JPH0614974B2 - Steam inhalation therapy device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a steam inhalation type therapeutic device for treating colds, rhinitis and the like by inhaling a steam flow cooled to a predetermined temperature into a nostril or oral cavity.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a simple therapeutic device for treating persistent rhinitis such as hay fever, a vapor inhalation type therapeutic device for inhaling a jet of steam into a nostril has recently been marketed. FIG. 3 is a side sectional view illustrating a schematic configuration of a conventional vapor inhalation type therapeutic device. The conventional vapor inhalation type treatment device shown in FIG. 3 includes an outer container 3 and a water tank 1 for steam disposed inside the outer container 3.
1, a cooling water tank 12 fitted and arranged on the side surface of the outer container 3, and a water suction pipe 231 arranged for sucking up the water in the cooling water tank 12 and supplying it to the vicinity of the injection port 210. It is mainly composed of.

First, there is a cylindrically bulged portion at the upper portion of the side surface of the outer container 3, and the tip of this portion is the vapor flow passage port 31. A water tank fitting hole 32 into which the cooling water tank 12 is fitted is largely formed on the lower side surface of the bulged portion. The cooling water tank 12 is
It is fitted into the water tank fitting hole 32 and is detachable from the outer container 3. A large opening is provided in the bottom plate portion of the steam water tank 11, and the heat conducting plate 111 is directly fixed to the bottom plate portion so as to close the opening. That is, the bottom surface of the steam water tank 11 and the heat conducting plate 1
Packing 115 so as to be sandwiched between the upper surface of the end of 11 and
Are arranged. Further, four fixing through holes are provided in the end peripheral portion of the heat guide plate 111 and the packing 115, and the fixing screws 116 are screwed into the through holes, so that the heat guide plate 111 is a water tank for steam. It is fixed directly to 11. A heater 112 is attached to the rear surface of the heat guide plate 111 having the fixed structure, so that the water in the steam water tank 11 is heated.

A cylindrical steam chamber 51 is provided on the upper surface of the steam water tank 11, and a lid 52 having a pressure adjusting function is provided so as to close the upper opening of the steam chamber 51. Further, a steam flow injection pipe 53 is provided so as to extend from the side opening hole portion of the steam chamber 51 toward the vicinity of the steam flow passage port 31 of the outer container 3, and the tip opening of the steam flow injection pipe 53 is provided. Is the injection port 210. Water suction pipe 2
The reference numeral 31 is arranged in a vertical posture in a state of being inserted into the suction pipe insertion hole 122, the lower end is submerged in the water in the cooling water tank 12, and the upper end is located in the vicinity of the injection port 210.

The operation of the conventional vapor inhalation type therapeutic device having the above structure will be described below. First, the steam water tank 11 is filled with water or hot water, and the cooling water tank 12 is filled with water. Then, the heater 112 is operated to boil the water or hot water in the steam tank 11. By this boiling, steam is injected from the injection port 210 through the steam flow chamber 51 and the steam flow injection pipe 53.

When steam is injected from the injection port 210, a negative pressure is generated in the vicinity of the injection port 210, water in the cooling water tank 12 is sucked up through the water suction pipe 231, and the injection port 2
The steam injected by 10 merges with the steam to lower the temperature of the steam to a temperature suitable for treatment to atomize the steam and create a new steam flow. The new steam flow is jetted out of the device through the steam flow passage port 31 of the outer container 3. Then, by positioning the nostril or oral cavity to be treated near the vapor flow passage port 31, the vapor flow permeates into the inside of the nostril or the oral cavity, and treatment such as cleaning or ventilation is performed. When the cooling water runs out, the cooling water tank 12 is removed from the outer container 3,
Add water.

[0007]

As described above, in the conventional vapor inhalation type therapeutic device, in order to improve the heating efficiency,
A heat guide plate having a heater attached to the back surface is provided so as to close the opening of the steam water tank, and the heat guide plate is directly fixed to the steam water tank with screws or the like. here,
Since such a treatment device is usually entirely made of a material such as a hard plastic including the water tank for steam,
In the conventional structure in which the metal heat conducting plate is directly fixed to the steam water tank, an unreasonable force may be applied to the fixing portion due to the difference in thermal expansion coefficient. As a result, the bottom plate of the steam water tank may be cracked, or the heat conducting plate may be warped or distorted. In this case, even if the heat conducting plate is watertightly attached to the steam water tank by using packing or the like, water leakage or the like will occur. An object of the invention of the present application is to solve such a problem, using a heat conductive plate having good thermal conductivity in a part of a water tank for steam to improve heating efficiency, and to prevent water leakage due to warp of the heat conductive plate. It is an object of the present invention to provide a vapor inhalation type therapeutic device having a prevention structure.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, the steam inhalation type therapeutic device according to claim 1 of the present application forms a steam tank for storing water or hot water and a bottom plate of the steam tank. A water-conducting heat-conducting plate, a heater attached to the back of the heat-conducting plate to heat water or hot water in the steam water tank to inject a steam flow from the injection port, and cooling water A steam inhalation type therapy device comprising a cooling water tank and a water suction pipe for sucking up the water in the cooling water tank to join with the steam flow, wherein the heat guide plates have the same coefficient of thermal expansion or are the same. It is attached in a state in which its end peripheral portion is sandwiched by two members or portions formed of the above material. In order to achieve the same object, the vapor inhalation type therapy device according to claim 2 of the present application is the structure according to claim 1, wherein the end peripheral portion of the heat guide plate is in a state in which elastic packing is interposed. It has a sandwiched structure.

