JP3736587B2 - Cleaning and disinfection unit - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a device for cleaning and sterilizing medical equipment used in a medical institution such as a hospital, and relates to a technique for providing a unit that can automatically perform almost all processes necessary for cleaning and sterilization using a single device.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, this type of washing and sterilization equipment often performs necessary processes such as pre-cleaning, washing, sterilization, surface treatment with chemicals, draining and drying, etc., by a single machine for each process. For example, the washing function is similar to that of a dishwasher. There are devices having a structure in which cleaning water is ejected from a nozzle by the above method, devices having an object to be cleaned immersed in a water tank and cleaning using ultrasonic waves, and devices having some combined functions. For example, these devices are not only time-consuming to transport by hand when cleaning and sterilizing surgical equipment, but also have many problems such as adhesion of germs and infection of workers, and more space is required. The inconvenience of was remarkable.
[0003]
In recent years, there has also appeared an apparatus that connects the processes of immersion pre-cleaning, ultrasonic cleaning, rinsing, hot water sterilization, and drying with conveyors and other conveyors, but this has insufficient cleaning capability. In addition, since a wide variety of sterilized objects to be cleaned are treated uniformly, there is little room for selection of process contents and inconvenience in use, the area of the installation space is particularly large, and the price is high. Therefore, only a few large hospitals could be installed.
[0004]
In addition, with the recent strengthening of hygiene standards, the low level of cleaning and sterilization by the above-mentioned conventional techniques becomes a problem, and even if treated with conventional equipment, it is difficult to reuse hygiene with, for example, syringes, test tubes, scissors, etc. Therefore, a lot of equipment that was thrown away by one use was a waste of money.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
There are many types of devices according to the prior art, and they are actually used. However, there are many problems as described above, and for the improvement of recent hygiene ideas and the strengthening of hospital infection prevention measures The technical content was not enough.
[0006]
Therefore, it is intended to automate all processes together with improving the level of cleaning and sterilization, and to save labor, save space, prevent secondary infection, improve process selectivity, reduce equipment costs and use costs. In order to provide a cleaning and sterilization unit that meets the purpose, a mechanism that automatically operates all the processes that were conventionally required in a main body with a relatively small installation area, and has not been put into practical use in the prior art. It is an object of the present invention to add a powerful cleaning function and to improve the sterilizing ability and to have a device having a number of selection functions according to the object.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention of claim 1 comprises a rack for placing a bag for storing the sterilized material to be cleaned, and this rack has an opening having a door provided in a part of the main body of the cleaning sterilization unit. The cleaning and sterilization unit main body is provided with a jet water flow supply device from the top and side surfaces and a supply device for detergents and chemicals to this water flow for processing the sterilized material to be cleaned. A single water tank is provided in the main body of the cleaning and sterilization unit to be submerged for a predetermined time that can be selected, and this water tank can be supplied and drained according to a predetermined automatic work process that can be selected. A series of selectable cleaning and sterilization processes, including a function of generating ultrasonic waves, a function of supplying detergents and chemicals to submerged water, and a function of controlling the temperature of submerged water to over 90 degrees Celsius. , Pre-washing with sterilized water, water jet cleaning, ultrasonic cleaning, heat sterilization, rinsing and finishing rinse with clean water such as pure water from a separate supply device. If necessary, after finishing the chemical treatment for anti-rust lubrication purpose, the sterilized product to be cleaned can be dried by hot air from the hot air dryer installed in the main body of this cleaning sterilization unit, and all these processes are automatically performed. The present invention is characterized in that a sensor, an electronic control device, and a main body having the above functions are combined into a single body.
[0008]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the bag for storing the sterilized material to be cleaned or the rack for mounting the bag is used for the cleaning and sterilization unit from a mobile carrier such as a rack or a cart on which the bag is loaded. It is characterized in that a loading / unloading device such as a conveyor can be added to the unit main body so that it can be moved into and out of the processing chamber.
