KR20180134101A - Spraying Apparatus Using Plasma - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a disinfectant spraying apparatus using plasma. His composition is; A center electrode 3; An external electrode 5 surrounding the periphery of the front end of the center electrode 3 while maintaining insulation with the center electrode 3 and having a plasma discharge hole 13 formed in the central portion thereof and being hollow inside; A spray nozzle 15 installed at a front end of the external electrode 5 and having a disinfectant solution inlet and a disinfectant solution spray hole 17 at the center; A carrier gas supply unit for supplying a carrier gas to a space between the center electrode 3 and the external electrode 5; And a power supply for supplying electric power to the center electrode and the external electrode; A plasma is generated between the tip of the center electrode 3 and the external electrode 5 at this time, the carrier gas is jetted at high speed through the plasma discharge hole 13 together with the plasma, and the disinfectant supplied from the disinfectant solution inlet Is injected into the injection nozzle (15) due to a pressure difference, is atomized, reacts with plasma, and is activated, and the activated disinfectant is sprayed to the outside through the disinfectant spray hole (17).

Description

[0001] Description [0002] Spraying Apparatus Using Plasma [

The present invention relates to a sterilizing apparatus, and more particularly, to a disinfectant spray apparatus using plasma that increases the efficiency of sterilization by using a reaction between a drug such as hydrogen peroxide and a plasma.

Traditionally, sterilization or sterilization apparatuses use high temperature steam, and there are a method using ethylene oxide (ETO) gas, a method using ozone and water, a method using hydrogen peroxide vapor, and a method using hydrogen peroxide and plasma. In recent years, various attempts have been made to improve sterilization efficiency by various combinations of ozone, hydrogen peroxide, plasma, ultraviolet (UV), and photocatalyst (TiO ₂ ).

The high concentration of hydrogen peroxide is a toxic substance in handling, and direct contact between the sterilizing object and the plasma may cause electrostatic damage by electric field and surface damage by plasma. Ozone is involved only in the decomposition process of limited organic bonds, or is consumed in the oxidation reaction of metal, which is disadvantageous in that it takes a long time for the sterilization treatment.

U.S. Patent No. 4,643,876 discloses a method of using plasma, and discloses a method of sterilizing plasma generated in an airtight container as a whole. However, there is a disadvantage that the surface of the sterilizing object is damaged due to the direct contact of the plasma. The literature for improving this is U.S. Patent No. 6,458,321 and Korean Patent No. 10-0458112.

In the present invention, sterilization using a disinfectant, ozone, and plasma is performed in order to sterilize a surface or a space exposed to the outside by using a spraying or spraying process of a relatively simple disinfectant as a basic process and further increasing sterilization efficiency. Lt; / RTI >

 Japanese Patent Publication JP2006-204889

Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2012-0028413

Korean Patent No. 10-1250748

US Patent Publication No. US 7008592 B2

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a sterilization apparatus having a plasma torch which can be driven using a low power. More particularly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a sterilizing apparatus using a plasma which is easy to carry and which consumes a small amount of electric power.

An object of the present invention is to provide: A center electrode 3;

An external electrode 5 surrounding the periphery of the front end of the center electrode 3 while maintaining insulation with the center electrode 3 and having a plasma discharge hole 13 formed in the central portion thereof and being hollow inside; A spray nozzle 15 installed at a front end of the external electrode 5 and having a disinfectant solution inlet and a disinfectant solution spray hole 17 at the center; A carrier gas supply unit for supplying a carrier gas to a space between the center electrode 3 and the external electrode 5; And a power supply for supplying electric power to the center electrode and the external electrode;

A plasma is generated between the tip of the center electrode 3 and the external electrode 5 at this time, the carrier gas is jetted at high speed through the plasma discharge hole 13 together with the plasma, and the disinfectant supplied from the disinfectant solution inlet Is injected into the injection nozzle (15) due to a pressure difference, is made into fine particles and reacts with the plasma to be activated, and the activated disinfectant is injected to the outside through the disinfectant solution injection hole (17) Disinfectant spraying device.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the disinfectant inflow is introduced into the injection nozzle by a venturi effect caused by a pressure difference.

