Portable oxygen concentrator

A method for concentrating oxygen comprising:

• providing a portable apparatus comprising:
• a plurality of sieve beds each sieve bed in the plurality of sieve beds including a first end and a second end, a reservoir communicating with the second ends of the plurality of sieve beds, a compressor, a set of valves between the compressor and the first ends of the plurality of sieve beds, and control electronics adapted to control operation of the valves;
• selectively opening and closing the valves to alternately charge the plurality of sieve beds by delivering compressed air into the plurality of sieve beds through the first ends to cause oxygen to exit from the second ends into the reservoir and purge the plurality of sieve beds to evacuate pressurized nitrogen from the plurality of sieve beds through the first ends, wherein oxygen passes from a sieve bed being charged to a sieve bed being purged via a purge orifice to assist evacuating nitrogen from the sieve bed being purged;
• and
• directing the nitrogen evacuated from the sieve beds at or across the control electronics to cool the control electronics.

A method for concentrating oxygen comprising:

• providing a portable apparatus comprising a first sieve bed and a second sieve bed, each of the first sieve bed and the second sieve bed including a first end and a second end, a reservoir communicating with the second ends of the first and the second sieve beds, a compressor, and a set of valves disposed between the compressor and the first ends of the first and the second sieve beds;
• opening a first subset of the valves to deliver air into the first sieve bed to cause oxygen to exit from the first sieve bed into the reservoir and evacuate pressurized nitrogen from the second bed;
• opening a second subset of the valves to deliver air into the second sieve bed to cause oxygen to exit from the second sieve bed into the reservoir and evacuate pressurized nitrogen from the first sieve bed;
• and
• opening a third subset of the valves between opening the first and second subsets of the valves to deliver air simultaneously into the first sieve bed and the second sieve bed.