TWI594731B - Gas flow detecting device and solar pressure respirator containing the same - Google Patents

Description

Gas flow detecting device and solar pressure respirator containing the same

The present invention relates to a gas flow detecting device, and more particularly to a gas flow detecting device for a male pressure breathing apparatus.

Sleep-discontinuation is caused by the relaxation of the airway of the patient's mouth and throat, resulting in impediment or obstruction of the airway. This symptom may cause snoring or respiratory resistance syndrome, and may even cause the patient to intermittently stop breathing during sleep, which is fatal.

Fig. 1A shows that the upper respiratory tract 11a is kept open during normal sleep. Fig. 1B shows that the upper respiratory tract 11b is narrowed due to slack in the oral cavity and throat muscles, causing upper respiratory resistance syndrome or snoring symptoms. Figure 1C shows that the upper respiratory tract 11c is completely blocked due to severe relaxation of the oral cavity and throat muscles, and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) occurs.

The study found that at least 10% of the world's population has symptoms of sleep apnea (OSA), while only a few patients receive treatment. For patients, in addition to the fatal danger of respiratory arrest, The risk of developing chronic conditions such as high blood pressure or heart disease may be increased due to poor sleep quality.

Figure 2 shows the use of a positive airway pressure apparatus (PAPA) to treat sleep-disordered breathing. This device is currently the most common treatment. In this method, a positive pressure airflow 21 is introduced into the patient's upper airway 23 via the respiratory mask 22, and the patient's upper airway 23 is distracted by the positive pressure airflow 21 to keep the upper airway 23 clear.

A typical positive pressure breathing apparatus includes a gas flow detecting device having a conduit. The gas flow detecting device regulates the flow of gas into the conduit by detecting the pressure of the gas in the conduit. Among them, the current common catheter system is made of rigid material.

However, when using a rigid material to make a gas tube to measure gas pressure, to increase the resolution of low gas flow (20 to 80 LPM, liter per minute), the slope of the gas pressure to the gas flow will be too large, while at high gas flow (> 140 LPM) The upper limit of the gas pressure (2.0 hPa) beyond the detection device, as shown in Figure 3. The current common solution is to use a special detector to expand the measurement range of the detector, but this will greatly increase production costs. Another method is to reduce the resolution of the gas flow to achieve a larger measurement range, so that the best treatment for the patient cannot be provided.

Therefore, a new gas flow detecting device is needed to solve the defect caused by the above conventional device.

The invention provides a gas flow detecting device and a positive pressure breathing device comprising the same, which are used for solving the shortage of the conventional device and improving the resolution of the low gas flow.

One aspect of the present invention is to provide a gas flow detecting device. The gas flow detecting device comprises a conduit, a first pressure gauge and a second pressure gauge.

The conduit includes a flexible tubular structure, a first connecting tube, and a second connecting tube. The flexible tubular structure has a constricted section, a throat and an expanded section. The throat is sandwiched between the constricted section and the expanded section, and the diameter of the throat is smaller than the diameter of the constricted section and the expanded section. The first connecting tube and the second connecting tube are respectively connected to the contraction section and the expansion section of the flexible tubular structure.

The first pressure gauge is configured to measure the gas pressure of the first connecting tube; and the second pressure gauge is configured to measure the gas pressure of the throat of the flexible tubular structure. The gas flow rate of the first connecting pipe and the throat of the flexible tubular structure can be calculated by the difference in gas pressure read by the first and second pressure gauges.

Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a positive airway pressure apparatus (PAPA). The positive pressure respirator comprises a flow generator, a gas flow detecting device as described above, a breathing mask and a control circuit.

The airflow generator is used to generate a positive pressure airflow. The first connecting conduit of the conduit of the gas flow detecting device is coupled to the airflow generator and allows the pressurized airflow to pass into the flexible tubular structure. The respiratory mask is connected to the second connecting tube of the catheter of the gas flow detecting device, and allows the positive pressure airflow to pass into the airway of the user to maintain the positive pressure in the airway. Control circuit is separately The first and second pressure gauges are connected to the airflow generator and the gas flow detecting device. The positive pressure airflow of the airflow generator is regulated by the pressure values read by the first and second pressure gauges.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the flexible tubular structure has a low hardness of HS10 to HS90.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the material of the flexible tubular structure is an elastomer comprising a silicone, a rubber, a polyurethane, a latex or a polytetrafluoroethylene. (polytetrafluoroethylene, PTFE).

