CN114159598B

CN114159598B - Needle-shaped throat swab tube disinfection machine based on discharge plasma

Info

Publication number: CN114159598B
Application number: CN202111223456.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 罗海云; 孙靖钧; 陆锐剑; 姜浩天; 郭云涛; 赫显; 张浩宇
Original assignee: Tsinghua University
Current assignee: Tsinghua University
Priority date: 2021-10-20
Filing date: 2021-10-20
Publication date: 2022-12-30
Anticipated expiration: 2041-10-20
Also published as: CN114159598A

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention relates to a needle-shaped pharyngeal swab tube sterilizing machine based on discharge plasma, which comprises a pulse power supply, an electrode assembly and a fixed seat, wherein the pulse power supply is connected with the electrode assembly; the electrode assembly comprises a first electrode and a second electrode, the first electrode is electrically connected with the positive electrode of the pulse power supply, and the second electrode is electrically connected with the negative electrode of the pulse power supply; be equipped with through-hole, first trompil and second trompil on the fixing base, the length direction of first trompil and the length direction of second trompil all have the contained angle with the length direction of through-hole between, first trompil and second trompil are along the circumference interval arrangement of through-hole and communicate with the through-hole respectively, and first electrode is established in first trompil, and the second electrode is established in the second trompil. The sterilizing machine provided by the embodiment of the invention has a high pathogen killing rate, effectively shortens the time required for killing pathogens, can directly generate plasma in the air in the pharyngeal swab tube by applying the electrode on the outer side of the pharyngeal swab tube during killing operation, and has the advantage of convenience and quickness in use.

Description

Needle-shaped throat swab tube disinfection machine based on discharge plasma

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of disinfection equipment, in particular to a needle-shaped pharynx swab tube disinfection machine based on discharge plasma.

Background

At present, the pretreatment method of the pharyngeal swab tube which is mostly adopted in clinic is mainly heating inactivation, and in order to ensure that detection personnel are not infected by virus, the pharyngeal swab inactivation time before detection is usually 50-60 ℃ for at least 30 minutes. After inactivation, the specimen can enter the subsequent detection process. This approach works well, however it has some bugs and drawbacks: the treatment time is long, and the efficiency is low, so that the development of a series of subsequent links is influenced. If the plasma is adopted for killing, the problem of electrode selection exists, the breakdown voltage required by the general electrode is higher, the requirement on a power supply is higher, the power supply is larger in size, the integration and the actual use are inconvenient, a large amount of plasma is quickly generated, the electrode also has certain requirement, and the rarefied plasma cannot meet the requirement of quick killing.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention is based on the discovery and recognition by the inventors of the following facts and problems: in the related art, a heat inactivation method is mostly adopted to pretreat the pharyngeal swab tube, but the method has long treatment time and low efficiency.

The present invention is directed to solving, at least to some extent, one of the technical problems in the related art. Therefore, the embodiment of the invention provides a needle-shaped pharyngeal swab tube sterilizing machine based on discharge plasma, which can effectively improve inactivation efficiency and shorten pretreatment time.

The needle-shaped throat swab tube disinfection machine based on the discharge plasma comprises a pulse power supply, an electrode assembly and a fixing seat. The electrode assembly includes a first electrode electrically connected to a positive electrode of the pulsed power supply and a second electrode electrically connected to a negative electrode of the pulsed power supply. Be equipped with through-hole, first trompil and second trompil on the fixing base, the length direction of first trompil with the length direction of second trompil all with there is the contained angle between the length direction of through-hole, first trompil with the second trompil is followed the circumference interval arrangement of through-hole and respectively with the through-hole intercommunication, first electrode is established in the first trompil, the second electrode is established in the second trompil.

