JP5155258B2 - Oxygen concentrator - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an oxygen concentrator, and more particularly to an oxygen concentrator for home oxygen therapy that can effectively extend the supply duration of an oxygen-enriched gas.

  Conventionally, a breathing gas supply device (hereinafter also referred to as an oxygen concentrator) for separating and concentrating oxygen in the air to obtain an oxygen-enriched gas for respiratory disease patients has been developed, and oxygen using the same Therapy has become increasingly popular.

  Such oxygen therapy may be performed while the patient is admitted to a medical institution, but the patient's respiratory illness presents chronic symptoms, and this oxygen therapy is performed over a long period of time to stabilize and stabilize the symptoms. When it is necessary to install the oxygen concentrator above the patient's home, the oxygen-enriched gas supplied by the oxygen concentrator is guided to the vicinity of the patient's nasal cavity using a tube member called a cannula. There is also a treatment method in which a patient performs suction. This type of treatment is also referred to as home oxygen therapy or HOT (Home Oxygen Therapy).

JP 2000-354630 A

  The oxygen concentrator used in the above home oxygen therapy is configured to supply a breathing gas to a patient who is fixedly installed in a patient's home or the like and is being treated at home. It is common to use a source.

  There is a configuration to extend the usage time of the oxygen concentrator using the built-in storage battery as the power source in order to reduce the power consumption of the oxygen concentrator using the commercial power source as the power source, or to make it portable. For example, in Patent Document 1 described below, as an oxygen concentrator that controls the driving of an electric compressor by detecting the internal pressure of an oxygen-enriched gas storage tank when the amount of oxygen-enriched gas taken out (set flow rate) is relatively small Have been described.

  However, the above-described prior art configuration has a problem that an effect cannot be obtained when the amount of oxygen-enriched gas extracted is outside a specific range, and the amount of power reduction cannot be said to be sufficient.

  On the other hand, the reduction in size and weight of air compressors that constitute oxygen concentrators and gas separators that selectively absorb nitrogen in the air and separate oxygen is steadily being realized with technological progress. The entire oxygen concentrator is made compact and lightweight, so that the patient can inhale the oxygen-enriched gas while staying outside. This portable oxygen can be used both when the patient is at home and when he is out. Realization of home oxygen therapy improved to inhale oxygen-enriched gas using a concentrator is entering the field of view.

  This type of portable oxygen concentrator is typically configured with a secondary battery that can be repeatedly charged and discharged as a power source, and the time during which gas supply can be continued without charging depends on the charge / discharge capacity of the battery. It will be specified. In addition, home therapy patients need to go to a medical institution regularly to be examined, and considering the round-trip route to the medical institution and the waiting time, it is essential that the above gas supply duration is further extended. At the same time, it is necessary to extend the gas supply time of the portable oxygen concentrator in order to increase the patient's walking momentum and improve the effect of home oxygen therapy.

  In other words, if an oxygen concentrator that can extend the oxygen-enriched gas supply time more effectively than before is not realized, the patient's range of action will be expanded and convenience will be increased. Oxygen therapy cannot be realized.

