JPH0531159A - Medical appliance sterilizing container and medical fluid sterilizing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To simply and easily perform sterilization and to enhance the continuity of sterilization by internally providing a sterilizing body wherein a titania fine powder is welded to the surface of a metal substrate in a container having a lighting opening part or a light pervious part. CONSTITUTION:For example, the bottomed body 1 of a toothbrush receiving container is formed into a cup shape using transparent glass or plastic and an upper lid 11 is also transparent in the same way. A sterilizing body 4 is bonded to the inner wall of the main body 1 but the structure thereof is formed by applying a titania powder to two surfaces of a rectangular nickel substrate 41 by flame spraying and bonding the rear of the nickel substrate to the glass wall of the body 1 by an org. adhesive. Further, a titania powder is applied to the nickel vapor deposition film 41 provided to the inner surface of the bottom part of the container body 1 by flame spraying to form the sterilizing body 4. At the time of use, the cup-shaped container body 1 is filled with water and a toothbrush 5 after tooth-brushing is inserted in the cup- shaped main body so as to be immersed in water to place the container body 1 under bright illumination. Whereupon, the surface of the titania layer in water sterilizes the toothbrush along with water by photoelectrochemical reaction.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sterilization container for accommodating medical instruments such as dental instruments and a water supply / drainage container for medical equipment for dental treatment, etc. Regarding improvement.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Dental instruments such as tweezers, scalpels, scissors and handpieces for dental treatment are contaminated with fungi such as bacteria and fungi every time they are used in the oral cavity in the course of treatment. After the treatment, it must be surely washed and sterilized.

Also, toothbrushes used by ordinary people at home are contaminated with oral fungi every time they brush their teeth.
It does not reach a sterilized state and is usually not always clean.
In addition, the denture, especially if used long wearing in the oral cavity,
The sediment turns yellow and pollutes, forming a hotbed of bacteria and causing bad breath. Dentures are sometimes soaked in a liquid agent to be washed and bleached.

Toothbrushes are rarely washed and sterilized by chemicals during use, and there is a risk of accidentally being contaminated with periodontal bacteria by using a toothbrush of another person. Recently, it is known that the outer surface of the bristles of a toothbrush is subjected to antibacterial treatment.

In the dental clinic, water is supplied during treatment,
In addition, containers and tanks for collecting and storing drainage are installed near the floor of the dental unit. The water supply is necessary as cooling water for the handpiece type cutting tool, as washing water for syringes, and as water for mouth rinsing, and is usually supplied through a heating tank or a water filter. Further, such water supply in the oral cavity is absorbed by the vacuum syringe and temporarily stored in the vacuum tank as drainage, and then discarded.

[0006] The water supply container circulates tap water exclusively, but when heated, it becomes a source of propagation of various bacteria, and the drainage container is contaminated with saliva, cutting tissue, and blood from the oral cavity. As a result, it causes the propagation of harmful bacteria and a bad odor, and the drainage container must be frequently washed and sterilized, but it is difficult in reality.

In recent years, as a sterilization method that does not use chemicals, on the surface of titania fixed by thermal spraying on a metal substrate,
A remarkable bactericidal effect was found under light irradiation (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 3).
-8448).

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention seeks to provide a container for sterilizing a charge in a dental container by utilizing a deposited titania layer on a metal substrate as a sterilizer. To do.

[0009]

A sterilization container for accommodating a medical device such as a dental device of the present invention has an opening or a light transmitting part for lighting, and the container has a metal base surface. It is characterized in that a sterilizing body formed by welding fine titania powder is internally provided. In addition, a light-emitting body that illuminates the sterilization body is particularly provided inside the container. Such a container accommodates a toothbrush or a denture, as well as a dental treatment instrument, and in particular, the container has a shape determined by its object.

Further, the present invention provides a container provided in the middle of a passage for water or air supplied to or discharged from the medical device so that the water or air can pass through the container. Sterilization of medical fluids characterized in that the container is provided with a light-transmitting part or a light-emitting body that allows external light to pass through the container, and a sterilizing body formed by welding fine titania powder to the surface of a metal substrate is provided inside the bracket container. It is a device. The apparatus also includes the container provided with a light emitter that illuminates the germicidal body. These sterilization devices are intended for water supply warmer tanks or dental vacuum tanks, for example.

