Vacuum-Pressure Swing Absorption Oxygen Concentrator
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional oxygen concentrators for medical use are inefficient, requiring high power consumption, leading to short battery life in portable devices, excessive heating, and inadequate air flow, with motors often stalling due to high pressure demands and constant speed operation.
Innovation Solution
A vacuum-pressure swing absorption concentrator with pressure and vacuum reservoirs between the compressor and sieve beds, utilizing amperage-controlled motors and crossover valves to manage air flow and pressure, reducing power consumption and heat generation while improving sieve bed efficiency and oxygen production.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a compressor operates under high pressure to deliver air to sieve beds faster, then air flow volume increases, but the motor is apt to stall and power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a pressure reservoir that stores pressurized air in advance before it reaches the sieve beds. The compressor delivers air to the pressure reservoir at a moderate pressure, and the reservoir releases it at the required flow rate. This preliminary storage action allows the compressor to operate at lower power demand while still achieving high air flow volume to the sieve beds when needed.
2Ease of operation
If the motor operates at constant speed (RPM), then operation is simplified, but inadequate volume of air is produced over the concentrator cycle
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a compliance chamber as an intermediary element between the compressor and the sieve beds. This chamber acts as a buffer that decouples the constant speed motor operation from the variable air flow requirements of the concentrator cycle. The compliance chamber stores and releases air to maintain adequate volume production while the motor operates at constant speed.
3Productivity
If the compressor generates high pressure, then adequate oxygen volume is produced, but the concentrator body heats up excessively
Solution Approach 1:
The pressure reservoir serves as a preliminary compression stage, allowing the compressor to build pressure gradually and store it before delivering to the sieve beds. This preliminary action reduces the need for continuous high-pressure generation, thereby reducing heat generation in the concentrator body while maintaining adequate oxygen production volume.
4Reliability
If more filter medium and larger sieve beds are used, then nitrogen filtration improves, but device weight and size increase
Solution Approach 1:
The pressure reservoir pre-compresses air before it enters the sieve beds, increasing the driving force for nitrogen absorption in the filter medium. This preliminary compression action enhances filtration efficiency without requiring larger or more extensive filter beds, thereby maintaining compact size and reduced weight.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution significantly reduces power requirements, prolongs battery life, minimizes heat production, and enhances oxygen output while maintaining efficient air flow, allowing for smaller, more portable concentrators with improved nitrogen filtration and extended sieve bed performance.
Implementation Method 1
a motor driven compressor (12) having an air intake port and an exhaust port. The air intake port is communicably connected to a pressure reservoir (26), which accommodates air pressurized by the compressor
Implementation Method 2
The vacuum reservoir (30) is communicably connected to the exhaust port of the compressor. The main valve (28) is operated to deliver air from the pressure reservoir (26) to a selected one of the sieve beds (31, 34) for filtering while simultaneously discharging or evacuating previously filtered impurities from the other sieve bed
Implementation Method 3
air is delivered under pressure to a sieve bed wherein nitrogen and other impurities are absorbed by a filter medium such as zeolite
Implementation Method 4
A vacuum-pressure swing absorption concentrator with pressure and vacuum reservoirs between the compressor and sieve beds, utilizing amperage-controlled motors and crossover valves to manage air flow and pressure
Data Source
AI summary
A vacuum-pressure swing absorption concentrator includes a motor driven compressor having pressure and vacuum heads that are connected to a pressure reservoir and a vacuum reservoir respectively. The pressure and vacuum reservoirs are selectively and alternately interconnected in sequence through a main valve to a pair of nitrogen filtering sieve beds. A controller operates the valve to alternately and cyclically interconnect the sieve beds to the pressure and vacuum reservoirs respectively. During each cycle, a respective bed is pressurized and enriched oxygen is produced and delivered to a tank for use by a patient. At the same time, the other bed is evacuated through the vacuum reservoir. A crossover valve delivers oxygen from a pressurized bed to an evacuated bed to facilitate purging of impurities previously collected in the evacuated bed.