JPS63239101A - Oxygen enricher - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a small-sized lightweight portable O2 enricher useful for medical treatment and inhalation by setting a pressure reducing means using a galvanic cell as a power source to take out O<2> enriched air on the rear side of a membrane module which is selectively permeable to O<2>. CONSTITUTION:Hollow yarn membranes 1 having selective O<2> permeability, 0.3-2mm inside diameter D1, 100-500mm length L1 and <=1,000 ratio of L1 to D1 are bundled and packed into a cylindrical vessel 2 at <=70% packing rate. Both end of the hollow yarn are sealed and fixed with adhesive layers 3 and openings 4 of the hollow yarn are formed by cutting to obtain a mebrane module. When air is allowed to flow from on of two faces of the module opening to the air toward the other at 300l/min flow rate, the pressure drop is <=50mmH2O. A chamber 6 contg. a pressure reducing means 5 such as a suction blower is than fitted to the module and O2 enriched air taken out of the communicating hole 7 of the vessel 2 is collected from the outlet 8.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Industrial Application Field] The present invention uses an oxygen-selective permeable membrane that allows oxygen to permeate at a higher rate than nitrogen to obtain oxygen-enriched air from the atmosphere. The present invention relates to a portable oxygen enricher suitable for medical use and inhalation for recovering physical strength.

[Prior Art] In recent years, more and more patients are suffering from respiratory system diseases such as asthma, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis, and oxygen inhalation is one of the effective treatment methods. Oxygen inhalation is also effective for recovering physical strength after surgery or sports.

However, in this oxygen inhalation method, in reality, high 11mtI
Taking into account the possibility of adverse effects such as corner effects when inhaling 1 lt of oxygen, it is said that it is preferable to inhale at an oxygen concentration of 50% or less.

As the oxygen source in the oxygen inhalation method, there are methods to use a cylinder filled with pure oxygen gas separated by cryogenic separation method, etc., and evaporation of liquefied oxygen. Although there is a method of using oxygen gas, there may be problems such as the complexity of mixing and diluting pure oxygen gas with air and side effects, making it somewhat difficult to use in general households.

Therefore, a demolding oxygen enricher using an oxygen selective permeability membrane that easily allows oxygen to permeate has been proposed as an oxygen source that can be easily used in general household oxygen inhalation methods. (For example, see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 1987-6876).

This demolding oxygen enricher has favorable features such as that the oxygen concentration of the oxygen-enriched air obtained is generally 50% or less, and that the oxygen-enriched air is obtained in a humidified state. However, the conventional model R element enricher has been designed to make the entire membrane module compact by incorporating oxygen selectively permeable membranes as densely as possible, and to allow a large amount of air to flow through the space on the membrane surface side of the membrane module. Since it is equipped with a fan and a vacuum pump to keep the space on the back side of the membrane at reduced pressure and take out the oxygen-enriched air that has passed through the membrane, the overall size of the device inevitably increases, making it difficult to make it portable. It is inappropriate for Furthermore, conventional demolding oxygen enrichers use normal AC power as the power source for the vacuum pump and fan, and the membrane module is housed in a case that is as airtight as possible. The overall weight of the device was heavy.

As mentioned above, such conventional demolding oxygen enrichers are difficult to make portable due to their large size and weight, and users such as patients have to leave the place where the enricher is installed. I was unable to carry out any activities.

[Object of the invention] The present invention aims to solve the above-mentioned problems in a demolded oxygen enricher (hereinafter simply referred to as an oxygen enricher) and to provide an oxygen enricher suitable for portability. . In particular, one of the objects is to provide an oxygen enricher that is small, light in weight, and capable of using something other than an AC power source as a power source.

[Structure of the Invention] The present invention provides a membrane module using an oxygen-selective permeable membrane, and a vacuum chamber for keeping the real side of the membrane at a reduced pressure and extracting oxygen-enriched air that has passed through the membrane from the membrane module. The oxygen enricher is characterized in that the pressure reducing means can be powered by a battery.

The invention will now be explained in more detail with reference to the drawings. First, the membrane module of the present invention consists of an arrangement of a large number of membrane cells using membranes that are selectively permeable to oxygen.

The shape of the membrane may be hollow fiber, tubular, or planar; however, a hollow fiber membrane is preferred in practical terms because it can easily provide a larger membrane area with a limited overall volume. As such a hollow fiber membrane, it is preferable that the inner or outer surface of a porous hollow fiber support is imparted with oxygen selective permeability by interfacial polymerization or the like.