The sterilizing machine provided by the embodiment of the invention can be used for quickly generating a large amount of plasmas in the pharyngeal swab tube to sterilize the samples in the pharyngeal swab tube, has a higher sterilizing rate on pathogens, and effectively shortens the time required for sterilizing the pathogens in the pharyngeal swab tube. Compared with the prior art, the disinfection machine provided by the embodiment of the invention only needs to apply the electrode on the outer side of the pharyngeal swab tube when in disinfection operation, and does not need to fill inert gas into the pharyngeal swab tube in advance, and can directly generate plasma in the air in the pharyngeal swab tube, so that the sealing performance of the pharyngeal swab tube cannot be damaged in the whole disinfection process, and the disinfection machine has the advantage of convenience in use.

In some embodiments, the pulsed power supply output has a peak voltage of no less than 3kV.

In some embodiments, the number of electrode assemblies is one; or the number of the electrode assemblies is multiple, the first electrode of each electrode assembly is electrically connected with the positive electrode of the pulse power supply, and the second electrode of each electrode assembly is electrically connected with the negative electrode of the pulse power supply.

In some embodiments, each of the first and second electrodes has a tip end and a connection end, the tip end is adjacent to the through hole compared to the connection end, a cross-sectional area of the tip end is gradually reduced in a direction toward the through hole, an end of the tip end is attached to a boundary surface between the through hole and the fixing base, and the connection end is electrically connected to the pulse power supply.

In some embodiments, the first electrode and the second electrode are both solids of revolution, and the geometric center of the cross section of the through hole is located on the extension line of the revolution axis of the first electrode, and the revolution axis of the first electrode is collinear with the revolution axis of the second electrode.

In some embodiments, the end of the tip distal to the connecting end is curved with a radius of curvature of no more than 100 microns.

In some embodiments, the anchor is an insulator.

In some embodiments, the holder is flexible.

In some embodiments, the through hole is a circular hole, and the through hole penetrates through the upper end face and the lower end face of the fixing seat.

In some embodiments, the sterilizer further comprises a housing, the pulsed power source being disposed within the housing.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a needle-like pharyngeal swab tube sterilizer based on discharge plasma in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a schematic view showing the mounting of the holder, the first electrode and the second electrode of the needle-shaped pharyngeal swab tube sterilizer using discharge plasma in fig. 1.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a first electrode of a needle-like pharyngeal swab tube sterilizer using discharge plasma in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a needle-like pharyngeal swab tube sterilizer using discharge plasma according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the holder of the needle-like pharyngeal swab tube sterilizer using discharge plasma according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a schematic view showing the mounting of the fixing base and the electrode assembly when there are two electrode assemblies in the needle-shaped pharyngeal swab tube sterilizer based on discharge plasma according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Reference numerals: 1. a pulse power supply; 2. a fixed seat; 21. a through hole; 22. a first opening; 23. a second opening; 3. an electrode assembly; 31. a first electrode; 311. a connecting end; 312. a tip; 32. a second electrode; 4. a housing; 41. a jack; 5. a pharyngeal swab tube; 6. and a wire.

Detailed Description

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are illustrative and intended to explain the present invention and should not be construed as limiting the present invention.

Referring to fig. 1 to 5, a needle-shaped pharyngeal swab tube sterilizer based on discharge plasma according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a pulse power source 1, an electrode assembly 3 and a holder 2. The electrode assembly 3 includes a first electrode 31 and a second electrode 32, the first electrode 31 is electrically connected to the positive electrode of the pulse power source 1 through a wire 6, and the second electrode 32 is electrically connected to the negative electrode of the pulse power source 1 through a wire 6. The fixing seat 2 is provided with a through hole 21, a first opening 22 and a second opening 23, the through hole 21 is used for inserting the pharyngeal swab tube 5 or other articles to be killed, an included angle exists between the length direction of the first opening 22 and the length direction of the second opening 23 and the length direction of the through hole 21, the first opening 22 and the second opening 23 are arranged along the circumferential direction of the through hole 21 at intervals and are respectively communicated with the through hole 21, the first electrode 31 is fixedly arranged in the first opening 22, the second electrode 32 is fixedly arranged in the second opening 23, and one end of the first electrode 31 and one end of the second electrode 32 face the pharyngeal swab tube 5 after the pharyngeal swab tube 5 is inserted into the through hole 21.

