JPH0312901B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

<Field of Application> The present invention relates to a gas purifier having a specific structure and an oxygen-enriched gas supply device incorporating the gas purifier. More specifically, it is a device for supplying oxygen-enriched gas to the nasal cavity or mouth of a user such as a patient for medical or other purposes to improve or strengthen breathing,
An object of the present invention is to provide an oxygen-enriched gas device equipped with a gas purifier for purifying oxygen-enriched gas before it is supplied into the nasal cavity of a patient, and the gas purifier thereof. <Prior art> Oxygen therapy, which supplies oxygen from oxygen cylinders or liquid oxygen, has traditionally been used for people with respiratory disorders. With the development of oxygen therapy, the treatment has become increasingly popular. In these oxygen therapies, when gases such as oxygen or oxygen-enriched air are supplied to the patient's nasal cavity, the gas is usually supplied in a humidified state close to the saturated water vapor pressure in order to prevent the patient's nasal cavity from drying out. Efforts have been made to do so. That is, in the case of oxygen from an oxygen gas cylinder or liquid oxygen, the humidity is too low as it is, so it is supplied to the patient after being humidified, for example, by passing through a bubble type humidifier. In addition, adsorption-type oxygen enrichers and membrane-type oxygen enrichers are used to obtain oxygen-enriched air, but even in the case of adsorption-type oxygen enrichers, there is usually moisture in the oxygen-enriched air obtained. Enriched air is supplied to the patient, which is humidified using a humidifier because it contains very little. In the case of membrane type oxygen enrichers, water is usually concentrated through the membrane, so it is often not necessary to provide a humidifier. In this way, the humidifier circulates gas such as oxygen or oxygen-enriched air, whose humidity has been increased by a membrane, through a tube made of vinyl chloride, etc., into the nasal cavity or mouth of a patient located at a distant location. Kanyura,
The gas is supplied through a mask, etc., but as it passes through the tube, it is cooled and condenses, forming water droplets that reach the patient's nasal cavity, causing discomfort to the patient and causing bacteria to grow. There were hygienic issues such as easy cleaning. In addition, when the gas is passed through the tube as described above, or when it is passed through the oxygen enricher in front of it, for example, the plasticizer contained in the vinyl chloride that makes up the tube evaporates and evaporates, even if slightly. This has the disadvantage that it may be mixed into the gas, which may be perceived as a strange odor and cause discomfort to the patient. <Purpose of the Invention> The present invention aims to solve the above-mentioned problems. In particular, the water droplets contained in gases such as oxygen and oxygen-enriched air before they enter the patient's nasal cavity are the cause of unpleasant odors. It is an object of the present invention to provide an oxygen-enriched gas supply device that can remove substances and supply as normal a gas as possible to a patient, and a gas purifier that can be used therein. <Structure of the Invention> As a result of intensive research to achieve the above object, it has been found that a gas purifier that purifies oxygen-enriched gas as close to the user as possible when supplying the gas to the nasal cavity of a patient, etc. We have found that this is effective and have arrived at the present invention. means for generating oxygen-enriched gas; supply means for providing use of the oxygen-enriched gas located remote from the generation means; and conduit means for conducting the oxygen-enriched gas from the generation means to the supply means. an oxygen-enriched gas supply device comprising: a filter comprising a porous material having at least an upstream surface water-repellent and substantially impermeable to bacteria, near the downstream end of the conduit means; Provided is an oxygen-enriched gas supply device characterized by having a gas purification means in which an adsorbent is housed in the same container on the upstream side. The present invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to the drawings. In a preferred embodiment of the oxygen-enriched gas supply device according to the present invention, as schematically illustrated in FIG. Immediately before passing through the conduit means 5 and then through the gas purification means 7 containing an adsorbent 9 and a filter 11, impurities such as water droplets and odor sources contained in the enriched gas are removed. , after further passing through the conduit means,
The purified oxygen-enriched gas is supplied from the supply means 13 into the nasal cavity 15 of the user. The oxygen-enriched gas supply device of the present invention uses a supply means that makes the enriched gas available at a location away from an oxygen cylinder or the like that is the enriched gas generation means or an oxygen enricher housing the oxygen enrichment means. In particular, the oxygen enricher is characterized in that it has a gas purification means that houses a filter and an adsorbent between the conduit means from the oxygen cylinder or the like to the supply means. It is preferable that such a filter has the function of preventing water droplets generated by the oxygen-enriched gas generation means from passing through the conduit means, and for this purpose, a filter with a flat pore diameter of 0.8μ or less, more preferably
It is desirable to use a material with a diameter of 0.7μ or less. The filter may be of any type, including cellulose, glass fiber, polyester, etc., but it is preferable to use a filter that retains water repellency at least on its upstream surface in order to prevent the passage of water droplets. In order to maintain water repellency, hydrophobic materials such as fluorocarbon resins such as tetrafluoroethylene resin, silicone resins, and polyolefin resins can be used as the filter material. In particular, fluorocarbon resins are Excellent in water effect and moldability. Further, as a water-repellent filter, a filter made of a non-water-repellent material and subjected to water-repellent treatment on one or both sides can also be used. The water repellent used for the water repellent treatment may be of any kind; for example, a water repellent such as fluorine-based or silicone-based resin may be treated by impregnation, spraying, coating, or vapor deposition. filters can be used. The filter can also be used as a sterilization filter, for example, to prevent bacteria from entering from the downstream side of the conduit means and entering the upstream side of the filter and multiplying. The diameter of the system is preferably 0.5μ or less, more certainly 0.3μ or less. Although the filter may have any shape, it is preferable that the pressure loss as a whole is small when the oxygen-enriched gas passes through it. More specifically, for example, the flow rate of the oxygen-enriched gas is 6
