JP2000300648A - Electron beam irradiating device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic beam irradiating device capable of irradiating an electron beam to a matter to be sterilized from two different directions through the use of one source of electron beams. SOLUTION: An electron beam irradiating device 1 is provided with a single electron beam source emitting an electron beam 2, a separating means for separating the beam 2 emitted by the electron beam source into two beams in a direction vertical to a scanning direction while scanning in the scanning direction to generate thee first electron beam and the second electron beam, a first guiding means for guiding the first electron beam to irradiate to a matter to be irradiated 16 along the first irradiating direction, and a second guiding means for guiding the second electron beam to irradiate to the matter 16 along a second irradiating direction opposite to the first irradiating direction.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electron beam irradiation apparatus for irradiating medical equipment, pharmaceuticals, sanitary goods, foods, etc. with an electron beam for the purpose of sterilization.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, sterilization of medical equipment, pharmaceuticals and the like is performed by steam heating treatment, chemical treatment with ethylene oxide gas, etc., gamma ray irradiation treatment, electron beam irradiation treatment and the like. However, the steam heat treatment has a problem that the amount of one treatment for the object to be sterilized is small and inefficient, and heat resistance equipment is required. Chemical treatment with ethylene oxide or the like poses a significant environmental health problem. Further, the gamma ray irradiation treatment requires an extremely large-scale perfect shielding facility, and the disposal of used irradiation sources becomes a problem. On the other hand, the electron beam irradiation processing has an advantage that the above-mentioned problems are less and a large amount of objects to be sterilized can be efficiently processed.

Generally, in the electron beam irradiation process, a conveyor mechanism for continuously transporting a large number of objects to be sterilized is provided in a sterilization chamber surrounded by a shielding side wall made of concrete. The conveyor mechanism travels in a complicated and meandering manner in the sterilization chamber from the entrance to the exit to the exit of the sterilization chamber, and receives an electron beam from the electron beam irradiation device on the way. Depending on the shape and properties of the object, if the object has a certain thickness, it is necessary to irradiate the object with electron beams from both sides to ensure the sterilization effect. Occurs. For this reason, in the conventional electron beam irradiation method, two electron beam irradiation devices are arranged in the transfer path of the object to be sterilized in the sterilization chamber, and the electron beam is irradiated from both sides of one object to be sterilized. ing.

[0004]

However, the electron beam irradiating apparatus itself is quite expensive, and if two such apparatuses are installed, the equipment cost for the apparatus becomes enormous. In addition, if two electron beam irradiation devices are provided at different points in the transfer path of the object to be sterilized in the sterilization chamber, particularly when the object to be irradiated includes a fluid content, the state of the content changes during the transfer. May occur. That is, after the electron beam is irradiated from a predetermined direction at the first irradiation point and the contents flow during the transfer of the irradiation object to the second irradiation point, the second irradiation point In some cases, even if the electron beam is irradiated from the opposite direction, the entire contents may not always be sufficiently irradiated with the electron beam.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and it is possible to reliably irradiate an object to be sterilized with an electron beam from two different directions using one electron beam source. It is an object to provide an electron beam irradiation device.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, in an electron beam irradiation apparatus, a single electron beam source for emitting an electron beam and an electron beam emitted by the electron beam source are scanned in a scanning direction. Separating means for generating a first electron beam and a second electron beam by splitting into two in a direction perpendicular to the scanning direction while scanning in the first direction;
A first guide means for guiding the electron beam and irradiating the object along the first irradiation direction; and guiding the second electron beam to the first object. And a second guide unit for irradiating along a second irradiation direction opposite to the irradiation direction.

According to the electron beam irradiation apparatus configured as described above, the electron beam emitted from a single electron beam source is directed in two directions while being scanned in a predetermined scanning direction, and the first and second electron beams are emitted. 2 electron beams. The first and second electron beams are guided by first and second guide means, respectively, and are irradiated onto the irradiation object from opposite directions. As a result, the object to be irradiated can be irradiated with a sufficient amount of electron beams from both directions, and sterilization can be performed reliably.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the electron beam irradiating apparatus according to the first aspect, the first guiding means and the second guiding means are arranged so that the first guiding direction and the second The object is irradiated with the first electron beam and the second electron beam at a position relatively shifted in a direction perpendicular to the irradiation direction. Thus, it is possible to prevent a portion of the first and second electron beams that is not irradiated on the irradiation object from being irradiated on the guide means on the opposite side.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the electron beam irradiation apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the separating means scans the electron beam emitted from the electron beam source in the scanning direction by applying a magnetic field. And a distribution unit for distributing the electron beam emitted from the electron beam source in two directions by applying a magnetic field. As described above, since the scanning and distribution of the electron beam can be performed by the simple configuration of the application of the magnetic field, two electron beams can be irradiated from a single beam source without increasing the cost. .

