JP4836207B2 - Superheated steam sterilizer - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention uses a discharge element to activate gas molecules in the air, and the obtained charged particles or active materials (hereinafter, the charged particles and the active materials are simply referred to as “particles”) to the object. The present invention relates to a sterilization apparatus that performs sterilization by irradiation and effectively sterilizes.

  Conventionally, ion generators that generate negative ions or positive ions in the air have been developed in order to improve health and eliminate germs in the air. These ion generators are mounted on air purifiers, air conditioners (air conditioners), vacuum cleaners, and the like.

  On the other hand, in general, in hospitals and the like, in order to remove various pathogenic bacteria, removal of pathogenic bacteria using various bactericides such as alcohol and sterilization by boiling disinfection are performed. The following Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 disclose apparatuses that perform sterilization with superheated steam. However, in this method, when the heat capacity of the object to be sterilized is large, heat is lost on the surface, and the sterilization performance is deteriorated. To obtain a predetermined effect, the apparatus is driven for a long time. Sometimes it was necessary.

  Further, Patent Document 3 discloses a sterilizer that combines atmospheric-pressure steam and corona discharge. FIG. 5 shows a schematic configuration. This sterilizer includes a water vapor supply means that generates water vapor under atmospheric pressure and heats it to 60 degrees Celsius or more, and a blower unit that ejects the heated water vapor to an object to be sterilized. More specifically, the apparatus includes a water vapor supply unit 1, a blower unit 2, a charging unit 3, a sensor unit 4, and a control unit 5.

  Corona discharge is generated from the charging unit 3 by a high-voltage current. Thereby, water vapor is charged and adhesion to the sterilization target is promoted. Further, the operation is performed so that the temperature becomes 60 degrees Celsius or more when the fumarole reaches the object. With the above configuration, pathogenic E. coli and the like can be killed in a short time of several seconds to several tens of seconds.

A similar method is also shown in Patent Document 4 below, and ions are released by supplying fine water droplets to the discharge electrode.
JP 2004-069168 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-19595 JP 2001-187119 A JP 2002-203657 A

  However, the sterilization apparatus using only the superheated steam shown in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 has a problem that it takes time for sterilization and the apparatus is large. Moreover, in the sterilization apparatus shown in Patent Document 3, since water vapor adheres to the discharge part during use, it is difficult to convert gas molecules into an active substance by discharge, and there is a problem that the efficiency of discharge is reduced. Therefore, there has been a problem that the sterilization performance is remarkably lowered. Moreover, in the ion generator of patent document 4, when a discharge electrode was covered with water, there existed a problem that discharge efficiency fell remarkably.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and enables sterilization by mixing and ejecting particles activated by discharge using air containing superheated steam. It aims at providing a superheated steam sterilizer.

In the superheated steam sterilizer based on this invention, it is a superheated steam sterilizer which sterilizes a to-be-processed object by irradiating the particle | grains generated by discharge in the air , Comprising: The discharge element which produces | generates the said particle | grain And a superheated steam generator for generating superheated steam, and the superheated steam generator is arranged upstream of the discharge element in the ejection direction so that the steam in the vicinity of the discharge element passes in the state of superheated steam. The particles generated by the discharge include a positive ion H ⁺ (H ₂ O) m (m is an arbitrary natural number) and a negative ion O ⁻ (H ₂ O) n (n is be any natural number), and wherein the ejected et al or the first wind tunnel in a state where the particles and the said superheated steam is mixed.

  Further, as another form of the superheated steam sterilizer, there is provided a blower for ejecting the particles and the superheated steam from the first wind tunnel to the surface to be treated.

  As another form of the superheated steam sterilizer, a second wind tunnel for storing the discharge element is provided separately from the first wind tunnel, and the particles generated by the discharge are provided in the superheated steam generation unit. It is characterized by being mixed with the generated superheated steam and ejected from the second wind tunnel to the surface to be treated.

  Further, as another form of the superheated steam sterilizer, the temperature or the air flow rate is set so that the superheated steam is kept in a superheated state at the location where the particles generated by the discharge and the superheated steam are mixed. It is characterized by setting.

  According to the superheated steam sterilizer based on this invention, the active particles generated by the discharge are combined with the superheated steam generated in the superheated steam generator, and a high sterilization performance can be obtained by a synergistic effect. Moreover, the function of the discharge device is not hindered by the generated water vapor, and a stable and powerful sterilizing effect can be obtained.

  According to another aspect of the superheated steam sterilizer based on the present invention, when the generation of superheated steam is reduced, that is, when the temperature of the blown gas is lowered, the particles are placed in a good state by the function of the blower. It can be ejected from the wind tunnel.

  According to another aspect of the superheated steam sterilizer based on this invention, the particles generated in the discharge element are mixed with air containing superheated steam, and the particles surround the water vapor, so that the particles are stabilized. It is possible to send it far away without disappearing.

