JP4859799B2 - High pressure steam sterilizer - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a high-pressure steam sterilizer that is mainly installed in a hospital or the like and sterilizes an object to be sterilized such as a medical instrument under high-pressure steam.

As one of the high-pressure steam sterilizers, a chamber having an upper surface opening provided in the sterilizer body, and a lid for sealing the upper surface opening of the chamber on a lid housing supported to be opened and closed on the upper part of the sterilizer body, There is a high-pressure steam sterilizer that sterilizes an object to be sterilized stored in the chamber under high-pressure steam. (See Patent Document 1).
JP 2005-6927 A

In order for this type of high-pressure steam sterilizer to operate normally, a predetermined amount of water must be supplied into the chamber, and the water must be heated and evaporated with a heater to sterilize the chamber with high-pressure steam. Don't be. For this reason, when water in a water supply tank provided in the high-pressure steam sterilizer is supplied into the chamber, the amount of water injected is measured by a flow sensor so that a predetermined amount of water is supplied.
This flow sensor is a mechanism in which a rotor is rotated by a passing fluid and a predetermined pulse is generated by this rotation. When this pulse is counted by a counter and reaches a predetermined count value,
The water supply pipe is closed with a solenoid valve so as to stop the water supply.

However, at the time of water supply, only water does not always pass through the flow sensor, and there are cases where water and air are mixed or almost all is air. This is because air may initially exist in the water supply pipe from the water supply tank to the chamber at the beginning of water supply. In the case of air as well, the flow sensor rotor rotates and pulses are counted. For this reason, when the water supply is stopped by counting with the counter and the water supply is stopped, the amount of water supply becomes insufficient, and the high-pressure steam sterilizer may not be sterilized in a normal state.

In order to prevent this from happening, the present invention does not count pulses generated from the flow rate sensor when air flows, and determines that the predetermined amount of water has been reached by counting when only water flows. It is to make.

High-pressure steam sterilizer of the first invention, a chamber for sterilizing the housing has been object to be sterilized under high pressure steam, a flow sensor for measuring the amount of injected water heating water supplied to the chamber, the passage of the heating water the flow sensor counts the pulses emitted by the time it reaches a predetermined count and a control unit for stopping the supply of the heating water, wherein the controller includes a pulse width emitted from the flow sensor, and a predetermined threshold value When the pulse width generated from the flow rate sensor exceeds or exceeds a predetermined threshold value, the pulse is not counted and the pulse when the air passes is not counted.

High-pressure steam sterilizer of the second invention, a chamber for sterilizing the housing has been object to be sterilized under high pressure steam, a flow sensor for measuring the amount of injected water heating water supplied to the chamber, the passage of the heating water the flow sensor counts the pulses emitted, upon reaching a predetermined count and a control unit for stopping the supply of the heating water, wherein the control unit includes a number of pulses per unit emitted from the flow sensor time by, It is characterized by comparing with a predetermined threshold value, and when the number of pulses emitted from the flow rate sensor exceeds or exceeds the predetermined threshold value, the pulse is not counted and the pulse at the time of passage of air is not counted. To do.

In the first invention, the pulse width P2 emitted from the flow sensor when air passes is considerably smaller than the pulse width P1 emitted from the flow sensor when water only passes. Since the pulse width varies depending on the operational error of the flow sensor and the amount of air in the fluid passing through the flow sensor, a threshold is provided for determining whether or not to exclude from the count for the pulse width P1. Therefore, the pulses at the time of passage of air are not substantially counted. For this reason, the phenomenon that the amount of water supply is small and does not reach the predetermined amount caused by counting the pulses generated by the flow rate sensor in the case of air has been solved, and the autoclave is sterilized in a normal state. It will be something that can be done.

In the second invention, the pulse width P2 emitted from the flow sensor when air passes is considerably smaller than the pulse width P1 emitted from the flow sensor when water only passes. For this reason, since the pulse width varies depending on the amount of air in the fluid passing through the flow sensor, the difference in the number of pulses per unit time generated from the flow sensor when only water passes and when air passes is used. . In this case, since the pulse width changes depending on the operational error of the flow sensor and the amount of air in the fluid passing through the flow sensor, a reference for determining whether to exclude from the count (
A predetermined threshold value is provided as the number of pulses per unit time), and pulses at the time of passage of air are not substantially counted by this threshold value. For this reason, the phenomenon that the amount of water supply is small and does not reach the predetermined amount caused by counting the pulses generated by the flow rate sensor in the case of air has been solved, and the autoclave is sterilized in a normal state. It will be something that can be done.

