JP7147153B2 - Sterilization method and sterilization device - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a sterilization method and a sterilization device for sterilizing by spraying a chemical solution.

Techniques for sterilizing food manufacturing facilities such as food factories and medical and welfare facilities by spraying chemicals such as hypochlorous acid aqueous solutions that have a sterilizing effect are being studied (for example, patent documents 1). This Patent Document 1 describes that sterilization can be achieved by spraying a chemical solution from a two-fluid nozzle into an indoor space so that the relative humidity after spraying is 70% or higher. Furthermore, this document describes that when the relative humidity of the indoor space before spraying is low, the chemical solution is sprayed after humidifying with a humidifier.

JP 2016-27849 A

However, in a wide space, the sprayed chemical solution spreads, and it may be difficult to increase the relative humidity in the space. Further, when the spray direction of the two-fluid nozzle is fixed, it may be difficult to spray the chemical liquid over the entire space.

A sterilization method for solving the above problem is a sterilization method for sterilizing a space by spraying the chemical solution from the spray port of a two-fluid nozzle that supplies the chemical solution and gas, wherein a plurality of sprays in the horizontal plane The chemical solution is sprayed under a predetermined spray condition by sequentially turning the spray port in a direction.

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, it is possible to efficiently perform sterilization in a wide space.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram for explaining the configuration of a sterilization device according to an embodiment; FIG. Explanatory drawing of the structure of the control unit of the sterilization apparatus in embodiment. 4 is a flow chart for explaining the procedure of a sterilization process according to the embodiment; 4 is a flowchart for explaining the processing procedure of a chemical solution spraying process according to the embodiment; FIG. 2 is a layout diagram of a space for explaining the sterilization process according to the embodiment. FIG. 4A is a top view of the measurement arrangement, and FIG. 4B is a side view of the measurement arrangement; FIG. 7 is a graph showing the relationship between elapsed time and relative humidity in the test method of FIG. 6; 7 is a graph showing the relationship between elapsed time and relative humidity in the test method of FIG. 6, where (a) is the relative humidity at the first position when the nozzle is fixed, and (b) is the second position when the nozzle is fixed. Relative humidity at position, (c) relative humidity with rotated nozzle.

An embodiment embodying a sterilization device and a sterilization method will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8. FIG.
The sterilization device 10 shown in FIG. 1 includes a rectangular parallelepiped housing 11 . Four driving wheels 15 are rotatably attached to the bottom surface of the housing 11 . Drive wheels 15 make the sterilization device 10 movable.

The upper surface of the housing 11 is formed with a circular hole in the center and an opening on one side in the longitudinal direction. A pole 20 passes through the circular hole. A lid 12 is attached to the opening so that it can be opened and closed.
A water tank 21 and a chemical tank 22 are arranged side by side below the lid 12 in the housing 11 . The water tank 21 and the chemical liquid tank 22 are containers with lids.

The water tank 21 stores water to be sprayed when the humidity is low at the start of sterilization.
The chemical liquid tank 22 stores a chemical liquid used for sterilization. As this chemical solution, a chemical solution having a pH of 6.5 and a hypochlorous acid concentration of 120 mg/L is used in the case of sterilizing the living room. This chemical solution is produced by diluting 6% sodium hypochlorite with tap water and then adding 3% hydrochloric acid as a food additive to adjust the pH. Purax (registered trademark) S is used as 6% sodium hypochlorite, and tap water: Purax S; 3% hydrochloric acid with a salt additive is mixed at a ratio of 650:1:1. Also, when removing mold, the concentration of hypochlorous acid in the sprayed chemical solution is increased. For example, a chemical obtained by diluting 6% sodium hypochlorite with tap water to 0.3 to 0.5% is used.

The water tank 21 and the chemical tank 22 are mounted on weight scales 23 and 24, respectively. The weighing scales 23 and 24 are used to grasp the remaining amount of water in the water tank 21 and the amount of chemical in the chemical tank 22 .

A water supply pipe 21a and a chemical solution supply pipe 22a are provided at the lower ends of the water tank 21 and the chemical solution tank 22, respectively. These water supply pipe 21 a and chemical solution supply pipe 22 a are connected to a liquid switching valve 25 . The liquid switching valve 25 is connected to a later-described two-fluid nozzle 35 via a flexible liquid supply pipe 26 (only a portion of which is shown in the figure). The liquid switching valve 25 switches the connection between the water supply pipe 21 a or the chemical solution supply pipe 22 a and the liquid supply pipe 26 to supply water or the chemical solution to the two-fluid nozzle 35 .