  This invention is made | formed in view of said situation, Comprising: It aims at providing the oxygen concentrator which can extend | stretch the supply duration of the breathing gas effectively.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides an oxygen concentrator having the structures described in 1) to 4) below.
1) When the output voltage within a predetermined range is detected from the power storage means attached to the oxygen concentrator or connected via the power transmission path, and this connection is not detected when connection with other power supply means outside the apparatus is not detected. Oxygen concentrator provided with control means for automatically selecting storage means as a driving power source for the apparatus and respiration synchronization mode in which breathing oxygen-enriched gas is supplied only during a user's inspiration period .
2) When the attachment of the power storage means to the oxygen concentrator is detected and the connection with the other power supply means outside the apparatus is not detected, this power storage means is used as the drive power source of the apparatus. And an oxygen concentrator provided with a control means for automatically selecting a breathing synchronization mode in which a breathing oxygen-enriched gas is supplied only during a user's inspiration period.
3) Oxygen according to 1) or 2), comprising output means for displaying or outputting a value obtained by integrating at least one of the times described in (A) to (D) below within a predetermined period. Concentrator.
(A) Time when oxygen-enriched gas for respiration is generated.
(B) The time when the oxygen-enriched gas for respiration is supplied in the respiration synchronization mode according to the control of the control means.
(C) Time when the power storage means is selected as the driving power source of the apparatus.
(D) Time when the respiration detection means for realizing supply of the oxygen-enriched gas for respiration in the respiration synchronization mode detects the user's respiration.
4) Display or display a value calculated for a predetermined period of at least one of the ratios of the times described in (E) to (G) below with respect to the total time during which the oxygen-enriched gas for respiration is generated The oxygen concentrator according to 1) or 2) provided with output means for outputting.
(E) The time during which the oxygen-enriched gas for respiration is supplied in the respiration synchronization mode according to the control of the control means.
(F) The time when the power storage means is selected as the drive power source of the apparatus.
(G) The time when the respiration detection means for realizing supply of the oxygen-enriched gas for respiration in the respiration synchronization mode detects the user's respiration.

  The present invention can provide an oxygen concentrator capable of effectively extending the supply duration of a breathing gas.

It is a block diagram of the oxygen concentration apparatus which is a preferable Example which concerns on embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is a connection diagram of the oxygen concentrator in FIG. 1.

  Hereinafter, an oxygen concentrator which is a preferred example according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an oxygen concentrator as a preferred example according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a connection diagram of the oxygen concentrator of FIG.

[Configuration of oxygen concentrator]
The oxygen concentrator 1 of the present embodiment is a device that separates nitrogen in the air and supplies high-concentration oxygen (oxygen-enriched gas) mainly for use in home oxygen therapy as described above. As an adsorbent capable of selectively adsorbing nitrogen from oxygen, molecular sieve zeolite 5A, 13X or lithium-based zeolite is filled in the adsorption cylinder (in the adsorption unit 5) and added by an air compressor (compressor 4). It is a pressure fluctuation adsorption type oxygen concentrator that takes out oxygen by supplying pressurized air.

  In the implementation of the present invention, the configuration related to the basic oxygen concentration function of the oxygen concentrator is not limited to the mode described here, and may be a known configuration or various configurations proposed in the future. I can do it.

  As shown in the block diagram of FIG. 1, the oxygen concentrator 1 of this embodiment, which is a pressure fluctuation type adsorbent oxygen concentrator, has an adsorption cylinder (adsorption unit) filled with an adsorbent that selectively adsorbs nitrogen rather than oxygen. 5), the compressed air compressed by the compressor 4 from the atmosphere is supplied, the inside of the adsorption cylinder is pressurized, nitrogen is adsorbed, and oxygen that has not been adsorbed is taken out. The oxygen-enriched gas, mainly oxygen extracted from the adsorption cylinder, is stored in the product tank 6 and then discharged from the product supply end 9 to the outside of the apparatus 1 through the ultrasonic sensor unit 7 and the breathing synchronization unit 8. The oxygen-enriched gas is supplied to the user (oxygen therapy patient) through the nasal cannula 12 which is a tube member that transports the oxygen-enriched gas from the oxygen concentrator 1 to the vicinity of the patient's nasal cavity.

  Here, because the amount of nitrogen that can be adsorbed in one process is determined by the amount and type of adsorbent, the flow switching valve is switched before the amount of nitrogen adsorbed on the adsorbent is saturated. The adsorption cylinder is opened to the atmosphere, the pressure inside the adsorption cylinder is reduced, and nitrogen is desorbed to regenerate the adsorbent. Further, the flow path switching valve is controlled by the main control unit 14 so as to be switched at a preset time. In order to increase the adsorption / desorption amount in one process, the pressure inside the adsorption cylinder in the desorption process may be evacuated using a vacuum pump.

