oxygen tank

Abstract

This product provides an oxygen cylinder that does not produce any unpleasant odors even after long-term storage, making it suitable for portable use. [Solution] An oxygen cylinder is provided, in which an aerosol container is filled with oxygen, and which contains a porous material. Preferably, the porous material is one or more selected from the group consisting of zeolite and activated carbon. Preferably, the porous material is wrapped in a breathable material. Preferably, the content of the porous material is 0.0002 g / L or more and 2 g / L or less relative to the volume of oxygen to be filled.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an oxygen cylinder filled with oxygen gas in an aerosol container, particularly an oxygen cylinder suitable for portable use.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, in order to be used in various situations such as oxygen supplementation after outdoor activities or sports, or when one wants to refresh, oxygen is filled in a portable aerosol container, and when the user presses the nozzle while applying a cover body that covers the mouth, oxygen is jetted from inside the aerosol container, and thus an oxygen cylinder in which the user can inhale oxygen is known.

[0003] As such an oxygen cylinder, for example, an oxygen can is described in Patent Document 1. In Patent Document 1, a cover body attached to an aerosol container and covering the user's mouth is shown as an inhaler 7.

[0004] In Patent Document 1, compressed oxygen with a desired fragrance is enclosed in a spray can. However, even for such a scented oxygen cylinder or an unscented, odorless oxygen cylinder, for example, after being stored without use for one year and then inhaling oxygen, there is a problem that it smells like rubber when inhaled.

[0005] As an example of an aerosol container, for example, Patent Document 2 is shown. As shown in FIG. 1 of Patent Document 2, a rubber gasket 13 is used for the aerosol valve of the aerosol container.

[0006] When the present inventors investigated the cause of the odor, rubber is generally used as a sealing member (also called a packing or gasket) for the aerosol valve portion of the aerosol can. However, in the case of an oxygen can, it is推测 that due to the large amount of oxygen, a part of the rubber deteriorates and an abnormal odor is generated.

[0007] This suggests that this issue is unique to aerosol cans filled with oxygen and having a high oxygen concentration, as other aerosol cans containing nitrogen or carbon dioxide did not exhibit this problem of harmful substances causing off-flavors even after long-term storage. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0008] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 1-80144 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2000-176330 [Overview of the Initiative] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0009] This invention has been made in view of the problems of the prior art described above, and aims to provide an oxygen cylinder that does not produce an unpleasant odor even after long-term storage and is suitable for portable use. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] To solve the above problems, the oxygen cylinder of the present invention is an oxygen cylinder in which oxygen is filled into an aerosol container, and is an oxygen cylinder containing a porous material.

[0011] The porous material is preferably one or more selected from the group consisting of zeolite and activated carbon.

[0012] Preferably, the porous material is encased in a breathable material.

[0013] Preferably, the content of the porous material is 0.0002 g / L or more and 2 g / L or less relative to the volume of oxygen to be filled.

[0014] As the aerosol container, an aerosol container in which a rubber sealing member is used is preferably used. [Effects of the Invention]

[0015] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an oxygen cylinder that does not generate an abnormal odor even after long-term storage and is suitable for portable use, achieving a remarkable effect.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0016] [Figure 1] It is a schematic diagram showing one embodiment of the oxygen cylinder of the present invention. [Figure 2] It is a graph showing the results of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry of Example 1. [Figure 3] It is a graph showing the results of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry of Comparative Example 1.

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0017] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below, but these are shown by way of example, and it is needless to say that various modifications are possible without departing from the technical idea of the present invention.

[0018] In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 indicates one embodiment of the oxygen cylinder of the present invention. The oxygen cylinder 10 is an oxygen cylinder in which an aerosol container 12 is filled with oxygen (O2), and the aerosol container 12 contains a porous substance 14.

[0019] As the porous substance 14, a known porous substance having a large number of pores and capable of adsorbing odor components can be widely used, but a substance with high safety for the human body is preferable. Specifically, as the porous substance 14, zeolite, activated carbon, diatomaceous earth, ceramics, etc. are preferable, and more preferably one or more selected from the group consisting of zeolite and activated carbon.

[0020] The shape of the porous substance 14 is not particularly limited, and for example, it may be any of particulate, solid, etc. The shape of the pores in the porous substance 14 is not particularly limited either, but a pore diameter of 2 to 200 Å is suitable.

[0021] It is preferable that the content of the porous substance is 0.00020 g / L or more and 2 g / L or less, more preferably 0.02 g / L or more and 0.6 g / L or less, when converted per liter of oxygen gas at 25°C and 1 atm with respect to the volume of oxygen to be filled. In particular, when activated carbon is used as the porous substance, it is preferable that the content is 0.00010 g / L or more and 2 g / L or less, more preferably 0.0002 g / L or more and 0.6 g / L or less, when converted per liter of oxygen gas at 25°C and 1 atm. By using activated carbon as the porous substance, the content of the porous substance can be made extremely small. In the oxygen cylinder 10, by making the content of the porous substance 14 small, the amount of dust generated by the porous substance 14 can be reduced.

