Humidifier with a water tub within a pressurized chamber

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10195389-B2
Application number	US-201715856420-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 28, 2017
Priority date	Sep 17, 2008
Publication date	Feb 5, 2019
Grant date	Feb 5, 2019

Abstract

A tub is configured to contain a supply of water and is configured to be inserted into a chamber of a humidifier. The tub includes a tub base configured to contain the supply of water. The tub also includes a tub lid and a flow plate provided between the tub base and the tub lid. The flow plate includes a water level indicator configured to indicate a level of the supply of water in the tub base. In addition, the water level indicator includes a generally rectangular portion and a generally triangular portion.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A respiratory apparatus for providing a humidified flow of pressurised breathable gas to a patient, comprising:
a flow generator to generate a flow of pressurised breathable gas to be delivered to a patient;
a pressurisable humidifier chamber including a chamber inlet configured to receive the flow of pressurised breathable gas from the flow generator, the chamber having a rear wall comprising a chamber outlet, the chamber having a bottom support surface including a heating plate having a substantially upward-facing heating surface;
a humidifier lid being hingedly attached to a wall of the chamber and pivotably movable between an open position and a closed position, an inside surface of the humidifier lid having a depending rib;
a water tub configured to contain a supply of water, the tub having a tub base with a bottom adapted to contact the heating surface, a tub lid, and a tub seal sealing between the tub base and the tub lid and located above the supply of water, the tub lid having a tub inlet and a tub outlet, the tub outlet being provided on a rear wall of the tub and configured to deliver the flow of pressurised breathable gas with added humidity to the chamber outlet, the tub being constructed and dimensioned to be wholly positionable within the chamber;
a chamber seal configured to seal the chamber such that the flow of pressurised breathable gas pressurises the chamber when the tub is wholly within the chamber and the humidifier lid is in the closed position, the chamber seal having a groove configured to receive the depending rib of the humidifier lid, the chamber seal having a sealing rim that extends around a perimeter of the chamber seal, the sealing rim having a perimeter that is larger than a perimeter of the tub lid so as to be positioned above and seal downwardly against a substantially upward-facing surface of the chamber when the humidifier lid is in the closed position; and
a clip to force the tub seal into sealing engagement and to secure the tub lid and the tub base to one another.

2. The respiratory apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising an outlet seal to seal between the chamber outlet and the tub outlet.

3. The respiratory apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the outlet seal includes a lip that projects into the chamber, the lip being mounted on a flange that is seated in a recess provided in an inner surface of the rear wall.

4. The respiratory apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising mutually engaging surfaces of the chamber and the tub configured to urge the tub in a rearward horizontal direction towards the chamber outlet to facilitate sealing between the tub outlet and the chamber outlet.

5. The respiratory apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the sealing rim has a profile as seen in cross section that curves downward and inwardly towards the chamber, such that the sealing rim is structured to be exposed to the flow of pressurised breathable gas provided to the chamber.

6. The respiratory apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the tub inlet is spaced away from the chamber inlet by a distance when the tub is received in the chamber.

7. The respiratory apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the depending rib is spaced inwardly from an outermost border of the humidifier lid, at least a portion of the chamber seal being positioned substantially between the depending rib and the outermost border when the humidifier lid is in the closed position.

8. The respiratory apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising laterally spaced recesses formed in the tub lid to accommodate the fingers of a user for handling the tub.

9. The respiratory apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the chamber seal is selectively engageable with the tub lid.

10. The respiratory apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein, when the humidifier lid is in the closed position with the tub in the chamber, the humidifier lid pushes the tub against the heating plate.

11. The respiratory apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the chamber seal comprises at least one first protrusion configured to engage the tub, wherein the at least one first protrusion is wedge-shaped.

12. The respiratory apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein the chamber seal comprises at least one second protrusion configured to push against the tub lid when the humidifier lid is in the closed position.

13. The respiratory apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the tub has a substantially polygonal shape having four corners, three of which corners are similarly rounded corners and the fourth corner has a different shape compared to the three similarly rounded corners.

14. The respiratory apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a user-operated lid closure member to maintain the humidifier lid in the closed position, the user-operated lid closure member comprising:
at least one latch to selectively engage with a catch;
a spring to bias the latch into engagement with the catch;
a post to support the spring; and
an opening member configured to be pushed against the bias of the spring to release the latch from the catch, thus allowing the humidifier lid to be pivoted to the open position.

15. The respiratory apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a water level indicator to indicate a maximum fill level for the water tub, the water level indicator being suspended within the tub for direct exposure to water within the tub, the water level indicator having an angled wall having a first portion extending into the tub to a first depth and a second portion extending into the tub to a second depth that is different than the first depth, wherein as the water level of the tub base increases when filling the tub, the water level will initially contact the first portion of the angled wall of the water level indicator, and as the water level continues to increase, the water will then rise upwardly towards the second portion of the angled wall to contact indicia indicating the maximum fill level, the indicia on the angled wall being positioned so as to be visible when the water tub is viewed from above.

16. The respiratory apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the rear wall comprises an outlet tube, and the respiratory apparatus further comprises a gas delivery tube with a first end connectable to the outlet tube to receive the flow of breathable gas, and a second end including a cuff configured for connection to a patient interface.

17. The respiratory apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the tub lid has a water aperture, and the chamber seal further comprises an aperture seal projecting from an underside of the chamber seal to seal the water aperture.

18. The respiratory apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the tub is removable from the humidifier chamber and is configured to prevent water from flowing back into the flow generator.

19. The respiratory apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the clip is located along a lateral side of the tub.

20. The respiratory apparatus according to claim 19 , wherein the clip is mounted for pivotable movement between an open position and a closed position, the clip being pivotable about an axis located at a proximal end of the clip, the clip having a slot configured to receive a projection of the tub when the clip is pivoted from the open position to the closed position, the slot and the projection extending parallel to the axis, and the slot being positioned closer to the proximal end of the clip as compared to a distal end of the clip.

Assignees

• Resmed Ltd

Inventors

• Virr Alexander
• Bath Andrew Roderick
• Row Nathan John
• Kao Dan
• Hill Phoebe Katherine
• Earl Nicholas Andrew
• Verma Hargopal
• Chen Junning

Classifications

• A61M16/1075

  by influencing the temperature (A61M16/1045 takes precedence) · CPC title

• A61M16/0066

  Blowers or centrifugal pumps · CPC title

• A61M2205/3368

  Temperature · CPC title

• A61M2205/584

  having a color code · CPC title

• A61M2205/3389

  Continuous level detection (A61M2205/3393 takes precedence) · CPC title