Portable drag compressor powered mechanical ventilator

A rotary drag compressor ventilator for ventilating lungs of a mammal, said ventilator comprising:

• a) rotary drag compressor comprising:
• i) a housing having a gas inflow passageway for delivering gas into said housing and a non-valved gas outflow passageway from said housing;
• and
• ii) a motor-driven rotor mounted within said housing, said rotor having a multiplicity of blades formed circularly therearound such that, when said rotor is rotated in a first direction, said blades will compress gas within said housing and expel compressed gas through said outflow passageway as lung inspiratory gas;
• b) an oxygen blending apparatus in communication with the inflow passageway for blending oxygen with ambient air entering the inflow passageway to thereby provide oxygen-enriched air within said housing for subsequent compression and expulsion through said outflow passageway;
• and
• c) a controller apparatus to intermittently accelerate and decelerate the rotation of said rotor in accordance with desired flow rate and pressure of inspiratory gas to thereby deliver discrete periods of inspiratory gas flow at said flow rate and pressure through said outflow passageway.

A rotary drag compressor ventilator for ventilating lungs of a mammal, said ventilator comprising:

• a) a rotary drag compressor comprising:
• i) a housing having a gas inflow passageway for delivering gas into said housing and a non-valved gas outflow passageway from said housing;
• and
• ii) a motor-driven rotor mounted within said housing and powered by a portable battery, said rotor having a multiplicity of blades formed circularly therearound such that, when said rotor is rotated in a first direction, said blades will compress gas within said housing and expel compressed gas through said outflow passageway as lung inspiratory gas;
• and
• b) a controller apparatus to intermittently accelerate and decelerate the rotation of said rotor in accordance with desired flow rate and pressure of inspiratory gas to thereby deliver discrete periods of inspiratory gas flow at said flow rate and pressure through said outflow passageway.

A rotary drag compressor ventilator for ventilating lungs of a mammal, said ventilator comprising:

• a) a rotary drag compressor comprising:
• i) a housing having a gas inflow passageway for delivering gas into said housing and a non-valved gas outflow passageway from said housing;
• and
• ii) a motor-driven rotor mounted within said housing, said rotor having a multiplicity of blades formed circularly therearound such that, when said rotor is rotated in a first direction, said blades will compress gas within said housing and expel compressed gas through said outflow passageway as lung inspiratory gas;
• b) a controller apparatus to intermittently accelerate and decelerate the rotation of said rotor in accordance with desired flow rate and pressure of inspiratory gas to thereby deliver discrete periods of inspiratory gas flow at said flow rate and pressure through said outflow passageway;
• and
• c) a differential pressure transducer for measuring difference in pressure between gas entering the inflow passageway and gas exiting the outflow passageway.

A drag compressor apparatus for creating inspiratory gas flow in a mechanical ventilator, said compressor apparatus comprising:

• a) a housing having a gas inflow passageway for delivering gas into said housing and a non-valved gas outflow passageway from said housing;
• and
• b) a rotor rotatably mounted within said housing, said rotor being configured and constructed such that rotation thereof in a first direction will cause said rotor to (a) draw gas in said inflow passageway into the housing, (b) compress said gas, and (c) expel compressed gas as lung inspiratory gas through said outflow passageway;
• and (d) a controller for controlling the rotation of said rotor within said housing, said controller being operative to intermittently accelerate and decelerate the rotation of said rotor in accordance with desired flow rate and pressure of inspiratory gas to thereby deliver discrete periods of inspiratory gas flow at said flow rate and pressure through said outflow passageway.

A method of providing ventilation to a mammal, said method comprising the steps of:

• a) providing a rotary drag compressor comprising:
• i) a housing having a gas inflow passageway for delivering gas into said housing and a non-valved gas outflow passageway from said housing;
• ii) a rotor rotatably mounted within said housing such that rotation of said rotor in a first direction will draw gas into said inflow passageway, compress said gas, and expel said gas out of said outflow passageway;
• and
• iii) a controller for controlling the rotation of said rotor within said housing, said controller being operative to cause said rotor to intermittently accelerate and decelerate in accordance with desired flow rate and pressure of inspiratory gas to thereby deliver discrete periods of inspiratory gas flow at said flow rate and pressure through said outflow passageway;
• b) connecting the outflow passageway of said rotary drag compressor to a conduit through which inspiratory gas may be passed into lungs of said mammal;
• c) accelerating said rotor to a first rotational speed for sufficient time to deliver in accordance with desired flow rate and pressure a desired inspiratory gas flow through said conduit at said flow rate and pressure and into the lungs;
• and
• d) reducing rotor rotational speed sufficiently to terminate the inspiratory gas flow through said conduit and to allow an expiratory phase of a ventilation cycle to occur.

A rotary drag compressor ventilator device for delivering inspiratory gas flow to a mammal, said device comprising:

• a) a rotary drag compressor having an intake port and an outflow port;
• b) a non-valved inspiratory gas flow passageway for carrying gas from the outflow port of the compressor during an inspiratory phase of a ventilation cycle;
• c) means for accelerating said compressor at the beginning of the inspiratory phase of the ventilation cycle to deliver inspiratory gas through said inspiratory gas flow passageway;
• d) means for controlling said compressor during the inspiratory phase of the ventilation cycle to maintain a desired inspiratory pressure and flow rate;
• and e) means for decelerating said compressor at the end of the inspiratory phase of the
• ventilation cycle.

A rotary drag compressor ventilator device for ventilating lungs of a mammal, said device comprising:

• a) a rotary drag compressor comprising:
• i) a housing having a gas inflow passageway for delivering gas into said housing and a non-valved gas outflow passageway from said housing;
• and
• ii) a motor-driven rotor mounted within said housing, said rotor having a multiplicity of blades formed circularly therearound such that, when said rotor is rotated in a first direction, said blades will compress gas within said housing and expel said compressed gas through said outflow passageway as lung inspiratory gas;
• b) an oxygen blending apparatus in communication with the inflow passageway for blending oxygen with ambient air entering the inflow passageway to thereby provide oxygen-enriched air within said housing for subsequent compression and expulsion through said outflow passageway, said blending apparatus comprising:
• i) an accumulator chamber;
• ii) an air inlet conduit connected to said accumulator chamber;
• iii) an oxygen inlet conduit connected to said accumulator chamber;
• iv) a series of solenoid valves connected, in parallel, within said oxygen inlet conduit, each of said solenoid valves having a predetermined orifice size;
• and
• v) a blending apparatus controller for independently opening and closing each of the solenoid valves to control the amount of oxygen which flows into the accumulator chamber during a time period;
• and
• c) a rotor controller apparatus to intermittently accelerate and decelerate the rotation of said rotor in accordance with desired flow rate and pressure of inspiratory gas to thereby deliver discrete periods of inspiratory gas flow at said flow rate and pressure through said outflow passageway.