JPH03287117A - Contact lens cleaning device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent no-water boiling without complicating the constitution of the device by providing a no-water boiling decision part which detects the no-water boiling from variation in the resistance value of a heater part and a no-water boiling inhibition part which cuts off a heater current when the no-water boiling is detected. CONSTITUTION:The rod-shaped heater part 3 is stood in an inverted state from the peripheral edge bottom part of a cleaning chamber 1 and a thermal switch 30 is provided on the side wall of the cleaning chamber 1; and an internal contact as the no-water boiling prevention switch of the heater part 3 is broken to cut off electricity to the heater part 3. When the heater resistance value R is smaller than a threshold value resistance value Rc, the conduction state of the water level sensor 20 is checked to decide whether or not the heater resistance value R is larger than a threshold value resistance value Rc; if a water level sensor 20 enters a cutoff state during a boiling period, the no-water boiling state is decided to cut off the electricity to the heater part 3 and a no-water boiling alarm tone (beep) is generated and returned to the no-water boiling inhibition part. Consequently, the no-water boiling can be prevented without complicating the constitution of the device.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field] The present invention relates to a contact lens cleaning device.

[Prior art] Conventionally, contact lenses are cleaned with cleaning water to remove dirt (particularly fat contained in tears) and rinsed with water] Tank 1
~ Contact lenses were rinsed and sterilized by boiling using a sterilizer equipped with a heater.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In such a contact lens cleaning device that cleans, rinses, and boils contact lenses, there is a possibility that dry heating may occur during boiling due to causes such as liquid leakage, which may cause damage to the lenses and the device. It may cause burnout.

Although it would be ideal to provide multiple dry-heating prevention devices of various types that have been known in the past, this has the disadvantage of increasing the size of the device and complicating its configuration.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a contact lens cleaning device that can prevent dry firing without complicating the device configuration, increasing the device size, and increasing the weight. This is an issue that should be addressed.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The tank lens cleaning device of the present invention includes a cleaning chamber for storing contact lenses, an accompanying part for forming a swirling liquid flow for cleaning and rinsing in the cleaning chamber, and a cleaning chamber for storing contact lenses. Set in C
A heating wire type heater section that boils the liquid in the cleaning chamber; a liquid supply section and a liquid drainage section that supply and drain the liquid in the cleaning chamber; and the accompanying section, the heater section, the liquid supply section and the liquid drainage section. The washing process, rinsing and boiling process are ordered to be carried out.
11 parts, and a unit in which the respective parts are arranged, and the control part includes a dry heating determination part that detects dry heating based on a change in the resistance value of the heater part, and a dry heating determining part that cuts off the heater current when dry heating is detected. It is characterized by having a no-burning part.

The auxiliary part can generate the swirling liquid flow, for example, by an impeller built into the cleaning chamber or by a pump communicating with the cleaning chamber.

The heater section can be configured, for example, by an electric heating device built into the cleaning chamber, or the heater section can be placed separately from the cleaning chamber and the heated liquid can be introduced into the cleaning chamber.

The liquid supply section can include, for example, a liquid supply path that communicates the cleaning chamber and the liquid supply tank, and a liquid supply valve that opens and closes the liquid supply path.

The liquid drainage section can include, for example, a liquid drainage path that communicates the cleaning chamber and the liquid drainage tank, and a liquid drainage valve that opens and closes this liquid drainage path.

The control section is equipped with a microcomputer with a built-in liquid supply timer, for example, and can control each section based on input commands to carry out the cleaning process, rinsing process, and boiling process.

The apparatus of the present invention can be used, for example, in a washing process, a rinsing process, a boiling process, etc.
The MIS can be controlled by a switch that emits a signal representing the second degree.

The apparatus of the present invention can be provided with a lens type designating section configured by a switch that emits a signal indicating whether the lens to be processed is a rough 1 contact lens or a hard contact lens, for example.

