Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61L—METHODS OR APPARATUS FOR STERILISING MATERIALS OR OBJECTS IN GENERAL; DISINFECTION, STERILISATION OR DEODORISATION OF AIR; CHEMICAL ASPECTS OF BANDAGES, DRESSINGS, ABSORBENT PADS OR SURGICAL ARTICLES; MATERIALS FOR BANDAGES, DRESSINGS, ABSORBENT PADS OR SURGICAL ARTICLES
  • A61L2/00—Methods or apparatus for disinfecting or sterilising materials or objects other than foodstuffs or contact lenses; Accessories therefor
  • A61L2/02—Methods or apparatus for disinfecting or sterilising materials or objects other than foodstuffs or contact lenses; Accessories therefor using physical phenomena
  • A61L2/14—Plasma, i.e. ionised gases
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • H05H—PLASMA TECHNIQUE; PRODUCTION OF ACCELERATED ELECTRICALLY-CHARGED PARTICLES OR OF NEUTRONS; PRODUCTION OR ACCELERATION OF NEUTRAL MOLECULAR OR ATOMIC BEAMS
  • H05H1/00—Generating plasma; Handling plasma
  • H05H1/24—Generating plasma
  • H05H1/48—Generating plasma using an arc
  • H05H1/482—Arrangements to provide gliding arc discharges
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61L—METHODS OR APPARATUS FOR STERILISING MATERIALS OR OBJECTS IN GENERAL; DISINFECTION, STERILISATION OR DEODORISATION OF AIR; CHEMICAL ASPECTS OF BANDAGES, DRESSINGS, ABSORBENT PADS OR SURGICAL ARTICLES; MATERIALS FOR BANDAGES, DRESSINGS, ABSORBENT PADS OR SURGICAL ARTICLES
  • A61L2/00—Methods or apparatus for disinfecting or sterilising materials or objects other than foodstuffs or contact lenses; Accessories therefor
  • A61L2/0005—Methods or apparatus for disinfecting or sterilising materials or objects other than foodstuffs or contact lenses; Accessories therefor for pharmaceuticals, biologicals or living parts
  • A61L2/0011—Methods or apparatus for disinfecting or sterilising materials or objects other than foodstuffs or contact lenses; Accessories therefor for pharmaceuticals, biologicals or living parts using physical methods
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61L—METHODS OR APPARATUS FOR STERILISING MATERIALS OR OBJECTS IN GENERAL; DISINFECTION, STERILISATION OR DEODORISATION OF AIR; CHEMICAL ASPECTS OF BANDAGES, DRESSINGS, ABSORBENT PADS OR SURGICAL ARTICLES; MATERIALS FOR BANDAGES, DRESSINGS, ABSORBENT PADS OR SURGICAL ARTICLES
  • A61L2202/00—Aspects relating to methods or apparatus for disinfecting or sterilising materials or objects
  • A61L2202/10—Apparatus features
  • A61L2202/11—Apparatus for generating biocidal substances, e.g. vaporisers, UV lamps
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61L—METHODS OR APPARATUS FOR STERILISING MATERIALS OR OBJECTS IN GENERAL; DISINFECTION, STERILISATION OR DEODORISATION OF AIR; CHEMICAL ASPECTS OF BANDAGES, DRESSINGS, ABSORBENT PADS OR SURGICAL ARTICLES; MATERIALS FOR BANDAGES, DRESSINGS, ABSORBENT PADS OR SURGICAL ARTICLES
  • A61L2202/00—Aspects relating to methods or apparatus for disinfecting or sterilising materials or objects
  • A61L2202/10—Apparatus features
  • A61L2202/15—Biocide distribution means, e.g. nozzles, pumps, manifolds, fans, baffles, sprayers

Definitions

• the invention relates to a method for cleaning an article, in particular for disinfection and / or sterilization purposes, wherein the object to be cleaned is exposed to a plasma-activated mist of a treatment liquid.
• the invention further relates to a cleaning device for cleaning an article, in particular for disinfection and / or sterilization purposes, which in particular contains a nebulization device for atomizing a treatment liquid and a plasma generator for plasma activation of the mist of the treatment liquid.
