JP3733391B2 - Powder sterilizer - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a powder sterilizer for sterilizing powder (for example, herbal medicine powder, spice powder, sesame grains or chips such as wood chips and leaves) with ultraviolet rays.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As a conventional powder sterilizer, those using chemicals such as ethylene oxide and ozone, and those using heat sterilization utilizing steam heat have been used.
[0003]
In addition, an apparatus for sterilizing powder particles by ultraviolet rays is also known, and as such an apparatus, as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 61-194535, powder particles are diffused and flowed by vibration by a vibrator. A thin layer of granules is formed to sterilize by increasing the irradiation efficiency of ultraviolet rays, or as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 63-199596, the powders are uniformly distributed by irradiating with ultraviolet rays while stirring. Some sterilized things.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, since sterilization with chemicals such as ethylene oxide and ozone has persistence, secondary treatment may be required, particularly for food powders such as herbal medicines and spices. Being sexual was a serious evil. Moreover, there is a risk of generating resistant bacteria. In addition, heat sterilization using steam heat increases the energy cost, and particularly with respect to foods, there are disadvantages such as discoloration, alteration, and fragrance flying, and it is not suitable for heat-resistant bacteria.
[0005]
On the other hand, although sterilization by ultraviolet rays does not have the above-described drawbacks, the method of forming a thin layer by diffusing and flowing powder particles with the vibrator has a disadvantage that only the surface layer of the particle layer can be sterilized by ultraviolet irradiation. There is. In addition, the method of uniformly sterilizing the granular material by stirring has a disadvantage that the irradiation efficiency is poor because only the surface granular material can be irradiated with ultraviolet rays at each moment.
[0006]
An object of this invention is to provide the granular material sterilizer which can improve the sterilization efficiency of a granular material in view of said situation.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The granular material sterilization apparatus of the present invention includes an airflow generating means for generating an airflow in a piping path, a granular material supplying means for supplying a granular material in the airflow to generate a solid-gas two-phase flow, and the solid material A sterilization cylinder connected to the piping path to supply a gas two-phase flow, an ultraviolet sterilization lamp installed in the sterilization cylinder, and a sterilized solid-gas two-phase flow discharged from the sterilization cylinder Separation means for separating powder and airflow, a temperature sensor installed in the sterilization cylinder, a heater installed upstream of the powder supply means, and a measurement value of the temperature sensor And a control means for controlling the heater .
[0008]
As a result, the granular material is carried in the sterilization cylinder in an air current, and the granular material is diffused by the air current in the sterilization cylinder. In other words, the granular material is moved by the air current in the sterilization cylinder while rotating or moving closer to or away from the UV sterilization lamp, so that each particle is uniformly UV sterilized. Ultraviolet rays can be received from the lamp, and the sterilization efficiency is greatly improved. Furthermore, since the heater is controlled in accordance with the temperature in the sterilization cylinder, the temperature in the sterilization cylinder can be maintained at a temperature at which the light emission amount is maximum for the ultraviolet sterilization lamp. Alternatively, since irradiation of ultraviolet rays at a temperature at which the bacteria are activated makes it easier for the bacteria to die, such a temperature can also be set.
[0009]
The airflow generation means may be configured to adjust the flow velocity of the airflow. Thereby, it becomes possible to adjust the time for a granular material to pass through the inside of a sterilization cylinder, and to adjust the sterilization time (time which has received the ultraviolet-ray).
[0010]
A plurality of sterilization cylinders equipped with the ultraviolet germicidal lamp may be provided. According to this, each of the sterilization cylinder and the ultraviolet sterilization lamp can be made small, and a long path for sterilization can be secured. Furthermore, as described above, when the time for the powder to pass through the sterilization cylinder is increased by adjusting the flow rate of the air flow, the amount of the powder sterilization treatment per unit time is reduced. By installing a plurality of cylinders and lengthening the sterilization path length, the necessary sterilization time can be ensured without reducing the amount of powder sterilization treatment per unit time.
[0011]
The inlet side of the sterilization cylinder to which the solid-gas two-phase flow is supplied may be positioned below the outlet side that discharges the solid-gas two-phase flow. Here, the flow rate when the granular material is carried horizontally is only slightly slower than the flow rate of the air flow, but by positioning the inlet side of the sterilization cylinder below the outlet side, the flow rate of the granular material is Since it becomes the value which subtracted the sedimentation speed | rate of the granular material from the flow velocity of the airflow, it becomes possible to set the flow velocity of a granular material to a speed significantly slower than the flow velocity of an airflow, and to take sterilization time long.