[Function] In the contactor 1 to lens cleaning device of the present invention, the control unit:
Dry heating is detected based on a change in the resistance value of the heater section, and the heater current is cut off when dry heating is detected.

"Example] An embodiment of the cleaning device of the present invention will be described below.

This wash? 1 Its F'f is for rough 1] It is used to clean both tank lenses and hard contact lenses, specifically cleaning, rinsing, and boiling.

(Basics of the device＠《〉 The basic structure of this cleaning device is shown in Fig. 1 which is a conceptual diagram, Fig. 2 shows an external perspective view, Fig. 3 shows a front sectional view, and Fig. 4 shows a plan view. A plan view in which the rotary lid 300, water supply tank 8, and operation panel section 102 are omitted is not shown in FIG.

This cleaning device consists of a body 00, a body case 200 made of a resin-molded thin plate that wraps around the outer circumferential side of the body 00, and a rotary rotatable rotatably supported at one end of the upper part of a small day 00 by a hinge 101 (see Fig. 5). It is equipped with a motion 1300,
These body 00, body case 200, rotation 130
0 constitutes a substrate as used in the present invention.

A cleaning chamber 1 having an opening on the upper end surface is provided in the upper part of the body 00, and a companion part 2 is provided in the lower part of the cleaning chamber 1. A rod-shaped heater part 3 and a water level sensor 2 are connected to the bottom of the cleaning chamber 1.
0 is upside down, and a normal switch 30 is installed (pushed) on the side wall of the cleaning chamber 1.
A water supply valve 4, a water control valve 5, an atmosphere release valve 6, and a control section 7 are housed inside the body 00, each consisting of a solenoid valve, and an operation panel section 102 (see FIG. > is overhanging.

On the other hand, a water supply tank 8 is installed in the upper part of the body-00 in a vertically removable manner, and the lower part of the body-00 is surrounded by a body case 200 and is opened on the right side in FIGS. 2 and 3. A drainage tank storage chamber 103 is also provided.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a drainage tank 9 is provided in this drainage tank housing chamber 103 below the water supply tank 8 so as to be detachable in the horizontal direction.

(Details of each part) Each of the above parts will be explained in more detail below.

(Base body, etc.) As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, a cleaning chamber 1 is installed on the left side of the body case 200, and a companion section 2 is installed below it.Body case A water tank 8 is mounted on the upper right side of the body case 200 and is removable in the vertical direction.
At the bottom of the 0 side, there is a drainage tank storage chamber 1 at the right end frontage in the figure.
03 is installed, and this 1] 1 water tank accommodation] 03 j
No. 1 A water tank 9 is housed so as to be detachable in the left and right directions.

The cleaning chamber 1 has a container chamber 1a located at the top for housing the lens case 400 (see FIGS. 6 to 8), and a stirring chamber 1b located at the bottom for generating a water flow. As shown in FIG. 5, the container chamber 1a has a spatial shape in which three cylindrical spaces with vertical axes overlap each other and are connected in a line.A motor 2a is installed in the lower part of the stirring chamber 1b.
is provided. The upwardly extending drive shaft 2C is the stirring chamber 1
b in a watertight and rotatable manner, and an impeller 2b is fixed to its tip. Motor 2a and impeller 2b
constitutes the companion section 2 in the present invention.

An annular seal groove 110 (see FIGS. 3 and 5) is formed on the upper end surface of the body 100 surrounding the cleaning chamber 10, and a seal portion +J (not shown) is attached to seal #1]O. A protrusion (not shown) is provided on the inner surface of the rotary lid 300 that closes the cleaning chamber 1, and the rotary lid 300 closes the cleaning chamber 1.
When closed, this protrusion presses the seal part (A), making the cleaning chamber 1 watertight.

