JP5214885B2 - Oxygen concentrator and abnormality monitoring method thereof - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an oxygen concentrator for separating and concentrating oxygen in the air and supplying it to a user. More specifically, when an alarm is generated during the operation of the oxygen concentrator, means for recording instrument operation information at an appropriate time interval / period required for identifying the cause of the alarm by going back a certain time from the point of occurrence. The present invention relates to an on-board oxygen concentrator and an abnormality monitoring method thereof.

  In recent years, the number of patients suffering from chronic respiratory diseases such as pulmonary emphysema, pulmonary tuberculosis sequelae and chronic bronchitis tends to increase. As a treatment method for such patients, oxygen inhalation therapy for inhaling high concentration oxygen is performed. The oxygen inhalation therapy is a treatment method for inhaling oxygen gas or oxygen enriched gas to the diseased patient. Examples of the supply source of therapeutic oxygen gas or concentrated oxygen gas include the use of high-pressure oxygen cylinders, liquid oxygen cylinders, oxygen concentrators, etc., which can withstand long-term continuous use and are easy to use. For this reason, cases of using oxygen concentrators are increasing.

  The oxygen concentrator is an apparatus that can separate and concentrate oxygen in the air. As an apparatus for separating and concentrating oxygen, one or a plurality of adsorbent beds are packed with an adsorbent capable of selectively adsorbing nitrogen in the air from the viewpoint of obtaining a high concentration of oxygen of 90% or more. Adsorption type oxygen concentrators are widely known and used. Among them, a pressure fluctuation adsorption type oxygen concentrator using a compressor as a pressure fluctuation apparatus is widely spread in the world. Such an apparatus normally supplies compressed air from a compressor to one or a plurality of adsorbent beds filled with an adsorbent that selectively adsorbs nitrogen, and adsorbs nitrogen by bringing the inside of the adsorbent bed into a pressurized state. This is an apparatus for obtaining high concentration oxygen by repeating an adsorption process for obtaining unadsorbed high concentration oxygen and a desorption step for desorbing nitrogen by depressurizing the inside of the adsorption bed. In the pressure fluctuation adsorption method, PSA: Pressure Swing Adsorption method that removes adsorbed nitrogen components and regenerates the adsorbent to atmospheric pressure, and VPSA: Vacuum Pressure Swing Adsorption method that depressurizes the adsorption cylinder to vacuum with a vacuum pump There is.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-347127 discloses a technique for determining an abnormality in the concentration of supplied concentrated oxygen. This technology is to cope with abnormalities in the concentration meter even though the concentrated air itself is normally produced, and not only the concentration meter but also the pressure, especially the maximum ultimate pressure and the maximum pressure of the adsorption cylinder. Based on this, the concentration abnormality is determined.

  Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-238115 discloses a technique for determining performance deterioration of an adsorbent based on the detection result of oxygen concentration. According to this document, the determination is made by comparing a predetermined threshold value with an actual measurement value. Also disclosed is a technique for measuring the humidity, which is a deterioration factor of the adsorbent, in addition to the concentration, and similarly determining the performance deterioration of the adsorbent.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-347127 JP 2003-238115 A

  In the prior art, although the mechanical configuration necessary to detect the concentration abnormality has been clarified, the relationship between the mechanical configuration and the operation process has not been clear. There is no explicit technology.

  The oxygen concentrator performs an analysis based on the device status and instrument operation record at the service center in order to investigate the cause and take countermeasures when an alarm occurs. However, the current device operation information at the time of alarm generation is fragmented such as the device information at the moment of occurrence, and it is difficult to perform a smooth cause analysis. In addition, if device operation information is always left at regular intervals, or device operation information at the time of occurrence of all alarms is left, restrictions such as storage capacity limits are imposed, and device operation information necessary for analysis is also stored. It takes time and effort to find and analyze.

  The present invention solves the above-mentioned problem, by making the number of times of recording of device operation information to be recorded for each period, interval, and type into a storage system in accordance with the failure mode, operating environment, and characteristics of the oxygen concentrator. Thus, a device for recording necessary and sufficient device operation information is realized.

  That is, the present invention provides a plurality of adsorption beds filled with an adsorbent capable of selectively adsorbing nitrogen rather than oxygen, air supply means for supplying air to the adsorption bed, and air from the air supply means for the adsorption bed. In the oxygen concentrator equipped with a flow path switching means for repeating the adsorption / desorption process of desorbing the adsorbent by depressurizing the adsorbent bed and regenerating the adsorbent at a fixed timing, and an oxygen supply means for supplying concentrated oxygen, A sensor that detects the operating state of the oxygen concentrator, a memory that records detection information of the sensor, and an arithmetic element that compares the detection information with a preset set value, the memory always storing the detection information Non-volatile memory having a region, a normal operation recording region of detection information, an abnormal operation recording region, and a recording region of an alarm history flag, and the comparison result deviates from a preset setting value, The computing element abnormally records the recorded information recorded in the primary storage area for a predetermined time after the abnormality detection time as continuous operation information for a certain period immediately before the abnormality detection and intermittent operation information every certain time. Provided is an oxygen concentrator having a function of recording in an operation recording area.

  The present invention also provides a pressure sensor for measuring the pressure of the adsorbent bed, an oxygen flow rate sensor for measuring the oxygen supply flow rate, an oxygen concentration sensor for measuring the oxygen concentration, concentrated oxygen or the temperature of components inside and outside the apparatus. A temperature sensor, a control means for detecting the air supply means or the flow path switching means, and a control means for detecting the control state of the air supply means, the detection information of the sensor recorded in the primary storage area by the arithmetic element Among them, it has a function to record in the abnormal operation recording area the recording information of the time that is a predetermined time after the abnormality detection time as continuous operation information for a certain time immediately before the abnormality detection and intermittent operation information every certain time A featured oxygen concentrator is provided.

  Further, the present invention is characterized in that the recording time of the continuous operation information is a time required for all the adsorption / desorption processes of a plurality of adsorption beds, and the abnormal operation recording area includes an initial detection time corresponding to the abnormality detection information. It is an object of the present invention to provide an oxygen concentrator having an alarm log recording area and an alarm log recording area for the second and subsequent times of the entire abnormal recording information.

  The present invention further includes a non-volatile memory having a normal operation recording area for detection information corresponding to a plurality of sensors, an abnormal operation recording area, and an alarm history flag recording area. Among the detection information of the sensor recorded in the primary storage area, the record information of a time that is a predetermined time back from the abnormality detection time, the continuous operation information for a fixed time including the operation stop time, and the intermittent operation information for every fixed time An oxygen concentrator having a function of recording in a normal operation recording region is provided.

The present invention also includes a sensor for detecting the operation state of the apparatus, a memory for recording detection information of the sensor, and an abnormality monitoring method for checking and recording the operation state of the apparatus.
(1) recording detection information in a primary storage area of the memory;
(2) An abnormality detection step for comparing detection information with a preset setting value;
(3) When the detection information deviates from the set value, the record information recorded in the primary storage area is stored as the storage information at a time that is a predetermined time after the abnormality detection time, and immediately before the abnormality detection within the predetermined time. There is provided an abnormality monitoring method comprising a step of recording in a abnormal operation recording area as continuous information for a fixed period and operation information for a fixed time.

The present invention also includes a non-volatile memory having a normal operation recording area, an abnormal operation recording area, and an alarm history flag recording area for detection information corresponding to a plurality of sensors, and the abnormal operation recording area corresponds to the abnormality detection information. The first time alarm log recording area and the second and subsequent recording areas of the entire abnormal recording information,
(1) a step of referring to the alarm history flag (initial value is “0”) when an abnormality is detected;
(2) when the alarm history flag is “0”, the storage information is recorded in the recording area of the initial-time log corresponding to the type of abnormality detection information, and the alarm history flag is changed to “1”;
(3) When the alarm history flag is “1”, there is provided an abnormality monitoring method comprising a step of recording the stored information in a recording area for the second time and thereafter.

  By adopting the abnormality monitoring method of the present invention, a certain period from the time of alarm generation, for example, (a) 2 times of adsorption / desorption sequence of oxygen concentrator (when there are 2 adsorption beds), 1 second interval, etc. By recording continuous information at fine time intervals and (b) recording 30 minutes as intermittent information at intervals of 3 minutes, it is possible to leave records at appropriate times and intervals according to the failure mode of the oxygen concentrator.