A gas control unit 27 and an electric control unit 28 are arranged in the housing 11 .
The gas control unit 27 incorporates a compressor and a gas supply valve. A compressor for compressing air is connected to the gas supply valve. The gas supply valve is connected to the two-fluid nozzle 35 via a flexible gas supply tube (not shown). This gas supply valve connects or disconnects the compressor and the two-fluid nozzle 35 .

The electric control unit 28 incorporates a control unit, a battery, etc., which will be described later. Furthermore, the electric control section 28 incorporates a moving mechanism section for driving the driving wheels 15 for moving the sterilization device 10 .

Inside the housing 11, the lower part of a pole 20 as a support is fixed. An upper portion of the pole 20 protrudes upward from a circular hole in the upper surface of the housing 11 . The pole 20 is constructed by nesting a plurality of cylindrical bodies having different diameters, and is vertically expandable. For example, the pole 20 is extended when spraying in a high space such as a ceiling space. A rotation mechanism portion 30 is provided as a rotation mechanism portion at the upper end portion of the pole 20 . The rotating mechanism unit 30 includes a turntable 30a, and half-turns (turns) the turntable 30a about a vertical axis in a horizontal plane in forward and reverse directions.

A mounting member 31 is mounted on the turntable 30 a of the turning mechanism section 30 . The mounting member 31 is formed in a U-shape by bending a plate-like member. A two-fluid nozzle 35 is fixed to the upper surface of the bottom of the mounting member 31 . Further, a camera 33 is attached to the top surface of the upper portion of the mounting member 31 for photographing the outer circumference. This camera 33 is used to capture an image around the sterilization device 10 .

The two-fluid nozzle 35 uses compressed air to spray liquid in the form of a mist. The two-fluid nozzle 35 has a compressed air intake portion 37 and a liquid intake portion 38, which are connected to the gas supply pipe and the liquid supply pipe 26, respectively.

In this embodiment, a two-fluid siphon spray nozzle is used as the two-fluid nozzle 35 . Specifically, Quick Fogger (trade name) manufactured by Spraying Systems Japan Co., Ltd. is used. The two-fluid nozzle 35 can control the amount of sprayed liquid per time of the two-fluid nozzle 35 by the pneumatic pressure of the supplied compressed air. The two-fluid nozzle 35 of this embodiment has two spray ports 35a on the front and rear sides. These spray ports 35a are arranged on opposite sides so as to face each other, and are directed to the open surface of the mounting member 31 (each side of the U-shape). Further, the spray port 35a of the present embodiment sprays mist with a particle diameter of 9 to 11 μm.

<Configuration of control unit>
Next, the configuration of the control unit 50 included in the sterilization device 10 will be described with reference to FIG. In this embodiment, the control unit 50 is realized by the gas control section 27 and the electric control section 28 .

The control unit 50 is connected to the camera 33 and the humidity measuring section M1. The control unit 50 acquires the captured image from the camera 33 . The control unit 50 acquires the humidity measurement signal from the humidity measurement section M1 through wireless communication.

The control unit 50 is connected by wireless communication to a remote operation section including an operation section 55 and a display section 56 . The operation unit 55 is used to instruct the start of sterilization, change the chemical liquid spray start humidity, and the like by remote control. The display unit 56 is configured by a display, and displays the humidity of the humidity measurement unit M1, the image of the camera 33, and the like.

The control unit 50 controls the liquid switching valve 25, the gas supply valve V1 and the compressor C1 in the gas control section 27, the rotation mechanism section 30, and the moving mechanism section W1 in the electric control section .
The control unit 50 includes a sterilization management section 51, a spray control section 52 and a system timer.

The sterilization management unit 51 controls the specifying process, the humidifying process, and the moving process of the spray range. For this reason, the sterilization management unit 51 stores a spray range specifying program and data on the liquid spray start humidity.

The spray range specifying program is a program for specifying the spray exclusion area from the image acquired from the camera 33 and specifying the scheduled spray area.
The chemical solution spray start humidity is humidity for judging the necessity of humidification, and in this embodiment, for example, 60% RH is used.

