JPH02142567A - Drying method of sterilized material - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To dry a sterilized material after sterilization within a short time and improve the efficiency of sterilization work by continuously operating a vacuum pump to continue the exhaust of air within a sterilizing vessel and alternately conducting a purified air feed into the sterilizing vessel and the stoppage of the feed. CONSTITUTION:In the drying method of a sterilized material, a vacuum pump is continuously operated to continue the exhaust of the air in an inner can 1 as a sterilizing vessel, and the purified air feed into the sterilizing vessel and the stoppage of the feed are alternately conducted. Namely, when drying is conducted after the sterilizing process is finished, a valve 7 provided in the course of a pipe communicating to a vacuum pump 4 is opened to continuously operate the vacuum pump 4, and a solenoid valve 8 is alternately opened and closed while the exhaust of the air in the inner can 1 remains continued. At a result, the pressure in the inner can 1 changes as shown in a broken line A, and the temperature in the inner can 1 as shown in an actual line B. The temperature of the sterilizing vessel (inner can 1) is sufficiently raised, and the sterilized material received in the sterilizing vessel can be dried within a short time.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The method for drying objects to be sterilized according to the present invention sterilizes various objects to be sterilized using steam sterilizers installed in hospitals and various research institutes. The purpose of this paper is to improve the method for drying objects to be sterilized, with the aim of shortening the drying time.

(Prior Art) Articles used in hospitals and various research institutes must be sterilized immediately after use to prevent infection due to bacteria attached to the articles.

For this reason, conventionally, a steam sterilizer as schematically illustrated in FIG. 2 has been used to sterilize various objects to be sterilized.

This steam sterilizer has an inner container 1 that can freely store objects to be sterilized, and an outer can 3 that surrounds the inner container 1 via a steam jacket 2. High temperature and high pressure sterilization steam can be sent into the steam jacket 2 and the inside of the steam jacket 2.

By the way, in such a steam sterilizer, when the object to be sterilized is stored in the inner chamber 1 and the sterilization steam is further sent into the inner chamber 1 to sterilize the object to be sterilized, the object to be sterilized is It is unavoidable that objects become wet with water vapor, which hinders the reuse of objects to be sterilized.

For this reason, conventionally, a drying process is provided after a sterilization process using a steam sterilizer to dry objects to be sterilized that have become wet during the sterilization process.

That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the steam sterilizer includes a vacuum pump 4 for discharging the gas in the internal cavity 1, and an air intake for sucking clean air passed through a filter 5 into the internal cavity 1. A tube 6 is provided, and after the sterilization work is completed, the object to be sterilized is dried by alternately and repeatedly discharging gas from the inner tube 1 and sucking clean air into the inner tube 1. There is.

When drying is to be performed after the sterilization process is completed, first, the valve 7 provided in the middle of the pipe leading to the vacuum pump 4 is opened and the vacuum pump 4 is operated to discharge the gas in the inner tube 1. At this time, the solenoid valve 8 provided in the middle of the intake pipe 6 is kept closed. When the gas in the inner chamber 1 is discharged, the evaporation temperature of the moisture adhering to the object to be sterilized stored in the inner chamber 1 decreases, the evaporation of this moisture is accelerated, and the object to be sterilized is dried. will be carried out efficiently.

Once the pressure inside the inner part 1 has decreased sufficiently, the vacuum pump 4
At the same time, the solenoid valve 8 is opened, and the clean air, which has been sucked through the filter 5 and whose temperature has increased while passing through the heat exchange tube arranged in the steam jacket 2 section, is transferred to the inner part 1.
The temperature inside the inner chamber 1, which has decreased due to the pressure drop due to the operation of the vacuum pump 4 and the evaporation of moisture, is raised.

From now on, by repeating this operation a predetermined number of times,
Dry the items to be sterilized stored inside.

During the drying process as described above, the pressure inside the inner body 1 is
The temperature changes as shown by the broken line a in the figure, and the temperature inside the inner core 1 changes as shown by the solid line in the figure.

(Problem to be solved by the invention) However, in the case of the conventional drying method as described above, it is not always possible to sufficiently raise the temperature inside the inner chamber 1, and the time required to dry the object to be sterilized is shortened. It becomes long.

The method for drying objects to be sterilized according to the present invention solves the above-mentioned disadvantages.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The method for drying an object to be sterilized according to the present invention is similar to the conventional drying method described above, by sending sterilizing water vapor into a sterilization container containing an object to be sterilized. After the object to be sterilized is sterilized, the object to be sterilized wet with water vapor is dried.

However, in the method of drying the object to be sterilized of the present invention, by continuing to operate the vacuum pump 4, the gas in the inner part 1, which is the sterilization container, is continuously discharged. It is characterized by alternately feeding clean air into the sterilized container and stopping this feeding.

That is, when drying is performed after the sterilization process is completed, the valve 7 provided in the middle of the pipe leading to the vacuum pump 4 is opened to continue operating the vacuum pump 4, and the gas in the inner tube 1 is discharged. Continue to open and close the solenoid valve 8 alternately.

As a result, the pressure inside the inner body 1 changes as shown by the broken line A in FIG. 1, and the temperature inside the inner body 1 changes as shown by the solid line B in the same figure.

This solid line B in Figure 1 and the solid line in Figure 3! As is clear from the comparison with sb, in the case of the drying method of the present invention, the temperature inside the sterilization container (interior 1) rises sufficiently, and the objects to be sterilized stored in this sterilization container can be dried in a short time. It will look like this.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, in the case of the method for drying objects to be sterilized according to the present invention, objects to be sterilized can be dried in a short time after sterilization, and the efficiency of sterilization work can be improved. I can do it.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing changes in temperature and pressure inside the sterilization container when carrying out the method of drying objects to be sterilized according to the present invention, and Fig. 2 shows an example of the structure of the sterilizer. Schematic sectional view, 3rd
The figure is a diagram showing changes in temperature and pressure inside the sterilization container when carrying out a conventional drying method. 1: Internal rental, 2: Steam jacket, 3: External can, 4: Vacuum pump, 5: Filter, 6: Intake pipe, 7: Valve, 8: Solenoid valve. Patent applicant Chiyoda Manufacturing Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A method for drying an object to be sterilized, in which the object to be sterilized is sterilized by sending sterilization steam into a sterilization container containing the object, and then the object to be sterilized wetted by the steam is dried. By continuing to operate the vacuum pump, it is possible to alternately feed clean air into the sterilized container and stop this feeding while continuing to discharge the gas in the sterilized container. A method for drying objects to be sterilized, characterized by: