JP7548754B2 - Low oxygen air supply device and training device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a hypoxic air supplying device that uses air as a raw material, generates hypoxic air with a lower oxygen concentration than outside air, and supplies the hypoxic air to other equipment. The present invention also relates to a training device that can perform simulated high altitude training.

There are training devices that artificially create environments that are different from normal indoor and outdoor environments and allow training in those environments. For example, a low-oxygen environment that mimics high altitude is created, and training in that environment aims to increase endurance and improve cardiopulmonary function.
The hypoxic room disclosed in Patent Document 1 allows training to be carried out in an artificially created hypoxic environment.

Furthermore, Patent Document 2 discloses an air supply device equipped with a first special environment chamber with a high oxygen concentration and a second special environment chamber with a low oxygen concentration.
FIG. 4 of Patent Document 2 discloses a configuration in which a single special environment chamber can be switched between an environment with a high oxygen concentration and an environment with a low oxygen concentration.

Patent No. 4721150 JP 2018-29750 A

One way to create a low-oxygen environment in a training room is to use a polymer separation membrane type raw air generator. Polymer separation membrane type raw air generators are often used to generate nitrogen gas; they pressurize air with a compressor or the like, and then introduce the compressed air to separate the oxygen and generate gas with a higher nitrogen ratio than the outside air.
The low-oxygen air generated by the raw air generator here may have an oxygen concentration that is too low for high-altitude training, so outside air may be mixed in to adjust the oxygen concentration before it is supplied to the training room.

As a method for adjusting the oxygen concentration, the method shown in the piping diagram of FIG. 9 and the method shown in the piping diagram of FIG. 10 are conceivable.
The method shown in FIG. 9 is a method in which outside air is taken in using a separate blower or the like and mixed with the low-oxygen air generated in the feed air generation apparatus (hereinafter sometimes referred to as low-oxygen feed air).

The method shown in Figure 10 is a method of branching the flow path that is pressurized by an air compressor and introduced into the raw air generator, and mixing the air flowing through the branched flow path with the low-oxygen raw air generated by the raw air generator. In other words, the method shown in Figure 10 branches the air pressurized by the compressor and introduces it into the secondary flow path of the raw air generator.

The former method of using a separate fan requires the installation of a fan separate from the air compressor, and also requires the installation of a duct to take in outside air.
Therefore, this approach often results in a large system that includes a training room.

The latter method of branching the primary side flow path of the raw air generator and flowing air into the secondary side of the raw air generator requires a single air compressor to supply both the air to be introduced into the raw air generator and the air to be introduced into the secondary side, which can place a heavy burden on the air compressor.
This requires the use of a large air compressor, which can result in the system, including the training room, becoming large.

In addition, the air supply device disclosed in Patent Document 2 employs a method in which the primary side flow passage leading to the latter raw air generator is branched off to flow air to the secondary side of the raw air generator.
In the air supply device disclosed in FIG. 4 of Patent Document 2, when the special environment chamber is to have a low oxygen concentration, outside air branched off from the primary side flow path is introduced into the secondary side of the raw air generator.
In the air supply device of Patent Document 2, low-oxygen feed air and oxygen-rich air with a high oxygen concentration generated in a feed air generation device (hereinafter sometimes referred to as oxygen-rich feed air) are not supplied simultaneously to the special environment chamber.

The present invention focuses on the above-mentioned problems of the conventional technology, and has as its object to provide a low oxygen air supplying device that can be made smaller than conventional devices.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a training apparatus that enables a low-oxygen air supply device attached to a training room to be made smaller than that of the prior art.

The applicants have decided to produce low-oxygen air using a gas separation membrane capable of separating nitrogen and oxygen.
That is, air is introduced into a gas separation membrane to prepare low-oxygen feed air having a lower oxygen concentration than the air, and high-oxygen feed air having a higher oxygen concentration than the air, and the desired low-oxygen air is produced by mixing the low-oxygen feed air with the high-oxygen feed air.
The inventors of the present invention constructed a prototype hypoxic air supplying device based on this concept, but faced the problem that it was sometimes difficult to stably control the oxygen concentration of the hypoxic air.

An embodiment for solving the above-mentioned problems is a hypoxic air supplying device that supplies hypoxic air having a lower oxygen concentration than raw air, the hypoxic air supplying device having a special air generating device, the special air generating device having a gas separating member capable of separating nitrogen and oxygen, the special air generating device having an air inlet, a first discharge section, and a second discharge section, raw air is introduced from the air inlet, low-oxygen raw air having a lower oxygen concentration than the raw air is discharged from the first discharge section, and high-oxygen raw air having a higher oxygen concentration than the raw air is discharged from the second discharge section, the hypoxic air supplying device having a mixing section that mixes the low-oxygen raw air and the high-oxygen raw air to generate low-oxygen mixed air having a lower oxygen concentration than the raw air, an exhaust section that exhausts excess high-oxygen raw air to the outside of the system, detection means that detects any of the oxygen concentration, nitrogen concentration, pressure, or flow rate of the low-oxygen raw air, flow rate control means that is provided at any position of the first group, and control means that controls the flow rate control means based on the detection value of the detection means.
First group (1): Between the second exhaust section and the exhaust section.
(2) Between the second discharge section and the mixing section.
(3) From the mixing section to the destination where the low oxygen air is supplied.
(4) Between the first discharge section and the mixing section.