When the disposable pharyngeal swab tube 5 is used, the pharyngeal swab tube 5 to be treated is inserted into the through hole 21 of the fixing seat 2, the first electrode 31 and the second electrode 32 are both applied to the outer side of the tube wall of the pharyngeal swab tube 5, then the pulse power supply 1 is turned on, at the moment, intraductal discharge can be realized on the premise that the sealing performance of the pharyngeal swab tube 5 is not damaged, a large amount of plasma is rapidly generated inside the pharyngeal swab tube 5, and samples in the pharyngeal swab tube 5 are effectively killed.

As shown in fig. 2, in some embodiments, the length direction of the first opening 22 and the length direction of the second opening 23 are both at an angle of 90 degrees with respect to the length direction of the through hole 21, the first electrode 31 is located at the left side of the through hole 21, the second electrode 32 is located at the right side of the through hole 21, and the distances from the first electrode 31 and the second electrode 32 to the bottom surface of the fixing base 2 are equal.

In some embodiments, the pulse power supply 1 may be powered by 220V ac or lithium battery, and the peak voltage output by the pulse power supply 1 may be 3-6 kV or higher.

In some embodiments, the number of electrode assemblies 3 is one, as shown in fig. 1, 2, 4, and 5.

In some embodiments, the number of the electrode assemblies 3 may be two or more, as shown in fig. 6. The first electrode 31 of each electrode assembly 3 is electrically connected to the positive electrode of the pulse power supply 1, and the second electrode 32 of each electrode assembly 3 is electrically connected to the negative electrode of the pulse power supply 1; the electrode assemblies 3 can be installed at different height positions of the same fixing base 2, the amount of generated plasma is positively correlated with the number of the electrode assemblies 3, and thus the amount of generated plasma per unit time can be increased by increasing the number of the electrode assemblies 3.

In some embodiments, the material of the first electrode 31 is stainless steel, and other conductive materials such as copper and nickel may be used.

The material of the second electrode 32 may be stainless steel, copper, nickel, or other conductive material.

In some embodiments, each of the first electrode 31 and the second electrode 32 has a tip end 312 and a connection end 311, the tip end 312 is adjacent to the through hole 21 compared to the connection end 311, the cross-sectional area of the tip end 312 is gradually reduced in a direction toward the through hole 21, the end of the tip end 312 is attached to a boundary surface between the through hole 21 and the fixing base 2, and the connection end 311 is electrically connected to the pulse power source 1 through the wire 6.

The sharp ends 312 of the first electrode 31 and the second electrode 32 can enhance the distortion degree of the electric field by adopting a needle-shaped structure with one end being thick and the other end being thin, which is beneficial to reducing the breakdown voltage required for generating plasma. Since the end of the tip 312 is attached to the boundary surface between the through hole 21 and the fixing base 2, when the pharyngeal swab tube 5 is inserted into the through hole 21, the tip 312 can be attached to the outer wall of the pharyngeal swab tube 5, so that a small distance is ensured between the tip 312 of the first electrode 31 and the tip 312 of the second electrode 32, which is beneficial to further reducing the breakdown voltage required for generating plasma.