According to another aspect of the present invention, an electrode inflow groove is formed on an inner surface of the center of the outer electrode in a direction toward the center electrode;

The center electrode may be fixedly installed so that its tip end is drawn into the electrode inlet groove.

According to still another aspect of the present invention,

The tip of the center electrode is tapered so that the diameter becomes smaller toward the end; The distance between the center electrode and the outer electrode may be the shortest at the distal end of the center electrode.

According to still another aspect of the present invention,

The electricity applied to the electrode and the external electrode may be in the form of a pulse or alternating current with a voltage in the range of 0.2 to 25 kV and a frequency in the range of 0.5 to 50 kHz.

According to still another aspect of the present invention,

The distance between the plasma discharge hole and the disinfectant spray hole may range from 0.5 to 10 mm.

According to still another aspect of the present invention,

The shortest distance between the external electrode and the center electrode may be in the range of 0.05 to 5 mm.

According to still another aspect of the present invention,

The center electrode 3 is fixed to the center of the base 1 made of non-conductive material through an insulator. The center electrode 3 has a carrier gas inlet on the opposite side to the center electrode. And a connection hole 37 may be provided so as to communicate with a space between the center electrode and the external electrode.

According to still another aspect of the present invention,

The tip of the center electrode 3 may be a part separated from the center electrode body and coupled with the center electrode.

According to still another aspect of the present invention,

The distal end of the center electrode 3 is screwed to the center electrode body as a part separated from the center electrode body so that the distance between the distal end of the center electrode and the outer electrode can be adjusted according to the number of coupling rotations.

According to the present invention, the plasma is generated between the center electrode and the outer electrode, the disinfectant supplied from the disinfectant supply portion is drawn up into the injection nozzle by the pressure difference, reacts with the plasma to activate the disinfectant, So that the disinfectant is sprayed through the disinfectant spray hole. According to this, there is provided a plasma torch for a sterilizing apparatus which is simple in structure and excellent in sterilization efficiency as a result of a combined reaction of disinfectant, ozone, and plasma. In particular, the device can be simplified by omitting the decompression system in sterilization, and the efficiency of sterilization can be increased through the generation of active species on the surface of the sterilized object, rather than after migration of the active species.

Therefore, the sterilization apparatus and method of the present invention can be easily applied to the sterilized object exposed to indoor and outdoor, and further applicable to the inside of the closed container, so that it can be easily applied to the sterilization of medical instruments and the like.

According to the present invention, there is provided a plasma torch having a low power consumption and a low power consumption because it is configured to generate plasma using low power. In particular, by providing the high voltage generator on the side of the torch (which can be hand held), it is possible to prevent the high voltage from flowing to the main body of the apparatus (the portion where the disinfectant solution and the carrier gas storage portion are provided) and the electric wire connected to the torch. Therefore, it is possible to sterilize plasma by generating plasma without causing electromagnetic interference in a medical treatment room or a medical office of a medical institute where a lot of electronic equipment is installed.

1 is a conceptual diagram showing a sterilization process according to the present invention.
2 is a perspective view of a plasma torch according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a perspective exploded view of a plasma torch according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a cross-sectional view of a plasma torch according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a cross-sectional view of an electrode part of a plasma torch according to another embodiment of the present invention.

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

The present invention is based on spraying a disinfectant such as hydrogen peroxide water as liquid fine particles, and in order to increase the efficiency, the liquid fine particles and the carrier gas, which are sprayed when spraying the disinfectant, pass through the plasma, And liquid-phase microparticles are made to be liquid-activated.

The sterilization apparatus according to the present invention can be used to perform the steps shown in Fig. Each step described below is only an embodiment, and the user can omit or add a part as needed.