[0010] The invention described in claim 4 is the first to third aspects of the present invention.
In the electron beam irradiation apparatus according to any one of the above, the first electron beam of the electron beams emitted from the electron beam source is disposed at a branch portion of the first guide means and the second guide means And an absorbing means for absorbing a portion not separated as the second electron beam. With this absorbing means, it is possible to prevent the part of the electron beam that has not been separated from being continuously applied to the branch part of the guiding means for a long period of time.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the electron beam irradiation system, a transfer means for transferring an object to be irradiated, a single electron beam source for emitting an electron beam, and an electron beam emitted by the electron beam source Separating the laser beam into two in a direction perpendicular to the scanning direction while scanning in the scanning direction to generate a first electron beam and a second electron beam; and guiding the first electron beam. A first guide means for irradiating the object to be irradiated along a first irradiation direction, and a second guide means for guiding the second electron beam to the object to be irradiated in a direction opposite to the first irradiation direction. Second guide means for irradiating the object along the second irradiation direction, wherein the first guide means and the second guide means are relatively shifted in the transfer direction of the irradiation object. The first object with respect to the irradiation object And irradiating the child beam and said second electron beam.

According to the electron beam irradiation system configured as described above, the object to be irradiated is transported by the transfer means. An electron beam emitted from a single electron beam source is directed in two directions while being scanned in a predetermined scanning direction,
It becomes the first and second electron beams. The first and second electron beams are guided by the first and second guide means, respectively, and are applied to the transferred object from opposite directions. As a result, the object to be irradiated can be irradiated with a sufficient amount of electron beams from both directions, and sterilization can be performed reliably. In addition, since the first and second electron beams are irradiated at positions relatively shifted in the transport direction of the irradiation target, one of the beams may be irradiated on the beam emitting portion from the other guiding means. In addition, it is possible to prevent the guide means from being damaged or deteriorated by the irradiation of the electron beam.

[0013]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 to 3 show a schematic structure of an electron beam irradiation apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a front view of the electron beam irradiation device 1, and FIG. 2 is a plan view of the electron beam irradiation device 1. 3A is a left side view of the electron beam irradiation apparatus 1 as viewed in the direction of arrow X in FIGS. 1 and 2, and FIG. 3B is as viewed in the direction of arrow Y in FIGS. It is a right side view.

As shown, the electron beam irradiation apparatus 1
The electron beam 2 entering from the entrance duct 4 is separated into two electron beams, each of which is divided into two guide ducts 3a, 3
It guides to the window 14 through b, and irradiates the irradiation object 16 from above and below.

The electron beam 2 is emitted from an electron beam source (not shown), enters the inlet duct 4, and passes through the scanning / distributing magnet 6. The scanning / distributing magnet 6
It is composed of a scanning magnet and a distribution magnet. The scanning magnet applies and varies a magnetic field in the vertical direction in FIG. 1 to scan the electron beam 2 in the vertical direction as shown in FIG. A sawtooth scan voltage shown in FIG. 4 is applied to the scan magnet to generate a magnetic field.

On the other hand, the distribution magnet applies a magnetic field in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the drawing of FIG. 1 (vertical direction in FIG. 2) so that the electron beam 2 is directed to the right guide duct 3a and the left guide duct 3a.
b. A distribution voltage in the form of a rectangular wave as shown in FIG. 4 is applied to the distribution magnet, so that the electron beam 2 is moved in the directions indicated by the two arrows shown in FIG.
3b).

The electron beams 2 scanned up and down and distributed in the directions of the two guide ducts 3a and 3b are deflected by the deflecting magnets 8, 10 and 12 provided in the guide ducts 3a and 3b. As shown in FIG. 1, the inside of the guide ducts 3a and 3b is guided to the window 14 while changing the direction.

The irradiation object 16 passes between the windows 14 when passing through the transfer path 20 shown virtually in FIG.
The electron beam 2 is irradiated from above and below. Thereby, the irradiation object is sterilized. The means for transferring the irradiation object along the transfer path 20 can be constituted by, for example, a chain conveyor, a rail, or the like.

As shown in FIG. 2, the guide ducts 3a and 3b are arranged so as to be slightly shifted in the transfer direction of the irradiation object, and are configured so that the electron beams distributed by the distribution magnet pass therethrough. Have been. This has the effect of shifting the direction of the electron beam emitted from the two windows 14 to prevent the electron beam 2 emitted from one window 14 from being applied to the other window 14. That is, if the guide duct 3a,
Assuming that the electron beams 3b are not shifted from each other and are provided in the same vertical plane, the electron beam emitted from the two windows 14 is irradiated onto the irradiation target 16 from above and below in the same vertical plane. As a result, portions of the electron beam that do not hit the irradiation target 16 are irradiated on the windows 14 on the sides facing each other, which is not preferable. Therefore, the guide duct 3
The guide ducts 3a and 3b are configured so that the windows 14a and 3b are shifted in the transfer direction of the irradiation target.

