JPH08187275A - Sterilization and device therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a sterilizing method and a sterilizing device capable of easily managing safety and easily and securely obtaining uniform sterilizing effect with low energy at normal temperature without using a large scale pressure vessel, etc. CONSTITUTION: Moisture is added under a reduced pressure condition to an object to be sterilized and infrared radiation is irradiated thereto. To perform those procedures, a sterilizing device comprising a vacuum vessel 1 to store an object to be sterilized 4, a vacuum pump 7 connected to the vacuum vessel 1, an electron irradiation instrument 2 to irradiate infrared radiation to the object to be sterilized 4, and a water vessel 5 set in the vacuum vessel 1 is used.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sterilization method and apparatus, and more particularly to a sterilization method and apparatus using water and infrared radiation.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In hospitals and the like, sterilizers are used for disinfecting and sterilizing used scalpels and other medical instruments. In a conventional sterilizer, a device to be sterilized is placed in a pressure vessel containing water, heated to a high pressure to evaporate the water to a high temperature of 121 ° C., and sterilized for about 20 minutes.

On the other hand, the present inventors discovered the bactericidal action of water and infrared rays, and gave a lecture and made a presentation about it (Palant Cultural Science Research Conference, June 4, 1994-).
5th). The characteristics of the bactericidal action using this water and infrared rays are:
(1) Sterilization can be achieved without using chemicals, secondary pollution can be prevented, (2) Local treatment is possible, energy saving and treatment in a short time are possible, (3) Infrared radiation It is possible to use the transparency which is a characteristic of long wavelength, and (4) not to cause a chemical change in an object. It is considered that the principle of the bactericidal action by water and infrared rays is destroyed by water molecules excited by infrared rays, but the details are under study.

As a sterilization method using such water and infrared rays, a method has been proposed in which water is sprayed onto an object to be sterilized so as to be attached thereto, and then infrared rays are irradiated.

[0005]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional sterilizer, since high pressure steam is used, a pressure vessel must be used, which requires a large scale and requires careful attention in handling to prevent accidents. In addition, it was troublesome to deal with safety management and legal regulations. In addition, energy is required to remove the latent heat of vaporization of water, power consumption increases, and the sterilization process takes a long time.Because the sterilization process is performed at high temperatures, plastics that do not have heat resistance are deformed or deteriorated. Therefore, sterilization could not be performed.

On the other hand, in the conventionally proposed sterilization method using water and infrared rays, it has been considered that the adhesion of water to the object is not uniform and the sterilization effect is uneven.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art. It is possible to easily perform safety management without using a large-scale pressure vessel, etc., and to ensure a uniform sterilizing action with low energy at room temperature. It is an object of the present invention to provide a sterilization method and device to be obtained.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a sterilization method characterized by applying moisture to an object to be sterilized under reduced pressure and irradiating infrared radiation. To do.

Further, the sterilization apparatus according to the present invention includes a vacuum container for containing an object to be sterilized, a vacuum pump connected to the vacuum container, and electron irradiation for irradiating the object to be sterilized with infrared radiation. It is characterized by comprising an apparatus and a water container provided in the vacuum container.

In a preferred embodiment, the electron irradiation apparatus has a wavelength of 2 μm to 7 μm and a frequency of 1 to 4 × 10.
It is characterized by emitting electromagnetic waves of ⁵ Hz.

A further preferred embodiment is characterized in that it comprises a support base on which the object to be sterilized is mounted, and the support base and the electron irradiation device are relatively movable.

[0012]

[Function] Water placed under reduced pressure turns into steam at room temperature,
It comes into uniform contact with the object to be sterilized and adheres as very fine water. By irradiating this with electromagnetic waves in the infrared region,
Bacteria die in a short time.