  Note that the oxygen concentrator 1 of the present embodiment has a plurality of adsorption cylinders using, for example, a configuration described in Japanese Patent No. 3269626 in order to realize a compact and light-weight and portable type than the conventional oxygen concentrator. It is desirable that the adsorption unit 5 be provided with a rotary valve means for successively and successively forming gas flow paths for pressurization and desorption.

  As described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-2114012 related to the applicant's application, the ultrasonic sensor unit 7 is in the same direction and in the opposite direction to the flow direction of the oxygen-enriched gas flowing in the nasal cannula 1c. The propagation velocity of two sound waves, for example, ultrasonic waves, can be measured, and the actual flow rate of the oxygen-enriched gas flowing through the nasal cannula 1c can be measured from the difference between the two measured values. Moreover, you may make it measure the actual flow volume of oxygen-enriched gas using another structure and system.

  Furthermore, the breath synchronization unit 8 detects the patient's breathing, supplies the oxygen-enriched gas only during the inspiration period (inhaling air), and stops the supply during the expiration period (with air). By realizing the function of the demand regulator, it is intended to conserve the amount of oxygen-enriched gas supplied to the patient while keeping the patient's inhalation unaffected. In the operation mode that is the supply source, the amount of power used can be reduced, especially in the operation mode that uses a rechargeable battery (secondary battery) as the power supply source (the supply of breathing gas) Duration) can be extended.

  As described above, the operation mode (hereinafter also referred to as the synchronization mode) in which the patient's respiration is detected and the oxygen-enriched gas is supplied only during the inspiration period, and the oxygen-enriched gas having a constant flow rate is supplied regardless of the patient's respiration The operation mode (hereinafter also referred to as a continuous mode) that is always supplied can be manually switched by the user in addition to the automatic selection control when the battery 13 is selected as described below. The oxygen concentrator 1 is provided with an operation switch (not shown) for this operation. For example, during sleep, the operation switch is always operated to inhale oxygen-enriched gas in a continuous mode. This is to enable the supply of oxygen-enriched gas to continue even when the patient during sleep breathes through the mouth instead of the nasal cavity and is not detected.

  The specific configuration for detecting the patient's breathing is, for example, an audio signal (patient's breathing sound) using an optical microphone as in the configuration described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-272845 related to the applicant's application. ) Is converted into an optical signal, converted into a voltage signal, and further converted into a frequency to perform analysis in the frequency domain, and a configuration for detecting respiration based on a difference in frequency band is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-270170. Using a polymer film in which a conductive layer is laminated with a method of providing a sensor composed of a pyroelectric element on a nasal cannula as described, or a diaphragm type pressure gauge as described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 5-71894 A configuration using a pressure detector for detecting capacitance, or a pressure detector provided near the oxygen supply port of the oxygen concentrator main body as described in JP-A-2-88078 Oxygen and method for controlling supply of enriched gas, or other can be realized by a method based on the signal.

  The display unit 10 is a display unit including a display member such as a liquid crystal panel and its peripheral interface unit, and displays information transmitted from the main control unit 14 on the display member.

The contents of the data displayed by the display unit 10 include the contents displayed on the conventional oxygen concentrator such as the display of the operation on state, the display of alarms and alarms, the display of the set flow rate, and the like. A value obtained by integrating at least one of the times described in the following (A) to (D) for a predetermined period, for example, by performing a reset operation by operating a reset button (not shown) until the present time. It is said.
(A) The total time that the adsorption unit 5 generates the oxygen-enriched gas.
(B) The total time when the breathing tuning unit 8 selects the tuning mode as the oxygen-enriched gas supply mode according to the control of the main control unit 14.
(C) Total time when the power supply control unit 3 selects a battery as a power source.
(D) The total time when the breathing synchronization unit 8 that detects the breathing of the user to supply the gas in the tuning mode actually detects the breathing of the user.

Alternatively, at least one of the ratios of the times described in (E) to (G) below with respect to the total time during which the adsorption unit 5 generates the oxygen-enriched gas is integrated from the predetermined reset operation until the present time. A value calculated based on time may be displayed.
(E) The total time when the breathing tuning unit 8 selects the tuning mode as the oxygen-enriched gas supply mode according to the control of the main control unit 14.
(F) The total time when the power supply control unit 3 selects the battery as the power source.
(G) The total time when the respiration synchronization unit 8 that detects the respiration of the user in order to perform gas supply in the synchronization mode actually detects the respiration of the user.