The oxygen permeation rate of this oxygen selectively permeable membrane is at least 2 x 10'' Go/cM 5e when measured at 20°C.
+ to c-CIif-, preferably 5x10'''1iCC
/ci・SeC・α1 or more, more preferably 1X10→
cc/cd-8ec・cm? That's all. If the oxygen permeation rate is less than 2×10 CC/d-8eC-cj11, it is not preferable because the membrane area needs to be increased and the entire device becomes larger. The material for such a film may be any material, but preferred specific examples include those made by interfacial polymerization of a combination of polyaminosiloxane and polyisocyanate, a combination of polyaminosiloxane, polysilanol, and polyisocyanate, etc. can be given.

Further, the porous hollow fiber support of the present invention may be any material as long as it has gas permeability and can support the oxygen selectively permeable membrane and abrasively reinforce it. Preferred specific examples include hollow fiber porous membranes made of polysulfone, polyacrylonitrile, cellulose ester, cellulose alkyl ether, and the like.

The membrane module in the oxygen enricher of the present invention is characterized in that at least two opposing sides of the space on the surface side of the oxygen selective permeability III, that is, the surface side having the selective permeation function section, are open to the atmosphere. It is said that

FIG. 1(A) is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a preferred example of the oxygen enricher of the present invention, and shows a bundle of hollow fiber membranes 1 having a selective permeation function section on the inner surface. W! is stored in a cylindrical container 2, both ends of the hollow fiber are sealed and fixed with an adhesive layer 3, and then cut to form an opening 4 of the hollow fiber. A chamber 6 containing a pressure reducing means 5 such as a suction blower is provided in the A-built membrane module, and the oxygen-enriched air taken out from the communicating lower of the container 2 is made available for use through an outlet 8. . Note that (0) in Figure 1 is the first
It is a sectional view schematically showing a cross-sectional view taken along X+-X2 in Figure (A).

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing another preferred example of the oxygen enricher of the present invention. That is, this enricher has a hollow fiber membrane 11 having a surface, that is, a selective permeation function section on the outer surface side.
The bundle is stored in a container 13 having a large number of ventilation holes 12, both ends of the hollow system are sealed and fixed with an adhesive layer 14, and one end is cut to form an opening 15 of the hollow fiber. The membrane module manufactured by this method is provided with a chamber 17 housing a pressure reducing means 16 such as a suction blower, and the oxygen-enriched air obtained from the hollow fiber openings 15 is made available for use through an outlet 18.

As shown in these Figures 1.2, the surface side space of the membrane module of the present invention opens toward the surrounding atmosphere,
This allows air to enter and leave the space as freely as possible.

As described above, the present invention is characterized by using a membrane module in which the air permeability of the space on the surface side of the membrane is increased.
The pressure loss when 0ρ7n+in air is flowed at room temperature is 5011111H20 or less, more preferably 35s82
If it is less than 0, the membrane has good air permeability and oxygen enrichment can be achieved by the membrane without forcing the air to flow through the membrane using a fan or the like. If this pressure loss exceeds 501WH20, it becomes difficult for air on the surface side of the membrane to move,
Without a forced circulation means such as a fan, gas will accumulate on the membrane surface, increasing the nitrogen concentration and making it difficult for the membrane to enrich oxygen, which is not preferable. That is, since the oxygen enricher of the present invention uses such a membrane module with good air permeability, relatively good oxygen enrichment can be achieved even when there is no forced circulation means for promoting air circulation on the membrane surface. is possible.

Note that, if necessary, a small and simple fan means may be used as this forced circulation means.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, when a hollow fiber membrane having a membrane surface, that is, a selective permeation function part on the inner surface side, is used, the inner diameter of the hollow fiber (D1) is 0.3 to 2 m, or even 0. .5~1
m is preferable, and the length L1) of the hollow fiber is preferably 100 to 500, more preferably 150 to 300. is preferred. In this case, the length L1) of the hollow fiber means the length of the entire incorporated hollow fiber, for example, the length of the hollow fiber between the two ends opened by the adhesive layer in the module removal shown in FIG. Say it. Regarding such hollow fibers, the ratio (L1/D1) of the length L1) and the inner diameter (D+) is 1000.
Below, it is more preferable that it is 500 or less because the air permeability of the membrane surface side space in the membrane module can be improved. That is, the inner diameter (D1) of the hollow fiber is 0.
．． Less than 3ttux or length (L1) is 500+
+m or L+/D+ exceeds 1000, the air permeability on the membrane surface side of the membrane module tends to deteriorate, making it impractical for use as a portable oxygen enricher.