[0009]

EXAMPLES Examples of the present invention will be described below. Figure 1
It is a side sectional view for explaining the schematic structure of the vapor inhalation type medical treatment device of the example of the invention in this application. The vapor inhalation type treatment device shown in FIG. 1 is roughly divided into a treatment device main body 1 and a lid unit 2, and the lid unit 2 is detachable from the treatment device main body 1.

The treatment device body 1 includes a bottom plate 10 and the bottom plate 1.
A cylindrical outer wall 120 that is erected on the end peripheral portion of 0, and the outer wall 1
It is mainly composed of an inner partition wall 110 arranged inside the outer wall 120 so as to be surrounded by 20.
The inner partition wall 110 and the outer wall 120 together with the cooling water tank 12
Is formed on the bottom plate 121 of the cooling water tank. That is, the cooling water tank bottom plate 121 extends inward from a position of a predetermined height on the inner surface of the outer wall 120. The tip of the cooling water tank bottom plate 121 is bent upward, and the internal partition wall 110 is extended at the tip thereof. The internal partition wall 110 is also cylindrical. Cylindrical internal partition wall 110
A heat conducting plate 111 is arranged so as to close the bottom opening of the heat conducting plate 111. The heater 11 is provided on the back surface of the heat guide plate 111.
2 is attached.

The heat-conducting plate 111 constitutes the water tank 11 for steam together with the internal partition wall 110, and is formed of a material having a high thermal conductivity such as stainless steel in order to efficiently transmit the heat generated by the heater 112. The heater 112 is not particularly limited, but a ceramic heater or the like can be used. The mounting structure of the heat guide plate 111 will be described in detail later.

The lid unit 2 closes the upper opening of the water tank 11 for steam and the upper opening of the water tank 12 for cooling, and has a water tank lid 21 having a steam flow injection port 210, and guides the steam flow to the nostrils or oral cavity to be treated. The guide cylinder 22 and the water suction part 23 for cooling are mainly configured. Aquarium lid 21
1 are provided with several steps and uneven portions as shown in FIG. 1, and these steps and uneven portions are fitted to the inner partition wall 110 and the outer wall 120, so that the steam water tank 11 and the cooling water tank 12 are provided. Each of the upper openings is sealed and closed.
An O-ring 211 is interposed at the fitting portion in order to ensure the hermetical sealing. The steam flow injection port 210 provided in the water tank lid 21 does not have to be specified in particular, but is usually located on the central axis of the cylindrical inner partition wall 110. The ejection port 210 has a diameter of 0.5 mm to 1 mm.

On the other hand, the guide cylinder 22 is, as shown in FIG.
The lower side of the cylinder has a skirt-like expanded shape, and the water tank lid 21 is fitted and fixed to the lower end opening of the expanded portion. An air intake 221 is opened in the skirt-shaped portion. The water suction part 23 includes a water suction pipe 231 whose lower side is submerged in water in the cooling water tank 12,
A suction pipe holding cylinder 232 that holds the upper portion of the water suction pipe 231; and a needle valve body 233 that is continuously provided above the suction pipe holding cylinder 232 and that houses a needle 234 that adjusts the amount of water suction. Needle valve body 23
Valve pressing rod 235 for pressing the needle 234 in the lower part 3
And a water outflow pipe 237 that is provided on the side surface of the needle valve body 233 and extends to the vicinity of the injection port 210 of the water tank lid 21.

