JPS63302988A - Simple prevention method for pollution of passage and its apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent a passage from pollution by fitting a heating part on an external passage of sterilized fluid. CONSTITUTION:A purifier consists of a vessel 21, a passage 22, and a heating part 23 being a part of the passage. An ultraviolet sterizing light 27 is preferred to be equipped in the vessel 21. An opening/closing means such as a valve, etc., is fitted at a place nearer to the vessel 21 than the heating part 23. A heating means such as a ribbon heater, an aluminum block heater, an infrared heater, a ceramic heater, etc., is used at the heating part 23 so that it can be heated at >=50 deg.C. In this manner, the handling is simplified and the maintenance cost can be made inexpensive.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention provides a method for easily preventing contamination of bacteria or microorganisms from the open end of a sterilized or sterilized liquid or gas flow path, and a contamination-prevented product. Regarding.

The present invention also relates to a method for preventing contamination of the open end of a water purifier that purifies drinking water and other liquids, and a device that prevents contamination.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, drinking water purification devices such as water purifiers have attempted to remove impurities contained in tap water by filling a container connected to a tap with an adsorbent such as activated carbon. It has been commercialized as a vessel. However, in the water purifier, the adsorbent adsorbs the disinfectant used to sterilize tap water, or the tap water stays in the area filled with the adsorbent for a long time, so the container of the water purifier In some cases, the interior became a breeding ground for bacteria or microorganisms. Therefore, we have developed a product that filters tap water using a sterilizable filter, then contacts it with an adsorbent to remove water-soluble impurities and prevent the growth of bacteria in the area filled with the adsorbent. It has been developed. Although the product with the above structure was effective in removing insoluble substances from tap water, it was unable to prevent bacterial growth in the adsorbent area.

Pinholes in filters are cited as one of the routes for bacteria and microorganisms to enter, but the most likely entry route is from the opening to the outside of the flow channel that supplies drinking water, etc., that is, from the open end. It is an intrusion. In the case of a water purifier,
Due to manufacturing costs and the fact that users are ordinary people, it has been impossible to install complex mechanisms to prevent bacterial and microbial contamination.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] The present invention provides a simple method for preventing as much as possible the invasion of bacteria or microorganisms from a channel connected to the outside of a container-like structure filled with a sterilized liquid or gas, and the aforementioned method. This method provides a structure that prevents intrusion from the flow path connected to the open end, and attempts to prevent the intrusion of bacteria and microorganisms to an extent that can withstand use.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention aims to prevent contamination due to the intrusion of bacteria or microorganisms from the open end of the flow path leading to the outside world. After examining various ways to prevent microorganisms from entering the flow path, we found that heating at least a portion of the flow path is the simplest and easiest way to prevent contamination of the flow path. It was discovered that this is a method of preventing intrusion, and the present invention was developed.

In other words, if a sterilized or sterilized liquid or gas filled container has an open end, the means to prevent bacteria or microorganisms from entering from the outside world and contamination is to heat the filled liquid or gas together with the container. It is well known to quickly place a pre-sterilized cap on the open end while heating the open end. The method of heating the entire container constantly heats the liquid or gas, which maintains the liquid or gas at a high temperature, making it unsuitable for drinking water. Furthermore, since it is constantly heated, maintenance costs are high, making it unsuitable as a general method. In addition, the method of installing sterilized caps requires a special sterilization machine and technology, so it is a contamination prevention method that cannot be introduced to general products such as water purifiers.

The inventor has devised and studied the idea of installing a heating mechanism in a part of the flow path to the outside world of a container containing a sterilized or sterilized liquid or gas, and as a result, the inventors have discovered that bacteria generated from the outside world through the flow path. It was also discovered that it is effective in preventing microbial contamination.

