JP5907705B2 - Compressor for medical equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a compressor, for example, a compressor for an oxygen concentrator. The present invention particularly relates to a cooling structure for a compressor.

  Some oxygen concentrators are used in home oxygen therapy (HOT) in which patients with respiratory diseases inhale oxygen at home.

  The oxygen concentrator compresses indoor air taken in through a filter and an intake tank by a compressor. The oxygen concentrator separates high-concentration oxygen from the compressed air by passing the compressed air through a sieve bed (adsorption tower). The sieve bed is filled with an adsorbent (for example, zeolite) having a property of adsorbing nitrogen to pressurized air and desorbing nitrogen to decompressed air. Since the high-concentration oxygen discharged from the sieve bed is dry, it is humidified by the humidifying unit. The high-concentration oxygen after humidification is supplied into the patient body through a nasal cannula worn by the patient at the time of use.

  By the way, since the compressor generates heat when compressing air, the temperature of the compressed air rises. When the temperature of the compressed air rises, the temperature of the high concentration oxygen supplied to the user also rises, so that the user feels uncomfortable. Further, the rise in the temperature of the compressor adversely affects the durability of the compressor.

  Therefore, a conventional oxygen concentrator compressor is generally provided with a cooling section for cooling the compressor itself or compressed air. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for cooling a compressor by blowing cooling air to an air compression unit of the compressor.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 1, there are some which cool the compressed air by providing a cooling pipe. The configuration of FIG. 1 will be described. The compressor shown in the figure is a two-cylinder compressor and includes cylinders 30 and 40. The cylinders 30 and 40 are so-called air compression units. Outside air is introduced into the cylinder 30 through an inlet 31. The discharge port 32 of the cylinder 30 and the introduction port 41 of the cylinder 40 are communicated with each other through the connection pipe 11. As a result, the compressed air generated by the cylinder 30 is introduced into the cylinder 40 via the discharge port 32, the connection pipe 11, and the introduction port 41. The compressed air introduced into the cylinder 40 is further compressed by the cylinder 40 and then sent to a sheave bed (not shown) through the cooling pipe 10 connected to the discharge port 42 of the cylinder 40.

JP 2006-230804 A JP 2008-039322 A

  Incidentally, the configuration in which the compressed air is cooled by the cooling pipe as shown in FIG. 1 has the following drawbacks.

-Since compressed air flows in one pipe, noise due to pipe resonance and vibration is likely to occur.
-Cooling efficiency is low.
-In order to increase the cooling efficiency, the cooling pipe may be lengthened. However, this causes new problems such as an increase in installation area and difficulty in assembly. In addition, when trying to cool the compressor main body by blowing air, there is also a problem that the cooling pipe is hindered by the wind and cooling of the compressor main body becomes insufficient.
-In the case of a multi-cylinder type compressor having three or more cylinders, the structure for connecting cylinders by connecting pipes becomes complicated.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a compressor for medical equipment that has a simple connection structure, low noise, good cooling efficiency, small installation space, and easy assembly.

One aspect of the medical device compressor of the present invention is:
A multi-cylinder type compressor body that generates compressed air by a plurality of cylinders;
A plurality of hollow plates which are laminated with a gap, coupled to said compressed air discharge opening of the sheet Linda compressor body, and passage of the compressed air is formed in the plurality of hollow plate, and the A heat exchanger configured such that the cooling air can pass through the gaps between the plurality of hollow plates, and disposed at a position where the compressor main body exists in the cooling air passage direction ; and
It comprises.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to realize a compressor for medical equipment that has a simple connection structure, low noise, good cooling efficiency, small installation space, and easy assembly.

