JP2557138Y2 - Steam sterilizer - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improvement in drying efficiency of an object to be sterilized, for example, in a steam sterilizer for sterilizing medical machines, clothes and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As is well known, a steam sterilizer is a device for steam-treating an object to be sterilized in a steam atmosphere, and includes a sterilization chamber for accommodating the object to be sterilized and a steam provided around the sterilization tank. A suction path including a vacuum pump and an air flow path including an air filter are connected to the sterilization chamber,
The steam chamber is used in a state in which a steam supply path for introducing steam and a steam flow path having one end connected to a sterilization tank are connected to each other. The operation is generally as follows.

[0003] That is, steam supplied from the outside is first introduced into a steam chamber to heat the sterilization chamber. Then, the vacuum step is performed by evacuating the air in the sterilization chamber by driving a vacuum pump, and then opening the solenoid valve in the middle of the steam flow path for a short time to feed the steam in the steam chamber into the sterilization chamber. to go into. After the completion of the vacuum process, the steam in the steam chamber is introduced into the sterilization chamber through the steam flow path, the sterilization chamber is filled with the steam, and the process shifts to a sterilization step of sterilizing an object to be sterilized in the inner cylinder. After that, the exhaust stroke and the drying stroke follow this,
After completion of the entire process, the object to be sterilized is removed from the sterilization room.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned drying step, the material to be sterilized having high hygroscopicity, such as medical gauze, is insufficiently dried. However, if this is dried in an atmosphere of pressurized air, the drying efficiency should be further improved.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above, and has been developed in a steam sterilizer.
An air flow path provided with an air filter device is connected to the sterilization chamber, and a pressure air flow path communicating with the compressor is connected to the air flow path upstream of the filter device.

[0006]

The drying process of the steam sterilizer according to the present invention is as follows.
The inside of the sterilization chamber is depressurized by driving a vacuum pump to eliminate moisture of the object to be sterilized. Next, the solenoid valve of the pressure air flow path is opened, and pressurized air is introduced through the air filter device, and the inside of the sterilization chamber is maintained at a predetermined pressure. After the elapse of a predetermined time, the vacuum pump is driven again to reduce the pressure in the sterilization chamber, thereby promoting the drying of the object to be sterilized.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram of a sterilizer according to the present invention. In the figure, (1) is a can body having a double can structure, in which the inside is a sterilization chamber (1a), and the outside is a steam chamber (1a) surrounding it.
Each of them is configured in b). (2) is a steam inlet connected to an external steam source.When the solenoid valve (3) and the pressure regulating valve (4) are opened, steam passes through the steam supply path (5) and enters the steam chamber (1b). It is configured to flow in.

An air inlet (6) is provided with an electromagnetic valve (7), an air filter (8), and an air flow path (1) provided with a heat exchanger (9) on the way.
0), and the other end is connected to the sterilization chamber (1a). The pressure air flow path (11) according to the present invention is connected between the solenoid valve (7) of the air flow path (10) and the air filter device (8) as shown in FIG. The end communicates with a receiver tank of a compressor (not shown), and an electromagnetic valve (12) and a pressure regulating valve (13) are provided side by side along the way.

The heat exchanger (9) is connected to a steam supply line (14) branching from the middle of the steam supply line (5), and an electromagnetic valve (15) is inserted in the middle. The discharge path (16), one end of which is connected to the bottom of the heat exchanger (9), has a steam trap
It is connected to the discharge circuit (18) via (17) and to the discharge port (20) via a check valve (19).

The first exhaust circuit (21) connected to the sterilization chamber (1a) includes a solenoid valve (22), a check valve (24) and a vacuum pump on the way.
(25) and the outlet (20) via the check valve (26).

A second exhaust circuit (23) connected to the sterilization chamber (1a) is connected to a discharge port via a solenoid valve (30) and a check valve (31).
(20) has been reached. In addition, a steam trap (3) is provided in a drain recovery path (32) branched from the middle of the second exhaust circuit (23).
3) and the check valve (34) are inserted, and the other end is the second
To the outlet (20) through the exhaust circuit (23).

On the other hand, the steam flow path (27) connected to the steam chamber (1b) is connected to the sterilization chamber (1a) via a solenoid valve (28) on the way.
It is connected to the. The discharge circuit (18) having one end connected to the bottom of the steam chamber (1b) is connected to a discharge port (20) via a steam trap (29) and a check valve (19) on the way.

The operation of the above configuration will be described sequentially with reference to the sterilization process diagram shown in FIG. (Hereinafter, it is assumed that each solenoid valve is closed unless it is explicitly indicated as open).

