KR101346757B1 - Circulating type respiratory apparatus using hollow fiber - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a circulating type respiratory apparatus using a hollow fiber. The circulating type respiratory apparatus using the hollow fiber of the present invention comprises: a gas storing unit which temporarily stores emission gas emitted from a user or supply gas supplied to the user; a first filtering unit which filters air included in water using the hollow fiber and supplies to the gas storing unit; a second filtering unit which flows the emission gas supplied from the gas storing unit into the hollow fiber and supplies air, filtered from gas exchange between emission gas flowed inside the hollow fiber and water supplied from the outside, to the gas storing unit; and a gas transfer unit which provides the supply gas from the gas storing unit to the user or transfers the emission gas from the user to the gas storing unit. Therefore, the present invention provides the circulating type respiratory apparatus using the hollow fiber which is capable of enhancing filtering efficiency of total air by letting gas, emitted during respiration of the user, participate in the filtration. [Reference numerals] (160) Control unit

Description

Circulation type breathing apparatus using hollow fiber {CIRCULATING TYPE RESPIRATORY APPARATUS USING HOLLOW FIBER}

The present invention relates to a circulatory breathing apparatus using hollow fiber, and more particularly, to a circulatory breathing apparatus using hollow fiber which can smoothly breathe in water using hollow fiber.

Air supply to a person is essential in the case of recreational activities such as scuba diving in water, snorkelling in water, air supply for patients for medical purposes, construction or maintenance of suspended structures in water or in water .

Generally, in this case, air is supplied to the human body through an air reservoir for holding air and an air mask directly connected to the air reservoir.

However, the conventional air cylinder used for air breathing has a problem in that the weight is large and mobility is limited, and the time for breathing is limited only by the air compressed and stored in a predetermined size air cylinder.

In addition, the process of compressing and charging air into the air cylinder before use must be preceded, and there has been a problem that there is a possibility of air explosion carelessly, but it is not solved.

On the other hand, by providing micropores on the surface of the cylindrical fiber structure having an inner diameter and an outer diameter, chemical fibers configured to filter a specific gas through the micropores are called hollow fibers. In general, the hollow fiber has a wider surface area and a higher treatment efficiency than a general flat filter, and is mainly used as a device for filtering water to filter contaminants.

Among these hollow fibers, hollow fibers for filtering only gas or liquid, that is, air contained in a fluid, are widely known, and respirators using hollow fibers are developed as in Korean Patent No. 10-1044390. have.

However, in the case of respirators using hollow fibers, which are currently being developed, the focus is only on providing air, and it is difficult to realize excellent filtration efficiency.

(Patent Document 1) KR10-1044390 B1

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve such a conventional problem, by participating in the filtration of the gas discharged at the time of the user's breathing, the circulation type breathing apparatus using a hollow fiber that can improve the overall air filtration efficiency In providing.

According to the present invention, the gas storage unit for temporarily storing the supply gas supplied to the user or the exhaust gas discharged from the user; A first filtration unit which filters the air contained in the water by using hollow fiber and supplies it to the gas storage unit; A second filtration unit for flowing the exhaust gas supplied from the gas storage unit into the hollow fiber and supplying the air filtered from the gas exchange between water supplied from the outside and the exhaust gas flowing in the hollow fiber to the gas storage unit; ; It is achieved by the circulation type breathing apparatus using a hollow fiber; characterized in that it comprises a gas transfer unit for supplying the supply gas from the gas storage unit to the user, or the exhaust gas from the user to the gas storage unit.

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The gas storage unit may include: a first storage unit connected to the first filtration unit and temporarily storing a supply gas supplied to a user; And a second storage unit connected to the second filtration unit and temporarily storing the exhaust gas discharged from the user.

In addition, a first connection line connecting the end and the first storage portion is discharged filtered air to the first filter portion; A second connection line connecting the hollow fiber in the second filter part and the second storage part; And a third connection line connecting an end portion at which the filtered air of the second filter part is discharged to the first storage part.

In addition, the oxygen concentration included in the air filtered from the second filtration unit may be lower than the oxygen concentration included in the air filtered from the first filtration unit.

The apparatus may further include a controller for controlling the oxygen concentration included in the supply gas stored in the first storage unit.

