JPH0452150B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

(Field of Application of the Invention) The present invention relates to a humidification mask used in an aircraft, and more specifically, it absorbs moisture in exhaled air exhaled from a person's external nose and oral cavity, and when inhaling, it absorbs the moisture. This invention relates to a humidifying mask that has the function of releasing moisture and incorporating it into inhaled air. (Background of the Invention) It is generally known that the humidity of the air inside an aircraft is extremely dry.
This means that the outside temperature at the high altitude where the aircraft is flying is -
At low temperatures of 40°C to -70°C, there is little moisture in the outside air taken into the cabin, and humidification can cause problems such as increased weight, condensation on the low-temperature interior walls, and contamination from ice and water. Because of this, humidification devices are generally not provided. By the way, excessively dry cabin air is not good for the environment for passengers and crew, and it is actually harmful to the environment, especially in aircraft that fly long distances over 2 to 3 hours. causes some problems. For example, when the air a person inhales is excessively dry, problems such as irritation, pain, and discomfort in the mucous membranes of the external nose and oral cavity often occur. As mentioned above, this problem occurs in connection with breathing movements in an extremely dry cabin environment, but especially while sleeping, the body's moisturizing function in the external nose decreases. Therefore, if the inhaled air does not have excessive humidity, it may even cause significant pain or discomfort.
This is also pointed out in reports such as AIR1609 (April 30, 1982). Due to the above-mentioned problems, it is desired to improve the cabin environment inside the aircraft, but since adding moisture to the cabin air is not appropriate as a countermeasure for the other problems mentioned above, it is necessary to improve the cabin environment mentioned above. This is not easy and no simple and effective means have been proposed so far. Therefore, the inventor of the present invention has repeatedly conducted various research and developments in order to improve the above-mentioned problems, and has come to focus on the following points. In other words, considering the human breathing movement, this breathing movement is a repeated movement of exhaling air and inhaling air, and the relative humidity of the exhaled air is generally close to 100%.
Therefore, during exhalation in an environment where the cabin air is extremely dry, as described above, the moisture in the exhaled breath is dissipated into the outside air (inside the cabin), and on the other hand, during exhalation, the extremely dry cabin air is released into the outside air. nose,
It will be inhaled through the oral cavity. If this continues for a long time, it will cause the above-mentioned severe pain and discomfort. Therefore, the present inventors believe that if it is possible to temporarily retain the moisture contained in exhaled air during inhalation without dissipating it into the outside air, and to suck this moisture back during inspiration, it will be an effective solution to the above problem. I thought I would get it. Conventionally, by focusing on the exhalation and inhalation during the inhalation movement of such people, methods have been developed to alleviate the coldness of the outside air taken in during inhalation, or to make the inhaled air contain moisture that has been temporarily absorbed during exhalation. For this purpose, a type of mask in which moisture-absorbing fibers were wrapped around a heat exchanger such as aluminum was published in 1986-20557.
It is proposed by the publication No. However, as described in the same bulletin, the mask according to this proposal has a mechanism that utilizes a considerable temperature difference between exhaled breath (body temperature) and the outside air, and it is not suitable for use at an appropriate temperature (normally It is difficult to obtain adequate action in an environment conditioned to 23-26°C. (Objective of the Invention) The present invention has been made from the above-mentioned viewpoints, and its object is to reduce the amount of moisture contained in exhaled air during exhalation in relation to the breathing movement of a person inside an aircraft, which is an extremely dry environment. is temporarily absorbed and retained by a moisture absorbing member such as paper, and on the other hand, when inhaling, the moisture absorbed and retained by the moisture absorbing member is released into the dry intake air that is sucked in as outside air and sucked back. For use in aircraft, it is possible to efficiently humidify the dry intake air and maintain the relative humidity of the breathing air within the range of 30 to 85 RH%, preferably 40 to 70 RH%, without discomfort. Our goal is to provide a humidifying mask that is Another object of the present invention is that, unlike various special masks used for emergency evacuation in the event of other disasters (e.g. fire, etc.), the humidity mask for use inside an aircraft is suitable for use inside an aircraft. It is intended to supply only moisture in an appropriate manner in a situation that is not much different from a daily living environment, except for the fact that it is an environment, and it is preferably provided as a disposable type for hygiene reasons. Since this is often required, it is an object of the present invention to provide a humidification mask having a simple structure and a structure that can be provided at low cost. (Summary of the Invention) Therefore, the feature of the humidifying mask according to the present invention, which has been made to achieve the above object, is that it is worn to cover the front of the external nose and lips, and the mask is attached to the front of the external nose and lips. A mask main body that forms a small space separated from the outside air, and an air passage member that is provided at a position in front of the external nose and lips of the mask main body and connects the small space and the outside air in a ventilable manner, The ventilation passage member is made of a honeycomb structure formed using a hygroscopic material such as paper that absorbs and releases moisture, and by arranging a large number of cylindrical cavities of the honeycomb toward the front, It has a structure with a ventilation path formed therein. It is desirable to set the total ventilation resistance of the ventilation passage to 5 mbar or less, preferably 2 mbar or less, since this allows a state without breathing resistance. In the above configuration, for example, paper can be used as the hygroscopic material constituting the air passage member as the honeycomb structure, and a particularly preferable example is Japanese paper made using bast fibers. , but not limited to this, in short, the relative humidity of the breathing air should be between 30 and 30 without discomfort.