"Between the second discharge section and the exhaust section" includes the location of the "exhaust section." That is, a flow rate control means may be provided in the exhaust section.
As a specific measure for "controlling the flow rate control means based on the detection value of the detection means", for example, it is conceivable to control the flow rate control means so that the detection value of the detection means falls within a certain range.
"So that the detection value of the detection means is within a certain range" means that the target value may have a certain range, and does not deny a target value without a range. For example, the flow control means may be controlled so that the detection value of the detection means is a specific value.
In addition, the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air may be calculated based on the nitrogen concentration, pressure, or flow rate of the low-oxygen feed air, and the flow rate control means may be controlled so that this value is within a predetermined range.
Similarly, the nitrogen concentration, pressure, or flow rate of the low-oxygen feed air may be calculated based on the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air, and the flow rate control means may be controlled so that this value is within a predetermined range.
"So that this value falls within a predetermined range" means that the target value may have a range, and does not deny a target value without a range.
The low-oxygen air supplying apparatus of this embodiment adjusts the oxygen concentration by mixing low-oxygen feed air generated in a special air generating apparatus with high-oxygen feed air also generated in a special air generating apparatus.
Therefore, the burden on the upstream device, such as an air compressor that supplies the raw air to the special air generating device, is small, and the upstream device can be made smaller in size.
Furthermore, in the low oxygen air supplying apparatus of this embodiment, there is no need to provide a blower, air compressor, or the like in addition to the device that supplies raw air to the special air generating apparatus.
Therefore, the low oxygen air supplying device of this embodiment can be made smaller than conventional devices.
Furthermore, the hypoxic air generated by the hypoxic air supplying device of this embodiment has a stable oxygen concentration.
The inventors believed that stabilizing the oxygen concentration in low-oxygen feed air was necessary as a prerequisite for stabilizing the oxygen concentration in low-oxygen air, and so made stabilizing the oxygen concentration in low-oxygen feed air their research goal.
In order to stabilize the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air, the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air is directly monitored, and a flow control means provided at another position is controlled so that the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air is stabilized.
In addition, since the ratio of oxygen to nitrogen in the atmosphere is constant, the oxygen concentration in the low-oxygen feed air can be indirectly detected by detecting the nitrogen concentration in the low-oxygen feed air, and therefore the oxygen concentration in the low-oxygen feed air remains stable even if a flow control means provided at another position is controlled based on the nitrogen concentration in the low-oxygen feed air.
It was also found that the oxygen concentration of low-oxygen feed air is correlated with the pressure and flow rate of the low-oxygen feed air, and that by monitoring these it is possible to indirectly learn about fluctuations in the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air.
Therefore, the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air can be stabilized by detecting the pressure of the low-oxygen feed air and controlling a flow control means provided at another position based on this pressure.Furthermore, the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air can be stabilized by detecting the flow rate of the low-oxygen feed air and controlling a flow control means provided at another position based on this flow rate.
In the low-oxygen air supply device of this embodiment, the flow control means described in the first group is controlled based on the detection value of the detection means that detects either the oxygen concentration, nitrogen concentration, pressure, or flow rate of the low-oxygen feed air, thereby stabilizing the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air.
A specific embodiment for solving the above-mentioned problems is a low-oxygen air supplying device that supplies low-oxygen air having a lower oxygen concentration than raw air, the device having a special air generating device, the special air generating device having a gas separating member capable of separating nitrogen and oxygen, the special air generating device having an air inlet, a first discharge section, and a second discharge section, raw air is introduced from the air inlet, low-oxygen raw air having a lower oxygen concentration than the raw air is discharged from the first discharge section, high-oxygen raw air having a higher oxygen concentration than the raw air is discharged from the second discharge section, and the special air generating device having a gas separating member capable of separating nitrogen and oxygen from the air, the special air generating device having an air inlet, a first discharge section, and a second discharge section, ... a mixing section that mixes the low-oxygen feed air discharged from the second discharge section with the high-oxygen feed air discharged from the second discharge section to produce low-oxygen mixed air having a lower oxygen concentration than the feed air, an exhaust section that exhausts excess of the high-oxygen feed air discharged from the second discharge section to the outside of the system, a detection means that detects any of the oxygen concentration, nitrogen concentration, pressure, or flow rate of the low-oxygen feed air, a flow control means provided at any position in the first group, and a control means that controls the flow control means based on the detection value of the detection means.
First group (1): Between the second exhaust section and the exhaust section.
(2) Between the second discharge section and the mixing section.
(3) From the mixing section to the destination where the low oxygen air is supplied.
Another aspect for solving the same problem is a low-oxygen air supplying device for supplying low-oxygen air having a lower oxygen concentration than raw air, the device having a special air generating device, the special air generating device having a gas separating member capable of separating nitrogen and oxygen, the special air generating device having an air inlet, a first discharge section, and a second discharge section, raw air is introduced from the air inlet, low-oxygen raw air having a lower oxygen concentration than the raw air is discharged from the first discharge section, and high-oxygen raw air having a higher oxygen concentration than the raw air is discharged from the second discharge section, and the special air generating device having a gas separating member capable of separating nitrogen and oxygen from the air, the special air generating device having an air inlet, a first discharge section, and a second discharge section. This low-oxygen air supply device comprises a mixing section that mixes the discharged low-oxygen feed air with the high-oxygen feed air discharged from the second discharge section to produce low-oxygen mixed air having a lower oxygen concentration than the feed air, an exhaust section that exhausts excess high-oxygen feed air from the second discharge section to the outside of the system, a detection means that detects the nitrogen concentration or pressure of the low-oxygen feed air, a flow control means that is provided between the first discharge section and the mixing section, and a control means that controls the flow control means based on the detection value of the detection means.

In the above aspect, it is preferable that the detection means is an oxygen concentration detection means provided between the first discharge section and the mixing section.

According to this embodiment, the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air can be detected by the detection means.

Another aspect for solving the above-mentioned problems is a hypoxic air supplying device that supplies hypoxic air having a lower oxygen concentration than raw air, the hypoxic air supplying device having a special air generating device, the special air generating device having a gas separating member capable of separating nitrogen and oxygen, the special air generating device having an air inlet, a first discharge section, and a second discharge section, raw air is introduced from the air inlet, low-oxygen raw air having a lower oxygen concentration than the raw air is discharged from the first discharge section, and high-oxygen raw air having a higher oxygen concentration than the raw air is discharged from the second discharge section, the hypoxic air supplying device having a mixing section that mixes the low-oxygen raw air and the high-oxygen raw air to generate low-oxygen mixed air having a lower oxygen concentration than the raw air, an exhaust section that exhausts excess high-oxygen raw air to the outside of the system, detection means that detects any of the oxygen concentration, nitrogen concentration, pressure, or flow rate of the high-oxygen raw air, flow rate control means that is provided at any position of the first group, and control means that controls the flow rate control means based on the detection value of the detection means.
First group (1): Between the second exhaust section and the exhaust section.
(2) Between the second discharge section and the mixing section.
(3) From the mixing section to the destination where the low oxygen air is supplied.
(4) Between the first discharge section and the mixing section.

"Between the second discharge section and the exhaust section" includes the location of the "exhaust section." That is, a flow rate control means may be provided in the exhaust section.
As a specific measure for "controlling the flow rate control means based on the detection value of the detection means", for example, it is conceivable to control the flow rate control means so that the detection value of the detection means falls within a certain range.
"So that the detection value of the detection means is within a certain range" means that the target value may have a certain range, and does not deny a target value without a range. For example, the flow control means may be controlled so that the detection value of the detection means is a specific value.
In addition, the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air may be calculated based on the oxygen concentration, nitrogen concentration, pressure, or flow rate of the high-oxygen feed air, and the flow rate control means may be controlled so that this value is within a predetermined range.
Similarly, the oxygen concentration, nitrogen concentration, pressure, or flow rate of the low-oxygen feed air may be determined by calculation or the like based on the oxygen concentration, nitrogen concentration, pressure, or flow rate of the high-oxygen feed air, and the flow control means may be controlled so that this value is within a predetermined range.
"So that this value falls within a predetermined range" means that the target value may have a range, and does not deny a target value without a range.
It was found that the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air separated by the gas separating member correlates with the oxygen concentration of the oxygen-rich feed air, the nitrogen concentration of the oxygen-rich feed air, the pressure of the oxygen-rich feed air, or the flow rate of the oxygen-rich feed air. It was also found that the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air can be stabilized by monitoring these and controlling the flow rate control means.
In the low-oxygen air supply device of this embodiment, the flow control means described in the first group is controlled based on the detection value of the detection means that detects either the oxygen concentration, nitrogen concentration, pressure, or flow rate of the high-oxygen feed air, thereby stabilizing the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air.

In each of the above aspects, it is desirable to have an oxygen-rich air flow path that runs from the second discharge section to the mixing section, and an exhaust path that branches off from the oxygen-rich air flow path and runs to the exhaust section, and the flow rate control means is provided in the exhaust path.

It has been found that the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air can be changed by increasing or decreasing the amount of high-oxygen feed air exhausted. This embodiment is based on this finding, and the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air can be stabilized by adjusting the amount of air exhausted outside the system.

In each of the above-mentioned aspects, it is desirable to have an oxygen-rich air flow path from the second discharge section to the mixing section, a branching section that branches off the oxygen-rich air flow path, and an exhaust path that branches off at the branching section and leads to the exhaust section, and the flow rate control means is provided between the second discharge section and the branching section.

According to this embodiment, the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air can be changed by increasing or decreasing the amount of high-oxygen feed air discharged outside the system.

In each of the above aspects, it is desirable to have a mixing flow rate control means for controlling the amount of the high-oxygen feed air mixed with the low-oxygen feed air, and to control the opening degree of the flow rate control means in association with the opening degree of the mixing flow rate control means.

According to this embodiment, when the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air changes, the oxygen concentration can be quickly stabilized.

In each of the above aspects, it is desirable to have a mixing flow rate control means for controlling the amount of the high-oxygen feed air mixed with the low-oxygen feed air, and for the mixing flow rate control means to be controlled based on the oxygen concentration in the flow path following the mixing section.

According to this embodiment, the oxygen concentration in the flow path after the mixing section can be adjusted to the desired oxygen concentration value with high precision.

One embodiment of the training device is characterized in that it has a training room inside which people can exercise, and a low-oxygen air supply device described in any of the above-mentioned embodiments , and is capable of creating a low-oxygen environment in the training room with an oxygen concentration lower than that of the raw air.

According to this embodiment, the low-oxygen air supply device attached to the training room can be made smaller.

According to the present invention, it is possible to make the low-oxygen air supply device smaller than conventional devices. Also, according to the present invention, it is possible to make the training device smaller than conventional devices.

