1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a single-sided modular cannula system for delivering oxygen and/or filtered air. More particularly, the invention relates to a single-sided modular portable system for delivering oxygen and/or filtered air to persons in a comfortable and convenient manner while providing additional options for use in combination with telecommunications and audio devices.
2. Description of Related Art including information disclosed under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98
Clean air is an important part of maintaining health in an otherwise healthy person. Environments that contain air-borne pollutants and infectious agents have received much publicity and awareness. Second hand cigarette smoke, carbon monoxide, SARS, dust, pollen and car exhaust, among other such pollutants can cause respiratory discomfort, damage or inefficiency.
Some of these effects can be temporary, as when exposed to an allergen where the effect disappears when the allergen is removed, and some of these effects can be permanent, as when second-hand cigarette smoke causes cancer. It is beneficial to an otherwise healthy person to maintain a high quality supply of breathable air by either filtering the ambient air before inhalation, or providing an alternate source for the breathable air that excludes a large fraction of the ambient air.
This effect is well known for unhealthy people, such as an emphysema patient who pulls a cart with an oxygen tank that supplies oxygen to an area around the nose or mouth to enhance the oxygen uptake of damaged lungs. Another example is the oxygen masks used in hospitals to provide a similar effect for the same or other medical purpose. These systems provide higher quality air in a manner that is not easily portable for an individual, and certainly not designed to be fashionable or attractive.
A personal oxygen and/or filtered air delivery system must further meet certain functional requirements. It must be able to remove some potentially, perceived or actually harmful fraction of the ambient air, or must be able to provide at least a portion of the inhaled air by displacing at least a portion, if not all, of the ambient air with either air filtered by an air filtration pump, or air from a compressed gas tank of appropriate dimension so as to be worn on the body. In the alternative it may be required to do both functions, with some portion of the inhaled air coming through the filter, some portion coming from the gas tank, and the remaining air, if any, coming from the ambient air.
For the purposes of this application, higher quality air refers to air with either more desirable characteristics, air which has fewer undesirable characteristics or air which has both more desirable or fewer undesirable characteristics. Percent O2 content, pollen, particles, aromatic compounds, gaseous and particulate carbon compounds including hydrocarbons, nitrogen containing compounds, carbon monoxide, ozone, viral infectious agents, bacterial infectious agents, sulfur containing compounds, dust, soot, smoke, smog, and many other compounds can, among many other factors, be factors used when determining characteristics of air quality. Desirable and undesirable characteristics can be left to the objective determination of government and industry agencies or subjective determination of each individual user of this system.
As air quality in some cities declines, and as the perception that the number and quantity of harmful components in the air is increasing, there is a growing group of people who wish to breath higher quality air but are unwilling to pull a tank of higher quality air around in a cart, or unwilling to wear a standard mask or nose-piece normally associated with an unhealthy person, and thus convey a negative body image to others or to themselves.
Further, there has developed a desire by some people to stop periodically in commercial locations called oxygen bars, or commercial locations, like health clubs, that offer oxygen bars in addition to other services. These commercial locations provide customers with, among other services, an opportunity to temporarily inhale breathable air that can contain higher concentrations of oxygen.
Such breathable air may also be enhanced with aromas pleasing to the customer. Currently these customers use a small flexible hose called a cannula to deliver the oxygen enriched breathable air into their nostrils. As part of the experience of being in an oxygen bar and social setting, it is desirable to portray the experience as glamorous or fashionable in addition to being functional.
Accordingly, it is desirable for the cannula to be incorporated into other devices normally appearing on or around the face of a person to enhance the appearance of the medical oxygen user, or to discretely disguise the functional aspect of the cannula.
Various single-sided modular embodiments of the present invention are directed to addressing various needs in connection with ensuring that higher quality air and/or oxygen is delivered to the nose and or mouth area of a person wearing the system disclosed in this invention. These various embodiments encourage those who need oxygen to be as active and socially engaging as they were previous to being prescribed medical oxygen. These single-sided modular options attaches the oxygen and/or filtered air delivery system via proprietary adaptors to either an ear-piece, aviators telecommunications headset, helmet, cap, visor or hats, as well as to the frame of eye glasses.
