Abstract:
The present invention provides a DC-AC frequency converter type mucus suction device having an electromagnetic pump, the pressure and the flow generated in which could be changed to satisfy the requirement of the mucus suction device. The mucus suction device of the present invention comprises an electromagnetic pump, a suction device and a frequency converter circuit, wherein the frequency converter circuit at least comprises an oscillator circuit, a bistable circuit, and a push-pull circuit, wherein the electromagnetic pump is supplied with AC obtained from the oscillation of DC in the frequency converter circuit, wherein the swing speed, frequency and amplitude of the swing arms vary with the oscillation frequency of the oscillator circuit, such that the suction pressure and the suction flow of the electromagnetic pump could further be changed to obtain the most appropriate pressure and flow of the mucus suction device.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE OF RELATED APPLICATION 
     This is a continuation-in-part application that claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to a non-provisional application, application Ser. No. 12/231,218, filed Aug. 29, 2008, and is now abandoned. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
     1. Field of Invention 
     The present invention relates to a DC-AC frequency converter type mucus suction device for removing things from the inside of the nose of a user, and more particularly relates to a mucus suction device with an electromagnetic pump supplied with AC obtained from the oscillation of DC, herein the speed, frequency, and amplitude of the swinging of the swing arms of the electromagnetic pump vary with the frequency of the switching between the N-phase and S-phase of the electromagnetic device, so that the suction pressure and the suction flow generated in the electromagnetic pump will satisfy the requirement of the mucus suction device. 
     2. Description of Related Arts 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1-7 , an electromagnetic pump  20  is disclosed, which could also be called as a swing arm pump or a matrix type pump. The electromagnetic pump  20  is light in weight and could be operated with less noise, lower power consumption and less chance to generate high heat, and the electronic circuit of the electromagnetic pump is hard to start when the inlet and the outlet channels are blocked. Considering these shortcomings, the applicant of the present invention adopted the electromagnetic pump as the power source of the electric nose suction device claimed in the Taiwan patent application No. 093217312 filed in 2004, in which the electromagnetic pump  20  has an electromagnetic device  27  on one side and a pump housing  21  on the other side. Each of two outer opposing sides (or one can say opposing members) of the pump housing  21  provides a stretchable and elastic hat  24 , which further provides a swing arm  25  respectively thereon, wherein one end of each swing arm  25  is disposed on the outer side of the pump housing  21  and a magnetic member  26  is provided on the other end of each swing arm  25  at a site remote from the electromagnetic device  27 . The inside of the pump housing  21  is divided into two chambers  211  and  212 , wherein the first chamber  211  is communicated with two inlet tubes  22  and the second chamber  212  is communicated with two outlet tubes  23 . Referring to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the electromagnetic device  27  has two side magnetic members  271  and a middle magnetic member  272 , wherein the magnetism of the three members alternate between N-phase and S-phase. The two magnetic members  26  are disposed opposite to the two side magnetic members  271  respectively and have N-phase outside surfaces and S-phase inside surfaces respectively. As shown in  FIG. 2 , when the two side magnetic members  271  of the electromagnetic device  27  switch to N-phase and the middle magnetic member  272  switches to S-phase, the two magnetic members  26  are attracted by the middle magnetic member  272  and repulsed by the two side magnetic members  271  to bring the swing arms  25  towards the middle. In contrast with  FIG. 3 , when the two side magnetic members  271  of the electromagnetic device  27  switch to S-phase and the middle magnetic member  272  switches to N-phase, the two magnetic members  26  are repulsed by the middle magnetic member  272  and are attracted by the two side magnetic members  271  to bring the swing arms  25  towards the outside. The speed, frequency and amplitude of the swinging of the swing arms are relative to the predetermined frequency of the power source, and also relative to the suction pressure and the suction flow. Referring to  FIGS. 4-7 , when the swing arms  25  swing towards the outside to expand the hats  24  respectively, the two first check valves  241  respectively provided between the pump housing  21  and the hats  24  are set to open to allow fluid flow into the first chamber  211  through the inlet tubes  22  on the outside of the pump; the fluid flows into the two hats  24 , and then is stopped from flowing into the second chamber  212  by two second check valves  242 , as the two second check valves  242  are turned off. And when the two swing arms  25  swing towards the middle to compress the two hats  24  respectively, the two second check valves  242  are turned on and the first check valves  241  are turned off, hence the fluid in the two hats  24  could only flow into the second chamber  212 , but reflow back into the first chamber  211 , substantially the fluid in the second chamber  212  is discharged from the pump housing  21  through the two outlet tubes  23 . With the designs mentioned above, the pump housing  21  draws a fluid from the inlet tubes  22  and then discharges the fluid from the outlet tube  23  to accomplish the transporting of the fluid. As shown in  FIG. 8 , the inlet tubes  22  connect to a suction device  80 , so that the suction device  80  could be used to draw mucus. 
