Oxygen enrichment device, control method and control program
AssigneeTeijin Pharma Limited
InventorNorihiro FUJITA
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Abstract
Provided are an oxygen concentrator, a control method, and a control program capable of preventing an internal pressure drop of the concentrated oxygen gas tank in order to extract concentrated oxygen gas at a predetermined flow rate. An oxygen concentrator capable of preventing a pressure drop in both cylinders in the pressure equalization step and, as a result, preventing a drop in the internal pressure of a concentrated oxygen gas tank, by starting pressurization in advance in the already depressurized adsorption cylinder before the pressure equalization step.
Claims9
An oxygen concentrator comprising:
- a plurality of adsorption cylinders filled with an adsorbent that preferentially adsorbs nitrogen over oxygen;
- a pressurized air supply unit for supplying pressurized air to the adsorption cylinders;
- a supply flow path opening/closing unit for connecting the pressurized air supply unit and each of the adsorption cylinders and opening/closing a gas flow path of pressurized air;
- an exhaust flow path opening/closing unit for opening/closing a gas flow path for exhausting gas from each of the adsorption cylinders;
- a concentrated oxygen gas tank for storing concentrated oxygen gas produced by the plurality of adsorption cylinders;
- and
- a communication flow path opening/closing unit for connecting an end of each of the adsorption cylinders on a concentrated oxygen gas outlet side and passing therethrough a part of produced concentrated oxygen gas,
- wherein the oxygen concentrator has a flow path opening/closing control unit for performing opening/closing control of the supply flow path opening/closing unit, the exhaust flow path opening/closing unit, and the communication flow path opening/closing unit, and
- the flow path opening/closing control unit performs control in each of the adsorption cylinders in such a way that the following steps are repeated in the order listed,
- (a) a pressurized adsorption step of adsorbing nitrogen in pressurized air on an adsorbent in the adsorption cylinder by supplying pressurized air, and extracting unadsorbed oxygen from an end on a concentrated oxygen gas outlet side of the adsorption cylinder;
- (b) a pressure equalization step of equalizing pressures in the plurality of adsorption cylinders;
- (c) a depressurized desorption step of depressurizing the adsorption cylinder, desorbing adsorbed nitrogen, and exhausting to outside air;
- (d) a pre-pressurization step of starting in advance pressurization of an already depressurized adsorption cylinder;
- and
- (e) a pressure equalization step of equalizing pressures in the plurality of adsorption cylinders, and
- in such a way that, while (a) pressurized adsorption step is performed in one or in a group of adsorption cylinders, (c) depressurized desorption step and (d) pre-pressurization step are performed in the other or the other group of adsorption cylinders.
A control method of an oxygen concentrator for controlling pressures in a plurality of adsorption cylinders so as to prevent a pressure drop in a concentrated oxygen gas tank, wherein control is performed in each of the adsorption cylinders in such a way that the following steps are repeated in the order listed,
- a pressurized adsorption step of adsorbing nitrogen in pressurized air on an adsorbent in the adsorption cylinder by supplying pressurized air to the adsorption cylinder from a pressurized air supply unit, and extracting unadsorbed oxygen from an end on a concentrated oxygen gas outlet side of the adsorption cylinder;
- a pressure equalization step of equalizing pressures in the plurality of adsorption cylinders;
- a depressurized desorption step of depressurizing the adsorption cylinder, desorbing adsorbed nitrogen, and exhausting to outside air;
- a pre-pressurization step of starting in advance pressurization of an already depressurized adsorption cylinder;
- and
- a pressure equalization step of equalizing pressures in the plurality of adsorption cylinders, and
- in such a way that, while a pressurized adsorption step is performed in one or in a group of adsorption cylinders, a depressurized desorption step and a pre-pressurization step are performed in the other or the other group of adsorption cylinders.
A control program of an oxygen concentrator for controlling pressures in a plurality of adsorption cylinders so as to prevent a pressure drop in a concentrated oxygen gas tank, wherein a procedure of repeating the following procedures in the order listed is executed in each of the adsorption cylinders,
- a procedure of adsorbing nitrogen in pressurized air on an adsorbent in the adsorption cylinder by supplying pressurized air to the adsorption cylinder from a pressurized air supply unit, and extracting unadsorbed oxygen from an end on a concentrated oxygen gas outlet side of the adsorption cylinder (pressurized adsorption procedure);
- a procedure of equalizing pressures in the plurality of adsorption cylinders (pressure equalization procedure);
- a procedure of depressurizing the adsorption cylinder, desorbing adsorbed nitrogen, and exhausting to outside air (depressurized desorption procedure);
- a procedure of starting in advance pressurization of an already depressurized adsorption cylinder (pre-pressurization procedure);
- and
- a procedure of equalizing pressures in the plurality of adsorption cylinders (pressure equalization procedure), and
- while a pressurized adsorption procedure is executed in one or in a group of adsorption cylinders, a depressurized desorption procedure and a pre-pressurization procedure are executed in the other or the other group of adsorption cylinders.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.