JP6858024B2 - Steam sterilizer - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a steam sterilizer having a function of notifying the drainage time of an exhaust tank.

A steam sterilizer injects a predetermined amount of water into a chamber and heats and boils the water with a heating heater provided in the chamber to fill the chamber with high-temperature and high-pressure steam for medical equipment. It sterilizes and disinfects objects to be sterilized.

In such a high-pressure steam sterilizer, for example, as shown in Japanese Patent Publication No. 4-31707, water is boiled with the exhaust valve of the chamber open, and the generated steam is used to bleed air. , The exhaust valve is closed and the process shifts to the sterilization process. At this time, the air containing the vapor discharged from the chamber by opening the exhaust valve is guided to the exhaust tank through the exhaust pipe, the water in the air is separated in the exhaust tank, and the air is released into the atmosphere. Therefore, the separated water will be accumulated in the exhaust tank, and it is necessary to drain the accumulated water before the exhaust tank is full.

In the past, the timing of draining the water accumulated in the drainage tank was visually confirmed by visually checking the accumulation condition of the water in the drainage tank, and the water in the exhaust tank was drained until the water was full.

Tokuho 4-31707 Gazette

However, in the case of visually confirming the above-mentioned drainage timing, the user must always carefully check the condition of the exhaust tank, and if the confirmation is neglected, the water will be full. The waste water overflowed from the exhaust tank, causing inconveniences such as polluting the surrounding area.

The present invention has been made in view of the actual situation of the above-mentioned background technology, and an object of the present invention is a steam sterilizer capable of easily and surely recognizing the timing of draining the water accumulated in the exhaust tank. Is to provide.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is the steam sterilizer described in the following [1] to [7].
[1] A chamber for storing and sterilizing an object to be sterilized, a lid for closing the opening of the chamber, a steam generating means for generating steam in the chamber, and steam generated in the chamber. In a steam sterilizer having an exhaust pipe for discharging and an exhaust tank having an open tip of the exhaust pipe, the exhaust tank is provided with a water level detecting means and a light emitting means for illuminating the exhaust tank. It is characterized in that it is configured so that the light emitting state of the light emitting means that illuminates the exhaust tank changes only when it is detected that the water level in the exhaust tank has reached a predetermined water level and the steam sterilizer is on standby. And a steam sterilizer.
[2] The steam sterilizer according to the above [1], wherein when the light emitting state of the light emitting means for illuminating the exhaust tank changes, the operation of starting the operation of the steam sterilizer cannot be performed.
[3] The steam sterilizer according to the above [1], wherein the change in the light emitting state of the light emitting means for illuminating the exhaust tank is a change in the light emitting color.
[4] The steam sterilizer according to the above [1], wherein the change in the light emitting state of the light emitting means for illuminating the exhaust tank is a change from lighting to blinking.
[5] The steam sterilizer according to the above [1], wherein the change in the light emitting state of the light emitting means for illuminating the exhaust tank is a change from turning off to turning on.
[6] The steam sterilizer is provided with an operation display unit separately, the operation display unit is provided with a drainage indicator lamp of the exhaust tank, and the water level detecting means has reached a predetermined water level in the exhaust tank. The steam sterilizer according to the above [1], wherein the drainage indicator lamp of the operation display unit lights up when the above is detected.
[7] The drainage indicator lamp of the operation display unit is turned on when the water level detecting means detects that the water level in the exhaust tank has reached a predetermined water level, and the light emitting state of the light emitting means that illuminates the exhaust tank. change of, the water level detecting means detects that the water level in the exhaust tank reaches a predetermined water level, and characterized in that the steam sterilizer is performed only if it is waiting, the [6] The steam sterilizer described in.

According to the steam sterilizer according to the present invention described above, when the water level in the exhaust tank reaches a predetermined water level, for example, one step before the full state, the light emitting state of the light emitting means for illuminating the exhaust tank changes, for example, blue light emission. Since it is configured to change from to red emission, the user can easily and surely recognize the timing of draining the water accumulated in the exhaust tank from the change in the emission state, and the user can easily and surely recognize it. , You will be freed from the work of constantly checking the condition of the exhaust tank carefully.

An embodiment of a steam sterilizer according to the present invention is shown, and is an external perspective view of a state in which a lid is opened. It is a front view which showed the state which opened the door which covers the exhaust tank of the steam sterilizer shown in FIG. It is a schematic block diagram of the steam sterilizer shown in FIG. It is a flow chart which informs the drainage time of an exhaust tank.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the steam sterilizer according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

In FIGS. 1 to 3, reference numeral 1 denotes a steam sterilizer according to the present invention for sterilizing an object to be sterilized, which is a medical instrument such as tweezers or an injection needle. It is composed of a lid 3 pivotally supported on the upper part of the main body case 2 so as to be openable and closable. A door 5 for covering the housed exhaust tank 4 is provided in the lower part of the front surface of the main body case 2, and a window 6 is formed in the door 5.