As people feel the need to maintain communications in a near constant manner, they often make use of portable wireless earpieces. In a similar manner, many people choose to take advantage of compact headphones for use with personal music systems. The combination of these devices with oxygen/air breathing devices represents new flexibility and freedom for those who desire to take advantage of both systems in a comfortable and convenient manner.
Various patents address systems that are designed to permit the wearer to breathe oxygen or purified air. Sanders, U.S. Pat. No. 5,582,164, disclose a portable gas delivery system that includes a gas storage assembly that is connected to a nose piece using flexible tubing. The gas storage assembly includes a strap that enables it to be readily carried by the person using this system.
AmRhein, U.S. Pat. No. 4,996,983, discusses a portable oxygen delivery system in which gas storage containers are incorporated into the temples on eyeglasses. Air delivery tubes extend around the wearer's ears to a nose piece, prongs or portal that is placed in the wearer's nose.
Peppler, U.S. Pat. No. 5,193,534; and Timmons et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,559,941, both describe incorporating an oxygen delivery system into eyeglasses. The oxygen is delivered from a storage container to the temples on the eyeglasses. The oxygen is then routed to a nosepiece through the eyeglasses.
Koch et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,465,067, discloses a system for delivering oxygen. This system has a configuration that is similar to eyeglasses except that it does not include any lenses. Oxygen is delivered to the temple portion that wraps around the wearer's ear and then to a nose piece that is positioned proximate the wearer's nose.
Izuchukwu et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,526,968, discusses an air delivery system that is incorporated into a utility belt that is worn by the user. The utility belt includes a pack for storing the compressed gas and a port for connecting to a mask using flexible tubing.
Izuchukwu et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,510,859, discloses an emergency breathing apparatus that includes a hood, which is placed over the user's entire head. Air is delivered to the hood from a storage pack. While such a system is acceptable for emergency situations, the fact that it covers the user's entire head limits the ability for the user to perform many activities while wearing this device.
McDonald, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,595,207, describes an oxygen diffuser for a lightweight oxygen delivery system for a patient, the oxygen delivery system being of the type comprising a mount for seated engagement on a patient's head or ear, an elongated tubular boom for oxygen delivery secured at one end to the mount and having the diffuser secured to the other end, the diffuser to deliver oxygen passed through the boom to a space in the vicinity of the patient's nose and mouth, the diffuser comprising a body having a wall, the interior surface of which wall is of generally concave configuration, circumscribing a centrally positioned oxygen outlet so as to direct the flow of oxygen from the outlet generally towards the patient's nose and mouth; and a baffle seated over the oxygen outlet so as to assist in mixing of oxygen with ambient air and avoid a direct flow of oxygen towards the patient's face.
Demers, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,619,288, describe a breathing mask for delivering oxygen to a patient. The breathing mask has a headset for seating about the cranial region of the head of the patient, with a hollow gas delivery arm coupled to the headset. The mask also has a nosepiece that is coupled only to the hollow gas delivery arm and that delivers oxygen to the nostrils of the patient. Finally, the mask has a source of oxygen for coupling oxygen to the hollow gas delivery arm.
McCombs, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,065,473, describes a non-contact gas dispenser comprising a head set apparatus, a gas source and a conduit for directing the desired gas to a region proximate to the user's nose and mouth. The gas source preferably is a pressure swing adsorption apparatus that allows the user to select one of at least two pre-determined settings of product gas, each setting having a distinct concentration and flow rate different from the other setting(s).
Martin, James F. et at., U.S. Patent Application No. 2006/0042637, describes an oxygen delivery device for regulating the flow of oxygen from an oxygen source to a respiratory cannula located on the face of a patient. A host controller coupled to the oxygen delivery device accepts an input from a medical monitor relating to the blood oxygen saturation percentage of the patient. The host controller then regulates the rate of oxygen supplied to the patient based in part upon the blood oxygen saturation percentage of the patient. A high rate of oxygen is supplied to the patient when the controller detects a blood oxygen saturation level below a predetermined percentage and a low rate of oxygen is supplied when the controller detects a blood oxygen saturation level above a predetermined percentage in an order to minimize wasted oxygen.