JPS6214856Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to incubators, and more particularly to neonatal incubators configured to reduce radiant heat loss.

A neonatal incubator is a type of medical unit that provides a controlled environment for premature infants or newborn infants who are weak or sickly and who are at risk of becoming a source of infectious diseases or who are trying to overcome difficulties. It is used to isolate newborns from outside air that may be inappropriate for newborn care.

Among the most important conditions to be controlled within an incubator is air temperature. Thus, one characteristic of premature infants is their relative inability to maintain a stable body temperature, regardless of the temperature of their surroundings. Unlike more mature newborns and adults, premature infants are more susceptible to heat loss and to the effects of their surrounding temperature.

Premature infants lack this self-regulating temperature control mechanism, and it is important that incubators have accurate temperature control. With proper air temperature regulation, the newborn in the incubator will have an appropriate body temperature.

However, newborn infants lose heat through convection, evaporation, conduction, and radiation, and radiant heat loss, especially in small premature infants, can account for up to 40% of total heat loss.

Evaporative heat loss can be reduced by increasing the relative humidity within the incubator and reducing the velocity of air circulated through the incubator. Convective heat loss can be reduced by increasing the air temperature within the incubator and reducing the velocity of the air circulating within the incubator. Conductive heat loss is minimal and very small compared to others.

Also, radiant heat losses can be reduced by increasing the temperature of the incubator walls.

However, maintaining the temperature of the incubator walls at the level necessary to reduce radiant heat loss is difficult. This is because the walls of the incubator are colder than the air inside the incubator, and the average temperature of the walls of the incubator is approximately halfway between that of the air inside the incubator and that of the room in which the incubator is placed. be.

Various methods have been proposed in the past to solve the problem of radiant heat loss. One of them is
A board or shield was placed over the newborn and used to reduce radiant heat loss.

Arch.Dis.Childh. magazine published in 1967 (Showa 42)
E.N. Hay and L.E. Mount's editorial titled “Heat Loss from Newborns in Incubators” published in Volume 42, Page 75 and published on July 23, 1966. The Lancet magazine,
An editorial by the same author entitled "Temperature Control in Incubators" published on page 202 comments on the above-mentioned arrangement.

Pitzkerling, U.S. Pat. No. 4,121,571, describes an incubator with a flexible tubular membrane for the purpose of forming an internal enclosure for the newborn and maintaining a stable environment for the newborn. .

Although shields, shields, and the like are effective in reducing radiant heat loss, they have drawbacks that make handling and treatment of neonates in incubators difficult.

Other methods for solving the problem of radiant heat loss include the use of double walls in the incubator hood.

Typically, there are incubators in which the two walls are completely or partially sealed, such that the environment between the walls is different from the environment surrounding the newborn baby.

E.N. Hay and N.P. Mauris, “Humidity Effects on Heat Generation and Loss in Newborns,” published in Arch.Dis.Childh., Volume 43, Page 166, published in 1968 K. Adamson's, G. M. Guillenday, and L. S. James's editorial entitled "Influence" and published in the Journal of Pediatrics, March 1965, page 495. The article entitled "The Effect of Heat Coefficients on Neonatal Oxygen Consumption" describes a double-walled incubator system in which water with a controlled temperature is pumped through the space between the two walls. ing.

November 6th to 10th, 1967 (Showa 51), 29th
The paper titled “Portable Incubator with Some New Features” submitted by N.D. Julier at ACEMB describes a double-walled incubator in which the space between the two walls is filled with carbon dioxide gas and sealed. It is related to vessels.

In 1977 (Showa 52), a paper entitled "A New Incubator - The Cradle of Life" published on page 23 of the NRC, S/D, Electrical Engineering Division, proposed that the space between two walls was sealed. Another double-walled incubator is concerned.

US Pat. No. 3,158,150 to Clausdale describes a double-walled construction in which the space between the two walls is sealed except to a limited extent.

The heated air supplied to the main chamber is humidified to create the necessary atmosphere for the newborn, but the air passed between the two walls is not.