     The electromagnetic pump  20  must be supplied with AC to drive the two swing arms  25 —back and forth. However, as the voltage of the domestic electricity used in the countries worldwide is 110V or 220V, for example, the domestic electricity in Taiwan is single phase electricity with a voltage of 110V and a frequency of 60 HZ. When alternating electricity of 110V and 60 HZ is used as the power source of the electromagnetic pump  20 , the speed, frequency and amplitude of the swinging of the swing arms  25  of the electromagnetic pump  20  are fixed and could not be adjusted due to a combined effect of the magnetic field strength generated in the electromagnetic device  27 , the length and width of the swing arms  25 , the magnetic strength of the magnetic members  26 , and the elasticity of the hats  24 . That means the pressure and the flow of the suction, or the pressure and the flow of the discharge of the electromagnetic pump  20  could not be adjusted according to the requirement of the pressure and/or the flow. Hence, when the electromagnetic pump  20  is used to draw the mucus, the suction force might be so large to cause damage to the nasal mucosa, or be too small to draw the mucus off. Hence, the electromagnetic pump  20  needs to be improved. 
     SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
     The present invention is predicated on the observation that the current mucus suction device could only use the electromagnetic pump supplied with the 110V AC as the power source. 
     The invention is advantageous in that it provides a mucus suction device with a frequency converter circuit, which oscillates to convert DC into AC supplied to a electromagnetic pump of the suction device, wherein the frequency of the oscillation of the frequency converter circuit could be changed to adjust the suction pressure and the suction flow of the electromagnetic pump in order to obtain a most appropriate suction pressure and flow of the mucus suction device. 
     Another advantage of the invention is to provide a mucus suction device which uses a general-purpose power source, such as battery, in-car cigarette lighter, transformer rectifier unit (TRU) or the other suitable device providing DC. Accordingly, the mucus suction device could be widely used in any place with a suitable power source. 
     Another advantage of the invention is to provide a mucus suction device with a frequency converter circuit, which further links to a modulation circuit, wherein when the swing arms swing outward, the modulation circuit is activated to accelerate the swing speed of the swing arms, so that the suction pressure of the electromagnetic pump is large enough to draw viscous mucus or rhinolith out by the mucus suction devices. 