[0012]
Since the sterilization cylinder is set up substantially vertically and the outlet side is positioned directly above the inlet side, it is possible to prevent powder particles from remaining in the sterilization cylinder. In other words, in the sterilization cylinder, the powder particles settle in the direction of gravity. However, the sterilization cylinder stands up almost vertically and generates an air flow that is directly above the direction of gravity. However, the operation of getting on the airflow again is repeated, and it is prevented that the settling is left as it is on the inner wall of the sterilization chamber, so that the problem of remaining is eliminated.
[0013]
The air flow generation means may be configured to generate air flow by generating a pressure higher than atmospheric pressure at an upstream point of the piping path. As a result, since the inside of the piping path is always positive pressure, even if a leak occurs in the piping path of the powder sterilizer, this leak occurs in the direction from the inside of the pipe to the atmosphere. Mixing can be prevented and the discovery is easy.
[0014]
The inner wall of the sterilization cylinder may be made of an aluminum wall. Since the ultraviolet light irradiated from the ultraviolet germicidal lamp is reflected with high efficiency by the aluminum wall, the powder particles passing through the sterilizing cylinder are directly reflected from the ultraviolet germicidal lamp and the ultraviolet light reflected by the aluminum wall. Sterilization is performed with high efficiency.
[0015]
The said sterilization cylinder may be provided with the joint means for connecting to the said piping path | route at the upper end and lower end. This makes it easy to replace the sterilization cylinder and UV sterilization lamp, and as described above, when multiple sterilization cylinders are provided, it is easy to add or remove sterilization cylinders. It is also possible to freely adjust the sterilization path length according to the above.
[0017]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0018]
FIG. 1 is a piping route diagram showing an embodiment of the powder sterilizer according to the present invention.
[0019]
The compressor 1 which is an airflow generating means takes in air in the atmosphere, compresses it, and supplies this compressed air to the pipe path 14 so as to generate an airflow in the direction A in the pipe path 14. It consists of.
[0020]
A main line filter 2 is connected to the downstream side of the compressor 1. The main line filter 2 removes dust and the like in order to prevent dust and the like contained in the airflow from being mixed into the powdered particles.
[0021]
Wherein the downstream side of the main filter 2, the air flow Dry Layer 3 is connected. The airflow Dry Layer 3, particulate matter to remove moisture contained in the air stream is adapted to prevent the deterioration.
[0022]
Wherein the downstream side of the airflow dry Ya 3, sterilization filter 4 is connected. The sterilization filter 4 sterilizes various bacteria contained in the airflow.
[0023]
A heater 5 for warming the airflow is connected to the downstream side of the sterilization filter 4. This heater 5 is controlled by the control means 12 based on the measured value obtained by the temperature sensor 13 installed in the sterilization cylinder 9 mentioned later. That is, the temperature of the airflow is controlled and the inside of the sterilization cylinder 9 is adjusted to the set temperature. For example, if the amount of UV irradiation is maximized when the UV germicidal lamp is 40 ° C., the air current can be warmed to keep the inside of the germicidal cylinder 9 at 40 ° C.
[0024]
On the downstream side of the heater 5, eight ejectors serving as powder supply means are connected. The ejector 8 contains powder particles (for example, herbal medicine powder and spices in the piping path 14 and includes any powder particles that need to be sterilized). Supply a solid-gas two-phase flow. The ejector 8 is connected to a powder particle quantity supply device 6 via a rotary valve 7. The powder and granular quantity supply unit 6 supplies the ejector 8 with a fixed quantity of powder and granular substances. It should be noted that the solid-gas ratio can be adjusted by adjusting the supply amount of the particulate matter to the ejector 8 by the particulate matter quantitative supply 6.
[0025]
Furthermore, one or more sterilization cylinders 9 are connected to the downstream side of the ejector 8 as necessary. In the example shown in FIG. 1, three sterilization cylinders 9 are connected side by side in series. The sterilization cylinders 9 are each set up substantially vertically, and a solid-gas two-phase flow is supplied from the lower side thereof. The solid-gas two-phase flow is discharged from the upper side and is passed through a U-shaped pipe. It is configured to be supplied to the lower side of the next sterilization cylinder 9. A bag filter 10 is connected to the downstream side of the third sterilization cylinder 9.
[0026]
The bag filter 10 separates the solid-gas two-phase flow that has passed through the sterilization cylinder 9 into an air current and a granular material. The separated granular material is collected by the bag filter 10 and sent out through the rotary valve 11 to, for example, an aseptic room outside the apparatus.
[0027]
Next, the sterilization cylinder 9 will be described in detail. FIG. 2 is a vertical side view of the sterilization cylinder 9. The sterilizing cylinder 9 has flanges 17 and 17 as joint means at its upper and lower ends. The sterilization cylinder 9 is connected to the piping path 14 by connecting the flanges 17 and 17 to the flanges 16 and 16 of the reducer 15 which is a joint for connecting the deformed pipes.
