JPH0315074Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] (Industrial application field) The steam sterilizer according to this invention is installed in hospitals, various research facilities, etc., and is used to store patient clothes and other items that may be contaminated with bacteria. Used for heating and disinfection.

(Prior art) In hospitals, etc., in order to sterilize items to be sterilized, such as clothes for patients, the items to be sterilized are stored in a pressure-resistant sterilization container and the sterilization container is heated at high temperature and high pressure. It is widely practiced to sterilize the object by filling it with water vapor and heating the object to be sterilized.

In steam sterilizers used in such cases, high-pressure steam is sent into the sterilization container during sterilization work, so the door provided on the sterilization container and the sterilization container body are used to take in and take out the objects to be sterilized. It is necessary to prevent this water vapor from leaking between the parts. For this reason, packing has traditionally been fitted into an annular groove provided on the front surface of the sterilization container body or the rear surface of the door so as to surround the opening of the sterilization container, and while high-pressure steam is being fed into the sterilization container, the above-mentioned groove Compressed air is supplied from a compressor inside the container to strongly press the packing against the rear surface of the door or the front surface of the container body to maintain airtightness between the container body and the door.

The case where the groove is provided on the sterile container main body side will be explained with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIGS.
When the door 2 is closed, the rear surface of the door 2 and the front surface of the sterilization container body are opposed to each other, and the rear surface and the front surface are held in a parallel state by an appropriate mechanism (for example, Utility Model Application No. 56-47955). , the door 2 is prevented from rotating toward the open state. A groove 4 is formed in the front surface 1a of the sterile container body 1 in a portion surrounding the opening 3 of the container body 1, and a packing 5 is fitted into the groove 4. Compressed air can be freely sent into the space 6 at the back of the groove 4 through an air supply pipe 7, and when the door 2 is closed and high-pressure steam is sent into the sterilization container body 1, the pressure of the compressed air causes the packing. 5 is pressed against the rear surface 2a of the door 2 to maintain airtightness between the rear surface 2a and the front surface 1a of the container body. The groove 4 into which the packing 5 is fitted is placed on the door 2 instead of on the front of the sterilization container body 1.
The same applies to the case where the packing 5 is provided on the rear surface 2a of the container and is pressed against the front surface 1a of the container body 1 when compressed air is fed.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, the conventional steam sterilizer constructed and operated as described above has the following disadvantages.

That is, if a power outage occurs during sterilization work, the compressor that supplies compressed air to the space 6 through the air pipe 7 stops, and the force pressing the packing 5 against the rear surface 2a of the door 2 decreases, causing the high temperature inside the sterilization container to decrease. High-pressure water vapor spews out from between the container body and the door, wetting the area around the sterilizer or causing burns to people nearby.

The steam sterilizer of the present invention eliminates the above-mentioned disadvantages.

b. Structure of the invention (Means for solving the problem) The steam sterilizer of the invention, as in the case of conventional steam sterilizers, has a sterilization container main body into which high-temperature steam generated in a boiler can be fed freely through the steam supply pipe. A groove is provided on the front surface of the sterilization container body or on the rear surface of the door for opening and closing the opening so as to surround the opening of the sterilization container body, and a packing is fitted into the groove. Compressed air can be freely sent into the groove from a compressor through the first air supply pipe, and when high-pressure steam is sent into the sterilization container body, this packing is pressed against the rear surface of the door or the front surface of the container body, so that the steam can flow between both surfaces. We are trying to prevent any leakage.

The steam sterilizer of the present invention sends high-pressure water vapor into the sterilization container main body and compressed air into the groove.If there is a power outage during sterilization work, the steam sterilizer in the sterilization container is discharged from the exhaust pipe, and this water vapor is The packing is pressed against the rear surface of the door or the front surface of the sterilization container body with sufficient force until the discharge is completed.

To further explain the present invention with reference to the drawings, in the middle of the first air pipe 7 that communicates the compressor 8 with the groove 4 in which the packing 5 is fitted, air is supplied from the compressor 8 in order from the compressor 8 side. A check valve 9 that allows flow only toward the groove 4, and an air reservoir tank 1
0, and a switching valve 11 called a keep solenoid, which is a mutually stable type and switches the flow path to a state different from the previous state only when energized. This switching valve 11 is used to switch whether the groove 4 is communicated with the compressor 8 or the vacuum pump 12. During sterilization work, the groove 4 is communicated with the compressor 8 and the packing 5 is connected to the back of the door or to the sterilizer. It is pressed against the front surface of the container body, and when the door is opened, the groove 4 is communicated with the vacuum pump 12 to prevent the packing from jumping out from the groove 4.

Further, the other end of the second air supply pipe 13, one end of which is connected to the compressor 8, is connected to a second on-off valve 15 provided in the middle of an exhaust pipe 14 for discharging water vapor within the sterilization container body 1. I'm letting you do it. This second on-off valve 15 is a compressed air driven type, and the flow path opens only when compressed air is supplied.
For example, it is configured as shown in FIG. Second
In the figure, when compressed air is sent from the air supply pipe 13 connected to the air supply port 16, the diaphragm 17 is displaced upward against the elasticity of the compression spring 20, and the rod 18 fixed at the center of the diaphragm 17 is moved upward. The lower end valve 19 is separated from the valve seat 21 and the flow path is opened. When the supply of compressed air is stopped, the valve 19 is lowered by the elasticity of the compression spring 20 and comes into contact with the valve seat 21, thereby closing the flow path.

