Gas separation: processes – Selective diffusion of gases – Selective diffusion of gases through substantially solid...
Reexamination Certificate
1998-06-29
2001-02-27
Spitzer, Robert H. (Department: 1724)
Gas separation: processes
Selective diffusion of gases
Selective diffusion of gases through substantially solid...
C095S052000, C095S139000, C095S273000, C096S010000, C096S128000, C096S130000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06193785
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a process for providing subjects with an increased supply of oxygen, and more particularly, to a process for providing oxygen enriched air to one or more spaces in a building.
It is known that human beings have been exposed in recent years to increasingly strong bioactive substances. A stress brought about by these substances becomes expressed by more frequent occurrence of allergies and other symptoms of illness. The substances are taken up via the skin by direct body contact, by eating and drinking, and also, to a considerable part, by breathing them in from the air. The health risks due to contaminated air in general, and the positive effect of pure, clean air, for example in air health resorts, will not be enlarged upon here, as this subject matter is generally assumed to be known and agreed upon.
All the functions of the body can proceed normally when sufficient oxygen (O
2
) is made available to the body's cells ia the blood. The hemoglobin of the blood takes up oxygen from the respired air in the lungs. The better the oxygen uptake, the greater the fitness of the organism, and the better a human being feels. As an example of this there can be mentioned the altitude training of competitive athletes, which finally serves to make sufficient oxygen available to the cells of the body under greater stress.
2. Discussion of Relevant Art
It results from the composition of the atmospheric air that a person breathes in only 20% pure oxygen with each breath, and in contrast to this takes in nearly 80% of nitrogen (N
2
), which is not used by the organism.
The recovery of oxygen from the air has been known for a long time. Thus in the so-called Linde process, the air is liquefied and then fractionally distilled, so that oxygen and nitrogen at about −200° C. are obtained. Or oxygen is recovered chemically from barium oxide (BaO), or from carbon dioxide (CO
2
), or by the electrolysis of water (H
2
O).
In the middle 1980's, the hollow fiber membrane technology was developed, which makes it possible to separate the nitrogen relatively inexpensively from the air. Here the physical phenomenon is used that the different gases of the air diffuse at different speeds through a membrane. There are used as a membrane millions of bundled hollow fibers of the thickness of a human hair.
Molecular sieve technology is also known in which the air is introduced for oxygen enrichment alternately into two adsorption containers with artificial molecular sieves, which in an alternating process adsorb and desorb nitrogen and hydrocarbon.
Processes for providing a raised oxygen concentration are known and medically undisputed. Thus in acute illnesses oxygen is provided to the patients for breathing, for example by means of an oxygen tent or by flexible tube connections to the nose. Even patients who are not confined to bed are supplied with oxygen for therapeutic purposes. For this purpose, tubes which supply via a mask or directly to the nose are connected to small oxygen bottles which the patient carries. Trials were also carried out with oxygen pressure chambers in which the subjects had to spend a given time.
However, increasing their wellbeing by an increased oxygen supply was researched not only for sick people but also for healthy people. Thus there already are so-called oxygen bars worldwide, in which the guests, besides the usual offerings of bars, can also breathe oxygen in from a mask.
In most of the abovementioned processes of providing persons with an increased oxygen supply, the subject receives the oxygen for breathing in via a mask or directly through tube connections into the nose. This process is therefore very inconvenient for the subject and involves considerable cost and privations, and in particular because freedom of movement is greatly restricted while receiving oxygen.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention therefore has as its object to provide a cost-effective process by which there is insured the provision of an increased oxygen supply which is convenient to the subject, and at the same time the greatest possible freedom of movement and the possibility of carrying out exercises which increase performance and/or aid convalescence.
The invention solves this problem by means of a process for providing subjects with an increased supply of oxygen, comprising producing oxygen-enriched air, flooding one or more spaces with oxygen-enriched air, exposing subjects to an atmosphere containing the oxygen-enriched air in the spaces, and processing and using used air for producing the oxygen-enriched air.
For this, oxygen-enriched air is prepared and is used to flood spaces in which subjects are exposed to the atmosphere thus produced.
Thus the production of oxygen-enriched air can take place by means of membrane technology, in which compressed and heated air is forced through a membrane and the nitrogen is separated from the air.
It is an advantage that this system of hollow fiber membranes is absolutely maintenance-free, since it has no moving parts. Also, the yield and amounts of oxygen in this technology depend on the pressure and temperature used, and can thus be suited to the respective requirements. It is also advantageous that, due to the diffusion through the membrane, the oxygen-enriched air is absolutely dust-free and free from any germs.
In addition, the process is found to be cost-effective, since not only is the recovered oxygen used, but the nitrogen can also be used in other regions of utilization, e.g., as an inert or protective gas. This also correspondingly holds for the use of molecular sieve technology.
A further feature of the invention is that subjects who are exposed to this process can at the same time carry out exercises which increase performance and/or aid convalescence.
An advantageous development of the invention provides that air used by subjects can be processed again and used for the production of oxygen-enriched air, in order to make a cost-effective circulation available.
The oxygen-enriched air can furthermore be mixed with excited oxygen by irradiation with ultraviolet light of a wavelength which does not lead to the formation of ozone. It is known that excited oxygen is biologically more active than normal oxygen. The ultraviolet radiation can take place by means of radiators suspended below the ceiling of the space.
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