JPH0753006A - Storage/discharge device and incineration method for medical waste - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a storage/discharge device for medical waste which can prevent a worker from being infected or injured due to the scattering or leakage of contents and is hygienic without generating offensive odors, and attain a method of completely-sterilizing infectious medical waste by complete incineration. CONSTITUTION:Plural baskets 25 for storing a package 1 which accommodates medical waste are disposed side by side on an endless chain 22 disposed so that its circulation may be driven smoothly. The respective baskets 25 are formed at a throwing-in port whose top surface is opened and at a discharging port whose end is opened. The respective baskets 25 are provided with K discharging means 3 which forcibly discharge the package 1 accommodated in the basket 25 from the discharging port.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for storing and discharging medical waste containing infectious substances and a method for incinerating the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a medical waste burning facility, a method has been adopted in which waste containers discharged from various parts of a hospital facility are sequentially stored on a work floor or the like, and are appropriately placed in an incinerator.

[0003]

However, since medical waste has a large variation in the quality of waste and contains a substance that may cause infection or injury, or may cause pollution, it is a waste container. With the conventional method of sequentially storing the waste on the floor and putting it into the incinerator as appropriate, not only is combustion in the incinerator intermittent and unstable, but it is also necessary to touch the waste container and incomplete combusted material many times. There was a problem that the risk of infection and injury was unavoidable.

Therefore, according to the "Infectious Waste Treatment Manual" based on the revised Waste Treatment Law enforced in August 1992, the waste is scattered and spilled and a bad odor is generated by separately packing according to the nature and shape. The complete combustion method is specified.

On the other hand, as a solution to the above problem, the applicant has applied for a waste storage tank described in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 3-12801.

In this waste storage tank, two dampers are provided at the top and bottom so as to be openable and closable, and the upper damper measures the reaction force of the dust that the upper damper receives when closing the inside of the storage tank body. By stopping the closing operation based on the result, the waste stored in the storage tank is prevented from being destroyed unnecessarily, and the waste is sequentially dropped from the upper side to the lower side together with the opening / closing operation of the lower damper so that the waste is discharged. It is configured.

However, in the above waste storage tank, although the combustion state in the incinerator is stable and complete combustion can be expected, it is not possible to completely prevent the packing containing the waste by the upper damper from being crushed. Medical waste containing infectious waste that cannot be avoided due to infection by spills leaking from damaged packaging, injury by sharps, and pollution and odors around storage devices due to sewage. There was a problem that it was not a perfect method for storing water.

[0008]

In a medical waste storage and discharge device according to the present invention, a plurality of baskets for storing a package containing medical waste are connected to an endless chain which is rotatably driven. The basket is formed at the input port having an open top surface and at the discharge port having one end opened, and these baskets are forcibly discharged from the discharge port through the discharge port. Means are provided.

Further, in the method for incinerating medical waste according to the present invention, a non-infectious waste among medical waste is put into an incinerator and incinerated to bring the temperature in the incinerator to a set temperature. Maintain and incinerate infectious waste at this set temperature.

[0010]

The packing of the waste is accommodated in a plurality of baskets connected to the endless chain and discharged by the discharging means from the discharge port formed at one end of the basket. No external force is applied and the packaging is not damaged until it is put into the incinerator, and therefore, when the medical waste containing infectious waste is stored and discharged, the contents are not scattered or leaked.

Further, while maintaining the temperature in the incinerator at a set temperature by using non-infectious waste among medical waste,
Complete incineration of infectious waste by throwing in infectious waste and incinerating it.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show a medical waste storing and discharging apparatus according to the present invention.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a package in which medical waste is separately stored according to the instructions of the above-mentioned "Infectious Waste Treatment Manual", and each package is stored from above the work floor 11. It is put into the discharging device 2.

Here, as an example of medical waste that is sorted and packed into each type, infectious combustible waste, infectious flame-retardant waste, infectious sharps, and non-infectious medical waste, In addition, there are general wastes with high calorific value, etc. In this example, these five types are sorted and packed.

The storage and discharge device 2 includes an endless chain 22 wound around four sets of sprockets 21 arranged vertically and horizontally and circulatively driven, and a plurality of baskets 25 connected to the endless chain 22. , And the discharge device 3 provided in these baskets 25.

The endless chain 22 is composed of a plurality of link chains 23 connected to each other, and two sets are arranged in front and rear via the sprocket 21.

The basket 25 is formed in a box shape with an upper surface opened (insertion port), and both ends thereof are connected substantially horizontally to the front and rear endless chains 22 and 22 through connecting members 26 to form an endless structure. The chains 22 and 22 are configured to circulate along with circulation driving.

The baskets 25 are spaced apart from each other at an appropriate distance so that they do not interfere with each other during circulation movement.
A plurality of units 2 and 22 are rotatably arranged.

On one of the connecting members 26 of the basket 25, there is a roll-preventing roller 27 for preventing the roll of the basket 25 by a roll-preventing rail 4 which will be described later and stably holding the basket 25 in a horizontal state. Two are provided on the left and right.