1m vertical drainage hole installed adjacent to container chamber 1a
(See Figure 3) is connected to the bottom of the stirring chamber 1b through a horizontal buried hole 1k, and a drainage hole 1t is provided at the bottom of the drainage hole 1m.
is drilled. Furthermore, a water supply hole 1n (see FIG. 3) is formed at the bottom of the container chamber 1a. Drainage hole 1m is
As shown in FIG. 20, the drain pipe 4
0, and the drain pipe 40 reaches above the receiving port of the drain tank 9. Further, the drain pipe 40 is connected to the popular open valve 6 on the downstream side of the drain valve 5,
The outlet of the atmosphere release valve 6 [j1 is communicated with the cleaning chamber 1 via an air introduction pipe (not shown) in the rotating lid 300.

The water supply hole 1n is connected to a water supply pipe 50 as shown in FIG. 1, and the water supply pipe 50 is connected to the water supply tank 8 via the water supply valve 4.
It is connected to the falling water tube 8a.

As will be explained later in history, the washing chamber 1 has a vertical hole (heater chamber) 1e, a horizontal communication "mls", and a vertical hole (water level sensor chamber).
An ICI and an inclined drainage ditch 1h are formed.

(Heater section 3) Also, as shown in FIG. 21, a vertical hole (heater chamber) 1e is formed close to the periphery of the stirring chamber 1b at the lower part of the container chamber 1a. ), the upper end of the vertical hole 1e communicates with the container chamber 1a, and the lower end of the vertical hole 1e communicates with the lower part of the stirring chamber 1b through a horizontal communication path 1s (see FIGS. 21 and 22).

The heater part 3 is inverted from the bottom of the vertical hole 1e, and the support ring 32 fitted to the lower part of the heater part 3 is attached to the body 10.
0. The wall of the heater chamber 1e is opened and a bimetallic thermal switch 30 is fitted therein. This manual return type thermal switch 30 is a heater section 3.
This is a dry-firing prevention switch that opens the built-in contact in the event of overheating and cuts off the power to the lid part 3.

The heater section 3 has a shape Ii, and includes a stainless steel cylindrical case (hereinafter also referred to as an outer cylindrical section) 31 and a nichrome wire (not shown) enclosed in the cylindrical case 31 together with insulating powder. Note that this nichrome wire is insulated from the cylindrical case 31, and one of a pair of terminals (not shown) for energizing the nichrome wire installed at the bottom end of the cylindrical case is grounded, and the other is connected via the thermal switch 30. and control section 7
Powered by

(Operation panel section 102) On the operation panel section 102, there are a soft/hard changeover switch (lens type specification section) 81, a drainage switch (process specification section) 82, a cleaning switch (process finger 0 foot section) 83, and a boiling switch (process A designation section) 84, a start switch 85, and a clear switch 86 are provided. Each of these switches is provided with operation display LEDs 93 to 95 that remain lit after suppression until the end of a series of steps (or when the clear switch is suppressed). In addition, a software selection display LED 91 is provided near the clear switch 86.
and a pigeon selection display IFD92. Furthermore, process display LEDs 96 to 99 are provided on the operation panel section 102 to display the process currently in progress, and a buzzer (not shown) is provided on the back surface of the operation panel section 102.

(Cover switch 10) A cover switch 10 (see FIG. 3) is installed on the top of the body 100, and the cover switch 10 has a vertically rotatable sliding bar 10a and a vertically rotatable sliding bar 10a. A spring 10b is wound around and urges the sliding bar 108 upward.
and a limit switch (not shown) connected to the lower end of the sliding bar 10a. The upper end of the rotating bar 108 looks into the cover switch 11 (see Figure 5) that opens on the top surface of the body 1100, while the rotating door 300 has a protrusion (not shown) for pressing the perfect attendance bar. ) is provided.

When the rotating door 300 is closed, the protrusion for suppressing the surrounding bar presses the sliding bar 108 downward, and the sliding bar 10 moves downward.
The lower end of a activates a limit switch (not shown).