  According to another aspect of the superheated steam sterilization apparatus based on the present invention, by adopting a configuration in which the discharge portion and the superheated steam generation portion are separated, the discharge portion does not corrode while ensuring the sterilization performance. It is possible to realize a device with a long life.

  According to another aspect of the superheated steam sterilizer based on the present invention, the temperature or the air flow rate is maintained so that the superheated steam is kept in a superheated state at the location where the particles generated by the discharge and the superheated steam are mixed. By setting, superheated steam and particles are ejected while being well mixed. Thereby, effective sterilization can be performed.

  Hereinafter, the superheated steam sterilizer in each embodiment based on this invention is demonstrated with reference to figures. In the description of each embodiment, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof may not be repeated. Moreover, in each embodiment, although the household cooker is made into an application example, since the household cooker itself is not a special thing, illustration is abbreviate | omitted and only the housing | casing which accommodates a superheated steam sterilizer is illustrated. It shall be.

  In the embodiments described below, when referring to the number, amount, and the like, the scope of the present invention is not necessarily limited to the number, amount, and the like unless otherwise specified. In addition, when there are a plurality of embodiments below, it is planned from the beginning to appropriately combine the configurations of the embodiments unless otherwise specified.

(Embodiment 1)
With reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the structure of the superheated steam sterilizer in embodiment of this invention is demonstrated. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a superheated steam sterilizer 100 according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a cross section showing a schematic configuration of a superheated steam sterilizer 100A according to another embodiment of the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a control system of superheated steam sterilizers 100 and 100A in the present embodiment.

  The superheated steam sterilizer 100 has a first wind tunnel 11 having an ejection opening 11a on one end side. Inside the first wind tunnel 11, an ultrasonic wave generating element 12, a water storage container 13, a steam generating heater 14, A discharge element 15, a high-voltage power supply 16, and a temperature detection device 17 are disposed. Water 18 is stored inside the water storage container 13, and water is sprayed by driving the ultrasonic generator 12.

  The ultrasonic generation element 12, the water storage container 13, the steam generation heater 14, the discharge element 15, and the temperature detection device 17 are disposed along the flow direction of the sprayed water from the upstream side to the downstream side (the ejection opening 11a). ing. The supersonic water vapor generating section A that generates superheated water vapor is constituted by the ultrasonic wave generating element 12, the water storage container 13, and the steam generating heater.

  Referring to FIG. 3, the control system of this superheated steam sterilizer 100 has a control device 1A, and this control device 1A controls the electric energy of the ultrasonic generating element 12 of the superheated steam generator A and generates superheated steam. The energization amount control of the steam generating heater 14 of the part A and the ON / OFF control of the high voltage power source 16 of the discharge element 15 are executed based on a predetermined program.

  Further, the temperature detection device 17 performs the specified operation by controlling the above-described physical quantity based on the detection result. Further, when the blower fan 19 (see FIG. 2) is installed, the blower amount control by the energization amount control or the rotational speed control is performed. Note that the temperature detection device 17 and the control device 1A can also serve as a device for setting and controlling the cooking temperature of a home cooker or the like on which the superheated steam sterilizer 100 is mounted.

  Referring again to FIG. 1, the water sprayed by driving the ultrasonic generator 12 is superheated to about 200 degrees Celsius by the steam generating heater 14 disposed in the superheated steam generation section A, and becomes superheated steam. Become. The superheated steam passes in the vicinity of the discharge element 15. The discharge element 15 is composed of two electrodes connected to an AC voltage supplied from a high-voltage power supply 16 and a ceramic sandwiched between them. The discharge element 15 activates molecules in superheated steam by discharge with a high-voltage, and has reactive particles. Give rise to The gas 18G in which the particles and superheated steam are mixed is ejected from the ejection opening 11a to the outside of the first wind tunnel 11. The discharge element 15 is not limited to the form shown in FIG. 1 and may be any type such as a needle electrode type or a plate electrode type.

  The gas 18G ejected to the outside from the ejection opening 11a is caused to collide with, for example, a dish D1, which is an object to be sterilized outside the apparatus, and the dish D1 is irradiated with hot air and the activated air. . In FIG. 1, as the shape of the first wind tunnel 11, the steam generation heater 14 is disposed above the ultrasonic wave generation element 12 and the water storage container 13, so that only rapid volume expansion from water to water vapor is achieved. The gas 18G can be ejected from the ejection opening 11a to the outside without using a blower. In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, it is also possible to employ a superheated steam sterilizer 100A including a blower fan 19 on the back side of the steam generating heater 14.

