JP3049181B2 - Sterilizer - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sterilization apparatus, and more particularly, to a small-sized portable and easy-to-use portable instrument used for sterilizing instruments such as handpieces frequently used in dental treatment. It relates to a sterilizer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In dental treatment, various instruments, for example, a turbine handpiece, a contra-shank handpiece, a multi-syringe, an ultrasonic scaler, etc., are used for each patient from the viewpoint of hygiene. It is preferable to use a sterilized one. For this reason, an autoclave device (a high-pressure steam sterilizer) has been prepared in each clinic, and these instruments are generally sterilized before starting medical treatment, and sterilized for each patient. I use instruments.

[0003] However, in a conventional autoclave device, a container for accommodating instruments is a cubic tray or a square cast having an open top, and these containers are used alone or stacked in the autoclave device. It was stored and pulled out horizontally.
For this reason, most of the autoclave devices employ a pressure-resistant one-sided door structure, and the one-sided door is rotated in a horizontal direction to take in and out the container. And
Locking of the one-sided door has been performed by inserting a threaded door or handle between two locking plates protruding in parallel with the horizontal direction from the other end of the door, and rotating the door.

[0004]

As described above, in the conventional autoclave apparatus, a container such as a tray for accommodating instruments to be sterilized is put into and taken out of the autoclave apparatus by a drawer, and most of the doors are one-sided. Locking was performed by rotating the door handle in a system. For this reason, in the sterilization operation of the instrument in the autoclave device, not only the operation of the front and rear door handles is required, but also the entire device becomes large, resulting in a large weight, and as a result, labor is required for transportation. Further, there is a problem that a space necessary for opening the door must be secured, and the like, which is inconvenient as an autoclave device for a small-scale dental clinic.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and has been made small and lightweight so that it can be carried by one person.
To provide a safe sterilizer capable of opening and closing the lid of a chamber for accommodating instruments with a single touch by operating a lock button, and furthermore, during autoclave, the lid is not opened by human power and there is no danger such as steam blowing. It is intended for.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides (1) a casing having a chamber for accommodating an instrument, and a lid for opening and closing an upper opening of the chamber, In a high-pressure steam sterilizer for heating an aqueous solution in the chamber to sterilize instruments in the chamber with high-pressure steam, the lid is integrally provided, and one end is rotatably supported by the casing. An arm, and a hook that locks the other end of the arm to the casing when the lid is closed, and locks the hook so that the lid cannot be opened and closed by high-pressure steam pressure in the chamber; a locking mechanism for normal pressure to unlock openably, the high pressure steam in the chamber was closed and a valve to allow air opening, is secured to the locking mechanism, the lid central portion An arm having one end pivotally supported so as to be able to open and close the lid with respect to the chamber opening, and an arm pivotally supported at the other end of the arm so as to be rotatable on the same plane as a rotation surface of the arm; A hook that cooperates with the fixed receiving seat to hold or release the seal between the lid and the chamber opening, and has one end pivotally connected to the arm so as to be rotatable on the same plane as the arm rotation surface. It is supported, has a lock button on the other end side, when the lock button is pressed, it comes into contact with the hook and turns to engage the hook with the seat, and when the lock button is pushed up, a locking bar having disposed a guide pin in a position such that the hook and the seat are spaced apart, running
During the operation, the hook is
A spring force is applied in a direction to increase the engagement with the seat, and the
After the pressure in the bar is released, the hook is configured to include a hook return spring for applying a spring force in a direction of releasing the engagement between the hook and the receiving seat.

[0007]

The chamber to be autoclaved is a vertical container with a bottom, and instruments are inserted and removed from the upper opening of the chamber, and the autoclave is performed with the opening closed by a lid. The lid is fixed at one end to the center of an arm that is pivotally supported on the upper surface of a casing that supports the chamber, so that the lid can open and close the chamber opening when the arm is rotated. A hook is pivotally supported at the other end of the arm, and the lid is closed by locking the hook to the seat.
The receiving seat is fixed to the upper surface of the casing.

The engagement of the hook with the seat is achieved by pushing down a lock button of a lock bar, one end of which is pivotally supported by the arm and the other end of which is a lock button. The hook is moved by contacting the hook to engage with the seat. When the lock button is pushed up, the hook is returned and disengaged by using a spring force. However, during the autoclave, the engaging force between the hook and the seat increases due to the steam pressure acting on the lid, and the engagement cannot be released by operating the lock button.