(Water level sensor 20) As shown in FIG. 20, in the upper part of the body 100, a vertical hole (water level sensor chamber) 1g (see FIGS. 1 and 5) is provided adjacent to the container chamber 1a. An inclined drain groove 1h is provided from the vertical hole (water level sensor chamber) 1q to the deep part of the container chamber 1a.During drainage, water near the water level sensor 20 is quickly discharged to the stirring chamber 1b by this inclined drain groove 1h, Furthermore, it is discharged from the stirring chamber 1b to the drain pipe 40 via the horizontal buried hole 1k and the drain port 1t.

A rod-shaped water level sensor 20 is inverted from the bottom of the water level sensor chamber 1q. This water level sensor 20 includes a PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) film 2 on the entire outer peripheral side surface of a stainless steel rod (rod-shaped conductor in the present invention) 21.
2, and the top 23 of the stainless steel rod 21 is exposed. Therefore, when the water level reaches this top 23, the top 23 of the stainless steel rod 21 is attached to the heater part 3 through the water. It is electrically connected to a stainless steel cylindrical ring 31 (see FIG. 21).The lower part of the stainless steel rod 21 penetrates the bottom of the water level sensor chamber 10 downward in a watertight manner; A support ring 2 fitted to the lower part of the stainless steel rod 21 serves as a terminal electrode.
4 is fastened to the body 100.

Note that the stainless steel cylindrical case 31 of the heater section 3 is grounded. In addition, the vertical hole 1g shown in FIG.
The gap between the water level sensor 20 and the water level sensor 20 is formed narrowly to prevent water from stagnation, and a resin layer is further interposed in this gap.

(Control unit 7) As shown in FIG. 10, the control unit 7 is a control device including a microcomputer, receives signals from the cover switches 10, 3, water level sensor 20, and switches 81 to 86, and outputs signals from the LEDs 91 to 99. , buzzer (not shown), motor 2
a, water supply valve 4, drain valve 5, atmosphere release valve 6,
The heater section 3 is driven.

The microcomputer has a built-in water supply timer as a liquid supply timer, and the water level sensor 20 functions as a liquid level sensor.

The control unit 7 has a 1-bit register for displaying the suppression state of each switch 82 to 85, and uses the storage state of each of these registers as a flag. Each flag is set by pressing each of the switches 82 to 86, and reset by pressing the clear switch 86 or completing a series of steps. However, the software/hardware switching flag is selected (reset) when the software is selected by pressing the clear switch 86 or by completing a series of steps, and is selected (set) by pressing the software/pigeon changeover switch during software selection. , soft is selected (reset) by suppression during hard selection.

4. The water supply flag and the bell flag are set by a program, and the drain flag is set by a program or by depression of the drain switch 82.

(Lens case 400> Next, the lens case 400 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 6 to 8. FIG. 6 is a plan view of the container body 60 viewed from inside, and FIG.
The figure is a plan view of the lid 70 viewed from inside.

The lens case 400 consists of a container body 60 and a lid 70 that can be fitted into each other. It has a shape, that is, a shape in which three cylinders are connected. The container main body 60 has lens storage chambers 61 and 61 on the left and right sides, and each lens storage chamber 61 is closed by the above-mentioned fitting, or a necessary number of communication holes are formed in the container main body 60 and the lid 70. Thus, liquid communication to the lens storage chamber 61 is ensured.

More specifically, each lens storage chamber 61 has a flat cylindrical space with an upper opening for storing five contact lenses W, and N70 is attached to the upper opening of the lens storage chamber 61 to cover the lens storage chamber 6. A through hole 63 vertically passes through the bottom surface 62 of the lens storage chamber 61 of the container body 60, and a large number of through holes 65 radially penetrate laterally through the side wall portion 64.

At the center of the container body 60, a long bar-shaped protrusion 66 stands upward, and a pair of fitting parts 67a, 67b are formed above and below with the protrusion 66 in between.

In addition, the fitting part 67a consists of a circular hole, and the fitting part 67b consists of an inner rod.

On the other hand, N70 is provided with circular protrusions 71 and 71 that fit into the upper surface openings of the lens storage chambers 20 and 20.
The inner surface 72 of the contact lens 1 is bulged into a spherical shape to fit the shape of the contact lens W.