  The information output terminal 11 is an output terminal or transmission interface for sending various information sent from the main control unit 14 to a device other than the oxygen concentrator 1 such as a personal computer via a wireless or wired transmission path, A configuration conforming to IrDA, RS-232C, USB, Bluetooth, and other known communication standards may be used. The information to be sent out is the same information as that displayed by the display unit 10 as described above, in addition to the content displayed in the conventional oxygen concentrator.

  The flow rate setting unit 12 is for setting and operating the flow rate of the oxygen-enriched gas to be supplied by the user such as a patient. For example, the dial switch is operated to rotate the dial switch to 1 liter / minute, 2 liter / minute, When a desired selection value is selected from 3 liters / minute or the like, the main control unit 14 that has detected the selection value controls the operating speed of the compressor 4 and the suction unit 5 to set the desired flow rate. It is realized.

  The compressor 4 includes a compressor drive motor for driving the compressor 4, and the compressor drive motor follows the drive current generated and output by the power supply control unit 3 so as to realize the rotation speed set by the main control unit 14. The compressor 4 is driven to rotate. The compression mechanism portion of the compressor 4 compresses air by the rotational force obtained by the compressor drive motor, and there are various types depending on the compression method, such as a reciprocating piston type and a rotary scroll type. However, any type may be used as long as it can compress air in the atmosphere.

  The power supply control unit 3 has a function of supplying power to each component included in the apparatus 1 in addition to the drive current output for driving the compressor 4 as described above.

  Here, the power source of the power supplied by the power supply control unit 3 was changed from a method of supplying power only from a home AC power source in the conventional typical stationary oxygen concentrator. The three-way power supply system includes a battery 13 as a secondary battery, a household AC power supply (commercial power supply), and an in-vehicle DC power supply for automobiles. For this purpose, the power supply input end 2 is provided on the outer peripheral portion of the casing facing the outside of the apparatus, and power is supplied by DC from the AC power supply unit 15 or the in-vehicle power supply unit 16 connected to the cigarette lighter contact in the automobile through this. I can receive it.

  Furthermore, when the battery 13 is realized as a built-in type, electric power is supplied to the power supply control unit 3 by discharging from the battery 13 provided in a manner that can be removed inside the oxygen concentrator 1.

  The battery 13 is normally charged with the power supplied from the AC power supply unit 15 or the in-vehicle power supply unit 16 via the power supply input terminal 2 and the power supply control unit 3 while the battery 13 is attached to the oxygen concentrator 1. It is executed by being supplied.

  In addition, the power supply control unit 3 supplies electric power for supplying driving power to the oxygen concentrator 1 using either the built-in battery 13, a commercial power supply that is an external power supply connected to the power input terminal 2, or a cigarette lighter power supply in an automobile. It has the function to select as a source. The selection procedure is as follows.

(1) First, the AC power supply unit 15 or the vehicle-mounted power supply unit 16 is connected to the power input terminal 2, and as a result, the signal source (not illustrated) provided in the AC power supply unit 15 or the vehicle-mounted power supply unit 16 is not illustrated in the same manner. When a predetermined signal reaches the power supply control unit 3 via the signal path, the AC power supply unit 15 or the in-vehicle power supply unit 16 connected to the power supply input terminal 2 is connected to the power supply input end 2 regardless of the presence of the built-in battery 13. Select as power source.
Alternatively, when a voltage within a normal range is applied from the AC power supply unit 15 or the in-vehicle power supply unit 16 connected to the power input terminal 2, these may be used as the power source of the device 1.

(2) Next, neither the AC power supply unit 15 nor the in-vehicle power supply unit 16 is connected to the power input terminal 2, so that the signal indicating the connection does not reach the power control unit 3, or the power input terminal When the applied voltage applied to 2 is outside the normal range and a voltage within the normal range is applied from the discharge output terminal of the internal battery 13, the internal battery 13 is selected as the power source.

