JP2662632B2 - Medical waste treatment equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for efficiently sterilizing and reducing the volume of medical waste such as used hemodialyzers, used syringes, used injection needles, used gauze and used containers. Things.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In order to prevent secondary infection by infectious medical waste discharged from hospitals, dialysis facilities, etc., the Ministry of Health and Welfare's guidelines, which stipulate a method for treating such waste, have been established in the Heisei era.
It was announced on November 7, 2002, and went into effect on April 1, 1990. Accordingly, hospitals, dialysis facilities, and the like are in principle required to sterilize medical waste in the hospital or in the facility. In order to heat and sterilize medical waste, steam heating, heating with a band heater, heating with hot air circulation, high-frequency heating, and the like can be considered.

Conventionally, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-176486 discloses that a used synthetic resin syringe and injection needle are housed in a heat-resistant container, heated and melted to a predetermined temperature by an electric heater and a far infrared heater, and then sterilized. , A cooling solidification process and apparatus. In addition, the actual opening flat 1-144040
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. JP-A-2002-115139 discloses a waste heating / sterilizing apparatus in which waste is heated and sterilized by hot air, and then crushed and reduced in volume by a crusher. In addition, in Japanese Patent Publication No. 51-25470,
A plastic waste treatment apparatus is described in which plastic waste is put in a cylinder, heated and compressed by a heater built in a bottom plate and a piston, and simultaneously melted around a surface and integrally molded. Also, JP-A 1-3
Japanese Patent No. 15383 describes a device for heating and sterilizing a used disposable syringe with an electric heater provided on the side and bottom surfaces of a heating furnace and a far-infrared heater. In addition, as an example, a method is described in which a processed material is melted in a heat-resistant container, and then cooled and taken out as an integrated body including a needle. Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-263410 discloses an apparatus for heating, drying, burning and incineration of waste by microwaves.

[0004]

The steam heating has problems of wastewater generation and the regulation of pressure vessels. Heating by a band heater or the like causes local overheating and poor heat transfer. In addition, in the heating by the circulation of hot air, heat transfer is poor by mere spraying, and there is a possibility of local overheating. Further, in the high frequency heating, there is a problem that local overheating occurs depending on the material after water evaporation. In addition, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-1
In the case of processing a material composed of a plurality of plastics having different melting points, such as a hemodialyzer, using the processing method and apparatus described in Japanese Patent No. 76486, many materials that do not melt depending on the processing temperature remain. Therefore, volume reduction (molding) is insufficient. In addition, due to heating by an electric heater and a far-infrared heater, in the case of a large waste such as a hemodialyzer, local overheating is likely to occur, and harmful gases such as hydrogen chloride gas may be generated from polyvinyl chloride. Further, in the crushing method using the crusher in the waste heating / sterilizing apparatus described in Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 1-144040, the effect of volume reduction is not necessarily great, and furthermore, maintenance of the cutter of the crusher is necessary, In addition, there are inconveniences such as high noise and vibration, and need for many power sources. Further, in the apparatus for treating plastic waste described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 51-25470, sterilization is not intended at all, and since only the surface is coated with a melt, the stability of the molded product is reduced. There is a disadvantage that the sex is bad.

In the apparatus described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-315383, a large processed material such as a used hemodialyzer and containing water therein can be easily lifted only by hot air circulation. Not warm, not enough sterilized,
In addition, there are many problems such as a long processing time. further,
Since the hemodialyzer is composed of a plurality of plastics, depending on the processing temperature, some that melt and some that do not melt coexist, and the volume cannot be reduced sufficiently.
Further, in the apparatus described in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-263410, when treating a processed product composed of a plurality of plastics such as used hemodialyzers and tubes, a large amount of harmful substances such as hydrogen chloride are treated. Since gas is generated,
In addition to measures for the material of the device, a large-capacity exhaust gas treatment device is required for the treatment of exhaust gas, which makes the device complicated and large. Further, the method of reducing the volume by incineration with microwaves requires a lot of electric power, and the device itself becomes high temperature, which is not suitable for installation in a hospital or a clinic. Further, in a conventional processing apparatus using microwaves, since microwaves are applied to the entire heating chamber, a large amount of microwaves are wasted and the efficiency of heating, sterilizing, and reducing the volume of the processed material is not good. In addition to the above harmful effects, there is also a problem that the structure of the heating chamber door becomes complicated in order to prevent microwave leakage from the apparatus and maintain airtightness.