[Action Co. Next, the present invention will be specifically explained based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of an apparatus using the simple method for preventing flow paths according to the present invention. In the contamination prevention mechanism of the present invention, in a flow path through which a liquid flows, at least a part of the flow path from the outlet side to the outside world is such that when the liquid stops flowing out, the liquid remains in the flow path substantially. This is a mechanism for preventing contamination from the outside world, which is composed of a channel 12 having a free structure and a channel heating section 13 provided preferably in a portion of the channel where no stagnation occurs. The operation of the pollution prevention mechanism will be explained step by step. The sterilized or sterilized liquid passes through the flow path and is discharged to the outside world. The discharge is stopped by a valve 18 or the like installed before the flow path heating section 13. When the discharge is stopped, the liquid remaining in the channel flows out without being retained due to a natural drop or the like from the end of the outlet of the channel to the heated section of the channel. The channel through which the liquid has flowed is heated to a certain temperature. A small amount of liquid remaining in the heated portion is dried by heating. Once it is dry, you can stop heating. The valve is opened again and discharge begins. By heating and drying, bacteria or microorganisms are either killed in the heated portion of the flow path or are not killed but do not proliferate, thereby preventing contamination of the flow path with bacteria or microorganisms from the outside world. Show effectiveness.

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the purifier according to the present invention. Basically, it is made up of a container 21 filled with a sterilized or sterilized liquid or gas, a flow path 22 for the liquid or gas to the outside of the container, and a heating part 23 for part of the flow path.

In the case of a water purifier, a sterilizing filter portion 24 is typically located between the adsorbent 25 and the introduction path 26 for the raw solution into the container. In addition, if the undiluted solution is tap water, the adsorbent may remove the disinfectant from the tap water, making bacterial growth easier than the undiluted solution, and the substances adsorbed to the adsorbent may act as a medium for bacterial growth. In some cases, it is preferable to provide an ultraviolet germicidal lamp 27 with a sterilizing effect near the adsorbent in the container 21 or in the container 21 where purified water exists. from the end part to the container 2
1, a structure is provided in which when the purified liquid stops discharging to the outside by some method, the liquid is almost completely discharged due to a drop etc. and does not remain in the flow path up to a certain portion from the end portion between 1 and 1. As a means for stopping the water purified by any of the methods described above, it is preferable to provide a closing means such as a valve in a portion of the flow path 22 closer to the container 21 than the heating portion 23.

Further, it is preferable that the heating portion 23 is installed in a portion where the purified water does not stagnate when it stops flowing out. It is preferable that the heating temperature of the heating portion 23 has the ability to heat a part of the flow path to 50° C. or higher.

The heat generating means for the heating part can easily be imagined to be a ribbon heater, aluminum block heater, infrared heater, ceramic heater, etc., but any heat source that can achieve the target temperature may be used. The adsorbent used in the adsorption tank is generally activated carbon, but may be selected depending on the application, and examples include ion exchange resin, molecular sieve, kaolin, and zeolite.

[Example] The present invention will be explained in more detail with reference to Examples below.

Example 1 FIG. 3 shows the structure of the water purifier of Example 1. The water purifier according to the present invention includes a water purifier main body 31 having a connection part 36 through which tap water is supplied, a flow path 32 to the outside world equipped with a heating part 33 and a flow path closing valve 38. The introduced tap water passes through the sterilization filter 34 and absorbs into the adsorbent 35.
The light passes through an adsorbent tank having an ultraviolet germicidal lamp 37 and passes near an ultraviolet germicidal lamp 37. When the flow path closing valve 38 is opened, tap water purified by the water pressure of the tap water passes through the flow path 32 and is discharged to the outside world.Method of heating the heating part using the water purifier according to the present invention and degree of contamination from the flow path It was investigated.

Table 1゜The device was installed in a normal room where people pass, assuming a kitchen.

To sterilize the equipment, metal objects and sterilizing filters are sterilized with ethylene oxide gas before the experiment begins, and the activated carbon tank is sterilized with steam.After assembly, before introducing tap water, the container is irradiated with an ultraviolet sterilizing lamp overnight. did. 300cc for 1 minute before culture test
For 2 hours, tap water was discharged through the channel to the outside world.

The culture test medium was trypto soy broth (TBS).
Medium) 1Qcc was previously sterilized in a 14φ cotton plug test tube.

For the test solution, drain tap water at 300 cc per minute through the channel for 1 hour, close the channel closing valve, then open the channel closing valve at the time shown in the table above, and pour the flowing liquid into a sterile petri dish. The lcc was quickly collected, mixed aseptically with the TBS medium, cultured in a constant temperature bath at 27° C. for one week, and the degree of bacterial growth was visually determined. The criteria for determining the degree of bacterial growth are -; no growth is observed; ±; slight turbidity is observed, but it cannot be said that it is bacteria; It is cloudy enough to be able to distinguish what is in the test tube, ++; It is cloudy due to the growth of bacteria and is so cloudy that it is difficult to distinguish what is in front of it when passed through the test tube.

