KR102110028B1 - Portable Plasma Sterilizer-Bag - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention is a portable sterilization bag, which is a sterilization apparatus by plasma generated by atmospheric discharge inside the bag. Used for sterilization, storage and transportation of medical devices and agricultural and marine products. It is a portable sterilization device for the purpose of preventing contamination, deterioration and spoilage of pathogens during long-term storage and transportation. The residual ozone inside the plasma bag is characterized by being removed by a carbon filter in a circulating manner before the bag is opened.

Description

Portable Plasma Sterilization Bag {Portable Plasma Sterilizer-Bag}

The present invention relates to a portable plasma sterilization bag as a sterilization device by atmospheric discharge plasma, and to a sterilization bag that maintains a sterilized state during storage and transportation of the sterilized body.

That is, the present invention discloses a sterile bag for storage and carrying of medical instruments, and is also applied to a portable sterile box for storage and transport of perishable agricultural and marine products.

Medical devices are exposed to pathogens from the moment the device is withdrawn after sterilization in a conventional sterilizer. In the process of withdrawal, it is re-contaminated with pathogens by contact with hands, exposure to airborne bacteria, or storage.

Existing sterilization devices include high-temperature steam and dry sterilizers, hydrogen peroxide (H ₂ O ₂ ) sterilizers, and ethylene oxide (EO) gas sterilizers. Such sterilization devices cannot be used for storage of medical instruments. When frequently used devices are stored separately and used when necessary, they are already exposed to pathogens. The medical device may be packaged and transported in a pouch or the like. However, it is inconvenient to store and use sterilized instruments in a pouch or the like in the medical field. In addition, it is cumbersome to sterilize with a large sterilizer immediately after using the medical device. It is inconvenient to use a device frequently used in a medical field after sterilization.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a portable sterilizer capable of safely storing and carrying medical instruments. It would be very useful in the field if a large sterilizer is provided with a portable sterilizer that can be stored immediately after withdrawal or temporary storage of frequently used medical devices after simple cleaning.

Such a portable sterilization bag has been mentioned in the 'plasma sterilization device' of the inventor's patent application 10-2016-0078967. The patent application proposed a general sterilization device using a plasma panel. In the above patent, it has been described that a plasma source can be additionally produced in a flexible sheet form to produce a plasma cloth or a plasma bag, but a specific method is not described. The present invention intends to provide a technique for more practically implementing a practical portable sterile bag in addition to the above patent.

According to the above need, the present invention is to provide a portable sterile bag that can be applied as a box for temporary storage or transportation of food, including medical devices or agricultural and marine products.

The portable sterilization bag of the present invention is difficult to apply a conventional sterilization method (high temperature steam and dry, hydrogen peroxide water, and EO-gas, etc.). Therefore, an ozone sterilization method using an atmospheric plasma using pure air as a raw material is adopted.

In the present invention, the tasks for realizing a portable plasma sterilizer using air as the following are as follows: (1) It must be portable, and it must be portable for a long time with minimal power consumption. (2) Plasma generation should be controlled arbitrarily, and sterilization should be maintained even in the long and short-term storage of the sterilized body. (3) There should be no problem of ozone emission during the entry and exit of the sterilized body. When the bag is opened, it should be possible to withdraw the sterilized body within a short time with an allowable concentration of ozone emission of 0.06 ppm or less inside the bag.

The present invention proposes a solution for solving the above-mentioned core problems as follows.

(1) For long-term storage and carrying, rechargeable secondary batteries are used. In secondary battery use, it can be used for more than 1 hour continuously with a single charge. To this end, the secondary battery is composed of one or more large-capacity batteries, but at the same time, a DC-AC inverter method is adopted for miniaturization of the power supply. You can use a mobile phone charger for charging.

(2) Arbitrary plasma plasma panels or plasma emission devices are constructed in parallel in order to easily control plasma generation and plasma generation and to obtain high concentration of ozone according to plasma generation. In general, the optimum ozone concentration for sterilization is several hundred (100 ~ 1000) ppm, but the ozone concentration inside the bag may be several ppm to several thousand ppm (1 to 1) in consideration of long and short-term storage and sterilization time of the sterilized body inside the bag. 10000 ppm). The ozone concentration and sterilization time generated during the process of entering and exiting the sterilized body are arbitrarily controlled.