[0009]

1 is a view for explaining the structure of a sterilizer according to the present invention. FIG. 1 (a) is a side view and FIG. 1 (b) is a plan view. 2 is a chamber, 3
Is a lid cover, 4 is a lid, 5 is a packing, 6 is a lock mechanism, 7 is a snowboard, 8 is a thermostat, 9 is a heater, 1
0 is a basket, 11 is a water receiving port, 12 is a valve knob, 13 is a valve, 14 is a pressure gauge, 15 is a power switch, 16 is a timer display, and 17 is a lid open / close display.

The sterilization apparatus shown in FIG.
A chamber 2 for autoclaving by inserting an instrument (not shown) housed in the chamber, a lid 4 for closing the opening 2a of the chamber 2, and a lock for opening and closing the lid 4 with one touch by operating a lock button 6a. The mechanism 6 is a main component.

The chamber 2 is a corrosion-resistant bottomed cylindrical pressure-resistant container which is suspended and fixed to the upper surface 1a of the casing 1 at the outer peripheral surface near the opening 2a. Bottom 2b in chamber 2
The vicinity is vertically divided by a saw blade 7, and an insulated heater 9 is provided in a flat corrosion-resistant metal container which is completely sealed therebetween. The heater 9 is controlled to have a constant temperature between 120 and 130 ° C. set by the thermostat 8.

In the casing 1, in addition to the above-described elements,
Introduce the pressure of the autoclave to control the pressure constant,
A pressure control stabilizing valve (not shown) for discharging steam when a set pressure is exceeded, a safety valve 15 and a valve 1 for releasing steam in the chamber 2 to the atmosphere by rotating a valve knob 12.
Valves and the like such as 3 are disposed, and the recovered water of the discharged steam is stored in a water receiving port 11 disposed so as to be able to be taken in and out of the casing 1.

A power switch 15, a pressure gauge 14 for displaying the pressure of the autoclave, a timer display 16 for displaying the set autoclave time, and a lid opening / closing display for displaying the open / closed state of the lid 4 are provided on an outer panel of the casing 1. 1
6 are provided and have a size and weight that can be easily carried by humans.

FIG. 2 is a view for explaining a lock mechanism according to the present invention. FIG. 2 (a) is a plan view, and FIG. 2 (b) is a side view showing a locked state. 21 is an arm, 22 is a hinge, 23 is a seat, 24 is a hook, 25 is a lock bar, 26 is a hook return spring, 27 is a hinge pin, 28 is a hook pin, 29 is a lock bar pin, and 30 is a guide pin. 1 have the same reference numbers as in FIG.

In FIG. 2 , an arm 21 is a columnar body having a square cross section, and a lid 4 is fixed to a central lower surface by bolts or the like, and one end 21a is connected to a hinge 22 having a lower surface fixed to the upper surface 1a of the casing 1 by a hinge pin. It is supported at 27. The position where the hinge 22 is fixed and the height position of the hinge pin 27 are selected so that the lid 4 and the chamber opening 2a can make contact with the contact surface via the lid packing 5 when the arm 21 is rotated around the hinge pin 27. I have.

The other end 21b of the arm 21 has a U-shaped cross section in the horizontal direction, and a hook 24 is supported by a hook pin 28 at an upper end 24c so as to be sandwiched between the U-shaped portions. The arm 21 is suspended. The hook 24 is made of a rectangular plate-like body, and has a locking surface 24a having a predetermined length in a direction perpendicular to the long side on the surface (outside) opposite to the lid 4.

The height position of the locking surface 24a is
Are engaged with the lower surface 23a of the seat 23, so that the circumferential contact surface between the lid 4 and the chamber opening 2a has the same contact pressure. The receiving seat 23 is attached to the upper surface 1a and has a through hole 23b having an area large enough to allow the hook 24 to be inserted. The hook return spring 26 is inserted through the hook pin 28. The hook return spring 26 applies a spring force to rotate the hook 24 around the axis of the hook pin 28 with respect to the arm 21. This spring force is applied between the hook 24 and the receiving seat 23 shown in FIG. When the guide pin 30 is moved upward B, the hook 24 is turned in the direction of the arrow -R to release the engagement, and the engagement surface is disengaged. It works so that surface 23a may not contact.

A lock bar 25 pivotally supported by a lock bar pin 29 and extending to the outside of the arm 21 is pivotally supported at an intermediate portion between the hinge pin 27 and the hook pin 28 of the arm 21, and a lock button 6a is provided at the other end. It is arranged. A guide pin 30 which is parallel to the hook pin 28 is fixed to the lock bar 25. The positional relationship between the hook pin 28 and the guide pin 30 is selected so as to be the shortest distance in the locked state of FIG. 2B.