Any material may be used as long as it has moisture supply and moisture release properties suitable for maintaining the humidity within the range of 85RH%, preferably 40 to 70RH%. For example, a composite material such as a spongy sheet laminated with paper may also be used. The paper of the above-mentioned hygroscopic materials is made using traditional Japanese washi paper, specifically bast fiber, which is a non-wood fiber represented by mulberry, mitsumata, and ganpi, and is hand-made or hand-made without using a binder. In the case of a sheet made by mechanical papermaking, it is particularly preferable because rapid moisture absorption from air with high relative humidity and moisture release into air with substantially zero relative humidity are satisfactorily satisfied. In the present invention, the reason why hygroscopic paper is used as a constituent material of the above-mentioned air passage member is that it absorbs moisture from exhaled breath with a relative humidity of approximately 100RH%, and
This is because when 0RH% outside air is taken in, moisture is released into the air in a particularly good manner compared to other hygroscopic materials such as woven fabrics. To briefly explain this relationship, the moisture contained in paper, which is generally a hygroscopic material, depends on the relationship with the relative humidity (RH%) of the gas atmosphere with which it comes in contact: Moisture absorption rate = (W - Wo) / Wo × 100 (W is the weight of the paper under constant humidity, Wo is the weight of the paper in the standard dry state). Therefore, under the environment in which the moisture absorbing mask of the present invention is used, the air inside the aircraft, which is the atmosphere outside the mask, is in a dry state (relative humidity approximately 0RH%).
In contrast, we selected a paper with hygroscopic properties that minimizes the release of moisture contained in exhaled breath (approximately 100 RH% relative humidity) into the outside air and enables recycling between exhaled and inhaled air. The object of the present invention is achieved by ensuring the contact area with air during exhalation and inhalation according to the characteristics of the paper (particularly the moisture absorption rate) while taking ventilation resistance into consideration. The moisture absorption rate of paper, which is a hygroscopic material, differs depending on the type of paper, and generally speaking, Japanese paper made from bast fibers has a higher value than pulp paper made from wood fibers. obtained as. The reason why Japanese paper, which is a sheet-like material made of bast fibers, is particularly preferably selected in the present invention is that the above-mentioned moisture absorption and moisture release occur during exhalation and inspiration during normal breathing movements. It exhibits hysteresis in which it reaches an equilibrium state with the relative humidity of the surrounding atmosphere in a relatively short period of time, neither too short nor too long, making it ideal for moisture absorption and desorption suitable for breathing movements in the above-mentioned cabin environment. This is because it can be obtained. In the present invention, the total surface area of the honeycomb structure is set to 450 cm ² or more because the paper is necessary and sufficient to absorb and release moisture contained in these gases based on the general amount of exhaled air and the amount of inhaled air. This is to ensure a sufficient surface area. Below ^450cm2 , the amount of moisture contained in exhaled breath is not absorbed sufficiently, so the amount of moisture released into the inhaled air decreases, and as a result, the amount of outside air that is not replenished with moisture increases, resulting in a feeling of dryness in the inhaled air. It can easily become a problem. Also 4500cm ²
Even if it is above, the absolute amount of moisture contained in exhaled air is limited, and it is desirable to maintain the humidity in inhaled air at approximately 40 to 60 RH%, which is considered to be a comfortable humidity. is preferably about 1000 to 3000 cm ² , preferably about 1500 to 2500 cm ² . In addition, in the above configuration, if the total ventilation resistance (respiratory resistance) received from the cylindrical hollow air passage formed by the hygroscopic material constituting the air passage member as a honeycomb structure becomes too large, it will become an obstacle to respiratory movement and become a significant In some cases, people may feel suffocated, so it is preferable to construct the honeycomb structure so that the pressure is approximately 5 mbar or less, preferably 2 mbar or less. The honeycomb structure in the present invention may typically be of any type shown in a to n of FIG. 9, or may be a bundle of cylindrical bodies. Any material may be used as long as it is sufficient to set the total surface area facing the ventilation path and the ventilation resistance within the above-mentioned ranges, and is structurally acceptable for use. (Embodiments of the Invention) The present invention will be described below based on embodiments shown in the drawings. FIGS. 1 and 2 are diagrams showing an example of the moisture absorbing mask according to the present invention in a state in which it is worn. In these figures, 1 indicates the main body of the moisture absorbing mask, and the external nose of the face and the front part of the lips are shown. It is provided so as to form a small space 5 that is covered and separated from the outside air. If this small space becomes large, the ratio of re-inhalation of exhaled air will increase and the concentration of carbon dioxide in the inhaled air will increase, causing difficulty in breathing, so it is preferable that the volume of the small space is as small as possible. Attachment bands 2, 2 for attachment are attached to both left and right sides of the moisture absorbing mask body 1. In this example, the above small space is 20c.c. The combined volume of the small space and the honeycomb structure is considered the dead space of the mask, and the stagnant exhaled air can be re-inhaled during inspiration.