The implementation of the plasma panel is 'high-efficiency plasma thin plate source' of the applicant's patent application number 10-2016-0104031 and 'plasma pad' of 10-2015-0067004, 'plasma emitting diode device' of 10-2017-0132897, And the technology presented in the 'silicon-coated dielectric-film for dielectric barrier discharge' of 10-2018-0004509 is applied, and the contents described in the above publications can be incorporated into the present invention within the limits necessary for the practice of the present invention.

(3) An ozone removal device is installed inside the bag to treat residual ozone below the allowable ozone emission concentration of 0.06 ppm when the sterilized bag is opened for the extraction of the sterilized body. To this end, ozone is circulated in a sterile bag to sufficiently remove ozone, and in this ozone circulation type, ozone is purified within 1 to 2 minutes. Such an ozone circulation removal method is well shown in the inventors' patent application No. 10-2017-0177591, 'Pure-Plasma Sterilization Device of Circulation Residual-Ozone Treatment Method'. The contents of the above application may also be incorporated to the extent necessary for the implementation of the present invention.

According to the present invention, a portable plasma sterilization bag is realized to prevent exposure of pathogens to medical devices, and thus medical devices can be safely used in the medical field from bacterial problems. That is, after the medical device is withdrawn from a large sterilizer, it is immediately stored in a sterile bag of the present invention and moved to a place of use, and the medical device can be immediately taken out and used in a sterile bag after reaching the required place and used frequently. After washing, it can be stored temporarily in a sterile bag. Because of its portability, it can be placed wherever it is needed, preventing infection or contamination of medical devices.

That is, the sterile bag of the present invention prevents bacterial growth during transport of the medical device.

In addition, the sterilizing bag of the present invention is applied to a box for storage and transportation of agricultural and marine products, and can be a safe transportation means for preventing rot and maintaining freshness.

That is, the sterilizing bag of the present invention is very useful for preventing rot and easily maintaining the freshness of agricultural and marine products that are easily perishable.

1 (a) is a portable bag type plasma sterilizer.
Figure 1 (b) is a view of the carbon filter box 121 and the small pump 122 is installed inside the bag bottom.
Figure 2 is a mock-up photo (Mock-Up) of the actual manufactured sterile bag.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The sterile bag 100 is a sealed space that does not leak ozone generated therein, and is a bag that can be opened and closed. The shape of the sealed bag can be various types such as a box type, a handbag type, a zippered pouch bag type, a backpack type, and the like, and is used as a bag for sterile storage and transportation of medical devices. Also, it is manufactured in a sterile box shape to provide a sealed plasma box that prevents spoilage and maintains freshness during storage and transportation of agricultural and marine products.

In the following description, the sterilization bag 100 of the present invention is limited to the box shape having the upper cover 110 and the lower bag 120.

1 (a) is a portable bag type plasma sterilizer.

The sterile bag 100 is composed of a bag cover 110 and a lower bag 120.

The plasma panel 111 and the power supply 112 are installed inside the upper bag cover.

The plasma panel 111 is formed in a surface form by connecting a surface-plasma panel of a DBD discharge or a plurality of plasma emission diode (PED) elements (see 10-2017-0132897), and a bag cover 110 Attach inside.

The power supply 112 is composed of a secondary battery 115 for charging and discharging, a converter substrate for charging and discharging, a converter for a DC-regulator, and a DC-AC inverter (high voltage generator).

An AC voltage having a voltage of 1 to 2 kV is usually output to the output terminal of the high voltage generator, and the output terminal is applied to the electrodes of the plasma panel to generate plasma.

The secondary battery adopts a sufficient capacity that can be used for an hour or more.

The inverter-type high voltage generator of the power supply 112 can be miniaturized to a size of about 5x5x1 cm ³ and attached to the inner surface of the bag cover 110.

A charging socket 113 is installed outside the bag cover 110. The charging socket inserts the charger plug 114 to charge the secondary battery 115. The charger can use a mobile phone charger.

In the above plasma emitting diode device,

A plasma emission diode chip having a first electrode and a second electrode installed on the upper and lower surfaces or coplanar surfaces of the dielectric layer; And

Including a packaging module having a top plate and a bottom plate to package the chip, the chip is disposed between the top plate and the bottom plate, and a spacer is provided between the top plate and the bottom plate to secure a plasma discharge space.

A voltage is applied to the first electrode and the second electrode to generate and diffuse a dielectric barrier discharge plasma, which means a device in which plasma particles are released at the edge of the packaging module. In the above, in the discharge space secured by the spacer The height is set higher than the thickness of the chip, but is set to a height that can include a discharge path in which the applied discharge voltage is minimum among the plasma discharge paths generated by the chip. In addition, it is characterized in that by controlling the width w of the electrodes of the first electrode and the second electrode, the power consumption capacity of the plasma emission diode is proportional to this.

