JPH0691002A - Oxygen supplier for medical treatment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an oxygen supplier which supplied the high flow of oxygen by means by the changeover of a switch to a patient who needs oxygen inhalation for a disease of the respiratory organs or the like when much oxygen is needed temporarily such as after a light work, and automatically returns the flow oxygen to the former regular state after a fixed time. CONSTITUTION:The supplier is composed of an oxygen supply source (an oxygen cylinder 18), a flow regulator 17, and a controller 16 having a control portion 10, a regular flow setting portion 11, a high flow setting portion 12, and a timer 15. When start is made by making a power source switch ON, and/or when a changeover switch is pushed, the high flow setting portion 12 is operated, and a large quantity of oxygen is supplied, and afterwards, when a time set by means of the timer 15 has elasped, changeover to a regular flow is brought on. Also, by providing a receiving portion 14 at the controller 16, the operation of the switch can be conducted by means of a remote controller 13.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a device for supplying an appropriate amount of oxygen to a patient in need of oxygen inhalation.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Oxygen therapy in which oxygen is supplied from an oxygen cylinder or an oxygen concentrator is performed as a therapy for patients with respiratory diseases, and it is particularly useful for rehabilitation of patients with chronic respiratory failure. In recent years, more and more oxygen therapy has been performed at home, so-called home oxygen therapy, than at hospitals.

Home oxygen therapy is a method in which a patient sets the flow rate of an oxygen supply device installed at home according to the oxygen flow rate determined by a doctor and inhales oxygen. However, especially in patients who have returned to society, they often leave the place by interrupting oxygen inhalation because of toilet or light work, and when they resume oxygen inhalation after that, they need a large amount of oxygen temporarily. To do. However, in the conventional oxygen supply device, the flow rate is set according to a predetermined prescription and oxygen is sent, so that the patient often feels dyspnea for a while.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of such a situation as described above, and when the patient temporarily interrupts the oxygen inhalation and then resumes the oxygen inhalation, It is an object of the present invention to provide an oxygen supply device that increases the amount of oxygen supply and does not cause a patient to feel dyspnea.

[0005]

That is, the present invention provides an oxygen supply device basically comprising an oxygen supply source, a flow rate adjusting device, and a control device, wherein the control device is a control unit, a steady flow rate setting unit, and a high flow rate setting unit. It has a flow rate setting part and a timer, and when the power switch is turned on to start, and / or
When the changeover switch is pressed during use with a steady flow rate, the high flow rate setting unit operates to supply a high flow rate of oxygen, and then
When the time set in advance in the timer has elapsed, the steady flow rate setting unit is switched to change the oxygen flow rate to the steady flow rate, and more preferably, the power switch and the changeover switch are remote controller (control). A signal transmitting device) and a control signal receiving portion provided in the control device, which is a medical oxygen supply device.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments with reference to the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.

[0007]

Embodiment 1 FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an application example of the present invention when an oxygen cylinder is used as an oxygen supply source.
Oxygen gas discharged from the oxygen cylinder (18) was discharged from the pressure reducing valve (1
9) to enter the flow rate controller (17), and the patient is supplied with a constant flow rate according to the conditions set according to the doctor's prescription. Control device for regulating oxygen supply (1
6) is a steady flow rate setting unit (1) in addition to the control unit (10).
1), a high flow rate setting unit (12), a timer (15), etc., and a remote controller (1
When 3) is used, the receiving part (14) for receiving the control signal is included.

The steady flow rate setting section (11) is for setting the oxygen flow rate that the patient should normally inhale by using, for example, a volume, a digital switch or the like. Further, the high flow rate setting section (12) similarly sets the oxygen flow rate when a large amount of oxygen is temporarily required. In the present embodiment, the setting units are different from each other, but it goes without saying that one volume may be used in combination and the steady flow rate and the high flow rate may be sequentially set and stored.

The timer (15) is for setting a time for supplying oxygen at a high flow rate. For example, one using the natural frequency of the crystal oscillator, one using mechanical means such as a mainspring, and alternating current. The method and apparatus such as the one using the frequency of 1 or the cycle in which the electric signal circulates in the IC circuit can be used, but the method is not particularly limited.

The flow control device (17) includes a control unit (10).
The oxygen flow rate is controlled by receiving a signal from the steady flow rate setting unit (11), the high flow rate setting unit (12), the receiving unit (14), or the timer (15) via. The receiving unit (14), which has received the signal from the remote controller (13) or the like, transmits the control signal for starting the high flow rate to the flow rate adjusting device (17) and also sends the start signal to the timer (15). And the flow control device (17)
It starts at the flow rate set in the high flow rate setting section (12), or changes from the steady flow rate until then to the high flow rate. The flow rate can be changed by changing the valve (31) as shown in FIG.
Is performed by changing the degree of opening and closing by a valve adjusting mechanism (33) using a stepping motor or the like.
Also, the method described in the second embodiment can be applied,
It is not particularly limited.