Of the various incubators that have been proposed in the past, none have achieved commercial success.

These lost sales are due to a combination of multiple factors.

It is difficult and expensive to seal the space between two walls and maintain it sealed.

Insufficient sealing will lead to performance deterioration and air leakage
Condensation can become a problem if trapped between two sheets of plastic.

It must be noted that incubator temperature is only one of the environmental factors that must be controlled with respect to the incubator.

Humidity and oxygen content are the other two. Therefore, the effectiveness of an incubator must be judged by determining the incubator's ability to create an overall controlled environment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved incubator.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an incubator in which radiation heat loss is significantly reduced.

Yet another object of the present invention is to significantly and effectively reduce radiant heat losses without condensation of water vapor or loss of control over other environmental factors controlled by the incubator. The goal is to provide incubators.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide an incubator in which the means for reducing radiant heat losses are simple in construction and add little to the cost and maintenance of the incubator.

In order to achieve the above object, an incubator constructed according to the present invention includes a base having a newborn support, and a newborn baby mounted on the base and resting on the support. It is equipped with a transparent plastic hood.

The hood has an outer wall and a removable inner wall spaced from the outer wall in dual relationship over a substantial portion of the outer wall; A space through which the conditioned air flows is formed between the walls, and the inner wall,
A baffle is provided either between the walls or near an end between the walls to control the flow of the conditioned air.

The incubator according to the invention further comprises a source of conditioned air and means for supplying and circulating the conditioned air within the hood.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on the embodiment shown in the drawings. An incubator constructed according to the present invention includes a base 10 having a newborn support 11.

In the embodiment of the invention just described, air flow passage means are provided for creating an air flow between the space below the neonatal support 11 and the space above the neonatal support.

The base 10 is equipped with various units for creating a desired environment within the incubator.

The newborn baby support 11 includes a pinerest and a pinerest support for the newborn to rest on.

Air flow passage means are provided by openings 12 and 1 located at the head and foot ends of the base 10, respectively.
It has 3. The openings 12 and 13 allow the spaces above and below the neonatal support 11 to communicate freely with each other, thereby creating an air flow in these spaces.

The incubator of the present invention also includes a transparent plastic hood 14 mounted on the base 10 and configured to surround the newborn baby resting on the newborn support 11.

The hood 14 consists of an outer wall 15 and an inner wall 16 spaced from the outer wall 15 in a dual relationship over a substantial portion of the outer wall.

The outer wall 15 of the hood 14, which is shown as rectangular in horizontal section, has a front wall 15.
a and the rear wall portion 15b, the head end wall portion 15c, the foot end wall portion 15d, and the two top wall portions 15.
It is composed of e and 15f.

The inner wall 16 extends along the front and rear side walls 15a, 15b and the top walls 15e, 15f, and includes the front wall 16a, the rear wall 16b, and the two top walls 16.
The rear wall portion 16b has a rear wall portion buffle 16e, and the top wall portions 16c and 16d have top wall portions buffles 16f and 16g.

The structure of the outer wall 15 and the inner wall 16 is as described above because the radiant heat loss at the head end wall and the foot end wall is not as large as that along the front and rear side walls and the top wall. It is. However, it is of course possible to make the hood 14 completely double-layered with inner and outer walls.

The front wall portion 15a of the outer wall 15 of the hood 14 is pivotally mounted along its lower edge, and serves as an opening/closing door. This opening/closing door may be constructed by cutting out a part of the front wall 15a and pivotally mounting the cut on the front wall 15a at its lower edge.

A front wall portion 16a, which is a part of the inner wall 16, is attached to the inside of the opening/closing door 15a and is configured to operate together with the door.
The remaining portion of the inner wall 16 is removably attached to the outer wall 15 at any position.

The arrangement of the inner wall 16 with respect to the outer wall 15 is such that a space is formed between the two walls 15 and 16 through which controlled air flows. As a result, the atmosphere between said inner and outer walls 15, 16 essentially communicates with the atmosphere to which the newborn baby is exposed.