A space for putting a sterilized body inside the lower bag 120 and a carbon filter box 121 for removing ozone and a small pump 122 for circulating remaining ozone are installed inside.

FIG. 1 (b) is a view showing a carbon filter box 121 and a small pump 122, which are ozone circulation removing devices installed inside the lower bag of FIG. 1 (a).

It is preferable to install a fibrous carbon nonwoven fabric in the carbon filter box 121, and activated carbon can be used together. A small pump 122 for ozone circulation is subsequently disposed next to the carbon filter box to remove residual ozone.

Residual ozone is introduced into the carbon filter box and removed through the ozone inlet 123 of the small pump 122, and the unremoved ozone is discharged through the ozone outlet 124 on the opposite side of the carbon filter, again in the space inside the bag. When the ozone concentration reaches a predetermined value or less in a manner that circulates the ozone through the ozone inlet and the ozone outlet, the bag is opened and the sterilized body is taken out.

The types of plasma particles generated by atmospheric discharge in the plasma panel 111 are electron and cation and oxygen-based excitation species (ROS: O, O ₂ , O ₃ , OH), and nitrogen-based excitation species (RNS: N, N ₂ , NO, NO ₂ , etc.). In general, the existence time (half-life or life-time) of electrons and ions (atoms and molecules of positive and negative ions) in a dielectric barrier discharge is as short as msec or less. However, the existence time of the neutral particles O ₃ and NO ₂ having no charge is long as several hours. In addition, the concentration of these generated in the atmospheric discharge is very small, as compared to the concentration of ozone 1, the concentration of nitric acid-based particles is 10 ^-3 to 10 ^-4 . Therefore, the particles that exist by being diffused in the closed space are ozone (O ₃ ) having the highest generation density and the longest life-time. Therefore, ozone is actually handled in the atmospheric sterilization process. The concentration of ozone suitable for sterilization by a plasma panel having a predetermined area installed in a box of a predetermined volume is several hundred (100 to 1000) ppm, and at this ozone concentration, 99% of microorganisms die within a few seconds to minutes. After the sterilization process is completed for a predetermined time, the plasma generating power is cut off. Then, the remaining high concentration of ozone is neutralized in a circular manner between the inside of the box and the ozone filter box, and the bag is opened when the ozone emission limit reaches 0.06 ppm.

The control method of using a sterile bag is as follows.

A control display panel is installed on the outer surface of the bag cover so that the control status is displayed by the operation of the switch.

Control of the input and storage mode of the sterilized body is as follows. The sterilized body is introduced, and the bag cover 110 is closed. When the power switch is turned 'ON', the LED emits light, and a voltage is applied to the plasma panel to generate plasma and sterilization proceeds. When the power supply is automatically cut off after a predetermined time and the LED is turned off, the storage state is reached. When the storage time has elapsed considerably (a few hours: 1 hour to 8 hours), the ozone concentration naturally reaches 0.06 ppm, and the bag can be opened, so that the sterilized body can be withdrawn.

The control of the mode for sterilization prior to the withdrawal of the sterilized body is as follows. This is the case when re-sterilization is performed before withdrawal after a considerable period of storage has elapsed. When the power is turned 'ON', the LED emits light, and after a predetermined time has elapsed, the LED emits light and then opens to take out the instrument. At this time, the plasma is sterilized by generating plasma for a predetermined time, and the plasma-generated power is automatically cut off, and then the LED emission is turned off when the residual ozone amount inside the bag is below the standard value (0.06 ppm) by operating the ozone circulation pump for a predetermined time. The bag is opened and the sterilized body is withdrawn. Sterilization time can be arbitrarily controlled by sterilization time when the sterilized body is packaged in a pouch or the like or a long tube-shaped medical device.

In the above, the LED can be turned upside down to give a sign to open the bag.

If the medical device is stored immediately after use in the medical field, it can be stored in a bag after washing the device, or in a sterile pouch.

FIG. 2 is a photo of a mock-up of an actual manufactured sterilization bag including parts mounted inside the sterilization bag.

The inner volume of the bag is 44x30x11 (cm ³ ), which is about 14.5 Liter.

