HK1096048B

HK1096048B - Humidifying device and oxygen concentrating system

Info

Publication number: HK1096048B
Application number: HK07103205.8A
Authority: HK
Inventors: 武田敏博; 西平守彦; 谷原望
Original assignee: Teijin Limited
Priority date: 2003-12-15
Filing date: 2004-12-15
Publication date: 2010-04-30

Description

Humidifying device and oxygen concentration system

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a humidifier for humidifying dry gas by supplying moisture in the air to the gas, and an oxygen concentrator using the humidifier.

Background

As a humidifier for humidifying dry medical gas, for example, a humidifier using water in a liquid state, such as a bubble-shaped humidifier or an evaporative humidifier, is disclosed in japanese unexamined patent publication No. h 06-238002. However, in such a humidifier using liquid water, it is necessary to periodically replenish the water in the container, and if the humidifier is used for a long time, there are the following problems: the water for humidifying and the propagation of bacteria may be deteriorated in the container. Therefore, the humidifier must be cleaned periodically.

On the other hand, JP-A05-049697 and JP-A08-141087 disclose membrane type humidifying devices for humidifying medical gases by using moisture permeable membranes. Although the above-described problems are solved by using moisture in the air in the membrane humidifier, the humidifier disclosed in the above-described publication uses the pressurized air, so that humidity control becomes difficult, and particularly, when the flow rate of the medical gas to be humidified is low, excessive humidification is performed, and thus, there is a problem that condensed water (drain) is generated.

Further, japanese patent laid-open nos. 2000-237317 and 2000-237318 disclose membrane type humidifying devices using air at atmospheric pressure. However, in the humidifier disclosed in the above publication, it is difficult to bring a sufficient amount of air into contact with the moisture permeable film, which causes the following problems: the humidification performance of the device is influenced by environmental conditions such as the air humidity in the room in which the device is installed.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the above, the present invention has been made to solve the problems of the conventional techniques, and an object of the present invention is to provide a humidifier capable of humidifying humidified gas, particularly dry medical gas, to the same relative humidity as that of air at atmospheric pressure without using water in a liquid state.

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a humidification device for humidifying a gas to be humidified by water vapor in air, comprising: a hollow wire bundle in which a plurality of hollow wires that have permeated water vapor are oriented in a predetermined axial direction and bundled; a casing having a space for accommodating the hollow wire harness, the casing having a humidified gas inlet communicating with the internal space of the hollow wire, a humidified gas outlet communicating with the internal space of the hollow wire, an air inlet communicating with the external space of the hollow wire in the casing, and an air outlet communicating with the external space of the hollow wire in the casing; and a blower mechanism disposed at an air inlet of the housing for introducing air into the housing,

the ratio of the sum of the cross-sectional areas of the hollow wires perpendicular to the axis to the cross-sectional area of the air flow path obtained by removing the sum of the cross-sectional areas of the hollow wires perpendicular to the axis from the cross-sectional area of the space of the housing perpendicular to the axis is 0.1 to 0.7.

According to another feature of the present invention, there is provided a humidifier for humidifying a gas to be humidified by water vapor in air, comprising: a plurality of hollow strands, which are bundled by orienting a plurality of hollow strands that have permeated water vapor in a predetermined axial direction; a casing having a space for accommodating the plurality of hollow wires, the casing having a humidified gas inlet communicating with an inner space of each of the plurality of hollow wires, a humidified gas outlet communicating with an inner space of each of the plurality of hollow wires, an air inlet communicating with an outer space of the hollow wire in the casing, and an air outlet communicating with an outer space of the hollow wire in the casing; and a blower mechanism provided at an air inlet of the housing and introducing air into the housing.

Furthermore, the humidifier of the present invention is used in a medical oxygen concentration system for humidifying oxygen concentrated gas generated by the medical oxygen concentration system and generating medical oxygen concentrated gas by adsorbing and removing nitrogen from air, and includes: a pressure-swing oxygen concentration unit having a plurality of adsorption cylinders filled with an adsorbent having selective adsorption for nitrogen; a conduit for guiding the oxygen-concentrated gas generated in the oxygen concentration unit to a user; a pressure adjusting mechanism disposed on the conduit for adjusting the outlet pressure of the oxygen concentration section to a constant pressure; and a flow rate adjusting mechanism for adjusting the flow rate of the oxygen-enriched gas flowing through the conduit to a constant flow rate.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a medical oxygen concentration system to which the present invention is applied.