Arm holes 17, 17 are provided in the front wall 15a, rear wall 15b, and head end wall 15c of the outer wall 15 of the hood 14, respectively, so that it is possible to enter the incubator without opening the opening/closing door 15a. She is now able to reach out to newborn babies. The hood 14 is also mounted on the base 10 so that it can be lifted as a whole by a pivoting action about a hinge 18 passing along the top of the rear wall of the base 10. There is.

An incubator constructed in accordance with the present invention also has a source of conditioned air.

Regarding the embodiment of the present invention just described,
A source of conditioned air is provided below the neonatal support 11 in the base 10. Briefly, the device includes an air inlet, a filter, a heater, an element supply device, a humidifier, and other components to also produce conditioned air with appropriate temperature, oxygen content, and humidity. .

The incubator of the invention further comprises means for circulating the conditioned air within the hood 14.

Specifically, with respect to the illustrated incubator, conditioned air flows from below neonatal support 11 through opening 12 into hood 14 and returns below neonatal support 11 through opening 13.

Means for circulating the conditioned air include suitable fans, ducts and the like, by means of which the conditioned air is forced up into the hood 14 through the opening 12, and by means of a buttful 16e provided in the inner wall 16,
By 16f and 16g, the direction and amount of the conditioned air flowing between the inner wall 16 and the outer wall 15 and the conditioned air flowing in the space above the newborn support are appropriately controlled and circulated within the hood 14, and opening 1
3 and is pulled down into the base 10.

The air adjusted to an appropriate temperature flows through the inner wall 16 and outer wall 15.
It flows with an appropriate spread between the space and the inside of the inner wall 16 by the guide of the buttfuls 16e, 16f, and 16g formed on the inner wall 16, and appropriately warms the inner wall 16 and increases the effect of radiant heat shielding. , to provide a uniform temperature distribution in the space above the newborn baby support 11 and near the space where the newborn baby exists.

Conventional incubators typically include a buffer in the opening 12 that controls the controlled flow of air circulating within the hood 14 in order to equalize the temperature near the space occupied by the incubator in the space above the neonatal support 11. and is provided near the opening 13. However, buffling alone in the vicinity of openings 12 and 13 is often insufficient to achieve this purpose.

In the present invention, in order to improve not only radiation heat shielding but also the above-mentioned temperature uniformity, the inner wall 16 is equipped with a buttful 16e.
16f and 16g are provided, and these buffers control the circulation state of the regulated air inside the hood 14,
It not only improves the uniformity of the temperature near the newborn baby, but also controls the air flow between the walls. Control of air circulation between these walls is also very important; if the control is insufficient, the inner walls may not be heated properly and the radiant heat shielding effect may be impaired, or the heating of both the inner and outer walls may be inappropriate or the air circulation may be poor. The hood 14 may become cloudy due to condensation of water vapor.

The inner wall bulges 16e, 16f, and 16g avoid such inconvenience, control the regulated air circulation state within the hood 14 including between the walls, and improve the uniformity of the temperature near the newborn baby. , to obtain an appropriate heating state of the inner wall. Therefore, the arrangement, shape, size, angle, and number of baffles are important factors in order to appropriately obtain the above-mentioned effects.

In order to obtain an appropriate effect, consideration should be given to the configuration inside the hood 14 and the performance of the conditioned air circulation means, including the conventional buttholes near the openings 12 and 13, if necessary. It is necessary to design a buffle system, and in the illustrated embodiment, examples of suitable buffles provided in the hood 14 include buttholes 16e, 16f, 16g on the inner wall 16.
The figure shows the one provided with.

To mount the inner wall 16 onto the outer wall 15, the illustrated embodiment shows the preferred embodiment utilizing a telescoping technique.

