Oxygen-hydrogen water bath system

Abstract

To provide an oxygen-hydrogen water bath system that facilitates obtaining reduction effect of active oxygen by more rapidly taking much more hydrogen into the body.SOLUTION: An oxygen-hydrogen water bath system includes: a chamber 11 having a gas supply port 20, and storing the human body: a gas supply part 12 for supplying gas containing oxygen into the chamber via an air supply pipe 23 so as to make internal pressure higher than atmospheric pressure; a hydrogen supply part 13 for supplying hydrogen gas into the chamber via a hydrogen supply pipe 27; and a gas exhausting part 15 for discharging gas and hydrogen gas from the chamber via an exhaust valve 28 for maintaining the chamber in a predetermined pressure range. The exhaust valve maintains pressure in the chamber to equal to or more than atmospheric pressure and equal to or less than usable pressure of the exhaust valve. A flow passage branch point is provided at a closer point to the gas supply part side than a confluence point at which hydrogen gas from the hydrogen supply pipe joins together, in the middle of a flow passage for connecting the gas supply part and the gas supply port, and one branch flow passage proceeds the gas supply port and the other branch flow passage proceeds the gas exhausting part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an oxygen-hydrogen bath system. [Background technology]

[0002] (Position of this application) The applicant also holds a patent entitled "Oxygen Hydrogen Bath System" (Patent No. 6133526 (hereinafter referred to as Patent Document 1)), and this application is an application for an improved invention of the invention described in that patent.

[0003] The invention covered by Patent No. 6133526 is an invention related to an oxygen hydrogen bathing system that allows the body to take in more hydrogen than when hydrogen water is orally ingested, making it easier to reduce active oxygen. In recent years, there has been a greater need than ever before to eliminate excess active oxygen from the body in order to maintain health. People with this need include busy businessmen who are pressed for time, and it is expected that such businessmen will enjoy great benefits if they can take an oxygen hydrogen bath in a short amount of time even during the workday. The basic technical idea of ​​the invention described in this patent is to supply air that has been adjusted to a certain hydrogen gas concentration outside the chamber at a certain rate and amount to the oxygen-hydrogen bath chamber, while maintaining the hydrogen volume concentration of the air in the chamber at dynamic equilibrium. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6133526 DISCLOSURE OF THEINVENTION [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, in the oxygen-hydrogen bath system that embodies the invention described in Patent Document 1, the hydrogen gas generating capacity is limited to the capacity to generate 500cc of 100% hydrogen gas per minute, in consideration of the dangers associated with the use of a hydrogen gas generator, and the hydrogen concentration in the chamber can only be maintained up to 1.0% by volume when dynamic equilibrium is reached. Therefore, there is an aspect that does not fully respond to the market needs for a sufficient amount of hydrogen in a shorter time, or a larger amount in the same time, to be taken into the body.

[0006] In such cases, a commonly considered solution is to simply increase the capacity of the hydrogen gas generator without changing the entire system, but this solution is not desirable because the amount of hydrogen gas generated exceeds the range confirmed as safe, raising concerns about the risk of a hydrogen explosion. In addition, it requires the introduction of a new hydrogen gas generator, which significantly affects manufacturing costs, and this is not desirable from a business perspective because it increases manufacturing costs.