     According to the present invention, the foregoing and other objects and advantages are attained by a mucus suction device comprising an electromagnetic pump, a frequency converter circuit, and a suction device. The frequency converter circuit oscillates to convert DC into AC, which is supplied to the electromagnetic pump. The electromagnetic pump has an electromagnetic device on one side and a pump housing on the other side, wherein at least one outside surface of the pump housing provides a stretchable and elastic hat, which further provides a swing arm thereon. One end of the swing arm is disposed an outer side of the pump housing and a magnetic member is provided on the other end of the swing arm, remote from the electromagnetic device. The inside of the pump housing is divided into two chambers including a first chamber communicated with at least one inlet tube and a second chamber communicated with at least one outlet tube, wherein the first chamber and the second chamber are arranged up and down, or back and forth, which is to say in top-bottom, or front-back relation. A check valve is provided between each chamber and corresponding hat. The swing arms swing in a reciprocating cycle to cause the electromagnetic pump draw a fluid into the chambers from the inlet tube and discharge the fluid from the outlet tube. The suction device is connected to the inlet tube of the electromagnetic pump and is used to draw mucus. The frequency converter circuit comprises an oscillator circuit, a bistable circuit and a push-pull circuit. The oscillator circuit oscillates to transform DC into a single-phase oscillating signal. The bistable circuit splits the single-phase oscillating signal into a N-phase stimulus signal and a S-phase stimulus signal, both of which respectively activate magnetism of two side magnetic members of the electromagnetic device and magnetism of a middle magnetic member of the electromagnetic device to alternating switch between N-phase and S-phase. The two side magnetic members and the middle magnetic member are attracted or repulsed by the two magnetic members respectively to force the swing arms to swing reciprocatingly. The higher the selected oscillating frequency of the oscillator circuit, the higher is the speed of switching between the N-phase and the S-phase of the electromagnetic device is, and vice-versa. The push-pull circuit amplifies and provides the N-phase stimulus signal and the S-phase stimulus signal to the electromagnetic pump to force the swing arms of the electromagnetic pump to swing. The frequency converter circuit is arranged to use DC to activate the swing arms of the electromagnetic pump to swing in a reciprocating cycle. The oscillating frequency of the oscillator circuit is adjusted to change the swing speed, swing frequency and amplitude of the swing arms of the electromagnetic pump, to effect further change in the suction pressure and flow of the electromagnetic pump. In another embodiment of the present invention, the frequency converter circuit further comprises a modulation circuit, which generates a single-phase oscillating signal. The N-phase stimulus signal and the S-phase stimulus signal generated in the bistable circuit are mixed with the single-phase oscillating signal respectively to enhance the N-phase stimulus signal while in balance with the S-phase stimulus signal, to further enhance the magnetic field strength of the N-phase of the electromagnetic device. The enhancement of the magnetic field strength of the N-phase of the electromagnetic device further causes the swing arms to swing outward with a higher speed and a greater force and swing inward with a lower speed and a smaller force; thus the suction pressure of the electromagnetic pump is increased. The modulation circuit is connected to a button or a keypad, to activate or adjust the modulation circuit. The DC inputted into the frequency converter circuit could be supplied by an in-car cigarette lighter, by a battery, or by a transformer rectifier unit. 
     These and other objectives, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, the accompanying drawings, and the appended claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of an electromagnetic pump according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram of the electromagnetic with the swing arms swinging inward according of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram of the electromagnetic with the swing arms swinging outward of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 4  is a C-C section view of the electromagnetic pump of  FIG. 1  illustrating the flow direction of the fluid drawn by the electromagnetic pump. 
         FIG. 5  is an A-A section view of the electromagnetic pump of  FIG. 1  illustrating the flow direction of the fluid drawn by the electromagnetic pump. 
         FIG. 6  is a B-B section view of the electromagnetic pump of  FIG. 1  illustrating the flow direction of the fluid discharged by the electromagnetic pump. 
         FIG. 7  is a C-C section view of the electromagnetic pump of  FIG. 1  illustrating the flow direction of the fluid discharged by the electromagnetic pump. 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view of a mucus suction device according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 9  is a block flow chart of a frequency converter circuit according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 10  is a schematic diagram of the electromagnetic pump according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention illustrating the swinging of the swing arms with maximum frequency and minimum amplitude. 
         FIG. 11  is a schematic diagram of the electromagnetic pump according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention illustrating the swinging of the swing arms with medium frequency and medium amplitude. 
         FIG. 12  is a schematic diagram of the electromagnetic pump according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention illustrating the swinging of the swing arms with minimum frequency and maximum amplitude. 