Further, a large number of through holes 72 are vertically formed through the circular protrusion 71, and a cylindrical portion 74 having an insertion hole 73 is formed in the center of the lid 70. The container body 60 is inserted into the insertion hole 73.
The protrusion 66 is inserted.

Further, in N70, a pair of six fitting portions 77a and 77b are formed above and below with the cylindrical portion 74 in between. In addition, the fitting part 77b consists of a circular hole, and the fitting part 77a consists of an inner rod. The circular hole-shaped fitting portion 67a of the container body 60 is N
The circular rod-shaped fitting portion 67b of the container main body 60 fits into the circular hole-shaped fitting portion 77 of the lid 70.
mated with b.

This lens case 400 is set in the cleaning chamber 1 to prevent it from floating significantly due to the swirling water flow.

(Operation Description) Next, the operation of this device will be explained. The operation basically consists of a draining operation, a water supplying operation, a washing operation, a rinsing operation, and a boiling operation, and the washing process C] is constituted by combining the water supplying operation, the washing operation, and the draining operation in order. Further, the rinsing process C2 is configured by repeating the water supply operation, rinsing operation, and draining operation three times, and the boiling process is configured by combining the water supply operation, boiling operation, and draining operation in order. , the drainage process consists only of the drainage operation.

The control section 7 is actually configured to be able to carry out a draining process, a boiling process, a cleaning process, and a cleaning, rinsing, and boiling process, as shown in the process diagram of FIG. 17. As shown in FIG. 17, the washing and rinsing process is a continuous process in which the washing process C1 and the rinsing process C2 are performed in succession, and the washing and rinsing boiling process is a continuous process in which the washing process C1 and the rinsing process C2 are performed in succession.
1. This is a continuous process in which the rinsing process C2 and the boiling process are performed continuously.

In other words, the cleaning and rinsing process is generally used for automatic processing of hard contact lenses (of course, it is also possible to automatically process rough 1 contact lenses that do not require boiling), and the cleaning, rinsing, and boiling processes are used for automatic processing of soft contact lenses. It is used.

In addition, when boiling the mobile case together with the soft contact lenses, first place the rough 1~ contact lenses in the lens case and carry out the cleaning and rinsing process, and then boil the cleaned and rinsed soft contact lenses in physiological saline. It is also preferable to carry out the boiling process while sealing it in a carrying case (not shown).In this way, after boiling, the rough 1 to contact lenses in the carrying case can be made sterile.Of course, It is a carrying case for hard contact lenses (it is also possible to perform a boiling process and then a cleaning and rinsing process on the contact lenses themselves.

Each step will be explained below with reference to flowcharts i.

', ; a3 i1+! The microcomputer in the I control section 7 repeats each routine at a routine cycle of approximately 1 m5ec.

(Boiling flag cellar 1~) As an example of the above-mentioned flag cellaring operation, the setting operation of the boiling flag will be explained with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 16.

First, check whether the boiling switch 84 is closed (S6
1) If it is closed, set the boil flag (362) and command the output of the boil specified alarm sound (beep, beep, beep).56
3) Turn on the boiling operation display LED 95 (S64),
Return. Note that when other flags are set, no alarm sound (beep, beep, beep) is output.

9 This has the advantage that even if the boiling switch 84 is pressed while the hard contacts 1 to lenses are stored, the operator can be clearly warned.

(Drainage operation) The drainage operation is as shown in the flowchart of Fig. 11.
If the drain flag is 1 (if it is standing), listen to the drain valve 5 and the atmosphere release valve 6, and after 10 seconds, close the drain valve 5 and the atmosphere release valve 6, and set the drain flag to O to end the process.1. 11'3, the atmosphere release valve 6 is for introducing the atmosphere into the cleaning chamber 1 for drainage.