The figure which shows the structure of the conventional compressor which has a cooling pipe The figure which shows schematic structure of the oxygen concentrator which concerns on one embodiment of this invention. The block diagram which shows schematic structure of the control system of the oxygen concentrator of embodiment A perspective view showing the configuration of the compressor (with the heat exchanger attached to the compressor body) A perspective view showing the configuration of the compressor (with the heat exchanger removed from the compressor body) Exploded perspective view showing the configuration of the heat exchanger The figure which shows the appearance of the wind passing through the heat exchanger The figure which shows the appearance of the wind passing through the heat exchanger The perspective view which shows the structure of the compressor of other embodiment (The state which attached the heat exchanger to the compressor main body) The perspective view which shows the structure of the compressor of other embodiment (The state which removed the heat exchanger from the compressor main body)

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[1] Overall Configuration of Oxygen Concentrator FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a piping system of an oxygen concentrator according to an embodiment of the present invention. The oxygen concentrator 100 illustrated in FIG. 2 is a PSA (Pressure Swing Adsorption) type oxygen concentrator including an air intake unit 110, a compressor 200, a PSA unit 130, an oxygen storage unit 140, and an oxygen supply unit 150.

  The air intake unit 110 is a part that takes in outside air as raw material air into the housing, and includes an intake filter 111, a hepa filter 112, and the like. The intake filter 111 removes airborne particles such as dust and dust from the raw material air introduced through the air intake port 113 provided in the housing. The hepa filter 112 removes fine particles that have not been removed by the intake filter 111.

  The compressor 200 compresses the raw material air introduced through the air intake unit 110 to generate compressed air. In addition, a fan 201 that blows air for cooling toward the compressor 200 is provided in the vicinity of the compressor 200.

  The PSA unit 130 functions as a high concentration oxygen generation unit. The PSA unit 130 separates nitrogen from the compressed air generated by the compressor 200 to generate high-concentration oxygen, and sends this to the oxygen storage unit 140. The PSA unit 130 includes a flow path switching unit 131, an exhaust silencer 132, sheave beds (adsorption towers) 133A and 133B, a purge orifice 134, a pressure equalizing valve 135, a check valve 136, and the like.

  The flow path switching unit 131 is configured by a manifold (manifold) having four switching valves SV1 to SV4, and alternately sends the compressed air generated by the compressor 200 to the sheave beds 133A and 133B, and also the sheave bed 133A. 133B is alternately opened to atmospheric pressure, and nitrogen-enriched air is discharged.

  Specifically, in the flow path switching unit 131, the switching valve SV1 is “open” and the switching valve SV2 is “closed”, whereby the flow path from the compressor 200 toward the sheave bed 133A is opened, The flow path from the sheave bed 133A toward the exhaust silencer 132 is closed. At the same time, in the flow path switching unit 131, the switching valve SV3 is “closed” and the switching valve SV4 is “open”, whereby the flow path from the compressor 200 toward the sheave bed 133B is closed, while the sheave bed 133B. To the exhaust silencer 132 is opened. In this case, the compressed air generated by the compressor 200 is sent to the sheave bed 133A, and nitrogen-enriched air is released from the sheave bed 133B and exhausted through the exhaust silencer 132.

  Further, when the switching valves SV1 to SV4 are in the reverse state, the compressed air generated by the compressor 200 is sent to the sheave bed 133B, and nitrogen-enriched air is discharged from the sheave bed 133A and exhausted. The air is exhausted through the silencer 132. The open / close state of the switching valves SV1 to SV4 is switched at intervals of 10 seconds, for example.

  The exhaust silencer 132 is connected to an exhaust port (not shown) provided in the casing of the oxygen concentrator 100 and exhausts when nitrogen-enriched air discharged from the sheave beds 133A and 133B is discharged to the outside of the casing. Mute the sound.

  The sheave beds 133A and 133B separate nitrogen from the compressed air sent via the flow path switching unit 131 to generate high-concentration oxygen. The sieve beds 133A and 133B are filled with an adsorbent such as zeolite having the property of adsorbing nitrogen faster than oxygen.

  When the flow path from the compressor 200 is opened by the flow path switching unit 131, the sieve beds 133 </ b> A and 133 </ b> B are in a pressurized state by being fed with compressed air. At this time, in the sheave beds 133A and 133B, nitrogen and moisture are adsorbed and only oxygen passes, so that high-concentration oxygen is generated (adsorption process).

