DESC:FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to a molecular sieve cartridge, and more particularly, the present invention relates to a molecular sieve cartridge of an oxygen concentrator.

BACKGROUND

Molecular sieves are materials containing precise and small pores that are used to adsorb gases or liquids. The molecular sieve cartridges containing the molecular sieves are used in various applications, for example, in an oxygen concentrator to concentrate oxygen. In case of an oxygen concentrator, the molecular sieve cartridge adsorbs nitrogen gas and allows oxygen gas to pass through thereby concentrating oxygen from the ambient air.

The conventional molecular sieve cartridge is made of aluminum tubes or Polyvinyl chloride-based tubes. Due to the material, such cartridges are costly in nature. Moreover, the manufacturing process of such cartridges is time consuming as they use the conventional machining and joining techniques. Some examples of conventional techniques include screwing and chemical welding.

Moreover, one of the major issues in the conventional molecular sieve cartridge is the leakage of gases. In order to overcome this issue, the conventional molecular sieve cartridges require gaskets and fasteners for leak proofing. The use of gaskets and fasteners reduces the overall life and reliability of the molecular sieve cartridge. Further, the material of the tube and the end cap in the conventional molecular sieve cartridge is a non-food grade material which is not good for the patient for prolong usage. The conventional molecular sieve further requires loads of customized parts.

In view of the above, there remains a need for a novel molecular sieve cartridge that can overcome the above-mentioned limitations.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a molecular sieve cartridge;

Another object of the present invention is to provide a molecular sieve cartridge that can be installed in an oxygen concentrator;

Another object of the present invention is to provide a molecular sieve cartridge that is cost effective, simpler in construction, and requires less time for production;

Another object of the present invention is to provide a molecular sieve cartridge that eliminates leakage issues of gases;

Another object of the present invention is to provide a molecular sieve cartridge that is made of a food graded material; and

Another object of the present invention is to provide a molecular sieve cartridge that avoids the usage of harmful chemicals.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a molecular sieve cartridge of an oxygen concentrator is disclosed. The molecular sieve cartridge includes a tube having a first end and a second end. The molecular sieve cartridge further includes a plurality of zeolite particles filled within the tube that form a zeolite bed. The molecular sieve cartridge further includes a first end cap and a second end cap attached to the first end and the second end respectively of the tube. The tube is made of a High-density polyethylene material. Further, the first end cap and the second end cap are attached to the first end and the second end respectively by electrofusion.

According to an embodiment, the plurality of zeolite particles may include at least one of a sodium zeolite particles and a lithium zeolite particles.

According to an embodiment, the molecular sieve cartridge may further include at least one breather cloth disposed at the first end and the second end of the tube.

According to an embodiment, the at least one breather cloth may be a 180 GSM breather cloth.

According to an embodiment, the molecular sieve cartridge may further include at least one perforated disc disposed at the first end and the second end of the tube.

According to an embodiment, the at least one perforated disc may be arranged over a breather cloth at the first end and the second end of the tube.

According to an embodiment, the molecular sieve cartridge may further include at least one spring disposed at the first end of the tube.

According to an embodiment, the at least one perforated disc may be arranged over a breather cloth at the first end and the second end of the tube.

According to an embodiment, the molecular sieve cartridge further may include at least one spring disposed at the first end of the tube.

According to an embodiment, the molecular sieve cartridge may further include one inlet and two outlets.

According to an embodiment, the one inlet may receive ambient air and the two outlets discharges oxygen and nitrogen.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention, as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

So that the manner in which the above recited features of the present invention can be understood in detail, a more particular description of the invention, briefly summarized above, may have been referred by embodiments, some of which are illustrated in the appended drawings. It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of this invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the invention may admit to other equally effective embodiments.

These and other features, benefits, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent by reference to the following figures, wherein:

Fig. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a molecular sieve cartridge, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 illustrates a side view of the molecular sieve cartridge, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 3 illustrates a top view of the molecular sieve cartridge, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and

Fig. 4 illustrates a cross-section view of the molecular sieve cartridge, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