The light-transmitting light-transmitting part is usually formed of transparent glass or synthetic resin, and is arranged so as to illuminate the sterilized body by taking in normal room light outside the container. The entire container may be transparent.

The sterilizer can be formed by spraying titania fine powder onto a metal substrate, for example, a thin plate of 18-8 stainless steel by a flame sprayer and depositing the sterilizer on the inner bottom portion or inner wall surface of the container. When the container itself is made of metal, the titania fine powder may be directly sprayed and welded to the inner wall surface of the metal. In the case of a glass container, platinum may be vapor-deposited on the glass surface and titania may be sprayed on the platinum coating. As another sterilizer, a knitted body made of synthetic resin or the like is electrolessly plated with nickel, for example, to form a metal substrate, and titania is sprayed onto this nickel thin film to form a sterilized body. It is also possible to attach a structure inside, and in particular, a large number of titania thermal spray knitted fabrics having a suitable mesh structure are stacked to form a column, or if a flat synthetic resin knitted product is wound into a cylindrical shape, the sterilized area is increased. Widely effective. Further, by forming sterilization layers on both the front and back sides of the sterilization body, the surface area is increased, which is more effective.

The light for illuminating the sterilizer is preferably visible light from a fluorescent lamp and does not need ultraviolet light. When a light emitting body is provided, a fluorescent lamp or an electroluminescence plate is used as the light emitting body, and when monochromatic light is used, the wavelength range from visible light to near infrared light (370 nm to 1100 nm) is selected.

[0014]

A sterilizer is additionally provided inside the container. The sterilizer is formed by spraying titania on a metal substrate and depositing it on the container. A light transmitting portion is provided or a light emitting body is provided. Upon irradiation with light from the light-collecting opening or the like or the light-emitting body, the electrons in the valence band of titania are excited and transferred to the conductor, leaving holes in the valence band. The holes react with water in contact with the titania to generate activated oxygen or OH radicals, and electrons in the conduction band move to the metal substrate to reduce water to generate hydrogen. By this photoelectrochemical reaction, the sprayed layer of metal-titania sterilizes water in a wet state and thus functions as a sterilizer.

Therefore, since the toothbrush or the denture is stored together with water in the daylightable container in which the sterilizer is provided inside, the toothbrush or the denture is completely sterilized together with the water.

Since a daylightable container having the sterilizer attached inside is used as a water supply tank or a drainage tank, tap water temporarily stored in the tank and the inner wall of the tank are also sterilized, or as a water supply filter, or Even if it is used as a water heating tank, clean water can always be supplied, and the tank itself does not become a source of pollution of infectious diseases. In addition, since it is used for the drainage tank that temporarily holds the drainage from the vacuum syringe, it is possible to sterilize the drainage containing filth during treatment, prevent spoilage and foul odors, and clean the inside of the tank as well. It can be done very easily.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described first with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an external view of a toothbrush storage container according to an embodiment of the present invention. The bottomed container body 1 is made of transparent glass or transparent plastic and is formed in a cup shape. It is transparent and is attached to the opening of the main body 1 via a hinge so that the opening of the main body can be watertightly sealed. The sterilizer 4 is attached to the inner wall of the main body, and the structure is formed by spraying titania powder onto two surfaces of a rectangular nickel substrate 41 and depositing the back surface of the nickel substrate on the glass of the main body 1. It is attached to the wall with an organic adhesive. On the inner surface of the bottom portion, a bactericidal body 4 is formed by spraying titania powder onto the vapor deposition film 41 of nickel.

In use, the cup-shaped container 1 may be filled with water, the toothbrush 5 after toothbrushing may be placed in the cup so as to be submerged, and the container 1 may be placed under bright illumination. The room light penetrates the transparent glass and illuminates the titania surface 42 of the sterilizer 4, so that the titania surface in water sterilizes the toothbrush together with water by a photoelectrochemical reaction. Since the operation is extremely simple, it can be easily used at home.