The guide pin 30 is so moved in accordance with vertical movement of the lock bar 25, a long guide hole 21 c in the longitudinal direction perpendicular to the arm 21 so as not to interfere with this movement is perforated.

As described above, the arm 21, the hook 24,
And the lock bar 25 are hinge pins 2 parallel to each other.
7, since they are supported by the hook pins 28 and the lock bar pins 29, they rotate on the same plane.

Next, the operation of the lock mechanism configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. First, in the state of FIG. 2 (a), when the lock button 6a is pushed in the arrow + F direction, the guide pin 30 abuts the lower portion A of the guide hole 21 c, this time, the guide pin 30 and the hook pin 28 is When the guide pin 30 and the inner surface of the hook 24 are in contact with each other, the hook is pushed in the + R direction and the locking surface 2 is reached.
4a and lower surface 23a of seat 23 are locked. In this state, if the pressure in the chamber 2 is acting, the locking surface 2
Even if a force in the direction of increasing the contact pressure acts between the lower surface 4a and the lower surface 23a to push the lock button 6a in the -F direction, the hook 24 is released by the spring force of the hook return spring 26. Never.

FIG. 3 is a view for explaining the unlocked state of the lock mechanism according to the present invention shown in FIG. FIG.
In the state (1), the pressure in the chamber 2 opens the valve 13 to open to the atmosphere. When the lock button 6a is pushed up in the -F direction, the guide pin 30 moves to the upper end B side of the guide hole 21a. At this time, the distance between the guide pin 30 and the hook pin 28 has increased, and the hook 24 can rotate around the hook pin 28, and is turned in the −R direction by the spring force of the hook return spring 26. Moves in the moving direction of the lock button 6a through the through hole of the seat 23.

[0023]

As is apparent from the above description, the present invention has the following effects. (1) Since the chamber 2 has a bottomed cylindrical shape, instruments to be autoclaved can be taken in and out from the upper opening, so that the installation area can be smaller than that of a conventional drawer type. (2) The operation is simple because it has a lock mechanism and can open and close the lid of the chamber 2 with one touch. (3) When autoclaving with the lid locked,
The lock portion is stable because a force in the direction in which the lock is more reliably applied acts.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view for explaining the structure of a sterilization apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view for explaining a lock mechanism according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a view for explaining an unlocked state of the lock mechanism according to the present invention shown in FIG. 2;

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Casing, 2 ... Chamber, 3 ... Lid cover, 4 ...
Lid, 5 packing, 6 locking mechanism, 7 snowboard, 8
Thermostat, 9 heater, 10 basket, 11 water inlet, 12 valve knob, 13 valve, 14 pressure gauge, 15 power switch, 16 timer display, 17 lid open / close display, 21 arm, 22 ... hinges, 23 ... seats,
24: hook, 25: lock bar, 26: hook return spring, 27: hinge pin, 28: hook pin, 29: lock bar pin, 30: guide pin.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A casing having a chamber for accommodating an instrument, and a lid for opening and closing an upper opening of the chamber, wherein a water liquid in the chamber is heated to pressurize the instrument in the chamber. In a high-pressure steam sterilizer for performing steam sterilization, an arm having the lid integrally, and one end rotatably supported by the casing, and the other end side of the arm when the lid is sealed. A lock mechanism for locking the lid so that the lid cannot be opened and closed by high-pressure steam pressure in the chamber, and unlocking the hook so that the lid can be opened and closed at normal pressure; and a high pressure in the chamber. steam possess a valve that allows air release, the locking mechanism, said lid central
The lid can be opened and closed with respect to the chamber opening.
Arm whose one end is pivotally supported, and the same as the rotation surface of the arm
Pivotally supported on the other end of the arm so as to be rotatable on a plane,
The lid and the channel cooperate with a seat fixed to the casing.
A seal that holds or releases the seal with the
And one end rotatably on the same plane as the arm rotation surface.
Side is pivotally supported by the arm, and has a lock button on the other end side,
When the lock button is pressed, it contacts the hook and turns.
When the hook was engaged with the seat and the lock button was pushed up
The hook and the seat are separated from each other.
A lock bar having a guide pin mounted therein;
Due to the pressure in the chamber, the hook and the seat are locked.
To increase the pressure in the chamber.
A sterilization apparatus comprising: a hook return spring for applying a spring force in a direction for releasing the engagement between the hook and the receiving seat after releasing the force .