An auxiliary control component for oxygen concentration in an environmental simulation human metabolic chamber
By installing a pressurization chamber between the metabolic chamber and the second buffer chamber and using a pressurization pump to pressurize the oxygen concentration, the problem of inaccurate oxygen concentration control was solved, and accurate simulation of the high-altitude environment was achieved.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- RUIJIN HOSPITAL AFFILIATED TO SHANGHAI JIAO TONG UNIV SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
- Filing Date
- 2025-09-16
- Publication Date
- 2026-06-30
AI Technical Summary
Existing environmental simulation chambers for human metabolism fail to achieve the expected oxygen concentration when simulating high-altitude environments, resulting in inaccurate oxygen concentration control.
A pressurization chamber is installed between the metabolic chamber and the second buffer chamber. The low-oxygen air is pressurized by a pressurization pump, and the oxygen concentration is precisely controlled by a gas pressure sensor and controller.
It achieves precise control of oxygen concentration in the human metabolic chamber, simulating the effect of a high-altitude environment.
Smart Images
Figure CN224436810U_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This utility model belongs to the field of human metabolism research, and specifically relates to an auxiliary control component for oxygen concentration in an environmental simulation human metabolism chamber. Background Technology
[0002] In patent document CN114593769B, the same inventor of this disclosure proposed an environmental simulation human metabolic chamber. In this chamber, a first filter, a first buffer chamber, an oxygen scrubber, and a second buffer chamber are arranged along the air inlet passage, in the direction of fresh air inflow. A third water vapor analyzer, a third CO2 analyzer, and a third O2 analyzer are sequentially connected at the second buffer chamber via a switching switch. Figure 1 As shown, Figure 1 Cited from patent document CN114593769B, for the sake of simplicity, Figure 1 The description has been simplified. For detailed information, please refer to the specification and figures in the patent document. Here, the oxygen scrubber is a crucial component of the environmental simulation human metabolic chamber. Its primary function is to set and control the oxygen content in the air to simulate the atmospheric oxygen level at a set altitude. By reducing the oxygen content in the air, the oxygen scrubber can simulate the atmospheric environment at high altitudes. This is particularly important for studying human energy metabolism at high altitudes, as it provides a controllable low-oxygen environment to observe and analyze physiological responses and energy metabolism changes in the human body under different oxygen partial pressures.
[0003] Oxygen scrubbers work by using molecular sieves to adsorb oxygen molecules from the air. Molecular sieves are materials with a uniform microporous structure that selectively adsorb or repel different molecules based on their size. In an oxygen scrubber, molecular sieves adsorb oxygen, thereby reducing the oxygen content in the air. By controlling the adsorption and desorption processes of the molecular sieves, the oxygen concentration in the air passing through the scrubber can be precisely adjusted.
[0004] However, the inventors of this disclosure have discovered that, in the aforementioned environmental simulation chamber for human metabolism, when simulating an environment at a maximum altitude of 30,000 feet (i.e., an oxygen concentration of approximately 6.3%), the actual oxygen concentration inside the chamber does not reach that value. Theoretically, the oxygen concentration inside the chamber and the second buffer chamber should decrease synchronously (e.g., Figure 1 (A) or gradually converges (e.g.) Figure 1 (B) is the case. Figure 2 In the diagram, FiO2 represents the oxygen concentration of the air entering the chamber from the second buffer chamber, equivalent to the oxygen concentration inside the second buffer chamber. FeO2 represents the oxygen concentration of the air entering the gas analyzer from the chamber, equivalent to the oxygen concentration inside the chamber. However, the actual situation is as follows: Figure 3As shown, the oxygen level inside the chamber begins to rise after dropping to a certain level. Therefore, the oxygen concentration control in the aforementioned environmental simulation human metabolic chamber did not achieve the expected ideal goal. Utility Model Content
[0005] The purpose of this invention is to propose an auxiliary control component for oxygen concentration in an environmental simulation human metabolic chamber, in order to solve the problem that existing environmental simulation human metabolic chambers cannot achieve simulated oxygen concentration in high-altitude environments.
[0006] One embodiment of this utility model discloses an auxiliary control component for oxygen concentration in an environmentally simulated human metabolic chamber. The chamber's air inlet passage, arranged in the direction of fresh air inflow, includes a first filter, a first buffer chamber, an oxygen scrubber, and a second buffer chamber. The component includes a pressurization box disposed between the second buffer chamber and the human metabolic chamber chamber. The pressurization box's air inlet connects to the second buffer chamber, and its air outlet connects to the human metabolic chamber chamber.
[0007] The pressurization chamber pressurizes the low-oxygen air (with reduced oxygen concentration) output from the second buffer chamber for high-altitude environment simulation and then inputs it into the human metabolic chamber.