Therefore, for the purpose of keeping this dead space as small as possible, it is preferably less than 180 c.c.
It is recommended that the size be 50 c.c. or less. Further, a honeycomb structure 3 formed using Japanese paper made from Ganpi fiber is attached to the front part of the moisture-absorbing mask body 1, and a large number of cylindrical hollows of the honeycomb communicate with the small space 5 and outside air. It forms a ventilation path 4. The ventilation passages 4 of the honeycomb structure 3 in this example are formed so that their extending direction generally coincides with the direction of air ventilation through the external nose for the purpose of minimizing ventilation resistance, and as can be seen from FIG. As shown, the honeycomb structure 3 is approximately at both ends of a rectangular parallelepiped (the front end protruding toward the outside air side and the rear end inside the small space).
The ventilation passage 4 is formed with an open structure at both ends. The honeycomb structure 3 in this example is made of washi paper with a thickness of about 0.05 mm, which is made from Ganpi fiber and machine-made into a sheet shape, as described above, and is shown in FIG. 3a. A large number of cores were glued together with a binder (water-soluble vinyl acetate emulsion) so that the cell size of the core was approximately 0.3 cm.
It is formed as a rectangular parallelepiped honeycomb approximately 3 cm wide, 2 cm high, and 4 cm long. The honeycomb is manufactured by applying a binder intermittently to each sheet of paper, shifting the binder application position of the stacked papers, and pasting them together as shown in Figure 3b to form a honeycomb. Natsuta (approximately 70 sheets of paper used). Therefore, in the honeycomb structure according to this example of the method shown in FIG.
12 is 6/8 per pitch p (calculated with one side as 1). Ventilation passage 4 of this honeycomb structure 3 in this example
The total surface area facing the tube was 1800 cm ² and the ventilation resistance during breathing movements was less than 2 mbar. Using the moisture absorption mask having the structure described above, moisture absorption and moisture release tests were conducted as follows during use in an aircraft. Example 1 [Test conditions] Air inside the aircraft...Relative humidity: approximately 0.7RH%...Temperature: approximately 28℃ (The air inside the aircraft has a relative humidity of approximately 19 minutes after takeoff.)
It reached a state of 0.7RH% and remained at that state during subsequent high-altitude flights. (See Figure 4) [Measurement of moisture absorption and moisture release of honeycomb structure] To measure moisture absorption and moisture release, as shown in Figure 5, the air inside the mask is measured through the cavity 7 through the conduit 6.
The humidity inside the measurement cavity is measured by a humidity measuring device 8 (temperature and hygrometer HMI32 manufactured by Vicera), which measures the humidity in the measurement cavity by capacitance change, and this is measured by a pen recorder 9 (type 8202 recorder manufactured by Hioki Electric Co., Ltd.). I recorded it and did it. The difference between the atmospheric pressure inside the mask body and the atmospheric pressure was measured with a microbarometer (I/A7321 manufactured by Krone, USA), which is not shown, and was taken as the ventilation resistance. The measurement results are shown in FIG. As can be seen from FIG. 6, fluctuations in relative humidity during the intermittently repeated intake process were measured. The period from the top of each mountain corresponds to one cycle of breathing movement, and the period from the top of each mountain to the valley shows the humidity fluctuation of the intake air. Also, the area between the valley and the top of the next mountain corresponds to exhaled air, but the humidity of exhaled air is generally
Since it is known as 100RH%, no entry was made on the record sheet. When the moisture absorbing mask of this example is used, the relative humidity at the beginning of inhalation during breathing exercise is 60RH% or more, and the relative humidity is approximately 40RH% at the end of inhalation. Comparative Example In order to compare with Example 1 above, a mask (not shown) was manufactured in which the honeycomb structure 3 was not attached and the corresponding portion was simply an opening, and the relative humidity change of the air passing through the opening was measured. It was measured. The measurement conditions and measurement method were the same as in Example 1. The results are shown in FIG. As you can see from this figure, if the above honeycomb structure is not installed,
The relative humidity of the air during inspiration during respiratory movements is 5
-10RH%, and the difference from the above-mentioned example of the present invention was clear. Examples 2 and 3 Similar tests were conducted in Example 1 above, except that the honeycomb structures were changed to those in the table below. However, the constituent material and manufacturing method of the honeycomb were the same as in Example 1. The measured relative humidity (RH%) inside the mask at the beginning and end of inhalation is shown in Table 1 below.

