JP5413880B2 - Oxygen concentrator - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an oxygen concentrator that introduces air and releases a high concentration of oxygen.

  Oxygen concentrators are mainly used in home oxygen therapy (HOT), where patients with respiratory illness inhale oxygen at home.

  The oxygen concentrator includes a sieve bed (adsorption tower) filled with an adsorbent (for example, zeolite) having a property of adsorbing nitrogen to pressurized air and desorbing nitrogen to decompressed air. The oxygen concentrator separates high-concentration oxygen from compressed air by compressing indoor air taken in through a filter and intake tank with a compressor, and passing this compressed air through a sieve bed while repeatedly switching between pressure and pressure. In addition, high-concentration oxygen is humidified. The high-concentration oxygen after humidification is supplied into the patient body through a nasal cannula worn by the patient at the time of use.

  As a method for humidifying high-concentration oxygen, for example, as described in Patent Document 1, a container for purified water is provided in an oxygen concentrator, and water is supplied to high-concentration oxygen by sending out high-concentration oxygen into water. There is.

As another humidification method, for example, as described in Patent Document 2, there is a method in which a humidification tube is used as a part of a tube that forms a flow path for high-concentration oxygen. The humidification tube is made of a hollow fiber membrane or an organic polymer thin film having moisture permeability. When the moisture-containing gas is applied to the outer surface of the humidifying tube, the humidifying tube takes in moisture from the gas on the outer surface and gives moisture to the high-concentration oxygen flowing in the humidifying tube.
JP 2004-188121 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-248935

  In general, in an oxygen concentrator that humidifies high-concentration oxygen using a humidifying tube, a fan that blows air toward the humidifying tube to positively contact the humidifying gas with the outer surface of the humidifying tube, etc. It is necessary to provide a blowing means. However, in the oxygen concentrator, it is necessary to provide a blowing means for blowing air toward the compressor or the like in order to cool the compressor or the like. For this reason, providing a separate air blowing means for humidification not only increases the number of parts of the oxygen concentrator, but also causes an increase in noise.

  This invention is made | formed in view of this point, and it aims at providing the oxygen concentrator which can humidify high concentration oxygen, without accompanying the increase in a number of parts and the increase in noise.

The oxygen concentrator of the present invention is
In an oxygen concentrator that supplies high concentration oxygen to the patient,
Compression means for compressing the raw material air of high concentration oxygen;
Generating means for generating high-concentration oxygen from compressed raw material air;
The flow path of the generated high-concentration oxygen is formed inside the humidifying tubes for humidifying the high concentration oxygen flowing through the inner,
And sending wind means,
A housing that houses the compression means, the generation means, the humidification tube, and the air blowing means;
An opening that is formed in the housing and introduces air outside the housing into the housing when air is blown by the air blowing means;
Have
The compression means is disposed downstream of the air blowing means in the flow of wind generated by the air blowing means,
The humidification tube is disposed on the upstream side of the air blowing means in the flow of wind generated by the air blowing means and on the path of the air flowing from the opening to the air blowing means.

  According to the present invention, high-concentration oxygen can be humidified without increasing the number of parts or increasing noise.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of an oxygen concentrator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, an oxygen concentrator 10 includes an air passage case 101, a hepar filter 102, an intake tank 103, a compressor 104, a cooling pipe 105, a manifold inside an oxygen concentrator housing (hereinafter abbreviated as “housing”) 100. 108, first and second switching valves 109A, 109B, first and second sheave beds (adsorption towers) 110, 111, product tank 112, pressure equalizing valve 113, purge orifice 114, silencer 115, pressure sensor 116, A regulator 117, a stop valve 118, an oxygen sensor 119, a bacteria filter 120, a flow restriction orifice 121, a pressure sensor 122, a flow sensor 123, a tube 124, and blowers 126A and 126B are arranged. The oxygen concentrator 10 has an oxygen outlet 125 disposed on the outer wall of the housing 100. Moreover, openings 127 and 128 are formed in the housing 100, and a filter 129 is disposed so as to cover the opening 127.

  The oxygen concentrator 10 has a central processing unit (CPU), a read only memory (ROM) as a storage medium storing a control program, a random access memory (RAM) as a working memory, and the like (both shown in FIG. Not shown). The CPU controls the operation of each part including the compressor 104 and the manifold 108 by executing a control program.