On the other hand, medical waste contains a plurality of types of plastics. For example, blood circuits (tubes, etc.),
The following results were obtained by analyzing the raw material ratios of the materials constituting the complete hemodialyzer including the syringe, the saline solution container, and the like. (1) Polyvinyl chloride 50% by weight (2) Polystyrene or polycarbonate 30% by weight (3) Cellulose or synthetic membrane 5% by weight (4) Polyethylene or polypropylene or silicone 5% by weight (5) Polyurethane and SUS 10% by weight Table 1 shows the properties of the main plastics among the above materials.

[0007]

[Table 1]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and stores medical waste in a dedicated container for treatment, forcibly flows circulating hot air only into the container, and transmits microwaves to the container. It is an object of the present invention to provide a device capable of improving heat transfer, preventing local overheating by irradiating only the inside, and reducing the volume without using a press mechanism. .

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, a medical waste treatment apparatus according to the present invention comprises a carry-in door 10, a hot air outlet 12, and a hot air inlet 14, as shown in FIG. A heating chamber 16 that can be sealed, and a hot air passage hole 2 that is housed in the heating chamber 16 and has a size that does not allow passage of microwaves.
From materials through which microwaves with zero can not be passed or absorbed
A processing container 18 made of a microwave generator 22 connected to the top of the heating chamber 16, connecting the hot air outlet 12 and the hot air inlet 14 of the heating chamber, with a hot air heater 24 and a hot air circulation blower 26 hot air A perforated plate 3 through which a microwave for passing through the circulation part and the opening 30 of the processing object container can be shielded;
2 and a perforated plate moving device 3 for moving the perforated plate 32
4 and the microwave connecting the peripheral portion 36 of the perforated plate and the wall of the heating chamber 16 which is close to and parallel to the perforated plate is not passed.
And a telescopic wall 38 made of a material.

[0010]

After the medical waste (processed material 17) is put into the processed material container 18, it is stored in the heating chamber 16. Then, the container 18 and the medical waste are heated by microwaves and circulating hot air. At this time, the circulating hot air is forced to flow only into the container 18, and at the same time, the microwave is irradiated only into the container 18. As a result, the processed material is efficiently heated, sterilized, melted or softened, and the volume of the processed material is easily reduced by the wind pressure of hot air without being pressed. After heating the medical waste, the hot air in the processing object container 18 flows out of the hot air passage hole 20 and is heated and circulated again.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the materials, shapes, relative arrangements, and the like of the components described in this embodiment are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention only to them, unless otherwise specified. This is just an example. Example 1 In FIG. 1, reference numeral 16 denotes a heatable chamber that can be sealed,
And a hot air outlet 12 at the lower part and a hot air inlet 14 at the upper part. Reference numeral 18 denotes a processing object container for storing the processing object 17, which is made of metal or the like so as not to allow microwaves to pass or be absorbed, and has a plurality of hot air passage holes 20 in a lower portion. The hot air passage hole 20 has a size that does not leak microwaves. Reference numeral 22 denotes a microwave generator, which is a waveguide 40.
Is connected to the heating chamber 16. Note that the microwave generator 22 may be directly connected to the heating chamber 16 without the waveguide 40. The hot air outlet 12 and the hot air inlet 14 of the heating chamber 16 are connected to a hot air heater 24 and a hot air circulating blower 26.
Are connected by a hot air circulation duct 28 having In addition,
Instead of the hot air circulation duct 28, a double heating chamber structure (such as a double shell) having the same function as the duct may be used.