Furthermore, the sterilization management unit 51 stores data regarding the movement direction and movement interval (for example, 5 m) of the sterilization device 10 . Here, the direction of movement is determined and stored before the start of sterilization based on the size and shape of the space to be sterilized.
The spray control unit 52 executes chemical solution spray processing. Therefore, the spray control unit 52 stores data on a plurality of spray directions of the spray port 35a and the spray time in each spray direction.

As shown in FIG. 5, in the present embodiment, as a plurality of spraying directions, spraying is performed in three directions: the lateral direction (0 degree) of the housing 11 and directions ±45 degrees with respect to this direction. In this case, all spray directions are sprayed for the same spray time. As this spraying time, a time (for example, 15 minutes) is used in which the target relative humidity (70% RH) or higher is achieved at a position 4 m away from the two-fluid nozzle 35 and 0.25 m away from the spray direction.

<Sterilization method>
Next, the sterilization method by the sterilization device 10 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5. FIG.

In this embodiment, it is assumed that a large room R1 shown in FIG. 5 is sterilized. In this case, the sterilization device 10 sterilizes the entire room R1 while moving in the movement direction and movement interval determined before the start of sterilization. In this embodiment, a plurality of humidity measurement units M1 are arranged at intervals on the outer peripheral surface of the room R1. Each humidity measurement unit M1 measures the temperature and humidity of the room R1, detects the relative humidity, and transmits the detected relative speed to the control unit 50. FIG. Further, in the room R1, an obstacle B1, such as an electric device, which does not like high humidity, is arranged.

(Sterilization treatment)
When starting sterilization of the room R1, the sterilization device 10 is placed in the room R1, and the door D1 of the room R1 is closed to put the room R1 into a closed state. Then, using the remote control unit, the sterilization start of the sterilization device 10 is instructed from outside the room R1.

As shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 50 first executes a process of specifying the spray area (step S1-1). Here, the control unit 50 identifies the spray area based on the presence or absence of obstacles. The details of this processing will be described later.

Next, the control unit 50 executes a start humidity acquisition process (step S1-2). Specifically, the sterilization management section 51 of the control unit 50 acquires the relative humidity of the humidity measurement section M1 in the range where the humidity increases according to the position of the sterilization device 10 . As shown in FIG. 5, when the sterilization device 10 is placed at the position P1, the relative humidity is obtained from the humidity measuring section M1 located in the sterilization target section A1.

Then, the control unit 50 executes a process of determining whether or not the humidity is equal to or higher than the liquid spray start humidity (step S1-3). Specifically, the sterilization management section 51 of the control unit 50 determines whether or not the acquired relative humidity is equal to or higher than the liquid spray start humidity (60% RH). When the humidity measured by the plurality of humidity measurement units M1 is different, the sterilization management unit 51 calculates a humidity statistical value (for example, an average value), and determines whether or not this statistical value is equal to or higher than the chemical liquid starting humidity. judge.

Here, if the relative humidity is lower than the chemical spray start humidity ("NO" in step S1-3), the control unit 50 executes the water spraying process (step S1-4). Specifically, the sterilization management section 51 of the control unit 50 controls the liquid switching valve 25 to connect the water supply pipe 21a and the liquid supply pipe 26 to supply water from the water tank 21 to the two-fluid nozzle 35. supply. Furthermore, the sterilization management unit 51 starts the compressor C1, opens the gas supply valve V1, and supplies compressed air to the two-fluid nozzle 35. As a result, water is sprayed from the two-fluid nozzle 35, the inside of the room R1 is humidified, and the humidity of the room R1 increases. In this water spraying process, the humidity is increased only up to the chemical liquid spraying start humidity (60% RH). Since the humidity is relatively low, the control unit 50 does not drive the rotation mechanism 30, and the two-fluid nozzle 35 sprays water with the spray direction fixed. Then, spraying of water is continued until the relative humidity from the humidity measurement unit M1 becomes equal to or higher than the liquid spraying start humidity.

Next, the control unit 50 executes a chemical liquid spraying process (step S1-5). The details of this processing will be described later.
When the spraying process of the chemical solution at this place is finished, the control unit 50 executes the process of determining whether or not the sterilization is finished (step S1-6). Specifically, the sterilization management section 51 of the control unit 50 determines that the sterilization is not finished when there is an unsterilized space.

