JPH06104123B2 - Oxygen-enriched gas supply device - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a device for supplying a so-called oxygen-enriched gas having an oxygen concentration higher than that of air. More specifically, the present invention relates to an oxygen-enriched gas supply device including a humidifying means for humidifying the oxygen-enriched gas. In particular, the present invention provides an excellent oxygen-enriched gas supply device that is improved in connection with the humidifying means and is easy to use.

<Prior Art> Conventionally, oxygen therapy has been performed for patients with respiratory diseases by providing oxygen from an oxygen cylinder, and recently, oxygen therapy using oxygen-enriched air obtained by concentrating oxygen in the air. Is being developed, the treatment method is becoming more popular.

In these oxygen therapies, when a gas such as oxygen or oxygen-enriched air is supplied to the patient's nasal cavity, the gas is usually supplied to a saturated vapor pressure to prevent dryness in the patient's nasal cavity. It has been devised to do so. That is, in the case of oxygen from the oxygen cylinder, since the humidity is too low as it is, it is supplied to the patient after being humidified by passing it through, for example, a bubble type humidifier. In order to obtain an oxygen-enriched gas, an adsorption-type oxygen enricher or a model oxygen-enricher is used, but even in the case of this adsorption-type oxygen-enricher, the oxygen-enriched gas usually obtained contains almost no water. The enriched gas, which is humidified using a humidifier because it is not included, is supplied to the patient.

However, such a humidifier is directly connected to a conduit means for discharging the oxygen-enriched gas obtained by the cylinder or the adsorption-type oxygen enricher and a conduit means for a supply means for using the oxygen-enriched gas after humidification. Therefore, it is difficult to remove and further attach the humidifier when pouring water into the humidifier, for example. Especially, the adsorption-type oxygen-enriched gas supply device for medical use is used continuously for a long period of time regardless of night and day. For example, the humidifier is detached or attached once or more times a day every day. This is a great burden for patients with weak physical strength, and improvement thereof has been strongly desired.

<Purpose of the Invention> The present invention aims to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems. That is, an object of the present invention is to provide an oxygen-enriched gas supply device in which attachment and detachment of a humidifier are extremely easy.

<Structure of Invention> As a result of earnest research to achieve the above object,
The inventors have found that it is effective to connect the humidifier by a special connector means, and have arrived at the present invention.

That is, the present invention uses the oxygen-enriched gas generating means having a higher oxygen concentration and lower humidity than air, the humidifying means for humidifying the oxygen-enriched gas, and the humidified oxygen-enriched gas. In an oxygen-enriched gas supply device with a supply means for providing, the humidification means is connected to the conduit means from the generating means and / or the conduit means to the supply means by a one-touch, snap-fit connector means, and Covering means is provided outside the humidifying means, the inset-type connector means is arranged such that its axial direction is substantially vertical, and the humidifying means is connected to the oxygen-enriched gas through the inset-type connector means. Suspended on a component of the supply device, the telescoping connector means comprises an outer tubular telescoping member and an inner tubular telescoping member,
The inner tubular fitting member is fitted into the outer tubular fitting member so that a seal fit can be obtained, and the inner tubular fitting member is provided on the inner tubular fit member to fix the seal fitted state. The present invention provides an oxygen-enriched gas supply device characterized in that the outer tubular fitting member is provided with a fixing means which can be releasably pushed into the outer peripheral groove.