According to an embodiment of the invention, the material of the first, second connecting tube or a combination thereof comprises a flexible material or a rigid material.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the material of the first and second connecting tubes or a combination thereof is the same as the flexible tubular structure.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the gas flow detecting device further comprises a honeycomb structure (honeycomb structure) disposed in the throat of the flexible tubular structure such that the cross section of the throat is honeycombed.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the first pressure gauge is disposed on an inner wall of the first connecting pipe.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the pipe wall of the first connecting pipe further comprises a first through hole, and the first pressure gauge measures the gas pressure of the first connecting pipe by the first through hole.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the second pressure gauge is disposed on the inner wall of the throat of the flexible tubular structure.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the throat of the flexible tubular structure The tube wall further includes a second through hole, and the second pressure gauge measures the gas pressure of the throat of the flexible tubular structure by the second through hole.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the respiratory mask is a full face mask, a nasal mask or a nasal pillow mask.

11a, 11b, 11c, 23‧‧‧ upper respiratory tract

21, 811‧‧‧ positive air flow

22, 820‧‧‧ breathing mask

400‧‧‧ catheter

410, 600‧‧‧Flexible tubular structure

411, 610‧‧ ‧ contraction

412, 620‧‧‧ throat

413, 630‧‧ ‧ expansion section

414‧‧‧ first through hole

421‧‧‧Second through hole

420‧‧‧First connecting pipe

430‧‧‧Second connection tube

500‧‧‧ gas flow detection device

510‧‧‧First pressure gauge

520‧‧‧Second pressure gauge

640‧‧‧Hive structure

710, 720‧‧‧ curve

800‧‧‧ positive pressure respirator

810‧‧‧Airflow generator

830‧‧‧Control circuit

840‧‧‧Users

Figure 1A shows the normal breathing state during human sleep; Figure 1B shows the upper respiratory resistance syndrome and snoring symptoms in human sleep; Figure 1C shows the obstructive sleep apnea in human sleep. OSA); Figure 2 shows the use of a positive airway pressure apparatus to treat sleep-disordered breathing (OSA); Figure 3 is a plot of gas flow and gas pressure measured by a conventional gas flow detection device. Wherein the horizontal axis is the gas flow rate (LPM) and the vertical axis is the gas pressure (hPa); FIG. 4A is a perspective view of the catheter 400 according to an embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. 4B is implemented according to one embodiment of the present invention; A cross-sectional view of a catheter 400 is illustrated; FIG. 5 is a gas flow detecting device 500 according to an embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. 6A is a flexible embodiment according to an embodiment of the present invention. a cross-sectional view of the tubular structure 600; Figure 6B is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A' of Figure 6A; Figure 7 is a graph showing gas flow and gas pressure, wherein the horizontal axis is the gas flow rate (LPM); and the vertical axis is Gas pressure (hPa); and Figure 8 is a schematic illustration of a positive pressure respirator 800 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

The invention will be described in detail by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings In the drawings, the shape or thickness of the embodiments may be expanded to simplify or facilitate the labeling, and the parts of the elements in the drawings will be described in the text. It will be appreciated that elements not shown or described may be in a variety of styles known to those skilled in the art.

4A is a perspective view of a catheter 400 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view of the catheter 400 illustrated in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 4A, the catheter 400 includes a flexible tubular structure 410, a first connecting tube 420, and a second connecting tube 430. In FIG. 4B, the flexible tubular structure 410 has a constricted section 411, a throat 412, and an expanded section 413. The throat 412 is sandwiched between the constricted section 411 and the expanded section 413, and the diameter of the throat 412 is smaller than the diameter of the constricted section 411 and the expanded section 413.

Thus, the flexible tubular structure 410 has the structure and characteristics of the venturi, that is, the gas pressure of the throat 412 and the constricted section 411 has a relationship with the gas flow rate (Formula 1).

Wherein P ₁ is the gas pressure (hPa) of the constricted section 411, P ₂ is the gas pressure (hPa) of the throat 412, V ₁ is the gas flow rate (LPM) of the constricted section 411, and V ₂ is the gas flow rate of the throat 412 ( LPM), and ρ is a proportionality constant.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the wall of the throat 412 further includes a second through hole 414 for providing a gas pressure measuring point for measuring the gas pressure of the flexible tubular structure 410, as shown in FIG. 4A. Show.

In FIG. 4B, the constricted section 411, the throat 412, and the expanded section 413 of the flexible tubular structure 410 can each have different wall thicknesses. Since the wall of the flexible tubular structure 410 has flexible properties, the thickness of the wall of each segment of the flexible tubular structure 410 varies with the pressure of the gas being passed.