1 is a configuration diagram of a training device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a raw air generating device used in a low-oxygen air supply device for training equipment. FIG. 13 is a configuration diagram of a training device according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a configuration diagram of a training device according to still another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a configuration diagram of a training device according to still another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a configuration diagram of a training device according to still another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a configuration diagram of a training device according to still another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a configuration diagram of a training device according to still another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a training device according to a prior art. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of another prior art training device.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described.
The training apparatus 1 of this embodiment has two training rooms 2 a and 2 b , one low oxygen air supplying device 3 , and a control device 5 .
The two training rooms 2a and 2b have the same structure. The training rooms 2a and 2b are rooms with a volume large enough for several people to exercise. The training rooms 2a and 2b employed in this embodiment can adjust the internal environment as desired.

Specifically, the temperature and humidity in the training rooms 2a and 2b can be adjusted, and in this embodiment, the oxygen concentration in the training rooms 2a and 2b can be adjusted as desired.
That is, the training rooms 2a and 2b are equipped with temperature sensors and humidity sensors (not shown), as well as first oxygen concentration sensors 13a and 13b and second oxygen concentration sensors 15a and 15b.
The first oxygen concentration sensor 13 is used to control the oxygen concentration within the training room 2, and for convenience of explanation, will be referred to as the "indoor oxygen concentration monitoring sensor 13."
The second oxygen concentration sensor 15 monitors whether the oxygen concentration in the training room 2 drops excessively, and for convenience of explanation, is referred to as the "minimum oxygen concentration monitoring sensor 15."

Training rooms 2a and 2b are provided with ventilation equipment (not shown), and carbon dioxide concentration sensors 17a and 17b are provided downstream of the ventilation equipment.

Training rooms 2a and 2b are equipped with a publicly known air conditioning system (not shown), and signals from a temperature sensor and a humidity sensor are input to the air conditioning system, which controls the temperature and humidity in training rooms 2a and 2b to achieve the desired environment.

The training apparatus 1 of this embodiment has one hypoxic air supplying device 3, which supplies hypoxic air to two training rooms 2a and 2b.
As will be described later, low-oxygen air with a reduced oxygen concentration is generated by the raw air generator 26 (special air generator) of the low-oxygen air supplying apparatus 3, and then air with a higher oxygen content is mixed in to adjust the oxygen concentration. The air after mixing is low-oxygen air with a lower oxygen concentration than the outside air (raw air).
In order to distinguish between the two types of hypoxic air having different oxygen concentrations, the hypoxic air generated by the feed air generator 26 is referred to as "hypoxic feed air", and the hypoxic air after mixing is referred to as "hypoxic mixed air".

The low oxygen air supplying device 3 has an air compressor 25 and a raw air generating device 26 as shown in FIG.
The feed air generator 26 is a nitrogen gas generator using a known polymer separation membrane system, which separates oxygen by introducing air pressurized by the air compressor 25, and discharges low-oxygen feed air which has a higher nitrogen ratio than the introduced air, and high-oxygen feed air which has a higher oxygen ratio than the introduced air.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the feed air generation device 26 has an air inlet 30, a first discharge section 31 that discharges low-oxygen feed air, and a second discharge section 32 that discharges high-oxygen feed air.
When outside air is introduced into the air inlet 30 of the feed air generator 26, low-oxygen feed air with a low oxygen concentration and high-oxygen feed air with a high oxygen concentration are generated inside. The low-oxygen feed air is then discharged from the first discharge section 31, and the high-oxygen feed air is discharged from the second discharge section 32.
The specific structure of the feed air generator 26 will be described later.

As described above, the training device 1 supplies low-oxygen mixed air to the two training rooms 2a and 2b with one low-oxygen air supply device 3, and although the piping branches into two systems midway, the branch piping has the same configuration. Therefore, we will explain the flow path from the air compressor 25 to one of the training rooms, 2a, as a representative example.
In FIG. 1, the flow path leading to the first training room 2a is indicated by a thick line, and the flow path leading to the second training room 2b is indicated by a thin line.

The hypoxic air supplying device 3 has a main flow path 23 and a high-oxygen air flow path 36. The main flow path 23 is a flow path that enters the raw air generating device 26 from the air compressor 25, passes through the first discharge section 31 of the raw air generating device 26, and reaches the first training room 2a via the mixing section 33a. The high-oxygen air flow path 36 is a flow path that reaches from the second discharge section 32 of the raw air generating device 26 to the mixing section 33a. The mixing section 33a is the confluence of the main flow path 23 and the high-oxygen air flow path 36 and the pipe downstream of that.

Main flow path 23 is composed of a raw air inlet path 37 and a low oxygen air flow path 38. Raw air inlet path 37 is a flow path that connects air compressor 25 and air inlet 30 of raw air generator 26. Low oxygen air flow path 38 is a flow path that leads from first exhaust part 31 of raw air generator 26 to training room 2a.
An oxygen concentration sensor 41 is provided in the low-oxygen air flow path 38, between the first discharge section 31 and the mixing section 33a. The oxygen concentration sensor 41 monitors the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air generated in the feed air generator 26, and for convenience of explanation, may be referred to as the "low-oxygen concentration monitoring sensor 41."

A constant flow means (needle valve) 61a is provided between the downstream side of the low oxygen concentration monitoring sensor 41 and the mixing section 33a side. This makes it possible to reduce fluctuations in the flow rate of the low-oxygen feed air discharged from the first discharge section 31 of the feed air generator 26. In addition, because the constant flow means 61a is provided at this position, the internal pressure of the mixing section 33a is low, and the high-oxygen feed air is smoothly mixed into the low-oxygen feed air.

As described above, the oxygen-rich air flow path 36 is a flow path that leads from the second discharge section 32 of the raw air generator 26 to the mixing section 33a. The oxygen-rich air flow path 36 is provided with a mixing flow rate control means 42a. The mixing flow rate control means 42a is specifically a motor valve, and the opening degree of the valve can be adjusted.
Further, an oxygen concentration sensor 43 is provided in the oxygen-rich air flow path 36. The oxygen concentration sensor 43 monitors the oxygen concentration of the oxygen-rich feed air generated in the feed air generator 26, and for convenience of explanation, is referred to as the "high oxygen concentration monitoring sensor 43."

The oxygen-rich air flow path 36 is further provided with an exhaust flow path (exhaust channel) 45. In this embodiment, the oxygen-rich air flow path 36 has a branching portion 65, at which the exhaust flow path (exhaust channel) 45 branches off.
The exhaust flow path 45 connects the branching portion 65 and the exhaust portion 48, and is a flow path that exhausts excess oxygen-rich feed air to the outside of the system from the exhaust portion 48. In this embodiment, a portion of the oxygen-rich feed air discharged from the second discharge portion 32 is exhausted to the outside of the system from the exhaust portion 48 and discarded into the atmosphere.
The exhaust flow path 45 is provided with an exhaust flow rate control means 46. The exhaust flow rate control means 46 is specifically a motor valve, and the opening degree of the exhaust flow rate control means 46 can be adjusted. The exhaust flow rate control means 46 may be provided at the end of the exhaust flow path 45.

The piping system leading to the second training room 2b is similar to the piping system leading to the first training room 2a described above, so the same numbers are used for the same components, and the reference number b is used to distinguish between the two, and redundant explanations will be omitted.

As described above, the exhaust flow control means 46 is provided in the exhaust flow path 45. When the opening of the exhaust flow control means 46 is changed in the opening direction, the amount of high-oxygen feed air discharged outside the system increases, and instead, the amount of low-oxygen feed air discharged from the first discharge section 31 tends to decrease, and the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air decreases. When the opening of the exhaust flow control means 46 is changed in the narrowing direction, the amount of high-oxygen feed air discharged outside the system decreases, and instead, the amount of low-oxygen feed air discharged from the first discharge section 31 tends to increase, and the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air increases.

The control device 5 is a known computer, and in this embodiment functions as a setting means for setting the oxygen concentration, a low-oxygen feed air concentration control means for controlling the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air, and an oxygen concentration control means for controlling the oxygen concentration in the training rooms 2a and 2b.
More specifically, the control device 5 has an oxygen concentration setting section, a low-oxygen feed air control section, and an oxygen concentration control section, which are realized by a computer program.
The low-oxygen feed air control unit has an oxygen concentration detector (oxygen concentration detector for low-oxygen feed air), a comparator, and an exhaust flow rate controller. The oxygen concentration controller also has an oxygen concentration detector (oxygen concentration detector for the training room) and a mixing flow rate controller.