  Here, it is important to maintain the superheated steam state of the superheated steam so that the installation portion of the discharge element 15 does not condense on the discharge section when the superheated steam passes. This is because when the condensation occurs, the sterilizing effect is reduced by a phenomenon such as (i) the temperature of the ejected gas decreases, or (ii) the positive and negative ions delivered from the discharge part are absorbed by the condensed water. Moreover, it is because there exists a possibility of causing a secondary contamination by the water droplet dripping to a target to-be-processed object. Therefore, it is necessary to devise measures such as insulating the wind tunnel, shortening the wind tunnel, or installing a superheated steam generation unit and a discharge unit near the exit of the wind tunnel.

  Further, in order to ensure an overheated state, a temperature detection device 17 is provided to control the energization amount of the steam generating heater 14, to optimize the superheated steam temperature, and to control the power of the ultrasonic generator 12. Controlling the amount of superheated steam by increasing / decreasing the amount of water spray is preferable for ensuring the effect of the present embodiment.

In the superheated steam sterilizer 100, the following ions are generated by the plasma generated in the vicinity of the discharge electrode. As positively or negatively charged particles, positive ions represented by H ⁺ (H ₂ O) m (m is an arbitrary natural number), negative ions represented by O ₂ ⁻ (H ₂ O) n (n is an arbitrary natural number) Other examples include plasma and radicals.

  Since ionization occurs variously depending on discharge conditions, the particles are not limited to these. According to such a structure, the said active gas contained in superheated steam is blown, and it adheres to a sterilization target object and is sterilized. In particular, the effect of the positive ions and negative ions is remarkable. Moreover, since the effect is further remarkable by the coexistence of both, it can be said that it is preferable to optimize the conditions so as to increase the generation ratio thereof.

  In addition, by discharging positive and negative ions by discharge, there is no charge bias in the first wind tunnel 11 caused by the uneven distribution of positive or negative ions, so that the generation of an electric field in the space is suppressed, and the charge Collisions and reductions caused by particles moving in unnecessary directions due to the electric field effect of the wall surface can be suppressed, and further, the disappearance of the positive and negative ions can be suppressed, so that sterilization can be performed effectively.

(Embodiment 2)
Next, with reference to FIG. 4, the superheated steam sterilizer 200 in Embodiment 2 is demonstrated. In addition, FIG. 4 is a figure which shows schematic structure of the superheated steam sterilizer 200 in this Embodiment. The superheated steam sterilization apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment includes a first wind tunnel 21 including an ultrasonic wave generation element 12, a water storage container 13, a steam generation heater 14, and a temperature detection device 17, a discharge element 15, a high voltage power supply 16, and And a second wind tunnel 22 including a blower fan 19.

  The air blown from the blower fan 19 passes through the vicinity of the discharge element 15 in the second wind tunnel 22 and is activated by the plasma generated by the discharge element. The air containing the particles generated in the second wind tunnel 22 is superheated steam generated by superheating the water sprayed from the water storage container 13 in the superheated steam generating section A to about 250 degrees Celsius by the steam generating heater 14; Mixing is performed at a junction P between the first wind tunnel 21 and the second wind tunnel 22.

  It is also important to maintain the superheated steam state of the superheated steam so that no condensation occurs when the superheated steam is ejected. For this purpose, (i) heat insulation from the superheated steam generation part A to the wind tunnel outlet 21a of the first wind tunnel 21; (ii) shortening from the superheated steam generation part A to the wind tunnel outlet 21a; (iii) wind tunnel outlet 21a. It is necessary to devise such as providing the superheated steam generation part A and the junction P in the vicinity, or (iv) circulating the gas 18G in which particles and superheated steam are mixed to the first wind tunnel 21.

  In addition, when introducing the outside air into the second wind tunnel 22, it is necessary to devise such as restricting the amount of air blown so that the mixed gas with the superheated steam does not become 100 degrees Celsius or less. In the present embodiment, considering the introduction of outside air, the initial superheated steam temperature is set to about 250 degrees Celsius, and the temperature setting is higher than 200 degrees Celsius in the first embodiment.

  Further, (i) a temperature detection device 17 is provided to ensure an overheated state, the energization amount of the steam generating heater 14 is controlled to stabilize the superheated steam temperature, and (ii) the power of the ultrasonic wave generating element 12 is controlled. Thus, it can be said that controlling the amount of superheated steam by increasing / decreasing the spray amount is preferable in order to ensure the effect of the present invention.

  In the mixing portion of the particles and superheated steam, the ions and radicals supplied from the discharge element are surrounded by water molecules in the superheated steam and become particles.

The following is mentioned as an example.
Positive ion: H ⁺ + m H ₂ O → H ⁺ (H ₂ O) m (m is an integer)
Negative ion: O ₂ ⁻ + n H ₂ O → O ₂ ⁻ (H ₂ O) n (n is an integer)
After that, the superheated steam containing particles ejected from the apparatus through the above process adheres to the object to be treated D1. These particles then condense on the deposit and the active particles react.

