Patent ID: 7407632

Claim:
A system for generating oxygen comprising: an outer housing with at least one open end; at least one inner sleeve sized to be contained within the outer housing, the inner sleeve having a reaction chamber for generating an oxygen gas flow; a foam breaker positioned within the reaction chamber, a membrane system in fluid communication with the reaction chamber, the membrane system adapted for filtering the oxygen gas flow, the membrane system comprising: a pre-filter positioned in a pathway of the oxygen gas flow and adapted for separating a first portion of chemical reaction particles from the oxygen gas flow, a first structural support supporting the pre-filter, the first structural support being positioned in the pathway of the oxygen gas flow and having a plurality of openings to allow for the passage of the oxygen gas flow, a hydrophobic membrane for separating a second portion of chemical reaction particles from the oxygen gas flow, the hydrophobic membrane having a pore size in the range of substantially 0.1 to 10 microns, a second structural support supporting the hydrophobic membrane, the second structural support being positioned in the pathway of the oxygen gas flow and having a plurality of openings to allow for the passage of the oxygen gas flow, a hollow structure in fluid communication with the membrane system, the hollow structure having an inlet opening and at least one exhaust opening, a humidifier system having a water containment basin wherein the at least one exhaust opening of the hollow structure is positioned inside the water containment basin, a plenum in fluid communication with humidifier system and positioned within the pathway of the oxygen gas flow; and an insulating layer interposed between and along at least a portion of the length of the outer housing and the inner sleeve.