  The air passage case 101 is provided in contact with the housing 100. The air passage case 101 introduces air outside the housing 100 as raw material air into the housing 100 from an air inlet (not shown). The hepa filter 102 removes airborne particles such as dust and dust from the air introduced by the air passage case 101.

  The intake tank 103 stores the raw air from which airborne particles have been removed by the hepa filter 102 for intake of the compressor 104 at the subsequent stage. The intake tank 103 functions as a so-called expansion silencer, and exhibits a silencing effect on the operation sound of the compressor 104 that is transmitted to the intake side of the raw air by reflection due to a change in the pipe cross-sectional area.

  The compressor 104 as the compression means compresses the raw air stored in the intake tank 103 to generate compressed air, and sends the generated compressed air to the manifold 108 via the cooling pipe 105. Here, since the compressor 104 generates heat during driving, the generated compressed air and the air around the compressor 104 are heated. The cooling pipe 105 sends the compressed air to the manifold 108 while cooling it.

  The manifold 108 alternately switches the compressed air from the cooling pipe 105 to the first and second sheave beds 110 and 111 and alternately sends the nitrogen-enriched air from the first and second sheave beds 110 and 111. It is a manifold for switching and sending to the silencer 115. The manifold 108 has first and second switching valves 109A and 109B that are three-way valves. The manifold 108 controls the state of the first and second switching valves 109A and 109B to switch the flow path in the manifold 108 for compressed air and nitrogen-enriched air, for example, at 10 second intervals.

  Specifically, for example, as shown in FIG. 1, the manifold 108 uses a first switching valve 109 </ b> A to open a pipe line between the first sheave bed 110 and the compressor 104, and The conduit between the sheave bed 110 and the silencer 115 is closed. At the same time, the manifold 108 uses the second switching valve 109B to close the pipe line between the second sheave bed 111 and the compressor 104, and the pipe between the second sheave bed 111 and the silencer 115. Open the road. In this case, the compressed air from the compressor 104 is sent to the first sheave bed 110 in the direction of the arrow 108A, and the nitrogen-enriched air from the second sheave bed 111 is sent to the silencer 115 in the direction of the arrow 108B. .

  In addition, the manifold 108 uses the first switching valve 109A to close the pipe line between the first sheave bed 110 and the compressor 104, and the pipe between the first sheave bed 110 and the silencer 115. Open the road. At the same time, the manifold 108 opens the pipe line between the second sheave bed 111 and the compressor 104 using the second switching valve 109B, and the pipe between the second sheave bed 111 and the silencer 115. Close the road. In this case, the compressed air from the compressor 104 is sent to the second sheave bed 111, and the nitrogen-enriched air from the first sheave bed 110 is sent to the silencer 115.

  The first and second sheave beds 110 and 111 as the generation means separate high-concentration oxygen from the compressed air sent through the manifold 108, respectively. This separation is realized by the action of zeolite filled in the first and second sieve beds 110 and 111. Zeolite is an adsorbent that adsorbs nitrogen and moisture to pressurized air and desorbs adsorbed nitrogen and moisture to decompressed air. When the first and second sheave beds 110 and 111 communicate with the compressor 104, high-concentration oxygen is separated from the compressed air sent from the compressor 104 and sent to the subsequent product tank 112. When the first and second sheave beds 110 and 111 communicate with the silencer 115, the nitrogen-enriched air containing a large amount of nitrogen and moisture adsorbed from the compressed air is sent to the silencer 115.

  The oxygen concentration of the high-concentration oxygen released from the first and second sheave beds 110 and 111 is adjusted within a range of, for example, about 40% to 90% by changing the number of repetitions of adsorption / desorption and the adsorption / desorption time. can do. Note that since zeolite adsorbs not only nitrogen but also moisture, the high-concentration oxygen released from the first and second sieve beds 110 and 111 is extremely dry (for example, humidity 0.1% to 0.1%). 2%). The zeolite filled in the first and second sieve beds 110 and 111 is a porous material made of an aluminosilicate having fine pores in the crystal (for example, a crystalline hydrous aluminosilicate containing an alkaline earth metal). Yes, various commercially available zeolites can be used.

