【発明の詳細な説明】
（産業上の利用分野）
本発明は、飲料水その他の紫外線殺菌装置に関するもの
である．
（従来技術及び発明が解決しようとする課題）従来の紫
外線殺菌装置では、紫外線ランプの点灯方式はチョーク
コイル型点灯回路方式が広く用いられている．
しかしながら、上記方式では、冬期など殺菌灯の温度が
低くなったとき殺菌灯である紫外線ランプの殺菌線出力
が小さくなること、また紫外線ランプの点灯時における
殺菌線放射の立上りが遅くなるので、使用するとき最初
に、例えば流水殺菌装置の場合、処理される水、いわゆ
る初氷の殺菌が不十分であるという欠点があった．（照
明学会論：新纒、照明データブック， Ｐ，１０７ 、
株式会社オーム社発行）
本発明は上記の欠点を解決するために提案されたもので
、殺菌灯である紫外線ランプの出力を増大し、点灯時の
殺菌線放射の立上りを速くすることとした紫外線殺菌装
置を提供することを目的とする．
（課題を解決するための手段）
本発明は上記の目的を達威するため、紫外線ランプを備
えた紫外線殺菌装置において、前記紫外線ランプの点灯
回路部をインバータ点灯方式としたことを特徴とする紫
外線殺菌装置を要旨とする．（作 用）
本発明は上記のように構或をすることにより、点灯回路
の周波数を上げることができる．周波数を上げることに
より、半サイクルごとの電流の増減によって起こる光束
の変化がなくなるので、紫外線ランプの出力は従来のも
のに比べて増大できる．また、紫外線ランプの電極で消
費される電力損失も低減できるため、電力効率が９５％
以上となり、点灯時の殺菌線放射の立上りも速くするこ
とができる．
（実施例）
次に本発明の実施例について説明する．なお、実施例は
一つの例示であって、本発明の精神を逸脱しない範囲で
種々の変更あるいは改良を行いうることは言うまでもな
い．
図は本発明の紫外線流水殺菌装置の実施例を示す．図に
おいて、円筒形の石英ガラス製内管１と同じく円筒形の
硬質ガラス製外管２の上部に上蓋３、下部に下Ｍ４を設
け、前記の内管ｌと外管２との間に流水部５を形威し、
この流水部５の下方に原水流入口６、上方に処理水流出
口７を設ける．また内管ｌの内部に形威された空間部８
内には、紫外線ランブ９を上下方向に配置する．また、
ｌＯは温度センサ、ｌ１はヒーターである．さらに、上
蓋３の上方に点灯回路部１３を設ける．次に操作につい
て説明すると、紫外線ランプ９を点灯し、飲料水は原水
流入口６から流水部５へ供給され、処理水流出口７から
排出され、原水は、殺菌される．
このような上記の紫外線殺菌装置を用いて、本発明にか
かる点灯回路部にインバータ点灯方式を採用したもの、
他に比較のため一般に用いられているチ３−クコイル方
式のものを使用したものについて殺菌力を検討した．
紫外線ランブ９の温度を５゜Ｃ，１５゜Ｃ．２５゜Ｃ，
３５゜Ｃ，４５゜Ｃにそれぞれ保持した後、殺菌ランプ
点灯と同時に枯葉菌と大腸菌を含む水を通水して殺菌処
理を行った．５秒後に処理水流出口から採取された殺菌
処理水と殺菌処理前の水の菌数を寒天プレート法により
計数して殺菌率の評価を行った結果を次表に示す．
なお、本発明は前述の実施例に限らず、内管と外管との
間を流水路とし、内管内に紫外線ランプを配置した内照
方式について説明したが、タンク内に紫外線ランプを浸
漬したタンク方式、通水管の外に紫外線ランプを配置し
た外照方式、その他流水に限定することなく種々の殺菌
装置に適用できることは明らかである．
（発明の効果）
本発明によれば、紫外線ランプを備えた紫外線殺菌装置
において、前記紫外線ランプの点灯回路部をインバータ
点灯方式としたことにより、殺菌灯の出力を増大し、点
灯時の殺菌線放射の立上りを速くすることにより、瞬時
に流水を殺菌することができる効果を有する．DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to an ultraviolet sterilizer for drinking water and other objects. (Prior Art and Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In conventional ultraviolet sterilizers, a choke coil type lighting circuit is widely used as the lighting method for the ultraviolet lamp. However, with the above method, when the temperature of the germicidal lamp becomes low such as in winter, the germicidal radiation output of the UV lamp, which is a germicidal lamp, decreases, and the rise of the germicidal radiation when the UV lamp is turned on is delayed, so it cannot be used. For example, in the case of running water sterilizers, the first drawback was that the water to be treated, the so-called first ice, was not sufficiently sterilized. (Illuminating Engineering Theory: Shinki, Lighting Data Book, p. 107,
(Published by Ohmsha Co., Ltd.) The present invention was proposed in order to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks, and it increases the output of an ultraviolet lamp, which is a germicidal lamp, and speeds up the rise of germicidal radiation when it is turned on. The purpose is to provide sterilization equipment. (Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an ultraviolet sterilizer equipped with an ultraviolet lamp, characterized in that the lighting circuit section of the ultraviolet lamp is of an inverter lighting type. The main topic is sterilization equipment. (Function) By configuring the present invention as described above, it is possible to increase the frequency of the lighting circuit. By increasing the frequency, the output of UV lamps can be increased compared to conventional ones because the changes in luminous flux caused by the increase and decrease of current every half cycle are eliminated. It also reduces power loss consumed by the electrodes of ultraviolet lamps, resulting in power efficiency of 95%.