• Applications of the invention are in the purification of
• Objects in particular in the elimination and / or killing of germs, infecting substances or microorganisms on surfaces of objects such.
• a device for hand washing, in which the hand surface is acted upon by a pressure gas for mechanical cleaning and a mist of a cleaning solution supply ⁇ for dry cleaning.
• the mist of the cleaning solution is an ionized or plasma activated mist.
• Plasma activation is accomplished by passing the mist of a cleaning solution through a plasma.
• the plasma is generated with a glow discharge plasma source.
• a plasma In addition to the generation of a plasma by a glow discharge or a dielectric barrier discharge, further plasma generation techniques are known which are adapted to the respective application. For example, a "gliding arc" plasma is used in chemical reactors to convert hydrocarbons (see US 2012/0090985 or US 2009/0236215).
• the object of the invention is to provide an improved process for the cleaning of an article, with which disadvantages of conventional cleaning processes are overcome.
• the method should in particular be suitable for carrying out the cleaning with an increased effectiveness, a shortened cleaning time and / or an improved handling by a user.
• the object of the invention is also to provide an improved cleaning device which avoids the disadvantages of conventional cleaning devices.
• the above object is achieved by a method for cleaning ei ⁇ nes object, in particular for disinfection and / or Sterilization purposes, solved, in which a treatment liquid is atomized and the atomized treatment liquid is moved with a carrier gas through a plasma to the object to be cleaned.
• the atomized treatment liquid is subjected to a plasma treatment, so that an activated mist is formed.
• the plasma comprises an arc plasma.
• At least two electrodes of a first plasma generator generate a plasma with a sliding arc, with which the atomized treatment liquid is activated.
• a cleaning device which is configured for cleaning an article, in particular for disinfection and / or sterilization purposes, and a source device for generating a stream of a carrier gas, a nebulizer for nebulizing a Treatment liquid and a first plasma generator for generating a plasma comprises.
• the vaporizing device and the first plasma generator are arranged downstream of the source device in such a way that with the carrier gas a mist of the treatment liquid can be moved through the first plasma generator to the object to be cleaned.
• the first plasma generator has at least two electrodes which are set up to produce a plasma with a sliding arc.
• a change ⁇ effect of the atomized treatment liquid with the plasma with a sliding arc is provided to produce activated mist.
• the activation has been through the interaction with at least one sliding Arc proved to be significantly more effective than the conventional activation in the barrier discharge.
• the mist flowing with the carrier gas through the first plasma generator is passed through at least one sliding arc once or several times.
• Arc is a high density of active substances, especially OH * radicals and H2O2, generated in the fog.
• the active substances are transported with the mist to the surface of the object to be cleaned, where they have a deactivating effect on infecting substances, microorganisms and germs.
• the treatment liquid used is water, in particular tap water or demineralized water.
• water in particular tap water or demineralized water.
• no chemically effective wash solutions are needed because the reactive species are generated in the mist with a sufficiently high density for disinfecting the surface of the article.
• the first plasma generator contains two electrodes, between which the arc is clamped and runs along the length of the arc.
• the first plasma generator may comprise more than two electrodes, between which the plasma is generated with a sliding arc. It can z. For example, three or more
• Electrodes and / or composite composite electrodes should be provided.
• the electrodes of the first plasma generator can be acted upon by a plasma voltage source with DC voltage, AC voltage, pulsed voltage or combinations thereof.
• the moving-arc plasma may have an alternating Voltage superimposed on a DC bias voltage can be generated with a combination of a DC voltage and a pulsed voltage or with a combination of an AC voltage and a pulsed voltage.
• the at least two electrodes of the first plasma generator have mutually facing electrode sides which extend in a longitudinal direction along the flow direction of the mist moving from the carrier gas through the first plasma generator.
• the electrode sides run parallel to the flow direction or with an inclination relative to the flow direction such that the distance between the electrode sides along the flow direction changes, in particular increases. Accordingly, it is provided according to a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention that the arc between the at least two electrodes is generated transversely to the flow direction and with a running direction along the flow direction of the carrier gas with the mist in the first plasma generator.