A bottomed cylindrical chamber 7 having an open upper surface is housed in the main body case 2, and the opening of the chamber 7 is sealed by a lid 8 fixed to the inner surface of the lid 3. A mounting table 9 on which an object to be sterilized (not shown) is placed is provided on the inner bottom of the chamber 7, and a heating heater 10 which is a steam generating means for heating the water stored in the chamber 7 is provided. Has been done. Further, the chamber 7 is provided with a temperature detector 11 for detecting the temperature inside the chamber 7 and a pressure detector 12 for detecting the pressure. Further, an exhaust pipe 14 is connected to the side surface of the chamber 7 with an exhaust valve (electric valve) 13 connected in the middle and an exhaust pipe 14 whose tip is opened into water in the exhaust tank 4.

The exhaust tank 4 is provided with a float switch 15 which is a water level detecting means, and a light emitting diode 16 which is a light emitting means for illuminating the exhaust tank 4 is provided behind the float switch 15. The light emitting diode 16 is composed of a blue light emitting diode 16a that emits blue light and a red light emitting diode 16b that emits red light, and the exhaust tank 4 illuminated by these light emitting diodes has the window 6 provided in the door 5. It is configured so that the light can be seen from the outside through. Further, an air exhaust pipe 17 for discharging the air separated by the exhaust tank 4 into the atmosphere is connected to the upper part, and a drain hose 18 for discharging the water accumulated in the exhaust tank 4 is connected to the lower part. The air outlet tube 17 is provided with a trap bottle 19 that finally captures a liquid from the discharged air. An operation display unit 20 is provided on the upper part of the lid 3, and the operation display unit 20 is in addition to display units such as a start switch, an operating indicator light, a door lock indicator light, a temperature display unit, and a time display unit. The drainage indicator light 21 of the exhaust tank is provided.

Further, the steam sterilizer 1 is provided with a control means (not shown) configured by a microcomputer or the like, and is installed in the operation display unit 20 or the chamber 7 arranged on the upper part of the lid 3 by the control means. Based on the inputs and outputs from the temperature detector 11, pressure detector 12, float switch 15, etc., the heating heater 10, the exhaust valve 13, the light emitting diode 16 and the like are energized according to a predetermined sequence set in advance. It is configured to control.

The steam sterilizer 1 according to the present invention configured as described above is sterilized as follows.

First, the lid 3 is opened, the object to be sterilized is stored through the opening of the chamber 7, and the lid 3 is closed. After that, the operation display unit 20 arranged on the upper part of the lid 3 is operated to set the sterilization temperature, the sterilization time, and the like, and then the start switch (not shown) is turned on. As a result, the control means detects these input operations and starts the sterilization operation, turns on the heater relay to start energizing the heating heater 10, and at the same time energizes the lid solenoid (not shown) to lock the lid 3. At the same time, the exhaust valve 13 provided in the exhaust pipe 14 is opened. Further, in the steam sterilizer 1 according to the present invention, the control means also energizes the light emitting diode 16 that illuminates the exhaust tank 4, and illuminates the exhaust tank 4 in blue by the light of the blue light emitting diode 16a.

When the water contained in the bottom of the chamber 7 is heated by energizing the heating heater 10 and steam is generated in the chamber 7, the generated steam causes air containing steam in the chamber 7 to pass through the exhaust pipe 14. When the temperature in the chamber 7 reaches a preset temperature state after being discharged to the outside, the control means closes the exhaust valve 13 to end the air bleeding step and shift to the heating step.

During the air bleeding step, the air guided to the exhaust tank 4 through the exhaust pipe 14 is separated into water in the exhaust tank 4 and released into the atmosphere. Separated water is accumulated in the exhaust tank 4, and the water level of the accumulated water is detected by a float switch 15 installed in the exhaust tank. When the float switch 15 detects that the water in the exhaust tank 4 is near the set full water, the detection signal is sent to the control means, and the control means exhausts the exhaust provided in the operation display unit 20. The drainage indicator light 21 of the tank is turned on to notify the user that the exhaust tank 4 has reached a full state. Even in this case, the control means is that the steam sterilizer 1 is in operation and not in standby mode, so that the exhaust tank 4 is maintained in a state of being illuminated in blue by the light of the blue light emitting diode 16a, and the user. The operation of the steam sterilizer is continued without causing any anxiety.