Fig. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a humidifier according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along an arrow III-III line in fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a graph showing the results of an experiment using the humidifier of fig. 2 and 3.

Fig. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a humidifying device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken along an arrow VI-VI in fig. 5.

Detailed Description

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Referring to fig. 1, a medical oxygen concentration system is shown as an example of a medical gas supply system to which the humidifier of the present invention is applied. The oxygen concentration system 100 includes a pressure-variable oxygen concentration unit 110, a buffer container 120, a pressure regulating valve or a pressure reducing valve 122 for regulating the outlet pressure of the buffer container 120 to a constant pressure, a flow rate regulating unit 140, a flow rate setting unit 160, a humidification device 170, and a control unit 150, wherein the control unit 150 controls the functions of the oxygen concentration unit 110, the flow rate regulating unit 140, and the humidification device 170, and the generated oxygen-concentrated gas is supplied to a patient (not shown) via a conduit 180 and a nasal cannula NP. The oxygen concentration unit 110 includes 4 adsorption cylinders 112, a compressor 114 capable of pressurization and depressurization, and a rotary valve 116, is a 4-cylinder type oxygen concentrator with pressure fluctuation under vacuum, and generates a nearly absolutely dry concentrated oxygen gas having an oxygen concentration of 90%.

The adsorption cylinder 112 may be provided with a hollow cylinder member made of a material having little gas permeability such as metal, and an adsorbent having selective adsorption to nitrogen is filled therein. The adsorbent may be a crystalline zeolite molecular sieve. Such zeolite is preferably a zeolite having a metal element as a cation, and includes, for example, a zeolite X such as a nanozeolite X and a lithium zeolite X.

The flow rate adjusting unit 140 includes an ultrasonic flow rate sensor 142, an automatic throttle mechanism 144, and a pressure sensor 146 forming a respiratory phase detecting mechanism. The automatic throttle valve 144 has a maximum aperture of1.7mm electromagnetic proportional valve. The pressure sensor 146 uses a pressure sensor having a pressure measurement range of ± 75Pa, and the point at which the output of the pressure sensor 146 changes from the positive pressure to the negative pressure is set as the start of the intake phase.

Next, a humidifier according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to fig. 2 and 3.

The humidifying device 10 includes a hollow cylindrical case 12 and a hollow wire harness 14 formed of a plurality of hollow wires 14a disposed in the case 12. Inside the casing 12, partition walls 16a, 16b are further provided, and the internal space of the casing 12 is divided by the partition walls 16a, 16b into: a humidified gas inlet chamber 13 which is adjacent to the upstream end surface of the hollow wire bundle 14 and communicates with the internal space of the hollow wire 14 a; a humidified gas outlet chamber 15 adjoining the downstream-side end face of the hollow wire bundle 14 and communicating with the internal space of the hollow wire 14 a; and an action chamber 17 between the humidified gas inlet chamber 13 and the humidified gas outlet chamber 15.

The housing 12 further has: a humidified gas inlet port 12a formed in the upstream side end wall and communicating with the humidified gas inlet chamber 13; and a humidified gas outlet port 12b formed in the downstream-side end wall and communicating with the humidified gas outlet chamber 15. The humidified gas inlet port 12a and the humidified gas outlet port 12b are connected to the conduit 180. An air inlet 12c and an air outlet 12d communicating with the outside space of the hollow wire 14a, that is, the inside of the working chamber 17 are formed in the side wall of the housing 12, and a fan 16 for supplying outside air into the working chamber 17 is provided at the air inlet 12 c. Further, a humidity sensor 18 is provided on the downstream side of the casing 12 in the duct 180, and the control unit 150 controls the rotation speed of the fan 16 so that the humidity measured by the humidity sensor 18 becomes a predetermined humidity.

The hollow bundle 14 includes 50 to 1000 hollow threads 14a having moisture permeability, and the hollow threads 14a are preferably formed of a fluorine-based polymer film having a sulfone acid as a functional group, for example, a perfluorosulfonic acid ion exchange (Nafion) film, a polyimide film, or a polyetherimide film manufactured by dupont, u.s.a. In particular, polyimide films manufactured by Utsui Kabushiki Kaisha and polyetherimide films manufactured by Kuntaki Kaisha are preferable because the change in the water vapor transmission rate with time is small. The number of the hollow fibers 14a is determined by the flow rate of the humidified gas, the target humidification degree, the water vapor permeation rate of the hollow fibers 14a, the length and diameter of the hollow fibers 14a, the air flow rate generated by the fan 16, and the like.