  The concentration of high-concentration oxygen generated in the sheave beds 133A and 133B is adjusted to, for example, about 90%. Further, since zeolite adsorbs not only nitrogen but also moisture, the high-concentration oxygen produced in the sieve beds 133A and 133B is extremely dry (for example, humidity 0.1 to 0.2%).

  On the other hand, the sheave beds 133A and 133B are opened to the atmospheric pressure and in a reduced pressure state when the flow path to the exhaust silencer 132 is opened by the flow path switching unit 131. At this time, nitrogen and moisture adsorbed on the zeolite are desorbed, nitrogen-enriched air is released from the sheave beds 133A, 133B, and exhausted through the exhaust silencer 132. Thereby, the adsorption capacity of the sheave beds 133A and 133B is regenerated (regeneration step).

  The sheave beds 133A and 133B are connected to the product tank 141 of the oxygen reservoir 140 via check valves 136A and 136B. The check valves 136A and 136B prevent the high concentration oxygen stored in the product tank 141 from flowing back to the sheave beds 133A and 133B.

  Further, the downstream side of the sheave beds 133A and 133B is connected by a pipe having a purge orifice 134. The high-concentration oxygen produced in one sheave bed 133A (or 133B) is sent to the oxygen reservoir 140 via the check valve 136A (or 136B), and the other sheave bed 133B via the purge orifice 134. (Or 133A). A part of the generated high-concentration oxygen is sent to the other sheave bed 133B (or 133A), whereby the regeneration process of the sheave bed 133B (or 133A) is efficiently performed. The flow rate of the high concentration oxygen in each flow path is controlled by the orifice diameter of the purge orifice 134.

  Further, the downstream side of the sheave beds 133A and 133B is connected by a pipe having a pressure equalizing valve 135. When the sieve beds 133A and 133B in the regeneration process are switched to the adsorption process, if compressed air is allowed to flow in under reduced pressure (atmospheric pressure), the nitrogen adsorption efficiency is poor. Therefore, the pressure equalizing valve 135 is “open” at the time of switching, and the pressures of the sheave beds 133A and 133B are averaged.

  The oxygen storage unit 140 is a part that temporarily stores the high-concentration oxygen generated by the PSA unit 130. The oxygen storage unit 140 includes a product tank 141, a pressure adjustment unit (pressure regulator) 142, an oxygen sensor 143, a pressure sensor 144, and the like.

  The product tank 141 is a container for storing high-concentration oxygen produced in the sheave beds 133A and 133B. The high concentration oxygen delivered from the sheave beds 133A and 133B is temporarily stored in the product tank 141, so that the concentration fluctuation and pressure fluctuation of the high concentration oxygen are suppressed. Concentrated oxygen can be supplied.

  The pressure adjusting unit 142 adjusts the pressure of the high concentration oxygen to a constant pressure suitable for use in order to control the flow rate of the high concentration oxygen to be supplied. The pressure of the high concentration oxygen stored in the product tank 141 fluctuates as long as there is an inflow to the product tank 141 or an outflow from the product tank 141. In this case, accurate flow rate control becomes difficult, and accurate concentration measurement by the oxygen sensor 143 becomes difficult. Considering this, the high-concentration oxygen is adjusted to a constant pressure by the pressure adjusting unit 142.

  The oxygen sensor 143 detects the concentration of the high concentration oxygen delivered from the pressure adjustment unit 142 at a predetermined interval (for example, 20 minutes) or continuously. As the oxygen sensor 143, for example, a zirconia sensor or an ultrasonic sensor is suitable. Since accurate measurement becomes difficult if the pressure of the high-concentration oxygen to be measured fluctuates, generally, the oxygen sensor 143 is connected to the downstream of the pressure adjustment unit 142 via a flow restriction orifice 145.

  The pressure sensor 144 detects the pressure of high-concentration oxygen stored in the product tank 141. Based on the detection result by the pressure sensor 144, it can be confirmed whether the pressure of the high concentration oxygen stored in the product tank 141 is maintained in a normal range.

