concentration, or the generation amount of oxygen enriched air is reduced. An oxygen enricher as described in 1. The measuring machine has a sensor unit that measures blood oxygen concentration by contacting with a human finger, tongue, etc., and the sensor unit is an outer shell of a main body containing oxygen-enriching means or oxygen-enriched air discharging means. The oxygen enricher according to any one of claims 1 to 5, which is provided in a part of the outer shell.

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