(3) Further, when there is no applied voltage within the normal range at the power input end 2 and no applied voltage within the normal range is detected from the discharge end of the built-in battery 13, neither oxygen is selected as a power source. The operation of the concentrating device 1 is not possible, and a message such as “Battery needs to be charged” is displayed as necessary.

  The method of selecting the power source is not limited to the above, and various other methods are conceivable. For example, when a plurality of power sources can be selected, the user can select a desired power source by operating the selection switch. The method may be used alone or in combination with the above automatic selection method.

  Alternatively, it is possible to detect whether the built-in battery 13 is currently attached to the oxygen concentrating device 1 by providing a mechanical push switch, or to provide a light interrupter unit in the oxygen concentrating device 1 so that one of the housing portions of the built-in battery 13 is provided. The internal battery detects whether the internal battery 13 is attached depending on whether or not the optical interrupter interrupts the optical path of the optical interrupter, or measures the impedance between the terminals connected to the internal battery 13 on the oxygen concentrator 1 side. The presence or absence of the built-in battery 13 may be determined by examining whether or not an impedance corresponding to the internal impedance 13 is detected, and reflected in the selection.

  Further, in addition to the battery 13 (secondary battery) described above as a power source to be used during movement, the oxygen concentrator 1 has a structure having other power storage functions, such as a fuel cell, or the oxygen concentrator 1 It is also conceivable to configure such that it can be carried along with it and to perform control according to the control using the battery 13 described above.

  The main control unit 14 controls the components of the oxygen concentrating device 1 to supply the oxygen-enriched gas and has the same function as the oxygen concentrating device of the conventional configuration. Thus, when the internal or external battery 13 is selected as the power source, the breath tuning unit 8 has a function of controlling the tuning mode to be selected as the breathing gas supply mode.

  Since the main control unit 14 is configured as described above, in particular, when driven by the battery 13 that needs to reduce power consumption and extend the breathing gas supply duration, the tuning mode is surely selected and the supply time extension is executed. Therefore, the reliability is increased without depending on the user's operation, and the user does not need to perform the troublesome operation and is freed from stress.

Further, the main control unit 14 performs a reset operation for at least one of the times described in (A) to (D) below within a predetermined period, for example, by operating a reset button (not shown). Or at least one of the ratios of the times described in (E) to (G) below with respect to the total time that the adsorption unit 5 generates the oxygen-enriched gas, During the period, for example, based on the accumulated time from a predetermined reset operation to the present time, these accumulated values or calculated values are displayed on the display unit 10 or output from the information output terminal 11 to be external to the apparatus. Control is performed so that display and storage are performed on a personal computer or the like.
(A) The total time that the adsorption unit 5 generates the oxygen-enriched gas.
(B) The total time when the breathing tuning unit 8 selects the tuning mode as the oxygen-enriched gas supply mode according to the control of the main control unit 14.
(C) Total time when the power supply control unit 3 selects a battery as a power source.
(D) The total time when the breathing synchronization unit 8 that detects the breathing of the user to supply the gas in the tuning mode actually detects the breathing of the user.
(E) The total time when the breathing tuning unit 8 selects the tuning mode as the oxygen-enriched gas supply mode according to the control of the main control unit 14.
(F) The total time when the power supply control unit 3 selects the battery as the power source.
(G) The total time when the respiration synchronization unit 8 that detects the respiration of the user in order to perform gas supply in the synchronization mode actually detects the respiration of the user.

The purpose of displaying or outputting the integrated value or the calculated value as described above by the oxygen concentrator 1 of the present embodiment will be described below.
When starting home oxygen therapy using the oxygen concentrator 1, the doctor issues an instruction describing the prescription of oxygen therapy to be received by the patient. In the above-mentioned prescription, (1) the oxygen concentration of the oxygen-enriched gas to be supplied to the patient, (2) the use flow rate and the use time of the oxygen-enriched gas to be supplied to the patient are described.