         FIG. 13  is a diagram showing the relationship between the oscillating frequency and the suction pressure according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 14  is a diagram showing the relationship between the oscillating frequency and the suction flow according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 15  is a block flow chart of the frequency converter circuit according to a second embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 16  is a schematic diagram showing the change of the inward swinging of the swing arms after the modulation circuit of the frequency converter circuit is activated according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 17  is a schematic diagram showing the change of the outward swinging of the swing arms after the modulation circuit of the frequency converter circuit is activated according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 18  is a schematic diagram of the electromagnetic pump received in a body according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 19  is a schematic diagram illustrating the connection between the modulation circuit and the button on the outside surface according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 20  is a schematic diagram illustrating the connection between the modulation circuit and the keypad on the outside surface according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 21  is a schematic diagram of a transformer rectifier unit. 
         FIG. 22  is a schematic diagram of the battery. 
         FIG. 23  is a schematic diagram of the electric wire particularly used for the in-car cigarette lighter. 
         FIG. 24  is a circuit diagram of the frequency converter circuit according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 25  is a circuit diagram of the frequency converter circuit according to the second embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to  FIG. 8 ,  FIG. 9 ,  FIG. 24 ,  FIG. 1  and  FIGS. 4 to 7 , a mucus suction device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated, which comprises an electromagnetic pump  20 , a suction device  80 , a frequency converter circuit  40 , wherein the frequency converter circuit  40  is provided on a circuit board  28  of the mucus suction device as shown in  FIG. 18 . 
     The electromagnetic pump  20  has an electromagnetic device  27  on one side and a pump housing  21  on the other side, wherein the electromagnetic device  27  is surrounded with coils and has a middle magnetic member  272  and two side magnetic members  271 , wherein the width of the middle magnetic member  272  is larger the that of the side magnetic member  271 . Each of two outside surfaces of the pump housing  21  provides a stretchable and elastic hat  24 , which further provides an swing arm  25  respectively thereon, wherein one end of each swing arm  25  is disposed on the outer side of the pump housing  21  and a magnetic member  26  is provided on the other end of each swing arm  25  with a distance from the electromagnetic device  27 . The inside of the pump housing  21  is divided into two chambers, i.e. a first chamber  211  in the upper portion and a second chamber  212  in the lower portion. Although the first chamber  211  and the second chamber  212  are arranged upper-and-lower in this preferred embodiment, the two chambers could also be arranged forth-and-back. The first chamber  211  is communicated with one or more than one inlet tube  22  and the second chamber  212  is communicated with one or more than on outlet tube  23 . Two check valves  241  and  242  are respectively provided between the sides of the chambers  211 ,  212  and the hats  24 . Due to the reciprocating of swing arms  25 , the electromagnetic pump  20  draws a fluid into the chambers from the inlet tubes  22  and then discharges the fluid from the outlet tubes  23 . The movement of the electromagnetic pump  20  has already been illustrated in  FIGS. 2 to 7 . 
     The suction device  80  is connected to the inlet tubes  22  of the electromagnetic pump  20  and is used to draw mucus. The suction device  80  has a suction tip  81 , for inserting into a nasal cavity, and a mucus container  82 . The suction device  80  mentioned above is only used as an embodiment of the present invention and should not be used to limit the suction device of the present invention. 