  For example, a mechanical failure such as a broken pipe of the oxygen concentrator or a motor abnormality can be identified from the record (a). Further, environmental factors such as room temperature fluctuations and breakage of the cannula, which is a supply tool for product oxygen gas, can be specified by recording in (b). Furthermore, by recording only necessary information, there are advantages such as saving of memory capacity and unnecessary handling of a large amount of information during analysis.

  In addition, if an alarm occurs multiple times, leaving the necessary instrument operation information at the time of the first alarm, if one alarm causes another alarm, then the first cause The instrument operation information at the time of the alarm occurrence can be left, and there is an advantage that a necessary alarm record can be left in a limited memory resource.

  An embodiment of the oxygen concentrator of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic apparatus configuration diagram illustrating a pressure fluctuation adsorption type oxygen concentrator as an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 1 is an oxygen concentrator, and 3 is a user (patient) who inhales humidified oxygen-enriched air. The pressure fluctuation adsorption type oxygen concentrating device 1 includes an external air intake filter 101, a compressor 103, a switching valve 104, an adsorption cylinder 105, a check valve 106, a product tank 107, a pressure regulating valve 108, a flow rate setting means 109, and a filter 110. Thereby, oxygen-enriched air obtained by concentrating oxygen gas from the raw material air taken in from the outside can be produced.

  First, the raw material air taken in from the outside is taken in from an air intake port provided with an external air intake filter 101 for removing foreign matters such as dust. At this time, the normal air contains 1.2% of about 21% oxygen gas, about 77% nitrogen gas, 0.8% argon gas, water vapor and other gases. In such an apparatus, only oxygen gas necessary as a breathing gas is concentrated and extracted.

  The oxygen gas is taken out from the adsorption cylinder 105 filled with an adsorbent made of zeolite or the like that selectively adsorbs the nitrogen gas molecules rather than the oxygen gas molecules. While sequentially switching 105, the source air is pressurized and supplied by the compressor 103, and approximately 77% of nitrogen gas contained in the source air is selectively adsorbed and removed in the adsorption cylinder 105.

The adsorbing cylinder 105 is formed of a cylindrical container filled with the adsorbent, and usually a multi-cylinder type of three or more cylinders is used in addition to the one-cylinder type and the two-cylinder type. In order to produce oxygen-enriched air from the raw material air, it is preferable to use a multi-cylinder type adsorption cylinder 105. Further, as the compressor 103, a swing type air compressor may be used, and a rotary type air compressor such as a screw type, a rotary type, or a scroll type may be used. Further, the power source of the electric motor that drives the compressor 103 may be alternating current or direct current.
Oxygen-enriched air mainly composed of oxygen gas that has not been adsorbed by the adsorption cylinder 105 flows into the product tank 107 through a check valve 106 provided so as not to flow backward to the adsorption cylinder 105.

  Note that the nitrogen gas adsorbed by the adsorbent filled in the adsorption cylinder 105 needs to be desorbed from the adsorbent in order to adsorb the nitrogen gas again from the newly introduced raw material air. For this purpose, the pressurized state realized by the compressor 103 is switched to a reduced pressure state (for example, an atmospheric pressure state or a negative pressure state) by the switching valve 104, and the adsorbent is regenerated by desorbing the adsorbed nitrogen gas. In this desorption process, in order to increase the desorption efficiency, oxygen-enriched air may be allowed to flow back as a purge gas from the product end side of the adsorption cylinder or the product tank 107 during the adsorption process.

  Oxygen-enriched air is produced from the raw air and stored in the product tank 107. The oxygen-enriched air stored in the product tank 107 contains high-concentration oxygen gas, for example, 95%, and the supply flow rate and pressure are controlled by the pressure regulating valve 108, the flow rate setting means 109, etc. Supplied to the vessel 201 and humidified oxygen-enriched air is supplied to the patient.

  By detecting the set value of the flow rate setting means 109 for setting the supply flow rate of oxygen-enriched air, the concentration value of the oxygen concentration sensor 301, and the actual oxygen flow value of the flow sensor 302, and storing the detection result in the storage means 402. In order to monitor the operating state and adjust the oxygen generation amount based on the detection result, the control means 401 controls the motor rotation speed of the compressor 103 to control the supply amount of the raw material air, and further controls the switching valve 104. Controls the switching timing of adsorption / desorption.