• the duration of the interaction of the plasma with a moving arc with the atomized treatment liquid in the first plasma generator is thereby maximized.
• the flow of the carrier gas is generated with a Venti ⁇ lator.
• the source device of the cleaning device is equipped with the fan. With the fan, the carrier gas is preferably moved through the ge ⁇ entire flow path in the cleaning device. Additional fluid drives are not required.
• the fan of the cleaning device offers the advantage that the flow rate of the carrier gas can be freely adjusted.
• the flow rate can be set in particular lower than in the nebulization with compressed gas and z. B. less than 1 m / s, in particular up to 0.2 m / s.
• the use of the fan compared to the use of pressurized gas, allows a prolonged residence time of the mist of the treatment liquid in the first plasma generator, whereby the activation of the mist is improved.
• the running speed of the arc in the first plasma generator can be adjusted in response to the electrical operating conditions of the first plasma generator and flow rate of carrier gas through the first Plasmagenera ⁇ tor. Preferably, the running speed is less than or equal to the flow velocity of the carrier gas.
• the carrier gas can be subjected to an additional plasma activation.
• the cleaning ⁇ constriction device includes a second plasma generator upstream ⁇ Wind detail arranged from the atomization device.
• the carrier gas flows from the source device, preferably on ⁇ driven by the fan through the second Plasmagene- generator configured to generate a cold plasma.
• the second plasma generator is set up for plasma generation by means of a dielectric barrier discharge.
• the carrier gas contains oxygen from which ozone is generated in the second plasma generator.
• the barrier discharge is generated with an AC voltage, a pulsed voltage, or a combination thereof.
• the plasma activation of the carrier gas offers the advantage that the effectiveness of the purification is increased.
• Germs or microorganisms on the surface of the object to be cleaned are in this case not only by the reactive substances in the mist of the treatment liquid, but also by reaction products of the treatment liquid, which are generated under the action of ozone in the carrier gas, such.
• the mist of the treatment liquid can be subjected to UV irradiation.
• the cleaning device contains a UV light source.
• the UV irradiation advantageously achieves additional activation, in particular ionization of constituents of the mist of the treatment liquid.
• the irradiation of the mist with UV light takes place downstream of the first plasma generator and / or in the nebulization device.
• Applications of the invention are particularly useful in Desinfek ⁇ tion (deactivation and / or removal of infectious agents) and / or sterilization (killing and / or Beseiti ⁇ supply of germs or microorganisms) of articles, such.
• the cleaning device according to the invention is preferably equipped with a receiving device which is configured for receiving the object to be cleaned.
• the receiving device comprises z. B. at least one compartment and / or at least one shaft in the cleaning device.
• the object to be cleaned can be placed in the compartment or held in the shaft.
• the cleaning device is a hand cleaning device, for. B. for use in a hospital, a laboratory or in a sanitary facility, or a tool cleaning device, for. B. for the preparation of surgical tools in medicine.
• the invention offers the following advantages. Compared with conventional cleaning devices, especially taking into account the consumption of H2O2, the cleaning device according to the invention has a considerably higher efficiency. Furthermore, the cleaning according to the invention does not require the use of chemical washing liquids with which, for example, the surface tension on the surface of the object to be cleaned is influenced. Rather, preferably only water is used as treatment liquid. The cleaning according to the invention offers a reliable deactivation (killing) of microorganisms on solid surfaces. Advantageously, the cleaned article does not have to be dried after cleaning. Finally, the cleaning device with a compact design can be produced inexpensively, so that a mass application, especially in hospitals, laboratories, or sanitary facilities, is made possible. The inven tion ⁇ proper cleaning is carried out without interference the user. In particular when using the fan and low flow velocities of the carrier gas, the perception of the transfer of the carrier gas after cleaning into the environment of the cleaning device by the user is avoided.
