Oxygen generating device
AssigneeNormalair-Garrett (Holdings) Limited
InventorsRobert John Phillips, Ralph Gordon William Taylor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method of controlling an oxygen generation device of the kind including a ceramic membrane through which an electrical current is passed whilst ambient air is supplied to one side of the membrane, the membrane allowing oxygen in the supplied air to diffuse therethrough by ionic transport when the membrane is at or above an operating temperature, at a rate dependant upon the electrical current, there being a plenum or the like to recover the oxygen at a second side of the membrane, the method comprising regulating the electrical current passing through the membrane by switching the electrical current on and off and varying the proportion of current-on time in a given time interval (t) in dependence upon a feedback signal.
Claims12
In a method of controlling an oxygen generation device including the steps of providing a ceramic membrane through which an electrical current is passed while ambient air is supplied to one side of the membrane, the membrane allowing oxygen in the supplied air to diffuse therethrough by ionic transport when the membrane is at or above an operating temperature, at a rate dependent upon the electrical current, and recovering the oxygen at a second side of the membrane, the improvement comprising regulating the electrical current passing through the membrane by switching the electrical current on and off and varying the proportion of current-on time in a given time interval in dependence upon a feedback signal.
An oxygen generation system having a device comprising a ceramic membrane through which an electrical current is passed while ambient air is supplied to one side of the membrane, the membrane allowing oxygen in the supplied air to diffuse therethrough by ionic transport when the membrane is one of at and above an operating temperature, at a rate dependent upon the electrical current, means to recover the oxygen at a second side of the membrane, and the system including control means to regulate the electrical current passing through the membrane by switching the electrical current on and off and varying the proportion of current-on time in a given time interval in dependence upon a feedback signal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.