  On the other hand, since the oxygen-enriched gas is inhaled at the patient's home or away from the patient, the doctor cannot directly confirm the presence or absence of inhalation at the site where the inhalation is performed.

  Therefore, it is necessary for the doctor to check the patient regularly and, for example, at the time of visiting the hospital once a month to check whether or not the inhalation is performed as prescribed. In the past, it has been a major obstacle to reliably and effectively performing home oxygen therapy.

  On the other hand, since the oxygen concentrator 1 of the present embodiment is configured as described above, the oxygen concentrator 1 supplies the oxygen-enriched gas during (1) how many times during the hospital interval period which is usually one month. (2) What is the time and time ratio during which the feeding was done in a synchronized mode where the patient was considered relatively active during that time, (3) Also during that time, the patient was relatively active What is the time / time ratio during which battery-supplied supply was performed, or (4) What was the time / time ratio during which the patient actually inhaled oxygen-enriched gas during the same period? Based on the physical evidence of the oxygen concentrator 1 that is actually used by the patient for treatment, the doctor can grasp this, and the home oxygen therapy can be performed reliably and effectively.

  Further, the oxygen concentrator 1 of this embodiment has a characteristic configuration for realizing a portable function, for example, in addition to the points described above, it has, for example, a necessary degree of dust-proof and drip-proof functions and has an oxygen concentration. It has a housing part that protects the inside of the device 1, a wheel part that is attached to the housing part, a holding handle that is also attached to the housing part (both not shown), etc. You can accompany them. It is good also as a structure where a patient carries directly with a sling belt, or puts it in a rucksack and carries it without having a wheel part.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, in order to make the oxygen concentrator 1 portable, the mass and volume thereof have been greatly reduced compared to the conventional one. For example, a conventional fixed installation type typical oxygen concentrator has a mass of about 30 kg. What is possessed is that the device 1 of this embodiment is configured with a mass of less than 5 kg, and is easy to carry, so it is easy for the patient to join the medical institution to which he / she visits.

[Operation of oxygen concentrator]
Next, the operation of the oxygen concentrator 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
First, when the patient 1b is in the patient's home 1a and undergoes oxygen therapy, the oxygen enriched gas 1 is inhaled from the oxygen concentrator 1 according to the present embodiment by receiving power supply from a home AC power supply as in the conventional case. In addition, if the inhalation is performed by driving the battery 13 in the patient's home, the patient 1b can continue the inhalation while freely moving in the patient's home with the device 1 without the restriction of the AC outlet. The inconvenience of inhaling through this cannula with an extension tube is eliminated by connecting a cannula with a long extension tube as long as several meters to the oxygen concentrator.

  When the oxygen concentrator 1 is operated in the patient's home or at the destination 3a as described above and driven by the battery 13, the breathing gas supply mode is automatically set based on the structural features described above. Since it is set to the tuned mode, the gas supply duration is surely extended, while the patient does not have the trouble of switching the supply mode one by one, so there is no stress in the operation and breathing effectively. The gas supply time is extended.

  Further, as a characteristic point of the present embodiment, the main control unit 14 of the apparatus 1 is configured to supply the oxygen-enriched gas having the above-described contents at any time or at an appropriate timing when supplying the oxygen-enriched gas. The accumulated value or the calculated value such as the supply time is recorded and held in a memory unit (not shown) in the main control unit 14.

  Here, the integrated value or the calculated value, such as the supply time of the oxygen-enriched gas, as described above is recorded and held not by the memory inside the main control unit 14 but by the memory means provided independently. Or, as a memory means that can be detached, such as Memory Stick-TM and SD card-TM, only the removable memory means is taken out of the oxygen concentrator 1 instead of the whole oxygen concentrator 1 when going to the medical institution 2a. You may make it bring to 2a. Alternatively, after the patient brings the oxygen concentrator 1 to the medical institution 2a to be visited, after removing the removable memory means from the oxygen concentrator 1 as a method of passing the integrated value or calculated value to the information device of the medical institution It is also possible to perform so-called medium delivery by attaching to an information device of a medical institution and delivering it.