The apparatus may further include a first measuring unit measuring an oxygen concentration included in the supply gas stored in the first storage unit, wherein the controller selectively selects the first connection line by using the information of the first measuring unit. Can be open or blocked.

In addition, a second measuring unit installed on the third connection line, for measuring the oxygen concentration contained in the air discharged from the second filtration unit; And a bypass line interconnecting the second connection line and the third connection line and transferring air flowing in the third connection line to the second connection line using information of the second measurement unit. The controller may control the flow direction of the air filtered from the second filter by opening or blocking the bypass line.

According to the present invention, there is provided a circulating breathing apparatus using hollow fiber which can improve the overall filtration efficiency by using it for refiltration without exhausting gas generated in humans after breathing.

Further, by controlling the gas discharged from the user to be repeatedly filtered, the concentration of oxygen contained in the gas can be easily controlled.

In addition, the oxygen concentration may be controlled by mixing the air filtered from the water and the air filtered from the gas discharged from the user.

1 is a schematic diagram of a circulating respirator using hollow fiber according to a first embodiment of the present invention,
Figure 2 schematically shows the internal gas flow of the respiratory apparatus using the hollow fiber of Figure 1,
Figure 3 schematically shows the gas exchange in the second filter of the respiratory apparatus using the hollow fiber of Figure 1,
Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the respiratory apparatus using a circular hollow fiber according to a second embodiment of the present invention,
FIG. 5 schematically illustrates the internal gas flow of the recirculating breathing apparatus using the hollow fiber of FIG. 4.

Prior to the description, components having the same configuration are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment. In other embodiments, configurations different from those of the first embodiment will be described do.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail with respect to the circulating breathing apparatus 100 using the hollow fiber according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

1 is a schematic diagram of a circulating respirator using hollow fiber according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to Figure 1, the respiratory apparatus 100 using a hollow fiber according to the first embodiment of the present invention is a respiratory apparatus for supplying the user by filtering air using hollow fiber in water , The gas storage unit 110, the first measurement unit 120, the gas transfer unit 130, the first filtration unit 140, the second filtration unit 150, the first connection line L ₁ , and the second connection A line L ₂ , a third connection line L ₃ , a pump unit (not shown), and a controller 160 are included.

The gas storage unit 110 is a storage tank for temporarily storing the supply gas to be supplied to the user or the discharge gas discharged from the user, and includes a first storage unit 111 and a second storage unit 112.

The first storage unit 111 is a space for temporarily storing the supply gas to be supplied to the user by being filtered from the first filtration unit 140 or the second filtration unit 150 to be described later, the gas transfer unit 130 to be described later ).

The second storage unit 112 is connected to the gas transfer unit 130 is a space for temporarily storing the exhaust gas generated when the user exhales.

That is, the supply gas stored in the first storage 111 has a high concentration of oxygen (O ₂ ) and a low concentration of carbon dioxide (CO ₂ ), and the exhaust gas stored in the second storage 112 has a low concentration. Has a high concentration of oxygen and a high concentration of carbon dioxide.

Meanwhile, in the present embodiment, the entire gas storage unit 110 is manufactured in the form of a container, and the inside of the gas storage unit 110 is divided into a first storage unit and a second storage unit, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The two storage regions may be formed in a structure in which only two portions of the storage regions are not completely sealed, and the first storage portion 111 and the second storage portion 112 may be manufactured as separate containers.

The first measuring unit 120 is installed in the first storage unit 111 to measure the oxygen concentration of the temporarily stored supply gas, and the oxygen concentration information is transmitted to the controller 160 to be described later.

The gas transfer unit 130 is to provide a transfer passage for transferring the gas by connecting the gas storage unit 110 and the user described above, and includes a supply pipe 131, a discharge pipe 132 and an integrated pipe 133. do.

One end of the supply pipe 131 is connected to the first storage unit 111 and the other end is connected to the integrated pipe 133, which will be described later, and used as a transport path of the supply gas delivered to the user. On the other hand, the supply pipe 131 is equipped with a predetermined one-way valve (1-way valve), it is preferable to limit the moving direction of the supply gas so that it can move only from the first storage 111 to the user side.