The discharge device 3 has a width substantially the same as the width of the basket 25, and a discharge plate 31 having an appropriate height is arranged so as to be movable back and forth in the basket 25 by a separately provided drive device 5. It was done.

Baskets 25 are provided on both sides of the discharge plate 31.
Rollers 32 that roll on the upper edges of both sides are provided via brackets, and the discharge plate 31 can be smoothly moved back and forth by the rollers 32.

Further, the rear surface of the basket 25 on the right side in FIG. 2 is composed of only a frame member, and the discharge port 25a through which the package 1 accommodated in the basket 25 is discharged.
Is formed in.

At the center of the upper horizontal moving portion of the storage / discharge device 2, a roll-prevention rail 4 is provided which contacts the roll-prevention roller 27 and holds the basket 25 in a horizontal state. In this way, the position at which the roller 27 of the basket 25 is brought into contact with the anti-sway rail 4 and the basket 25 is held horizontally is the discharge position for discharging the package 1 in the basket 25.

The drive unit 5 comprises a gripping arm 51 for gripping the upper end of the discharge plate 31, a screw member 52 for moving the gripping arm 51 back and forth, and a drive motor 53.

The gripping arm 51 is detachably attached to the upper end of the discharge plate 31 of the basket 25 located at the discharge position by an appropriate expansion / contraction mechanism or rotation mechanism.

The upper end of the gripping arm 51 is screwed onto the screw member 52 that is rotatably supported in the front and rear direction above the discharge device 3, and the screw member is connected by the drive motor 53 connected to the screw member 52. The gripping arm 51 is moved in the front-rear direction by rotationally driving the arm 52 in the forward and reverse directions.

Below the discharge port of the basket 25 located at the discharge position, a chute 6 for guiding the package 1 discharged from the basket 25 and the package 1 guided by the chute 6 are conveyed to an incinerator (not shown). And a discharge conveyor 7 that operates.

Since the discharge position is arranged at the upper part, the discharge position and the charging hopper of the incinerator can be at the same level, whereby the discharging position and the charging hopper of the incinerator can be provided. The disposed discharge conveyor 7 can be placed in a horizontal state, the package 1 can be stably transported, and the package can be prevented from falling during transportation.

Of the four sets of sprockets 21, the upper two sets of sprockets 21 are rotatably supported in a cantilever state so that the basket 25 can pass therethrough, and the lower two sets of sprockets 21 are supported.
A pair of front and rear sprockets 21 have a common shaft member 21.
It is rotatably supported by a.

One of the two sets of sprockets 21 is connected to the electric motor 8 via a worm speed reducer 81 on its shaft member 21a, and the worm speed reducer 81 and the shaft member are driven by the drive of the electric motor 8. By rotationally driving the sprocket 21 via 21a, the endless chain 22 is circularly driven, and thereby the basket 25 is circularly moved.

In the medical waste storing / discharging device 2 thus constructed, the plurality of baskets 25 are
A dedicated basket 25 is designated for each of the above-mentioned five types of wastes to be stored, and the baskets 25 are distinguished by coloring or giving a control number.

A control device 9 is provided in the vicinity of the work floor 11. The control device 9 arranges a designated basket 25 on the side of the work floor 11 at the loading position, and packs it in the basket 25. It is possible to control so that the specified basket 25 is placed at the discharging position and the packing 1 is discharged by the discharging means while the first charging is performed.

The dedicated baskets 25 are arranged so as to be mixed at appropriate intervals so as not to cause an imbalance in the load applied to the entire endless chain 22 due to the package 1 housed therein.

Further, reference numeral 12 in FIG.
Packing in the basket 25 with the safety device provided in 1.
It is canceled only when is input.

Next, the operation of the medical waste storage and discharge device and the method for incinerating medical waste using this storage and discharge device will be described.

First, by operating the control device 9 for the various packages 1 placed on the work floor 11 and storing each package 1 in the designated basket 25 for each type, for example, the above-mentioned five types of medical treatments are performed. The system waste is stored in each basket 25 in a state of being divided into five types.

When the safety device 12 is closed and a discharge command is issued by the incineration method described later, the designated basket 25 is moved to the discharge position, and the discharge device 3 is used to move the inside of the basket 25 at this position. The package 1 stored in is discharged. More specifically, when the designated basket 25 is arranged at the discharge position, the rolling prevention roller 4 and the roller 27 are in contact with each other to hold the basket 25 horizontally, and the gripping arm 51 of the drive device 5 is extended or rotated. Then, the upper end of the discharge plate 31 is gripped by the tip of the grip arm 51. Then, the drive motor 53 is driven to rotate the screw member 52 in one direction to move the discharge plate 31 to the discharge port side of the basket 25 via the gripping arm 51, and thereby the discharge plate 31 is accommodated in the basket 25. The package 1 is discharged from the discharge port 25a of the basket 25. Thereafter, the screw member 52 is rotated in the opposite direction to the above by the drive motor 53 to return the discharge plate 31 to the original position,
The gripping arm 51 is detached from the discharge plate 31, and the discharging operation of the package 1 accommodated in the basket 25 is completed.