  The compressor 103 is provided with a temperature sensor (not shown) and a motor rotation number detecting means (not shown), and monitors and records the operation of the compressor, as well as a pressure sensor and a temperature sensor ( The suction cylinder pressure and temperature are monitored and recorded in the storage means 402.

  The storage means 402 is provided with a normal operation information storage area and an abnormal operation information storage area. Each operation information such as the oxygen concentration and flow rate of the oxygen-enriched air, the temperature in the apparatus, and the pressure is stored in the normal operation information storage area together with the time information of the real-time clock 403 every predetermined time.

  The device operation information of the oxygen concentrator includes product oxygen concentration, adsorption pressure, product flow rate, communication information of the inverter controlling the motor of the compressor, gas temperature, and adsorption / desorption switching valve as well as the information recording time by the real-time clock. Information such as opening / closing information of a certain solenoid valve and opening information of a control valve serving as a flow rate setting means is recorded.

Further, in addition to the data of the actual operation information, the set value of the upper limit value or the lower limit value of each operation data is stored, and when the operation data is out of the range, it is determined and recorded as an abnormal value. For example, product gas flow rate upper limit error (FH) / lower limit error (FL), adsorption cylinder pressure upper limit error (PHH), lower limit error (PHL), product oxygen gas concentration upper limit error (O2H), lower limit error (O2L), etc. Is recorded with the highest value and the lowest value of the operation data for each adsorption / desorption cycle, and an upper limit abnormality and a lower limit abnormality alarm are generated by comparing with the preset normal threshold value, and the abnormality information is recorded.
It is difficult to constantly monitor each operation information because of the storage capacity of the storage unit 402. The recording method when each alarm is generated is shown in FIG.

  If one cycle of the adsorption / desorption process of the oxygen concentrator is 20 seconds, and if there are 2 adsorption beds, continuous data is recorded every second from 40 seconds before the alarm occurs. That is, by securing data for two adsorption / desorption sequences, it is possible to monitor a rapid operation abnormality such as a pressure abnormality due to a broken pipe, for example.

  In order to record such continuous operation information for a long time, it is necessary to increase the memory capacity. Therefore, along with the continuous operation information, for example, by recording intermittent operation information every 3 minutes from 30 minutes before the occurrence of the alarm, it is possible to monitor for a long time, such as the flow rate, from before the abnormality occurs until the abnormality occurs Can be monitored with less memory capacity.

  Prepare two types of memory, internal memory and external memory. The internal memory can be realized by constantly updating the device operation information for 30 minutes every second and transferring only the above-mentioned period / interval to the external memory when an alarm is generated.

  A recording method based on the number of times the alarm is generated is shown in FIGS. When an alarm occurs, the alarm initial flag of the alarm type is referred to. If the initial value of the flag is 0, and the alarm initial flag of the alarm is 0, the flag is stored in the “log at the first time of each alarm” and the alarm initial flag is set to 1. If the alarm initial flag of the alarm is 1, it is recorded in the first one of the free memories in the “second and subsequent alarm logs”.

  In order to prevent the first alarm from being overwritten by a secondary alarm, the initial device operation record for each type of alarm is retained as shown in FIG. For the operation information for the second and subsequent times of each alarm, for example, four common storage areas are prepared and recorded in order, and when exceeding four times, the first storage area is overwritten and recorded again.

  By recording the abnormal operation information of the oxygen concentrator together with the time data of the year, month, day, date, and continuous information immediately before the occurrence of the alarm and the intermittent information for a certain period of time in combination, the memory capacity is minimized and the device If a user's trouble occurs, the operation state before and after the trouble can be grasped from the operation data of the device. In addition to being able to easily analyze the cause of abnormalities, information such as when the user's usage environment deviates from the guaranteed environment (temperature, etc.) or when the prescription flow rate is not observed is also stored, It becomes data for educating usage environment and usage.

The schematic diagram of the pressure fluctuation adsorption type oxygen concentrator which is an embodiment of the oxygen concentrator of the present invention. Recording method when an alarm occurs. Recording method based on the number of alarms. Recording method according to the order of alarms.

