JPH11137692A - Oxygen enriched gas supplier for medical treatment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the generation of bedewing inside a piping means, with which oxygen enriched is led out, and a cannula following a humidifier by opening one part of the front part and upper part of a humidifier housing part, with which the humidifier is attached to the humidifier attaching part of an oxygen enriched supplier, in a room atmosphere. SOLUTION: Most of heat from a compressed air supplying means is discharged outside the oxygen enriched supplier by a fan for cooling the compressed air supplying means but when the oxygen enriched gas supplier is operated for a long time, a temperature inside a casing housing the supplier is elevated for 10 to 15 deg.C and transmitted to the wall surface of a humidifier housing part 1. One part of the front part of the humidifier housing part 1 and its upper part along with side walls is opened in external air and since intervals are provided on both sides with a protecting cover 2 of the humidifier housing part 1, surrounding warmed air is made into upward air current by the heat transmitted from the inside of the casing 20 to the wall surface of the humidifier housing part 1, moved up through the gap and quickly radiated in the room atmosphere. Then, the temperature of the humidifier gets almost equal with the room atmospheric temperature so that bedewing hardly occurs.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an oxygen-enriched gas supply device, and more particularly to a PSA (pressure fluctuation adsorption) type medical oxygen-enriched gas supply device used for home care of patients with respiratory failure.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Since a PSA-type oxygen-enriched gas supply device used for home medical treatment can obtain very dry oxygen-enriched gas, the nasal mucosa dries when the patient inhales and breathes the oxygen-enriched gas directly. Give pain. For this reason, in many cases, a humidifier that humidifies the oxygen-enriched gas by passing it through a container filled with water is attached to the outlet of the oxygen-enriched gas supply device.

When this humidifier is used, for example, a bubble humidifier, the dried oxygen-enriched gas forms bubbles from the fine bubble generating portion to obtain an appropriate humidity. As means for reducing the noise generated from the bubbles, for example, a structure in which a door is provided in the humidifier accommodating section and the humidifier accommodating section and the indoor atmosphere are shut off and sealed so that the noise does not leak into the indoor atmosphere. Some are marked.

In this case, when the oxygen-enriched gas supply device containing the humidifier is operated for a relatively long period of time, the temperature inside the device housing is increased by the heat generated from the components inside the device, particularly the compressed air supply means. The temperature of the humidifier or the humidifier accommodating section tends to be higher than the indoor ambient temperature due to the temperature rise due to the heat transfer from the wall surface of the space accommodating the humidifier or the heat of the oxygen-enriched gas extracted as a product. is there.

[0005] In particular, when a temperature difference of several degrees occurs between the temperature of the humidifier and the humidifier accommodating section and the indoor atmosphere temperature, the oxygen-enriched gas humidified by the humidifier leads to the oxygen-enriched gas after the humidifier. During the passage through the piping means or the cannula, it is cooled down to the room ambient temperature, and dew condensation occurs inside the piping means or the cannula. If the accumulated water enters the nasal cavity of the patient, it gives a great deal of discomfort. Sometimes.

[0006] In addition, there is a system in which a humidifier is set outside the housing of the oxygen concentrator. In this example, a humidifier mounting portion is of a bag nut type, and a medical oxygen-concentrated gas supply device is used. Patients who are older are older, have poor eyes and clumsy hands, and have difficulty setting a humidifier in a medical oxygen-enriched gas supply. Further, the humidifier mounting portion is exposed, and garbage and the like accumulate there, which is not sanitary.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to alleviate such a conventional problem. That is, the present invention reduces the temperature difference between the humidifier and the indoor atmosphere, facilitates the desorption of the humidifier, and reduces the occurrence of dew condensation inside the piping means and the cannula that leads the oxygen-enriched gas after the humidification means. It is an object of the present invention to provide a medical oxygen-enriched gas supply device that can be used.

[0008]

Means for Solving the Problems As a result of diligent research for achieving the object, it has been found that the humidifier accommodating portion is opened to the indoor atmosphere to eliminate the temperature difference between the indoor atmosphere and the humidifier. The inventors have found that this is an effective means, and have reached the present invention.