[0028]
A sterilization chamber 20 is formed in the sterilization cylinder 9, and an ultraviolet sterilization lamp 19 is fixed in the sterilization chamber 20 by a support 18. The ultraviolet germicidal lamp 19 has a vertically long shape that is long in the direction of the airflow. The diameter of the ultraviolet sterilization lamp 19 is smaller than the inner diameter of the sterilization chamber 20, and a solid-gas two-phase flow channel is formed between the inner wall surface of the sterilization chamber 20 and the ultraviolet sterilization lamp 19. The reducer 15 is formed with a hole 15a for taking out the cord 21 of the ultraviolet germicidal lamp 19 to the outside, and a wiring is passed so as to prevent airflow from leaking. Furthermore, the inner wall surface of the sterilization chamber 20 is formed by aluminum polishing or aluminum vapor deposition.
[0029]
According to the above configuration, the granular material supplied from the ejector 8 is carried by the compressor 1 on the air flow generated in the piping path 14 and carried into the sterilization cylinder 9. Things are diffused by the airflow. That is, the granular material is moved by the air current while rotating or moving inside the sterilizing cylinder 9 while approaching or moving away from the ultraviolet germicidal lamp 19, and each granular material is uniformly distributed. The ultraviolet rays from the ultraviolet germicidal lamp 19 can be received, and the sterilization efficiency is remarkably improved.
[0030]
The compressor 1 can adjust the discharge pressure of the compressed air, and the flow rate of the airflow can be adjusted by adjusting the discharge pressure. Since the flow rate of the airflow can be adjusted in this way, it is possible to adjust the sterilization time (the time during which the ultraviolet rays are received) by adjusting the time during which the granular material passes through the sterilization cylinder 9.
[0031]
Since a plurality of sterilization cylinders 9 including the ultraviolet sterilization lamp 19 are provided, each of the sterilization cylinder 9 and the ultraviolet sterilization lamp 19 can be made small, and a long path for sterilization can be secured. Become. Furthermore, as described above, when the time for the powder to pass through the sterilization cylinder 9 is increased by adjusting the flow rate of the airflow, the amount of the powder sterilization treatment per unit time decreases, By installing a plurality of the sterilization cylinders 9 and increasing the sterilization path length, the necessary sterilization time can be ensured without reducing the amount of the powder sterilization treatment per unit time.
[0032]
Since the inlet side of the sterilizing cylinder 9 is positioned below the outlet side, the following advantages are obtained. That is, the flow rate when the granular material is transported horizontally is only slightly slower than the flow rate of the air flow, but the inlet side of the sterilization cylinder 9 is positioned below the outlet side, and the granular material is against gravity. By carrying it, the flow rate of the granular material becomes the value obtained by subtracting the sedimentation rate of the granular material from the flow rate of the air flow, the flow rate of the granular material is set to a speed much slower than the flow rate of the air flow, and the sterilization time It is possible to take longer.
[0033]
In particular, in this embodiment, since the sterilization cylinder 9 is set up in the vertical direction, the solid-gas two-phase flow is supplied from the lower part and discharged from the upper part, so that the particulate matter remains in the sterilization cylinder 9. Can be prevented. That is, in the sterilization cylinder 9, the powder particles settle in the direction of gravity, but the sterilization cylinder 9 is set up in the vertical direction, and the airflow is generated in the direction opposite to the direction of gravity. Even so, the operation of getting on the airflow again will be repeated, and it will be prevented from sinking and being left as it is on the inner wall of the sterilization chamber 20, so that the problem of remaining will be solved.
[0034]
Since the compressor 1 generates an air flow by generating a pressure higher than the atmospheric pressure at an upstream point of the piping path 14, the pressure in the piping path 14 is always positive. As a result, even if a leak occurs in the piping path 14, this leak occurs in a direction that goes out into the atmosphere from the inside of the pipe. Therefore, it is possible to prevent contamination of bacteria in the piping path, and to easily find the leak.
[0035]
Since the inner wall of the sterilization cylinder 9, that is, the inner wall surface of the sterilization chamber 20 is formed by aluminum polishing or aluminum vapor deposition, the ultraviolet rays irradiated from the ultraviolet sterilization lamp 19 are highly efficient by the inner wall surface of the sterilization chamber 20. Reflected. As a result, the granular material passing through the sterilization chamber 20 receives both the direct ultraviolet rays from the ultraviolet sterilization lamp 19 and the ultraviolet rays reflected by the inner wall surface of the sterilization chamber 20, and sterilization is performed with high efficiency. It will be.
