JP4385184B2 - Electric loop sterilizer - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an electric loop sterilizer for sterilizing a loop, an ace, and a needle (hereinafter referred to as a loop) used in an operation for spreading a sample of microorganisms or the like on an agar medium in an experiment for culturing microorganisms.

  In experiments dealing with microorganisms, various loops, azes, and needles (hereinafter abbreviated as loops) are used to spread a sample such as microorganisms on an agar medium. In order to prevent cross-contamination between samples, the loop once used is usually flame-sterilized with a gas burner and reused in many cases. When the experimental sample is infectious, when it is manually operated, it is necessary to perform this sterilization operation in the safety cabinet 1 to prevent the operator from being infected with air. . As shown in FIG. 1 a, the safety cabinet 1 encloses the contaminated aerosol 5 generated from the infectious experimental sample 4 in the work space 6 of the safety cabinet 1 by the air flow balance between the inflow air 2 and the supply air 3 that is precisely adjusted. . In FIG. 1a, 7 is a circulation fan, 8 is an exhaust filter, 9 is an air supply filter, 10 is a front panel, and 11 is purified exhaust.

  However, if the sterilization operation using the gas burner 12 is performed in the safety cabinet 1, the balance of the wind speed in the work space 6 cannot be maintained due to the strong upward air flow 13 caused by the flame as shown in FIG. 1b. As a countermeasure, a loop-specific sterilizer 15 using the electric heater 14 shown in FIG. 2 is commercially available. In this sterilizer 15, a heater 14 is disposed around a bottomed cylindrical crucible insulator 16, the outer periphery thereof is surrounded by a heat insulating material 17, and the metal portion 21 of the loop 20 is inserted from the loop insertion port 18 of the cylindrical body opening. And heated. However, it takes about 10 minutes after the power is turned on until the heater 14 reaches a sterilizable temperature (about 800 ° C), and the power cannot be turned off during the experiment requiring sterilization, and it consumes about 150W of electricity at all times. Will do. Therefore, a sterilizer with low power consumption that can sterilize the loop in a short time without disturbing the wind speed balance of the safety cabinet is required.

In addition, there is a screening device (see Patent Documents 1 and 9) that holds a plurality of fishhook needles continuously and generates heat by energizing these fishhook needles. Cannot be used with.
JP 2002-171995 A

In view of the above points, the present invention provides a sterilizer that does not disturb the air flow balance in the work chamber without causing an upward air flow during sterilization even when used in a safety cabinet, such as when a gas burner is used. With the goal.
Another object of the present invention is to reduce power consumption by reducing the time during which voltage is applied to the loop for heat sterilization.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a movable electrode is provided at one end of a block body supported in a swingable manner via a movable electrode support body, a clamp is provided at the other end of the block body, and the block A fixed electrode is provided in the swing trajectory of the clamp when the body swings, a metal loop is inserted between the movable electrode and the clamp, and the block and the fixed electrode are made of metal by swinging the block body. The loop is sandwiched and the metal loop is heated by energizing between both electrodes.
In the invention described in claim 2, the movable electrode support provided on the block body can adjust the distance between the movable electrode supported by the support and the clamp provided on the block body.
In the invention according to claim 3, the block body is provided with a spring that urges the block body in a direction in which the clamp provided on the block body separates from the fixed electrode, thereby pressing the block body to energize the loop. Unless the pressure is manually applied, the block body swings in a direction away from the clamp and the fixed electrode to cut off current and prevent overheating.

A movable electrode is provided at one end of the block body supported so as to be swingable via a movable electrode support, and a clamp is provided at the other end of the block body. A fixed electrode is provided inside, a metal loop is inserted between the movable electrode and the clamp, and the block body is swung to sandwich the metal loop between the clamp and the fixed electrode. Heat the metal loop. In addition, since the movable electrode support provided on the block body can adjust the distance between the movable electrode supported by the support and the clamp provided on the block body, it can be used in a safety cabinet during sterilization. Ascending airflow is not generated in the cabinet, and the airflow balance of the work space in the cabinet is not disturbed.

  Moreover, compared to the constant power consumption of about 150 W of the commercial electric heater sterilizer, the sterilizer of the present invention consumes 30 to 70 W for only about 3 seconds while the voltage is applied to the loop. Since the voltage applied to both electrodes can be kept at a low voltage (5 V at the maximum), there is no electric shock even if the operator touches between the electrodes.

The sterilizer of the present invention applies current directly to the loop to generate heat, but the loop has a small heat capacity, so the ambient air temperature hardly changes and almost no updraft is generated. Will not disturb the balance.
In addition, the power used is heat sterilized with an electric capacity of about 30 to 70 W, and the sterilization time is about 3 seconds, which has the effect that the power consumption is extremely small.

  The best embodiment of the present invention, electric loop sterilizer 30, will now be described with reference to the drawings. 3 is a plan view of the electric loop sterilizer 30, FIG. 4 is a front view thereof, FIG. 5 is a left side view thereof, FIGS. 6A and 6B are side views of the loop 31 and the loop folder 32, and FIG. It is a side view of the state put in the case.

  The electric loop sterilizer 30 supports a block body 35 by a shaft 36 on a support arm 34 erected on a base 33 so as to be swingable. Reference numeral 37 denotes a movable electrode support, which has a length adjusting long hole 38 on the longitudinal center line, and is attached to the block body 35 by knurling 39, 39 inserted into the long hole 38 and screwed into the block body 35. Adjustable and fixed. The position of the movable electrode support 37 can be changed on the block body 35 by loosening the knurling 39.