An object of the present invention is to provide:

Charging a liquid disinfectant into the container (S1);

Supplying a carrier gas for moving the plasma jet generating and disinfecting agent (S2);

Generating a plasma jet (S3);

Supplying and introducing the sterilizing agent (S4);

Mixing the plasma and disinfectant (S5);

(S6) spraying the liquid sterilization agent with the carrier gas into fine particles;

A step S7 of flying the complex disinfectant fluid to reach the sterilizing object;

(S8) sterilizing the complex disinfection fluid by causing a complex reaction,

Characterized in that the final disinfected complex disinfectant fluid comprises liquid disinfectant microparticles, ozone (gaseous, liquid or a combination thereof) and a carrier gas.

And the plasma generating means includes the following plasma torch.

The plasma torch includes a base 1, a center electrode 3, an external electrode 5, a disinfectant supply portion 7, an injection nozzle 15, and a carrier gas supply portion. The base 1 has a cylindrical shape. A stopper (9) is screwed to the rear of the base (1) and an external electrode (5) is screwed on the front.

The center electrode 3 is fixed to the center of the base 1 via an insulator and has a bar shape. The center electrode 3 can be configured such that the distal end portion and the main body can be separated from each other. In particular, the distal end portion and the main body may be screwed so that the interval between the external electrodes 5, which will be described later, can be adjusted according to the number of coupling rotations.

The center electrode 3 is fixed to the center of the base 1, which is a non-conductive material, via an insulator. As described later, there is a carrier gas inlet on the opposite side to the front end of the center electrode 3, and is connected to a space between the center electrode 3 and the outer electrode 5 at an intermediate portion opposite to the front end of the center electrode 3 A hole 37 is provided.

The external electrode 5 is for generating a plasma with respect to the center electrode 3. The external electrode 5 is connected to the base 1 so as to surround the periphery of the center electrode 3 in a state of being insulated from the center electrode 3. [ . The external electrode 5 may be connected to a power supply line through an electrode ring 11 provided with a wire connection terminal 11a. The outer electrode 5 is hollow and has an inner shape such as a cone shape or a dome shape, and therefore, a predetermined empty space exists between the outer electrode 5 and the center electrode 3.

A plasma discharge hole (13) is formed in the center of the tip of the external electrode (5). In particular, the inner space of the outer electrode 5 may be formed in a conical shape so as to be narrowed toward the tip. 4, the outer surface of the external electrode 5 may have various shapes such as a cylindrical shape, a tapered shape, and a stepped shape 43. Referring to FIG.

A carrier gas supply unit is provided to supply the carrier gas G to the space S between the center electrode 3 and the external electrode 5. [ This will be described later.

The disinfectant supply unit 7 supplies the disinfectant L to the space P between the external electrode 5 and the spray nozzle 15 to supply the disinfectant L to the plasma state carrier gas G sprayed from the plasma discharge hole of the external electrode 5 And then sprayed to the outside through the disinfectant spray hole 17.

Hereinafter, the disinfectant supply portion 7 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described.

The injection nozzle 15 is fixedly installed so as to surround the front portion of the external electrode 5 like a cap. The injection nozzle 15 is fixed to the external electrode 5 or the base 1 in a screw manner. A disinfectant spray hole 17 is formed at the tip of the spray nozzle 15 so as to be positioned in line with the center electrode 3 to the plasma discharge hole 13. The distance between the plasma discharge hole 13 and the disinfectant spray hole 17 may be 0.5 to 10 mm.

The disinfectant solution inflow hole 19 may be formed in the spray nozzle 15 to supply the disinfectant L to the space P between the spray nozzle 15 and the external electrode 5. [

The disinfectant solution L flowing into the disinfectant solution inflow hole 19 is sucked into the spray nozzle 15 by the venturi effect and then reacted with the plasma and then sprayed to the outside through the disinfectant solution spray hole 17. During the spraying process, the disinfectant reacts with the plasma to activate the disinfectant.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the center electrode 3 has a tapered portion 23 so as to be sharpened toward the tip 3a (see Fig. 5). The tip 3a of the center electrode becomes a portion where the distance a between the center electrode 3 and the external electrode 5 becomes minimum.