While the present invention is described herein by way of example using embodiments and illustrative drawings, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention is not limited to the embodiments of drawing or drawings described, and are not intended to represent the scale of the various components. Further, some components that may form a part of the invention may not be illustrated in certain figures, for ease of illustration, and such omissions do not limit the embodiments outlined in any way. It should be understood that the drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to limit the invention to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the invention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claim. As used throughout this description, the word "may" is used in a permissive sense (i.e. meaning having the potential to), rather than the mandatory sense, (i.e. meaning must). Further, the words "a" or "an" mean "at least one” and the word “plurality” means “one or more” unless otherwise mentioned. Furthermore, the terminology and phraseology used herein is solely used for descriptive purposes and should not be construed as limiting in scope. Language such as "including," "comprising," "having," "containing," or "involving," and variations thereof, is intended to be broad and encompass the subject matter listed thereafter, equivalents, and additional subject matter not recited, and is not intended to exclude other additives, components, integers or steps. Likewise, the term "comprising" is considered synonymous with the terms "including" or "containing" for applicable legal purposes. Any discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles and the like is included in the specification solely for the purpose of providing a context for the present invention. It is not suggested or represented that any or all of these matters form part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the present invention.

In this disclosure, whenever a composition or an element or a group of elements is preceded with the transitional phrase “comprising”, it is understood that we also contemplate the same composition, element or group of elements with transitional phrases “consisting of”, “consisting”, “selected from the group of consisting of, “including”, or “is” preceding the recitation of the composition, element or group of elements and vice versa.

The present invention is described hereinafter by various embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiment set forth herein. Rather, the embodiment is provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.

The invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Referring now to fig. 1, fig. 2 and fig. 3, a perspective view, a side view and a top view respectively, of a molecular sieve cartridge 100 is illustrated, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The molecular sieve cartridge 100 may be employed in an oxygen concentrator (not shown) to concentrate oxygen. In other words, the molecular sieve cartridge 100 may be employed in an oxygen concentrator to collect oxygen by filtering the air passing through it. The molecular sieve cartridge 100 may concentrate oxygen by adsorbing the nitrogen gas from air and allowing the oxygen gas to pass through it. In an embodiment, the molecular sieve cartridge 100 may be employed in a Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) oxygen concentrator. For the purpose of explanation, the PSA oxygen concentrator works by separating oxygen from compressed air utilizing pressure swing adsorption technology. The oxygen concentrated by the oxygen concentrator is then delivered to a patient to fulfil the patient's respiratory needs by providing required oxygen to the body. It should be noted that although the molecular sieve cartridge 100 herein is explained in context of the oxygen concentrator, the molecular sieve cartridge 100 may be employed in other applications as well that are known in the art.

The molecular sieve cartridge 100 includes a tube 102, a plurality of zeolite particles 104 (shown in fig. 4), a first end cap 106 and a second end cap 108. The tube 102 includes a first end 110 (shown in fig. 4) and a second end 112 (shown in fig. 4). For the purpose of explanation, the tube 102 may be a hollow cylindrical tube having an open first end and an open second end. The tube 102 may be made of a High-density polyethylene (HDPE) material. Specifically, the tube 102 may be made of food graded HDPE material. A person skilled in the art will appreciate that a food graded HDPE material is a better alternative than the non-food graded materials for molecular sieve cartridge 100 considering health of the patients. In the tube 102, the first end 106 may act as receiving end for ambient air, and the second end 108 may act as a discharging end for oxygen. It will be apparent to a person skilled in the art that the tube 102 may be of any length and diameter depending on the application where the molecular sieve cartridge 100 is to be employed. For example, a molecular sieve cartridge of a large-sized oxygen concentrator will be larger in comparison to a molecular sieve cartridge of a small-sized oxygen concentrator.

The tube 102 is filled with the plurality of zeolite particles 104 to form a zeolite bed within the tube 102. For the purpose of explanation, the zeolite particles 104 are microporous, aluminosilicate minerals commonly used as commercial adsorbents and catalysts. According to an embodiment, the plurality of zeolite particles 104 may be at least one of a sodium zeolite particles and a lithium zeolite particles. It will be apparent to a person skilled in the art that when the air passes through the zeolite bed, the plurality of zeolite particles 104 adsorbs nitrogen and allows oxygen to pass through it. Accordingly, the molecular sieve cartridge 100 may enable concentration of oxygen from air.