As a result, the rise of germicidal radiation when the lamp is turned on can be made faster. (Example) Next, an example of the present invention will be explained. It should be noted that the embodiments are merely illustrative, and it goes without saying that various changes and improvements can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. The figure shows an example of the ultraviolet water sterilization device of the present invention. In the figure, a cylindrical inner tube 1 made of quartz glass and an outer tube 2 made of cylindrical hard glass are provided with an upper lid 3 at the top and a lower M4 at the bottom, and water can flow between the inner tube 1 and the outer tube 2. Improving part 5,
A raw water inlet 6 is provided below this water flow section 5, and a treated water outlet 7 is provided above. Also, a space 8 formed inside the inner tube l
Inside, ultraviolet lamps 9 are arranged vertically. Also,
lO is a temperature sensor and l1 is a heater. Furthermore, a lighting circuit section 13 is provided above the top lid 3. Next, to explain the operation, the ultraviolet lamp 9 is turned on, drinking water is supplied from the raw water inlet 6 to the flowing water part 5, and is discharged from the treated water outlet 7, and the raw water is sterilized. Using such an ultraviolet sterilizer as described above, an inverter lighting method is adopted in the lighting circuit section according to the present invention,
For comparison, we also examined the bactericidal power of a commonly used three-coil system. The temperature of the ultraviolet lamp 9 was set to 5°C, 15°C. 25°C,
After maintaining the temperature at 35°C and 45°C, respectively, a sterilization lamp was turned on and water containing Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli was passed through for sterilization. The number of bacteria in the sterilized water collected from the treated water outlet after 5 seconds and in the water before sterilization was counted using the agar plate method and the sterilization rate was evaluated. The results are shown in the table below. It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and the explanation has been given to an internal illumination method in which a flow channel is provided between the inner tube and the outer tube and an ultraviolet lamp is placed inside the inner tube. It is clear that this method can be applied to a variety of sterilization devices without being limited to the tank method, the external lighting method in which an ultraviolet lamp is placed outside the water pipe, and other types of sterilization devices that use running water. (Effects of the Invention) According to the present invention, in an ultraviolet sterilizer equipped with an ultraviolet lamp, the lighting circuit section of the ultraviolet lamp is an inverter lighting system, so that the output of the germicidal lamp is increased and the germicidal rays are By speeding up the rise of radiation, it has the effect of instantly sterilizing running water.
【図面の簡単な説明】[Brief explanation of drawings]
図は本発明の一実施例を示す概略図である．１：石英ガ
ラス製内管、２：硬質ガラス製外管、３：上蓋、４：下
蓋、５：流水部、６：原水流入口、７：処理水流出口、
８：空間部、９：紫外線ランプ、１０：温度センサ、ｌ
ｌ：ヒーター１２：点灯回路部．
手続補正書（自発）
１．
２．
３．
４．
５．
事件の表示
平或１年特許願第１８８４２３号
発明の名称
紫外線殺菌装置
補正をする者
事件との関係 特許出願人
名称 （５８３）松下電工株式会社The figure is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. 1: Inner tube made of quartz glass, 2: Outer tube made of hard glass, 3: Upper cover, 4: Lower cover, 5: Water flow section, 6: Raw water inlet, 7: Treated water outlet,
8: Space, 9: Ultraviolet lamp, 10: Temperature sensor, l
l: Heater 12: Lighting circuit section. Procedural amendment (voluntary) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Display of the case Patent application No. 188423 of 2011 Name of the invention Person who amends ultraviolet sterilizer device Relationship to the case Name of patent applicant (583) Matsushita Electric Works Co., Ltd.