[0007] Therefore, the inventors have intensively researched a solution that achieves the objective while using a hydrogen gas generator whose safety has been confirmed so that the amount of hydrogen gas generated by long-term use of the oxygen-hydrogen bath system of Patent Document 1 (prior art) is within a safe range, and while avoiding a significant increase in manufacturing costs.As a result, they have discovered that, without changing the hydrogen gas generator used in the oxygen-hydrogen bath system described in Patent Document 1, it is possible to increase and maintain the hydrogen concentration in the chamber of the oxygen-hydrogen bath system to a level that could not be obtained with the invention described in Patent Document 1, simply by inserting a simple, low-cost Y-joint in the middle of the air supply pipe of the system, piping one branch pipe in the same manner as in Patent Document 1, inserting a reducer in the other branch pipe, and connecting the end of that to the gas exhaust part of Patent Document 1 via a T-joint, and have completed the present invention based on this finding. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] That is, the first invention is a chamber having a gas supply port through which a gas is introduced and capable of accommodating the entire human body; a gas supply unit having a gas supply pipe connected to the gas supply port and supplying an oxygen-containing gas into the chamber through the gas supply pipe to make the pressure inside the chamber higher than atmospheric pressure; a hydrogen supply section including a hydrogen supply pipe connected to the gas supply pipe via a Y-shaped joint A and a hydrogen gas generator, the hydrogen supply section supplying hydrogen gas from the hydrogen gas generator into the chamber via the hydrogen supply pipe; a gas exhaust unit that is connected to the chamber and has a safety valve or a valve that maintains the inside of the chamber within a predetermined pressure range by ON / OFF operation, and exhausts the gas and the hydrogen gas from the chamber through the valve; In an oxygen-hydrogen bath system comprising: the gas supply pipe of the gas supply unit has a Y-shaped joint B at a position closer to the gas supply unit than the Y-shaped joint A, the Y-shaped joint B dividing the flow path of the gas from the gas supply unit into two equal parts; One branch pipe A of the Y-shaped joint B joins with the hydrogen supply pipe at the Y-shaped joint A and then connects to the gas supply port, and the other branch pipe B extends through a reducer and then connects to a gas exhaust section via a T-shaped joint. This is an oxygen-hydrogen bath system characterized by the above.

[0009] A second invention is the first invention, characterized in that the valve maintains the pressure in the chamber at 1.1 to 1.35 atmospheres and the volume concentration of the hydrogen gas in the chamber at 1.0 to 2.0 volume %.

[0010] A third invention is characterized in that, in the first or second invention, while the gas supply unit supplies the gas into the chamber, the hydrogen supply unit supplies the hydrogen gas into the chamber.

[0011] In addition, the configuration of the invention described in claim 1 of this application adds the underlined constituent elements below to the configuration of the invention described in claim 1 of Japanese Patent No. 6133526, which is already a patent, so it is considered that the added constituent elements are fully patentable. a chamber having a gas supply port through which gas is introduced and capable of accommodating an entire human body; a gas supply unit having a gas supply pipe connected to the gas supply port, and supplying an oxygen-containing gas into the chamber through the gas supply pipe to make the pressure inside the chamber higher than atmospheric pressure; The gas supply pipe; Through Y-shaped A-joint a hydrogen supply unit having a hydrogen supply pipe connected to the chamber and a hydrogen gas generator, the hydrogen supply unit supplying hydrogen gas from the hydrogen gas generator into the chamber via the hydrogen supply pipe; a gas exhaust unit that is connected to the chamber and has a safety valve or a valve that maintains the inside of the chamber within a predetermined pressure range by ON / OFF operation, and exhausts the gas and the hydrogen gas from the chamber through the valve; In an oxygen-hydrogen bath system comprising: the gas supply pipe of the gas supply unit has a Y-shaped B joint at a position closer to the gas supply unit than the Y-shaped A joint, the Y-shaped B joint dividing the gas flow path from the gas supply unit into two equal parts; One branch pipe A extending from the Y-shaped B joint joins with the hydrogen supply pipe at the Y-shaped A joint and is then connected to the gas supply port, and the other branch pipe B extends through a reducer and is then connected to a gas exhaust section via a T-shaped joint. An oxygen-hydrogen bath system. Effect of the Invention