[0036]
Since the sterilization cylinder 9 is provided with flanges 17 connected to the piping path 14 at the upper and lower ends thereof, the sterilization cylinder 9 and the ultraviolet sterilization lamp 19 can be easily replaced. When a plurality of 9 are provided, the sterilization cylinder 9 can be easily added or removed, and the length of the sterilization path can be freely adjusted according to the type of powder and the type of bacteria.
[0037]
It comprises a temperature sensor 13 installed in the sterilization cylinder 9, a heater 5 installed upstream of the compressor 1, and control means 12 for controlling the heater 5 based on the measured value of the temperature sensor 13. Since the in-tube temperature control device is provided, the temperature in the sterilization cylinder 9 can be maintained at a temperature at which the light emission amount is maximum for the ultraviolet sterilization lamp 19. Moreover, if the ultraviolet rays are irradiated at a temperature at which the bacteria are activated (for example, 35 ° C. to 40 ° C.), the bacteria are likely to die. By setting to this temperature, more effective sterilization can be performed.
[0038]
In this embodiment, the compressor 1 is used as the air flow generating means, but a blower may be used. When the piping path 14 is tightly sealed, the blower is disposed at a downstream point of the piping path 14, An air flow may be generated by generating a pressure lower than the atmospheric pressure.
[0039]
In addition, when the inlet side of the sterilization cylinder 9 is positioned above the outlet side, it is difficult to adjust the flow rate of the granular material, but the effect that the sterilization efficiency can be improved by the diffusion of the granular material of the airflow is obtained. be able to.
[0040]
It is also possible to mix ethylene oxide into the air stream and use sterilization with chemicals such as ethylene oxide together with sterilization with ultraviolet rays. According to this, chemicals can be used with the least amount of chemicals used. It can be expected that a great bactericidal effect by the combined use of chemicals and ultraviolet rays can be obtained while reducing the harmful effects caused by this. Furthermore, by using a closed circuit that isolates the piping path 14 from the outside, and using, for example, an inert gas as the air flow, it becomes possible to sterilize powders that are vulnerable to oxidation. Further, although the flange is used as the joint means, a coupling means may be used instead.
[0041]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, there is an effect that a high sterilization efficiency can be obtained in the sterilization of the granular material.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a piping route diagram showing an embodiment of a powder sterilizer according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a longitudinal side view showing a specific configuration of a sterilization cylinder.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Compressor (Airflow generation means)
2 Main line filter 3 Airflow dryer 4 Bacteria-removing filter 5 Heater 6 Powder / particulate quantitative feeder 7 Rotary valve 8 Ejector (powder supply means)
9 Sterilization cylinder 10 Bag filter 11 Rotary valve 12 Control means 13 Temperature sensor 14 Piping path 15 Reducer 15a Hole for taking out the cord of the ultraviolet sterilization lamp 16 Flange 17 Flange 18 Support 19 Ultraviolet sterilization lamp 20 Sterilization chamber 21 Ultraviolet sterilization lamp Code

Claims (8)

An airflow generating means for generating an airflow in the piping path, a powder supply means for generating a solid-gas two-phase flow by supplying particles in the airflow, and the solid-gas two-phase flow are supplied. A sterilization cylinder connected to the piping path, an ultraviolet sterilization lamp installed in the sterilization cylinder, and a separation for separating a sterilized solid-gas two-phase flow discharged from the sterilization cylinder into a granular material and an air current Means , a temperature sensor installed in the sterilization cylinder, a heater installed upstream of the powder supply means, and a control means for controlling the heater based on the measured value of the temperature sensor. A granule sterilizer characterized by comprising.   2. The granular material sterilizer according to claim 1, wherein the air flow generating means is configured to adjust a flow velocity of the air flow.   The powder sterilizer according to claim 1 or 2, comprising a plurality of sterilization cylinders equipped with the ultraviolet germicidal lamp.   The inlet side of the said sterilization cylinder to which the said solid-gas two-phase flow is supplied is located below the outlet side which discharges a solid-gas two-phase flow, The any one of Claim 1 thru | or 3 characterized by the above-mentioned. The granular material sterilizer according to claim 1.   The powder sterilizer according to claim 4, wherein the sterilizing cylinder is set up substantially vertically and an outlet side is positioned right above the inlet side.   The powder according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the air flow generating means generates air flow by generating a pressure higher than atmospheric pressure at an upstream point of the piping path. Granule sterilizer.   The granular material sterilizer according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein an inner wall of the sterilizing cylinder is made of an aluminum wall.   The said sterilization cylinder is equipped with the joint means for connecting to the said piping path | route in the upper end and lower end, The granular material sterilizer in any one of Claim 1 thru | or 7 characterized by the above-mentioned.

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