When the time to supply oxygen at a high flow rate set by the timer (15) has elapsed, the flow rate adjusting device (17) controls the oxygen flow rate by the steady flow rate setting unit (11) by a signal from the timer (15). Change to the set value. In this embodiment, the control unit (32) which receives the signal from the timer (15) operates the valve adjusting mechanism (33) to return the valve to the position of the steady flow rate.

The oxygen from the oxygen cylinder (18) is decompressed by the pressure reducing valve (19) to about 0.3 kg / cm ² and then supplied to the flow rate controller (17) at a controlled flow rate. Provided to the patient.

[0013]

[Embodiment 2] In this embodiment, an oxygen concentrator is used as an oxygen supply source, and FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the apparatus. This device is a nitrogen adsorption tower (21) for nitrogen gas in the air.
The oxygen gas that has been adsorbed by the above method and is stored in a tank (22) and is used as an oxygen supply source in place of the oxygen cylinder (18) of Example 1, and is generally called an adsorption type oxygen concentrator. is there. In addition to this, the oxygen concentrator includes a device of a type in which oxygen is enriched by membrane separation, but is not particularly limited.

In this embodiment, a power switch (26) is provided on the operation panel of the main body of the apparatus, and a power switch (27) is also provided on the remote controller (13) so that both can be turned on and off. I chose Further, the remote controller (13) and the receiving unit (14) are
The remote controller (13) has a configuration as shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, respectively.
Using the seed frequency as a signal, in addition to the high flow rate start signal from the changeover switch (28), the power of the device itself is turned on / off.
The OFF signal can also oscillate.

Digital switches are used for the steady flow rate setting section (11) and the high flow rate setting section (12), and the timer (15) has an IC installed on the control board of the control section (10). The duration of the high flow rate, that is, the time during which the high flow rate state was maintained after the power switch (26, 27) or the changeover switch (28) was pressed was set to 3 minutes. This time can be changed by the trimmer on the substrate.

The flow rate adjusting mechanism (25) includes a plurality of orifices each having a different cross-sectional area, and a flow rate setting section (11,
In accordance with 12), a method of selecting in stages was adopted. Also,
The control unit (10) controls the oxygen flow rate and, at the same time, controls the adsorption / desorption of nitrogen gas for generating oxygen.

As described above, the remote controller (13) used in the present invention is the transmitter having the structure as shown in FIG. 4, and the oscillator (41) and the oscillator circuit which are made of ceramic elements. At (42), the signal of the fundamental frequency is oscillated. The frequency dividing circuit (43) is a circuit that divides the fundamental frequency into a frequency suitable for remote control control, and the frequency-divided signal is supplied to the modulation section (44).

On the other hand, the pulse generator (45) supplies a pulse signal to the modulator (44) according to the operation of the switch (46). The modulator (44) has a remote control control signal and a remote control switch ON / O.
A pulse signal which is an FF signal is combined and supplied to a light emitting diode (47) capable of mainly generating infrared rays to generate an operation signal (48) for remote control.

On the other hand, FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the structure of the receiving unit (14) of this embodiment. Phototransistor (5
1) is an operation signal from the remote controller (48)
Is received, the corresponding signal is supplied to the amplifier (52), amplified to a desired signal, and then supplied to the demodulation circuit (53).

The demodulation circuit (53) includes a resonance circuit (5) formed by a capacitor and a resistor that resonate at the output frequency of the frequency dividing circuit (43) of the remote controller (13).
4) is connected, the operation signal (48) of the remote controller can be selectively received. Then, the signal corresponding to the remote control switch (46) is demodulated, the relay (55) is driven, and the control signal (56) for controlling the oxygen supply device is generated,
It controls the flow rate controller (17) and the timer (15).

In addition to adjusting the flow rate, the remote controller (13) turns ON / OFF the apparatus itself, sets the steady flow rate, sets the high flow rate, and sets the timer in accordance with the frequency divided by the frequency dividing circuit. It is also possible to transmit signals of a plurality of control items such as.

When a remote controller is used, the remote controller (13) is intentionally used due to interference with the remote control signal such as noise from the surrounding environment.
If the device is shut down without operating the instrument, there is a fatal risk to the patient.