Such a compressed air driven second on-off valve 15
In the middle of the second air supply pipe 13 connecting the compressor 8 and the compressor 8, a check valve 22 that allows air to flow only from the compressor toward the on-off valve 15, an air reservoir tank 23, and a non-energized An electromagnetic three-way valve 24 is provided that communicates the air reservoir tank 23 and the on-off valve 15 only at times, and opens the air pipe 13 on the on-off valve 15 side to the atmosphere when energized.

On the other hand, the sterilizer main body 1 includes an inner cylinder 25 for storing objects to be sterilized, and an outer cylinder surrounding the inner cylinder 25 to heat the air (including water vapor) in the inner cylinder 25 and the objects to be sterilized. It consists of a tube 26. Steam fed into the outer cylinder 26 from a boiler (not shown) through a pipe 27 is fed into the inner cylinder 25 through a steam supply pipe 28 provided with a first on-off valve 29 midway. The first on-off valve 29 provided in the middle of the steam supply pipe 28 is of an electromagnetic type that opens only when energized.

(Operation) The operation of the steam sterilizer of the present invention configured as described above is as follows.

When performing sterilization work, the items to be sterilized are stored in the inner cylinder 25 and the compressor 8 is operated to supply compressed air into the groove 4, while the electromagnetic three-way valve 2
4. energize the first on-off valve 29, bring the second on-off valve 15 into the atmosphere, and open the first on-off valve 29 while keeping the flow path of this on-off valve 15 closed;
High temperature steam is sent into the inner cylinder 25. As a result, the inner cylinder 25 is filled with high-temperature steam, and the object to be sterilized is sterilized.

If a power outage occurs in this state, the first on-off valve 29 is closed and stops supplying steam into the inner cylinder 25, and the electromagnetic three-way valve that had previously opened the second on-off valve 15 to the atmosphere is closed. 24 is switched to communicate the on-off valve 15 with the air reservoir tank 23, the compressed air in the second air reservoir tank 23 is sent to the second on-off valve 15, and the second on-off valve 15 is opened. The high-pressure water vapor in the inner cylinder 25 is discharged. At this time, since compressed air is continuously sent from the air reservoir tank 10 into the groove 4 in which the packing 5 is fitted,
The airtightness between the door and the sterilization container body will not be incomplete.

c. Effects of the invention Since the steam sterilizer of the invention is configured and operates as described above, it is safe because the high-temperature steam inside the sterilization container will not blow out even in the event of an unexpected power outage. That is, even if the compressor 8 stops due to a power outage, the compressed air in the first air reservoir tank 10 will not flow to the compressor side because of the check valve 9.
Since the first air supply pipe 7 sends air to the groove 4 and continues to press the packing 5 against the lid or the front of the sterilized container body, there is no risk of water vapor spewing out from the inner cylinder and causing burns to workers even if there is a power outage. do not have.

Similarly, the compressed air stored in the second air storage tank 23 is sent to the second on-off valve 15 through the electromagnetic three-way valve 24, which was automatically switched due to a power outage, and opens the second on-off valve 15. Since the water vapor inside the door is exhausted, there is no risk of getting burned by opening the door.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the steam sterilizer of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a sectional view showing an example of an on-off valve for exhaust, Fig. 3 is a schematic plan view of the steam sterilizer, and Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the steam sterilizer of the present invention. FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of section A in FIG. 3; 1... Sterile container body, 1a... Front, 2...
Door, 2a...rear surface, 3...opening, 4...groove, 5...
...packing, 6...space, 7...air pipe, 8...
...Compressor, 9...Check valve, 10...Air reservoir tank, 11...Switching valve, 12...Vacuum pump,
13...Air supply pipe, 14...Exhaust pipe, 15...Opening/closing valve, 16...Air supply port, 17...Diaphragm, 1
8...rod, 19...valve, 20...compression spring,
21... Valve seat, 22... Check valve, 23... Air reservoir tank, 24... Solenoid three-way valve, 25... Inner cylinder,
26...Outer cylinder, 27...Pipe, 28...Steam supply pipe, 2
9...Opening/closing valve.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] The opening of the sterilization container main body 1, through which high-temperature steam generated in the boiler can be freely sent through the steam supply pipe, is connected to the door 2.
A packing 5 is fitted into a groove 4 provided on the front surface of the sterile container main body 1 or the rear surface of the door 2 surrounding this opening, and when the door is closed,
In a steam sterilizer, compressed air is sent into this groove 4 from a compressor 8 through a first air supply pipe 7, and the packing 5 is pressed against the rear surface of the door or the front surface of the sterilization container body to prevent water vapor leakage. A first opening/closing valve 29 is provided in the middle of the steam supply pipe 28 connecting to the sterilization container body 1, which opens a flow path when energized and closes when it is not energized, and in the middle of the exhaust pipe 14 that discharges high-pressure water vapor inside the sterilization container body. A compressed air-driven second on-off valve 15 that opens the flow path only when compressed air is supplied is provided,
In the middle of the second air supply pipe 13 connecting the compressor 8 and this second on-off valve 15 and the first air supply pipe 7, there is a groove 4 or a second on-off valve for supplying air from the compressor in order from the compressor 8 side. Check valves 9 and 22 that allow flow only toward the valve 15 and first and second air reservoir tanks 10 and 23 are provided, respectively, and the second air reservoir tank 23 and the second opening/closing of the second air pipe 13 are provided. Valve 1
5, the second on-off valve 15 side is opened to the atmosphere when energized, and the second air reservoir tank 23 is connected to the second air reservoir tank 23 when energized.
A steam sterilizer characterized by being provided with an electromagnetic three-way valve 24 that communicates between the and the second on-off valve 15 side.