[0012] According to this invention, by using a hydrogen gas generator whose safety has been confirmed and the amount of hydrogen gas generated is within a safe range through many years of use of the oxygen-hydrogen bath system of the invention described in Patent Document 1 (prior art), it is expected that not only will it be possible to efficiently absorb more hydrogen into the body through the skin and mucous membranes in a shorter time than with the prior art, making it easier to reduce active oxygen, but it is also expected that both oxygen gas and hydrogen gas will be absorbed into the body in greater amounts as dissolved forms, thereby increasing the amount of dissolved oxygen and hydrogen in the blood and body fluids. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1]1 is a schematic diagram of a system according to the prior art. Note that the reference numbers in the figure are the same as those in the drawings of Japanese Patent No. 6133526, and these reference numbers indicate the same elements in Figures 2 and 3 which illustrate the embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 1 is a system conceptual diagram of the present invention (a conceptual diagram following the description in FIG. 1). In this diagram, the same reference numbers as those in FIG. 1 denote the same components as those in FIG. [Diagram 3] This is a schematic diagram of the system showing a close-up of the branching section, the connecting section, and the reducer section of the piping of the present invention. In this figure, the same reference numbers as those in FIG. 1 indicate the same components as those in FIG. [Figure 4] 1 is a schematic diagram of a chamber (same schematic diagram as the prior art). Note that the reference numbers in the figure are the same as those in the drawings of Japanese Patent No. 6133526, and these reference numbers indicate the same elements in Figures 2 and 3 illustrating the embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 5] 1 is a graph showing the change over time in hydrogen concentration (volume %) in a chamber according to the prior art. [Figure 6] 1 is a graph showing the change in hydrogen concentration (volume %) over time in the chamber according to the present invention. In this figure, two line graphs are shown, the upper line graph showing the case of high-speed operation and the lower line graph showing the case of normal operation. Note that these two line graphs overlap from the start to 25 minutes after the start. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] (Embodiment) DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. The present invention is an improved invention of the prior art (the invention described in Patent Document 1), and is improved by adding new components to the system configuration of the prior art. Therefore, first, in order to facilitate understanding of which components have been newly added compared to the system configuration of the prior art, FIG. 1 showing a conceptual diagram of the system configuration of the prior art and FIG. 2 showing a conceptual diagram of the system configuration of the present invention have been prepared. The notation of the system configuration conceptual diagram in FIG. 2 follows the notation of the system configuration diagram in Patent Document 1, which is the prior art. FIG. 3 shows a close-up of the branching parts, connection parts, etc. in the system configuration diagram in FIG. 2.

[0015] The oxygen-hydrogen bath system 10 of this embodiment comprises a chamber 11 for accommodating the entire human body (not shown), a gas supply unit 12 for supplying air into the chamber 11 to make the internal pressure higher than atmospheric pressure, a hydrogen supply unit 13 for supplying hydrogen gas into the chamber 11, a gas exhaust unit 15 for discharging air and hydrogen gas from the chamber 11, a Y-shaped A joint 42 and a Y-shaped B joint 44 in the pipeline connecting the gas supply unit 12 and the chamber 11, a reducer 40 in the pipeline connecting the gas supply unit 12 and the gas exhaust unit 15, a T-shaped joint 46 at the point where the piping extending from the reducer 40 connects to the gas exhaust unit 15, a measurement unit 16 for measuring the environment within the chamber, and a control unit 17 for controlling the environment within the chamber.

[0016] As is clear from a comparison of Figure 3, which shows a conceptual diagram of the system of the present invention, with Figure 1, which shows a conceptual diagram of the system of the prior art, in the system of the present invention, Y-shaped A joint 42, Y-shaped B joint 44, reducer 40, and T-shaped joint 46 are respectively arranged at the locations shown in Figure 3, and are connected by piping indicated by each straight line in Figure 3, and these piping are made of the same material as the piping used in the prior art (the outer diameter and wall thickness of each piping will be described below).

[0017] Chamber 11 is made of a cylindrical metal member such as aluminum or stainless steel, has air and moisture impermeability, and is strong enough to withstand an atmospheric pressure of at least 1.4 atm. An opening 11a through which people can enter and exit is provided on the side of chamber 11, and an opening / closing part 18 for closing opening 11a is provided. Also, a gas supply port 20 connected to gas supply part 12 is provided on the side of chamber 11.

[0018] The gas supply unit 12 includes a compressor 22 for pressurizing air (air containing oxygen) higher than atmospheric pressure and introducing it into the chamber 11, and an air supply pipe (gas supply pipe) 23. Here, the gas supply unit 12 may further include an air pressure regulating valve for regulating the supply pressure of the air. Note that instead of the compressor 22, a pressure vessel (not shown) into which air higher than atmospheric pressure is pressurized may be provided.