Signals from all the sensors are input to the control device 5, which controls all the flow rate control means.
The input signals particularly related to this embodiment are the detection signal of the low oxygen concentration monitoring sensor 41 and the detection signal of the indoor oxygen concentration monitoring sensor 13, as shown in FIG.
Moreover, the controlled objects particularly related to this embodiment are the exhaust flow rate control means 46 and the mixed flow rate control means 42a, 42b.

As described above, the detection signal from the low oxygen concentration monitoring sensor 41 is input to the control device 5, and the opening of the exhaust flow control means 46 is controlled so that the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air detected by the low oxygen concentration monitoring sensor 41 remains at a constant value or within a certain range.
In the low-oxygen feed air control section of the control device 5, a signal from the low-oxygen concentration monitoring sensor 41 is input to the oxygen concentration detection section (oxygen concentration detection section for low-oxygen feed air), and the actual oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air is recognized.
Then, the comparison section compares the preset oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air with the actual oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air, and the exhaust flow rate control section calculates an output according to the difference between the two.
That is, in this embodiment, the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air is fed back to the aperture of the exhaust flow rate control means 46 and is also fed back to the amount of high-oxygen feed air discharged outside the system from the exhaust section 48.

In this embodiment, when the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air detected by the low-oxygen concentration monitoring sensor 41 is higher than a set value, the exhaust flow control means 46 is opened to reduce the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air.
Conversely, when the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air detected by the oxygen concentration sensor 41 is lower than the set value, the opening of the exhaust flow control means 46 is reduced to increase the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air.
The set value of the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air may be directly set by the user. Also, the set value of the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air may be set automatically or manually in association with the oxygen concentration set value of the training room. For example, the set value of the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air may be a value obtained by subtracting a predetermined value from the oxygen concentration set value of the training room. Also, the oxygen concentration set value of the low-oxygen feed air may be controlled so as to be automatically changed in association with the control amount of the oxygen concentration of the training room.
The control of the low-oxygen feed air control section may be PID control.

By changing the opening of the exhaust flow rate control means 46, the flow rate balance within the feed air generator 26 changes, and the oxygen concentration contained in the low-oxygen feed air changes.
That is, when the opening of the exhaust flow rate control means 46 becomes smaller, the amount of oxygen-rich feed air discharged to the outside of the system through the exhaust section 48 decreases.
On the other hand, the amount of low-oxygen feed air discharged from the first discharge section 31 tends to increase. As a result, the oxygen concentration in the low-oxygen feed air increases.

Conversely, when the opening of the exhaust flow control means 46 increases, the amount of high-oxygen feed air discharged from the exhaust section 48 to the outside of the system increases. Meanwhile, the amount of low-oxygen feed air discharged from the first exhaust section 31 tends to decrease. As a result, the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air decreases.

Next, the functions of the training device 1 and the low oxygen air supply device 3 will be described.
Prior to use of the training apparatus 1, the oxygen concentration in each of the training rooms 2a, 2b is set in the control device 5.
In the low oxygen air supplying apparatus 3 , air pressurized by the air compressor 25 is introduced into the air inlet 30 of the raw air generating apparatus 26 via the raw air inlet passage 37 .
Oxygen and nitrogen are separated inside the feed air generator 26, and low-oxygen feed air with an oxygen concentration of about 8% is discharged from the first discharge section 31.
Further, from the second discharge section 32, oxygen-rich feed air having an oxygen concentration of about 38% is discharged.

That is, the oxygen percentage in the atmosphere is about 21 percent, but by passing the air through the feed air generator 26, the low-oxygen feed air, whose oxygen percentage has been reduced to about 8 percent, is discharged from the first discharge section 31, and the high-oxygen feed air, whose oxygen concentration has increased to about 38 percent, is discharged from the second discharge section 32.

The oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air is detected by a low-oxygen concentration monitoring sensor 41 and input to the control device 5.
In this embodiment, the amount and pressure of air introduced from the upstream air compressor 25 to the raw air generator 26 is adjusted by a control valve or the like (not shown) so that the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen raw air discharged from the raw air generator 26 stabilizes at approximately the level described above.

In particular, in this embodiment, the control device 5 (low-oxygen feed air control unit) feeds back the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air detected by the low-oxygen concentration monitoring sensor 41 to the exhaust flow control means 46, stabilizing the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air discharged from the feed air generation device 26.

In the hypoxic air supply device 3 of this embodiment, the hypoxic feed air flowing through the main flow path 23 (hypoxic air flow path 38) is mixed with the high-oxygen feed air generated by the feed air generator 26 passing through the high-oxygen air flow path 36 to produce hypoxic mixed air adjusted to an appropriate oxygen concentration, which is then supplied to each training room 2a, 2b.

The control device 5 (oxygen concentration control section) controls the opening of the mixing flow rate control means 42a, 42b so that the oxygen concentration in each training room 2a, 2b becomes a set value.
Specifically, signals from indoor oxygen concentration monitoring sensors 13a, 13b are input to an oxygen concentration detection section (training room oxygen concentration detection section) of control device 5 (oxygen concentration control section), and the actual oxygen concentration in each training room 2a, 2b is recognized. Then, a comparison section (not shown) compares the preset oxygen concentration in each training room 2a, 2b with the actual oxygen concentration in each training room 2a, 2b, and the mixing flow rate control section calculates an output corresponding to the difference between the two.
That is, in this embodiment, the oxygen concentrations in the training rooms 2a, 2b monitored by the indoor oxygen concentration monitoring sensors 13a, 13b are fed back to the mixed flow rate control means 42a, 42b.
If the oxygen concentration in the training room 2a is below the set value, the opening of the mixing flow rate control means 42a is increased, and more high-oxygen feed air is mixed with the low-oxygen feed air flowing through the main flow path 23 (low-oxygen air flow path 38), increasing the oxygen concentration contained in the low-oxygen mixed air. This low-oxygen mixed air is supplied to the training room 2a, increasing the oxygen concentration in the training room 2a.
If the oxygen concentration in the training room 2b is below the set value, the opening of the mixing flow rate control means 42b is increased.

Conversely, if the oxygen concentration in each training room 2a, 2b is higher than the set value, the opening of the mixing flow rate control means 42a, 42b is reduced to reduce the amount of high-oxygen feed air mixed into the low-oxygen feed air flowing through the main flow path 23 (low-oxygen air flow path 38), thereby lowering the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen mixed air. This low-oxygen mixed air is supplied to the training rooms 2a, 2b, lowering the oxygen concentration in the training rooms 2a, 2b.

In this way, in the control device 5, the aperture of the exhaust flow control means 46 is controlled so that the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air remains at a constant value or within a constant range, and at the same time, the aperture of the mixed flow control means 42a, 42b is controlled so that the oxygen concentration in each training room 2a, 2b becomes the set value.
The high-oxygen feed air and low-oxygen feed air mixed in the mixers 33a, 33b are mixed as they pass through the piping from the mixers 33a, 33b to the training rooms 2a, 2b. The mixed air becomes low-oxygen mixed air of approximately uniform concentration and enters the training rooms 2a, 2b.
In the feed air generator 26 employed in this embodiment, the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air discharged from the feed air generator 26 is stabilized, and therefore the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen mixed air supplied to the training rooms 2a, 2b is stabilized. Furthermore, because the stable low-oxygen feed air is mixed with high-oxygen feed air, the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen mixed air supplied to the training rooms 2a, 2b can be adjusted with high precision to the desired oxygen concentration value.

In the training apparatus 1 of this embodiment, the training rooms 2a, 2b are made hypoxic, making it possible to artificially create an environment equivalent to that of a high altitude, for example, at an altitude of 2000 m to 6000 m.
In the training rooms 2a and 2b, training machines such as treadmills (running machines) are installed.
A user can enter the training rooms 2a and 2b and use the training machines in a low-oxygen environment to perform simulated high-altitude training.