Specifically, at a fixed gas flow rate, if the thickness of the pipe wall is thicker, the impedance is larger; conversely, if the pipe wall thickness is thinner, the impedance is smaller. Thus, the optimum gas flow versus gas pressure curve can be adjusted by varying the wall thickness of each segment of the flexible tubular structure 410.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the flexible tubular structure 410 has a low hardness of HS10 to HS90. According to an embodiment of the invention, the material of the flexible tubular structure 410 is an elastomer comprising a silicone, a rubber, a polyurethane, a latex or a polytetrafluoroethylene. Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), but not as limit.

The first connecting tube 420 is coupled to the constricted section 411 of the flexible tubular structure 410; and the second connecting tube 430 is coupled to the expanded section 413 of the flexible tubular structure 410. The material of the first connecting tube 420, the second connecting tube 430 or a combination thereof comprises a flexible material or a rigid material. According to an embodiment of the invention, the material of the first connecting tube 420, the second connecting tube 430, or a combination thereof is the same as that of the flexible tubular structure 410. According to an embodiment of the invention, the wall of the first connecting pipe 420 further includes a first through hole 421 for providing a gas pressure measuring point for measuring the gas pressure of the first connecting pipe 420.

Figure 5 is a gas flow detecting device 500 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 5, the gas flow detecting device 500 includes the above-described duct 400, a first pressure gauge 510, and a second pressure gauge 520. The first pressure gauge 510 is connected to the first through hole 421 to measure and read the gas pressure of the first connecting pipe 420. The second pressure gauge 520 is coupled to the second through hole 414 to measure and read the gas pressure of the flexible tubular structure 410.

However, Fig. 5 is only an embodiment, exemplifying how the first and second pressure gauges are connected and measuring the gas pressure at a fixed point in the catheter is not intended to limit the present invention. According to another embodiment of the invention, the first pressure gauge is disposed on the inner wall of the first connecting tube; and the second pressure gauge is disposed on the inner wall of the throat of the flexible tubular structure.

6A is a cross-sectional view of a flexible tubular structure 600 according to an embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A' of FIG. 6A. In Figure 6A, the flexible tubular structure 600 comprises A constricted section 610, a throat 620, an expanded section 630, and a honeycomb structure 640, wherein the honeycomb structure 640 is disposed within the throat 620. As can be seen from Fig. 6B, the honeycomb structure 640 is such that the cross section of the throat 620 is honeycombed. 6A, 6B is a honeycomb structure in which a honeycomb structure 640 is provided to limit the cross-sectional area of the throat 620 to increase the pressure difference between the throat 620 and the contraction section 610.

Figure 7 is a graph showing gas flow versus gas pressure, where the horizontal axis is the gas flow rate (LPM) and the vertical axis is the gas pressure (hPa). In Fig. 7, curve 710 is the relationship between the gas flow rate of the conduit made of a conventional rigid material and the gas pressure; and curve 720 is the relationship between the gas flow rate of the conduit made in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention and the gas pressure. Compared to curve 710, curve 720 has a large slope at low gas flow (20-80 LPM), ie, has a higher resolution. In addition, at high gas flows (>100 LPM), the slope of curve 720 is small, so that the gas pressure within the conduit remains within the measurable range of the detector. Thus, the gas flow detecting device provided by one embodiment of the present invention can have a large gas flow detecting range under the detection limit of the fixed gas pressure.

Figure 8 is a schematic illustration of a male-pressure respirator 800 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The positive pressure respirator 800 includes a gas flow generator 810, a gas flow detecting device 500 as shown in FIG. 5, a respirator 820, and a control circuit 830.

The airflow generator 810 is configured to generate a positive pressure airflow 811. The first connecting pipe 420 of the duct 400 (refer to FIG. 5) in the gas flow detecting device 500 is connected to the airflow generator 810 to make the positive pressure airflow 811 pass into the flexible In the tubular structure 410. The respiratory cover 820 is connected to the second connecting tube 430 of the catheter 400 in the gas flow detecting device 500, so that the positive pressure airflow 811 is introduced into the airway (not shown) of the user 840, and the positive pressure is maintained in the airway. The respiratory mask may be a respiratory assist device such as a full face mask, a nasal mask or a nasal pillow mask.

The control circuit 830 is electrically connected to the first pressure gauge 510 and the second pressure gauge 520 of the airflow generator 810 and the gas flow detecting device 500, respectively. After the first pressure gauge 510 and the second pressure gauge 520 respectively measure and read the gas pressures of the first connecting pipe 420 and the flexible tubular structure 410, the control circuit 830 can regulate the positive pressure airflow 811 output by the airflow generator 810. In order to meet the needs of the user 840.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed as above, it is not intended to limit the present invention, and any person skilled in the art can make some modifications and retouchings without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The scope is defined as defined in the scope of the patent application.