When the temperature in the chamber 7 reaches the set sterilization temperature in the heating step, the process proceeds to the sterilization step. In the sterilization process, the control means controls the heating heater 10 on and off to maintain the inside of the chamber 7 at the set sterilization temperature, sterilizes the object to be sterilized, and when the set sterilization time elapses, the heater relay is turned on. The heater 10 is turned off to stop energization, and the exhaust valve 13 is opened to shift to the cooling process.

In the cooling step, the air containing steam in the chamber 7 is guided to the exhaust tank 4 again through the exhaust pipe 14, the water is separated in the exhaust tank 4, and the separated water is stored in the exhaust tank 4. The water level of the accumulated water is constantly detected by the float switch 15 installed in the exhaust tank, and when the float switch 15 detects that the water in the exhaust tank 4 is near the set full water, the detection signal is detected. Is sent to the control means in the same manner as described above, and the control means turns on the drainage indicator light 21 of the exhaust tank provided in the operation display unit 20. Even in this case, since the steam sterilizer 1 is in operation and not in standby, the exhaust tank 4 is maintained in a state of being illuminated in blue by the light of the blue light emitting diode 16b.

When the cooling process progresses and the temperature inside the chamber 7 reaches a temperature below a predetermined temperature, the control means turns off the lid solenoid (not shown), unlocks the lid 3, and completes the operation in a state where the lid 3 can be opened. , The steam sterilizer 1 is in a standby state.

If the float switch 15 provided in the exhaust tank 4 detects that the water in the exhaust tank is near the set full water when the steam sterilizer is in the standby state, the control means is The light emitting diode 16 that illuminates the exhaust tank 4 is changed from the blue light emitting diode 16a to the red light emitting diode 16b, and the exhaust tank 4 is changed to red while maintaining the lighting of the drainage indicator lamp 21 of the exhaust tank provided in the operation display unit 20. It is illuminated by light to strongly notify the user that it is time to drain the water in the drainage tank 4.

The user opens the lid 3 to take out the object to be sterilized, and based on the above notification of the drainage time of the drainage tank, opens the door 5 to operate the drainage hose 18 to enter the exhaust tank 4. Drain the water accumulated in the door to the outside.

When the user tries to perform the next sterilization process without draining the water in the drainage tank 4 despite the notification of the drainage time of the drainage tank described above, the control means is the operation display unit 20. The drainage indicator lamp 21 of the exhaust tank provided in the above is turned on, the exhaust tank 4 is illuminated in red by the light of the red light emitting diode 16b, and the start switch (not shown) cannot be turned on, that is, the operation start operation cannot be performed. And. As a result, the water in the drainage tank 4 is surely drained.

In the operation description of the steam sterilizer 1 according to the present invention described above, the processing flow of the control means for notifying the drainage time of the exhaust tank is excerpted and shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 4, the control means of the steam sterilizer 1 according to the present invention starts the determination, and first, the float switch 15 installed in the exhaust tank is near the full water in the exhaust tank 4 where the water is set. It is determined whether or not it has been detected.
As a result of the determination, when it is not detected that the float switch 15 is nearly full (in the case of "NO" in FIG. 4), the drainage indicator light 21 of the exhaust tank provided in the operation display unit 20 is turned off. The exhaust tank 4 is illuminated in blue by the light of the blue light emitting diode 16a.
If, as a result of the determination, it is detected that the float switch 15 is nearly full (in the case of "YES" in FIG. 4), then, whether or not the steam sterilizer 1 is on standby is specifically determined. Is divided into four states: initialization, standby, operation, and error processing, and determines whether it is in standby or not.
As a result of the determination, when it is not in standby mode (in the case of "NO" in FIG. 4), the drainage indicator light 21 of the exhaust tank provided in the operation display unit 20 is turned on, and the exhaust tank 4 is the blue light emitting diode 16a. Illuminates blue with the light of.
As a result of the determination, when the vehicle is on standby (in the case of "YES" in FIG. 4), the drainage indicator light 21 of the exhaust tank provided in the operation display unit 20 is turned on, and the exhaust tank 4 is the red light emitting diode 16b. Illuminate red with light.

In the steam sterilizer 1 according to the present invention configured as described above, when the water level in the exhaust tank 4 reaches a predetermined water level just before the full state, the light emitting means 16 that illuminates the exhaust tank 4 emits light. Since the state is configured to change from blue light emission to red light emission, the user can easily and surely recognize the timing of draining the water accumulated in the exhaust tank 4 from the change in the light emission state. This allows the user to be freed from the task of constantly carefully checking the condition of the exhaust tank.