[0022] In the oxygen cylinder 10, it is preferable that the porous substance 14 is wrapped with a breathable material 16. By wrapping the porous substance 14 with the breathable material 16, workability can be improved, and it is possible to prevent accidentally sucking the porous substance 14, thereby enhancing safety.

[0023] As the breathable material 16, a non-woven fabric is suitable. In the illustrated example, an example is shown in which the porous substance 14 is activated carbon and a non-woven fabric is used as the breathable material 16, and an example in which powdery activated carbon is enclosed in a bag-shaped breathable material 16 is shown. By using a material such as a non-woven fabric that has breathability and can capture dust as the breathable material 16, even when dust is generated by the porous substance 14, it is possible to prevent the suction of dust.

[0024] The aerosol container can be any known aerosol container that can be used as an oxygen cylinder. According to the oxygen cylinder 10 of the present invention, even when using an aerosol container that uses a rubber sealing member, which conventionally caused off-odors to develop after long-term storage, the generation of off-odors can be prevented. Examples of the rubber sealing member include sealing members used in the aerosol valve of an aerosol container, and in particular, stems and gaskets. The rubber can be natural rubber or synthetic rubber.

[0025] Although the oxygen cylinder 10 is equipped with an aerosol valve, the illustrated example schematically shows only the main container of the oxygen cylinder 10. Furthermore, when using the oxygen cylinder 10, a cover (inhaler) that covers the user's mouth is attached to it. Any known cover can be used, and its illustration is omitted.

[0026] As for the method of filling with oxygen, it can be done by pressurizing and filling the aerosol container with medical oxygen gas using a known pressurized filling method. As for the amount to be filled, if the aerosol container is, for example, an AE480 can, it is sufficient to pressurize and fill it with 5.0 L of medical oxygen gas. There are no particular restrictions on when the porous material is included; it can be included either before or after oxygen filling. There are no particular restrictions on the location of the porous material in the oxygen cylinder, but it is preferable to process the aerosol container with the porous material present at the bottom.

[0027] According to the oxygen cylinder 10 of the present invention, the generation of off-odors after long-term storage can be suppressed, and specifically, off-odors after 30 days in an accelerated test using storage at 55°C can be suppressed. Furthermore, even for oxygen cylinders that have developed off-odors due to long-term storage, etc., by incorporating the porous material into the oxygen cylinder, the off-odor-causing substances can be adsorbed and the off-odor can be reduced. [Examples]

[0028] (Example 1) Using 3g of granular activated carbon [manufactured by Kanto Chemical Co., Ltd., activated carbon (granular)] as the porous material, a porous material-containing pouch was prepared by sealing the porous material in a non-woven fabric bag with good breathability. An oxygen cylinder was prepared by placing the porous material-containing pouch into the bottom of an aerosol container (AE480 can, 582.5 mL capacity), and then compressing and filling it with 5.0 L of oxygen gas with a purity of 99% or higher (25°C, 1 atm) to a pressure of 0.6 MPa or higher at 25°C. The content of the porous material relative to the amount of oxygen gas filled in the resulting oxygen cylinder was 0.6 g / L.

[0029] 1) Storage stability test The oxygen cylinders obtained were subjected to sensory testing immediately after preparation and again after being stored in a 55°C constant temperature bath for 30 days. A cover (inhaler) was attached to a horizontal sprayer, and the oxygen was sprayed into the mouth to check for any off-odors. The sensory testing was conducted with 10 people, who evaluated the results on a 5-point scale, and the average value of the 10 people was calculated. 1: Odorless, 2: Slight odor, 3: Strong odor, 4: Very strong odor, 5: Unpleasantly strong odor.

[0030] Furthermore, the oxygen gas ejected from the oxygen cylinder after 30 days of storage at 55°C was analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry to determine its components. Specifically, 2 L of oxygen gas ejected from the oxygen cylinder was collected by aeration using a silica monolith collecting agent (GL Sciences, MonoTrap® RGC18 TD), and this collecting agent was subjected to analysis. The analysis was performed using a gas chromatography-quadrupole mass spectrometer (Agilent Technologies, Inc., 7890B GC / 5977A MSD) and a multi-shot pyrolizer (Frontier Labs, Inc., EGA / PY-3030D) under the following conditions. The NIST 14 mass spectrum library was used for library searches. The results are shown in Figure 2. <Thermal desorption sampling conditions> Heating temperature: 200°C, heating time: 1 minute, under a helium stream. <Gas chromatograph conditions> Split ratio 30:1 Separation column: DB-WAX [60m x 0.25mm ID, 0.25μm, manufactured by Agilent] Temperature: 40℃ (5 minutes) → 10℃ / min → 250℃ (4 minutes) <Mass spectrometry conditions> Ionization method: Electron ionization (EI), Measurement mass range: m / z = 15-350

[0031] Sensory testing for the presence of an off-odor showed that the average rating from 10 people was 1.0 both immediately after the oxygen cylinder was prepared and after 30 days of storage at 55°C, indicating that no off-odor was detected. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 2, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry also did not detect any substances causing the off-odor. Furthermore, when oxygen inhalation was performed using the aforementioned oxygen cylinder after storage, no dust was generated from the activated carbon, and good oxygen inhalation was possible.

