JP7114107B2 - breast milk sterilizer - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a breast milk sterilization device.

Traditionally, baby bottles have been sterilized by boiling or steam sterilization equipment (see, for example, Patent Document 1), but breast milk itself may be infected with pathogenic bacteria and viruses, so there are cases where breast milk containing breast milk is used. The bottle was immersed in hot water, a thermometer was placed in the breast milk, and the water was boiled until the desired sterilization heating temperature was reached.

However, the hot water bath has the problem that it is difficult to control the temperature of breast milk. In other words, if the milk temperature is too high, protein alteration (immunoglobulin denaturation) and vitamin loss will occur, and if the milk temperature is kept low, coronaviruses, cytomegaloviruses (CMV), HIV viruses and bacteria etc., was not completely sterilized. In addition, since it is unsanitary to put the thermometer directly into breast milk, it is necessary to sterilize and clean the thermometer separately from the baby bottle.

Therefore, the applicant of the present patent has previously proposed a new hygienic breast milk sterilization device that can easily and reliably sterilize breast milk, having a structure as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13. (See Patent Document 2).

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 48-32068 Japanese Patent No. 5940574

However, the invention described in Patent Document 2 still has the following problems.
(i) As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the baby bottle 51 has a hexagonal cross section, and the cylindrical holder 52 into which it is inserted and heated is cylindrical. Heat from 53 is transferred through the six corners 51e of baby bottle 51 only. (ii) Therefore, it is difficult to heat breast milk efficiently and quickly. (iii) As shown in FIG. (iv) The mother's milk temperature sensor 55 is arranged so as to contact the bottom wall 54 of the baby bottle 51, but there is a problem that the measurement error increases.

Therefore, the present invention heats breast milk to a temperature of, for example, 62.5 ° C. to 65 ° C. (low temperature), can easily and quickly sterilize breast milk, and can sterilize hygienically, and , to provide a breast milk sterilization device that is easy to manufacture.

Therefore, the breast milk sterilization apparatus according to the present invention includes: a baby bottle having a hexagonal cross section for containing breast milk; a metallic holder cylinder forming a storage space having a hexagonal cross section into which the baby bottle can be inserted from above; a planar heater attached to the outer peripheral surface of the holder cylinder over 360° in a surrounding manner; A linear detection part of a breast milk temperature sensor for indirectly measuring the temperature of breast milk in the baby bottle was inserted into the hole.
Further, the insertion depth dimension H of the linear detection portion of the temperature sensor into the holder cylinder is 0.10·H ₀ ≤ H ≤ 0.40 where the height dimension of the holder cylinder is H ₀ .・The relationship of H ₀ is established.

According to the present invention, the efficiency of heat conduction to the baby bottle is high, and the temperature can be raised to a predetermined temperature (eg, 62.5° C. to 65° C.) in a short time. Also, the heater can be attached easily and quickly.

1 is an overall perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional explanatory diagram of a main part; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing a state in which a baby bottle is inserted (set) in the holder cylinder. It is a principal part front view. It is a principal part top view. It is a principal part bottom view. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an example of a holder cylinder; It is a top view of a holder cylinder. FIG. 4 is a front view showing a holder cylinder and a double-sided adhesive tape attached to its outer peripheral surface; FIG. 10 is a bottom view of FIG. 9; FIG. 4 is a developed view showing an example of a planar heater; It is a cross-sectional front view which shows a conventional example. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional example;

The present invention will be described in detail below based on the illustrated embodiments.
As shown in FIG. 1, the housing 9 has a slightly angular shape as a whole, and four holes (not shown) are formed through the upper wall surface 9A of the housing 9, into which baby bottles are inserted and held. (See Figure 2). In addition, on the outer surface of the housing 9, display means 4 such as an LED display panel and a liquid crystal monitor that can display the breast milk temperature and setting contents, various settings, power ON / OFF, heat sterilization start / end, etc. can be operated. An operating means 6 such as a switch or a touch panel is provided. As shown in FIG. 1, four caps 11, 11, 11, 11 are provided to cover the upper end (lid 1A) of the baby bottle 1, which will be described later (see FIG. 1). See Figure 2).

In one embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 2-11, the baby bottle 1 (except for the upper portion) has a hexagonal cross-sectional shape and is made of synthetic resin. Mother's milk is put into this nursing bottle 1 and sealed with a lid 1A.

Reference numeral 2 denotes a cylindrical holder made of metal such as Al (aluminum) having excellent heat conductivity, and has a storage space 3 with a hexagonal cross section into which the baby bottle 1 with a hexagonal cross section can be inserted from above. .
Further, a planar heater 10 is attached to the circular outer peripheral surface 2A of the holder cylindrical body 2 so as to surround the circular outer peripheral surface 2A over 360°.