The first electrode 31 and the second electrode 32 are both revolved bodies, the geometric center of the cross section of the through hole 21 is positioned on the extension line of the revolution axis of the first electrode 31, and the revolution axis of the first electrode 31 is collinear with the revolution axis of the second electrode 32, so that the first electrode 31 and the second electrode 32 are both towards the axis of the pharyngeal swab tube 5 when the pharyngeal swab tube 5 is inserted into the through hole 21, and the generated plasma is uniformly distributed in the pharyngeal swab tube 5. In some embodiments, the first electrode 31 and the second electrode 32 are both tapered, the tip of the tapered body serves as the tip 312 of the electrode, the rotation axes of the first electrode 31 and the second electrode 32 form an included angle of 90 degrees with the length direction of the through hole 21, and when the first electrode 31 and the second electrode 32 are located in one cross section of the fixing base 2, the tip 312 of the first electrode 31 is the shortest distance from the tip 312 of the second electrode 32. The end of the tip 312 remote from the connecting end 311 is curved with a radius of curvature of no more than 100 microns, in which case a stronger electric field can be generated within the pharyngeal swab tube 5, thereby exciting the air to produce a plasma.

In some embodiments, the fixing seat 2 is made of insulating materials such as silicon rubber or polytetrafluoroethylene, the fixing seat 2 is of a circular tube structure, and the wall thickness of the fixing seat 2 is 1-3 mm. The holder 2 is an insulator to prevent the first electrode 31 and the second electrode 32 from being short-circuited, and the holder 2 is made of a flexible material to have flexibility so as to facilitate the insertion of the pharyngeal swab tube 5 into the holder 2. The through hole 21 on the fixing base 2 can be a regular polygon hole or a circular hole, and the through hole 21 penetrates through the upper end face and the lower end face of the fixing base 2, so that the fixing base 2 can be sleeved on the pipe wall of the pharyngeal swab pipe 5. When the through hole 21 is a regular polygonal hole, the diameter of the inscribed circle of the through hole 21 is the same as or close to the outer diameter of the pharyngeal swab tube 5 to be treated. When the through-hole 21 is a circular hole, the diameter of the through-hole 21 is the same as or close to the outer diameter of the pharyngeal swab tube 5 to be treated, and the diameter of the through-hole 21 is generally 5 to 15mm.

In some embodiments, the disinfection machine further comprises an insulating housing 4, the pulse power supply 1 is arranged in the housing 4, a structure for storing the pharyngeal swab tube 5 can be arranged on the housing 4, the pharyngeal swab tube 5 can be temporarily placed on the structure for storing the pharyngeal swab tube 5 when disinfection treatment is carried out, the pharyngeal swab tube 5 is prevented from being held by a worker for a long time, and the disinfection machine is convenient to use. The above-mentioned structure of depositing the pharynx swab pipe 5 can be the jack 41 of seting up on the top surface of shell 4, and the jack 41 can supply the fixing base 2 to pass through, can insert the pharynx swab pipe 5 in the jack 41 with fixing base 2 together in the in-process of carrying out the disinfection to the pharynx swab pipe 5.

In conclusion, the sterilizing machine provided by the embodiment of the invention effectively shortens the time required for sterilizing the pathogens in the pharyngeal swab tube and improves the treatment efficiency. In addition, the sterilizing machine has low requirement on a power supply, can be powered by a 220V power supply and can also be powered by a lithium battery, and is convenient for practical use. The electrode used in the sterilizer can reduce the breakdown voltage required by generating plasma, and the generated plasma can generate 99.9% of killing rate to various pathogens including coronavirus within 2min through actual measurement, so that the requirement of rapid killing of throat swab tubes is met.

In the description of the present invention, it is to be understood that the terms "central," "longitudinal," "lateral," "length," "width," "thickness," "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," "outer," "clockwise," "counterclockwise," "axial," "radial," "circumferential," and the like are used in the orientations and positional relationships indicated in the drawings for convenience in describing the invention and to simplify the description, and are not intended to indicate or imply that the referenced devices or elements must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and are therefore not to be considered limiting of the invention.

Furthermore, the terms "first", "second" and "first" are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one such feature. In the description of the present invention, "a plurality" means at least two, e.g., two, three, etc., unless explicitly specified otherwise.

In the present invention, unless otherwise expressly stated or limited, the terms "mounted," "connected," "secured," and the like are to be construed broadly and can, for example, be fixedly connected, detachably connected, or integrally formed; may be mechanically coupled, may be electrically coupled or may be in communication with each other; they may be directly connected or indirectly connected through intervening media, or they may be connected internally or in any other suitable relationship, unless expressly stated otherwise. The specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood by those skilled in the art according to specific situations.