The area of the plasma panel 111 is 32x13 (cm ² ), and the thickness is 0.1 cm. The total area of the power supply 112 is 4x4 (cm ² ), and the maximum thickness of the inverter component is 1 cm. The inverter output voltage is controlled within AC 2 kV and is applied to both electrodes of the plasma panel to generate plasma.

The capacity of the secondary battery 115 was equipped with 8000 mAh. The input DC voltage from the secondary battery to the inverter through the regulator (converter) is 8 V and the DC current is 0.8 A. The maximum output voltage of the inverter is about 2 kV, and the current at this time is 3 mA. The life of the secondary battery is 8000 mAh / 800 mA = 10 h (hours) in calculation, but the actual normal operating time is about 3 hours afterwards. Then, the charging plug 114 is connected to the charging socket 113 to be recharged. use.

When the inverter maximum output voltage of 2 kV is applied to the plasma panel, the maximum ozone concentration inside the bag reaches about 1000 ppm.

The carbon filter box 121 was filled with a carbon nonwoven fabric and activated carbon inside a cylinder having a diameter of 5.5 cm and a length of 21 cm. A small pump 122 is arranged on the left side of the carbon filter box.

After the plasma generating power is cut off, the pump is operated to inject the remaining ozone to the left side of the carbon filter box, and when the ozone emission is below the allowable level in the circulation process discharged to the right side, the bag is opened to extract the sterilized body.

 When the residual ozone concentration immediately after power off in the produced sterilized bag is 300 ppm, it is removed by the ozone circulation type in the carbon filter box, and it takes about 2 minutes to reach the final ozone concentration of 0.06 ppm. The sterilization time of a normal sterilized body by controlling the ozone concentration of the produced sterilization bag takes about 5 minutes.

On the other hand, the specific numerical values given in the above examples and experimental examples are exemplary and can be modified as necessary, and those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains may have other specific details without changing the technical spirit or essential features of the present invention. It will be understood that it can be carried out in the form. Therefore, the embodiments described above are illustrative in all respects and should be understood as non-limiting. The scope of the present invention is indicated by the following claims rather than the above detailed description, and it should be interpreted that all changes or modifications derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and equivalent concepts thereof are included in the scope of the present invention. do.

Plasma bag 100,
Bag cover (110), plasma panel (111), power supply (112), charging socket (113), charger plug (114), secondary battery (115)
Lower bag 120, carbon filter box 121, small pump 122, ozone inlet 123, ozone outlet 124.

Claims (5)

A closed bag that can be opened and closed and has no air access;
A plasma panel installed on any one or more of the inner surfaces of the bag;
A power supply device that supplies power to the plasma panel; And
Includes; ozone circulation removing device installed inside the bag;
The power supply device includes a secondary battery for charging and discharging and a high voltage generator,
The high voltage of the high voltage generator is applied to the plasma panel to generate atmospheric plasma,
The ozone concentration by the atmospheric plasma generated inside the bag is controlled within a predetermined concentration range for a predetermined sterilization time,
The sterilized body placed in the bag by the ozone is sterilized for a predetermined time,
After a predetermined sterilization time, the power of the plasma panel is cut off, and ozone generation is stopped.
The ozone circulation type removal device installed inside the bag,
A carbon filter box for removing residual ozone; And
And a pump connected to the carbon filter box to inject ozone into the carbon filter box.
The carbon filter box is provided with an outlet,
Ozone is injected into the carbon filter box by the pump,
Ozone is partially removed by the carbon filter, and then ozone is removed in a circulating manner in which gas containing ozone is discharged to the outlet and then injected into the carbon filter box by the pump, so that the residual ozone concentration inside the bag is a predetermined value. A portable plasma sterilization bag for sterilization and storage or transportation of the sterilized body, which is opened below and then withdraws the sterilized body by opening the bag.  The portable plasma sterilization bag of claim 1, wherein the control range of the ozone concentration inside the sterilization bag is 0 ppm to 1000 ppm. 3. The portable plasma sterilization bag of claim 2, wherein the residual ozone concentration immediately before opening of the sterilization bag is controlled to be 0.06 ppm or less. According to claim 1, When sealed, the sterilized bag is selected from a box type, a handbag type, a zippered pouch bag type, or a backpack type, and a control and display panel with LEDs is installed outside the sterilized bag, after sterilization. Portable plasma sterilization bag characterized in that the LED is turned on or off when the power is cut off and the ozone circulation is completed. The portable plasma sterilization bag according to claim 1, wherein the sterilized bag is placed in a sterilized bag and is stored or transported by being selected from medical devices, agricultural and marine products, or food.

Images