The high-pressure steam sterilizer of the present invention includes a chamber for sterilizing a stored object to be sterilized under high-pressure steam, and counts pulses emitted by the flow sensor when the heating water supplied into the chamber passes, A high-pressure steam sterilizer that stops the supply of heating water when it reaches, using the difference between the pulse width emitted from the flow sensor when only water passes and the pulse width emitted from the flow sensor when air passes Thus, pulses at the time of passage of air are not substantially counted by a predetermined threshold value, and examples of the present invention will be described below.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a front perspective view schematically showing a high-pressure steam sterilizer according to the present invention and a supply circuit for heating water supplied thereto, and FIG. 2 is a determination on the basis of unit time counting of the supply amount of heating water according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a circuit configuration diagram, FIG. 3 is a determination circuit configuration diagram using a clock pulse for counting the amount of heating water supplied according to the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a diagram showing pulses emitted from flow sensors in the case of water and air. is there.

In FIG. 1, 1 is a high-pressure steam sterilizer of the present invention. The high-pressure steam sterilizer 1 is provided with a horizontal chamber 4 having a front opening in a sterilizer body 2, and one side (right side in the figure) is rotatably supported by a hinge portion 18 on the front of the sterilizer body 2. An opening / closing member 3 is provided, and a lid 5 that seals the front opening 4A of the chamber 4 is provided on the back side of the opening / closing member 3, and an object to be sterilized is accommodated in the chamber 4, the opening / closing member 3 is closed, and the lid 5 is placed in the chamber. In the state where the front opening 4A of 4 is sealed,
The high-pressure steam sterilizer 1 is operated to bring the chamber 4 into a high-temperature and high-pressure state, and the sterilization target is sterilized. The opening / closing member 3 is opened and closed by the operation handle 12. In order to make the front opening 4 </ b> A of the chamber 4 in a good hermetically sealed state with the lid 5, the back side peripheral annular portion of the lid 5 covers the front end portion of the front opening 4 </ b> A of the chamber 4.

When the opening / closing member 3 is rotated so as to be close to the sterilizer body 2, the lid 5 must be configured to securely seal the front opening 4 </ b> A of the chamber 4. For this reason, the lid 5 for the opening / closing member 3
The lid position adjusting device 200 that can adjust the position is provided. The lid position adjusting device 200 includes:
The outer peripheral screw portion of the handle shaft of the rotary handle 201 is screwed into a screw hole penetrating the opening / closing member 3,
A structure in which the lid 5 is rotatably attached to the distal end portion of the rotary handle 201, and the interval between the open / close member 3 and the lid 5 can be adjusted by the rotation of the rotary handle 201 (adjustment between the state close to and close to the open / close member 3) It is.

The lid 5 is provided with a closed lid detection switch device 7 for detecting that the lid 5 is properly closed with respect to the sterilizer body 2 (a state where the lid 5 seals the front opening 4A of the chamber 4). Yes.
Unless the closed lid detection switch device 7 detects the closed state, the operation of the high-pressure steam sterilizer 1 cannot be started.

In order to fix the rotary handle 201 in a state where the lid 5 seals the front opening 4A of the chamber 4 by the rotation of the rotary handle 201, a reverse rotation prevention means (mechanism) 300 for the rotary handle 201 is provided. The reverse rotation preventing means (mechanism) 300 is opened and closed in the front side member 3 includes a ratchet teeth 301 which form a plurality of locking teeth on the circumferential surface to the handle shaft, the opening and closing member handle solenoid 302 attached to the 3 Thus, a latching claw member 303 is provided that rotates in a meshing state and a non-meshing state with respect to the ratchet tooth portion 301. The latching claw member 303 is connected to the operating plunger of the handle solenoid 302 and the coil spring 305, and is turned to be engaged with the ratchet tooth portion 301 by the ON / OFF state of the solenoid 302.

During the operation of the high-pressure steam sterilizer 1, the operation handle 12 of the opening / closing member 3 is locked by a solenoid-type locking device 24 in order to keep the lid 5 sealed with the front opening 4 </ b> A of the chamber 4 for safety. When the operation of the high-pressure steam sterilizer 1 is completed, the solenoid 25 of the solenoid-type locking device 24 is activated and unlocked in a safe state in which the internal pressure has decreased, and the operation handle 1
By pulling 2, the lid 5 together with the opening / closing member 3 can open the front opening 4 </ b> A of the chamber 4.

In order for the high-pressure steam sterilizer 1 to operate normally, a predetermined amount of water must be supplied into the chamber 4. For this reason, when supplying the heating water stored in the water supply tank 30 provided in the high-pressure steam sterilizer 1 into the chamber 4, the water injection amount is measured by the flow sensor 31 so that the predetermined water amount is supplied. . The flow sensor 31 is a known mechanism in which a rotor is rotated by a passing fluid and a predetermined pulse is generated by the rotation. A vacuum pump 32 is provided in order to evacuate the chamber 4 in the initial operation of the high-pressure steam sterilizer 1. Mg1 is an electromagnetic valve provided in the water supply pipe 33, and Mg2 is an electromagnetic valve that opens the drain pipe 34 by energization when draining the water in the chamber 4. Reference numeral 35 denotes a heater for heating the heating water supplied into the chamber 4, and reference numeral 36 denotes a control unit.