[0009]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, cleaning water is supplied to the water tank for a certain period of time in parallel with or independently of the cleaning action such as ultrasonic cleaning during the rack submerged cleaning process. It is characterized by the addition of a flushing function that drains water from the overflow pipe.
[0010]
The invention of claim 4 is characterized in that in any one of claims 1 to 3, a sterilization function enhancing device such as ultraviolet irradiation or ozone or ozone water utilization device is added.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the ultrasonic generator according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the ultrasonic wave is transmitted so that the ultrasonic waves face each other at two locations of the water tank in which the sterilized material to be cleaned is submerged. It is installed and operates while one ultrasonic generator is in operation so that the other ultrasonic generator stops operating, and this operation is repeated alternately for a certain period of time.
[0011]
A sixth aspect of the present invention is the apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein the water tank for submerging the rack for a selectable predetermined time is provided with a door on a side surface and the rack is taken in and out. It is characterized by making it possible.
The invention according to claim 7 is characterized in that, in the apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, a device for generating bubbles or water flow to be supplied to the water tank is added.
[0012]
According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the apparatus according to any one of the first to seventh aspects, the rack is provided with a rotary or fixed radial jet water flow injection pipe, and the water discharge pipe of the jet water flow supply device shown in claim 1 The jet pipe inlet is communicated only during a necessary period, and a jet water flow is discharged to each stage required by the rack.
The invention according to claim 9 is the one according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the rack on which the basket for storing the sterilized material to be cleaned is provided with a mechanism that moves up and down or swings according to a control program. It is characterized by this.
[0013]
Operation and effect of the invention
According to the first aspect of the present invention, a single unit can efficiently handle a wide variety of sterilized items to be cleaned such as surgical equipment, anesthesia equipment, internal organ inspection equipment, slippers, etc. used in medical institutions. The cleaning process incorporates both a cleaning action with a jet water stream that has a high cleaning effect on relatively large deposits and an ultrasonic cleaning action by immersing an object to be cleaned that is effective against fine dirt. The first feature is that the cleaning effect is made more reliable.
[0014]
Next, the second feature is that detergent, rinse agent, and other chemicals can be supplied to both water for jet water flow and water for immersion baths, and the water used for both is clean water such as city water and pure water. In addition, it can be switched automatically according to the process, and further equipped with a water heating device, especially the water in the immersion tank can be heated to 90 degrees Celsius or more, so it is more reliable than sterilization by high-temperature jet water flow and pre-cleaning It is possible to respond appropriately to each process from cleaning to sterilization, rinsing and chemical treatment.
[0015]
The third feature is that the device main unit and the electronic control unit are integrated so that each process program and process content can be selected, and the final drying process can be processed automatically without touching the hands. The treatment of a wide variety of sterilized items to be cleaned is convenient and hygienic. The selected contents and the progress of the process can be displayed on a display provided in a part of the integrated device. Remote control and remote display can also be installed.
[0016]
The fourth feature is that the aquarium can supply and drain according to the program, so that only one unit can be used for various cleaning, sterilization, rinsing, and chemical treatment, and the device is small and simple, requiring less installation space. .
[0017]
According to the invention of claim 2, as a means for carrying out the putting in and out of the washing sterilization unit into the washing and sterilization unit accurately and labor-savingly and hygienically, for example, a transporting device such as a roller conveyor is installed in the washing and sterilization unit. It is characterized by having a main body structure that can be connected to the entrance to the processing chamber.
[0018]
According to the invention of claim 3, since a so-called running water cleaning method may be appropriate depending on the type of sterilized material to be cleaned, an overflow treatment pipe is provided in the water tank so that it can be washed with running water for a certain period of time. It is also an effective means for preventing contamination of other objects to be treated with respect to the treatment of adhering substances of special pathogens of infectious diseases.
[0019]
According to the invention of claim 4, when there is a need to strengthen the sterilizing ability such as adhesion of special viruses, an ultraviolet irradiation device is added as a supplementary function of sterilizing treatment with hot water immersion and hot air, or ozone or ozone water. A sterilizing function by a processing mechanism and chemicals is added.