In this case ("NO" in step S1-6), the control unit 50 executes the movement process (step S1-7). Specifically, the sterilization management section 51 of the control unit 50 drives the movement mechanism section W1 to move the sterilization device 10 by the movement interval in the movement direction. For example, the sterilization device 10 moves sequentially in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. After the movement, the control unit 50 executes the processes from step S1-1.
On the other hand, when the control unit 50 determines that the sterilization of the entire room R1 has been completed ("YES" in step S1-6), the sterilization process ends.

(Specifying processing of spray area)
Next, with reference to FIG. 5, details of the above-described process of specifying the spray area (step S1-1) will be described.

First, the sterilization management unit 51 of the control unit 50 uses the distance of the subject included in the photographed image of the camera 33 and the angle of the turntable 30a at the time of photographing to determine whether or not there is an obstacle around the current position. judgment is made. In this case, the obstacle may be identified by image recognition.
Here, when it is determined that there is no obstacle, the sterilization management section 51 performs spraying in all spraying directions. For example, assume that there is an obstacle B1 in the room R1 in FIG. In this case, when the sterilization device 10 is at the position P1, there is no obstacle B1 in the sterilization target section A1, so the entire sterilization target section A1 is set as the planned spraying area, and spraying is performed in all spray directions. do

On the other hand, when determining that there is an obstacle, the sterilization management unit 51 identifies the direction and distance of the obstacle from the image. Then, when it is determined that the obstacle is positioned within the sterilization target section, the sterilization management unit 51 sets the direction of the spray to the obstacle as the spray exclusion area. Then, the sterilization management unit 51 specifies the spray direction corresponding to the planned spray area excluding the spray exclusion area.

For example, in FIG. 5, when the sterilization device 10 moves to the position P3, the obstacle B1 is included in the sterilization target section A3 at the destination position P3. Therefore, the sterilization management unit 51 specifies the spray direction in which the obstacle B1 exists as the spray exclusion area. Then, the control unit 50 of the sterilization device 10 designates areas other than the spray exclusion area as the scheduled spray area, and specifies the spray direction corresponding to this.

(Medicine spray treatment)
Next, the chemical solution spraying process (step S1-5) will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG.
The control unit 50 executes the spraying process (step S2-1). Specifically, the spray control section 52 of the control unit 50 connects the chemical liquid tank 22 and the liquid supply pipe 26 by switching the liquid switching valve 25 to supply the chemical liquid to the two-fluid nozzle 35 . Further, when the water spraying process (step S1-4) is skipped and compressed air is not supplied to the two-fluid nozzle 35, the spray control unit 52 activates the compressor C1 and switches the gas supply valve V1. Compressed air is also supplied to the two-fluid nozzle 35 .

As a result, the chemical solution and the compressed air are supplied to the two-fluid nozzle 35 , and the chemical solution is sprayed from the spray port 35 a of the two-fluid nozzle 35 . Then, the spraying of the chemical solution increases the relative humidity in the room R1.

Next, the control unit 50 executes determination processing as to whether or not the scheduled spraying time has elapsed (step S2-2). Specifically, the spray control section 52 of the control unit 50 measures the elapsed time from the start of spraying based on the system timer, and compares the elapsed time with the scheduled spray time. Here, if the scheduled spraying time has not elapsed ("NO" in step S2-2), the spray control unit 52 continues spraying the liquid medicine.

On the other hand, if the elapsed time has passed the scheduled spraying time ("YES" in step S2-2), the control unit 50 executes determination processing as to whether or not spraying in all directions has ended (step S2- 3). Specifically, at this point, the spray control section 52 of the control unit 50 determines whether or not the spray has been performed in all spray directions in the planned spray area.

If it is determined that there are unsprayed directions in the planned spray area and that spraying in all directions has not been completed (“NO” in step S2-3), the control unit 50 starts the rotation process of the two-fluid nozzle. Execute (step 2-4). Specifically, the spray control section 52 of the control unit 50 drives the rotation mechanism section 30 to rotate the two-fluid nozzle 35 to the spray direction of non-spray. Then, in this spraying direction, the processes after the spraying process (step S2-1) are repeatedly executed.