  The oxygen supply unit 150 is a part that releases the high-concentration oxygen delivered from the oxygen storage unit 140 from the oxygen outlet 156 in synchronization with the user's breathing. The oxygen supply unit 150 includes a bacterial filter 151, a tuning valve 152, a pressure sensor 153, a humidification unit 155, and the like.

  The bacterial filter 151 collects and disinfects bacteria contained in the high concentration oxygen in order to supply clean high concentration oxygen to the user.

  The tuning valve 152 is configured by a three-way valve having ports P1 to P3, and switches the flow path to open according to the user's breathing and adjusts the opening degree of the flow path to supply high concentration to the user. Control the flow rate of oxygen. The bacteria filter 151 is connected to the port P1 of the tuning valve 152, the humidification unit 155 is connected to the port P2, and the pressure sensor 153 is connected to the port P3.

  For example, when the tuning valve 152 is opened, a flow path (first flow path) connecting the port P1 and the port P2 is opened, and high-concentration oxygen is released from the oxygen outlet 156. On the other hand, when the tuning valve 152 is closed, the flow path (second flow path) connecting the port P2 and the port P3 is opened, and the pressure fluctuation accompanying the breathing of the user can be detected by the pressure sensor 153.

  The pressure sensor 153 is a sensor for detecting a user's respiration, and is connected to the port P3 of the tuning valve 152 and has a flow rate downstream of the tuning valve 152 (a flow path connecting the port P2 and the humidifying unit 155). Connected via a restrictive orifice 154. Therefore, in a state where the tuning valve 152 is “closed” (a state where the second flow path is opened), it is possible to detect a pressure that changes as the user breathes, and the tuning valve 152 is “open”. In the state of "" (the state in which the first flow path is open), it is possible to detect the pressure that changes with the supply of oxygen.

  In the oxygen concentrator 100, the open / close state of the tuning valve 152 is controlled based on the detection result by the pressure sensor 153. Specifically, when the negative pressure is detected by the pressure sensor 153 in a state where the tuning valve 152 is “closed”, the tuning valve 152 is instantaneously opened and supply of high-concentration oxygen is started. Is done. Then, after a predetermined time has elapsed, the tuning valve 152 is “closed”, whereby a predetermined amount of high-concentration oxygen is released. The high-concentration oxygen released from the oxygen supply unit 150 is supplied to the user via a nasal cannula or oxygen mask connected to the oxygen outlet 156.

  Since the high concentration oxygen is in an extremely dry state, a humidification unit 155 for humidifying the high concentration oxygen is disposed upstream of the oxygen outlet 156.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a control system of the oxygen concentrator according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 160 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 161, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 162, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 163, and the like. The CPU 161 reads a program corresponding to the processing content from the ROM 163 and develops it in the RAM 162, and controls the operation of each block of the oxygen concentrator 100 in cooperation with the developed program.

  Specifically, the control unit 160 receives detection signals from the oxygen sensor 143 of the oxygen storage unit 140, the pressure sensor 153 of the oxygen supply unit 150, the temperature sensor 171 installed inside the housing, and other various sensors. Entered. The control unit 160 receives an operation signal for instructing the set flow rate when, for example, the user sets the supply flow rate in the operation unit 181 having operation buttons and the like.

  Based on these input signals, the control unit 160 controls the number of rotations of the drive motor of the compressor 200, and controls the open / close state and opening degree of the switching valves SV1 to SV4 and the tuning valve 152 of the flow path switching unit 131. Or By such control, high concentration oxygen is supplied from the oxygen concentrator 100 at a set flow rate.

  In addition, the control unit 160 performs control related to display on the display unit 182 including a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting diode (LED), and control related to audio output from the speaker 183. . The display unit 182 and the speaker 183 are used when notifying various information to the user.

  Although not shown, the oxygen concentrator 100 is provided with an interface that can be connected to a communication network such as a wireless local area network (LAN) or Bluetooth (registered trademark) so that various data can be transmitted to and received from an external device. Also good.