Explanation of symbols

1: Oxygen concentrator 2: Waterless humidifier 3: User
101: External air intake filter
103: Compressor
104: Switching valve
105: Adsorption cylinder
106: Check valve
107: Product tank
108: Pressure regulating valve
109: Flow rate setting method
110: Filter
201: Humidifier
301: Oxygen concentration sensor
302: Flow sensor
401: Control means
402: Memory means
403: Real time clock
404: Information collection terminal

Claims (7)

A plurality of adsorbent beds filled with an adsorbent capable of selectively adsorbing nitrogen rather than oxygen; air supply means for supplying air to the adsorbent bed; and oxygen from the air supply means supplied to the adsorbent bed for concentrated oxygen In the oxygen concentrator equipped with a flow path switching means for repeating the adsorption / desorption step of depressurizing the adsorbent bed and regenerating the adsorbent at a fixed timing, and an oxygen supply means for supplying concentrated oxygen,
A sensor for detecting an operation state of the oxygen concentrator, a memory for recording detection information of the sensor, and an arithmetic element for comparing the detection information with a preset value;
The memory is a non-volatile memory having a primary storage area in which detection information is constantly recorded, a normal operation recording area of detection information, an abnormal operation recording area, and an alarm history flag recording area, and a comparison result is set in advance. If deviated from the value, the operational element, of the recording information recorded in the primary storage area, continuous operation information for a certain period from time when going back from the abnormality detection time a predetermined time, and, from the abnormality detection time, oxygen concentrator characterized by having a function of recording the abnormal operation recording area intermittent operation information every predetermined time until the continuous operation information from time when going back a long time for a predetermined time. The sensor includes a pressure sensor that measures the pressure of the adsorption bed, an oxygen flow rate sensor that measures an oxygen supply flow rate, an oxygen concentration sensor that measures oxygen concentration, a temperature sensor that measures the temperature of concentrated oxygen or parts inside and outside the apparatus, and the air Detection means for the control state of the supply means or the flow path switching means, and detection means for the control state of the air supply means,
Among the detection information of the sensor recorded in the primary storage area, the arithmetic element records the recorded information of a time that is a predetermined time after the abnormality detection time, the continuous operation information for a certain time immediately before the abnormality detection time, and the constant The oxygen concentrator according to claim 1, further comprising a function for recording intermittent operation information in an abnormal operation recording area every hour.   The oxygen concentrator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the recording time of the continuous operation information is a time required for all the adsorption / desorption processes of at least a plurality of adsorption beds.   The abnormal operation recording area includes an alarm log recording area for the first time corresponding to the abnormality detection information and an alarm log recording area for the second and subsequent times of the entire abnormality recording information. An oxygen concentrator according to claim 1.   A non-volatile memory having a normal operation recording area for detection information corresponding to a plurality of sensors, an abnormal operation recording area, and an alarm history flag recording area, and when the operation is stopped by a user, the arithmetic element is the primary storage area Normal operation recording area as the continuous operation information for a certain period of time including the operation stop point and intermittent operation information for every certain period of time. The oxygen concentrator according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a recording function. In the abnormality monitoring method for checking and recording the operation state of the apparatus, comprising a sensor for detecting the operation state of the apparatus and a memory for recording detection information of the sensor,
(1) recording detection information in a primary storage area of the memory;
(2) An abnormality detection step for comparing detection information with a preset setting value;
(3) If the detection information is out of the set value, continuous operation information for a certain period from among the record information recorded in the primary storage area, from the time when going back from the abnormality detection time a predetermined time, and, from the abnormality detection time, the intermittent operation information every predetermined time until the continuous operation information from time when going back a long time for a predetermined time, and records abnormal driving record area step,
An abnormality monitoring method characterized by comprising: A non-volatile memory having a normal operation recording area, an abnormal operation recording area, and an alarm history flag recording area corresponding to a plurality of sensors, and an alarm at the first time corresponding to the abnormal detection information. Log recording area and the second and subsequent recording areas of the entire abnormal recording information,
(1) a step of referring to the alarm history flag (initial value is “0”) when an abnormality is detected;
(2) when the alarm history flag is “0”, the storage information is recorded in the recording area of the initial-time log corresponding to the type of abnormality detection information, and the alarm history flag is changed to “1”;
(3) When the alarm history flag is “1”, the step of recording the stored information in the second and subsequent recording areas;
The abnormality monitoring method according to claim 6, further comprising:

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