[0008] The beneficial effect of this invention is that it achieves precise control of oxygen concentration in the human metabolic chamber through auxiliary control components including a pressurization box, thereby simulating the high-altitude environment. Attached Figure Description
[0009] The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent from the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Several embodiments of the present invention are illustrated in the drawings by way of example and not limitation, in which:
[0010] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of an existing environmental simulation human metabolic chamber system.
[0011] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the expected control curve of oxygen concentration in an existing environmental simulation human metabolic chamber.
[0012] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the actual control curve of oxygen concentration in an existing environmental simulation human metabolic chamber.
[0013] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the composition of a human metabolic chamber according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0014] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the connection of the oxygen concentration auxiliary control component in the human metabolic chamber according to one embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation
[0015] Regarding the aforementioned problems occurring in the simulated human metabolic chamber, this disclosure, after investigation, found that this is due to the pressure difference between the chamber and the buffer chamber. Reducing the oxygen concentration in the buffer chamber is a process of oxygen circulation and rinsing achieved by the oxygen scrubber. The gas in the buffer chamber is circulated back into the oxygen scrubber, where pure oxygen is repeatedly extracted. The partially oxygenated gas is then returned to the buffer chamber, thus achieving the requirement of gradually reducing the oxygen concentration. During this process, because oxygen is adsorbed, the air pressure also decreases, causing the air pressure inside the chamber to be higher than the air pressure in the second buffer chamber. The study found that when the pressure difference between the chamber and the second buffer chamber reaches or exceeds 0.26 kPa, the chamber cannot intake air from the second buffer chamber, and the oxygen concentration inside the chamber cannot be reduced normally.
[0016] To address the problems discovered in this invention, this invention proposes an auxiliary control component for oxygen concentration in an environmental simulation human metabolic chamber. The core component of this component is a pressurization box, which is located between the metabolic chamber and the second buffer chamber. The pressurization box pressurizes the low-oxygen air output from the second buffer chamber, allowing the low-oxygen air in the second buffer chamber to be controlled and stably input into the metabolic chamber, thereby achieving precise control of the oxygen concentration in the metabolic chamber and simulating a high-altitude environment.
[0017] According to one or more embodiments, such as Figure 4 As shown, an auxiliary control component for oxygen concentration in an environmental simulation human metabolic chamber is provided. The chamber's air inlet passage, arranged in the direction of fresh air inflow, includes a first filter, a first buffer chamber, an oxygen scrubber, and a second buffer chamber. The component includes a pressurization box positioned between the second buffer chamber and the human metabolic chamber chamber. The pressurization box's inlet connects to the second buffer chamber, and its outlet connects to the human metabolic chamber chamber. The pressurization box pressurizes the low-oxygen air (with reduced oxygen concentration) output from the second buffer chamber for high-altitude environment simulation and then inputs it into the human metabolic chamber chamber. Here, the pressurization box is a gas-sealed container; the container material can be existing materials such as plexiglass, engineering plastics, or stainless steel, and both the inlet and outlet need to be sealed using existing methods. Figure 4 Only a portion of the components of the environmental simulation human metabolic chamber system related to this disclosure are shown. More detailed implementation units of the environmental simulation human metabolic chamber system can be found in patent document CN114593769B.
[0018] According to one or more embodiments, such as Figure 5As shown, an auxiliary control component for oxygen concentration in an environmental simulation human metabolic chamber is disclosed. The chamber's air inlet passage, arranged in the direction of fresh air inflow, includes a first filter, a first buffer chamber, an oxygen scrubber, and a second buffer chamber. The component includes a pressurization box positioned between the second buffer chamber and the human metabolic chamber chamber. The pressurization box's inlet connects to the second buffer chamber, and its outlet connects to the human metabolic chamber chamber. The pressurization box pressurizes the low-oxygen air (with reduced oxygen concentration) output from the second buffer chamber for high-altitude environment simulation and then inputs it into the human metabolic chamber chamber.
[0019] The pressurization chamber is equipped with a first gas pressure sensor for obtaining the gas pressure inside the pressurization chamber. The gas pressure sensor is electrically connected to a pressurization controller included in the component. The pressurization controller is also electrically connected to a pressurization pump in the component. The pressurization pump is located in the passage between the second buffer chamber and the pressurization chamber for pressurizing the low-oxygen air input into the pressurization chamber.
[0020] The component includes a first one-way valve, which is located in the passage between the pressurization chamber and the human metabolic chamber to ensure that low-oxygen air flows unidirectionally from the pressurization chamber into the human metabolic chamber.
[0021] The component includes a second one-way valve, which is disposed in the passage between the booster pump and the booster box to ensure that low-oxygen air flows unidirectionally from the booster pump into the booster box.
[0022] The component includes a third one-way valve, which is disposed in the passage between the second buffer chamber and the booster pump to ensure that low-oxygen air flows unidirectionally from the second buffer chamber into the booster pump.