(Water supply operation) The water supply operation is performed by checking the water supply flag (S21) and, if the water supply flag is set, listening to the water supply valve 4 and the atmosphere release valve 6 (S22), as shown in flowcharts 1 to 12 of FIG.
), whether the process currently being performed is a water supply operation for the first or second rinse operation (i.e. water supply operation for a washing operation or water supply operation for the final rinse or boiling operation). If the water supply operation is for the first or second rinsing operation, the water supply timer start flag "Check whether t is O (328>, the flag If Ft is O, set flag Ft to 1.329>, if flag Ft is 1, set S29
The microcomputer's built-in water supply timer is started (330).

Next, check whether this water supply timer has expired (82
4> If finished, open water supply valve 4, atmosphere release valve 6
(S26>, reset the water supply flag and water supply timer start flag "t" to O, and return to the main routine.

On the other hand, in 323, the process currently being performed is not the water supply operation for the first or second rinsing operation, but is the water supply operation for the washing operation or the water supply operation for the final rinse operation. If the water supply operation is for a boiling operation, it is checked whether the water level sensor 20 is electrically connected (325), and if it is electrically conductive, the process advances to S26, and if it is not electrically conductive, the process returns.

Note that the water level sensor 20 issues a signal when the water level in the cleaning chamber 1 exceeds the full water level, and the control unit 7 closes the water supply valve 4 accordingly.

In addition, the microcomputer's built-in timer is set to approximately 2 seconds, and by supplying water for 2 seconds, the cleaning chamber 1 is filled with water to 1/3 of its full capacity.
Water is supplied up to a certain level. , this J: Reduces the amount of water supplied during the suzugi operation, except for the final (3rd) cycle of sea urchin, so rinsing can be performed many times with a fixed amount of water, effectively eliminating bubbles and dirt. can be excluded. If expensive physiological saline is used as in this example, and the capacity of the water supply/drainage tank 8.9 is limited, rinsing in small amounts multiple times will help conserve physiological saline. Very effective. Furthermore, in this embodiment, since the final rinse is performed at almost full water level, bubbles and dirt remaining in the cleaning chamber 1, lens case 400, etc. float to the water surface and float to the water surface. While rinsing bubbles and dirt, remove contact lenses W and lens case 4. It may re-adhere to the OO or the lens case 4. This prevents it from being pushed into the holes or recesses of the OO.

2. Also, since the water supply amount control during this intermediate rinse is carried out using a microcomputer built-in timer, the water supply amount control is extremely simple.

(Cleaning operation) The cleaning operation is performed by checking the cleaning flag as shown in the flowchart of FIG.
It is checked which of the heart flag and rough 1 to flag is set (S32). If the pigeon flag is up, it's 36.
The controller 7 instructs the motor speed control circuit (not shown) built in the control unit 7 to rotate at 00 rpm, and at the same time starts the built-in cleaning timer at 45 seconds for Cera 1 (S3
3). On the other hand, if the rough 1~flag is up, it will be 720Qr.
A motor speed control circuit (not shown) built in the control unit 7 is instructed to rotate at pm, and at the same time, a cleaning timer is set to 3 minutes and started (S34).

Next, check whether the cleaning timer has exceeded (S3
5) If it is not over, return to main routine 3, and if it is over, set the cleaning flag to ○.
As a return.

(Rinsing operation) For the Suzuki operation, check the Suzuki flag (S41) as shown in flow delay 1~ in Fig. 14, and if the Suzuki cleaning flag is not set, water supply immediately after the cleaning operation is performed. It is checked whether a flag indicating whether the flag has been set is set (S42), and if it is not set, the process returns; if it is set, the flag is set to 1 (S43). Next, the motor 2a is commanded to rotate and at the same time a built-in rinse timer is started (S44). Then, it is checked whether the rinse timer has exceeded (345), and if it has exceeded, 1 is added to the rinse flag and the process returns to the main routine (846), and if it has not exceeded, the process returns.

Also, if the rinse flag is not O in step 41, check whether the rinse flag is 4 (S47>, if it is not 4, proceed to step 44, and if it is 4, reset the rinse flag to O). 4 (848), return.