In order for the high-pressure steam sterilizer 1 to operate normally, the inside of the chamber 4 needs to be brought into a predetermined vacuum state by the vacuum pump 32. For this reason, the control unit 36 includes the electromagnetic valve Mg1 and the electromagnetic valve Mg.
2 is closed when the power is off, and the vacuum pump 32 is operated by the control unit 36 to evacuate the chamber 4. When the inside of the chamber 4 is in a predetermined vacuum state, the operation of the vacuum pump 32 is stopped by the control unit 36. Then, by energizing the electromagnetic valve Mg 1 and opening the water supply pipe 33, the heating water in the water supply tank 30 is supplied by suction into the chamber 4 through the water supply pipe 33 due to the vacuum in the chamber 4. With this supply, the flow sensor 31 is activated to generate a pulse PP by the passing fluid.

However, not only water always passes through the flow sensor 31 when water is supplied, but there may be a mixed state of water and air, a state in which water and air flow alternately, or almost all in the case of an abnormality. This is because air may initially exist in the water supply pipe from the water supply tank 30 to the chamber 4 at the beginning of the water supply. In the case of air, the rotor of the flow sensor 31 rotates and pulses are counted. It becomes. For this reason, when the water supply is stopped by counting with the counter and the water supply is stopped, the amount of water supply becomes insufficient, and the high-pressure steam sterilizer 1 may not be sterilized in a normal state.

In order to prevent this from happening, the present invention does not count pulses generated from the flow sensor 31 when air flows, and reaches a predetermined amount of water by counting when only water flows. It is intended to judge. That is, the high-pressure steam sterilizer 1 that counts the pulses generated by the flow sensor 31 when the heating water supplied into the chamber 4 passes and stops the supply of the heating water when the predetermined count is reached, and passes only water. Sometimes flow sensor 3
There is a large difference between the pulse width emitted from 1 and the pulse width emitted from the flow sensor 31 when air passes. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, there is a large difference between a pulse width P1 emitted from the flow sensor 31 when only water passes and a pulse width P2 emitted from the flow sensor 31 when air passes. By utilizing this difference, pulses at the passage of air are not substantially counted by a predetermined threshold.

FIG. 2 shows one functional circuit configuration of the flow rate measurement according to the present invention included in the control unit 36. An AND output XP based on the pulse PP emitted from the flow sensor 31 and the reference pulse KP having the pulse width T1 output from the reference time signal generation unit 40 is output from the AND function unit 41 to the arithmetic processing unit 42. input. The pulse width T1 is sufficiently larger than the pulse width of the pulse PP. In the arithmetic processing unit 42, the number of pulses PP in the AND output XP is compared with the threshold value SH held in the storage unit 43, and the number of pulses PP in the output XP is compared with the threshold value SH held in the storage unit 43. When the value is less than or less than this, the water is flowing, so the pulse PP is output to the counter 44, and the counter 44 counts the number of pulses PP in the output XP. However, when the number of pulses PP in the output XP is greater than or equal to the threshold value SH held in the storage unit 43, the air flows, so the pulse P is sent to the counter 44.
P is not output and the counter 44 does not count.

In this way, the determination of whether or not the counter 44 counts is performed with a threshold value in a state where a slight amount of air is mixed and there is substantially no decrease in the amount of water supply. This is because, even if it is counted that water is flowing, there is practically no problem, so that the conditions that can be counted have an allowable range. For this reason, in the above description, the meaning of “a pulse at the time of passage of air is not substantially counted by a predetermined threshold” is here.

By doing so, the pulses at the time of air passage are not counted substantially,
When the counter 44 reaches a predetermined count value, a water supply end signal is issued from the output unit 45,
Thereby, it is possible to shift to the next operation step. In the above, output XP
When the number of pulses PP within the threshold value SH exceeds or exceeds the threshold value SH held in the storage unit 43, the counter 44 is not counting, and this state continues for a predetermined time (for example, a predetermined regular water supply time). Even if the water supply end signal is not issued from the output unit 45, the control unit 3
6 is determined to be in an abnormal state, and a predetermined error is displayed on the display unit 51 provided in the operation unit 50 of the high-pressure steam sterilizer 1. The operation unit 50 includes a switch 52 such as a start switch and various operation mode setting switches, and a light-emitting display unit 5 that displays the operation status of these switches using LEDs.
3 is provided.