Further, the present invention uses an oxygen-enriched gas generating means having a higher oxygen concentration and lower humidity than air, a humidifying means for humidifying the oxygen-enriched gas, and the humidified oxygen-enriched gas. In an oxygen-enriched gas supply device having a supply means for supplying, one-touch type fitting-type connector means in which the inlet side conduit means and the outlet side conduit means forming the double pipe structure of the humidifying means substantially form a double pipe structure Via a double tube structure to the conduit means from the generating means and the conduit means to the supply means, the plug-in connector means includes an outer tube-shaped fitting member on the outer tube side and an inner tube. -Shaped fitting member, an outer tubular fitting member on the inner pipe side, and an inner tubular fitting member, wherein the inner tubular fitting member on the outer pipe side is an outer tubular fitting member on the outer pipe side The inner tube-shaped fitting member on the inner tube side can be fitted into the outer tube-shaped fitting member on the inner tube side to be seal-fitted. In order to fix the fixed state, the outer tube-side outer tube-shaped fitting member is provided with fixing means that can be releasably pushed into an outer peripheral groove provided in the outer tube-side inner tubular-shaped fitting member. And an oxygen-enriched gas supply device.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a state in which the humidifying means is connected by a one-touch type fitting type connector means in the oxygen-enriched gas supply apparatus which is a preferred embodiment of the present invention. That is, the one-touch type fitting means comprises a tubular fitting member consisting of an inner tubular fitting member 1 and an outer tubular fitting member 2, the inner fitting member 1 having outer peripheral grooves 3, 4 and the outer fitting member. One of the outer peripheral grooves 4 is fitted into the opening of the member 2 and is sealingly fitted together with the sealing packing member 5 set in the outer peripheral groove 3, and the outer side of the outer peripheral groove 4 can be fixed so that the fitting member 2 is fitted and sealed. The fixing member 6 is provided so as to project in the portion.
The connector means is capable of releasing the fixing by pushing the pushing means 7 so that the fixing member 6 does not project into the outer peripheral groove 4, that is, the inner fitting member 1 and the outer fitting member 2 can be separated from each other. .

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the humidifying means is filled with a lid means 13 having an oxygen-enriched gas inlet 11 to be humidified and a humidified oxygen-enriched gas outlet 12 and water or an aqueous solution 14. The receiver means 15 and the tube means 17 having an opening 16 having a large number of pores or the like at the tip and connected to the inflow port 11 of the oxygen-enriched gas are provided. The modified gas is humidified by passing the filling liquid 14 as bubbles 18. As a preferable form of the humidifying means, there is a case where a core means (not shown) is provided for limiting the region where the bubbles of gas rising from the opening 16 rise to a part of the receiving means 15. can give. The core means preferably surrounds the opening 16 and the liquid filling area above the opening 16 and has an opening at the bottom and communicates with the outer liquid filling area. Further, the core means configured to partition the upper space of the humidifier in a communicating state is easier to fix at a predetermined position in the humidifier.

In the oxygen-enriched gas supply device of the present invention, the gas inlet 11 of the humidifying means is connected to the outer fitting member 2 of the fitting type connector means by conduit means, and the inner fitting member 1 is also provided.
Is connected to a conduit means 21 for leading out an oxygen-enriched gas obtained from the oxygen-enriched gas generating means, and the conduit means 21 is provided with an oxygen-enriched gas supply device such that the axis of the fitting type connector means is substantially vertical. Is fixed to the upper wall member 22 of the humidifying means accommodating portion that constitutes a part of the above. The fitting type connector may be used with the inner fitting member on the lower side.

In this way, the wall member 22 can be attached via the one-touch type fitting type connector which is easily attached and detached with the humidifying means.
It is advantageous to mount the moisturizing means in a proper state without applying excessive force in the lateral direction to the mating connector with a simple structure. The outlet 12 for the humidified oxygen-enriched gas
Is connected via conduit means 23 to conduit means 24 to a supply means fixed to the wall means. It is preferable to use a flexible tube made of plastic as the conduit means 23, and in some cases, a fitting connector may be used in the middle part. The material of the fitting type connector and the conduit means before and after it is not particularly limited, but a plastic material is preferable in consideration of weight reduction, corrosion resistance, price and the like.

FIG. 2 shows an oxygen-enriched gas supply device according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, wherein the humidifying means is coaxial and is connected by a double-tube type one-touch type insert-type connector means. It is the thing which showed typically the sectional view of the portion of a connector means.