[0032] (Comparative Example 1) An oxygen cylinder was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1, except that a pouch containing porous material was not added, and a storage stability test was conducted. The results are shown in Table 1 and Figure 3. Furthermore, as shown in Table 1, aerosol cans were prepared in the same manner as above, except that a porous material-containing pouch was not added and a propellant other than oxygen [nitrogen, carbon dioxide, or LPG (L-0.29)] was used instead of oxygen, and a storage stability test (sensory test for the presence or absence of off-odors) was performed. In addition, a storage stability test (sensory test for the presence or absence of off-odors) was also performed on empty crimped cans as a blank. For the blanks, the cans were opened and the odor inside was compared, rather than spraying. The average values ​​of the sensory evaluations are shown in Table 1.

[0033] [Table 1]

[0034] As shown in Table 1, in oxygen-filled cylinders, the average evaluation value was 1.0 immediately after manufacturing, and no off-odor was detected. However, after storage at 55°C for 30 days, the average value was 5.0, and an unpleasant off-odor was detected. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 3, acetic acid, methyl vinyl ketone, acetone, and methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) were detected in the oxygen gas in the oxygen cylinders after storage at 55°C for 30 days. From the above component analysis, it was confirmed that the cause of the off-odor was harmful to the human body, such as acetic acid and methyl vinyl ketone. These components are generally known as substances that cause unpleasant or pungent odors, and are naturally not present in oxygen. It is presumed that they are generated from the resins and rubbers used in the aerosol materials. On the other hand, while aerosol cans and empty crimped containers filled with propellants other than oxygen also produced an unpleasant odor after storage, it was observed that the odor tended to be particularly pronounced when oxygen was used as a propellant.

[0035] (Example 2) An oxygen cylinder was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1, except that the amount of activated carbon used as the porous material was changed to 1 g. The content of the porous material relative to the amount of oxygen gas filled in the resulting oxygen cylinder was 0.2 g / L. The obtained oxygen cylinders were subjected to a storage stability test using the same method as in Example 1. As a result, no off-odors were detected, no dust was generated from activated carbon, and good oxygen inhalation was possible.

[0036] (Example 3) An oxygen cylinder was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1, except that 3 g of large zeolite (pore size 9 Å) [manufactured by Tosoh Corporation, Zeolam® F-9 4-8#] was used as the porous material. The content of the porous material relative to the amount of oxygen gas filled in the obtained oxygen cylinder was 0.6 g / L. The obtained oxygen cylinders were subjected to a storage stability test using the same method as in Example 1. As a result, no off-odor was detected, and no zeolite dust was generated, indicating that good oxygen inhalation was possible.

[0037] (Example 4) An oxygen cylinder was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1, except that 1 g of small zeolite (pore size 9 Å) was used as the porous material. The content of the porous material relative to the amount of oxygen gas filled in the obtained oxygen cylinder was 0.2 g / L. The obtained oxygen cylinders were subjected to a storage stability test using the same method as in Example 1. As a result, no off-odor was detected, and no zeolite dust was generated, indicating that good oxygen inhalation was possible.

[0038] (Example 5) Except for not adding a pouch containing porous material, 12 oxygen cylinders were prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 and then stored in a constant temperature bath at 55°C for 30 days. After storage, a sensory test for the presence or absence of off-odors was performed on the oxygen cylinders using the same method as in Example 1. The results showed that all 12 oxygen cylinders had an unpleasant off-odor, with an average rating of 5.0 from 10 people. After storage, the porous material shown in Table 2 was added to each oxygen cylinder in the amount shown in Table 2, then sealed, and stored in a constant temperature bath at 55°C for 30 days with the porous material present at the bottom of the container. A sensory test for the presence or absence of off-odors was performed on the oxygen cylinders after storage using the same method as in Example 1. The average results of the sensory test evaluations by 10 people are shown in Table 2.

[0039] [Table 2]

[0040] In Table 2, large zeolite (pore size 9 Å) was used as the porous material zeolite. Activated carbon A was granular activated carbon used as is, while activated carbon B was a porous material-containing pouch in which granular activated carbon was sealed in a nonwoven fabric bag, similar to Example 1. The amount added indicates the content of the porous material relative to the amount of oxygen gas filled in the oxygen cylinder.

[0041] As shown in Table 2, by incorporating porous materials, the off-odor generated in the oxygen cylinder can be reduced. Activated carbon, in particular, was highly effective, as no off-odor was detected even with trace amounts, and the odor completely disappeared. Similar effects were achieved regardless of whether a pouch was used or not. Furthermore, when gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was performed on the oxygen cylinder containing activated carbon B (addition amount 0.6 g / L) after storage, the same results as in Example 1 were obtained, confirming that the odor-causing substance had disappeared. Furthermore, no dust was generated from porous materials in any of the oxygen cylinders after storage, and good oxygen inhalation was possible. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0042] 10: Oxygen cylinder, 12: Aerosol container, 14: Porous material, 16: Breathable material.

Claims

[Claim 1] The invention described in the specification.

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