That is, the plurality of protruding engagers 19 having heads 19a are mounted at appropriate positions on the outer wall 15. On the other hand, keyholes 20 are bored in the inner wall 16 in correspondence with the protruding engagers 19, and these keyholes 20 are composed of an upper circular part 20a and a lower circular part 20b which is larger than the upper circular part 20a. The portion 20b is sized to receive the head 19a of the engaging element. Thus, the head 1 of the protruding engager 19
9a passes through the lower circular portion 20b of the keyhole 20, the inner wall 16 is pulled down and fixed so that the concave body of the protruding engager 19 firmly engages the upper circular portion 20a of the keyhole 20.

According to this structure, the inner wall portion can be removed and replaced easily and quickly, and the hood can be easily cleaned and disinfected.

FIG. 5 shows the reduction in radiant heat loss in an incubator constructed in accordance with the present invention as compared to an incubator with a single-walled hood, when the room temperature is 22
℃ and 26℃, while the air temperature setting device of each incubator was set to 35.9℃.

In the figure, A indicates the air temperature inside the incubator constructed according to the present invention (inside temperature), B indicates the wall temperature of the inner wall of the incubator, and C indicates the temperature of the inner wall of the incubator. The air temperature inside the incubator and D indicate the wall temperature of the incubator, respectively.

Comparing the two, we can see that the air temperature inside the incubator (inside temperature) fluctuates by only 0.2°C in the incubator constructed according to the present invention, as shown in Figures A and C of the same figure. , an incubator with a single-walled hood fluctuates by as much as 0.5°C. Regarding the wall temperature, as shown in Figures B and D, the wall temperature of the inner wall of the incubator constructed according to the present invention is about 3 times higher than the wall temperature of the incubator with a single-walled hood. ℃, and its fluctuation is about 0.3℃, much smaller than the 0.7℃ for a single wall. Moreover, the energy required to maintain the infant's temperature in the incubator at the desired level was reduced from 2.9 watts to 1.9 watts in the experiment.

The above-mentioned remarkable radiation heat shielding effect cannot be obtained simply by doubling the incubator hood so that it freely communicates with the space above the neonatal support, as will be explained below.

In other words, the part of the inner wall where the conditioned air is well circulated is heated to the wall temperature shown in (B).
In areas between walls where circulation is inadequate, for example, where air is stagnant, the air temperature there will continue to drop, and at the same time the temperature of the inner walls there will also drop. This reduces the effectiveness of radiant heat shielding at that location.

In general, it is difficult to circulate the conditioned air in a good condition between the walls only by blowing up the conditioned air from below by the opening 12 and the baffles in the vicinity thereof.

Therefore, unless a double-walled incubator is designed to allow for proper circulation of conditioned air, the remarkable radiant heat shielding effect described above cannot actually be obtained.

The inner wall bumper works to eliminate this drawback. The inner wall baffle allows the conditioned air to be properly distributed over an effective area of the inner wall. The inner wall buffs 16e, 16f, 16g also have other effects. In other words, this is more important than maintaining a warm and appropriate internal wall temperature, but it directs the circulating air so that the air temperature near the newborn is uniform at a predetermined temperature. Another secondary effect of the inner wall buffers 16e, 16f, and 16g is that by allowing the conditioned air to flow between the inner wall 16 and the outer wall 15 without stagnation, the normal relative humidity 60
% to prevent water vapor from condensing on the outer wall 15. If stagnation occurs in the airflow, condensation will occur on the inner walls of the area, which will greatly impede nursing care for the newborn.

As mentioned earlier, the inner wall 16 of the incubator of the present invention
shows an embodiment along the side and top walls of the hood 14 because radiant heat loss at the end walls is not large enough to require interior walls at these locations. .

That is, the surface area of the top of the newborn's head and the bottom of the newborn's feet is smaller than that of the sides of the newborn, so radiant heat loss from these surfaces is small; Opening 12
This is because the air pushed up into the hood 14 through the hood 14 keeps it warm.

Therefore, depending on the shape of the hood, the object of the present invention can be achieved even if only a portion of the inner wall is provided, such as only the top wall.