One end of the discharge pipe 132 is connected to the first storage unit 111 and the other end is connected to the integrated pipe 133 to be described later, and is used as a transfer path of the supply gas discharged from the user. The discharge pipe 132 is equipped with a predetermined one-valve, it is preferable to limit the movement direction of the exhaust gas so as to move only from the user to the second storage 112 side.

The integrated pipe 133 is a pipe that integrates the discharge pipe 132 and the supply pipe 131 to unify the path connected to the user. Meanwhile, a predetermined mask (not shown) may be provided at an end portion of the integrated pipe 133 to facilitate underwater breathing to the user.

The first filtration unit 140 is provided to filter the air from the water supplied from the water to the first storage unit 111, the hollow fiber bundle for air filtration is installed in the casing. .

The second filter unit 150 is provided in the same structure as the first filter unit 140 described above, but performs a somewhat different function from the first filter unit 140. That is, the second filtration unit 150 is similar to the first filtration unit to filter the air from the water and supply it to the first storage unit 111, but in addition to receiving water from the second storage unit 112. It receives the discharged gas stored in the gas and refilters it through gas exchange.

In other words, the second filtration unit 150 is not to release the gas contained in the breath exhaled by the user as it is, by reducing the loss that can occur unnecessarily during filtration by improving the filtration efficiency.

The first connection line L ₁ is a pipe of a passage for connecting the first filtration unit 140 and the first storage unit 111. The first connection line (L ₁ ) has a structure for connecting the end of the first filter portion 140, the filtered air is discharged with the first storage portion (111). On the other hand, in the interior of the first connection line (L ₁ ) may be installed a separate on-off valve for opening or blocking the flow path may be controlled by the controller 160 to be described later.

That is, when the oxygen concentration of the first storage unit 111 exceeds the preset value, the first connection line L ₁ is blocked in order to prevent damage caused by oxygen poisoning of the user, but the oxygen concentration is set to the preset value. If not reached, the first connection line L ₂ is opened to allow the air filtered from the first filter unit 140 to reach the first storage unit 111.

The second connection line L ₂ is a pipe of a passage for connecting the second filtration unit 150 and the second storage unit 112. A second connecting line (L _2), the second is for connecting the storage unit 112 to the end in which the second water in the filtering part 150, the inlet, in more detail, the second connection line (L ₂₎ of the second It is to be connected to the hollow fiber in the filter unit 150.

Therefore, the exhaust gas supplied from the second storage part 112 through the second connection line L ₂ flows inside the hollow fiber of the second filter part 150.

The third connection line L ₃ is a pipe of a passage for connecting the second storage part 112 of the first filter part 140. That is, the third connection line (L ₃ ) has a structure for connecting the end of the second filter portion 150, the filtered air discharged with the first storage portion (111).

The pump unit (not shown) is a device for forcibly transporting water into the first filtration unit 140 and the second filtration unit 150 by receiving power.

The control unit 160 controls the opening or blocking of the first connection line L ₁ through the oxygen concentration information measured by the first measurement unit 120, thereby supplying gas temporarily stored in the first storage unit 111. To control the oxygen concentration of to have a predetermined value.

The operation of the first embodiment of the recirculating breathing apparatus using the hollow fiber described above will now be described.

Figure 2 schematically shows the internal gas flow of the recirculating breathing apparatus using the hollow fiber of Figure 1;

First, as shown in FIG. 2 (a), when water is supplied into the first filtration unit 140 by a pump unit (not shown), the hollow fiber bundle of the first filtration unit 140 is included in the water. The air is filtered, and the filtered air is temporarily stored in the first storage unit 111 through the first connection line L ₁ , and the gas stored in the first storage unit 111 in this manner is called a supply gas. do.

Here, when the user starts to breathe, the supply gas is supplied to the user through the gas transfer unit 130. At the same time, the gas is generated while the user inhales the supply gas and is temporarily stored in the second storage unit 112 through the gas transfer unit 130, and the gas discharged from the user after respiration is called exhaust gas. .

On the other hand, the supply gas stored in the first storage 111 contains approximately 0.03% carbon dioxide and 21% oxygen, and the exhaust gas stored in the second storage 112 contains approximately 4% carbon dioxide and Contains about 16% oxygen.