That is, the connector means of FIG. 2 is, for example, an inner tube side fitting member for gas introduction, that is, an inner tube-like fitting member for introducing gas, which is connected to a conduit means from an oxygen-enriched gas generating means such as an adsorption oxygen enricher
31 and the gas-introducing outer tubular fitting member 32 connected to the gas inflow conduit means of the humidifying means meet the sealing packing member 33 in a seal-fit state, and further enriches oxygen humidified by the humidifying means. Outer tube side or outer tube fitting for gas derivation 35 connected to the gas outlet conduit means and inner tube for gas derivation connected to the conduit means to the supply means for using the humidified oxygen-enriched gas. The member 34 is in sealing engagement with the sealing packing member 36. The connector means has a fixing member positioned so as to protrude in a part of the outer peripheral groove 37 of the tubular fitting member 34 so that these double pipes can be fixed while being fitted and sealed.
38 are provided. By pushing in the pushing means 40 provided with the spring means 39, the fixing member 38 is prevented from protruding into the outer peripheral groove 37 to release the fixing,
The inner fitting members 31 and 34 and the outer fitting members 32 and 35 can be separated from each other.

Further, the sealing packing member used in these fitting type connector means in the oxygen-enriched gas supply device of the present invention is not particularly limited, but for easier attachment and detachment, for example, a U-shape or a Y-shape. A soft rubber packing member in the shape of a ring is preferred.

As described above, the double-tube type inset-type connector as shown in FIG. 2 allows the humidifying means to be attached / detached with one touch, and is a particularly excellent mode in terms of operability. As another preferable example of the embodiment, there is also one in which two fitting type connector means are integrated in parallel and one of which is provided with a fixing member.

The oxygen-enriched gas supply device of the present invention includes the humidifier as described above, in addition to the oxygen-enriched gas generating means and the supply means for using the oxygen-enriched gas. The oxygen-enriched gas generating means is oxygen-enriched air having an oxygen concentration higher than that of air or a gas mainly composed of oxygen, and the relative humidity at room temperature is, for example, about 50% or less or about 30% or less. Means for generating oxygen-enriched gas with low humidity. Specific examples thereof include those using one of an oxygen enricher for obtaining oxygen-enriched air from the air such as an adsorption-type oxygen enricher, an oxygen cylinder, and a means for obtaining oxygen gas from liquid oxygen, or the like. A combination can be given. As described above, the oxygen-enriched gas referred to in the present invention means oxygen-enriched air, oxygen gas, or the like.

The adsorption-type oxygen enricher obtains oxygen-enriched air from the air by using an adsorbent having a difference in adsorption ability between oxygen and nitrogen. At this time, water is also separated and the enriched air is removed. It is necessary to add an additional humidifier if it is dried. When obtaining oxygen gas from an oxygen cylinder or liquid oxygen,
Usually, it is necessary to provide a humidification method.

As a specific example of the adsorption-type oxygen enricher which is one of the preferable embodiments of the present invention, one or more adsorbent beds filled with an adsorbent that selectively adsorbs nitrogen gas are pressurized in the adsorbent bed. Compressor means for admitting the above-mentioned atmosphere, and conduit means inside the enricher for taking out oxygen-enriched air from the adsorbent bed and circulating it to the outlet (that is, the conduit means 2 illustrated in FIG. 1).
A pressure-fluctuating adsorption-type oxygen enricher in which one or more adsorption beds are operated independently or alternately so as to repeat a pressurization-depressurization cycle is provided. It should be noted that any of the oxygen-enriched gas generating means preferably has a means for adjusting the flow rate of the oxygen-enriched air to be used.

Further, the device of the present invention is an oxygen-enriched gas generating means, in particular, an oxygen-enriched device, wherein the humidifier is attached to the outflow conduit of the oxygen-enriched gas obtained as described above by a one-touch type fitting type connector. The operability of driving can be further improved by facilitating the attachment and detachment of. In this case, it is preferable to provide a cover on the outside of the humidifier and the plug-in connector because it can prevent unnecessary force from being applied to the humidifier from the outside. In addition, more reliable operation can be achieved by providing a means for detecting the pressure inside the humidifier and for issuing an alarm when the fitting type connector is not properly connected. Become.