In this way, three rinsing operations are performed sequentially.

(Boiling operation) The boiling operation is as shown in the flowchart of Fig. 15.
Check the boil flag (351), and if the boil flag is not set, bypass this subroutine, and if the boil flag is set, check the boil execution alarm sound output flag Fh (35
2) If the flag Fh is set to O, command the buzzer (not shown) to output a boiling alarm sound (beep, beep, beep) 553), reset the flag Fh to 1 to 354),
If the flag "h" is 1 at 852, proceed to 355.

In S55, the heater unit 3 is energized, a built-in energization timer is started (S55), and it is checked whether energization has ended (S56). If the energization has not ended, the process returns to the main routine, and if it has ended, the boiling flag and the flag Fh are reset to O (S57), and the process returns.

(main routine) 5 The main routine of this cleaning device will be explained.

First, it is checked whether the cover switch 10 is closed (S100), and if it is, the motor 2a and the heater section 3 are closed.
, turn off each valve 4.5.6 and return to step 100, and if it is closed, check the clear flag and check whether the clear switch is on (S102>, and if it is, turn off each switch (clear switch also) (including the flag corresponding to the hardware/software switch) is reset to 0 (in addition, the flag corresponding to the hardware/software switch is reset to 1) (3103>, the process returns to step 100, and if the clear flag is not set, If the cleaning flag is not set (S102>, check the cleaning flag (S150). If the cleaning flag is not set, check the boiling flag (S14.O>). If the boiling flag is not set, proceed to step 103, and the boiling flag is set. If it is set, check the hardware/software switching flag (S181
). If hardware is selected, proceed to step 103,
If software is selected, check the start flag (31
08), if the start flag is off, the process returns to step 100; if the star 1 flag is on, the boiling process subroutine is executed (3109), and the process returns to step 100.

On the other hand, if the cleaning subroutine is activated in step 150, the boil flag is checked (8160).

If the boil flag is not set, check the start flag (
8200), if the start flag is off, step 10
If the start flag is on, the cleaning and rinsing process subroutine is executed (3111), and the process returns to step 100.

If the boil flag is set in step 160, the hard/
The software switching flag is checked (S170).

If hardware is selected, proceed to step 200; if software is selected, check the start flag (8180).
), if the start flag is off, the process returns to step 100, and if the start flag is on, the cleaning, rinsing, and boiling process subroutine is executed (S110), and the process returns to step 100.

The above-mentioned process subroutines are obtained by combining the above-described operation subroutines in order 7 shown in the process diagram of FIG. 17.

Further, at the end of each process step 1 routine proceeding to steps 109, 110, and 111, the start flag and hard/soft flag are reset to O.

As an example of the process subroutine, the timing chart 1-0 of the cleaning, rinsing, and boiling subroutines is shown in FIG. ) is provided on the rotating lid 300 to prevent excessive pressure rise during boiling.

(dry firing prevention subroutine) Next, the dry firing prevention routine will be explained.

First, in step 355 of the boiling operation subroutine shown in FIG. 15, it is determined whether or not the heater section 3 is energized.
0), returns if current is not being applied, and detects heater current Ih and heater voltage Vh if current is being applied.
/D conversion (3301).

Next, the heater resistance value R is determined by dividing the A/D converted heater voltage h by the electric current 1h (S302
>, this heater resistance value R is compared with a threshold resistance value Rc stored in advance (S303). Note that 3303 constitutes a dry firing determination section in the present invention. Further, this threshold resistance value Rc is determined by a predetermined threshold temperature Tc of the nichrome wire.
This resistance value is set to a value that does not occur when there is sufficient water in the cleaning chamber 1.

Next, if the heater resistance value R is smaller than the threshold resistance value RC, check the conduction state of the water level sensor 20 (dry firing determination section, 5304), and if the heater resistance value R is greater than or equal to the threshold resistance value RC. Proceed to 5305.