At the upper end of the movable electrode support 37, a movable electrode 40 whose tip is opened in a V shape for receiving the loop holder 32 is provided.
An L-shaped clamp 41 is provided on the upper surface of the lower end of the block body 35. Reference numeral 42 denotes a fixed electrode, which is provided on the base 33 in an inverted U-shape. An upper horizontally extending portion 42a is positioned above the L-shaped clamp 41, and the block body 35 pivots counterclockwise in FIG. Sometimes, the clamp 41 comes into contact with the horizontally extending portion 42a of the electrode 42 from its lower surface. The block body 35 is always urged by the spring 43 so as to pivot in the clockwise direction in FIG. 5, and the clamp 41 and the horizontal portion 42a of the fixed electrode are kept apart.

The loop sterilizer 30 of the present invention interposes the loop 31 between the movable electrode 40 and the fixed electrode 42, and sterilizes the heat by energizing the loop 31, but the movable electrode 40 and the fixed electrode 42 are connected to each other. The voltage to be loaded can be switched by the control circuit 51 shown in FIG. A general commercial power source is input to the power source, and after full-wave rectification to DC 141V by a diode D52 and a capacitor C53, it is supplied to a DC 5V power circuit 54 to create a voltage of 2.5 to 5V to be loaded between the electrodes. A thin loop with little electrical resistance is likely to generate heat, and a voltage of about 3V is preferable. In the case of this loop, the signal of the high / medium / low switch 55 is inputted to the output control circuit 56, and the voltage between the fixed electrode 42 and the movable electrode 40 is fully opened (5V) / 70% (3.5V), respectively. Equivalent) / 50% (corresponding to 2.5V) does not cause heat fusing. Although this electric sterilizer is a DC circuit in order to reduce the size of the apparatus, the AC sterilizer can be sterilized in the same manner by controlling about 5V between the electrodes.
Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the current flowing between the electrodes is controlled within 15 A by a circuit protector (overcurrent breaker) 57 in order to prevent thermal fusing due to overcurrent of the loop during sterilization. If it exceeds 15A, the electricity is cut off instantly.

When the electric loop sterilizer 30 of the present invention is used, the movable electrode support 37 is moved with respect to the block 35 according to the length of the loop 31 to be sterilized by loosening the screw 39, and the metal portion at the tip of the loop holder 32 is used. Is positioned within the V-shape of the movable electrode 40 so that the tip of the loop 31 contacts the clamp 41 provided at the end of the block 35. Then, the block body 35 is pressed by hand in the direction of the arrow against the pulling force of the spring 43 with the feeling that the loop folder 32 is pushed into the V-shape of the movable electrode 40, and in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. When the pivot 41 is rotated, the clamp 41 is lifted, and the tip portion of the loop 31 in contact with the clamp 41 is sandwiched between the clamp 41 and the horizontal portion 42 a of the fixed electrode 42 as the clamp 41 rotates. An electric circuit is generated between the fixed electrode 42 and the movable electrode 40, and the loop 31 is energized to generate heat and turn red. When the state of the color change is seen and the loop folder 32 is pressed against the movable electrode, the block body 35 is rotated in the clockwise direction by the pulling force of the spring 43, the clamp 41 is released from the contact with the fixed electrode 42, and the energization is released. Is done. As described above, the present invention has a mechanism that prevents energization for a long time due to the loop being left behind, and prevents the loop from being melted.
In the above operation, in order to tip the loop 31 by the clamp 41 and the fixed electrode 42 is firmly clamped, it is possible to maintain the current even if caused slight rust loop 31.

Next, the relationship between the heat generation time of the loop 31 and the required power will be described.
Each loop is brought into contact with the electrode of the prototype electric burner, the necessary voltage that generates heat within about 3 seconds and the current at that time are measured with the voltage (current) meter shown in FIG. W) was calculated. The measurement results are shown in Table 1 (voltage 3V) and Table 2 (voltage 5V).

  When the sterilizer 30 of the present invention is placed in the safety cabinet 1, it is preferably placed in the case and placed in the corner of the work space as shown in FIG.

a is a cross-sectional view showing the work space of the safety cabinet in a state where the airflow balance is precisely adjusted, and b is a cross-sectional view showing the work space of the safety cabinet in a state where the airflow balance is disturbed. Sectional drawing of the sterilizer only for loops using an electric motor. The top view of this invention sterilizer. The front view. The left side view. A and B are side views of the loop supported by the loop holder. The side view which shows the state which accommodated this invention sterilizer in the case. The control circuit diagram of an electrode.

Explanation of symbols

30 Electric Loop Sterilizer 31 Loop 32 Loop Folder 33 Base 34 Supporting Arm 35 Block Body 36 Shaft 37 Movable Electrode Support 38 Length Adjusting Slot 39 Knurl 40 Movable Electrode 41 Clamp 42 Fixed Electrode 43 Spring

Claims (3)

A movable electrode is provided at one end of the block body supported so as to be swingable via a movable electrode support, and a clamp is provided at the other end of the block body. A fixed electrode is provided inside, a metal loop is inserted between the movable electrode and the clamp, and the block body is swung to sandwich the metal loop between the clamp and the fixed electrode. An electric loop sterilizer that heats a metal loop.   2. The electric loop sterilizer according to claim 1, wherein the movable electrode support provided on the block body can adjust a distance between the movable electrode supported by the support and a clamp provided on the block body.   The electric loop sterilizer according to claim 1, wherein the block body is provided with a spring that urges the block body in a direction in which a clamp provided on the block body separates from the fixed electrode.

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