First, after the object to be sterilized is carried into the sterilization chamber (1a), the door at the entrance is closed.

1) Preparation Step When the solenoid valve (3) is opened and the pressure regulating valve (4) is set to a predetermined pressure, the steam is introduced from the steam inlet (2) to the steam chamber (1b) through the steam supply path (5). Steam is sent in and the sterilization chamber (1a) is preheated. The supply of steam to the steam chamber (1b) is performed throughout the entire process, and the drain condensed in the steam chamber is discharged from a discharge circuit (18) through a steam trap (29) to a discharge port (20). Is discharged to

2) Vacuum Step The solenoid valve (22) is opened, and the vacuum pump (25) is driven to discharge air in the sterilization chamber (1a) through the first exhaust circuit (21).
Next, the solenoid valve (22) is closed, and the solenoid valve (2
8) is opened for a short time, and steam is introduced from the steam chamber (1b) into the sterilization chamber (1a) through the steam flow path (27). By alternately repeating the exhaust and the introduction of the steam several times, the air contained in the object to be sterilized is sufficiently discharged, and uneven heating of steam in the subsequent sterilization step is reduced.

3) Sterilization Step After the air in the sterilization chamber (1a) has been sufficiently exhausted in the previous step, the solenoid valve (28) is opened again, and the steam chamber is passed through the steam flow path (27).
From (1b), steam is introduced into the sterilization chamber (1a). By filling the sterilization chamber with the high-temperature and high-pressure steam, various bacteria adhering to the object to be sterilized are sufficiently sterilized.

4) Evacuation Step After the end of the sterilization step, the solenoid valve (28) is closed and the supply of steam into the sterilization chamber (1a) is interrupted. Next, the solenoid valve (30) of the second exhaust circuit (23)
Is released, and the steam in the sterilization chamber (1a) is discharged from the discharge port (20).

5) Drying Step In the drying step according to the present invention, the electromagnetic valve (30) is closed following the previous exhausting step, and the electromagnetic valve (22) of the first exhaust circuit (21) is closed.
Is opened, and the inside of the sterilization chamber (1a) is depressurized to a predetermined degree of vacuum by driving the vacuum pump (25) to remove moisture from the object to be sterilized. Next, the solenoid valve (15) of the steam supply path (14) is opened to introduce steam into the heat exchanger (9), and the steam is maintained at a predetermined temperature. On the other hand, when the solenoid valve (12) of the pressure air flow path (11) communicating with the compressor is opened and the pressure regulating valve (13) is set to a predetermined pressure, the pressure air passes through the heat exchanger (9). During the process, the inside of the sterilization chamber (1a) is maintained at a predetermined pressure and at a high temperature (high-temperature and high-pressure drying), and after a lapse of a predetermined time, the electromagnetic valve is heated.
(12) and also the solenoid valve (15) are closed, and the supply of pressurized air into the sterilization chamber (1a) is interrupted. Then, the solenoid valve (22) is opened again and the vacuum pump (25) is driven to reduce the pressure in the sterilization chamber (1a),
The material to be sterilized is cooled simultaneously with the vacuum drying.

6) Removal After the drying step is completed, the solenoid valve (7) is opened, and the inside of the sterilization chamber (1a) is communicated with the outside via the air filter (8) to make the pressure equal to the atmospheric pressure. Further, the solenoid valve (3) is closed, and the supply of steam to the steam chamber (1b) is stopped. Thereafter, the door of the sterilization chamber (1a) is opened, the object to be sterilized is taken out, and the entire process is completed.

[0022]

[Effects of the invention] Since the invention was constructed as described above,
The following effects are obtained. That is, in the drying process, high-temperature pressurized air is held in the sterilization chamber at a predetermined pressure for a predetermined time, and as shown in FIG. can do. Further, the conventional drying step is performed on the vacuum side and the number of passes is repeated 5 to 7 times. However, in the drying step of the present invention, only two vacuum passes are required.
Since the number of N and OFF times is reduced, the power cost can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram of a steam sterilizer to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 shows the steam sterilizer of FIG. 1 during a sterilization operation.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a pressure change in a sterilization chamber.

FIG. 3 is a table comparing the dry weight of an object to be sterilized by experiment between the conventional drying step and the drying step of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a pressure change in a sterilization chamber during a conventional sterilization operation.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1a Sterilizer 8 Air filter device 10 Air flow path 11 Pressure air flow path

Claims (1)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] In a steam sterilizer, a sterilization chamber (1a) is provided.
And an air flow path (10) provided with an air filter device (8), and the air flow path (10) is provided upstream of the filter device (8).
A steam sterilizer, wherein a pressure air flow path (11) communicating with a compressor is connected.