FIG. 3 shows another functional circuit configuration of the flow rate measurement according to the present invention included in the control unit 36. An AND output XP based on the pulse PP generated from the flow sensor 31 and the clock pulse CP output from the clock signal generator 400 is an AND function unit 4.
10 and input to the arithmetic processing unit 420. In the arithmetic processing unit 420, the number of clock pulses CP in the AND output XP is compared with the threshold value SHC held in the storage unit 430, and the number of clock pulses CP in the output XP is held in the storage unit 430. When the threshold value SHC is over or over, water is flowing, so the clock pulse CP is sent to the counter 440.
The counter 440 counts the number of clock pulses CP in the output XP.
However, when the number of clock pulses CP in the output XP is less than or less than the threshold value SHC held in the storage unit 430, the air has flowed, so the clock pulse CP is not output to the counter 440, and the counter 440 Does not count.

Also in this case, the determination whether or not the counter 440 counts is performed with a threshold value in a state where a small amount of air is mixed and there is substantially no decrease in the water supply amount. This is because, even if it is counted that water is flowing, there is practically no problem, so that the conditions that can be counted have an allowable range. For this reason, in the above description, the meaning of “a pulse at the time of passage of air is not substantially counted by a predetermined threshold” is here.

By doing so, the pulses at the time of air passage are not counted substantially,
When the counter 440 reaches a predetermined count value, a water supply end signal is issued from the output unit 450, whereby the next operation step can be performed. In the above, when the number of pulses PP in the output XP is less than or less than the threshold value SHC held in the storage unit 430, the counter 440 is in a state of not counting, so this state is a predetermined time (for example, a predetermined time) If the water supply end signal is not issued from the output unit 450 even if the regular water supply time) continues, the control unit 36 determines that the state is abnormal, and the display unit 51 provided in the operation unit 50 of the high-pressure steam sterilizer 1.
A predetermined error code is displayed on the screen. The operation unit 50 includes a switch 52 such as a start switch or various operation mode setting switches, and a light emitting display unit 53 that displays the operation status of these switches using LEDs.

The present invention is not limited to the configuration shown in the above embodiment, and may be either a horizontal chamber system or a vertical chamber system, and can be applied to various forms of high-pressure steam sterilizers. The form is included.

1 is a front perspective view schematically showing a high-pressure steam sterilizer according to the present invention and a supply circuit for heating water supplied thereto. Example 1 It is a determination circuit block diagram on the basis of unit time for counting of the supply amount of heating water according to the present invention. Example 1 It is a determination circuit block diagram using the clock pulse to count the supply amount of heating water according to the present invention. Example 1 It is a figure which shows the pulse emitted from the flow sensor in the case of water and the case of air concerning this invention. Example 1

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... High-pressure steam sterilizer 2 ... Sterilizer body 3 ... Opening / closing member 4 ... Horizontal chamber 4A ... Front opening of chamber 5 ... Lid 7... Lid detection switch device 12... Operation handle 18... Hinge portion 24... Solenoid lock device 25 ... Solenoid 30 ... Water supply tank 31 ... Flow sensor 32 ... Vacuum pump 33 ... Water supply pipe 34 ... Drain pipe 35 ... Heater 36 ... Control unit 40 ... Reference time signal generator 41 ··· AND function unit 42 ··· arithmetic processing unit 43 ··· storage unit 44 · · · counter 45 · · · output unit 400 · · · clock signal generation unit 410 · · · AND function unit 420 ... arithmetic processing unit 430 ... storage unit 440 ... Printer 450 ... output section 200 ... cover height adjuster 201 ... rotary handle 300 reverse rotation preventing means of ... rotation handle (mechanism)
301 ... Ratchet teeth 302 ... Solenoid for handle 305 ... Coil spring Mg1 ... Solenoid valve for water supply pipe Mg2 ... Solenoid valve for drain pipe

Claims (2)

A chamber for sterilizing the housing has been object to be sterilized under high pressure steam, a flow sensor for measuring the amount of injected water heating water supplied to the chamber, and counting the pulses emitted by the flow rate sensor by the passage of the heating water A control unit that stops supplying the heating water when a predetermined count is reached, and the control unit compares the pulse width emitted from the flow rate sensor with a predetermined threshold value, and is emitted from the flow rate sensor. A high-pressure steam sterilizer characterized by not counting pulses when the pulse width exceeds or exceeds a predetermined threshold and not counting pulses when air passes. A chamber for sterilizing the housing has been object to be sterilized under high pressure steam, a flow sensor for measuring the amount of injected water heating water supplied to the chamber, and counting the pulses emitted by the flow rate sensor by the passage of the heating water A control unit that stops the supply of the heating water when a predetermined count is reached, the control unit compares the number of pulses per unit time emitted from the flow rate sensor with a predetermined threshold value, and the flow rate A high-pressure steam sterilizer characterized in that, when the number of pulses emitted from a sensor exceeds or exceeds a predetermined threshold value, pulses are not counted and pulses when air passes are not counted.

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