【table】

[Table] Examples 4 to 9 Examples except that the structure of the honeycomb was made using paper made from 0.05 mm Gampi fiber, width: 3.5 cm, height: 2 cm, length: 2 cm and 4 cm, total surface area: 735 cm ² 1470 cm ² A test similar to 1 was conducted. The results are shown in Table 2 below.

[Table] Respiratory resistance at peak value From the above results, it is clear that the humidification mask according to the present invention exhibits excellent performance in the extremely dry environment inside an aircraft. It goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, the honeycomb structure can have a fan-shaped front end, or a slightly narrower front end. In the case of a honeycomb structure having such a structure, the flow of exhaled and inhaled air along each core is similar to the flow of air during breathing movement in the natural state. In addition to having the effect of reducing the flow resistance compared to the honeycomb structure, the honeycomb structure can be made smaller because exhaled air is distributed evenly to each core, resulting in good moisture absorption and release as a whole. It also has the effect of being suitable for (Effects of the Invention) As described above, the humidifying mask used in an aircraft according to the present invention absorbs and retains moisture contained in exhaled air when a person breathes by a predetermined member, On the other hand, during intake, the moisture absorbed and retained by the above member is released into the dry intake air taken in as outside air and sucked back, thereby efficiently supplying moisture to the dry air. It can prevent excessive drying of the respiratory tract due to air pollution, and is extremely useful for the health of passengers and crew on board an aircraft, or for maintaining a suitable environment.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1a of the drawings is a diagram showing an outline of the configuration of an example in which the humidification mask according to the present invention is used, and Figure 1b
2 is a partially enlarged view of the honeycomb structure, FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of a portion of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 a is a diagram showing the shape of the honeycomb core, and FIG. A diagram to explain the specific structure of
Figure 4 is a diagram showing changes in the relative humidity of the air inside an aircraft, Figure 5 is a diagram to explain the outline of the measurement configuration when measuring the relative humidity inside a mask, and Figure 6 is a diagram showing changes in the relative humidity of the air inside an aircraft. Figure 7 shows the change in air relative humidity related to intake air humidification when using the example mask. Figure 7 is a diagram showing the change in air relative humidity related to exhalation and intake air in the case of a comparative example. , FIG. 8 shows an outline of the structure of a moisture absorption mask according to another embodiment, and FIGS. 9 a to 9 n show examples of the shape of a honeycomb core. 1: moisture absorption mask body, 2: band, 3: honeycomb structure, 4: ventilation path, 5: small space 6: conduit,
7: Measuring cavity, 8: Humidity measuring device, 9: Pen recorder.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A mask body that is attached to cover at least the front of the external nose and forms a small space in front of the external nose separated from the outside air; and an air passage member that connects the small space and the outside air in a ventilable manner, and the air passage member is made of a honeycomb structure formed using a hygroscopic material that absorbs and releases moisture. hand,
A humidification mask for use in an aircraft, characterized in that a ventilation passage is formed by arranging a large number of cylindrical cavities of the honeycomb toward the front. 2. The humidity mask for use in an aircraft according to claim 1, wherein the hygroscopic material forming the honeycomb structure is Japanese paper made using bast fibers. 3. Claim 2, characterized in that the bast fiber is any one of mulberry, mitsumata, and gampi.
Humidification mask for use in aircraft as described in Section 1. 4. Humidification for use in an aircraft according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the total ventilation resistance of the ventilation passages of the honeycomb structure is set to 5 mbar or less. mask. 5. The honeycomb structure for use in an aircraft according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the honeycomb structure has a total surface area facing the ventilation passage, which is a cylindrical cavity, of 450 cm ² or more. Humidity mask.