Reference numeral 32 denotes a perforated plate for shielding the opening 30 of the processing object container, and as shown in FIG. 2, is provided with a ventilation hole 44 through which hot air passes. These ventilation holes 44 have a size that does not hinder the passage of microwaves. If the perforated plate is not made of metal or the like (made of a material that allows microwaves to pass), the ventilation holes 4
4 may be of any size. In this perforated plate 32,
Perforated plate moving device 34 for moving (elevating) the perforated plate
Are connected via a piston 52. Reference numeral 38 denotes a telescopic wall connecting the peripheral portion 36 of the perforated plate and the wall of the heating chamber 16 which is substantially parallel to and close to the perforated plate, and is formed of metal or the like so that microwaves do not pass therethrough. That is, the telescopic wall 3
8. It is necessary that the wall of the processing object container 18, the peripheral portion 36 of the perforated plate, the choke structure portion 47, and the choke structure portion mounting plate be made of a material that does not allow microwaves to pass therethrough, such as metal. The processing object container 18 was installed in the heating chamber 16, and the perforated plate 32 was moved to a predetermined position by the perforated plate moving device 34, and the peripheral portion 36 of the perforated plate and the opening 30 of the processing object container were shielded. In order to confirm this, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a device such as a limit switch 46 may be provided to set conditions for microwave irradiation. 42 is a stirrer fan for uniformly dispersing microwaves, 4
7 is a chalk structure, 48 is an induction fan, and 50 is an exhaust gas treatment device. In some cases, no induction fan is provided. In addition, instead of using the hot air circulation duct 28 for the exhaust gas outlet to the exhaust gas treatment device 50, as shown by a chain line,
It is also possible to use the upper part of the heating chamber. The case where the medical waste treatment apparatus is used vertically is described above, but it is of course possible to use the medical waste treatment apparatus horizontally.

Embodiment 2 In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of (for example, 2 to 4) pistons 52 of a perforated plate moving device 34 are arranged outside the elastic wall 38. Things.
Other configurations and operations are the same as those in the first embodiment.

[0014]

As described above, the present invention has the following effects. (1) The circulating hot air is forced to flow only into the processing container, and the microwave is irradiated only into the processing container.
The heat transfer efficiency is higher than when microwave irradiation is performed on the entire heating chamber , and the heat treatment time is shortened. In addition, since local overheating can be prevented at the same time and uniform heating can be performed, it is not necessary to raise the hot air temperature so much. Further, when performing a waste treatment including polyvinyl chloride, generation of harmful gases such as hydrogen chloride gas due to local overheating can be suppressed. (2) The microwave is irradiated only into the processing container and does not leak into the heating chamber .
It is not necessary to install a mechanism for the heating chamber at the door of the heating chamber , and the heating chamber door only needs to consider maintenance of airtightness, and the structure is simplified. (3) Shrinkage and volume reduction of the processed material are promoted by the wind pressure of the hot air that flows in forcibly.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory longitudinal sectional view showing one embodiment of a medical waste treatment apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view showing an example of a shielding structure of a perforated plate and a processing object container in the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged longitudinal cross-sectional view showing another example of the shielding structure of the perforated plate and the processing object container in the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged longitudinal cross-sectional view showing still another example of the shielding structure of the perforated plate and the processing object container in the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory longitudinal sectional view showing another embodiment of the medical waste treatment apparatus of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Loading door 12 Hot air outlet 14 Hot air inlet 16 Heating chamber 17 Processing object 18 Processing object container 20 Hot air passage hole 22 Microwave generator 24 Hot air heater 26 Hot air circulation blower 28 Hot air circulation duct 30 Opening 32 Perforated plate 34 Perforated plate 34 Device 36 Peripheral plate peripheral portion 38 Telescopic wall 40 Waveguide 42 Stirrer fan 44 Ventilation hole 46 Limit switch 47 Choke structure portion 48 Induction fan 50 Exhaust gas treatment device 52 Piston

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] An airtight heating chamber (16) having a loading door (10), a hot air outlet (12) and a hot air inlet (14).
Passing microwaves stored in the heating chamber (16)
Microwave with hot air passage hole (20) of unsized size
Container (1) made of a material through which
8), a microwave generator (22) connected to the upper part of the heating chamber (16) , and a hot air heater (24) and hot air connecting the hot air outlet (12) and the hot air inlet (14) of the heating chamber. Circulation blower (26)
A hot air circulating section provided with a micro- tube for shielding the opening (30) of the processing container;
A perforated plate (32) through which waves can pass, and a perforated plate moving device (3) for moving the perforated plate (32).
4) and do not pass microwaves connecting the peripheral portion (36) of the perforated plate and the wall of the heating chamber (16) which is close to and parallel to the perforated plate.
And a telescopic wall (38) made of a suitable material.