400‧‧‧ catheter

410‧‧‧Flexible tubular structure

411‧‧‧Contraction

412‧‧‧ throat

413‧‧‧ expansion section

420‧‧‧First connecting pipe

430‧‧‧Second connection tube

Claims (21)

A gas flow detecting device comprising: a catheter comprising: a flexible tubular structure having a contraction section, a throat and an expansion section, wherein the throat is sandwiched between the contraction section and the expansion Between the segments, and the diameter of the throat is smaller than the diameter of the contraction section and the expansion section; and a first connecting tube and a second connecting tube respectively connected to the contraction of the flexible tubular structure a segment and the expansion segment; a first pressure gauge configured to measure a gas pressure of the first connecting pipe; and a second pressure gauge configured to measure a gas pressure of the throat of the flexible tubular structure, Wherein, the gas flow rate of the first connecting pipe and the throat of the flexible tubular structure is calculated by the gas pressure difference read by the first and second pressure gauges. The gas flow detecting device according to claim 1, wherein the flexible tubular structure has a hardness of HS10 to HS90. The gas flow detecting device according to claim 1, wherein the material of the flexible tubular structure is an elastomer comprising a silicone, a rubber, a polyurethane, and a latex ( Latex) or polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). The gas flow detecting device of claim 1, wherein the material of the first and second connecting tubes or a combination thereof comprises a flexible material or a rigid material. The gas flow detecting device of claim 4, wherein the material of the first and second connecting tubes or a combination thereof is the same as the flexible tubular structure. The gas flow detecting device of claim 4, wherein the constricted section of the flexible tubular structure, the throat, and the wall thickness of the expanded section are respectively different according to requirements. The gas flow detecting device of claim 1, further comprising a honeycomb structure (honeycomb structure) disposed in the throat of the flexible tubular structure such that the cross section of the throat is Honeycomb. The gas flow detecting device of claim 1, wherein the first pressure gauge is disposed on an inner wall of the first connecting pipe. The gas flow detecting device of claim 1, wherein the pipe wall of the first connecting pipe further comprises a first through hole, and the first pressure gauge is connected to the first through hole to measure the first connecting pipe. gas pressure. The gas flow detecting device of claim 1, wherein the second pressure gauge is disposed on an inner wall of the throat of the flexible tubular structure. The gas flow detecting device of claim 1, wherein the wall of the throat of the flexible tubular structure further comprises a second through hole, and the second pressure gauge is connected to the second through hole for measuring The gas pressure of the throat of the flexible tubular structure. A positive airway pressure apparatus (PAPA), comprising: a flow generator for generating a positive pressure airflow; the gas flow detecting device according to claim 1, wherein the The first connecting pipe of the conduit is connected to the airflow generator to pass the positive pressure airflow into the flexible tubular structure; a breathing cover is connected to the second connecting pipe of the conduit of the gas flow detecting device, Passing the positive pressure airflow into the airway of the user and maintaining a positive pressure in the airway; and a control circuit electrically connected to the airflow generator and the first and second pressure gauges of the gas flow detecting device The positive pressure airflow of the airflow generator is regulated by the pressure values read by the first and second pressure gauges. The positive pressure respirator of claim 12, wherein the flexible tubular structure has a hardness of HS10 to HS90. The positive pressure respirator of claim 12, wherein the material of the flexible tubular structure is an elastomer, which comprises silicone (silicone), rubber, polyurethane, latex or polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). The positive pressure respirator of claim 12, wherein the material of the first and second connecting tubes comprises a flexible material or a rigid material. The positive pressure respirator of claim 15, wherein the material of the first and second connecting tubes or a combination thereof is the same as the flexible tubular structure. The positive pressure breathing apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising a honeycomb structure (honeycomb structure) disposed in the throat of the flexible tubular structure to make the cross section of the throat be honeycombed . The positive pressure respirator of claim 12, wherein the first pressure gauge is disposed on an inner wall of the first connecting tube. The positive pressure respirator of claim 12, wherein the wall of the first connecting tube further comprises a first through hole, and the first pressure gauge is connected to the first through hole to measure the gas of the first connecting tube pressure. The positive pressure respirator of claim 12, wherein the second pressure gauge is disposed on an inner wall of the throat of the flexible tubular structure. The positive pressure respirator of claim 12, wherein the wall of the throat of the flexible tubular structure further comprises a second through hole, and the second pressure gauge The second through hole is connected to measure the gas pressure of the throat of the flexible tubular structure.