  The product tank 112 is connected to the first and second sheave beds 110 and 111 at a portion opposite to the side to which the manifold 108 is connected. The product tank 112 is compressed by the first and second sheave beds 110 and 111. Contains high-concentration oxygen obtained by separation from The product tank 112 has, for example, a U-shape in which one end is connected to the first sheave bed 110 and the other end is connected to the sheave bed 111. The pressure equalizing valve 113 adjusts the pressures at both ends of the product tank 112 so that they are the same. The purge orifice 114 allows high-concentration oxygen to pass between both end portions of the product tank 112 in order to perform secondary purification when the first and second sheave beds 110 and 111 are desorbed.

  The silencer 115 is a cylinder that can introduce nitrogen-enriched air sent from the first and second sheave beds 110 and 111 through the manifold 108 into the interior of the silencer 115. The enriched air is discharged from the nitrogen-enriched air outlet 115A. Means (not shown) for reducing noise when exhausting the nitrogen-enriched air is provided inside the cylinder.

  The pressure sensor 116 detects the pressure of high-concentration oxygen sent from the product tank 112 to the regulator 117. The regulator 117 compares the detection result of the pressure sensor 116 with a preset pressure, and performs feedback control of the high-concentration oxygen pressure so that they have the same value.

  The stop valve 118 is closed to stop the flow of high-concentration oxygen sent from the regulator 117 under pressure regulation. The stop valve 118 is closed when, for example, an operation for stopping the supply of high-concentration oxygen is performed or when the power supply to the oxygen concentrator 10 is stopped, so that the high-concentration oxygen remaining in the device is stopped. Stop outflow.

  The oxygen sensor 119 detects the oxygen concentration of the high concentration oxygen sent from the stop valve 118 to the bacterial filter 120. The bacteria filter 120 sterilizes high-concentration oxygen flowing through the flow path by collecting bacteria. The flow restriction orifice 121 restricts the flow rate of the high concentration oxygen by restricting the flow path of the high concentration oxygen sent through the bacterial filter 120. The degree of throttling of the flow restriction orifice 121 is adjusted in conjunction with the operation content of an operation unit (not shown) having a button or a knob provided in the housing 100, for example.

  The pressure sensor 122 detects the pressure of high-concentration oxygen sent from the flow restriction orifice 121 to the flow sensor 123. The flow sensor 123 detects the flow rate of high-concentration oxygen sent through the flow restriction orifice 121. By continuously storing the high-concentration oxygen pressure detected by the pressure sensor 122 and the high-concentration oxygen flow rate detected by the flow sensor 123 in a memory (not shown), the high-concentration oxygen concentration is set as previously set. Whether oxygen is being processed can be monitored.

  The tube 124 forms a flow path for high concentration oxygen and supplies the high concentration oxygen to the oxygen outlet 125. A part of the tube 124 is constituted by a humidifying tube 124A. The humidification tube 124A is made of a moisture permeable membrane such as a hollow fiber membrane, takes moisture from the gas on the outer surface, and gives moisture to the high-concentration oxygen flowing inside. In the present embodiment, only one humidifying tube 124A is used, but a plurality of humidifying tubes 124A may be used.

  The oxygen outlet 125 exhausts high-concentration oxygen sent from the tube 124 to supply the patient. A tube (not shown) provided with an oxygen mask and a nasal cannula is connected to the oxygen outlet 125, and high concentration oxygen is supplied to the patient through this tube.

  Blowers 126 </ b> A and 126 </ b> B as air blowing means are provided to cool the compressor 104 that generates heat during driving and the cooling pipe 105 provided at the rear stage of the compressor 104. The blowers 126A and 126B suck the air in the housing 100 from the suction portions 130A and 130B, compress the sucked air, and discharge the compressed air from the discharge portions 131A and 131B. In this embodiment, two blowers 126A and 126B are used, but the number of blowers to be used may be one or three or more.

  When the blowers 126 </ b> A and 126 </ b> B blow air, a flow of cooling air from the compressor 104 or the like is generated in the housing 100. That is, air outside the casing 100 is introduced into the casing 100 from the opening 127 (see arrow a), the introduced air is sucked in from the suction portions 130A and 130B (see arrow b), and the sucked air is The air discharged from the discharge units 131A and 131B (see arrow c) is sent to the compressor 104 and the cooling pipe 105 (see arrow d), and the air that has passed through the compressor 104 and the cooling pipe 105 is sent to the opening 128. (See arrow e) and exhausted from the opening 128 to the outside of the housing 100.