     The frequency converter circuit  40  comprises a voltage reduction circuit  42  (sometimes called a “buck converter”), an oscillator circuit  43 , a bistable circuit  44  and a push-pull circuit  46 . Referring to  FIG. 24 , a circuit diagram of the above frequency converter circuit  40  as shown in  FIG. 9  according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. The voltage reduction circuit  42  transforms the 12V DC inputted by the outside DC power source  41  to 5V DC, which is supplied to each circuit, wherein the voltage reduction circuit  42  could be used to stabilize the voltage. The oscillator circuit  43  could be a Schmitt trigger oscillator circuit, which oscillates to transform a 12V DC into a single-phase oscillating signal with an oscillating frequency between 43 Hz to 66 Hz. Referring to  FIG. 19 , the oscillator circuit  43  is connected to a button  37  on a body  30 , wherein the button  37  is used to activate the oscillating circuit  43  and to adjust the oscillating frequency. The bistable circuit  44  splits the single-phase oscillating signal into a N-phase stimulus signal and a S-phase stimulus signal, both of which respectively activate the magnetism of the two side magnetic members  271  and the magnetism of the middle magnetic member  272  to alternating switch between N-phase and S-phase; accordingly, the two side magnetic members  271  and the middle magnetic member  272  are attracted or repulsed by the two magnetic members  24  respectively to force the swing arms  25  to swing in a reciprocating manner to compress or expand the hats  24  respectively. The push-pull circuit  46  amplifies the N-phase stimulus signal and the S-phase stimulus signal to force the swing arms  25  of the electromagnetic pump  20  to swing, to further improve the power of the electromagnetic pump  20 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 10 to 11 , the higher is the oscillating frequency of the oscillator circuit  43  of the frequency converter circuit  40  of the present invention, the higher is the speed of the switching between the N-phase and the S-phase of the electromagnetic device  27 . That, in turn, causes the reciprocating of the swing arms  25  to have a higher speed, a higher frequency and smaller amplitude, shown as W 1  in  FIG. 10 . Referring to  FIGS. 13 to 14 , as the swing arms  25  swing with a higher speed and frequency, the suction frequency of the electromagnetic pump  20  correspondingly increases so as to increase the suction pressure; and as the swing arms  25  swing with a smaller amplitude, the suction flow of the electromagnetic pump  20  correspondingly decreases. When adjusting the oscillator frequency of the oscillator circuit  43  to a lower frequency such as 43 Hz, the speed of switching between the N-phase and the S-phase of the electromagnetic device  27  decreases to further cause the swing arms  25  have a lower speed, lower frequency and larger amplitude, as shown as W 3  in  FIG. 12 . Due to the decrease of the speed of the swing arms  25 , the suction pressure of the electromagnetic pump  20  decreases, and due to the increase of the swing amplitude of the swing arms  25 , the suction flow of the electromagnetic pump  20  increases a lot. Therefore, when adjusting the oscillating frequency of the oscillator circuit  43  to a middle frequency such as 55 Hz, the reciprocating swinging of the swing arms  25  have a medium speed, frequency and amplitude, as shown as W 2  in  FIG. 11 . At this time, the suction pressure and flow of the electromagnetic pump  20  are medium. Therefore, the electromagnetic pump  20  could have a higher suction pressure and a lower suction flow by means of adjusting the oscillating frequency of the oscillator circuit  43  to a higher frequency; and the electromagnetic pump  20  could have a lower suction pressure and a higher suction flow by means of adjusting the oscillating frequency of the oscillator circuit  43  to a lower frequency. As mentioned above, when the mucus suction device is in use, if the patient has a lot of mucus, the electromagnetic pump  20  could be adjusted to a low frequency, i.e. the type of low suction pressure and high suction flow, and if the patient has viscous mucus or rhinolith, the electromagnetic pump  20  could be adjusted to a high frequency, i.e. the type of high suction pressure and low suction flow, in order to easily draw the viscous mucus or rhinolith out. As it could not be supposed that the mucus suction device of this preferred embodiment will be used for drawing the mucus or drawing the viscous mucus and rhinolith, when the mucus suction device is produced, the oscillator circuit  43  is set to have a low frequency or a medium frequency that the mucus suction device correspondingly has the type of low suction pressure and high suction flow or the type of medium suction pressure and medium suction flow. However, users could adjust the suction pressure to a higher one—according to their requirements. 