If the device is stopped due to a power failure or disconnection of the power cord during the operation of the oxygen concentrator, an alarm is generated by a buzzer sound, a lamp display, etc., and the oxygen cylinder is switched to an appropriate one. It is possible to take measures, and the apparatus of this embodiment is also configured in this way. However, since it is extremely difficult to generate an alarm when the device is stopped due to the above-mentioned interference, the following measures may be taken to prevent malfunction due to interference with the remote control circuit. preferable.

[1] Each time the switch (27, 28) of the remote controller (13) is operated once, the operation signal (28) is applied twice or more times within a fixed time (for example, 1 second). The condition circuit which transmits the signal and responds only to the signal corresponding to the number of times of transmitting the operation signal (28) is also provided in the receiving unit (14) within the fixed time. [2] A special identification code signal (for example, 10110) is added to the operation signal (28), and the receiving section (14) is also provided with a conditional circuit that reacts only to the signal to which the identification code signal is added. [3] Since the standard of signals used for infrared remote control for general home appliances is being unified, the signals used for remote control of the device (for example, companies that are members of the Home Appliance Association) are the same. Intentionally different from the standard. [4] Take measures for the combination of [1] to [3] above.

In the embodiment of the present invention, electromagnetic waves such as infrared rays are used as means for transmitting the operation signal of the remote control, but means other than this embodiment may be used. For example, a radio wave having a frequency of 1.5 to 2,500 MHz can be used. When using this radio wave, the frequency is 1.
It is preferable that the frequency is 5 MHz or more and 2500 MHz or less, and if it is less than the lower limit frequency, mutual interference with radio broadcasting may occur, and if it is higher than the upper limit frequency,
It is not preferable because a specially-shaped antenna is required for transmitting and receiving radio waves.

As described above, when the radio wave is used as the means for transmitting the operation signal, it is preferable that the radio wave is a remarkably weak wave as defined in Article 4, Paragraph 1 of the Radio Law, and this regulation is satisfied. Even with extremely weak radio waves, there is no problem in obtaining the effect of the present invention.

It is also possible to use sound waves instead of the above-mentioned radio waves. The frequency of the sound wave in this case is
It is preferable to use an ultrasonic wave of 16 KHz or more and less than 250 KHz for the purpose of distinguishing it from ambient noise and because it is noisy to the human ear. And this frequency is 250
If it is KHz or more, the amount of attenuation accompanying propagation in the atmosphere increases, and the element for transmitting and receiving the ultrasonic wave has a special shape, which is not preferable.

[0028]

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION By using the oxygen supply device of the present invention, when the oxygen inhalation is restarted after the oxygen inhalation is temporarily interrupted for the toilet or light work, or when some work is performed during the oxygen inhalation, When a large amount of oxygen is needed, the patient is breathed to the patient because more oxygen is supplied than during the steady state for a long time (at an appropriate time), and then the flow is automatically switched to the steady flow. It doesn't feel difficult,
Since the oxygen flow rate that is prescribed by the doctor is always provided, there is no burden or burden on the patient, and favorable results can be obtained in terms of treatment.

Further, in the case where the remote control device is incorporated into this, the patient does not have to touch the device when operating the switch of the oxygen supply device, so the oxygen supply device can be installed in the corner of the room. This is preferable from the standpoints of increasing the degree of freedom of the installation location and reducing the wiring of electricity and noise.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an oxygen supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of an oxygen supply device that is another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of a flow rate adjusting device in the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a remote controller (control signal transmission device) used in the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a receiving unit that receives an operation signal of a remote controller used in the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10, 32 Control unit 11 Steady flow rate setting unit 12 High flow rate setting unit 13 Remote controller 14 Receiving unit 15 Timer 17 Flow rate adjusting device 25 Flow rate adjusting mechanism 26, 27 Power switch 28 Changeover switch 33 Valve adjusting mechanism 41 Oscillating element 42 Oscillating circuit 43 Frequency division circuit 44 Modulation section 45 Pulse generation section 46 Switch 47 Light emitting diode 48 Operation signal 51 Phototransistor 52 Amplifier 53 Demodulation circuit 54 Resonance circuit 55 Relay 56 Control signal

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An oxygen supply device basically comprising an oxygen supply source, a flow rate control device, and a control device, wherein the control device has a steady flow rate setting part, a high flow rate setting part, and a timer in addition to a control part. When the power switch is turned on and started, and / or when the changeover switch is pressed during use at a steady flow rate, the high flow rate setting unit operates to supply a high flow rate of oxygen, and then the timer is preset. When the specified time has elapsed, the steady flow rate setting unit will automatically
A medical oxygen supply device, wherein the oxygen flow rate is changed to a steady flow rate. 2. The medical device according to claim 1, wherein the power switch and the change-over switch include a remote controller (control signal transmitting device) and a control signal receiving unit provided in the control device. Oxygen supply device.