Granted Patent B2

US 11,865,264 · App. 17/020,065 · Granted Jan 9, 2024

Inventors: Daniel Patrick Dwyer (Cary, NC); James Lorek (Cary, NC)

Assignee: Medline Industries, LP

A61M16/0808A61M16/0816A61M16/0875A61M16/16A61M2205/75A61M2205/7536

Abstract

Claims (53)

1. A moisture removal apparatus comprising:

a first tube;

a second tube, the first tube and the second tube defining:

a breathing gas conduit that directs a flow of breathing gas; and

a dry gas conduit that directs a dry gas flow; and

a moisture transmission pathway between the breathing gas conduit and the dry gas conduit that lowers the humidity of the breathing gas by transferring the humidity to the dry gas flow; and

a feeding conduit extending through the dry gas conduit and configured to supply dry gas to the dry gas conduit, the feeding conduit extending through the dry gas conduit greater than half of the length of the dry gas conduit.

2. The moisture removal apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the apparatus includes a first end and a second end; and further comprising:

an inlet fluidly coupled to the feeding conduit and positioned at the second end of the apparatus; and

an outlet fluidly coupled to the dry gas conduit and positioned at the second end of the apparatus.

3. The moisture removal apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the first end is an upstream end of the apparatus, and the second end is a downstream end of the apparatus.

4. The moisture removal apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the first tube is an outer tube;

wherein the second tube is an inner tube, the outer tube surrounding the inner tube; and

further comprising an annular space between the inner tube and the outer tube;

wherein the inner tube defines the breathing gas conduit; and

wherein the annular space defines the dry gas conduit.

5. The moisture removal apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the breathing gas conduit directs the flow of breathing gas in a direction from the upstream end of the apparatus to the downstream end of the apparatus; and

wherein the dry gas conduit directs the dry gas flow in the direction from the upstream end of the apparatus to the downstream end of the apparatus.

6. The moisture removal apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the outlet is a first outlet and further comprising:

a second outlet fluidly coupled to the feeding conduit and positioned at the upstream end of the apparatus.

7. The moisture removal apparatus of claim 6 , further comprising a filter fluidly coupled to the second outlet.

8. The moisture removal apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the first outlet is fluidly coupled to the ambient environment.

9. The moisture removal apparatus of claim 4 , wherein a diameter of the dry gas conduit is smaller than a width of the dry gas conduit defined between the inner tube and the outer tube.

10. The moisture removal apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a third tube that defines the feeding conduit.

11. The moisture removal apparatus of claim 10 , wherein an outlet of the feeding conduit is positioned at an end of the apparatus; and

wherein the dry gas conduit includes a closed end at the end of the apparatus.

12. The moisture removal apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a permeable membrane that defines the moisture transmission pathway; and

wherein the permeable membrane is permeable to water vapor but impermeable to liquid water.

13. The moisture removal apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the apparatus is configured to be an expiratory limb of a ventilator circuit.

14. The moisture removal apparatus of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first tube or the second tube is a corrugated tube.

15. A moisture removal apparatus comprising:

a breathing circuit tube including:

a breathing gas conduit that directs a flow of breathing gas; and

a dry gas conduit that directs a dry gas flow; and

a moisture transmission pathway between the breathing gas conduit and the dry gas conduit that lowers the humidity of the breathing gas by transferring the humidity to the dry gas flow; and

a feeding conduit extending through the dry gas conduit and configured to supply dry gas to the dry gas conduit, the feeding conduit extending through the dry gas conduit greater than half of the length of the dry gas conduit.

16. The moisture removal apparatus of claim 15 , further comprising a dividing wall that divides the breathing circuit tube into the breathing gas conduit and the dry gas conduit, the dividing wall including a permeable portion that defines the moisture transmission pathway, the moisture transmission pathway being permeable to water vapor.

17. The moisture removal apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the breathing circuit tube includes:

an inner tube that defines the breathing gas conduit;

an outer tube surrounding the inner tube; and

an annular space between the inner tube and the outer tube, the annular space defining the dry gas conduit.

18. A moisture removal apparatus comprising:

an inner tube defining a breathing gas conduit that directs a flow of breathing gas;

an outer tube surrounding the inner tube;

an annular space between the inner tube and the outer tube, the annular space defining a dry gas conduit that directs a dry gas flow;

a moisture transmission pathway between the breathing gas conduit and the dry gas conduit that lowers the humidity of the breathing gas by transferring the humidity to the dry gas flow;

a feeding conduit extending through the dry gas conduit and configured to supply dry gas to the dry gas conduit;

an inlet fluidly coupled to the feeding conduit, the inlet positioned at an end of the apparatus that is a downstream end; and

an outlet fluidly coupled to the dry gas conduit, the outlet positioned at the end of the apparatus.

19. The moisture removal apparatus of claim 18 , wherein the end is a downstream end;

wherein the apparatus includes an upstream end; and

wherein a feeding conduit outlet is positioned at the upstream end of the apparatus.

20. The moisture removal apparatus of claim 18 , further comprising a sensor configured to detect a humidity level of the breathing gas conduit or the dry gas conduit.

Assignments (7)