That is, the present invention provides a means for generating an oxygen-enriched gas having a higher oxygen concentration and a lower humidity than air.
In an oxygen-enriched gas supply device provided with a humidifier for humidifying the oxygen-enriched gas and supply means for using the humidified oxygen-enriched gas, the humidifier is attached to a humidifier mounting portion of the oxygen-enriched gas supply device. The front and part of the upper part of the humidifier accommodating part for attachment are configured to be open to the indoor atmosphere.

In addition, since the humidifier mounting portion has a protective cover, foreign matters in the indoor atmosphere, particularly when used for a long period of time, prevent dust from entering and keep the humidifier mounting portion clean at all times. Can be done. In addition, care is taken not to injure the user by carelessly putting his or her hand into the humidifier mounting part and its constituent parts.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the medical oxygen-enriched gas supply apparatus of the present invention will be described below. Generally, a PSA-type oxygen-enriched gas supply device used for oxygen inhalation therapy includes:
Compressed air supply means is provided. Most of the heat generated from the compressed air supply means is released to the outside of the oxygen-enriched gas supply device by a fan for cooling the compressed air supply means. In this case, the temperature inside the housing for housing these rises by 10 to 15 ° C., which is transmitted to the wall surface of the humidifier housing unit 1 in FIG.

The front part of the humidifier accommodating portion 1 shown in FIG. 1 and a part of the upper portion along the side wall are open to the outside air, and a space between the side wall of the humidifier accommodating portion and the protective cover 2 on the humidifier upper portion. Since the gap is provided on both sides, the heat transmitted from the inside of the housing from the humidifier accommodating wall causes the warmed air around the humidifier to rise as an updraft through the gap on both sides, thereby creating an indoor atmosphere. The heat is quickly radiated, and the humidifier becomes almost equal to the temperature of the indoor atmosphere, and is less likely to dew.

Further, inside the protective cover 2 of the humidifier accommodating section 1 of the medical oxygen-concentrated gas supply device, there is provided a connection between the humidifier and the means for generating the oxygen-concentrated gas and a connection with the supply means. There are two plugs, and the guide 3 contains components that can be uniquely aligned with the connection port on the humidifier lid 5.

More specifically, the shape of the humidifier and the shape of the guide 3 are related to each other, so that the axial position and the rotational position of the joint of the humidifier are uniquely determined.
That is, when the humidifier is inserted into the protective cover 2 of the humidifier accommodating portion 1 of the oxygen-enriched gas supply device as far as the humidifier lid 5 is inserted into the guide claw 4 of the positioning guide 3 of the accommodating portion, the guide is inserted. The cross-section of the humidifier lid 5 (a shape that can be positioned by a guide, so other shapes are possible) fits into the humidifier lid 3, and the positions of the oxygen introduction holes 6 and the extraction holes 7 provided on the upper part of the humidifier lid 5 are determined. Joining support 8 in the depth direction of guide 3
The guide 3 is configured such that the axial positions of the introduction plug 9 and the removal plug 10 set in the guide 3 coincide with each other. The introduction plug 9 and the extraction plug 10 are connected to oxygen generating means and oxygen supplying means by plastic flexible hoses 11 and 12, respectively.

A spring 13 is provided on the joining support 8 and the humidifier is set.
The insertion plug 9 and the insertion hole 6 and the extraction plug 10 and the extraction hole 7 are fitted to each other, and are hermetically joined by the seal packings 14 and 15 attached to the introduction plug 9 and the extraction plug 10, respectively.

When the humidifier is inserted to the point where the joining is sufficiently performed, the connecting and holding mechanism attached to the joining support 8, that is, the bent portion of the leaf spring 16 is hooked on the humidifier lid 5, and the humidifier lid 5 is connected. Can be held in a joined state.