[0023] The human metabolic chamber is equipped with a second gas pressure sensor to obtain the gas pressure inside the human metabolic chamber. The second gas pressure sensor is electrically connected to the pressurization controller.
[0024] The pressurization controller is electrically connected to the main controller of the environmental simulation human metabolic chamber.
[0025] The first and / or second gas pressure sensors can be commercially available models, including the Sable ESA series, Honeywell TruStability series, or WIKA series sensors for metabolic respiration measurement. The booster pump can be a commercially available KNF N86KT.16DC-B, Parker T2-05, or Gardner Denver Thomas 1420Z DC. The one-way valve can be a Parker CS1200S, WIKA VU 34NPT 5PSI, or HOKE 6100 Series. The booster controller can be a PLC controller or a microcontroller (MCU). The booster controller operates in a manner commonly used in the field: the first gas pressure sensor detects the gas pressure inside the booster chamber, which is set to be higher than the simulated environmental pressure of the human metabolic chamber. When the gas pressure inside the booster chamber falls below the set value, the booster controller activates the booster pump to introduce low-oxygen air into the booster chamber, pressurizing it. Simultaneously, it can control the flow rate of the low-oxygen air entering the booster chamber. The pressurization controller employs existing, mature control methods and logic, such as PID control algorithms, requiring no creative work from those skilled in the art. The pressurization controller connects to the first and second gas pressure sensors using a method commonly used in the art to acquire gas pressure parameters. Based on preset gas pressure settings within the human metabolic chamber and the pressurization tank, it controls the operating parameters of the pressurization pump. These gas pressure parameter settings are calculated based on the required simulated altitude, which is common knowledge in the field of environmental simulation of human metabolic chambers and will not be elaborated upon here. It should be noted that these two gas pressure sensors can be electrically connected to the pressurization controller via wired or wireless means. These connection methods are common knowledge in the art, i.e., data communication with the pressurization controller is achieved through wired or wireless communication interfaces. If a wired connection is used, care must be taken to ensure that the cable passes through the pressurization tank wall in an airtight manner to prevent air leakage. Moreover, the pressurization controller here can operate independently or be connected to the main controller of the environmental simulation human metabolic chamber to achieve precise control of the oxygen concentration in the chamber. This control implementation is also described in patent document CN114593769B.
[0026] The first and second one-way valves ensure that the low-oxygen air can always flow into the pressurization chamber and the human metabolic chamber in one direction, preventing backflow of low-oxygen air. The third one-way valve further ensures that the low-oxygen air output from the second buffer chamber will not backflow.
[0027] It is worth noting that although the foregoing description has described the spirit and principles of this invention with reference to several specific embodiments, it should be understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed specific embodiments, and the division of aspects does not imply that the features in these aspects cannot be combined; such division is merely for the convenience of description. This invention is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
Claims
1. An auxiliary control component for oxygen concentration in an environmental simulation human metabolic chamber, wherein the air inlet passage of the environmental simulation human metabolic chamber is provided with a first filter, a first buffer chamber, an oxygen scrubber, and a second buffer chamber in the direction of fresh air inflow, characterized in that, The component includes a pressurization chamber disposed between the second buffer chamber and the human metabolic chamber. The air inlet of the pressurization chamber is connected to the second buffer chamber, and the air outlet is connected to the human metabolic chamber. The pressurization chamber pressurizes the low-oxygen air (with reduced oxygen concentration) output from the second buffer chamber for high-altitude environment simulation and then inputs it into the human metabolic chamber.
2. The component according to claim 1, characterized in that, The pressurization chamber is equipped with a gas pressure sensor, which is electrically connected to a pressurization controller included in the component. The pressurization controller is also electrically connected to a pressurization pump in the component. The pressurization pump is located in the passage between the second buffer chamber and the pressurization chamber and is used to pressurize the low-oxygen air input into the pressurization chamber.
3. The component according to claim 2, characterized in that, The component includes a first one-way valve, which is located in the passage between the pressurization chamber and the human metabolic chamber to ensure that low-oxygen air flows unidirectionally from the pressurization chamber into the human metabolic chamber.
4. The component according to claim 2, characterized in that, The component includes a second one-way valve, which is disposed in the passage between the booster pump and the booster box to ensure that low-oxygen air flows unidirectionally from the booster pump into the booster box.
5. The component according to claim 2, characterized in that, The component includes a third one-way valve, which is disposed in the passage between the second buffer chamber and the booster pump to ensure that low-oxygen air flows unidirectionally from the second buffer chamber into the booster pump.
6. The component according to claim 2, characterized in that, The human metabolic chamber is equipped with a second gas pressure sensor, which is electrically connected to the pressurization controller.
7. The component according to claim 2, characterized in that, The booster controller uses a PLC controller as its core.
8. The component according to claim 7, characterized in that, The pressurization controller is electrically connected to the main controller of the environmental simulation human metabolic chamber.