5, the inclination angle of the tapered portion 23 of the center electrode and the inclination of the inner surface of the outer electrode 5 are different from each other. That is, the inclination of the tapered portion 23 is smaller than the inclination of the external electrode, the distance between the center electrode 3 and the external electrode 5 gradually increases toward the rear of the center electrode 3, that is, toward the right side in the drawing. That is, a> b> c in the drawing. However, in Fig. 5, even if a > b = c, the desired object can be achieved.

The distance a between the tip 3a of the center electrode and the external electrode 5 may be, for example, 0.05 to 5 mm. Since the distance between the tip 3a of the center electrode 3 and the outer electrode 5 is the smallest and the gap is relatively wide at other portions, plasma is generated around the tip 3a of the center electrode .

In order to make the plasma by the low power, it is necessary to reduce the interval between the center electrode and the outer electrode or to make the tip of the center electrode more sharp. Embodiments of the present invention allow the spacing and shape (or area) of the tip to be determined so that the plasma is generated by 10 to 500 W of tension.

4, a cone-shaped electrode inlet groove 21 is provided in the center of the external electrode 5 in the direction toward the center electrode 3. [ The center electrode 3 is partially inserted into the electrode inlet groove 21. The depth D at which the center electrode 3 is fitted corresponds to the distance between the tip of the center electrode 3 and the external electrode 5. This depth D is set to be equal to or less than 1/2 of the tapered portion 23 of the center electrode 3, thereby minimizing the area where the plasma is generated. This is a key reason why the plasma is generated at a low power (for example, about 50 W) by reducing the area where the plasma is generated. According to the present embodiment, plasma is generated only in the electrode inlet groove 21. That is, since the plasma generation region is very small, plasma can be generated even at a low power, resulting in less power consumption. The insertion depth D of the center electrode is adjustable and minimized as much as possible to generate plasma with low power. However, if it is too small, it may be a problem because the amount of generated plasma is small, so it may be set based on experience.

The electrode inlet groove 21 is optional and is omitted as shown in FIG.

Hereinafter, the carrier gas supply unit for supplying the carrier gas will be described with reference to Figs. 3 to 4. Fig.

As mentioned above, a gas injection tube 31 is provided at the rear of the center electrode 3 as a main body thereof. The gas injection tube 31 is a conductor screwed to the rear end of the distal end portion 3 of the center electrode 3. The gas injection tube 31 is coupled with a disc-shaped cap.

A gas injection pipe insertion hole 33 is provided at the center of the plug 9 so that the gas injection pipe 31 is inserted into and fixed to the center of the base 1 and a male thread is formed on the outer circumference of the gas injection pipe 31 so as to be screwed with the base 1 have. The plug 9 is preferably an insulator.

An inlet hole 35 is provided in the center of the gas injection pipe 31 by a drilling operation so as to extend from the rear end to the middle. The inflow hole 35 penetrates only to a certain depth. A carrier gas supply pipe (not shown) is connected to the rear end of the gas injection pipe 31.

The connection hole 37 is provided so as to pass through the gas injection pipe 31 laterally. The connection hole 37 allows communication between the inlet hole 35 and the outside of the gas injection pipe 31, and a plurality of connection holes can be provided in a radial form.

On the other hand, the partition block 39 is fitted in the gas injection pipe 31 and positioned in the middle thereof, thereby partitioning the internal space of the base 1. A plurality of nozzle holes 41 are formed in the partition block 39 along the circumferential direction. The nozzle hole 41 allows the carrier gas G ejected through the connection hole 37 to pass through the partition block 39 and to be supplied toward the front end of the center electrode 29. Particularly, the nozzle hole 41 can be inclined so as to face the electrode rod 29, causing the carrier gas to vortex.