[0019] Here, the air (air containing oxygen) compressed by the compressor 22 flows through the air supply pipe 23 toward the chamber 11, and in the middle of the flow path, a Y-shaped A joint 44 for dividing the flow rate flowing in from one flow path into two equal parts and discharging them from the two flow paths, and a Y-shaped B joint 42 for merging the flow of hydrogen gas from the hydrogen gas generating unit 13 and the flow of compressed air from the compressor 22 are inserted. The Y-shaped A joint 44 has a typical Y-shaped joint configuration, and the outer diameter and thickness of the inlet pipe are the same as those of the two outlet pipes. The Y-shaped A joint 44 is inserted in the path of the air supply pipe 23 through which the air compressed by the compressor 22 passes, and divides the amount of this compressed air equally into halves and discharges them into the branch pipes. Y-shaped B joint 42 also has a typical Y-shaped joint configuration, but here, two flow paths having different outer diameters and thicknesses are joined together into one flow path. Specifically, it is configured to join air from one of the branch pipes branching off from Y-shaped A joint 44 and hydrogen gas from hydrogen supply unit 13. The air-hydrogen mixed gas joined here flows together into chamber 11 via gas supply port 20.

[0020] The hydrogen supply unit 13 includes a hydrogen gas generator 25 that generates high-concentration hydrogen gas by electrolyzing water, a hydrogen supply valve 26 disposed between the hydrogen gas generator 25 and the chamber 11, and a hydrogen supply pipe 27 connecting them. The hydrogen supply pipe 27 merges with one branch pipe from the Y-shaped A joint at a Y-shaped B joint. Here, the hydrogen supply unit 13 may further include a hydrogen pressure adjustment valve (not shown) that adjusts the supply pressure of hydrogen gas. The tip of the hydrogen supply pipe 27 merges with a branch pipe from the Y-shaped A joint of the air supply pipe at a Y-shaped B joint located midway along the air supply pipe 23 outside the chamber 11. Note that instead of the hydrogen gas generator 25, a pressure vessel (not shown) into which hydrogen gas at a pressure higher than atmospheric pressure is injected may be provided.

[0021] The gas exhaust unit 15 is equipped with an exhaust valve 28 that exhausts air and hydrogen gas introduced into the chamber 11 to the outside of the chamber 11. The gas exhaust unit 15 is turned on / off by the control unit 17 to maintain the pressure inside the chamber 11 within a predetermined pressure range (i.e., above atmospheric pressure and below the usable pressure of the exhaust valve 28). The gas exhaust unit 15 may further include a safety valve (not shown) that automatically exhausts the gas inside the chamber 11 when the pressure inside the chamber 11 reaches or exceeds a predetermined pressure.

[0022] The measurement unit 16 is connected to the control unit 17. The chamber 11 and the control unit 17 are connected, and the measurement unit 16 includes a pressure sensor 30 that measures the pressure inside the chamber 11.

[0023] The control unit 17 is composed of a computer equipped with a CPU, memory, and display (not shown), and controls the environment inside the chamber 11 based on data from the pressure sensor 30. For example, it controls the ON / OFF operation of the compressor 22, the hydrogen gas generator 25, and the first hydrogen supply solenoid valve 26. It also controls the ON / OFF operation of the exhaust valve 28 to adjust the pressure inside the chamber 11.

[0024] The environment within chamber 11 is controlled by controlling the entire system so that, when the pressure within chamber 11 and the hydrogen volume concentration within chamber 11 reach dynamic equilibrium, the pressure within the chamber is preferably 1.10 atmospheres or more and 1.35 atmospheres or less, or 1.10 atmospheres or more and less than the usable pressure of exhaust valve 28, the volume concentration of oxygen within chamber 11 is 20% or more and 30% or less, and the volume concentration of hydrogen is less than the minimum explosion limit of hydrogen, 1.0% to 2.0%.

[0025] Here, the hydrogen supply unit 13 supplies hydrogen gas to the chamber 11 only while the gas supply unit 12 is supplying air. The compressor 22, hydrogen gas generator 25, and hydrogen supply valve 26 may be manually turned on and off, and the various pressure controls may be manually adjusted by the user himself while watching the various pressures displayed on the display.