Further, in the device of the present invention, the supply means for using the oxygen-enriched gas may be of any type, and specific examples thereof include a nasal cannula type and a mask type in which the tip of a thin tube is inserted into the nasal cavity. can give. Depending on the case, the gas outlet of the humidifier may be provided with only a tube or with a joint to which a nasal cannula or the like is further attached. That is, the supply means referred to in the present invention means a conduit means or the like attached to the gas outlet of the humidifier. The apparatus of the present invention also includes conduit means between the oxygen-enriched gas generating means and the humidifier, and in some cases, by extending the conduit means, the humidifier is located in the immediate vicinity of the user. However, the formation of water droplets there may be further prevented by shortening the conduit means downstream of the humidifier.

<Effect of the Invention> In the oxygen-enriched gas supply device of the present invention, attachment and removal of the humidifying means are very simple, and particularly in the case of a medical adsorption-type oxygen-enriched gas supply device, the burden on the user is small. There are advantages. Further, when the device is installed in a form in which the fitting type connector is set in the vertical direction and the humidifying means is suspended, an unreasonable force due to the weight of the humidifying means is unlikely to be applied to the connector, and the connector itself is utilized by utilizing its own weight. It is also very easy to remove.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 relates to a preferred embodiment of the oxygen-enriched gas supply device of the present invention, and is a sectional view of each member showing a portion where the humidifying means is connected using a fitting type connector. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of another preferred mating type connector in the device of the present invention.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-53-114296 (JP, A) Actual development: S60-6533 (JP, U) Actual publication: S37-13100 (JP, Y1)

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A method for generating an oxygen-enriched gas having an oxygen concentration higher than that of air and a humidity lower than that of air, a humidifying means for humidifying the oxygen-enriched gas, and the use of the humidified oxygen-enriched gas. In an oxygen-enriched gas supply device with a supply means for providing, the humidification means is connected to the conduit means from the generating means and / or the conduit means to the supply means by a one-touch, snap-fit connector means, and Covering means is provided outside the humidifying means, the inset-type connector means is arranged such that its axial direction is substantially vertical, and the humidifying means is connected to the oxygen-enriched gas through the inset-type connector means. Suspended on a component of the supply device, the telescoping connector means comprises an outer tubular telescoping member and an inner tubular telescoping member,
The inner tubular fitting member is fitted into the outer tubular fitting member so that a seal fit can be obtained, and the inner tubular fitting member is provided on the inner tubular fit member to fix the seal fitted state. An oxygen-enriched gas supply device characterized in that the outer tubular fitting member is provided with fixing means that can be releasably pushed into the outer peripheral groove. 2. A means for generating an oxygen-enriched gas having an oxygen concentration higher than that of air and a humidity lower than that of air, a humidifying means for humidifying the oxygen-enriched gas, and the use of the humidified oxygen-enriched gas. In an oxygen-enriched gas supply device having a supply means for supplying, one-touch type fitting-type connector means in which the inlet side conduit means and the outlet side conduit means forming the double pipe structure of the humidifying means substantially form a double pipe structure Via a double tube structure to the conduit means from the generating means and the conduit means to the supply means, the plug-in connector means includes an outer tube-shaped fitting member on the outer tube side and an inner tube. An inner tubular fitting member, an outer tubular fitting member on the inner pipe side, and an inner tubular fitting member, and the inner tubular fitting member on the outer pipe side serves as an outer tubular fitting member on the outer pipe side. The inner tube-shaped fitting member on the inner tube side can be fitted into the outer tube-shaped fitting member on the inner tube side to be seal-fitted. The outer tube side outer tube-shaped fitting member is provided with fixing means that can be releasably pushed into an outer peripheral groove provided in the inner tube-shaped fitting member on the outer tube side for fixing the combined state. An oxygen-enriched gas supply device, which is characterized by being an air conditioner.