     Referring to  FIG. 15 , a frequency converter circuit  40  of a mucus suction device according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated, which further comprises a modulation circuit  45  generating a single-phase oscillating signal.  FIG. 25  is a circuit diagram illustrating the frequency converter circuit  40  as shown in  FIG. 15  according to the second preferred embodiment of the present invention. The N-phase stimulus signal and the S-phase stimulus signal generated in the bistable circuit  44  are mixed with the single-phase oscillating signal respectively to enhance the N-phase stimulus signal while balanced with the S-phase stimulus signal and to enhance the S-phase stimulus signal while balanced with the N-phase stimulus signal respectively, i.e. to enhance the magnetic field strength of the N-phase of the electromagnetic device  27  while balanced with the magnetic field strength of the S-phase of the electromagnetic device  27  and to enhance the magnetic field strength of the S-phase of the electromagnetic device while balanced with the magnetic field strength of the N-phase of the electromagnetic device  27  respectively. The modulation circuit  45  according to the second preferred embodiment is arranged to enhance the magnetic field strength of the N-phase of the electromagnetic device  27  while balanced with the magnetic field strength of the S-phase of the electromagnetic device  27 . Referring to  FIGS. 16 to 17 , when activate the modulation circuit  45 , switch the two side magnetic members  271  of the electromagnetic device  27  to the N-phase and switch the middle magnetic member  272  of the electromagnetic device  27  to the S-phase. As the magnetic members  26  are set to have the outside surfaces of N-phase and the inside surfaces of S-phase, the magnetic members  26  are a little attracted by the S-phase middle magnetic member  272  of the electromagnetic device  27 , which causes the swing arms  25  swing toward the middle with a lower speed and a smaller force. Accordingly, the electromagnetic pump  20  has a lower discharge pressure and a lower discharge flow. Referring to  FIG. 17 , switch the middle magnetic member  272  of the electromagnetic device  27  to the N-phase and switch the two side magnetic members  271  of the electromagnetic device  27  to the S-phase. Due to the mixing of the modulation circuit  45 , the N-phase stimulus signal is enhanced to cause the N-phase middle magnetic member  272  of the electromagnetic device  27  to have a more powerful magnetic field strength to repulse the magnetic members  26 . That in turn causes the swing arms  25  to swing outward with an increased speed and an increased force. Accordingly, the suction pressure and the suction flow of the electromagnetic pump  20  are increased. Thereby, when the modulation circuit  45  is activated, the swing arms  25  swing outward with a higher speed and a bigger force and yet swing toward the middle with a lower speed and a smaller force. The modulation circuit  45  is arranged to enhance the suction pressure of the electromagnetic pump  20 , with which the mucus suction device could easily draw mucus or rhinolith out. 
     Referring to  FIG. 18 , the electromagnetic pump  20  and the circuit board  28  of the embodiments could be contained in a body  30 . Referring to  FIGS. 19 to 20 , the modulation circuit  45  is connected to a button  37  or a keypad  38  of the body  30 . The button  37  or the keys  381 ,  382  and  383  of the keypad  38  are arranged to activate the modulation circuit  45  generate a single-phase oscillating signal and to adjust the single-phase oscillating signal. Referring to  FIGS. 18 to 20 , the body  30  has at least one negative pressure joint  33  and at least one positive pressure joint  34 . The negative pressure joint  33  is communicated with the inlet tube  22  of the electromagnetic pump  20  through a negative pressure channel  31 . The positive pressure joint  34  is communicated with the outlet tube  23  of the electromagnetic pump  20  through a positive pressure channel  32 . The suction device  80  is connected to the negative pressure joint  33  to draw mucus when the electromagnetic pump  20  is activated. The body  30  provides a receptacle for a transformer rectifier unit  50  (TRU), a battery  60  or a wire  70  of in-car cigarette lighter. Referring to  FIGS. 21 to 23 , the external DC power source  41  of the embodiment is a 12V DC power source such as a transformer rectifier unit  50 , a battery  60  or an in-car cigarette lighter, which needs to be connected to the body by a particularly wire  70 . Hence, it is very convenient for the users to use the mucus suction device of the present invention at home, in car, or in the suburbs by connecting the mucus suction device to a suitable power source. 
     It will thus be seen that the objects of the present invention have been fully and effectively accomplished. It embodiments have been shown and described for the purposes of illustrating the functional and structural principles of the present invention and is subject to change without departure from such principles. Therefore, this invention includes all modifications encompassed within the spirit and scope of the following claims.