[0020]
According to the invention of claim 5, in the case of immersion cleaning by ultrasonic waves, depending on the shape of the object to be cleaned and the state of the cleaning basket, there are places where the ultrasonic waves are difficult to reach, and thus the cleaning effect is partially weakened. This is an invention aimed at obtaining a more effective cleaning action by attaching a large number of ultrasonic generators to a water tank for cleaning and allowing each of the operations to be individually selected.
[0021]
According to the invention of claim 6, the water tank is provided with a door so that a basket containing the sterilized material to be cleaned and a rack on which the basket is placed can be directly taken in and out of the water tank. The pre-cleaning, jet water flow cleaning, final drying process, etc. are performed without stretching water in the water tank by jet water flow from the direction, but in the main process in the series of cleaning and sterilization processes, water is put into the water tank, A process such as cleaning and sterilization including ultrasonic cleaning is performed.
[0022]
Therefore, the movement according to the rack process is almost unnecessary, and the size of the unit can be reduced. In addition, since the position of the water tank itself can be provided in the upper part of the unit body, element members such as water supply / drainage pipes and automatic valves for the water tank can be installed in the lower part of the water tank, which not only saves space but also facilitates maintenance and inspection work. It has the effect of becoming.
[0023]
According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the cleaning effect in the water tank is further increased, and in particular, bubbles or the pressure of the supplied water is used or provided in the water tank in order to remove the slightly large filth that is difficult to remove with ultrasonic waves. The water flow collides with equipment to be cleaned by a water flow generator such as a pulsator.
[0024]
According to the invention of claim 8, a jet jet supply pipe provided with a large number of nozzles capable of generating a jet of rotary or fixed radial in the rack is provided, and a jet jet supply pipe provided on the inner surface of the unit The outlet of the nozzle and the inlet of the injection pipe are configured to communicate with each other only during a necessary period by the rack moving device, so that the jet water flow is ejected to each necessary stage of the rack. A larger cleaning effect can be expected for a cleaning object combined with a cleaning effect in a water tank.
[0025]
According to the invention of claim 9, the rack is provided with a mechanism that moves up and down or swings according to a control program according to the position of the water tank and the shape of the sterilized object to be cleaned, thereby ensuring the immersion in the water tank. The improvement of the cleaning effect can be expected by swinging.
[0026]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 1 is a front view showing a cross section of one embodiment of the cleaning and sterilizing unit of the present invention. FIG. 2 is also a side view showing a state where water is not contained in the water tank. FIG. 3 is a side view of the water tank.
The rack 2 on which the basket 1 for storing the sterilized material to be cleaned is inserted into the cleaning / sterilizing unit main body through the opening 4 having the door 23 provided in a part of the cleaning / sterilizing unit main body 3 by the rail 5 for insertion / extraction. When the operation switch is pressed, the door is closed and the cleaning and sterilization process is started. The cleaning and sterilization process and program can be selected within a predetermined range by a selection button provided in the control unit 6, but as a typical method, first, the water supply valve 7 is opened by receiving an electronic signal, and the valve 7 and the temperature adjustment function The sterilized material to be cleaned is pre-cleaned by the jet nozzles 12 and 12 'from the jet water flow supply device 10 on the upper side and the jet water flow supply device 11 from the side through the heater 8 having the above. The water temperature at this time is suitably 40 to 50 degrees Celsius in consideration of blood adhesion.
[0027]
Next, cleaning with a jet water flow is performed. At that time, detergent is supplied from the detergent supply device 13 by a control program, and the cleaning liquid can be circulated and washed through the three-way switching valve 43 by the pump 38. The pre-cleaning and cleaning steps are not limited to one time, and each time the drain valve 9 is opened to drain the sewage. After this step, the valve 7 is opened again and water is supplied to the water tank 15 until the sensor 14 is activated. As shown in FIG. This water level should be at least high enough to submerge the basket 1 containing the sterilized material to be cleaned. Subsequently, an ultrasonic generator 19 capable of individually selecting the operation while heating the water in the water tank from the steam pipe 16 through the valve 17 by steam heating by the water tank heater 18 or a heating body such as an electric heater (not shown). , 19 '. This ultrasonic wave usually has a frequency selection function such as 28, 45, and 100 HZ. At that time, the detergent from the detergent supply device 13 can be automatically supplied to the water in the aquarium as necessary. There may be one ultrasonic generator.