[0026] Next, the operation of the oxygen-hydrogen bath system 10 according to this embodiment will be described. First, the opening / closing portion 18 of the chamber 11 is opened, and a user (not shown) enters the chamber 11 through the opening 11a.

[0027] After the opening / closing unit 18 is closed, the entire system starts operating under the instruction of the control unit 17, and under the instruction of the control unit 17, the gas supply unit 12 supplies air into the chamber 11 and the hydrogen supply unit 13 supplies hydrogen gas into the chamber 11.

[0028] At this time, the control unit 17 appropriately controls the ON / OFF operation of the compressor 22 based on data from the measurement unit 16, the flow rate of air and hydrogen gas by controlling the hydrogen gas generator 25 and hydrogen supply 26, and the internal pressure by controlling the exhaust valve on / off, thereby bringing the environment inside the chamber 11 (particularly the state of pressure and hydrogen volume concentration) into a dynamic equilibrium state within a desired time. Then, under this dynamic equilibrium state, the internal pressure of the chamber 11 is maintained at 1.10 atm to 1.35 atm, the volume concentration of oxygen at 20% to 30%, and the volume concentration of hydrogen preferably at 1.0% to 2.0%.

[0029] In the present invention, one of the important points is to maintain the environment in chamber 11 in a state of dynamic equilibrium. A user (not shown) surrounds himself / herself in this dynamic equilibrium environment in chamber 11 for a desired period of time. After the predetermined period of time has elapsed, hydrogen supply unit 13 stops supplying hydrogen gas into chamber 11, and then gas supply unit 12 stops supplying air into chamber 11.

[0030] As shown in FIG. 5 (prior art) and FIG. 6 (the present invention), this oxygen-hydrogen bath system 10 makes it possible to increase the hydrogen volume concentration in the chamber 11 to a higher value than that achievable with the prior art in a shorter time than with the prior art. Furthermore, depending on the piping configuration within the system, even when using the same hydrogen generator as that used in the prior art, it is possible to achieve a final value that is nearly twice that of the prior art, and it is expected that hydrogen will be efficiently absorbed into the human body in a short period of time.

[0031] In addition, by increasing the oxygen concentration in oxygen-containing gases, it is possible to expose the human body to a high-pressure, high-concentration oxygen atmosphere in which the oxygen concentration is higher than that in the atmosphere (approximately 21%) and is raised above atmospheric pressure, which is expected to enable the human body to take in more oxygen gas as dissolved oxygen.

[0032] In particular, while the gas supply unit 12 supplies air into the chamber 11, the hydrogen supply unit 13 supplies hydrogen gas into the chamber 11, thereby effectively preventing an excess of hydrogen from being present in the chamber 11.

[0033] In addition, it is possible to control the volumetric concentration of hydrogen gas in chamber 11 by using gas supply unit 12, hydrogen supply unit 13, and gas exhaust unit 15 to be less than the minimum explosion limit of hydrogen gas, thereby effectively preventing a dangerous environment in chamber 11 in which a hydrogen explosion could occur.

[0034] (Example) The graph showing the change in hydrogen concentration over time in the chamber shown in Figure 6 was obtained under the following conditions: The pipe with an outer diameter of 10 mm had a wall thickness of 1.75 mm, the pipe with an outer diameter of 6 mm had a wall thickness of 1 mm, and the pipe with an outer diameter of 12 mm had a wall thickness of 2 mm. 1) The Y-shaped A-joint is configured for branching, 2) The outer diameter of the pipe to be connected to the inlet side of the Y-shaped A joint is φ10 mm. The outer diameter of the two pipes connected at the outlet side of the Y-shaped A joint is φ10 mm. 3) The Y-shaped B joint is configured for merging, Of the two pipes connected at the inlet side of the Y-shaped B joint, the outer diameter of the pipe for air (air containing oxygen) is φ10 mm, and the outer diameter of the pipe for hydrogen gas is φ6 mm. The outer diameter of one pipe connected to the outlet side of the Y-shaped B joint is φ10mm 4) The reducer expands the inlet side pipe with an outer diameter of φ10 mm to an outer diameter of φ12 mm. 5) The T-joint is designed to change the flow direction. The pipe with an outer diameter of φ12 mm extending from the reducer is connected midway to an exhaust line with an outer diameter of φ12 mm extending from the chamber. 6) The compressor was operated with a discharge capacity of 200 liters per minute, and the hydrogen generator was operated with a production capacity of 500cc per minute of 100% pure hydrogen gas at room temperature. 7) When operated under the above conditions, the hydrogen volume concentration at the outlet of the Y-shaped B joint was approximately 3%. 8) In the case of a conventional system that had the same Y-shaped B joint but did not have a Y-shaped A joint, reducer, or T-shaped joint, when the same compressor and hydrogen generator were used, the hydrogen volume concentration at the outlet of the Y-shaped B joint was approximately 1%.