The carrier gas G supplied from the rear end of the gas injection pipe 31 is guided along the arrow direction, that is, the inlet hole 35, the connection hole 37, the partition block 39, the plasma discharge hole 13, And is directed to the sterilizing object through the holes 17. In this process, the disinfectant L is sucked into the space P between the injection nozzle 15 and the external electrode by the venturi effect.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the disinfectant solution which can be used is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen peroxide water, ozonated water, peracetic acid, hypochlorous acid, sodium percarbonate, glutaraldehyde, ethylenediamine-tetracetate, isopropyl alcohol, citric acid, lactic acid, It can be either.

The carrier gas used may be air, oxygen, argon, nitrogen, helium or any combination thereof.

According to an aspect of the present invention, an alternating current is used for generating plasma, and an available power may be 10 to 500 W. Electricity applied to the center electrode 3 serving as the first electrode body and the external electrode 5 serving as the second electrode body can be a voltage in the range of 0.2 to 25 kV and a frequency in the range of 0.5 to 50 kHz in the form of pulse or alternating current have.

As described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described specific preferred embodiments, and any person skilled in the art can make various modifications without departing from the gist of the invention claimed in the claims. And such changes are within the scope of the claims.

1: Base 3: Center electrode
5: external electrode 7: disinfectant supply part
9: plug 11: electrode ring
13: Plasma discharge hole 15: Spray nozzle
17: Disinfectant spray hole 21: Electrode inlet groove
23: tapered portion 31: gas injection tube
35: inlet hole 37: connection hole
39: compartment block 41: nozzle hole
G: Carrier gas L: Disinfectant

Claims (10)

A center electrode 3;
An external electrode 5 surrounding the periphery of the front end of the center electrode 3 while maintaining insulation with the center electrode 3 and having a plasma discharge hole 13 formed in the central portion thereof and being hollow inside;
A spray nozzle 15 installed at a front end of the external electrode 5 and having a disinfectant solution inlet and a disinfectant solution spray hole 17 at the center;
A carrier gas supply unit for supplying a carrier gas to a space between the center electrode 3 and the external electrode 5;
And a power supply for supplying electric power to the center electrode and the external electrode;
A plasma is generated between the tip of the center electrode 3 and the external electrode 5 at this time, the carrier gas is jetted at high speed through the plasma discharge hole 13 together with the plasma, and the disinfectant supplied from the disinfectant solution inlet Is injected into the injection nozzle (15) due to a pressure difference, is made into fine particles and reacts with the plasma to be activated, and the activated disinfectant is injected to the outside through the disinfectant solution injection hole (17) Disinfectant spraying device.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the disinfectant inflow is introduced into the spray nozzle by a venturi effect due to a pressure difference.
The method according to claim 1,
An electrode inlet groove is formed on an inner surface of the center of the outer electrode in a direction toward the center electrode;
Wherein the center electrode is fixedly installed so that its tip end is drawn into the electrode inlet groove.
The method according to claim 1,
The tip of the center electrode is tapered so that the diameter becomes smaller toward the end;
Wherein the distance between the center electrode and the outer electrode is the shortest at the distal end of the center electrode.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the electric power applied to the electrode and the external electrode is in the range of 0.2 to 25 kV and the frequency is in the range of 0.5 to 50 kHz in the form of pulse or alternating current.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the distance between the plasma discharge hole and the disinfectant spray hole ranges from 0.5 to 10 mm.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the shortest distance between the outer electrode and the center electrode is in the range of 0.05 to 5 mm.
The method according to claim 1,
The center electrode 3 is fixed to the center of the base 1 made of non-conductive material through an insulator. The center electrode 3 has a carrier gas inlet on the opposite side to the center electrode. And a connection hole (37) is provided to communicate with a space between the center electrode and the external electrode.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the tip of the center electrode (3) is joined to the center electrode by a part separated from the center electrode body.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein a distal end of the center electrode (3) is threadedly coupled to the center electrode body by a part separated from the center electrode body so that the distance between the distal end of the center electrode and the outer electrode can be adjusted according to the number of coupling rotations. Disinfectant spraying device used.

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