  The patient 1b visits a medical institution with the oxygen concentrator 1 on a regular basis, for example, once a month, and the doctor 2b of the medical institution 2a gives the above integrated value or calculated value to the apparatus 1 The status of the patient's home oxygen therapy by the health care worker by confirming the display on the display unit 10 or by confirming the display with a personal computer connected to the information output terminal 11 via the transmission cable 2e or other transmission line It is possible to greatly improve the therapeutic effect of home oxygen therapy.

  In addition, the integrated value or the calculated value output from the medical institution at the time of the outpatient treatment is the tie-up medical treatment for diagnosing the patient in cooperation with the medical institution 2a via the Internet communication network 5a under security management. It is also possible to share medical information by being transmitted to the affiliated medical institution terminal 4c of the institution 4a.

  The integrated value or the calculated value such as the supply time of the oxygen-enriched gas having the above-described contents uses a patient respiratory detection result detected by the respiratory synchronization unit 8 to execute the respiratory synchronization mode, or a power source. Since it can be generated using the result of selection of the drive power source executed by the control unit 3, the medical staff directly grasps the patient's home oxygen therapy implementation status while maintaining the simple configuration of the oxygen concentrator 1. The effect that can be demonstrated.

  That is, according to the oxygen concentrator 1 of this embodiment, in addition to being able to effectively extend the oxygen-enriched gas supply time, the inhalation status of the patient's oxygen-enriched gas can be directly grasped from the medical device used, An effective home oxygen therapy that has never existed before becomes feasible.

1. Oxygen concentrator 8. Respiration synchronization unit (respiration detection means)
13. Battery (power storage means)
14 Main control unit (control means, output means)

Claims (4)

Oxygen concentrator output voltage within a predetermined range from instrumentation Chakumatawa connected to the power storage means is detected in and, if the connection to the other power supply means in the apparatus outside is not detected, the power storage means Choose to be the drive power source for the device and to enter a breath-synchronized mode that only supplies the breathing oxygen-enriched gas during the user's inspiratory period, saving the amount of oxygen-enriched gas ,
When a driving power source for other power supply means the device in the apparatus outside, be a continuous mode is unrelated always supplying operation mode a constant flow of oxygen-enriched gas to the patient's breathing selecting, oxygen concentrator which have a automatic selection control means. Mounting the power storage means to the oxygen concentrating apparatus is detected, and, if the connection to the other power supply means in the apparatus outside is not detected, to the power storage means and the driving power source of the apparatus, and , Select breathing synchronized mode, supplying oxygen enriched gas for breathing only during the user's inspiratory period, saving the amount of oxygen enriched gas ,
When a driving power source for other power supply means the device in the apparatus outside, be a continuous mode is unrelated always supplying operation mode a constant flow of oxygen-enriched gas to the patient's breathing selecting, oxygen concentrator which have a automatic selection control means. The oxygen according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising an output means for displaying or outputting a value obtained by integrating at least any one of the times described in the following (A) to (D) within a predetermined period. Concentrator.
(A) Time when oxygen-enriched gas for respiration is generated.
(B) The time when the oxygen-enriched gas for respiration is supplied in the respiration synchronization mode according to the control of the control means.
(C) Time when the power storage means is selected as the driving power source of the apparatus.
(D) Time when the respiration detection means for realizing supply of the oxygen-enriched gas for respiration in the respiration synchronization mode detects the user's respiration. Display or output a value calculated within a predetermined period of at least one of the time ratios described in (E) to (G) below with respect to the total time during which the oxygen-enriched gas for respiration is generated. The oxygen concentrator according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising an output unit.
(E) The time during which the oxygen-enriched gas for respiration is supplied in the respiration synchronization mode according to the control of the control means.
(F) The time when the power storage means is selected as the drive power source of the apparatus.
(G) The time when the respiration detection means for realizing supply of the oxygen-enriched gas for respiration in the respiration synchronization mode detects the user's respiration.

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