Further, as illustrated in FIG. 2, when a hollow fiber membrane having a membrane surface, that is, a permselective functional part on the outer surface side, is used, each hollow fiber of the hollow fiber bundle in the membrane module is roughly packed. Specifically, it is practically preferable that the filling rate of the hollow fiber bundle is 70% or less. If the filling rate of the hollow fiber bundle exceeds 2D%, the air permeability of the hollow fiber bundle gaps will deteriorate, making it difficult to obtain oxygen-enriched air at a predetermined concentration. In the case of hollow fibers that have a membrane surface on the outer surface, it is important to prevent the hollow fibers from adhering to each other within the membrane module. It is also effective to use crimped fibers or hollow fibers with fins on the surface.

The oxygen enricher of the present invention has a pressure reduction means, and the pressure reduction means is preferably a fan means, a blower means, a vacuum pump means, etc. In particular, the vacuum pump means has a relatively high pressure reduction ability and is lightweight. Easy to make small and suitable for portable use. Further, this pressure reducing means is characterized in that it can use a battery as a power source, and the battery may be either a dry battery or a storage battery, but a dry battery is preferable from the viewpoint of weight reduction. It is preferable that this pressure reducing means can be driven not only by a battery but also by an AC power source normally provided in homes and the like. The battery may be stored in the enricher, but if the battery is used in a car, for example, the car's storage battery may be used and there is no need to store the battery in the enricher.

Further, the enrichment device of the present invention may have a fan means for cooling when the decompression means generates heat during operation, but the heat generating portion may be replaced with a metal plate with good ventilation, for example. A mesh cover or no cover may be provided so that cooling is provided substantially only by opening to the atmosphere. The latter is easier to reduce weight and is suitable as a portable type.

The oxygen enricher of the present invention is primarily used for inhalation by people for medical purposes or to recover physical strength after sports, etc., but since the enricher is portable, it is of great interest to users. The range of activities is widened, and it can be easily used not only outdoors but also inside cars, trains, etc.

It can also be used for first aid wherever you are. Furthermore, this enrichment device is also suitable for other uses, such as for raising fish for ornamental purposes.

<Effects of the Invention> The oxygen enricher of the present invention is small and lightweight, and can be operated with a battery, making it suitable for portable use.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 illustrates a preferred embodiment of the oxygen enricher of the present invention; (a) is a cross-sectional view thereof, and [(1]) is a schematic cross-sectional view at X+-X2 of (a). There are some things that are clearly shown. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing another preferred embodiment of the oxygen enricher of the present invention. Figure 1 Figure Z

Claims (7)

[Claims] (1) An oxygen enricher equipped with a membrane module using an oxygen selectively permeable membrane and a pressure reducing means for keeping the back side of the membrane at a reduced pressure and extracting the oxygen-enriched air that has passed through the membrane from the membrane module. An oxygen enricher characterized in that the pressure reducing means can be powered by a battery. (2) at least two opposing sides of the space on the surface side of the membrane in the membrane module are substantially open to the atmosphere;
The oxygen enricher according to claim 1, wherein the pressure loss is 50 mmH_2O or less when air is flowed at 300 l/min from one of the two surfaces to the other. (3) The oxygen enricher according to claim 1, wherein the membrane module uses an oxygen selectively permeable hollow fiber membrane bundle. (4) The hollow fiber membrane has an inner surface as a membrane surface, and has a diameter of 0.3 to 2
It has an inner diameter (D_1) in the range of mm and a length (L_1) in the range of 100 to 500 mm;
_1) and the inner diameter (D_1) ratio (L_1/D_1) is 10
4. The oxygen enricher according to claim 3, wherein the oxygen enrichment temperature is 00 or less. (5) The oxygen enricher according to claim 3, wherein the hollow fiber membrane has a membrane surface on the outer side, and the filling rate of the hollow fiber membrane bundle is in a range of 70% or less. (6) The oxygen enricher according to claim 1, wherein the pressure reducing means is any one of fan means, blower means, and vacuum pump means. (7) The oxygen enricher according to claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the pressure reducing means is cooled by being substantially exposed to the atmosphere.