In particular, like the steam sterilizer 1 according to the above-described embodiment, the float switch 15 which is a water level detecting means detects that the water level in the exhaust tank 4 has reached a predetermined water level, and the steam sterilizer 1 stands by. When the light emitting state of the light emitting means 16 that illuminates the exhaust tank 4 is configured to change from blue light emission to red light emission, the blue light emitting state is maintained during operation of the steam sterilizer 1. Therefore, the operation of the steam sterilizer 1 can be continued without causing anxiety to the user.

Further, as in the above embodiment, the steam sterilizer 1 is provided with an operation display unit 20 separately, and the operation display unit is provided with a drainage indicator lamp 21 of the exhaust tank, and the float switch 15 which is the water level detecting means is provided. When it detects that the water level in the exhaust tank 4 has reached a predetermined water level, the user can use the exhaust tank 4 if the drainage indicator light 21 of the operation display unit is configured to light up. Even during the operation of the steam sterilizer 1 in which the illumination does not change, it is possible to recognize that the exhaust tank 4 is in a full state, and it is possible to start preparing for drainage.

Although the embodiment of the steam sterilizer according to the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and the scope of the technical idea of the present invention described in the claims. It goes without saying that it is possible to make an embodiment in which various modifications are made.
For example, in the above embodiment, the case where the light emitting state of the light emitting means for illuminating the exhaust tank is changed from blue light emission to red light emission has been described, but it may be changed from blue light emission to yellow light emission, and further. In addition to such a change in emission color, a change from lighting to blinking or a change from extinguishing to lighting may be used.
Further, in the above embodiment, the float switch 15 is described as the water level detecting means provided in the exhaust tank 4, and the light emitting diode 16 is described as the light emitting means for illuminating the exhaust tank 4, but the present invention is not limited to these devices. A known device that performs the same function at the time of filing of the above can be used differently.

The steam sterilizer according to the present invention described above can easily and surely recognize the timing of draining the water accumulated in the exhaust tank, so that the drainage of the exhaust tank is not neglected and the surroundings are polluted. Therefore, it can be suitably used as a steam sterilizer installed in hospitals, laboratories, and the like.

1 Steam sterilizer 2 Main body case 3 Lid 4 Exhaust tank 5 Door 6 Window 7 Chamber 8 Lid 9 Mounting stand 10 Heating heater 11 Temperature detector 12 Pressure detector 13 Exhaust valve 14 Exhaust pipe 15 Float switch 16 Light emitting diode 16a Blue light emission Diode 16b Red light emitting diode 17 Air exhaust pipe 18 Drain hose 19 Trap bottle 20 Operation display 21 Drain indicator light

Claims (7)

A chamber for storing and sterilizing an object to be sterilized, a lid for closing the opening of this chamber, a steam generating means for generating steam in the chamber, and an exhaust gas for discharging the steam generated in the chamber. In a steam sterilizer having a pipe and an exhaust tank having an open tip of the exhaust pipe, the exhaust tank is provided with water level detecting means and a light emitting means for illuminating the exhaust tank, and the water level detecting means is provided in the exhaust tank. It is characterized in that the light emitting state of the light emitting means for illuminating the exhaust tank is changed only when it is detected that the water level has reached a predetermined water level and the steam sterilizer is on standby. Steam sterilizer. The steam sterilizer according to claim 1, wherein when the light emitting state of the light emitting means that illuminates the exhaust tank changes, the operation of starting the operation of the steam sterilizer cannot be performed. The steam sterilizer according to claim 1, wherein the change in the light emitting state of the light emitting means that illuminates the exhaust tank is a change in the light emitting color. The steam sterilizer according to claim 1, wherein the change in the light emitting state of the light emitting means for illuminating the exhaust tank is a change from lighting to blinking. The steam sterilizer according to claim 1, wherein the change in the light emitting state of the light emitting means for illuminating the exhaust tank is a change from turning off to turning on. The steam sterilizer is provided with an operation display unit separately, and the operation display unit is provided with a drainage indicator lamp of the exhaust tank, and the water level detecting means detects that the water level in the exhaust tank has reached a predetermined water level. The steam sterilizer according to claim 1, wherein the drainage indicator lamp of the operation display unit is configured to light up in this case. The drainage indicator lamp of the operation display unit is turned on when the water level detecting means detects that the water level in the exhaust tank has reached a predetermined water level, and the light emitting state of the light emitting means illuminating the exhaust tank is changed. The steam according to claim 6, wherein the water level detecting means detects that the water level in the exhaust tank has reached a predetermined water level, and the water level is performed only when the steam sterilizer is on standby. Sterilizer.

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