[2] Compressor Configuration FIGS. 4 and 5 show the configuration of the compressor 200 of the present embodiment.

  The compressor 200 includes a multi-cylinder type compressor body 210 and a heat exchanger 300.

  The compressor main body 210 is provided with cylinders 220 and 230 and motors 221 and 231 that drive the cylinders 220 and 230. The cylinders 220 and 230 generate compressed air.

  The heat exchanger 300 is attached between the compressed air discharge ports 222 and 232 so as to communicate between the compressed air discharge ports 222 and 232 of the cylinders 220 and 230. That is, the compressed air discharge port 222 of the cylinder 220 is connected to the introduction port 301 of the heat exchanger 300, and the compressed air discharge port 232 of the cylinder 230 is connected to the introduction port 302 of the heat exchanger 300, so that the compressed air is It is introduced into the heat exchanger 300. The heat exchanger 300 lowers the temperature of the introduced compressed air, and the compressed air whose temperature has been lowered is sent to the PSA unit 130 via the discharge port 303.

  FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of the heat exchanger 300. The heat exchanger 300 used in the present embodiment has the same principle configuration as the heat exchanger disclosed in Patent Document 2, for example. That is, the heat exchanger 300 is composed of a plurality of hollow plates (represented as flat hollow tubes in Patent Document 2) 310 stacked with gaps, and air is circulated through the plurality of hollow plates 310. By doing so, the gauge is made uniform in terms of cooling the air. The hollow plate 310 is made of aluminum or stainless steel having a thickness of about 0.1 [mm].

  As shown in FIG. 6, the heat exchanger 300 according to the present embodiment includes compressed air inlets 301 and 302, a compressed air outlet 303, a plurality of hollow plates 310 stacked with a gap, and an introduction passage 320. And a discharge passage 330.

  The compressed air introduction ports 301 and 302 communicate with the compressed air discharge ports 222 and 232 of the cylinders 220 and 230, respectively. The introduction passage 320 is a flow path for communicating the compressed air introduction ports 301 and 302 with the plurality of hollow plates 310 and guiding the compressed air introduced into the compressed air introduction ports 301 and 302 to the plurality of hollow plates 310. . The discharge passage 330 is a flow path for allowing the compressed air discharge port 303 to communicate with the plurality of hollow plates 310 and guiding the compressed air that has passed through the plurality of hollow plates 310 to the compressed air discharge port 303.

  Thereby, the heat exchanger 300 guides the compressed air introduced from the compressed air introduction ports 301 and 302 to the plurality of hollow plates 310 via the introduction passage 320 as indicated by arrows in the drawing. The compressed air whose temperature has been lowered by passing through the plurality of hollow plates 310 is discharged from the compressed air discharge port 303 through the discharge passage 330.

  Here, in the heat exchanger 300, since the plurality of hollow plates 310 are laminated with a gap, as shown in FIG. 7, when the wind is applied from a direction parallel to the gap, the wind passes through the gap. That is, when wind is sent from the upper side of FIG. 4 toward the heat exchanger 300 by the fan 201 (FIG. 2), the wind hits the compressor main body 210 after passing through the heat exchanger 300. In other words, in the present embodiment, the heat exchanger 300 is attached to the compressor body 210 so that the wind passing through the gaps between the plurality of hollow plates 310 faces the direction of the compressor body 210. Thereby, in the configuration of the present embodiment, the compressor 201 can be cooled by the fan 201 in addition to the cooling of the heat exchanger 300.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 8, when the direction of the wind sent from the fan 201 is not parallel to the gap of the heat exchanger 300, the heat exchanger 300 allows the wind to pass through the gaps of the plurality of hollow plates. The direction of the wind sent from the fan 201 can be changed and directed to the compressor body 210. Thereby, it is not necessary to arrange the fan 201 toward the compressor main body 210, and the degree of freedom of the positional relationship between the fan 201 and the compressor main body 210 can be increased. As a result, for example, the degree of freedom of the internal structure of the oxygen concentrator is increased, and the size can be reduced.