[0013]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a sterilizer according to an embodiment of the present invention. An electron irradiation device 2 for generating and radiating infrared electromagnetic waves is provided in the vacuum container 1. As the electron irradiation device 2, a known infrared emitting device can be used. As an example, an electron irradiation device that uses a metal conductor as a radiation surface and emits free electrons as infrared electromagnetic waves by applying a weak printing voltage to the radiation surface (for example, trade name "Yudry" Showa Device Plant Co., Ltd.) Can be used. In this case, the wavelength of the radiated electromagnetic wave is 3.6 to 7.0 μm in order to obtain a high electromagnetic wave absorption rate for the sterilization target.
It is desirable that the frequency is 1 to 4 × 10 ⁵ .

A plurality of such electron irradiation devices 2 may be arranged side by side in the vacuum container 1, for example, in an annular shape. A support base 3 is provided in the vacuum container 1 at the irradiation position of the electron irradiation device 2, and an object 4 to be sterilized is placed on the support base 3. The support base 3 or the electron irradiation device 2 may be configured to be movable or rotatable with respect to each other so that the sterilization target 4 on the support base 3 is uniformly irradiated with infrared radiation.
In addition, the support base 3 has a shape or a material having many openings such as a mesh or a grid so that the radiant light in the infrared region can entirely hit the sterilization target 4 and the water vapor can uniformly adhere to the whole. Is desirable.

A water container 5 is installed in the vacuum container 1, and fresh water 6 is contained therein. The clean water 6 does not need to be pure water, and may be ordinary tap water. A vacuum pump 7 is connected to the vacuum container 1 to reduce the pressure inside the container to atmospheric pressure or less.

In the sterilizer having the above-mentioned structure, the lid or inlet (not shown) is opened to support the sterilization object 4 on the support base 3
It is placed on the top and the vacuum pump 7 is driven to reduce the pressure in the vacuum container 1 to atmospheric pressure or less. When the inside of the vacuum container 1 is depressurized, the evaporation action of the fresh water 6 in the water container 5 becomes active, and the water naturally becomes steam to fill the inside of the vacuum container 1 at room temperature. The water vapor uniformly contacts the periphery of the sterilization target 4 on the support base 3 and adheres to the surface as very fine water.
In this state, the sterilization target 4 is irradiated with infrared electromagnetic waves by the electron irradiation device 2. At this time, as described above, the infrared radiation may be emitted while rotating the support base 3 (or the electron irradiation device 2). Bacteria are killed in a short time by such irradiation with infrared electromagnetic waves. According to the experiment, E. coli was killed in about 3 seconds, Staphylococcus was killed in about 9 seconds, and molds were killed in several minutes at room temperature.

An auxiliary heater may be used in combination to accelerate evaporation of water in the water container 5.

[0018]

As described above, in the present invention, since water and the object to be sterilized are exposed to infrared electromagnetic waves in a depressurized state, water vapor is naturally generated at room temperature and the surface of the object to be sterilized. It evenly adheres to the surface as very fine water. Therefore, using a vacuum device with a relatively simple configuration and easy to handle and manage, uniform and reliable sterilization can be performed without requiring heating power, etc., without causing secondary pollution or chemical change, It is possible to sterilize even plastics that do not have heat resistance without deteriorating or deforming, achieving highly reliable sterilization and saving energy and reducing costs.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a sterilizer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1: Vacuum container 2: Electron irradiation device 3: Support stand 4: Sterilization object 5: Water container 6: Fresh water 7: Vacuum pump

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A sterilization method comprising applying moisture to an object to be sterilized under reduced pressure and irradiating infrared radiation. 2. A vacuum container for accommodating an object to be sterilized, a vacuum pump connected to the vacuum container, an electron irradiation device for irradiating the object to be sterilized with infrared radiation, and the inside of the vacuum container. A sterilizer comprising a water container provided. 3. The electron irradiation device has a wavelength of 2 μm to 7 μm.
The sterilizer according to claim 2, which emits an electromagnetic wave having a frequency of 1 to 4 × 10 ⁵ Hz in μm. 4. The sterilization according to claim 2, further comprising a support table on which the object to be sterilized is mounted, and the support table and the electron irradiation device are configured to be movable relative to each other. apparatus.