The carbon dioxide concentration in the training rooms 2a and 2b is monitored by carbon dioxide concentration sensors 17a and 17b. If the carbon dioxide concentration in the training rooms 2a and 2b rises excessively, the mixing flow control means 42a and 42b are opened to mix more high-oxygen feed air with the low-oxygen feed air flowing through the main flow path 23. In this way, the oxygen concentration in the low-oxygen mixed air is increased, and the oxygen concentration in the training rooms 2a and 2b is increased.

The oxygen concentration in the training rooms 2a, 2b is also monitored by minimum oxygen concentration monitoring sensors 15a, 15b. The minimum oxygen concentration monitoring sensors 15a, 15b are safety devices that issue a warning via a warning means (not shown) if the oxygen concentration in the training rooms 2a, 2b drops to a level that poses a risk to health for some reason.
If the minimum oxygen concentration monitoring sensors 15a, 15b detect an excessive drop in the oxygen concentration in the training rooms 2a, 2b, the low oxygen air supply device 3 may be stopped to ensure safety, and the ventilation device may be operated to return the oxygen concentration in the training rooms 2a, 2b to atmospheric conditions.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, an oxygen concentration sensor 43 is provided in the oxygen-rich air flow path 36, but the oxygen concentration sensor 43 does not have to be provided. This also applies to the following embodiments in which the detection signal of the oxygen concentration sensor 43 is not used, and the oxygen concentration sensor 43 does not have to be provided.

The hypoxic air supplying apparatus 3 of this embodiment utilizes a pressurizing device such as an air compressor 25 as an air introduction device to introduce air into the raw air generating apparatus 26. In the hypoxic air supplying apparatus 3 of this embodiment, the air supply capacity required for the air compressor 25 is sufficient to meet the amount of air required by the raw air generating apparatus 26, and there is no need to pressurize the air to be mixed. Therefore, the capacity of the air compressor 25 can be small.
In the low oxygen air supply device 3 of this embodiment, there is no need to install a separate air compressor or the like.
Therefore, the low oxygen air supplying device 3 of this embodiment can be made smaller than a conventional device having the same capacity.

Next, the structure of the feed air generator 26 will be further explained with reference to FIG.
The raw air generator 26 incorporates a gas separation membrane 51 as a gas separating member, and is also used as a nitrogen gas generator.
The raw air generator 26 has a vessel-shaped main body 50 inside which are built-in a plurality of pipes 53 made of gas separation membranes (gas separation members) 51 .
A pair of support parts 52 are arranged at a distance from each other in the internal space of the main body part 50, and a pipeline 53 is supported by the pair of support parts 52. The main body part 50 is also provided with an air inlet 30, a first discharge part 31 that discharges low-oxygen feed air, and a second discharge part 32 that discharges high-oxygen feed air.
The air inlet 30 of the main body 50 is connected to a pipe 53, and the air introduced into the main body 50 flows through the pipe 53 and is separated into high-oxygen feed air and low-oxygen feed air.

The gas separation membrane (gas separating member) 51 is a separation membrane capable of separating nitrogen and oxygen from air, and organic membranes using polymers and inorganic membranes using inorganic materials are known.
In this embodiment, a polymer organic membrane is used. The types and principles of gas separation membranes are well known, so detailed explanations will be omitted.

In the embodiment described above, the aperture of the exhaust flow control means 46 is determined by the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air detected by the low-oxygen concentration monitoring sensor 41, but it is also possible to detect the nitrogen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air instead of the oxygen concentration and adjust the aperture of the exhaust flow control means 46 based on the nitrogen concentration.
For example, a nitrogen concentration sensor may be provided in place of the low oxygen concentration monitoring sensor 41 shown in FIG. 1, and the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air may be indirectly detected by the nitrogen concentration sensor.
When the nitrogen concentration detected by the nitrogen concentration sensor is on a downward trend, the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air discharged from the first discharge section 31 is on an upward trend.
Therefore, when the nitrogen concentration detected by the nitrogen concentration sensor decreases, the aperture of the exhaust flow rate control means 46 is changed in the opening direction to decrease the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air.
Conversely, when the nitrogen concentration detected by the nitrogen concentration sensor is on an increasing trend, the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air discharged from the first discharge section 31 is on a decreasing trend.
Therefore, when the nitrogen concentration detected by the nitrogen concentration sensor increases, the opening of the exhaust flow rate control means 46 is changed in the throttling direction to increase the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air.

In the embodiment described above, the opening degree of the exhaust flow control means 46 is adjusted by detecting the change in the composition of the low-oxygen feed air, but the opening degree of the exhaust flow control means 46 may also be adjusted based on other detection values.

For example, the pressure of the low-oxygen feed air may be detected, and the opening of the exhaust flow rate control means 46 may be corrected in accordance with the detected pressure.
According to the research of the present inventors, when the discharge amount of low-oxygen feed air is large, the oxygen concentration contained in the low-oxygen feed air is high. Conversely, when the discharge amount of low-oxygen feed air is decreased, the oxygen concentration contained in the low-oxygen feed air is decreased.
In addition, the oxygen concentration and flow rate of the low-oxygen feed air discharged from the first discharge section 31 depend on the difference between the pressure of the supply-side air supplied to the air inlet 30 and the outlet pressure of the first discharge section 31 .
The outlet pressure of the first discharge portion 31 and the outlet pressure of the second discharge portion 32 are different.
When the amount of high-oxygen feed air discharged from the second discharge section 32 increases, the amount of low-oxygen feed air discharged from the first discharge section 31 decreases, and the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air also decreases.
Conversely, when the amount of high-oxygen feed air discharged from the second discharge section 32 decreases, the amount of low-oxygen feed air discharged from the first discharge section 31 increases, and the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air rises.
Therefore, the oxygen concentration in the low-oxygen feed air can also be stabilized by detecting the pressure of the low-oxygen feed air and correcting the opening of the exhaust flow rate control means 46 in accordance with that pressure.

In the training device 82 shown in FIG. 3, a pressure sensor 60 is provided in the low-oxygen air flow path 38 between the first discharge section 31 and the mixing section 33a. The pressure sensor 60 monitors the pressure of the low-oxygen feed air generated in the feed air generation device 26, and for convenience of explanation, is referred to as the "low-oxygen pressure monitoring sensor 60." In this embodiment, the low-oxygen pressure monitoring sensor 60 monitors the outlet pressure of the first discharge section 31 in the feed air generation device 26.

When the amount of low-oxygen feed air discharged from the first discharge part 31 is large, the outlet pressure of the first discharge part 31 tends to decrease. In this case, as described above, the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air is high.
Conversely, when the amount of low-oxygen feed air discharged from the first discharge part 31 decreases, the outlet pressure of the first discharge part 31 tends to increase. In this case, the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air decreases.

3, an exhaust flow path (exhaust passage) 45 branches off from the oxygen-rich air flow path 36, and an exhaust flow rate control means 46 is provided on the exhaust flow path 45 before reaching an exhaust section 48. The exhaust flow rate control means 46 is a motor valve, and the opening degree of the exhaust flow rate control means 46 can be adjusted.
Therefore, the cross-sectional area of exhaust flow path (exhaust channel) 45 changes depending on exhaust flow rate control means 46, and when exhaust flow rate control means 46 is changed in the closing direction, the outlet pressure of second discharge section 32 of oxygen-rich air flow path 36 connected to exhaust flow path (exhaust channel) 45 tends to increase. In other words, when exhaust flow rate control means 46 is changed in the closing direction, the amount of high-oxygen feed air discharged to the outside of the system decreases, and instead the amount of low-oxygen feed air discharged from first discharge section 31 tends to increase, and the outlet pressure of first discharge section 31 decreases. Also, the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air discharged from first discharge section 31 increases.

To summarize the key points, there is a correlation between the air pressure (outlet pressure, same below) of the first discharge section 31 and the oxygen concentration contained in the low-oxygen feed air, and when the air pressure of the first discharge section 31 increases, the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air tends to decrease, and when the air pressure of the first discharge section 31 decreases, the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air tends to increase.
In addition, there is a correlation between the pressure of the first discharge section 31 that discharges the low-oxygen feed air, the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air, and the aperture of the exhaust flow control means 46; reducing the aperture of the exhaust flow control means 46 increases the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air, and increasing the aperture of the exhaust flow control means 46 decreases the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air.