On the other hand, if it is determined that spraying in all directions has been completed ("YES" in step S2-3), the control unit 50 executes spray stop processing (step S2-5). Specifically, the spray control section 52 of the control unit 50 switches the gas supply valve V<b>1 to stop the compressor C<b>1 , thereby stopping the supply of compressed air to the two-fluid nozzle 35 . This completes the spraying from the two-fluid nozzle 35 .

<Experiment of increase in humidity with respect to spray direction of two-fluid nozzle>
The sterilization method described above was carried out based on findings based on the following spray experiments. In the following experiments, changes in relative humidity increase were tested by spraying water instead of spraying a chemical solution.

6(a) and 6(b) show a plan view and a side view of the test device.
Here, as shown in FIG. 6, the two-fluid nozzle 65 is fixed on the turntable 60. As shown in FIG. In this case, the spray port 65a of the two-fluid nozzle 65 is arranged at a height of 40 cm from the floor surface. Temperature and humidity loggers Ma1, Ma2, Ma3, and Ma4 are arranged at intervals of 1 m from the two-fluid nozzle 65 on the line L1 connecting the two spray ports 65a of the two-fluid nozzle 65 . That is, the temperature/humidity loggers Ma1 to Ma4 are arranged at positions 1 m, 2 m, 3 m, and 4 m from the center of the two-fluid nozzle 65, respectively. Further, as shown in FIG. 6(a), temperature/humidity loggers Mb1, Mb2, Mb3, and Mb4 are arranged at positions 0.25 m apart from the line L1 and corresponding to the temperature/humidity loggers Ma1 to Ma4. Furthermore, temperature/humidity loggers Mc1, Mc2, Mc3, and Mc4 are arranged at positions corresponding to the temperature/humidity loggers Ma1 to Ma4, respectively, at a distance of 1 m from the line L1.

The two-fluid nozzle 65 used in this experiment was a nozzle manufactured by Spraying Co., Ltd., and was equipped with a nozzle tip (4.5N) to spray a mist with a mist diameter of 9 to 11 μm. Further, mist was sprayed at a rate of 100 ml/min.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing changes in relative humidity of the temperature/humidity loggers Ma1 to Ma4 on the line L1 when the spray direction of the nozzle is not changed.
FIG. 8(a) is a diagram showing changes in the relative humidity of the temperature/humidity loggers Mb1 to Mb4 located 0.25 m from the line L1 when the spray direction of the nozzle is not changed. Further, FIG. 8(b) is a diagram showing changes in the relative humidity of the temperature/humidity loggers Mc1 to Mc4 located 1 m from the line L1 when the spray direction of the nozzle is not changed.

As shown in FIG. 7, in the direction of spraying (on line L1), the relative humidity exceeded 70% in about 6 minutes from the start of spraying even at a location 4 m away from the two-fluid nozzle 65 . Also, as shown in FIG. 8(a), even at a location 0.25 m away from the spray direction, the relative humidity exceeded 70%, although it took nearly 30 minutes. However, as shown in FIG. 8(b), at a location 1 m away from the direction of spraying, the relative humidity did not exceed 70% even after spraying for 30 minutes.

In addition, FIG. 8(c) shows the temperature and humidity in the spray direction (on the line L1) when the turntable 60 is rotated half (180 degrees) and then sprayed by repeating half rotation (180 degrees) in the forward and reverse directions. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing changes in relative humidity of loggers Ma1 to Ma4; In this case, the rotational speed of the two-fluid nozzle 65 (rotary table 60) was 10 seconds/180 degrees. As shown in this figure, the initial relative humidity was about 40%, and the relative humidity exceeded 70% in about 15 minutes at a location 2 m away from the two-fluid nozzle 65, but at a location 3 m or more away, spraying for 30 minutes However, it did not exceed 70%.

From the above experimental results, the spraying method of changing the spraying direction and spraying again for a certain time after spraying for a certain time is better than spraying with the spraying direction of the two-fluid nozzle 65 always fixed or always rotated. The relative humidity around the two-fluid nozzle 65 can be evenly and quickly increased.