By performing such an operation for each basket 25, the packages 1 of the designated baskets 25 are sequentially discharged. As a result, the package 1 sorted according to the nature and shape of the waste can be systematically discharged.

Next, a method of incinerating the medical waste discharged from the storage and discharge device will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, in order to keep the inside of the incinerator at a high temperature and completely combust the waste to be supplied thereafter, a high calorific value, which is a safe general waste with a high calorific value, for ignition and temperature rise. The basket 25 containing the waste is designated, and the package 1 of the high heat generation general waste in the basket 25 is discharged to the discharge conveyor 7 through the chute 6 by the above-described operation, and the discharge conveyor 7 generates the high heat generation amount. The general waste packaging 1 is put into an incinerator (step S1). In this way, after the appropriate amount of the high calorific value general waste packaging 1 is loaded, the high calorific value general waste packaging 1 is ignited and burned by the temperature raising burner in step S2 to raise the temperature in the incinerator.

Then, in step S3, the package 1 of the high calorific value municipal waste is additionally charged until the temperature in the incinerator falls within the set range (for example, 950 ° to 750 °) (step S4), and in the incinerator. If the temperature is within the set range, in step S5, the infectious combustible waste is discharged from the storage and discharging device 2 based on the discharge command and is put into the incinerator by the discharge conveyor 7, and the infectious combustible waste is discharged. Incinerate. At the time of this incineration, the combustion air temperature control and combustion including the additional charging of the package 1 of the high calorific value municipal waste from the storage and discharge device 2 to the incinerator so as to maintain the changing temperature in the incinerator within the above-mentioned set range Combustion control such as air amount adjustment is performed (step S6).
S7).

Thereafter, in steps S8 and S9, non-infectious medical waste is introduced, and subsequently, infectious flame-retardant waste is discharged from the storage and discharge device 2 to the discharge conveyor 7,
The non-infectious medical waste and the infectious flame-retardant waste are incinerated by being put on the infectious combustible waste being burned. At the time of this incineration, combustion control including additional charging of the high-calorific value municipal waste package 1 is performed in the same manner as described above so as to maintain the changing temperature in the incinerator within the set range (step S10,
S11).

Next, in steps S12 and S13, the non-infectious medical waste for combustion maintenance and the infectious sharps to which the infectious substance adheres are put into a burning incinerator and burned, and then step S3. Returning to step 1, while repeating the same operation control as described above, various infectious wastes are completely burned to sterilize pathogenic bacteria.

By controlling the combustion so that the infectious waste is burned within the set temperature, the infectious waste can be completely burned and the pathogenic bacteria can be completely sterilized, which is safe.

In the storage and discharge device of this example, the endless chain 22 is wound and supported by four sets of sprockets 25. However, as shown in FIG. 4, two sets of large diameter sprockets 100 are used.
Alternatively, the endless chain 22 may be supported by winding.
The rest of the configuration and the operation thereof are the same as those of the above-described embodiment, and the description thereof will be omitted.

The discharging means is not limited to the storage and discharging device of this embodiment, and the discharging plate 31 may be moved back and forth by a hydraulic cylinder or the like, or the basket 25 may be used without the discharging plate 31. The method of inclining may be adopted.

[0048]

As described above, according to the storage and discharge device of the present invention, since an unreasonable external force is not applied to the packaging of each waste, the packaging is damaged until it is put into the incinerator. Therefore, even when medical waste containing infectious waste is stored and discharged, it is possible to prevent infection and injury to workers due to scattering and leakage of the contents, and to maintain a sanitary odor. Is.

Further, according to the incineration method of the present invention, infectious waste is put into incineration while maintaining the temperature in the incinerator at a set temperature due to non-infectious waste among medical waste. By doing so, combustion can be stabilized, and as a result, complete combustion is possible, sterilization is completely performed, and secondary pollution can be prevented in advance.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a medical waste storage and discharge device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing a medical waste storage and discharge device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing the flow of a method for incinerating medical waste according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing another embodiment of the storage / discharge device for medical waste according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Endless chain 25 Basket 25a Discharge port 3 Discharge device 5 Drive device

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Internal reference number FI technical display location F23G 7/00 ZAB A 8409-3K

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of baskets for storing a package containing medical wastes are continuously connected to an endless chain which is circulatively driven, and the baskets are formed at an input port whose upper surface is opened. At the same time, one end of the basket is formed into a discharge port, and these baskets are provided with discharge means for forcibly discharging the packages in the basket from the discharge port. apparatus. 2. A non-infectious waste out of medical waste is put into an incinerator to be incinerated to maintain the temperature in the incinerator at a set temperature, and the infection is carried out in the state where the set temperature is maintained. A method for incinerating medical waste, which comprises incinerating volatile waste.