As a result, the oxygen-enriched gas generated in the oxygen generator is sent from the introduction plug 9 to the introduction hole 6 through the flexible hose 11. Since the introduction plug 9 and the introduction hole 6 are air-tightly joined by the seal packing 14, the oxygen-enriched gas passes through the oxygen introduction pipe 17, passes through the fine bubble generation section 18 and enters the humidifier without leaking oxygen gas. The water 19 comes up to the upper space as bubbles. During this time, the oxygen-enriched gas is humidified to about 60 to 90%.

The humidified oxygen-enriched gas is sent to the oxygen-enriched gas supply device through the extraction hole 7 through the extraction plug 10 and the flexible hose 12, and is sent to the patient's nostril through the cannula hose. Will be.

When the humidifier is to be removed, the leaf spring 16 of the coupling and holding mechanism is pushed upward, so that the bent portion of the leaf spring 16 and the humidifier lid 5 are disengaged and inserted forward by the force of the spring 13. The connection is released.

It should be noted that even if a plug is attached to the humidifier and a hole is provided on the joint support base side, there is essentially no change. Also,
In this embodiment, the moving force for the connection is manually (manually).
However, it may be performed using the power of a motor or the like.

The oxygen-enriched gas supply device of the present invention includes the above-described humidifier in addition to the oxygen-enriched gas generating means and the supply means using the oxygen-enriched gas. The means for generating the oxygen-enriched gas refers to a means for generating an oxygen-enriched gas having a higher oxygen concentration than air or a gas mainly composed of oxygen. A specific example thereof is a PSA type oxygen-enriched gas supply device.

The PSA-type oxygen-enriched gas supply apparatus obtains oxygen-enriched air from the air using an adsorbent having a difference in adsorption capacity between oxygen and nitrogen. At this time, water is also separated and the oxygen-enriched air is separated. Since the oxygen-enriched air is dried, it is necessary to add a humidifier.

The PSA which is one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention
In the oxygen-concentrated gas supply device of the type, the humidifier is inserted into the outflow conduit of the oxygen-condensed gas obtained as described above along a guide to determine the position, and then to perform the coupling and holding. The detachment is to release the connection only by operating an opening knob, a so-called leaf spring. Therefore, the operability can be further improved by facilitating attachment and detachment of the humidifier.

Further, any type of supply means for using the oxygen-enriched gas in the apparatus of the present invention may be used, 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. Things. That is, the supply means referred to in the present invention means a conduit means communicating with the outlet of the humidifier.

[0025]

According to the present invention, the following excellent operational effects can be obtained. In the medical oxygen-concentrated gas supply device, the temperature difference between the humidifier and the indoor atmosphere is almost equal, the dew condensation is difficult, and the humidifier can be easily attached and detached. In the case of the supply device, there is an excellent operation effect with a small burden on the user.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an oxygen-enriched gas supply device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows a front view of a humidifier housing.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a connecting means for connecting to a so-called humidifier inside the protective cover according to the present invention and a component mechanism constituting the connecting means.

[Description of Signs] 1 Humidifier storage section 2 Protective cover 3 Guide 4 Guide claw 5 Humidifier lid 6 Inlet hole 7 Extraction hole 8 Joining support base 9 Introducing plug 10 Extracting plug 11 Flexible hose 12 Flexible hose 13 Spring 14 Seal packing 15 Seal packing 16 Leaf spring 17 Oxygen introduction pipe 18 Fine air bubble generator 19 Water 20 Housing 21 Housing cover 22 Front panel frame 23 Operation panel 24 Inlet

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A positionable guide for connecting a humidifier accommodating portion and a humidifier is provided, and the humidifier is inserted along the guide in a horizontal direction to easily align the position of the humidifier with the coupling means. Can easily install the humidifier,
By operating the release knob, the humidifier can be easily removed by the force of the spring, and the oxygen-enriched gas supply device and the humidifier are housed in a humidifier to enhance the effect of preventing heat transfer. A medical oxygen-concentrated gas supply device, characterized in that the front part of the part and a part of the upper part along the side wall are open to the indoor atmosphere. 2. The medical oxygen-enriched gas supply device according to claim 1, further comprising a protective cover at a humidifier attachment portion for connecting and fixing the gas supply device and the humidifier to a pipe.