One method of adhering the planar heater 10 will be described. A double-sided adhesive tape 5 is adhered to the outer peripheral surface 2A of the holder cylinder 2 shown in FIG. 8 as shown in FIG. A planar heater 10 as shown in FIG. 11 is pressed from thereon in a winding manner. As a result, the planar heater 10 can be attached to the outer peripheral surface 2A of the holder cylinder 2 quickly and easily. Although not shown, it is preferable to attach an insulating film having high electrical insulation to the outer peripheral surface 2A and to attach the double-sided adhesive tape 5 thereon.

Here, the planar heating heater 10 will be described. A resistance heating wire 12 such as a nichrome wire or nichrome foil is formed as a meandering wire having many curved portions and in a planar shape (see FIG. 11), It is a sandwich-like structure that is integrally covered with a silicone rubber layer, and is a kind of resistance heating. Moreover, the meandering and entirely flat resistance heating wire 12 is reliably covered with insulation by the silicone rubber layer.

As shown in FIG. 11, two lead wires 13, 13, a fuse 14, a relay lead wire 15, a pressing sheet piece 16, and other electric parts are attached in advance to the planar heater 10. As an integral structure, the double-sided adhesive tape 5 (or an adhesive agent or a sticking agent not shown) is lightly attached to the outer surface of the holder cylinder 2 in a winding (winding) shape. can.

2, 9, and 10, a metal plate 7 made of Al or the like that forms the bottom surface of the storage space 3 is integrally attached to the lower end surface of the holder cylinder 2 by welding, bonding, or the like. It is desirable that the storage space 3 be sealed so that the liquid does not leak from the seams of the inner periphery and the bottom surface.

A heat insulating bottom wall member 17 for receiving the lower surface of the metal plate 7 is also provided. Moreover, the heat insulating bottom wall member 17 has an outer flange portion 17A projecting radially outward.
Further, a heat insulating cylindrical wall member 18 surrounding the planar heater 10 adhered to the outer peripheral surface 2A of the holder cylinder 2 from the outside is attached.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the cross-sectional hexagonal wall portion 20 of the baby bottle 1 is held in close contact with the inner peripheral surface of the storage space 3 of the holder cylinder 2 having a hexagonal cross-sectional shape. . Therefore, the heat from the holder cylinder 2 heated by the planar heater 10 is evenly transferred to the baby bottle 1 over approximately 360° of the cross section.

As shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 10, the holder cylinder 2 is provided with a temperature measuring hole 8 having a predetermined depth H from the lower surface 2B. In addition, since the metal plate 7 is fixed to the lower surface 2B, the holes 8 are continuously provided through the metal plate 7 as well.

In FIG. 2, S1 is _a mother's milk temperature sensor, and the _linear detection portion 25 of this temperature sensor S1 is inserted into the temperature measurement hole 8 from below. It should be noted that it is preferable to fix them with solder, an adhesive, or the like, which has excellent heat conductivity.
In FIG. 2, the insertion depth H of the _linear detection portion 25 of the temperature sensor S1 into the holder cylinder 2 is given by the following, where _H0 is the height of the holder cylinder 2:
0.10·H ₀ ≤ H ≤ 0.40·H ₀ .
More preferably
0.20·H ₀ ≤ H ≤ 0.35·H ₀ .
If it is less than the lower limit, it becomes difficult to accurately detect the temperature of breast milk. If the upper limit is exceeded, the drilling of the hole 8 suddenly becomes difficult.

Next, referring to FIGS. 4 to 6 and 2 for additional explanation, a guidance guide upper cover 22 having a hexagonal guide hole 21 is provided so that the baby bottle 1 can be smoothly inserted from above. A base plate 23 for receiving the heat-insulating bottom wall member 17 is provided at the lower position, and the upper lid 22 and the base plate 23 are connected and tightened by hexagonal connecting rods 56,56,56. In other words, in the illustrated example, each connecting rod 56 has a right-handed screw and a left-handed screw formed at the upper and lower ends thereof, a right-handed screw hole in the upper lid 22, and a left-handed screw in the base plate 23, thereby forming a hexagonal screw. When the connecting rod 56 is rotated in one direction by a work tool, it is screwed up and down at the same time, bringing the upper lid 22 and the base plate 23 closer together, and clamping and holding the holder cylinder 2 and the like from above and below.
It is also desirable that the upper lid 22 and the base plate 23 are made of plastic.
A clip 26 is attached to the lower surface of the base plate 23, and the mother's milk temperature sensor S1 is attached by the resilient biasing force of this clip 26 (see FIGS. ₂ , 4, and 6). .