Since the user does not exhaust all the oxygen contained in the air during respiration, the gas included in the exhalation contains a large amount of oxygen, and in this embodiment, the filtration efficiency is improved by re-filtering instead of exhausting it as it is. This will be described below.

That is, the discharge gas is delivered to the hollow fiber in the second filter unit 150 through the second connection line (L ₂ ). At the same time, the second filtration unit 150 receives water from the outside, and gas is exchanged between the exhaust gas flowing through the hollow fiber in the second filtration unit 150 and the water supplied from the outside with respect to the hollow fiber. .

Figure 3 schematically shows the gas exchange in the second filter of the recirculating breathing apparatus using the hollow fiber of FIG.

Referring again to FIG. 3, carbon dioxide (CO ₂ ) included in the exhaust gas moves toward water through hollow fiber, and oxygen (O ₂ ) included in water moves toward exhaust gas through hollow fiber. Therefore, due to the above-described gas exchange, the carbon dioxide concentration of the exhaust gas flowing inside the hollow fiber of the second filtration unit 150 is lowered, and the oxygen concentration is discharged to the air in an elevated state.

The air filtered from the second filtration unit 150 through the above-described gas exchange process is stored in the first storage unit 111 through the third connection line L ₃ . That is, the air filtered from the first filtration unit 140 and the air filtered from the second filtration unit 150 are mixed in the first storage unit 111 to form a supply gas.

On the other hand, since the second filtration unit 150 provides air filtered through gas exchange with water from a gas having a somewhat higher concentration of carbon dioxide, the concentration of oxygen contained in the air filtered from the second filtration unit 150. Is formed lower than the concentration of oxygen contained in the air filtered from the first filtration unit 140.

In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the concentration of oxygen contained in the air filtered by the first filter 140 is 23%, and the concentration of oxygen contained in the air filtered by the second filter 150 is 19%. do.

In this process, the first measurement unit 120 measures the concentration of the supply gas stored in the first storage unit 111 in real time, and transmits it to the controller 160, and the controller 160 controls the first measurement unit 120. If the oxygen concentration in the first storage unit 140 is not less than 21% through the information provided from the) open the first connection line (L ₁ ) to continuously filter the air filtered from the first filter unit 140 Inflow.

On the contrary, as shown in FIG. 2 (b), when the oxygen concentration in the first storage unit 111 exceeds 21%, the control unit blocks the first connection line L ₁ to thereby filter the first filtration unit 140. Prevents the inflow of filtered air from the filter, but receives only the filtered air from the second filtration unit 150.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, the filtration efficiency can be improved by refiltering and using the gas generated after the respiration, without exhausting it as it is. In other words, by reusing the gas used for respiration after being filtered from the water at least once, it is possible to reduce the energy consumed to filter the air from the water again.

In addition, the oxygen concentration of the supply gas supplied to the user using the controller 160 can be easily adjusted to a preset value.

In addition, the value of the oxygen concentration in each position mentioned above in this embodiment is an example for convenience of description of the operation | movement of this embodiment, The value of oxygen concentration described above is not restrict | limited.

Next, a circulating breathing apparatus 200 using hollow fiber according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a circulatory breathing apparatus using hollow fiber according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to Figure 4, the respiratory apparatus 200 using the hollow fiber according to the first embodiment of the present invention is a breathing apparatus for supplying the user by filtering the air using the hollow fiber in the water, the gas storage unit 110, the first measuring unit 120, the gas transfer unit 130, the first filtering unit 140, the second filtering unit 150, the first connection line L ₁ , and the second connection line L _2. ), A third connection line L ₃ , a second measurement unit 270, a bypass line L _B , a pump unit (not shown), and a controller 260.

However, the gas storage unit 110, the first measurement unit 120, the gas transfer unit 130, the first filter unit 140, the second filter unit 150, and the first connection line L _{1 according to the present embodiment} . Since the second connection line (L ₂ ) and the third connection line (L ₃ ) and the pump unit (not shown) are the same as the above-described configuration in the first embodiment, duplicate description thereof will be omitted.

The second measuring unit 270 is a first sensor for measuring the oxygen concentration of the air 3 is installed in the connecting line (L _3), the flow within the third connection line (L _3).