• FIG. 1 shows a schematic block diagram of a first embodiment of the cleaning device according to the invention
• Figure 2 is a schematic illustration of another embodiment of the cleaning device according to the invention, in which an activation of the carrier gas is provided
• FIGS. 3 and 4 are schematic illustrations of further embodiments of the cleaning device according to the invention, in which a UV irradiation of the atomized treatment liquid is provided.
• the cleaning device may be constructed for manual cleaning with respect to the arrangement of its components in a housing and the provision of a shaft as a receptacle for the hands to be cleaned, as is known from conventional hand-cleaning devices.
• the invention is not limited to the geometry of the flow path through the cleaning device shown in the drawings, but can also be realized with a different flow profile.
• FIG. 1 schematically shows the components of a first embodiment of the cleaning device 100 according to the invention for manual cleaning.
• the cleaning device comprises a source means 10, an atomizing device 20 and egg NEN first plasma generator 30, which are constructed for cleaning a hand shown schematically as follows, and 1 together ⁇ men know.
• the source device 10 includes a fan 11, with which a stream of a carrier gas 2 is generated.
• the fan 11 includes a commercially available impeller fan, is sucked with the air from the environment and moved to the nebulizer 20.
• the flow of the carrier gas 2 passes through a connecting element, such. Example, a pipe or a hose, via which the source device 10 is coupled to the nebulizer 20.
• the Strö ⁇ mungs york the carrier gas 2 is z. B. on
• the nebuliser 20 includes a reservoir 21 for receiving a treatment liquid 4, the z.
• a treatment liquid 4 As water, especially tap water includes.
• at least one ultrasonic source 22 is arranged in the reservoir 21.
• the nebuliser 20 with the ultrasonic source 22 may be constructed as known from conventional ultrasonic nebulizers.
• the ultrasound source which is arranged at the bottom of the reservoir 21 for accommodating the treatment liquid 4 and is designed to generate ultrasonic waves in the treatment liquid 3, comprises at least one piezoelectric crystal. Under the action of the ultrasonic waves, a mistletically shown mist 4 is generated above the surface of the treatment liquid 4 in the reservoir 21.
• the mist 3 is moved by the flow of the carrier gas 2 to the first plasma generator 30.
• the nebuliser 20 via a connecting element, such. As a pipe, channel, conduit element or hose, coupled to the first plasma generator 30.
• the first plasma generator 30 includes two electrodes 31 and a plasma voltage source (not shown) for generating a plasma with a flowing arc.
• the plasma generator 30 may be constructed as known from plasma generators for producing plasma arc plasmas in chemical reactors.
• the two electrodes shown schematically there are provided 31 that the side facing each other electric ⁇ the sides in the direction of flow of the carrier gas through the ers ⁇ th plasma generator 30 extend with a distance enlarging.
• two wire-shaped electrodes 31 are provided, which extend over a length z. B.
• a running distance L of a sliding arc 32 formed between the electrodes 31 is provided whose length z. B. 1 to 20 cm.
• the plasma is generated with a sliding arc 32. Under the action of the plasma, the
• Droplets of Mist 3 are activated by converting water into H2O2, which acts as a reactive substance on the object 1.
• the activated mist 3 is transported with the carrier gas from the first plasma generator 30 on to the hand 1.
• the activated mist 3 acts on the surface of the hand 1, where any germs or microorganisms are killed by the action of the reactive components of the mist 3.
• the cleaning method according to the invention can be carried out such that the cleaning device 100 is continuously in operation. With the fan 11 of the source device 10, the stream of the carrier gas 2 is continuously generated, which continuously transports the generated in the nebulizer 20 Ne 3 to the first plasma generator 30. With continuous operation of the first plasma generator 30, the mist 3 is continuously activated, so that an object located downstream of the first plasma generator 30 at any time, e.g. the hand 1, can be cleaned.
• a discontinuous operation is possible in which one or more of the components 10, 20 and 30 are turned on only when needed.
• the pre ⁇ handensein of (to be cleaned hand 1 with a sensor can not shown) are detected on the cleaning device 100.