FIG. 2 shows a sectional view of a sterilization container for dentures. The nickel vapor deposition coating 41 is formed on the inner surface of the container body 1.
Is deposited, and the titania fine powder 42 is sprayed thereon to form the sterilizing body 4, and the light emitting body 3 is provided inside the upper lid 11 of the container.
As a strip-shaped surface light emitting element utilizing electroluminescence is additionally provided as a battery, and when the lid is closed by the detection means 31 such as a micro switch for detecting opening / closing of the lid, the battery 3
Electricity from 2 causes the light emitting body 30 to emit light, and the light emitting body 30 disappears when the lid is opened. The detection means is
In addition to this, it may be provided at a locking portion of a stored object such as a denture to detect housing by locking.

In use, the sterilization body 4 is filled with water so that the sterilization body 4 is submerged in water, the denture 6 removed from the oral cavity is put into the container 1, and the luminescent body 30 is made to emit light, thereby sterilizing the sterilization body 4. Upon irradiation, the sterilizer 4 sterilizes the denture 6 together with water. When used in a general household, when the denture is not used, the light of the light emitting body is usually used at night, and thus the container 1 itself does not need to be translucent.

FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of the water filter, in which a cylindrical mesh-shaped sterilizer 4 is formed by winding a polyethylene mesh in the shape of a band coil around the inner middle portion of a cylindrical container 1. Nickel is deposited on the polyethylene net body of the sterilizer 4 by electroless plating, and fine titania powder is sprayed on the nickel plating layer at low temperature by a flame sprayer to form the sterilizer 4. There is. That is, the sterilizer 4 also serves as the filter 7. A filter may be attached to the inner peripheral surface of the container separately from the sterilizer 4.

A tap water supply pipe 12 and a discharge pipe 13 connected to a water supply pipe of a treatment instrument (not shown) are connected to the upper side and the lower side of the container 1, respectively.

At both ends of the cylindrical container 1, spherical fluorescent lamps 32 as light emitting bodies 3 are attached through transparent watertight windows 33 so as to illuminate the sterilizing body 4 in the container 1. ing. The container 1 itself can use room light if it is made of a transparent material, but since it is provided with the light emitting body 3, it may be a metal container.

In use, the container 1 with the light emitting body 3 is used.
The water passing through the sterilizer is sterilized by illuminating the inside of the four layers of the sterilizer from the upper surface and the lower surface. In this case, it is important to make the cross section of the container large so that the passage speed is as small as possible so that the passage time of the sterilizer in water can be secured.

In the present embodiment, the system in which the net body is wound in the form of a strip coil is shown, but it may be a laminated body in which a large number of disc-shaped net bodies are stacked. Also in this case, a titania sprayed sterilizer is formed on the net beforehand.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a drainage tank that temporarily stores the drainage from the vacuum syringe. The drain pipe 14 from the vacuum syringe 15 is provided at the upper end (upper lid) of the cylindrical container 1. Connected to the vacuum pump 17
The exhaust pipe 16 connected to is connected to the inside of the container 1, and the inside of the container 1 is depressurized to the atmospheric pressure in the use state. A drain pipe 18 is connected to a substantially middle position in the height direction of the container 1,
The drain pipe 18 is provided with a check valve 19.

On the inner peripheral surface of the container 1, strip-shaped sterilizers 4 are provided in two rows, and on the lower surface of the upper lid, a planar light emitting element 31 using electroluminescence is attached as a light emitter 3 for illumination. Occasionally, the monochromatic light from the light emitter 3 is arranged to irradiate the surface of the sterilization body.

At the time of suction, the drainage from the syringe increases in the container 1 and the liquid level 2 gradually rises. However, since the drainage in the container remains, it can be sterilized by the sterilizer 4. When the liquid level 2 rises above a certain level, the decompression is stopped and the inside of the container becomes equal to the atmospheric pressure. Therefore, the check valve 19 opens and the drainage in the container through the drainage pipe 18 reaches the level of the drainage pipe port. It is released and then decompressed and re-suctionable. During the absorption of the waste water under reduced pressure, the waste water is constantly sterilized, so that the inner wall of the container and the drainage line can be kept substantially sterilized.