FIG. 4 is a graph showing the results of experiments using the humidifying device shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, in which the humidity of the oxygen-enriched gas as the humidified gas is shown relative to the total cross-sectional area (Σ S) of the hollow fiber 14a_hy) And the cross-sectional area S of the slave operation chamber 17_apThe ratio of the air flow path cross-sectional area excluding the sum of the cross-sectional areas of the hollow wires 14a (cross-sectional area ratio ∑ S)_by/(S_ap-∑S_by)). The hollow wire harness 14 used in the experiment has 200-1000 hollow wires 14a, the hollow wires 14a are made of polyimide film, the inner diameter is about 400 μm, the outer diameter is about 500 μm, the length is 150mm, and waterVapor transmission rate of about 200X 10^-5cm³(STP)/(cm²sec cm Hg). As humidified gas, at 5000cm³The oxygen-enriched gas was supplied at 23 ℃ per min. The fan 16 is a small, low-noise axial fan and supplies air at 23 ℃ and 50% RH (relative humidity).

Referring to fig. 4, when the cross-sectional area ratio is in the range of 0.1 to 0.7, the oxygen-enriched gas in a substantially completely dry state is humidified to a relative humidity of about 40% RH or more and can be used in a medical gas supply system. Particularly, when the cross-sectional area ratio is in the range of 0.2 to 0.6, the oxygen-enriched gas in a nearly absolutely dry state can be humidified to a relative humidity of about 45% RH or more.

Next, a humidifying device according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to fig. 5 and 6.

The humidifier 20 according to the second embodiment has substantially the same configuration as the humidifier 10 according to the first embodiment, and includes: the hollow wire harness includes a hollow cylindrical housing 22 and a plurality of hollow wires 24 arranged in the housing 22, and each of the plurality of hollow wires 24 is composed of a plurality of hollow wires 24 a. Partition walls 16a and 16b are further provided in the casing 22, and the internal space of the casing 22 is divided by the partition walls 16a and 16b into: a humidified gas inlet chamber 23 adjoining the upstream end face of the hollow wire bundle 24 and communicating with the internal space of the hollow wire 24 a; a humidified gas outlet chamber 25 adjoining the downstream-side end face of the hollow wire bundle 24 and communicating with the internal space of the hollow wire 24 a; and an action chamber 27 between the humidified gas inlet chamber 23 and the humidified gas outlet chamber 25.

The housing 22 further has: a humidified gas inlet port 22a formed in the upstream side end wall and communicating with the humidified gas inlet chamber 23; and a humidified gas outlet port 22b formed in the downstream-side end wall and communicating with the humidified gas outlet chamber 25. The humidified gas inlet port 22a and the humidified gas outlet port 22b are connected to the duct 180. An air inlet 22c and an air outlet 22d in an operation chamber 27, which are external spaces communicating with the hollow wire 24a, are formed in a side wall of the casing 22, and a fan 26 for supplying external air into the operation chamber 27 is provided at the air inlet 22 c. Further, a humidity sensor 28 is provided on the downstream side of the casing 22 in the duct 180, and the control unit 150 controls the rotation speed of the fan 26 so that the humidity measured by the humidity sensor 28 becomes a predetermined humidity.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 5 and 6, there are 7 hollow strands 24, and each hollow strand 24 has 100 hollow wires 24 a. The hollow wire 24a may be the same as the hollow wire 14a of the first embodiment. The number of the hollow fibers 24a is determined by the flow rate of the humidified gas, the target humidification degree, the water vapor permeation rate of the hollow fibers 24a, the length and diameter of the hollow fibers 24a, the air flow rate generated by the fan 26, and the like; the number of the hollow strands 24 depends on the number of the hollow wires 24a used. For example, in the case where 500 hollow wires 24a are required, the hollow wires 24 may have 50 to 100 hollow wires 24a, respectively, in the case of 1000, the hollow wires 24 may have 50 to 250 hollow wires 24a, respectively, in the case of 2000, the hollow wires 24 may have 100 to 500 hollow wires 24a, respectively, and in the case of 5000, the hollow wires 24 may have 200 to 1000 hollow wires 24a, respectively.