[3] Effects According to the present embodiment, the compressor 200 includes the multi-cylinder type compressor body 210 that generates compressed air by the plurality of cylinders 220 and 230, and the plurality of hollow plates 310 that are stacked with a gap. And a heat exchanger 300 attached to the compressor main body 210 so as to communicate between the compressed air discharge ports 222 and 232 of the cylinders 220 and 230 of the compressor main body 210.

  As a result, the compressor 200 having a simple connection structure, low noise, good cooling efficiency, small installation space, and easy assembly, compared to the case of using a cooling pipe as shown in FIG. realizable. For example, the following effects can also be obtained.

  -Since the heat exchanger 300 has a thin plate structure, the pressure loss of the cooling air in the heat exchanger 300 is small. Therefore, the compressor main body 210 can also be efficiently cooled. In addition, since the heat exchanger 300 can change the direction of the wind sent from the fan 201 and direct it toward the compressor main body 210, the degree of freedom in the positional relationship between the fan 201 and the compressor main body 210 can be increased. .

  The connection pipe 11 as shown in FIG. 1 is not necessary, and the connection between the pistons of the three or more cylinder compressors becomes easy.

  -Since a plurality of paths in the heat exchanger 300 can be taken, it is possible to construct a system by collecting heat (for example, water cooling, heat pump, gas-liquid separation, etc.).

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to a two-cylinder compressor has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this and can be widely applied to a multi-cylinder type compressor.

  9 and 10 are examples in which the present invention is applied to a four-cylinder compressor. The compressor 400 has four cylinders 410, 420, 430, 440. In this case, the heat exchanger 500 may be attached to the compressor body so as to communicate between the compressed air discharge ports of the four cylinders 410, 420, 430, and 440.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to a compressor for an oxygen concentrator has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be widely applied as a compressor for medical devices. For example, when used in a compressor for a ventilator, the same effect as that of the above-described embodiment can be obtained.

  As mentioned above, the invention made by the present inventor has been specifically described based on the embodiment. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and can be changed without departing from the gist thereof.

  The embodiment disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

  The present invention can be applied to a compressor for an oxygen concentrator, for example.

100 Oxygen concentrator 200, 400 Compressor 210 Compressor main body 220, 230, 410, 420, 430, 440 Cylinder 221, 231 Motor 222, 232 Compressed air outlet 300, 500 Heat exchanger 301, 302 Compressed air inlet 303 Compressed air Discharge port 310 Hollow plate 320 Introduction passage 330 Discharge passage

Claims (5)

A multi-cylinder type compressor body that generates compressed air by a plurality of cylinders;
A plurality of hollow plates which are laminated with a gap, coupled to said compressed air discharge opening of the sheet Linda compressor body, and passage of the compressed air is formed in the plurality of hollow plate, and the A heat exchanger configured such that the cooling air can pass through the gaps between the plurality of hollow plates, and disposed at a position where the compressor main body exists in the cooling air passage direction ; and
A medical device compressor. The heat exchanger is
A compressed air inlet that communicates with the compressed air outlet of each cylinder;
Introducing the compressed air introduction port and the plurality of hollow plates, and introducing the compressed air introduced into the compressed air introduction port to the plurality of hollow plates;
A compressed air outlet,
A discharge passage for communicating the compressed air discharge port and the plurality of hollow plates, and guiding the compressed air that has passed through the plurality of hollow plates to the air discharge port;
The medical device compressor according to claim 1. The heat exchanger is attached to the compressor body so that the cooling air that has passed through the gaps of the plurality of hollow plates faces the direction of the compressor body.
The medical device compressor according to claim 1 or 2. The heat exchanger, by the cooling air sent from the fan is passed through the gap between the plurality of hollow plates, directed to the compressor body by changing the direction of the cooling air sent from the fan,
The medical device compressor according to claim 3. The heat exchanger is disposed at a position between a plurality of cylinder heads.
The compressor for medical devices as described in any one of Claims 1-4.

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