/min, the pressure loss at the filter section is
It is desirable that it be 20 mmHg or less, more preferably 16 mmHg or less. Further, as the adsorbent used in the gas purifier of the present invention, for example, when a tube made of vinyl chloride is used as the conduit means 5, phthalate esters etc. that are mixed into the oxygen-enriched gas flowing inside the tube are used. Any material may be used as long as it can adsorb sources of off-odor and, in some cases, off-odor sources generated in the oxygen enricher. Specific examples include zeolites such as molecular sieve 5A, activated carbon,
Examples include florisil, among which activated carbon and zeolite are preferred. As the gas purification means provided in the conduit means 5 of the oxygen-enriched gas supply apparatus of the present invention, it is most preferable to use both a filter and an adsorbent as illustrated in FIG. It is also possible to house only either an adsorbent or a filter as the gas purification means. Furthermore, in the case of a gas purification means that uses both a filter and an adsorbent, each may be stored in separate containers, but for example, as shown in FIG.
It is preferable to have both the filter 11 and the adsorbent 9 housed inside because the whole can be made smaller and lighter. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 17 is a stopper made of a fiber aggregate or the like for sealing in the filled adsorbent. In addition, it is preferable to arrange the filter and adsorbent in series; using the filter on the downstream side can prevent bacteria from entering from the downstream side, and solid objects such as adsorbent fragments can be placed downstream. This is preferable because it does not leak into the water. However, if the odor is strong, it is desirable to use a filter disposed on the upstream side in order to prevent the adsorbent from being inactivated by water droplets and reducing its adsorption capacity. Also, if pressure loss can be reduced, it is better to place filters before and after the adsorbent. Furthermore, as for the position where the gas purification means is provided, it is easier to exert its effect on the downstream side of the conduit means 5. In particular, it is desirable to provide the gas purification means immediately before the oxygen-enriched gas supply means 13, but if it is too close, it will cause inconvenience to the person using the supply means. It is desirable to have one that can be hung over the user's shoulder or fixed to the chest, etc. Incidentally, the enrichment device may be one in which the internal conduit means is equipped with an adsorbent or a sterilization filter. Specific examples of the oxygen-enriched gas generation means in the oxygen-enriched gas supply device of the present invention include membrane-type oxygen-enriched gas devices, adsorption-type oxygen enrichers, etc. Examples include those using one of a container, an oxygen cylinder, and a means for obtaining oxygen gas from liquid oxygen, or a combination thereof. As described above, the term "oxygen-enriched gas" as used in the present invention means oxygen-enriched air or oxygen gas. In addition, a model oxygen enricher is a device that obtains oxygen-enriched air by passing air through an oxygen-selective permeable membrane.Normally, if water is concentrated along with oxygen, it is not necessary to further equip a humidifier. On the contrary, the concentrated water condenses into water droplets within the container, so it is desirable to provide water separation means. Since the oxygen-enriched air thus obtained contains moisture with a relative humidity of about 70% or more, it is cooled in the conduit means extended from the enricher and water droplets are likely to be generated again. , it is necessary to provide a gas purification means as described above. Adsorption type oxygen enrichers obtain oxygen-enriched air from the air by using adsorbents that have different adsorption capacities for oxygen and nitrogen, but at this time, water is also separated and the enriched air is It is necessary to add an additional humidifier when drying. Also, when obtaining oxygen gas from an oxygen cylinder or the like, it is usually preferable to use a humidifier. Any type of humidifier may be used as a humidifier, and a humidifier that fills water 4 and generates air bubbles 2 as shown in 3 in FIG. 1 is practical. The relative humidity in the oxygen-enriched gas coming out of the humidifier is preferably about 70% or higher, and the humidity can be controlled by adjusting the surface area of the air bubbles, and more specifically by controlling the water filling inside the humidifier. It is effective to control the number of bubbles that rise and burst by adjusting the cross-sectional area of the section. The oxygen-enriched gas having a humidity of about 70% or more, particularly 80% or more, obtained in this way is likely to be cooled and form water droplets in the conduit means extending downstream from the humidifier, as described above, and the conduit means It is necessary to provide the above-mentioned gas purification means inside the tank. Further, as the conduit means in the oxygen-enriched gas supply device of the present invention, a tube made of soft plastic material is preferable, such as soft vinyl chloride,
silicone rubber, polyolefin, polystyrene,
Examples include those made of Teflon and the like. Among these, those made of materials that generate less off-odor are preferred, examples of which include polyolefins and polystyrene. Even when a tube made of such a material is used, if the gas purification means of the present invention is not used, the patient using the tube may be concerned about an unpleasant odor. Further, the supply means for supplying oxygen-enriched gas in the device of the present invention may be of any type, and specific examples thereof include a nasal cannula type in which the tip of a thin tube is inserted into the nasal cavity and a mask type. can give. The lower limit of the flow rate of oxygen-enriched gas supplied from such a supply means is 0.1 when an oxygen enricher is used as the generation means.