In this embodiment, when the pressure of the low-oxygen feed air detected by the low-oxygen pressure monitoring sensor 60 is lower than the preset pressure of the low-oxygen feed air (when the oxygen concentration is high), the opening of the exhaust flow control means 46 increases, the pressure of the second discharge section 32 discharging the high-oxygen feed air tends to decrease, the pressure of the first discharge section 31 discharging the low-oxygen feed air increases, and the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air decreases.
Conversely, when the pressure of the low-oxygen feed air detected by the low-oxygen pressure monitoring sensor 60 is higher than the preset pressure of the low-oxygen feed air (when the oxygen concentration is low), the opening of the exhaust flow control means 46 becomes smaller, the pressure of the second discharge section 32 discharging the high-oxygen feed air tends to increase, the pressure of the first discharge section 31 discharging the low-oxygen feed air decreases, and the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air increases.

There is little delay in the pressure change of the low-oxygen feed air relative to the change in the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air. In addition, the pressure of the low-oxygen feed air is easy to detect. Therefore, the pressure of the low-oxygen feed air is suitable as an indicator for detecting the change in the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the low oxygen concentration monitoring sensor 41 and the high oxygen concentration monitoring sensor 43 do not have to be provided.

Furthermore, in addition to the pressure of the low-oxygen feed air, there is a numerical value that is correlated with the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air, and this numerical value that is correlated with the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air may be used in place of the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air detected by the low-oxygen concentration monitoring sensor 41.
For example, the following items are all correlated with the oxygen concentration of low-oxygen feed air:
(1) Pressure of high-oxygen feed air.
(2) Flow rate of low-oxygen feed air.
(3) Flow rate of oxygen-enriched feed air.
(4) Oxygen concentration of the oxygen-rich feed air.
(5) Nitrogen concentration of the oxygen-rich feed air.
Therefore, these may be input to the control device 5 in place of the detection signal of the low oxygen pressure monitoring sensor 60 in each of the above-described embodiments.

FIG. 4 shows the piping system etc. of a training apparatus according to another embodiment.
In the training apparatus 80 shown in FIG. 4, a high-oxygen pressure monitoring sensor 70 is provided between the second discharge section 32 and the branch section 65 of the high-oxygen air flow path 36, and the high-oxygen pressure monitoring sensor 70 detects the pressure of the high-oxygen feed air.
In this embodiment, a signal from the high oxygen pressure monitoring sensor 70 is input to the control device 5 .

The pressure of the high-oxygen feed air is correlated with the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air; when the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air increases, the pressure of the high-oxygen feed air increases; conversely, when the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air decreases, the pressure of the high-oxygen feed air decreases.

In this embodiment, when the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air is high and the pressure of the high-oxygen feed air detected by the high-oxygen pressure monitoring sensor 70 is higher than the predetermined pressure of the high-oxygen feed air, the opening of the exhaust flow control means 46 is increased, the outlet pressure of the second discharge section 32, which discharges the oxygen-rich feed air, tends to decrease, and the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air decreases.
Conversely, when the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air is low and the pressure of the high-oxygen feed air detected by the high-oxygen pressure monitoring sensor 70 is lower than the preset pressure of the high-oxygen feed air, the opening of the exhaust flow control means 46 becomes smaller, the outlet pressure of the second discharge section 32 which discharges the oxygen-rich feed air tends to increase, and the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air increases.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the low oxygen concentration monitoring sensor 41 and the high oxygen concentration monitoring sensor 43 do not have to be provided.

As another embodiment, instead of the embodiment of FIG. 1 utilizing the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air, or the embodiment of FIG. 3 utilizing the pressure of the low-oxygen feed air, a configuration utilizing the flow rate of the low-oxygen feed air may be used.
Specifically, in the training apparatus 1, an embodiment may be adopted in which a flow rate sensor is provided instead of the low oxygen concentration monitoring sensor 41 and the low oxygen pressure monitoring sensor 60 provided between the first discharge section 31 and the mixer section 33 of the low oxygen air flow path 38. In this embodiment, the flow rate sensor detects the flow rate of the low oxygen feed air discharged from the feed air generator 26.
In this embodiment, a signal from the flow rate sensor is input to a flow rate detection section instead of the oxygen concentration detection section and pressure detection section of the control device 5 .

The flow rate of low-oxygen feed air is correlated with the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air, and as the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air increases, the flow rate of the low-oxygen feed air tends to increase. Conversely, as the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air decreases, the flow rate of the low-oxygen feed air tends to decrease.

In this embodiment, when the flow rate of the low-oxygen feed air detected by the flow sensor is greater than a preset flow rate (when the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air is high), the opening of the exhaust flow control means 46 increases, and the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air decreases.
Conversely, when the flow rate of the low-oxygen feed air detected by the flow sensor is less than the preset flow rate (when the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air is low), the opening of the exhaust flow control means 46 is reduced, and the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air increases.

In addition, the flow rate of the oxygen-rich feed air is correlated with the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air; when the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air increases, the flow rate of the oxygen-rich feed air decreases, and conversely, when the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air decreases, the flow rate of the oxygen-rich feed air increases.
As another embodiment utilizing this phenomenon, instead of utilizing the pressure of the oxygen-rich feed air in the embodiment of FIG. 4, a configuration utilizing the flow rate of the oxygen-rich feed air may be used.
Specifically, in the training apparatus 80, an embodiment may be adopted in which a flow rate sensor is provided instead of the high-oxygen pressure monitoring sensor 70 provided between the second discharge portion 32 and the branch portion 65 of the high-oxygen air flow path 36. In this embodiment, the flow rate of the high-oxygen feed air is detected by the flow rate sensor.
In this embodiment, a signal from the flow rate sensor is input to a flow rate detection section (not shown) instead of the pressure detection section of the control device 5 .

In this embodiment, when the flow rate of the high-oxygen feed air detected by the flow sensor is less than a preset flow rate (when the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air is high), the opening of the exhaust flow control means 46 becomes larger, the flow rate of the high-oxygen feed air tends to increase, and the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air decreases.
Conversely, when the flow rate of the high-oxygen feed air detected by the flow sensor is high (when the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air is low), the opening of the exhaust flow control means 46 becomes smaller, the flow rate of the high-oxygen feed air tends to decrease, and the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air increases.

In yet another embodiment, the oxygen concentration of oxygen-rich feed air may be used instead of the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air.
When the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air is high, the oxygen concentration of the high-oxygen feed air will be low, and when the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air is low, the oxygen concentration of the high-oxygen feed air will be high.
When utilizing the oxygen concentration of the oxygen-rich feed air, a signal from an oxygen concentration sensor 43 provided in the oxygen-rich air flow path 36 is input to the control device 5 .

In this embodiment, when the oxygen concentration of the high-oxygen feed air detected by the oxygen concentration sensor 43 is lower than a preset oxygen concentration, the opening of the exhaust flow control means 46 increases, the oxygen concentration of the high-oxygen feed air tends to increase, and the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air decreases.
Conversely, when the oxygen concentration of the oxygen-rich feed air detected by the oxygen concentration sensor 43 is higher than a preset oxygen concentration, the opening of the exhaust flow control means 46 is reduced, the oxygen concentration of the oxygen-rich feed air tends to decrease, and the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air increases.