Many benefits are obtained by leaving the space between the outer wall 15 and the inner wall 16 unsealed and by providing a buffle at the end of the inner wall 16 to guide the flow of conditioned air. That is, when air is confined between two plastic sheets having different temperatures, localized excess water vapor condensation in the interior air may occur. Since the outside temperature of the incubator is lower than the inside temperature, by adding an inner wall to reduce radiant heat loss, if air remains between the walls in a sealed state, the inner and outer walls can be There will be a temperature difference between them and condensation can occur. Also, if the seal is broken, a small amount of air can condense between the walls at any time. Condensation between the two walls affects visibility through the hood.

In addition to the possible undesirable consequences of sealing the space between the walls, closed operation increases the cost to the incubator. Moreover, the inner wall portion may be fixed to the outer wall, but by arranging it so that it can be removed, cleaning and maintenance, which are very important for incubators, are significantly facilitated. I can do it. Therefore, it is very useful to have removable inner walls, to allow conditioned air to flow between the walls, and to construct a suitable air circulation system.

In the incubator according to the present invention, as described above, the transparent plastic hood is spaced from the outer wall in a double relationship over a substantial portion of the outer wall, both sides of the outer wall, and a substantial portion of the top wall. A space is formed between the outer wall and the inner wall, through which the conditioned air flows, and at least the inner wall, the space between the walls, or the end portion between the walls is formed between the outer wall and the inner wall. Since it has a configuration in which a baffle for controlling the flow of the regulated air is provided somewhere in the vicinity, the regulated air flows between the inner wall 16 and the outer wall 15 and inside the inner wall 16 through the inner wall baffle 16e,
Guided by 16f and 16g, the water flows with an appropriate spread, and a large area of the inner wall 16 is appropriately heated, which increases the effect of shielding radiant heat. At the same time, and this is the most important purpose for an incubator, the inner wall buffling can maintain a constant and uniform temperature in the vicinity of the space in which the newborn baby is present.

A space is formed between the outer wall 15 and the inner wall 16 so that air can freely circulate, and the air regulated by the action of the inner wall buffers 16e, 16f, and 16g spreads between the walls, so that the inner wall The inner wall 16 and the outer wall 15 will become cloudy due to condensation when the inside of the incubator is under the normal relative humidity of about 60% because the temperature inside the incubator is sufficiently warmed up and most of the area of the outer wall 15 is also well warmed. There is no possibility of reducing the visibility of the incubator hood.

Since the inner wall part can be easily and quickly removed and replaced together with the inner wall butt-full part, cleaning and disinfection of the hood, which is especially required in this type of incubator, can be done easily from the front and back of the inner wall to the inner wall butt-full. It can be done.

There are various effects.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the incubator according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is a front view of the same, Fig. 3 is a right side view of a partial vertical section of the same figure, and Fig. 4 is a right side view of the incubator. Fig. 5 is a diagram comparing the performance of the incubator according to the present invention and an incubator with a single-wall hood, and Fig. 5 is a diagram showing the internal temperature of the incubator according to the present invention. , B is a diagram showing the temperature of the inner wall of the same incubator, C is a diagram showing the internal temperature of an incubator having a single-walled hood, and D is a diagram showing the wall temperature of the same incubator. 10...base, 11...newborn support, 12,
13...opening, 14...plastic hood,
15...Outer wall, 15a...Front side wall portion, 16...Inner wall, 17...Arm hole, 19...Protruding engager, 20...
...Keyhole, 16e, 16f, 16g...Inner wall is full.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] a base having a neonatal support; a transparent plastic hood mounted on the base; a source of conditioned air; and means for supplying and circulating the conditioned air within the hood. In the incubator, the hood comprises an outer wall and a removable inner wall spaced from the outer wall in dual relationship over a substantial portion of the side walls and the top wall of the outer wall. , and a space through which the conditioned air flows is formed between the outer wall and the inner wall, and the conditioned air flows at least on the inner wall, between the walls, or near an end between the walls. An incubator characterized in that it is provided with a full control valve.