In the present invention, unless otherwise expressly stated or limited, the first feature "on" or "under" the second feature may be directly contacting the first and second features or indirectly contacting the first and second features through an intermediate. Also, a first feature "on," "over," and "above" a second feature may be directly or diagonally above the second feature, or may simply indicate that the first feature is at a higher level than the second feature. A first feature "under," "beneath," and "under" a second feature may be directly under or obliquely under the second feature, or may simply mean that the first feature is at a lesser elevation than the second feature.

In the present disclosure, the terms "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "example," "specific example," or "some examples" and the like mean that a particular feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the present disclosure. In this specification, the schematic representations of the terms used above are not necessarily intended to refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples. Furthermore, various embodiments or examples and features of different embodiments or examples described in this specification can be combined and combined by one skilled in the art without contradiction.

Although embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described above, it is understood that the above embodiments are exemplary and should not be construed as limiting the present invention, and that variations, modifications, substitutions and alterations can be made to the above embodiments by those of ordinary skill in the art within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A needle-shaped throat swab tube disinfection machine based on discharge plasma is characterized by comprising:

a pulse power supply;

an electrode assembly including a first electrode electrically connected to a positive electrode of the pulsed power source and a second electrode electrically connected to a negative electrode of the pulsed power source;

the electrode structure comprises a fixed seat, a first electrode and a second electrode, wherein the fixed seat is provided with a through hole, a first opening and a second opening, an included angle is formed between the length direction of the first opening and the length direction of the second opening and the length direction of the through hole, the first opening and the second opening are arranged at intervals along the circumferential direction of the through hole and are respectively communicated with the through hole, the first electrode is arranged in the first opening, and the second electrode is arranged in the second opening;

the first electrode and the second electrode are provided with tip ends and connecting ends, the tip ends are adjacent to the through holes compared with the connecting ends, the cross sectional areas of the tip ends are gradually reduced along the direction of the through holes, the end parts of the tip ends are attached to the boundary surfaces between the through holes and the fixed seats, and the connecting ends are electrically connected with the pulse power supply.

2. The discharge plasma-based needle-shaped pharyngeal swab tube sterilizer of claim 1, wherein the peak voltage output by the pulsed power supply is no less than 3kV.

3. The discharge plasma-based needle-shaped pharyngeal swab tube sterilizer of claim 1, wherein the number of electrode assemblies is one; or the number of the electrode assemblies is multiple, the first electrode of each electrode assembly is electrically connected with the positive electrode of the pulse power supply, and the second electrode of each electrode assembly is electrically connected with the negative electrode of the pulse power supply.

4. The discharge plasma-based needle-shaped pharyngeal swab tube sterilizer of claim 1, wherein the first electrode and the second electrode are both revolved bodies, the geometric center of the cross section of the through hole is located on the extension line of the revolution axis of the first electrode, and the revolution axis of the first electrode is collinear with the revolution axis of the second electrode.

5. The discharge plasma based needle pharyngeal swab tube sterilizer of claim 1, wherein an end of said tip distal to said attachment end is curved with a radius of curvature not exceeding 100 microns.

6. The discharge plasma-based needle-like pharyngeal swab tube sterilizer of claim 1, wherein said holder is an insulator.

7. The discharge plasma-based needle-like pharyngeal swab tube sterilizer of claim 6, wherein said holder is flexible.

8. The discharge plasma-based needle-shaped throat swab tube sterilizer as set forth in claim 1, wherein the through holes are circular holes, and the through holes penetrate through upper and lower end surfaces of the fixing base.

9. The discharge plasma-based needle pharyngeal tube sterilizer of any one of claims 1 to 8, further including a housing, said pulsed power source being disposed within said housing.