In step 5304, if the water level sensor 20 is in the cutoff state during the boiling period, it is assumed that the water level has decreased, that is, in the dry boiling state, and the process proceeds to step 3305, and if it is in the conductive state, the process returns.

In step 305, the power supply to the heater section 3 is cut off to determine the dry heating state, and a dry heating alarm sound (beep) is emitted (830
6), return to 5305.

Incidentally, 5305 constitutes the dry firing prohibition section 9 referred to in the present invention. In this embodiment, dry heating is determined by shutting off the water level sensor 20 and increasing the heater resistance R during the boiling period. Therefore, in order to compensate for fluctuations in the water level during boiling, the shutoff of the water level sensor 20 in 3304 is performed multiple times (for example, 5 times) at fixed time intervals (for example, 2 seconds), and all 5 shutoffs are output. If this occurs, it may be determined that the fuel is being heated dry.

Furthermore, in order to compensate for the drop in water level due to evaporation during boiling, the closing of the water supply valve 826 in FIG. 12 may be delayed to some extent so that the top of the water level sensor 20 is located below the water surface to some extent.

(Effects of the Example) In this example, in order to prevent dry heating, the resistance change of the heater unit 3, the cut-off detection of the water level sensor 20, and the activation of the thermal switch 30 are used, so that dry heating is carefully prevented. It can be prevented.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, in the contact lens cleaning device of the present invention, dry heating is prevented by changing the resistance of the heater section 3, so that the device configuration becomes complicated and the device becomes larger and heavier. It has great practical advantages.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing the basic configuration of this washing device, Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the external appearance of this washing device, Fig. 3 is a front sectional view of this washing device, and Fig. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing the basic configuration of this washing device. FIG. 5 shows a plan view of this cleaning device with the rotating lid 300, water tank 8, and operation panel section 102 omitted. FIG. 6 is a plan view of the case body 60 of the lens case 400, FIG. 7 is a plan view of the lid 70 of the lens case 400,
FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the lens case 400, FIG. 9 is a diagram corresponding to the claims of the present invention, and FIG. 10 is a block diagram of the control unit 7.
11 to 16 are flowcharts of subroutines showing each operation of this device, and FIG. 17 is a process diagram of this device.
FIG. 18 is a flowchart 1 to 1 showing the main routine of this apparatus, and FIG. 19 is a timing chart showing the washing and boiling steps. FIG. 20 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the water level sensor 101 of this cleaning device, and FIG. 21 is an enlarged sectional view of the vicinity of the water level sensor 101 of this cleaning device.
FIG. 22 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the vicinity, FIG. 22 is a cross-sectional view of the horizontal communication path 1S, and FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing the dry firing prevention routine. In the figure, 1 is the cleaning chamber, 2 is the stirring section, 3 is the heater section, 4 is the water supply valve (liquid supply section), 5 is the drain valve (drainage section), 6 is the atmosphere release valve, and 7 is the control section (air supply section). 8 is a water supply tank, 9 is a drainage tank, 10 is a cover switch, 20 is a water level sensor (liquid level sensor), 100
102 is an operation panel section (process designation section, lens type designation section), 200 is a body case (base body), and 300 is a rotation M (base body).

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A cleaning chamber that stores contact lenses, a stirring unit that forms a swirling liquid flow for cleaning and rinsing in the cleaning chamber, and a heating wire type heater that is installed in the cleaning chamber and boils the liquid in the cleaning chamber. , a liquid supply section and a liquid drain section that supply and drain liquid in the cleaning chamber, and the agitation section, heater section, liquid supply section, and liquid drain section to carry out a cleaning process, a rinsing process, and a boiling process. The control unit includes a control unit and a base body on which the respective parts are arranged, and the control unit includes a dry-firing determination unit that detects dry firing based on a change in resistance value of the heater unit, and a dry-firing determination unit that cuts off heater current when dry heating is detected. A contact lens cleaning device characterized by comprising a burn prohibition section.