The following is mentioned as the example.
^{_{H + (H 2 O) m}} + O 2 - (H 2 O) n → 3 · OH + (H 2 O) m + n -1
This OH is a hydroxy radical, and functions to stop the function by, for example, destroying the cell membrane in response to microorganisms and viruses, so that attached microorganisms can be removed.

(Example)
The gas 18G in which the particles generated using the superheated steam sterilizer 200 in the present embodiment and the superheated steam were mixed was irradiated to the dish D1 to which Salmonella was adhered. In addition, the dish was arrange | positioned in the position 10 cm away from the wind tunnel exit 21a.

  First, as a comparative test, a test was conducted in which only superheated steam was blown without discharging. At the start of the test, the temperature of the hot air decreased to 80 degrees Celsius in the vicinity of the object, but then continuously blown, and as a result, increased to 200 degrees Celsius after 3 minutes.

  In this test, the total number of Salmonella bacteria initially attached was 1000 CFU (colony forming unit), but after 3 minutes of treatment, the number of bacteria was 23 CFU. It is considered that the remaining bacteria did not sufficiently sterilize because the temperature of the dish D1 did not rise due to the heat capacity of the dish D1.

  On the other hand, in the test in which superheated water vapor and discharge were performed simultaneously, the total number of Salmonella adhered to the initial stage was 1000 CFU, but the bacteria were not detected after 3 minutes of treatment, and it was confirmed that the bactericidal effect was significantly increased It was done.

  As described above, according to the superheated steam sterilizer in each of the above embodiments, ions generated by discharge and other activities can be obtained even when the sterilizer using steam (not superheated steam) that has been used conventionally cannot sufficiently sterilize. A sufficient bactericidal effect can be exhibited by using seeds in combination.

  In addition, by supplying superheated steam to the discharge part, the discharge part is always kept in a dry state, the above-mentioned ions and other active species can be generated without causing deterioration of the function, and with the superheated steam. A great bactericidal effect can be exhibited by the synergistic effect.

  As mentioned above, each said embodiment disclosed this time is an illustration in all the points, Comprising: It is not restrictive. The technical scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

  The embodiment of the present invention has been described with a general household cooker in mind, but to implement the invention in such a setting requires that the discharge unit and the superheated steam generation unit be downsized, As a result, it has become a size that can be mounted on many devices. For example, the present invention can be applied to an autoclave that is a typical sterilizer used in a barber shop or a hospital facility. As can be understood from the above description, it is possible to reliably perform disinfection and sterilization of instruments, which has been conventionally performed by an autoclave or the like, in a shorter time. Therefore, it can be applied to an apparatus that requires sterilization.

It is sectional drawing which shows schematic structure of the superheated steam sterilizer in Embodiment 1. FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows schematic structure of the superheated steam sterilizer in other forms of Embodiment 1. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control system of the superheated steam sterilizer in Embodiment 1. FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows schematic structure of the superheated steam sterilizer in Embodiment 2. FIG. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the sterilizer in background art.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1A Control apparatus, 11 and 21 1st wind tunnel, 11a ejection opening, 12 ultrasonic generation element, 13 water storage container, 14 steam generation heater, 15 discharge element, 16 high voltage power supply, 17 temperature detection apparatus, 18 water, 18G gas, 19 Blower, 22 Second wind tunnel, 100, 100A, 200 Superheated steam sterilizer, A Superheated steam generator, D1 dish.

Claims (4)

A superheated steam sterilizer that performs sterilization of an object by irradiating particles generated by discharge in air ,
A discharge element for generating the particles;
A superheated steam generating section that generates superheated steam;
A first wind tunnel configured to dispose the superheated steam generating portion upstream of the discharge element in the ejection direction and configured to pass steam in the vicinity of the discharge element in a state of superheated steam ;
The particles generated by the discharge are positive ions H ⁺ (H ₂ O) m (m is an arbitrary natural number) and negative ions O ⁻ (H ₂ O) n (n is an arbitrary natural number),
Characterized in that it is ejected the first wind tunnel or found in the state where said superheated steam and the particles are mixed, superheated steam sterilizer.   The superheated steam sterilizer of Claim 1 provided with the air blower for making it eject from the said 1st wind tunnel in the state with which the said particle | grain and the said superheated steam were mixed. A second wind tunnel for housing the discharge element is provided separately from the first wind tunnel, and the particles generated by the discharge are mixed with superheated steam generated by the superheated steam generation unit to mix the first wind tunnel. wherein the jetting from the superheated steam sterilizer according to claim 1 or 2. In places where the said superheated steam and the particles are mixed, as overheating of the superheated steam is maintained, and sets the temperature or air volume, according to any one of claims 1 to 3 Superheated steam sterilizer.

Images