By the way, as shown in FIG. 2, the temperature control section C is interposed in the wiring that connects the breast milk temperature sensor S1 and the planar heater 10. This temperature control section _C is shown in FIG. The prior art (Patent Document 1) such as the breast milk temperature control unit 57 in the above is sufficient.
Further, the mother's milk temperature control circuit (control method) can be configured in the same manner as the conventionally known technology (Patent Document 1).

As described in detail above, the present invention provides a baby bottle 1 having a hexagonal cross section for containing mother's milk; and a metallic holder cylindrical body forming a storage space 3 having a hexagonal cross section into which the baby bottle 1 can be inserted from above. 2, and a planar heater 10 attached to the outer peripheral surface of the holder cylindrical body 2 over 360° in an enveloping manner. The inner surface of the holder cylinder 2 (heated by the heater 10) is close to the hexagonal outer surface, the heat conduction efficiency is high, and the breast milk is heated in a short time with highly accurate temperature control. Can be sterilized. Since the cross section is hexagonal, the rigidity of the nursing bottle 1 is increased, and even if it is pushed by hand, it does not deform easily, and the contents (breast milk) do not blow out, so that it is safe and easy to take in and out of the apparatus. can work In addition, the planar heater 10 can be easily and quickly attached to the outer peripheral surface of the holder cylinder 2 (using a double-sided adhesive tape or the like), making the production much easier than before and improving the working efficiency.

In addition, a heat insulating bottom wall member 17 forming the bottom surface of the storage space 3 is provided, and a heat insulating cylindrical wall member 18 is provided to further surround the planar heater 10 surrounding the holder cylinder 2. The heat of the planar heater 10 is effectively transmitted to the feeding bottle 1 located radially inward, and the heat of the mother's milk does not escape axially downward, so that the mother's milk is heat sterilized in a short time without waste. becomes possible.

The hexagonal wall portion 20 in cross section of the baby bottle 1 is heated by the planar heater 10 in close contact with the inner peripheral surface of the storage space 3 of the hexagonal cross section of the holder cylinder 2 . In addition, the heat from the holder cylindrical body 2 is evenly transferred to the baby bottle 1 over approximately 360°, so that the heat transfer efficiency is further increased. As a result, breast milk can be sterilized by heating in a short period of time with highly accurate temperature control.

Further, the holder cylindrical body 2 is provided with a temperature measuring hole 8 having a predetermined depth dimension H from the lower surface 2B, and a breast milk temperature sensor S1 for indirectly measuring the temperature of the breast milk in the baby bottle ₁ . Since the linear detection part 25 is inserted into the hole 8, the temperature can be detected with high accuracy on the way from the planar heater 10 to the mother's milk. Furthermore, compared with the conventional structure in which the temperature sensor 55 is held in contact with the bottom wall 54 (of the nursing bottle 51) as shown in FIG. 12, variations (errors) in temperature measurement are reduced. That is, in the conventional art (FIG. 12), impurities such as dirt and dust tend to intervene between the bottom wall 54 of the baby bottle 51 and the temperature sensor 55 in some cases. There is no leakage, stable and always high-precision temperature measurement is possible.

Further, the insertion depth H of the linear detection portion 25 of the temperature sensor S ₁ into the holder cylinder 2 is 0.10·H ₀ ≤ where the height dimension of the holder cylinder 2 is H ₀ . Since H≦0.40·H ₀ , the hole for temperature measurement 8 can be easily drilled, and the linear detection part 25 is inserted sufficiently deep to detect (calculate) the mother's milk temperature with high accuracy. ) is possible.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 nursing bottle 2 holder cylinder 2B lower surface 3 storage space 5 double-sided adhesive tape 7 metal plate 8 hole for temperature measurement
10 Plane heater
12 resistance heating wire
17 Insulated bottom wall member
18 Insulated cylindrical wall member
20 Hexagonal wall
25 Linear detection part H _Depth dimension _H0 Height dimension S1 Breast milk temperature sensor

Claims (2)

a feeding bottle (1) having a hexagonal cross section for containing breast milk;
a metal holder cylinder (2) forming a storage space (3) having a hexagonal cross section into which the baby bottle (1) can be inserted from above;
a planar heater (10) attached to the outer peripheral surface of the holder cylinder (2) in an enveloping manner over 360°;
and
The holder cylindrical body (2) is provided with a temperature measuring hole (8) having a predetermined depth (H) from the lower surface (2B) to indirectly measure the temperature of breast milk in the baby bottle (1). A breast milk sterilization apparatus characterized by inserting a linear detection part (25) of a breast milk temperature sensor (S ₁ ) for sterilization into the hole (8). The insertion depth (H) of the linear detection part (25) of the temperature sensor (S ₁ ) into the holder cylinder (2) is defined by the height dimension of the holder cylinder (2) (H ₀ ). The breast milk sterilization apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the following formula 1 holds .
0.10·H ₀ ≦H≦0.40·H ₀ (Equation 1)

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