The molecular sieve cartridge 100 further includes the first end cap 106 and the second end cap 108 attached to the first end 110 and the second end 112 respectively of the tube 102. In other words, the first end cap 106 and the second end cap 108 is adapted to close the first end 110 and the second end 112 respectively of the tube 102. Once closed, the first end cap 106 and the second end cap 108 may contain the zeolite particles 104 inside the tube 102. In an embodiment, each of the first end cap 106 and the second end cap 108 may be substantially cylindrical in shape and may include an open end 114a, 114b and a closed end 116a, 116b. The open ends 114a, 114b of the first end cap 106 and the second end cap 108 is adapted to fit over the first end 110 and the second end 112 respectively. It should be noted that the internal diameter of the open end 114a, 114b of the first end cap 106 and the second end cap 108 may be slightly more than the external diameter of the first end 110 and the second end 112 so as to fit over the first end 110 and the second end 112 of the tube 102. The first end cap 106 and the second end cap 108 are attached to the respective first end 110 and the second end 112 via electrofusion welding. For attaching the first end cap 106 to the first end 110 via electrofusion welding, a fitting with implanted metal coils is placed around the first end cap 106 and the first end 110, and current is passed through the coils. Resistive heating of the coils may melt small amounts of the tube 102, the first end cap 106 and fitting, and upon solidification, the first end cap 106 and the first end 110 will be joined. Similarly, for attaching the second end cap 108 to the second end 112 of the tube 102, a fitting with implanted metal coils is placed around the second end cap 108 and the second end 112, and current is passed through the metal coils. On heating the metal coil melts, and upon solidification, the second end cap 108 and the second end 112 gets joined.

Each of the first end cap 106 and the second end cap 108 may include a stopper (not shown) in the interior surface to limit the movement of the tube 102 into the first end cap 106 and the second end cap 108 respectively. In an embodiment, the stopper may be a protrusion on the internal surface of first end cap 106 and the second end cap 108 that restricts the entry of the first end 110 and the second end 112 into the tube 102 once they enter up to a certain length. The stopper is provided in the first end cap 106 and the second end cap 108 to maintain free space at the first end 110 and the second end 112. It will be apparent to a person skilled in the art that the unoccupied volume or the free space between the first end 102 and the first end cap 106, as well as between the second end 104 and the second end cap 108 may act as a space for the air to flow into the tube 102 and for the gases to flow out. Further, like the tube 102, the first end cap 106 and the second end cap 108 may be also made of HDPE material.

According to an embodiment, the first end cap 106 may include an inlet port 118. The inlet port 118 may be configured to receive ambient air inside the tube 102. In an embodiment, the inlet port 118 may be connected to a compressor (not shown) to receive air from the compressor. For the purpose of explanation, the compressor may be an air source for the oxygen concentrator. The oxygen concentrator is configured to separate and concentrate oxygen from the air received from the compressor. The second end cap 108 may have two outlet ports 120a, 120b. Among the two outlet ports 120a, 120b, one outlet port 120a may be adapted to release oxygen, and the other outlet port 120b may be adapted to release nitrogen.

Referring now to fig. 4, a cross-section view of the molecular sieve cartridge 100 is illustrated, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The molecular sieve cartridge 100 may further include at least one breather cloth 122a, 122b disposed at the first end 110 and the second end 112 of the tube 102. For the purpose of explanation, the breather cloth 122a, 122b may be a fabric that allows the air to flow through it but contains the zeolite particles 104 within the tube 102. According to an embodiment, the breather cloth 122a, 122b may be a 180 GSM (grams per square meter) breather cloth. In an embodiment, the breather cloth 122a, 122b may be a circular shaped structure adapted to removably attached on the first end 110 and the second end 112 of the tube 102.

The molecular sieve cartridge 100 may further include at least one perforated disc 124a, 124b disposed at the first end 110 and the second end 112 of the tube 102. Specifically, the perforated discs 124a, 124b may be arranged over the respective breather cloth 122a, 122b at the first end 106 and the second end 108 of the tube 102. For the purpose of explanation, the perforated disc 124a, 124b may be a disc having plurality of holes. The perforated disc 124a, 124b may allow the air to flow through it via the plurality of holes as well as contain the zeolite particles 104 within the tube 102. In an embodiment, the perforated disc 124a, 124b have a circular shape. The perforated disc 124a at the first end 110 of the tube 102 may have a diameter corresponding to the diameter of the tube 102 at the first end 110. Similarly, the perforated disc 124b at the second end 112 of the tube 102 may have a diameter corresponding to the diameter of the tube 102 at the second end 108.

