Valve-free oxygen concentrator featuring reversible compressors

An oxygen concentrator employing a reversible pivoting vane rotary compressor, said concentrator comprising:

• a pair of nitrogen filters;
• a reversible pivoting vane rotary compressor that includes a housing having an internal compression chamber defined by an inner wall, a rotor mounted within said chamber to define about said rotor a compression chamber, which narrows from a main chamber region to a constricted chamber region, said rotor having a circumferential surface, a pair of reversible intake and exhaust ports, each connected communicably and respectively with a respective filter and with said chamber proximate respective positions wherein said main chamber region and said constricted chamber region intersect, each port for selectively and alternately introducing air into said chamber while the other port exhausts air from said chamber, and at least one adjoining pair of curved vanes pivotably attached to said rotor and extending in generally opposite arcuate directions from said circumferential surface of said rotor into said chamber;
• and
• a reversible motor, for rotatably driving said rotor alternately in opposing first and second directions such that both of said adjoining pair of vanes are urged simultaneously against said inner walls of the chamber to define at least one compartment that transmits the air through said chamber between said pair of intake and exhaust ports and through said main chamber region, such that when said rotor is driven in a first forward direction, air is pumped into and through said nitrogen filters to extract nitrogen from the air pumped therethrough and produce concentrated oxygen, and when said rotor is driven in the opposite direction, said extracted nitrogen is exhausted from said filter by said compressor.

An oxygen concentrator comprising:

• two pairs of nitrogen filters;
• a first reversible pivoting vane rotary compressor that is communicably connected to said first pair of said filters and a second reversible pivoting vane rotary compressor that is communicably connected to said second pair of said filters, each compressor including a housing having an internal compression chamber defined by an inner wall, a rotor mounted within said chamber to define about said rotor a compression chamber, which narrows from a main chamber region to a constricted chamber region, said rotor having a circumferential surface, a pair of reversible intake and exhaust ports connected communicably with said chamber region proximate a respective position wherein the main chamber region and constricted chamber region intersect, each port connected to a respective filter, each port for selectively and alternately introducing air into said chamber while the other port exhausts air from said chamber, and at least one adjoining pair of curved vanes pivotably attached to said rotor and extending in generally opposite arcuate directions from said rotor into said chamber;
• and
• a motor for rotatably driving said rotors of said first and second compressors alternately in opposing first and second directions such that in each said compressor, both of said adjoining vanes are urged simultaneously against the inner wall of the chamber to define at least one compartment that transmits the air through said chamber between said pair of intake and exhaust ports and through said main chamber region such that air introduced through one of said ports is compressed and discharged through the other port;
• whereby said motor drives said first compressor in a forward direction to pump air into and through a first one of said first pair of filters while simultaneously driving said second compressor in a reverse direction to evacuate a first one of said second pair of filters, and alternately drives said first compressor in a reverse direction to evacuate the second filter of said first pair of filters while simultaneously driving said second compressor in a forward direction to pump air into and through the second filter of the second pair of filters.

A pivoting vane rotary compressor comprising:

• a housing having a compression chamber defined by an inner peripheral wall and a pair of opposing side walls on respective sides of said peripheral wall;
• a rotor mounted within said chamber to define about said rotor a compression chamber, which narrows from a main chamber region to a constricted chamber region, said rotor having a circumferential surface;
• at least one intake port and at least one exhaust port connected communicably with said chamber proximate respective positions wherein said main chamber region and said constricted chamber region intersect, said ports for respectively introducing gas into said chamber and exhausting gas from said chamber;
• at least one adjoining pair of curved vanes pivotably attached to said rotor and extending in generally opposite arcuate directions from said rotor into said chamber;
• a protective shield attached to and extending diametrically outwardly from said rotor on either side of each said vane for shielding said vanes from said side walls of said chamber;
• and
• a motor for rotatably driving said rotor such that both of said adjoining vanes are urged simultaneously against the inner wall of the chamber to define at least one compartment that transmits the gas through said chamber between said intake and exhaust ports and through said main chamber region, whereby gas introduced through a selected one of said ports is compressed and discharged through the other port.