According to this embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) The sterilization device 10 of the present embodiment sprays the liquid medicine with the spray port 35a of the two-fluid nozzle 35 sequentially in a plurality of spray directions in the horizontal plane under predetermined spray conditions (spray time). As a result, even in a large space, it is possible to increase the target humidity for each spray area and perform sterilization efficiently.

(2) The control unit 50 of the sterilization device 10 of the present embodiment specifies the spray area (step S1-1). If there is an obstacle, the chemical solution is sprayed to the spray area other than the spray exclusion area. As a result, it is possible to suppress the increase in humidity to the obstacle.

(3) In the present embodiment, if the starting humidity is lower than the chemical solution spraying humidity ("NO" in step S1-3), the control unit 50 of the sterilization device 10 sprays water. This enables efficient sterilization with a small amount of chemical solution.

(4) In the present embodiment, the sterilization device 10 is moved to perform spraying after spraying is completed at a predetermined position. This allows efficient sterilization in the large room R1.
(5) In the present embodiment, the two-fluid nozzle 35 has two spray ports 35a on the front and rear sides, and sprays by half-rotating (rotating) the turntable 30a forward and backward. As a result, sterilization can be efficiently performed by half rotation.

(6) In the present embodiment, the pole 20 with the two-fluid nozzle 35 attached to its upper end is extendable. Therefore, by extending the pole 20, it is possible to perform sterilization in a high position such as an attic space.

This embodiment can be implemented with the following modifications. This embodiment and the following modified examples can be implemented in combination with each other within a technically consistent range.
- In the above-described embodiment, the spraying time in a plurality of spraying directions in the horizontal plane was set to 15 minutes. The spraying time is not limited to this. Moreover, it is not limited to a predetermined time. For example, the spraying end time may be determined based on the relative humidity measured by a hygrometer placed in the space to be sterilized. Specifically, the spray control section 52 of the control unit 50 is caused to store the target humidity (for example, 70% RH) at which spraying ends. After executing the spraying process (step S2-1), the control unit 50 executes the process of determining whether or not the humidity has reached or exceeded the target humidity. Specifically, the spray control section 52 of the control unit 50 compares the humidity detected by the humidity measurement section M1 located in the sterilization target section A1 with the target humidity. Then, when the detected humidity does not exceed the target humidity, the spray control unit 52 continues spraying the chemical solution. On the other hand, when the detected humidity exceeds the target humidity, the control unit 50 executes determination processing as to whether or not spraying in all directions has ended (step S2-3). As a result, spraying can be stopped while checking the humidity in the sterilization target area, so sterilization can be performed accurately and efficiently.

- In the above embodiment, the control unit 50 wirelessly acquires the humidity detected by the humidity measurement unit M1 installed in the room R1. Instead of installing the humidity measurement unit M1 in the room R1, it may be attached to the sterilization device 10 and the measured humidity may be obtained by wired communication. In this case, the humidity detected by the humidity measuring unit M1 attached to the sterilization device 10 is corrected to predict the humidity in the sterilization target section A1.

- In the above embodiment, the control unit 50 sets the spraying time in each spraying direction to be the same time. The spraying time may be changed according to the spraying direction. Specifically, the spatial volume of the scheduled spray area is calculated, and the spray time is calculated based on this volume. For example, if there is a wall in the area to be sprayed, the space capacity is small, so the spraying time is shortened. Thereby, spraying can be efficiently performed according to the space capacity.

- In the above embodiment, spraying is performed in three directions of 0 and ±45 degrees with respect to the longitudinal direction of the housing 11 . The directional spacing of the sprays is not limited to this. Also, depending on the shape of the space to be sterilized, etc., the spray directions may not be evenly spaced. Specifically, the spray direction may be determined based on the space capacity in the spray direction.

In the above embodiment, the control unit 50 fixes the two-fluid nozzle 35 and sprays water in the water spraying process (step S1-4). The method of spraying water is not limited to one direction, and water may be sprayed in a plurality of spray directions in the same manner as in the chemical solution spraying process, or the two-fluid nozzle 35 may be repeatedly rotated while being sprayed. may

- In the above-described embodiment, the drive wheel 15 is attached to the sterilization device 10 . The control unit 50 drives the drive wheels 15 by controlling the movement mechanism W1 to move the sterilization device 10. As shown in FIG. The movement mechanism for moving the sterilization device 10 is not limited to the mechanism using the driving wheels 15 . For example, a moving mechanism capable of linear movement and turning around the central axis, such as a mecanum wheel or omni wheel (registered trademark), may be used.