Instead of the oxygen concentration of the oxygen-enriched feed air, the nitrogen concentration of the oxygen-enriched feed air may be used.
That is, in the embodiment described above, the aperture of the exhaust flow control means 46 is determined by the oxygen concentration of the oxygen-rich feed air detected by the oxygen concentration sensor 43 provided in the oxygen-rich air flow path 36, but it is also possible to detect the nitrogen concentration of the oxygen-rich feed air instead of the oxygen concentration, and adjust the aperture of the exhaust flow control means 46 based on the nitrogen concentration.
For example, a nitrogen concentration sensor may be provided in place of the oxygen concentration sensor 43 provided in the oxygen-rich air flow path 36 shown in FIG. 1, and the oxygen concentration of the oxygen-rich feed air may be indirectly detected by the nitrogen concentration sensor.
When the nitrogen concentration detected by a nitrogen concentration sensor (not shown) provided in the high-oxygen air flow path 36 is on a downward trend, the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air discharged from the first discharge section 31 is on a downward trend.
Therefore, when the nitrogen concentration detected by the nitrogen concentration sensor installed in the high-oxygen air flow path 36 falls below a preset nitrogen concentration, the opening of the exhaust flow control means 46 is changed in the direction of decreasing the oxygen concentration, thereby increasing the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air.
Conversely, when the nitrogen concentration detected by the nitrogen concentration sensor provided in the oxygen-rich air flow path 36 is on the rise, the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air discharged from the first discharge section 31 is on the rise.
Therefore, when the nitrogen concentration detected by the nitrogen concentration sensor installed in the high-oxygen air flow path 36 rises above a preset nitrogen concentration, the opening of the exhaust flow control means 46 is increased, and the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air is reduced.

In the embodiment described above, the opening degree of the exhaust flow control means 46 is determined by the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air detected by the low-oxygen concentration monitoring sensor 41, etc., but the opening degree of the exhaust flow control means 46 may be corrected taking other factors into account.

For example, the opening degree of the exhaust flow rate control means 46 and the opening degrees of the mixed flow rate control means 42a, 42b may be controlled in association with each other.
Specifically, the aperture of the exhaust flow control means 46 is adjusted based on the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air detected by the low-oxygen concentration monitoring sensor 41. Furthermore, when the aperture of the admixture flow control means 42a, 42b increases, the aperture of the exhaust flow control means 46 is corrected so that the exhaust flow control means 46 is narrowed. Furthermore, when the aperture of the admixture flow control means 42a, 42b decreases, the aperture of the exhaust flow control means 46 is corrected so that the exhaust flow control means 46 is opened.
That is, the aperture of the exhaust flow rate control means 46 is controlled not only by the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air detected by the low-oxygen concentration monitoring sensor 41 but also by the aperture of the mixed flow rate control means 42a, 42b.

For example, the calculation items for determining the opening degree of the exhaust flow control means 46 include a control amount based on the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air and a control amount based on the opening degrees of the mixed flow control means 42a, 42b, and the opening degree of the exhaust flow control means 46 is determined by the sum of the two.
The control amount of the opening of the exhaust flow control means 46 based on the opening of the mixed flow control means 42a, 42b increases or decreases inversely proportional to the opening of the mixed flow control means 42a, 42b. That is, when the opening of the mixed flow control means 42a, 42b changes in the opening direction, the opening of the exhaust flow control means 46 changes in the closing direction, and when the opening of the mixed flow control means 42a, 42b changes in the closing direction, the opening of the exhaust flow control means 46 changes in the opening direction.
As a result, excess oxygen-rich feed air is appropriately exhausted from exhaust passage 45, and the back pressure applied within feed air generator 26 is appropriately controlled.

The same applies when adjusting the exhaust flow control means 46 based on the nitrogen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air, the pressure of the low-oxygen feed air, the flow rate of the low-oxygen feed air, the pressure of the high-oxygen feed air, the flow rate of the high-oxygen feed air, the oxygen concentration of the high-oxygen feed air, the nitrogen concentration of the high-oxygen feed air, etc., and the opening of the exhaust flow control means 46 may be corrected taking other factors into account.

In each of the embodiments described above, excess oxygen-rich feed air is exhausted to the outside of the system, and the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air is adjusted by increasing or decreasing the exhaust rate of the oxygen-rich feed air. In each of the embodiments described above, exhaust flow rate control means 46 is provided in the exhaust flow path 45 as a means for adjusting the exhaust rate of the oxygen-rich feed air.
The present invention is not limited to this configuration, and it is also possible to provide a flow rate control means in another flow path that is correlated with the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air.
For example, the flow rates at the following locations are all correlated with the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air:
(1) Between the second discharge section 32 and the mixing sections 33a, 33b.
(2) From the mixing sections 33a, 33b to the destinations where the low oxygen air is supplied (training rooms 2a, 2b).
(3) Between the first discharge section 31 and the mixing sections 33a, 33b.

FIG. 5 shows an example in which a flow rate control means 75 is provided between the second discharge section 32 and the mixing sections 33 a and 33 b , and between the second discharge section 32 and the branch section 65 .
In the training device 83 shown in FIG. 5, when the opening of the flow rate control means 75 is adjusted, the outlet pressure of the second discharge section 32 changes, and the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air changes.
5, since the flow control means 75 is located upstream of the mixing flow control means 42a, 42b and the exhaust flow control means 46, the outlet pressure of the second discharge section 32 can be adjusted without being affected by the opening degrees of the mixing flow control means 42a, 42b and the exhaust flow control means 46. Therefore, the oxygen concentration and pressure of the low-oxygen feed air can be stabilized.

FIG. 6 shows an example in which a flow rate control means 76 is provided between the second discharge section 32 and the mixing sections 33a and 33b, and between the branching section 65 and the mixed flow rate control means 42a and 42b.
In the training device 85 shown in FIG. 6, when the opening of the flow rate control means 76 is adjusted, the pressure of the second discharge portion 32 changes, and the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air changes.
6, since the flow control means 76 is located upstream of the mixing flow control means 42a, 42b, the outlet pressure of the second discharge part 32 can be adjusted without being affected by the opening degree of the mixing flow control means 42a, 42b. Therefore, the oxygen concentration and pressure of the low-oxygen feed air can be stabilized.

FIG. 7 shows an example in which flow rate control means 77a, 77b are provided between the mixers 33a, 33b and the destinations of the low oxygen air (training rooms 2a, 2b).
In the training device 86 shown in FIG. 7, the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air changes when the opening of the flow rate control means 77a, 77b is adjusted.

FIG. 8 shows an example in which a flow rate control means 78 is provided between the first discharge section 31 and the mixing sections 33a and 33b.
In the training device 87 shown in FIG. 8, the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air changes when the opening of the flow rate control means 78 is adjusted.
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, a common flow control means 78 is provided in the hypoxic air flow path 38 at a position before it branches into the two training rooms 2a, 2b, but flow control means 78 may also be provided individually at positions after the branching.

Although a high oxygen concentration monitoring sensor 43 is illustrated in Figures 5 to 8, the high oxygen concentration monitoring sensor 43 is not required.

In the embodiment shown in Figures 5 to 8, the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air is directly detected by the low-oxygen concentration monitoring sensor 41, but a numerical value correlated with the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air as described below may be used instead of the concentration detected by the low-oxygen concentration monitoring sensor 41.
(1) Pressure of low-oxygen feed air.
(2) Pressure of high-oxygen feed air.
(3) Flow rate of low-oxygen feed air.
(4) Flow rate of oxygen-enriched feed air.
(5) Oxygen concentration of the oxygen-rich feed air.
(6) Nitrogen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air.
(7) Nitrogen concentration of the oxygen-rich feed air.

When the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air is adjusted using any of the detection values (1) to (7) above, other detection means may not be required. For example, when the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air is adjusted using any of the detection values (1) to (7) above, the low-oxygen concentration monitoring sensor 41 may not be provided.

When adopting the configurations of the embodiments and their modified examples shown in Figures 5 to 8, the exhaust flow control means 46 does not have to be provided in the exhaust flow path 45. However, since it is not preferable to leave the exhaust section 48 completely open, it is preferable to provide a member whose opening can be changed, such as a manual throttle. A fixed throttle may also be provided in the exhaust section 48.

Even when the flow control means 75, 76, 77a, 77b, and 78 are arranged in the positions shown in Figures 5 to 8, the opening degrees of the flow control means 75, 76, 77a, 77b, and 78 may be controlled in relation to the opening degrees of the mixed flow control means 42a and 42b.
For example, the apertures of the exhaust flow control means 75, 76, 77a, 77b, 78 are adjusted according to the oxygen concentration of the low-oxygen feed air detected by the low-oxygen concentration monitoring sensor 41. Furthermore, the apertures of the exhaust flow control means 75, 76, 77a, 77b, 78 are corrected according to the apertures of the mixed flow control means 42a, 42b.
That is, the openings of the exhaust flow rate control means 75, 76, 77a, 77b, 78 are controlled not only by the information detected by the low oxygen concentration monitoring sensor 41 etc. but also by the openings of the mixed flow rate control means 42a, 42b.