First, the water suction pipe 231 whose lower side is submerged in the water in the cooling water tank 12 is made of rubber, and the filter 238 is fitted in the lower end opening. This water suction pipe 23
The upper part of 1 is inserted in the lower end of the upper suction pipe holding cylinder 232, whereby the water suction pipe 231 is held by the suction pipe holding cylinder 232. The needle valve element 233 continuously provided above the suction pipe holding cylinder 232 has a bottom plate, and the upper end of the suction pipe holding cylinder 232 is fixed to this bottom plate. The bottom plate is provided with a needle hole for opening and closing the needle 234, and the inside of the water suction pipe 231 and the needle valve body 23 are opened through this needle hole.
It communicates with the inside of 3. The needle valve body 233
Are fitted into the mounting holes of the water tank lid 3, and thereby the entire water suction part 23 is held by the water tank lid 23. A winding spring 2343 is arranged inside the needle valve body 233 so as to wind the conical needle valve 234. The winding spring 2343 presses the pedestal 2341 of the upper needle 234 to push the needle 2
A force for lifting 34 is constantly generated.

On the other hand, the valve pressing rod 23 on the needle 234
5, the lower end thereof enters the inside of the needle valve body 233,
The upper surface of the base 2341 of the needle 234 is pressed down. There is a threaded portion on the side surface of the valve pressing rod 235, and the threaded portion is screwed into the screw hole provided in the skirt-like expanded portion of the guide cylinder 22. And the valve pushing rod 2
A valve adjusting knob 236 is provided on the upper portion of the valve 35. In other words, when the valve adjusting knob 236 is turned, the elasticity of the coil spring 2343 causes the valve pressing rod 235 to move up and down, whereby the opening / closing amount of the needle hole, that is, the flow rate of the cooling water is adjusted.

A mounting portion 2344 for the water outflow pipe 237 is provided on the side surface of the needle valve body 233 and extends laterally. The water outflow pipe 237 is inserted and fixed in the mounting portion 2344. The inside of the attachment portion 2344 is hollow, so that the water outflow pipe 237 and the inside of the needle valve body 233 communicate with each other. The tip of the water outflow pipe 237 is located near the injection port 210 of the water tank lid 21. As a result, the water in the cooling water tank 12 sucked up by the water suction pipe 231 joins with the steam flow injected from the injection port 210.

Next, the heat conducting plate 11 which is a feature of this embodiment.
The mounting structure of 1 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, packing 113 is arranged around the end of the heat conducting plate 111. Since the heat guide plate 111 is disc-shaped, the packing 113 is ring-shaped and has a concave cross-sectional shape with the opening facing inward. Heat guide plate 1
11 is arranged so as to be fitted inside the ring-shaped packing 113. Therefore, the heat guide plate 1
The end peripheral portion of 11 is sandwiched by packing 113. The end surface of the heat conductive plate 111 is not in contact with the packing 113, and there is some margin. This is nothing but a margin for thermal expansion when the heat guide plate 111 is heated. Such a packing 113 is made of a material such as silicon rubber having elasticity, excellent heat resistance and a small coefficient of thermal expansion.

The upper surface of the packing 113 is in contact with the rear surface of the cooling water tank bottom plate 121. A fixture 114 having a step as shown in the figure is arranged so as to support the packing 113 from below. The fixture 114 is
It is made of the same hard plastic as the cooling water tank bottom plate 121, and is fixed to the cooling water tank bottom plate 121 such that the packing 113 is sandwiched together with the cooling water tank bottom plate 121. That is, the packing 113 is sandwiched between the lower parts on the inner side, and the higher parts are screwed to the cooling water tank bottom plate 121 with the screws 116.

Next, the operation of such a vapor inhalation type therapeutic device will be described below. First, steam water tank 11
Also, the supply of water or hot water to the cooling water tank 12 will be described. When water is stored in the steam water tank 11 and the cooling water tank 12, the lid unit 2 is removed from the treatment device body 1. By doing so, the upper surface openings of the steam water tank 11 and the cooling water tank 12 are exposed, so that water is poured from this portion. At this time, since the inner partition wall 110 is provided with the circulation hole 13, it is possible to pour water from either water tank, and when it is poured into one of the water tanks, it flows through the circulation hole 13 to the other water tank and the water levels of both are constant. . In addition, the water level after the injection is set to be substantially the same height as the position of the flow hole 13.

After injecting water or hot water in this way, the lid unit 2 is fitted and fixed to the treatment device body 1 as before, and the heater 112 is operated by turning on a switch (not shown). The heat generated by the heater 1112 is transferred to the water in the steam water tank 11 through the heat guide plate 111, and after a predetermined time has passed,
The water in the steam tank 11 is boiled. The boiled water forms a steam flow jetted from the jet port 210 of the water tank lid 21. At this time, as described in the description of the conventional treatment device,
The tip portion of the water outflow pipe 237 becomes negative pressure, and the negative pressure causes the water suction pipe 231 to suck up the water in the cooling water tank 12. The sucked up water flows out through the water outflow pipe 237 through the needle valve body 233, and cools the steam flow to be atomized. The water sucked up is the water suction pipe 231.
It passes through a filter 238 provided at the lower end of, and joins the steam flow in a clean state.