[0035] The technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the gas supply unit 12 supplies air into the chamber 11, but the gas is not limited to air and may be other gases as long as the gas contains oxygen at a predetermined concentration and is safe for the human body. In addition, there are no restrictions on the spatial arrangement of each component, and for example, a configuration in which the hydrogen gas supply port is disposed below the chamber is also included in the scope of the present invention.

[0036] Furthermore, the measuring unit 16 may include an oxygen concentration sensor or a hydrogen concentration sensor, in which case the oxygen concentration or hydrogen concentration in the chamber 11 can be measured in real time.

[0037] Furthermore, although the hydrogen supply pipe 27 of the hydrogen supply unit 13 is connected to the air supply pipe 23, this is not limiting, and a separate hydrogen supply port may be provided in the chamber so that hydrogen can be supplied separately from air. In this case, the hydrogen supply pipe may extend from the hydrogen supply port to the vicinity of the user's face when the user enters the chamber. This allows hydrogen to be taken into the body more efficiently.

[0038] Moreover, the opening and closing part may be of a sliding type. Furthermore, since the pressure inside the chamber 11 becomes equal to or higher than atmospheric pressure during use, a structure that slides on the inner surface of the chamber is more preferable. [Explanation of symbols]

[0039] 10. Oxygen-hydrogen bath system 11. Chamber 12 Gas supply section 13 Hydrogen supply unit 15 Gas exhaust section 20 Gas supply port 23 Air supply pipe 27 Hydrogen supply pipe 28 Exhaust valve) 40 Reducer 42 Y-shaped B joint 44 Y-shaped A-joint 46 T-joint

Claims

1. a chamber having a gas supply port through which gas is introduced and capable of accommodating an entire human body; a gas supply unit having a gas supply pipe connected to the gas supply port, and supplying an oxygen-containing gas into the chamber through the gas supply pipe to make the pressure inside the chamber higher than atmospheric pressure; a hydrogen supply section including a hydrogen supply pipe connected to the gas supply pipe via a Y-shaped A-joint and a hydrogen gas generator, the hydrogen supply section supplying hydrogen gas from the hydrogen gas generator into the chamber via the hydrogen supply pipe; a gas exhaust unit that is connected to the chamber and has a safety valve or a valve that maintains the inside of the chamber within a predetermined pressure range by ON / OFF operation, and exhausts the gas and the hydrogen gas from the chamber through the valve; In an oxygen-hydrogen bath system comprising: the gas supply pipe of the gas supply unit has a Y-shaped B joint at a position closer to the gas supply unit than the Y-shaped A joint, the Y-shaped B joint dividing the gas flow path from the gas supply unit into two equal parts; One branch pipe A extending from the Y-shaped B joint joins with the hydrogen supply pipe at the Y-shaped A joint and is then connected to the gas supply port, while the other branch pipe B extends through a reducer and is then connected to a gas exhaust section via a T-shaped joint. An oxygen-hydrogen bath system.

2. 2. The oxygen-hydrogen bath system according to claim 1, characterized in that the valve maintains the pressure in the chamber at 1.1 to 1.35 atmospheres and the volume concentration of the hydrogen gas in the chamber at 1.0 to 2.0 volume percent.

3. 3. The oxygen-hydrogen bath system according to claim 1, wherein the hydrogen supply unit supplies the hydrogen gas into the chamber while the gas supply unit supplies the gas into the chamber.

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