The molecular sieve cartridge 100 may further include a spring 126 disposed at the first end 110 of the tube 102. The spring 126 may be a high-tension spring arranged over the perforated disc 124a and may apply a preload and pressurize the zeolite particles 104 within the tube 102. Specifically, the spring 126 may be arranged between the perforated disc 124a and the closed end 116a of the first end cap 106. It will be apparent to a person skilled in the art that due to the pressure applied on the zeolite particles 104, the efficacy of the zeolite particles 104 to adsorb the nitrogen particles may increase.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a method of manufacturing the molecular sieve cartridge 100 of an oxygen concentrator is illustrated, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. In order to manufacture the molecular sieve cartridge 100, the tube 102 may be taken and the second end cap 108 along with the breather cloth 122b, and the perforated disc 124b may be attached to the second end 112 of the tube 102. For attaching the second end cap 108 to the second end 112 of the tube 102, the second end 112 may be inserted into the second end cap 108 via the open end 114b. As mentioned earlier, the second end cap 108 may have a stopper on the internal surface that may limit the movement of the tube 102 into the second end cap 108. Further, the second end cap 108 may be attached to the second end 112 of the tube 102 by electrofusion welding. It should be noted that prior to electrofusion welding, the second end cap 108 connections should be prepared using push fittings. According to an embodiment, the push fitting may be at least one of an elbow push fitting, wye push fitting and a straight push fitting. Once the second end cap 108 is attached to the second end 112 of the tube 102, the unoccupied volume in the second end cap 108 may allow the gases to pass through the outlet ports 120a, 120b of the second end cap 108.

After attaching the second end cap 108 to the second end 112 of the tube 102, the tube 102 is filled with a calculated amount of the zeolite particles 104 to form the zeolite bed within the tube 102. The zeolite particles 104 may be filled from the first end 110 of the tube 102. After filling the tube 102 with the zeolite particles 104, the perforated disc 124a along with the breather cloth 122a is placed at the first end 110 of the tube 102. For the purpose of explanation, the plurality of zeolite particles 104 may be sandwiched between both the perforated discs 124a, 124b.

The method of manufacturing the molecular sieve cartridge 100 may further include a step of disposing the spring 126 at the first end 110 of the tube 102. The spring 126 may be arranged between the perforated disc 124a and the closed end 116a of the first end cap 106. The spring 126 may be a high-tension spring and may compress the plurality of zeolite particles 104 through the spring force. The first end cap 106 may be attached to the first end 110 of the tube 102 via electrofusion welding. It should be noted that the tube 102 has reached the stopper provided in the first end cap 106 before performing the electrofusion welding of the first end cap 106 to the first end 110.

Various modifications to these embodiments are apparent to those skilled in the art from the description and the accompanying drawings. The principles associated with the various embodiments described herein may be applied to other embodiments. Therefore, the description is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown along with the accompanying drawings but is to be providing broadest scope of consistent with the principles and the novel and inventive features disclosed or suggested herein. Accordingly, the invention is anticipated to hold on to all other such alternatives, modifications, and variations that fall within the scope of the present invention and appended claims.

,CLAIMS:1. A molecular sieve cartridge 100 of an oxygen concentrator, comprising:
a tube 102 having a first end 110 and a second end 112;
a plurality of zeolite particles 104 filled within the tube 102 to form a zeolite bed; and
a first end cap 106 and a second end cap 108 attached to the first end 110 and the second end 112 respectively of the tube 102,
characterized in that, the tube 102 is a High-density polyethylene tube, and
the first end cap 106 and the second end cap 108 are attached to the first end 110 and the second end 112 respectively by electrofusion.

2. The molecular sieve cartridge 100 as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of zeolite particles 104 include at least one of a sodium zeolite particles and a lithium zeolite particles.

3. The molecular sieve cartridge 100 as claimed in claim 1, wherein the molecular sieve cartridge 100 further comprising at least one breather cloth 122 disposed at the first end 110 and the second end 112 of the tube 102.

4. The molecular sieve cartridge 100 as claimed in claim 3, wherein the at least one breather cloth 122 is a 180 GSM breather cloth.

5. The molecular sieve cartridge 100 as claimed in claim 1, wherein the molecular sieve cartridge 100 further comprising at least one perforated disc 123 disposed at the first end 110 and the second end 112 of the tube 102.

6. The molecular sieve cartridge 100 as claimed in claim 5, wherein the at least one perforated disc 124 is arranged over a breather cloth 122 at the first end 110 and the second end 112 of the tube 102.

7. The molecular sieve cartridge 100 as claimed in claim 1, wherein the molecular sieve cartridge 100 further comprising at least one spring 126 disposed at the first end 110 of the tube 102.

8. The molecular sieve cartridge 100 as claimed in claim 1, wherein the molecular sieve cartridge 100 further comprising one inlet 118 and two outlets 120a, 120b.

9. The molecular sieve cartridge 100 as claimed in claim 8, wherein the one inlet 118 receives ambient air and the two outlets 120a, 120b discharges oxygen and nitrogen.