Next, a bactericidal test was conducted on the filter mesh used in the water filter of FIG. 3 which had been subjected to the titania fine powder thermal spraying treatment. The net is made of polyethylene monofilament and woven into a mesh. First, it is dipped in an electrolytic solution,
Nickel plating, then fine titania powder (particle size 5-2
5 μm) was sprayed by a flame sprayer under a propane-air flame to form a titania sintered layer with a thickness of 1 to 300 μm.

Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were selected as bacteria for this reticulate body, and the bacterial culture solution in the petri dish was directly applied and inoculated, followed by irradiation with visible light of a fluorescent lamp and holding for a predetermined time. Next, the surviving cells of the net were washed out, and the viable cell count was measured with a cell count measuring medium. The results are shown in Tables 1 and 2.

[0031]

[Table 1]

[0032]

[Table 2]

The test results are summarized below.
Is irradiated with ultraviolet rays, and the titania spray net is transformed into E. coli,
It can be seen that the bactericidal effect is shown against Staphylococcus aureus, and the bactericidal effect is remarkable even with visible light of a fluorescent lamp.
Therefore, even when the room light is taken in through the opening or the translucent portion as in the present invention, a sterilizing effect is produced against water and instruments in the container.

[0034]

EFFECT OF THE INVENTION By implementing the dental instrument storage container and the dental water supply / drainage container of the present invention, the following effects can be obtained. That is, the toothbrush used in the oral cavity or denture or other medical device is stored in the storage container,
By simply illuminating with room light or a built-in light emitting body, it is possible to sterilize easily and easily without using any chemicals, and it is possible to prevent stain yellowing and bad odor on the surface of dentures and the like. Further, the sterilizing effect of the sterilizer in the container is high and the life is long.

If a sterilizer is used in the water supply container, the water supply is always placed in a sterilizing environment, and bacteria and the like in the container are eliminated, which is effective in removing the source of bad odor and preventing infection. Also, if it can be applied to the drainage system from the vacuum syringe, almost all sewage can be sterilized, the settling inside the container can be prevented from spoiling, the odor can be prevented, and the container itself can be inspected and cleaned easily and safely. As a result, infection of the entire medical facility can be prevented and hygienic reliability can be guaranteed. In addition, there is a similar sterilizing effect for sterilizing humid air.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view of a toothbrush storage container.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a denture storage container.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a water filter.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a vacuum tank that stores and processes waste water from a vacuum syringe.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 container 2 liquid level 3 luminous body 4 sterilizer 5 toothbrush 6 dentures 7 filters

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A sterilizing container for medical equipment, characterized in that a sterilizing body made by welding fine titania powder to the surface of a metal substrate is provided in a container having a lighting opening or a translucent portion. 2. A medical device, characterized in that a sterilizing body made by welding fine titania powder to the surface of a metal substrate is provided in the container, and a luminescent body for illuminating the inside of the container is provided in the container. Instrument sterilization container. 3. The container has a detection means for detecting the opening / closing of the lid of the container or the fact that a medical device is housed in the container, and the light emitting element is turned on / off by a signal from the detection means. The medical instrument sterilization container according to claim 2, wherein. 4. A container provided in the middle of a passage for water or air supplied to or discharged from the medical device, wherein the water or air passes through the inside of the container, and the container is an external light source. A sterilizer for medical fluids, comprising: a light-transmitting part or a light-emitting body for passing the above in a container, and a sterilizer formed by welding fine titania powder on the surface of a metal substrate in the bracket container. 5. The apparatus for sterilizing medical fluid according to claim 4, wherein the apparatus is a vacuum tank for temporarily storing drainage from a dental vacuum syringe or a mouthwash apparatus. 6. The apparatus for sterilizing medical fluid according to claim 4, wherein the apparatus is provided in the water supply line of the dental treatment table. 7. The sterilization container for medical equipment or the sterilization of medical fluid according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the sterilizer is attached to or attached to the container in a detachable and replaceable manner. apparatus.