However, it is preferable that the shift amount of the positions of the windows 14 be as small as possible within a range where electron beam irradiation does not occur mutually. By doing so, for example, when the irradiated object contains a fluid content, the flow, deformation, etc. of the content during transfer between the two irradiation positions are made as small as possible, and the entire content is sufficiently electron-emitted. It becomes possible to irradiate a beam.

At the branches of the guide ducts 3a and 3b, a beam absorber 5 is provided as shown in FIGS. This has a role of receiving an electron beam portion that is not completely distributed to the two guide ducts 3a and 3b by the distribution magnet, absorbs the energy, and releases it as thermal energy. This prevents the branch portions of the guide ducts 3a and 3b from being continuously irradiated with the electron beam for a long period of time, thereby preventing the branch from being damaged. In addition,
By reducing the size of the beam absorber 5, the loss of the electron beam can be reduced, and a decrease in the efficiency of using the electron beam can be prevented.

In the above embodiment, the electron beam 2 is emitted from an electron beam source (not shown) in the horizontal direction.
The example in which the electron beam is irradiated from above and below while transferring the irradiation object 16 in the horizontal direction by the transfer means has been described. In addition, similarly, an electron beam is emitted in the horizontal direction, and two electron beams are emitted from the horizontal direction (left-right direction) while the irradiation target 16 is moved up and down by a lifting mechanism such as a chain conveyor or rail. It can also be in the form.
Further, the irradiation object 16 is transferred in a horizontal direction by a transfer means such as a belt conveyor, and the electron beam source is arranged upward or downward to emit the electron beam upward or downward. Guide to irradiated object 16
Can be irradiated from the horizontal direction (left-right direction). These modifications can be determined by the structure of the production line where the electron beam irradiation apparatus according to the present invention is to be arranged.

[0024]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Since the electron beam from one electron beam source is divided into two paths and the object is irradiated from different directions, an effective sterilization process can be performed without increasing the cost. Further, the division of the electron beam into two paths can be performed by a simple and inexpensive configuration in which a magnetic field is applied by a magnet. In addition, since the electron beams emitted from two directions are emitted at positions slightly shifted from each other, they are not emitted to the irradiation units on the other side.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway front view of an electron beam irradiation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway plan view of the electron beam irradiation apparatus shown in FIG.

3 is a left side view and a right side view of the electron beam irradiation apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing voltage waveforms applied to a scanning magnet and a distribution magnet.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Electron beam irradiation device 2 ... Electron beam 3a, 3b ... Guide duct 4 ... Inlet duct 5 ... Beam absorber 6 ... Scanning / distributing magnet 8, 10, 12 ... Deflection magnet 14 ... Window 16 ... Irradiated object 20 ... Transfer Route

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A single electron beam source for emitting an electron beam, and an electron beam emitted by the electron beam source is separated into two in a direction perpendicular to the scanning direction while scanning the electron beam in a scanning direction. Separating means for generating a first electron beam and a second electron beam; guiding the first electron beam;
A first guide means for irradiating along the irradiation direction, and a guide means for guiding the second electron beam, and along the second irradiation direction opposite to the first irradiation direction on the object to be irradiated. An electron beam irradiation apparatus, comprising: a second guide unit for irradiation. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first guide unit and the second guide unit are provided on the irradiation target at positions relatively shifted in a direction perpendicular to the first irradiation direction and the second irradiation direction. The first electron beam and the second
The electron beam irradiation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the electron beam irradiation is performed. 3. The scanning device according to claim 1, wherein the separation unit scans the electron beam emitted by the electron beam source in the scanning direction by applying a magnetic field, and the scanning unit scans the electron beam emitted by the electron beam source in two directions by applying a magnetic field. The electron beam irradiation apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a distribution unit that distributes the electron beam to the electron beam. 4. The first electron beam and the second electron beam among the electron beams emitted from the electron beam source, which are arranged at a branch portion between the first guide means and the second guide means. The electron beam irradiation apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising an absorbing unit that absorbs a part that has not been separated. 5. A transfer means for transferring an object to be irradiated, a single electron beam source for emitting an electron beam, and an electron beam emitted by the electron beam source being scanned in the scanning direction, Separating means for generating a first electron beam and a second electron beam by splitting into two in a vertical direction, guiding the first electron beam, and applying a first irradiation direction to the irradiation object A first guide means for irradiating along the second electron beam, and a second guide means for guiding the second electron beam and irradiating the object to be irradiated along a second irradiation direction opposite to the first irradiation direction. Wherein the first guide means and the second guide means are arranged such that the first electron beam is moved relative to the irradiation object at a position relatively shifted in the transfer direction of the irradiation object. Irradiating a beam and said second electron beam. Electron beam irradiation system according to symptoms.