[0028]
It is also possible to carry out the water tank cleaning without increasing the water temperature by setting the program.
After the washing in the water tank is completed, the drain valve 9 is opened to drain once, and the water is supplied to the water tank again, and the rinsing is performed two to three times in combination with part or all of the washing process. In the final step, it is desirable to perform rinsing by opening the valve 20 and supplying clean water such as pure water. At this time, chemicals for the purpose of improving sterilization power and lubricating rust prevention can be introduced from the chemical supply device 21. After that, the water temperature in the water tank is controlled to 90 degrees Celsius or higher, usually 97 degrees Celsius, and the sterilization process is performed for 3 to 5 minutes. After this process is completed, the valve 9 is opened to drain water, and then hot air is generated. Hot air is sent from the vessel 22 to move to the drying process. When rinsing in the water tank is insufficient, a program is set in advance, and in the state shown in FIG. 2, it is possible to rinse with hot jet water flow and dry with hot air, in which case pure water for rinsing, etc. It is also possible to supply the above chemical mixed with clean water. When the whole process is completed, the door opens and the bag is taken out.
[0029]
In FIG. 2, the door 23 is configured to have a water-sealed structure when the door is closed with respect to the water tank 15 in the case of the structure according to claim 6, wherein the water tank is at the upper part of the unit body as shown in the figure. Even if some water leaks from the door during the operation such as washing, the structure is such that it can be discharged from the lower water pan (not shown) to the sewage connected to the drain pipe.
Although not shown, when the water tank is provided in the lower part of the unit main body and the rack 23 is moved downward and can be submerged in the water tank after the treatment with the jet water flow, the door 23 is provided with the jet water flow. The water adhering to the door inner surface is dripped into the water tank together with the water from the jet water flow. After completion of the submerged cleaning sterilization operation, the rack moves upward, and it is also possible to perform rinsing, chemical treatment and drying operations. A configuration is also possible in which the rack can be swung by the swinging device 24 during the cleaning operation.
[0030]
Naturally, the opening / closing operation of the door 23 is accompanied by the opening / closing operation of the door to / from the processing chamber. However, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the conveyor 25 shown in FIG. is there. Further, the door 23 and the conveyor 25 are not limited to one front position as shown in FIG. 2, and for example, a configuration in which a door is provided at the rear so that the rack can pass through the processing chamber is also conceivable.
[0031]
In FIG. 1, as a washing method in the water tank, depending on the application, the wash-out washing shown in claim 3 is selected by a program, and during this operation, water can be constantly supplied and drained from the overflow pipe 26 at the upper part of the water tank. As a configuration.
Moreover, the ultraviolet irradiation tube 27, the ozone generator 28, and the ozone water supply device 29 shown in claim 4 can be installed as needed.
[0032]
The inventions described in claims 5 and 6 have already been clarified by the configuration described above.
The embodiment of the invention of claim 7 can be effectively implemented by the water flow generation unit 30 and the bubble generation unit 31 shown in FIGS.
[0033]
The embodiment of the invention of claim 8 can be realized by a configuration in which the jet water flow ejection pipe 32 of FIG.
In FIG. 1, 34 is an exhaust pipe, 35 is an air filter, 36 is a switching valve for enabling circulation of hot air, and 37 is a blower. 39 is a supply pipe for clean water such as pure water, 40 is an air supply pipe for generating bubbles, 41 is a filter, 42 is a bubble open / close valve, 44 is an intermediate valve, 45 is an open / close valve for supplying ozone water, and 46 is a water tank. , 47 is a drain pipe, and 48 is a water pipe.
[0034]
The embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various embodiments are conceivable within the scope of the concept shown in the claims.