The steam flow in which the water from the water outflow pipe 237 merges becomes a mist of a suitable particle size while entraining the outside air from the air intake port 221, moves inside the guide cylinder 22, and becomes a guide cylinder. It is discharged from the upper end of 22. Then, by positioning the nostril or oral cavity to be treated on the upper end of the guide cylinder 22, the vapor flow is sucked into the nostril or oral cavity to perform the treatment. At this time, the valve control knob 236 is turned to move the needle 234 up and down to adjust the flow rate of the cooling water and adjust the temperature of the steam flow to be injected to an appropriate temperature. In this way, a steam flow with an optimum temperature is generated to treat the nostrils and oral cavity. The term "treatment" is not limited to treatment in the strict medical sense, but includes cases where the nostrils and oral cavity are simply washed. Also, the water or hot water inside the two aquariums will naturally decrease as they are used. Here, in this embodiment, a water level sensor (not shown) is provided, and when the water level falls below a predetermined level, the water level sensor operates, and a water injection lamp (not shown) is turned on to warn of water injection.

Now, when the vapor flow is generated by the heater 112 as described above, the heat conducting plate 111 is naturally heated and thermally expanded. At this time, the heat guide plate 111 is sandwiched between the cooling water tank bottom plate 121 and the fixture 114 made of the same material as the cooling water tank bottom plate 121, and is not directly fixed to the cooling water tank bottom plate 121. Therefore, warpage or distortion due to the difference in thermal expansion coefficient from the cooling water tank bottom plate 121 is unlikely to occur. Particularly, in this embodiment, since the elastic packing 113 is interposed, the thermal expansion of the heat conducting plate 111 in the thickness direction can be absorbed and the watertightness can be kept good.

The structure for sandwiching the heat-conducting plate 111 is not limited to the case where the heat-conducting plate 111 is composed of the two members of the cooling water tank bottom plate 121 and the fixture 114 as described above, but is also the structure of sandwiching the member with one concave section. Of course good things. Further, as in this embodiment, the heat conducting plate 111 is used for the steam water tank 11.
In addition to the configuration of covering the bottom opening of the steam tank, an opening may be provided on the side surface of the steam water tank 11, and the side surface opening may be covered by the heat conducting plate 111. In short, it suffices that the heat-conducting plate 111 having the above-mentioned mounting structure is in direct contact with the water in the steam water tank 11. Further, it is needless to say that the fixture 114 need not be formed of the same material as the steam water tank bottom plate 121 as described above as long as it is formed of a material having a similar coefficient of thermal expansion.

As described above, according to the steam inhalation type therapeutic device according to claim 1 of the present application, since the heat conductive plate having good thermal conductivity is used for a part of the steam water tank, the heating efficiency is improved. Since the end peripheral part of the heat guide plate is sandwiched between two members or parts that have been raised and have the same coefficient of thermal expansion or are formed of the same material, the heat guide plate does not warp, etc. The structure prevents water leakage. Further, according to the vapor inhalation type therapeutic device of claim 2 of the present application, since the thermal expansion in the thickness direction of the heat conducting plate is absorbed and the watertightness is maintained, there is no fear of water leakage.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view for explaining a schematic configuration of a vapor inhalation type therapeutic device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view illustrating a schematic configuration of a conventional vapor inhalation type therapeutic device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Therapeutic device main body 2 Lid unit 11 Water tank for steam 12 Water tank for cooling 110 Internal partition wall 111 Heat-conducting plate 112 Heater 113 Packing 114 Fixing tool 120 Outer wall 210 Jet port 231 Water suction pipe 231

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A steam tank for storing water or hot water, a heat-conducting plate attached in a watertight state so as to form a part of the steam tank, and a steam tank attached to the back surface of the heat-conducting plate. A heater for heating the above water or hot water to inject a steam flow from an injection port, and a cooling water tank containing cooling water,
A steam inhalation type therapy device comprising a water suction pipe for sucking up water in a cooling water tank and joining with the steam flow,
The heat-conducting plate is attached in a state in which its end peripheral portion is sandwiched by two members or portions having the same coefficient of thermal expansion or formed of the same material, and the vapor-inhalation therapy device is characterized. . 2. The vapor inhalation type therapeutic device according to claim 1, wherein the end peripheral portion of the heat guide plate is sandwiched with an elastic packing interposed.