Portable oxygen enrichment device and method of use
First Claim
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1. A method, comprising:
- compressing in a device an ambient air flow comprising oxygen and nitrogen to form a compressed air flow;
transporting said compressed flow through an adsorbent bed and adsorbing at least a portion of said nitrogen to form an oxygen-enriched gas flow;
wherein the pressure drop across said adsorbent bed during said transporting is less than about 50 kPa;
removing said oxygen-enriched gas flow to form an oxygen-enriched product;
transporting said oxygen-enriched product to a first vessel and a second vessel;
wherein said first vessel and said second vessel are arranged in series;
retaining a defined volume of oxygen-enriched product in said second vessel;
desorbing from said adsorbent bed said portion of said nitrogen;
purging said adsorbent bed with at least a portion of said oxygen-enriched product from said first vessel and without oxygen-enriched product from said second vessel;
repeating said previous steps until a predetermined pressure is achieved in said second vessel; and
purging any remaining volume of said oxygen-enriched product from said first vessel through said adsorbent bed and an air storage vessel upon shutdown.
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Abstract
Lightweight, small, portable devices and methods are disclosed that provide oxygen-enriched air using an ultra rapid adsorption cycle based on advanced molecular sieve materials.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. A method, comprising:
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compressing in a device an ambient air flow comprising oxygen and nitrogen to form a compressed air flow; transporting said compressed flow through an adsorbent bed and adsorbing at least a portion of said nitrogen to form an oxygen-enriched gas flow; wherein the pressure drop across said adsorbent bed during said transporting is less than about 50 kPa; removing said oxygen-enriched gas flow to form an oxygen-enriched product; transporting said oxygen-enriched product to a first vessel and a second vessel; wherein said first vessel and said second vessel are arranged in series; retaining a defined volume of oxygen-enriched product in said second vessel; desorbing from said adsorbent bed said portion of said nitrogen; purging said adsorbent bed with at least a portion of said oxygen-enriched product from said first vessel and without oxygen-enriched product from said second vessel; repeating said previous steps until a predetermined pressure is achieved in said second vessel; and purging any remaining volume of said oxygen-enriched product from said first vessel through said adsorbent bed and an air storage vessel upon shutdown. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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2. A method, comprising:
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compressing in a device an ambient air flow comprising oxygen and nitrogen to form a compressed air flow; transporting said compressed flow through an adsorbent bed and adsorbing at least a portion of said nitrogen to form an oxygen-enriched gas flow; wherein the pressure drop across said adsorbent bed during said transporting is less than about 50 kPa; removing said oxygen-enriched gas flow to form an oxygen-enriched product; transporting said oxygen-enriched product to a first vessel and a second vessel; wherein said first vessel and said second vessel are arranged in series; retaining a defined volume of oxygen-enriched product in said second vessel; desorbing from said adsorbent bed said portion of said nitrogen; purging said adsorbent bed with at least a portion of said oxygen-enriched product from said first vessel and without oxygen-enriched product from said second vessel; and repeating said previous steps until a predetermined pressure is achieved in said second vessel; wherein the duration of said adsorbing period lengthens as a function of increasing pressure in said second vessel; and wherein the duration of said desorbing remains substantially constant.
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Specification