The bypass line (L _B ) is a pipe connecting the second connection line (L ₂ ) and the third connection line (L ₃ ), the oxygen concentration contained in the air flowing in the third connection line (L ₃ ). Is less than or equal to the set value, the air is forced to the second connection line (L ₂ ) side to be subjected to re-filtration, the air is filtered by the second filter 150 and stored in the first storage 111 Increase the oxygen concentration contained in.

The control unit 260 not only controls the first connection line L ₁ as in the first embodiment, but also receives the information from the second measurement unit 270 in the present embodiment and bypass line L _B. By controlling the opening or blocking), the oxygen concentration contained in the air filtered from the second filtration unit 150 is controlled.

The operation of the second embodiment of the recirculating breathing apparatus using the hollow fiber described above will now be described.

FIG. 5 schematically illustrates the internal gas flow of the recirculating breathing apparatus using the hollow fiber of FIG. 4.

As shown in FIG. 5 (a), in the present embodiment, the air filtered from the second filter unit 150 is stored in the first storage unit 111 through the third connection line L ₃ .

In this process, the second measuring unit 270 measures the oxygen concentration included in the air filtered from the second filtering unit 150 in real time, and transmits this information to the control unit 260. In this case, as shown in FIG. 5B, when the oxygen concentration does not reach the preset value through this information, the controller 260 opens the bypass line L _B to remove the already filtered air. 2 Transferring to the line (L ₂ ) side, the re-filtration process.

That is, by repeatedly circulating the discharge gas discharged from the user, the control unit 260 may be primarily stored in the first storage 111 after controlling the oxygen concentration. Therefore, according to this embodiment, by lowering or increasing the oxygen concentration filtered from the second filtration unit 150, it is possible to appropriately control the concentration of oxygen contained in the feed gas finally stored in the first storage unit 111. Can be.

The scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but may be embodied in various forms of embodiments within the scope of the appended claims. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

110: gas storage unit 120: first measuring unit
130: gas transfer unit 140: first filtration unit
150: second filter 160: control unit
L ₁ : first connection line L ₂ : second connection line
L ₃ : 3rd connection line

Claims (7)

A gas storage unit for temporarily storing a supply gas supplied to a user or an exhaust gas discharged from the user;
A first filtration unit which filters the air contained in the water by using hollow fiber and supplies it to the gas storage unit;
A second filtration unit for flowing the exhaust gas supplied from the gas storage unit into the hollow fiber and supplying the air filtered from the gas exchange between water supplied from the outside and the exhaust gas flowing in the hollow fiber to the gas storage unit; ;
And a gas transfer unit configured to provide a supply gas to the user from the gas storage unit, or to transfer the discharge gas from the user to the gas storage unit. The method of claim 1,
The gas storage unit,
A first storage unit connected to the first filtration unit and temporarily storing a supply gas supplied to a user; And a second storage unit connected to the second filtration unit and temporarily storing the exhaust gas discharged from the user. 3. The method of claim 2,
A first connection line connecting an end portion at which the filtered air to the first filter portion is discharged and the first storage portion; A second connection line connecting the hollow fiber in the second filter part and the second storage part; And a third connection line connecting the end portion from which the filtered air of the second filter part is discharged to the first storage part. 2. 4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Oxygen concentration contained in the air filtered from the second filtration unit is lower than the oxygen concentration contained in the air filtered from the first filtration unit circulating breathing apparatus using hollow fiber. 5. The method of claim 4,
And a control unit for controlling the oxygen concentration included in the supply gas stored in the first storage unit. The method of claim 5,
A first measuring unit measuring an oxygen concentration included in the supply gas stored in the first storage unit; Further comprising:
The control unit is a circular type breathing apparatus using hollow fiber, characterized in that for selectively opening or blocking the first connection line using the information of the first measuring unit. The method of claim 5,
A second measuring unit installed on the third connection line and measuring oxygen concentration included in air discharged from the second filtering unit; And a bypass line interconnecting the second connection line and the third connection line and transferring air flowing in the third connection line to the second connection line using information of the second measurement unit. and,
The control unit is a circulation type breathing apparatus using hollow fiber, characterized in that for controlling the flow direction of the air filtered from the second filter by opening or blocking the bypass line.

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