Further, when the hollow fiber membrane bundle 24 is housed in the case 22, if the gap between the case 22 and the hollow fiber membrane bundle 24 is excessively large, the air supplied by the fan 26 is discharged from the case 22 without entering the hollow fiber membrane bundle 24, so that so-called short pass (short pass) occurs, and the humidification performance is remarkably lowered. Therefore, the hollow fiber membrane bundle 24 must be disposed in the housing 22 with a gap of several mm or less.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described, the present invention is not limited thereto, and various changes and modifications may be made by those skilled in the art.

For example, although the medical oxygen-enriched gas supply system has been described as the medical gas supply system using the present invention, the present invention is not limited to this, and the humidifier of the present invention may be used to humidify other medical gases, for example, to humidify nitrous oxide gas. The humidifier of the present invention can be used for humidifying oxygen-concentrated gas obtained by separating nitrogen from air as medical gas, and can also be used for humidifying oxygen gas generated by evaporating liquid oxygen.

Claims

1. A humidifying device for humidifying a gas to be humidified by water vapor in the air, comprising:

a hollow wire bundle in which a plurality of hollow wires that have permeated water vapor are oriented in a predetermined axial direction and bundled;

a casing having a space for accommodating the hollow wire harness, the casing having a humidified gas inlet communicating with an internal space of the hollow wire, a humidified gas outlet communicating with the internal space of the hollow wire, an air inlet communicating with an external space of the hollow wire in the casing for introducing air from the atmosphere, and an air outlet communicating with the external space of the hollow wire in the casing;

a blower mechanism provided at an air inlet of the housing and introducing air from the atmosphere into an external space of the hollow wire in the housing,

2. The humidifier according to claim 1, wherein the cross-sectional area ratio is 0.2 to 0.6.

3. The humidification apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the hollow fiber is formed of a polyimide film or a polyetherimide film.

4. The humidifying device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the humidifying device comprises:

a humidity sensor provided at an outlet of the humidified gas and detecting humidity of the humidified gas; and

and a control unit that controls the blower unit so that the humidity of the humidified gas detected by the humidity sensor becomes a predetermined value.

5. The humidification apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said humidified gas is an oxygen-concentrated gas.

6. A medical oxygen concentration system for adsorbing and removing nitrogen from air to generate a medical oxygen concentrated gas, comprising:

a pressure-swing oxygen concentration unit having a plurality of adsorption cylinders filled with an adsorbent having selective adsorption for nitrogen;

a conduit for guiding the oxygen-concentrated gas generated in the oxygen concentration unit to a user;

a pressure adjusting mechanism disposed on the conduit for adjusting the outlet pressure of the oxygen concentration section to a constant pressure;

a flow rate adjusting mechanism for adjusting the flow rate of the oxygen-concentrated gas flowing through the conduit to a constant flow rate; and

the humidifying device of claim 1.

7. A humidifying device for humidifying a gas to be humidified by water vapor in the air, comprising:

a plurality of hollow strands, which are bundled by orienting a plurality of hollow strands that have permeated water vapor in a predetermined axial direction;

a casing having a space for accommodating the plurality of hollow wires, the casing having a humidified gas inlet communicating with an inner space of each of the plurality of hollow wires, a humidified gas outlet communicating with an inner space of each of the plurality of hollow wires, an air inlet communicating with an outer space of the hollow wire in the casing for introducing air from the atmosphere, and an air outlet communicating with an outer space of the hollow wire in the casing;

and an air blowing mechanism provided at an air inlet of the housing and introducing air from the atmosphere into an external space of the hollow wire in the housing.

8. The humidification apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein the hollow wire is made of a polyimide film or a polyetherimide film.

9. The humidifying device as claimed in claim 7, wherein the hollow wire bundles comprise 50 to 1000 hollow wires, respectively.

10. The humidifying device as claimed in claim 7, wherein the humidifying device comprises:

11. Humidifying device as claimed in claim 7,

the humidified gas is an oxygen-concentrated gas.

12. A medical oxygen concentration system for adsorbing and removing nitrogen from air to generate a medical oxygen concentrated gas, comprising:

the humidifying device of claim 7.