For example, the rack is not limited to two stages, and can be configured in one to multiple stages, and the shape of the basket for storing the sterilized material to be cleaned may be changed from the illustrated one. In addition, the type of water used for washing, sterilization and rinsing, the contents of the process, and the program of the process can be appropriately selected as necessary.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a front view showing a cross section of a cleaning and sterilizing unit. FIG. 2 is a side view showing a cross section of the cleaning and sterilizing unit. FIG. 3 is a side view showing mainly a cross section of a water tank section.
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Saddle in which to-be-cleaned material is put 2 ... Rack 3 ... Cleaning sterilization unit main body 6 ... Control part 8 ... Heater 14 ... Water level sensor 15 ... Water tank 19, 19 '... Ultrasonic generator 22 ... Hot air generator 23 ... Door 24 ... rack peristaltic device 25 ... conveyor 26 ... overflow pipe 28 ... ozone generator 30 ... water flow generating section 31 ... bubble generating section 32 ... jet water flow jet pipe 33 ... jet water flow supply pipe

Claims (9)

There is a rack on which a basket for storing the sterilized material to be cleaned is placed. This rack can be freely inserted and removed from an opening having a door provided in a part of the main body of the cleaning and sterilizing unit. A jet water flow supply device from above and from the side for processing the washed sterilized product, and a supply device for detergents and chemicals to this water flow, and one water tank for submerging the rack for a predetermined time selectable Installed in the main body of the washing and sterilization unit, this water tank is configured to supply and drain water according to a predetermined automatic work process that can be selected. A function that can be supplied and a function that can control the temperature of submerged water to be heated to 90 degrees Celsius or more, and a series of selectable washing and sterilization drying processes, that is, pre-washing water to be washed with water, jet water flow Cleaning by ultrasonic, ultrasonic cleaning, heat sterilization, rinsing and final rinsing with pure water or distilled water supplied from a clean water supply device , and then covered with hot air from a hot air dryer installed in the main body of the cleaning sterilization unit A cleaning and sterilizing unit comprising a sensor, an electronic control unit, and a main body having the above-mentioned functions for making the cleaning sterilized product dry and automatically performing all of these processes. 2. The bag according to claim 1, wherein the bag for storing the sterilized material to be cleaned or the rack for mounting the bag can be moved into and out of the processing chamber of the cleaning and sterilization unit from a mobile carrier such as a rack or a cart loaded with the bag. cleaning and sterilizing unit, characterized in that the unloading conveyor apparatus has a configuration you added to the unit body like. 3. The apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the cleaning water is supplied to the water tank for a certain period of time in parallel with or independently of the cleaning action such as ultrasonic cleaning during the rack submerged cleaning process, and is discharged from the overflow pipe provided in the water tank. A washing and sterilizing unit characterized by adding a flushing function. 4. A cleaning and sterilizing unit according to claim 1, further comprising a sterilizing function enhancing device such as an ultraviolet irradiation device or ozone or ozone water using device. The ultrasonic generator according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the ultrasonic generator is installed in at least two places of the water tank in which the sterilized material to be cleaned is submerged so that the ultrasonic waves are transmitted to the water in the water tank. A cleaning and sterilizing unit characterized in that the operating state of the generator can be individually selected. The thing in any one of Claims 1-5 WHEREIN: In one water tank for submerging the said rack for the predetermined time which can be selected, the door was provided in the side surface, and it was made possible to take in and out the rack. Cleaning and sterilizing unit. The thing in any one of Claims 1-6 WHEREIN: The apparatus which generate | occur | produces the bubble supplied to the said water tank and the water flow was added. 8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rack is provided with a rotary or fixed radial jet water jet pipe, and the water jet pipe and the jet pipe inlet of the jet water feed device shown in claim 1 are required. The cleaning and sterilizing unit is characterized in that it is communicated only for a short period of time and a jet water stream is discharged to each stage required by the rack. 9. The cleaning and sterilizing unit according to claim 1, wherein the rack on which the basket for storing the sterilized material to be cleaned is provided with a mechanism that moves up and down or swings according to a control program. .

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