/min, more preferably 0.5/min, especially 1/min, and the upper limit is 10/min.
min, more preferably 8/min, particularly 6/min. The specific structure of a membrane type oxygen enricher, which is one of the preferred embodiments of the oxygen enricher of the present invention, will be illustrated below.
That is, the enricher includes a fan means for taking in atmospheric air, a module consisting of a number of membrane cells configured such that the atmospheric air passes through the surface of a gas selectively permeable membrane and oxygen-enriched air permeates therethrough, and the membrane. a vacuum pump means for maintaining the back side of the membrane in the cell at a pressure lower than the atmosphere and taking out oxygen-enriched air from the module; and an enricher for flowing the taken-out oxygen-enriched air to the outlet of the enricher. Examples include those equipped with an inner conduit means. Further, as a specific example of the adsorption type oxygen enricher which is one of the other preferred embodiments of the present invention, two adsorbent beds filled with an adsorbent that selectively adsorbs nitrogen gas are added to the adsorbent bed. comprising compressor means for inflowing pressurized atmospheric air and internal enrichment conduit means for extracting oxygen-enriched air from the adsorbent bed and passing it to an outlet, the two adsorbent beds Examples include enrichers that are operated to alternately repeat pressurization-depressurization-regeneration cycles. In any of the enrichers, it is desirable that the conduit means for flowing the oxygen-enriched air to the outlet of the enricher include means for adjusting the flow rate of the supplied oxygen-enriched air. Next, the present invention will be explained in more detail with reference to Examples. Example 1 Humidified oxygen-enriched air at 2/min was taken out using an adsorption type oxygen enricher (Teijin Hi-Sanso) with a humidifier (inner diameter of the water filling part: 55 mmφ), and the air was collected as shown in Table 1. The air was passed through a Teflon filter having the average pore diameter shown in Table 1, and the humidity and presence of water droplets after passing through the air were examined. The results are shown in Table 1.

[Table] <Effects of the Invention> The present invention provides an oxygen-enriched gas supply device equipped with a simple and lightweight gas purifier capable of removing water droplets and a foreign odor from a gas containing water droplets and a foreign odor. be. In particular, the oxygen-enriched air supplied therefrom is clean, free of water droplets and foreign odors, and has the excellent advantage of causing no discomfort to those using it.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates an embodiment of an oxygen-enriched gas supply apparatus according to the present invention. Second
The figure is a sectional view illustrating an embodiment of the gas purifier according to the present invention.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A means for generating an oxygen-enriched gas, a supply means for supplying the oxygen-enriched gas located at a distance from the generation means, and a means for supplying the oxygen-enriched gas from the generation means to the supply means. an oxygen-enriched gas supply apparatus having conduit means for conducting oxygenated gas, the conduit means having at least an upstream surface near its downstream end water-repellent and substantially impermeable to bacteria; 1. An oxygen-enriched gas supply device comprising a filter made of a porous material and gas purification means in which an adsorbent is housed in the same container on the upstream side of the filter. 2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the filter has an average pore diameter of 0.8μ or less. 3. The device according to claim 1, wherein the means for generating the oxygen-enriched gas is a membrane-type oxygen enricher. 4. The device according to claim 1, wherein the means for generating the oxygen-enriched gas uses an adsorption type oxygen enricher or an oxygen cylinder, and is equipped with a humidifier.