In the embodiments described above, the aperture of the flow control means (exhaust flow control means 46, flow control means 75, flow control means 76, flow control means 77a, 77b, flow control means 78, etc.) is controlled so that the detection values detected by the detection means (low oxygen concentration monitoring sensor 41, nitrogen concentration sensor, pressure sensor 60, high oxygen concentration monitoring sensor 43, high oxygen pressure monitoring sensor 70, flow sensor, etc.) are constant or fall within a constant range. That is, in the above-described embodiments, the detection values of the detection means are used as they are, and the aperture of the flow control means is controlled so that the detection values are constant or fall within a constant range.
However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and another physical quantity may be calculated or estimated from a physical quantity detected by a specific detection means, and the opening of the flow control means may be controlled so that this value falls within a constant value or a constant range.
For example, the oxygen concentration (another physical quantity) of the low-oxygen feed air may be calculated based on the pressure (detected physical quantity) of the low-oxygen feed air detected by pressure sensor 60, and the opening of the flow control means may be controlled so that this value remains at a constant value or within a certain range.

In the embodiment described above, constant flow means (needle valves) 61a, 61b are provided in the low oxygen air flow path 38, but the constant flow means (needle valves) 61a, 61b do not have to be provided. The constant flow means is not limited to needle valves and may be dampers with adjustable openings. The constant flow means is provided in each of the piping that branches into the two training rooms 2a, 2b, but is not limited to this and may be provided in the piping before the branching.

In the embodiment described above, the high-oxygen feed air and the low-oxygen feed air are mixed in a pipeline, but a mixing section with a larger volume may be provided and the high-oxygen feed air and the low-oxygen feed air may be introduced into the mixing section.
Also, the high-oxygen feed air and the low-oxygen feed air may be introduced separately into the training rooms 2a and 2b, and the high-oxygen feed air and the low-oxygen feed air may be mixed in the training rooms 2a and 2b. In other words, the training rooms 2a and 2b may be used as mixing sections.

In the embodiment described above, mixing flow rate control means 42a, 42b are provided in the oxygen-rich air flow path 36, and an exhaust flow rate control means 46 is provided in the exhaust flow path 45, so that the oxygen-rich feed air generated in the feed air generation device 26 is divided into that which is mixed into the main flow path 23 and that which is exhausted to the outside of the system.
As another measure, a damper (flow control means) whose opening degree can be adjusted may be provided at the branching point 65 between the oxygen-rich air flow path 36 and the exhaust flow path 45, and the oxygen-rich feed air may be divided into that which is mixed with the main flow path 23 and that which is exhausted.

In the embodiment described above, the destinations for the hypoxic mixed air from the hypoxic air supply device 3 are two locations, the training rooms 2a and 2b, but it is also possible to supply hypoxic mixed air to only one training room 2, or to supply hypoxic mixed air to more training rooms 2.
The embodiment described above is an example of using the hypoxic air supply device 3 to supply hypoxic mixed air to the training rooms 2a and 2b, but the destination of the hypoxic mixed air is not limited to the training rooms 2a and 2b. For example, the hypoxic mixed air may be supplied to a suction mask or a test device.

A carbon dioxide removal device may also be provided in the low-oxygen air supply device 3. It is preferable to provide the carbon dioxide removal device in the high-oxygen air flow path 36. According to this embodiment, carbon dioxide can be removed from the high-oxygen feed air, thereby reducing the amount of carbon dioxide.

1, 80, 82, 83, 85, 86, 87 Training device 2a First training room 2b Second training room 3 Low oxygen air supply device 5 Control device 13 Indoor oxygen concentration monitoring sensor 26 Raw air generator (special air generator)
30 Air inlet 31 First discharge section 32 Second discharge section 33a, 33b Mixing section 36 High oxygen air flow path 38 Low oxygen air flow path 41 Low oxygen concentration monitoring sensor 42a Mixing flow rate control means 42b Mixing flow rate control means 43 High oxygen concentration monitoring sensor 45 Exhaust flow path 46 Exhaust flow rate control means 48 Exhaust section 51 Gas separation membrane (gas separation member)
60 Low oxygen pressure monitoring sensor 65 Branching portion 70 High oxygen pressure monitoring sensor 75 Flow rate control means 76 Flow rate control means 77a, 77b Flow rate control means 78 Flow rate control means

Claims (8)

A low-oxygen air supplying device for supplying low-oxygen air having an oxygen concentration lower than that of raw air,
It has a special air generating device,
The special air generating device has a gas separating member capable of separating nitrogen and oxygen, and has an air inlet, a first discharge section, and a second discharge section, in which raw air is introduced through the air inlet, low-oxygen raw air having a lower oxygen concentration than the raw air is discharged from the first discharge section, and high-oxygen raw air having a higher oxygen concentration than the raw air is discharged from the second discharge section,
a mixing section that mixes the low-oxygen feed air discharged from the first discharge section and the high-oxygen feed air discharged from the second discharge section to generate low-oxygen mixed air having an oxygen concentration lower than that of the feed air;
an exhaust section that exhausts excess oxygen-rich feed air from the second exhaust section to the outside of the system;
A detection means for detecting any one of the oxygen concentration, the nitrogen concentration, the pressure, or the flow rate of the low-oxygen feed air;
A flow rate control means provided at any position of the first group;
and a control means for controlling the flow rate control means based on a detection value of the detection means.
First group (1): Between the second exhaust section and the exhaust section.
(2) Between the second discharge section and the mixing section.
(3) From the mixing section to the destination where the low oxygen air is supplied. A low-oxygen air supplying device for supplying low-oxygen air having an oxygen concentration lower than that of raw air,
It has a special air generating device,
The special air generating device has a gas separating member capable of separating nitrogen and oxygen, and has an air inlet, a first discharge section, and a second discharge section, in which raw air is introduced through the air inlet, low-oxygen raw air having a lower oxygen concentration than the raw air is discharged from the first discharge section, and high-oxygen raw air having a higher oxygen concentration than the raw air is discharged from the second discharge section,
a mixing section that mixes the low-oxygen feed air discharged from the first discharge section and the high-oxygen feed air discharged from the second discharge section to generate low-oxygen mixed air having an oxygen concentration lower than that of the feed air;
an exhaust section that exhausts excess oxygen-rich feed air from the second exhaust section to the outside of the system;
A detection means for detecting the nitrogen concentration or pressure of the low-oxygen feed air;
A flow rate control means provided between the first discharge section and the mixing section;
and a control means for controlling the flow rate control means based on a detection value of the detection means. The low-oxygen air supply device according to claim 1, characterized in that the detection means is an oxygen concentration detection means provided between the first discharge section and the mixing section. an oxygen-rich air flow path from the second discharge section to the mixing section;
an exhaust path branched from the oxygen-rich air flow path to the exhaust section,
4. The low oxygen air supply device according to claim 1, wherein the flow rate control means is provided in the exhaust passage. an oxygen-rich air flow path from the second discharge section to the mixing section;
A branching portion that branches the oxygen-rich air flow path;
an exhaust path that branches off at the branching portion and leads to the exhaust portion;
4. The low oxygen air supply device according to claim 1, wherein the flow rate control means is provided between the second discharge portion and the branch portion. a mixing flow rate control means for controlling the amount of the high-oxygen feed air mixed with the low-oxygen feed air,
6. The low oxygen air supplying device according to claim 1, wherein the opening degree of the flow rate control means and the opening degree of the mixed flow rate control means are controlled in association with each other. a mixing flow rate control means for controlling the amount of the high-oxygen feed air mixed with the low-oxygen feed air,
7. The low oxygen air supply device according to claim 1, wherein the mixing flow rate control means is controlled based on the oxygen concentration in the flow path following the mixing section. A training device comprising a training room in which people can exercise and a hypoxic air supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, capable of creating a hypoxic environment in the training room with an oxygen concentration lower than that of the raw air.

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