• the sensor registers the presence of the hand 1
• the fan 11 of the source device 10 and the ultrasonic source 22 of the nebulizer 20 are actuated and the first plasma generator 30 is turned on.
• the provision of an activated mist 3 is possible within a delay time of less than half a second, so that a user can carry out the cleaning virtually without delay.
• the fan 11 of the source device 10 and the ultrasonic source 22 of the nebulizer 20 are operated continuously and in response to the signal of the sensor, only the first plasma generator 30 is turned on when the hand 1 is arranged for cleaning.
• Figure 2 shows a modified embodiment of the cleaning device 100 according to the invention with the source device 10, the nebulizer 20 and the first
• Plasma generator 30 as described above with reference to FIG. Additionally, a second plasma generator 40 is provided in the cleaning device 100 according to FIG 2, which is integrally ⁇ arranged between the source device 10 and the nebulisers averaging means 20 for activation of the carrier gas. 2 Furthermore, Figure 2 shows schematically an outer housing 50 of the cleaning device 100 with a
• Shaft 60 which forms a receiving device for the hand 1.
• the housing 50 with the shaft 60 may be designed in its outer shape, as is known from conventional starch ⁇ devices.
• the second plasma generator 40 includes electrodes 41 for He ⁇ generation of a barrier discharge (DBD so-called plasma, "Dielectric Barrier Discharge” plasma).
• DBD barrier discharge
• plasma "Dielectric Barrier Discharge” plasma
• the carrier gas 2 is activated under the action of the plasma.
• 2 ozone is produced in the carrier gas, under the effect of which on the treatment liquid the cleaning effect on the hand 1 is intensified.
• the carrier gas 2 with the ozone is transported by the fan 11 through the nebuliser 20 to take the mist 3 of the treatment liquid 4 to the first plasma generator 30.
• the activation of the mist 3 takes place in the plasma with a sliding arc.
• FIG. 3 shows a further modification of the cleaning device 100 according to the invention, in which an irradiation device 70 with a UV light source 71 is arranged downstream of the first plasma generator 30.
• the carrier gas 2 provided by the source device 10 is activated in the second plasma generator 40 to form ozone and passed through the nebulizer 20.
• the mist 3 generated in the nebuliser 20 is subjected to a first activation (formation of H 2 O 2) of the treatment liquid 3 under the action of the ozone and transported to the first plasma generator 30, where further activation of the mist 3 takes place.
• the provision of the UV irradiation can be to the effect ist ⁇ converts that the function of the irradiation device 70 shown in Figure 3 by the addition Verneblungsein- direction 20 is adopted.
• This variant of the invention is shown schematically in FIG.
• the UV light source 71 is arranged in the nebuliser 20 to irradiate the mist 4 of the treatment liquid 3 with UV light during the first activation in the nebuliser 20 and before the further activation in the first plasma generator 30, and ions in the nebula 4 to create.
• ozone is decomposed in the atomizing device, wherein the atomic sow arises erstoff which forms with water the treatment liquid 3 H 2 0. 2
• the embodiments of the figures may be combined 3 and 4, so that the irradiation of the mist 4 with UV light both in the averaging means 20 as misting is also downstream of the first plasma generator ⁇ 30th

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Plasma & Fusion (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Spectroscopy & Molecular Physics (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Animal Behavior & Ethology (AREA)
• Epidemiology (AREA)
• Public Health (AREA)
• Veterinary Medicine (AREA)
• Apparatus For Disinfection Or Sterilisation (AREA)
• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Biomedical Technology (AREA)
• Medicinal Chemistry (AREA)
• Molecular Biology (AREA)

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Cited By (7)

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• 2013
  • 2013-03-06 DE DE102013003865.0A patent/DE102013003865B4/de active Active
• 2014
  • 2014-02-26 EP EP14707326.6A patent/EP2964273A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2014-02-26 KR KR1020157024218A patent/KR20150126612A/ko not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2014-02-26 CN CN201480012886.XA patent/CN105025934B/zh active Active
  • 2014-02-26 WO PCT/EP2014/000505 patent/WO2014135254A1/de active Application Filing

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