  Although not shown here, the casing 100 includes a partition wall forming a storage chamber of each part such as the compressor 104 and a cooling air flow path to prevent the cooling air from flowing into a space that does not require cooling. A partition wall for limiting the range is provided as appropriate. Thereby, the compressor 104 etc. can be cooled efficiently and locally.

  Here, the humidifying tube 124A is disposed upstream of the blowers 126A and 126B in the flow of the cooling air. For this reason, the air after being introduced into the housing 100 from the opening 128 and before being sucked in from the suction portions 130A and 130B is applied to the humidifying tube 124A. As a result, the moisture given to the high-concentration oxygen flowing in the humidification tube 124A is collected from the cooling air of the compressor 104 and the like, so there is no need to provide a separate air blowing means such as a fan in order to humidify the high-concentration oxygen.

  In this way, high concentration oxygen can be humidified by applying air to the humidifying tube 124A without using a separate air blowing means for blowing air toward the humidifying tube 124A, which increases the number of components and noise. And high-concentration oxygen can be humidified.

  Further, the humidifying tube 124A is applied not with the relatively high pressure air after being discharged from the discharge portions 131A and 131B but with the relatively low pressure air before being sucked in from the suction portions 130A and 130B. For this reason, the pressure applied to the humidifying tube 124A becomes light, and deterioration of the humidifying tube 124A can be reduced.

  When the humidifying tube 124A is disposed in the vicinity of the suction portions 130A and 130B or in the vicinity of the opening 127, the air flow is concentrated on the suction portions 130A and 130B and the opening 127 regardless of the arrangement of the partition walls. Therefore, the cooling air can be more efficiently applied to the humidifying tube 124A.

  In addition, since the filter 127 is provided in the opening 127 that introduces air from outside the housing 100 into the housing 100, air introduced from outside the housing 100 into the housing 100 through the opening 127. Airborne particles such as dust and dirt are removed from the air. Thereby, the cleaned air can be brought into contact with the humidification tube 124A, and high-concentration oxygen can be humidified hygienically.

  The embodiment of the present invention has been described above. The above description is an illustration of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the description of the configuration of the apparatus and the operation at the time of use is an example, and it is obvious that various modifications and additions to these examples are possible within the scope of the present invention.

The figure which shows schematically the structure of the oxygen concentrator which concerns on one embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Oxygen concentrator 100 Case 101 Air path case 102 Hepa filter 103 Intake tank 104 Compressor 105 Cooling pipe 108 Manifold 109A 1st switching valve 109B 2nd switching valve 110 1st sheave bed 111 2nd sheave bed 112 Product tank 113 Pressure equalizing valve 114 Purge orifice 115 Silencer 116 Pressure sensor 117 Regulator 118 Stop valve 119 Oxygen sensor 120 Bacterial filter 121 Flow restriction orifice 122 Pressure sensor 123 Flow sensor 124 Tube 124A Humidification tube 125 Oxygen outlet 126A, 126B Blower 127, 128 Opening 129 Filter 130A, 130B Suction part 131A, 131B Discharge part

Claims (4)

In an oxygen concentrator that supplies high concentration oxygen to the patient,
Compression means for compressing the raw material air of high concentration oxygen;
Generating means for generating high-concentration oxygen from compressed raw material air;
The flow path of the generated high-concentration oxygen is formed inside the humidifying tubes for humidifying the high concentration oxygen flowing through the inner,
And sending wind means,
A housing that houses the compression means, the generation means, the humidification tube, and the air blowing means;
An opening that is formed in the housing and introduces air outside the housing into the housing when air is blown by the air blowing means;
Have
The compression means is disposed downstream of the air blowing means in the flow of wind generated by the air blowing means,
The humidifying tube is disposed on the upstream side of the air blowing means in the flow of wind generated by the air blowing means, and on the path of the air flowing from the opening to the air blowing means,
Oxygen concentrator. Before SL humidifying tube is disposed in the vicinity of the opening, the oxygen concentrator according to claim 1, wherein. Before SL humidifying tube, the are arranged in the vicinity of the air inlet portion of the blower unit, the oxygen concentrator according to claim 1, wherein. Covering the front Symbol opening, further comprising a cleaning means for cleaning the air introduced from the opening, the oxygen concentrator according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

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