+++; The test tube is cloudy due to bacterial growth, making it difficult to distinguish what is in front of the test tube, and there are floating substances inside the test tube. An ultraviolet germicidal lamp with an output of 3 watts was used.

Example 2 The apparatus of Example 1 was used to examine the effect of preventing bacterial contamination when the ultraviolet germicidal lamp 37 and the heating section 33 were operated at the same time.

Table 2 *Heating time and germicidal lamp irradiation time were both 30 minutes at the same time.

*The evaluation method was the same as in Example 1.

As a result of Examples 1 and 2, installing the heating portion was clearly effective in preventing bacterial contamination from the discharge channel. The higher the temperature of the heated part and the longer the heating time, the better the effect.

Ultraviolet germicidal lamps were also effective in preventing bacterial contamination.

Example 3 Using the apparatus of Example 1, the influence of the shape of the discharge flow path to the outside world on prevention of bacterial contamination was investigated.

Figures 4-1, 4-2, and 4-3 show the shapes of the discharge channels studied.

Table 3 [Effects of the Invention] As shown above, the simple method for preventing contamination of a flow path and the device thereof according to the present invention have the following advantages.

■It is possible to reliably prevent microbial contamination of sterile or sterilized liquids or gases to the extent that their use is not affected.

■Easy to operate.

■The equipment is inexpensive.

■Low maintenance costs.

■In the case of liquids, there is no need to worry about the liquid getting warmer than necessary when using it.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment of a device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment of a water purifier according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment of a water purifier according to the present invention. The perspective views and FIGS. 4-1 to 4-3 are schematic diagrams showing other embodiments of the apparatus according to the present invention. Patent Applicant New Materials Research Institute Co., Ltd. 18: Valve 2 Figure 21: Container 27: W external germicidal lamp 22: Channel 28: Valve 23: Heating section 29: Control section 24: Sterilization filter 25: Adsorbent ← indicates the flow of fluid 26: Introduction path 32: Flow path 37-; Ultraviolet a germicidal lamp 33:
Heating part 38 Two channel closing valve 34: Sterilization filter 40: Sink 35: Suction shoulder 41 = Water purifier 42: Channel 43: Channel heating section 48: Valve

Claims (13)

[Claims] (1) A simple method for preventing contamination of a flow path, which is characterized by providing at least one heated portion in the flow path of a fluid that has been sterilized or sterilized by other means to the outside world. (2) The flow path according to claim 1, wherein the temperature of the heated portion is at least a temperature at which bacteria and microorganisms that do not form spores cannot proliferate or are partially killed. Simple pollution prevention method. (3) Claim 1, wherein the flow path is made of metal or heat-resistant resin that can withstand the heating temperature.
A simple method for preventing contamination of flow channels as described in Section 2. (4) At least an end side of the flow path that is open to the outside from the heated portion has a shape such that most of the fluid flows out by gravity and siphon principle when the fluid stops flowing out. A simple method for preventing contamination of a flow path according to claim 1, characterized in that: (5) At the time when at least up to the open end of the heating portion of the flow path and a portion in the opposite direction of the open end of the heating portion have stopped flowing out of the fluid, most of the fluid has fallen due to gravity and the principle of siphoning. 2. A simple method for preventing contamination of a flow path according to claim 1, characterized in that the flow path has a shape that allows the flow path to flow out. (6) Simple contamination prevention of the flow path according to claim 1, characterized in that the flow path has at least one closing mechanism in a direction opposite to the open end of the heated portion of the flow path. Law. (7) At least one of a filtration membrane and an ultraviolet germicidal lamp as a means for removing and killing bacteria or microorganisms in the channel opposite the open end of the heating section or in the fluid storage section connected to the channel. A simple method for preventing contamination of a flow path according to claim 1, characterized in that one or both are used. (8) A simple method for preventing contamination of a flow path according to claim 1, characterized in that an adsorbent is provided after the microorganism removing means or between the removing means. (9) A liquid or gas container equipped with the heating portion. (10) A liquid or gas purification device including the heating portion. (11) A liquid or gas container equipped with the heating portion and the ultraviolet germicidal lamp. (12) A liquid or gas purification device comprising the heating section and the ultraviolet ray section. (13) A tap water purification device comprising the heating section, the ultraviolet ray section, and the adsorbent.