- In the above-described embodiment, the spray port 35a was sequentially directed to a plurality of spray directions in the horizontal plane, and the liquid medicine was sprayed for the spray time. The predetermined spray conditions when the spray ports are directed in multiple spray directions are not limited to the spray time. For example, it may be the angle of the spray port with respect to the horizontal plane, the pressure at the time of spraying, or the like.

- In the above-described embodiment, the image captured by the camera 33 is used to identify the planned spray area. You may use the image image|photographed with the camera (image pick-up device) other than pinpointing a spraying area|region. For example, it may be used to determine the installation height of the two-fluid nozzle 35 . Specifically, the pole 20 is provided with an elevating mechanism for expanding and contracting the pole 20 . The control unit 50 drives the lifting mechanism to adjust the height of the spray port 35 a of the two-fluid nozzle 35 . In this case, the control unit 50 stores the movable range (movable elevation height) of the two-fluid nozzle 35 according to the expansion and contraction of the pole 20 .
After identifying the obstacle in the spray area identifying process (step S1-1), the control unit 50 identifies the height of the obstacle B1 using the image. Then, the control unit 50 compares the height of the obstacle B1 and the movable elevation height, and when it determines that the spray port 35a of the two-fluid nozzle 35 can be higher than the obstacle B1, the spray port 35a is higher than the obstacle B1. Control the lifting mechanism so that it is in position. This prevents the spray mist from the spray port 35a of the two-fluid nozzle 35 from directly hitting the obstacle B1.
Further, when spraying a chemical agent on the space above the ceiling to remove mold, an image captured by the camera 33 may be used to install the nozzle at a height where the spray mist does not directly hit the obstacles.

- In the above embodiment, the control unit 50 moves the rotation mechanism 30 that rotates the two-fluid nozzle 35 and the sterilization device 10 . Rotation of the two-fluid nozzle 35 and movement of the sterilization device 10 may be performed manually. Further, the chemical solution to be sprayed may be changed according to the size of the room to be sterilized, the amount of the chemical solution, and the like.

A1... Sterilization target section, B1... Obstacle, C1... Compressor, D1... Door, L1... Line, M1... Humidity measuring unit, Ma1, Ma2, Ma3, Ma4, Mb1, Mb2, Mb3, Mb4, Mc1, Mc2, Mc3, Mc4 temperature and humidity logger, P1, P2 position, R1 room, V1 gas supply valve, W1 movement mechanism, 10 sterilization device, 11 housing, 12 lid, 15 drive wheel, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 20... Pole, 21... Water tank, 21a... Water supply pipe, 22... Chemical solution tank, 22a... Chemical solution supply pipe, 23, 24... Weight scale, 25... Liquid switching valve, 26... Liquid supply pipe, 27... Gas control part , 28... Electric control part 30... Rotating mechanism part 30a... Rotating table 31... Mounting member 33... Camera 35, 65... Two-fluid nozzle 35a, 65a... Spray port 37, 38... Intake part, 50... Control unit, 51... Sterilization management unit, 52... Spray control unit, 55... Operation unit, 56... Display unit, 60... Turntable.

Claims (4)

A sterilization method for sterilizing a space by spraying the chemical solution from the spray port of a two-fluid nozzle that supplies the chemical solution and gas stored in the chemical solution tank,
By holding the two-fluid nozzle on a vertically stretchable support,
In the two-fluid nozzle to which the chemical solution sent from the chemical solution tank and air from the compressor are supplied, when sequentially spraying in a plurality of spray directions in a horizontal plane, the spray port is set in the spray direction. After spraying the chemical solution for a predetermined spraying time, repeatedly directing the spray port in the next spraying direction,
The sterilization method , wherein the spraying time is the time when the relative humidity becomes equal to or higher than the target humidity when the chemical solution is sprayed in the planned spraying area in the space . 2. The sterilization method according to claim 1 , wherein the chemical liquid is sprayed in a spraying-planned area excluding a spraying-excluded area where an obstacle exists in the space. After spraying is completed in a plurality of spray directions, the two-fluid nozzle is moved, and the spray port is sequentially directed to a plurality of spray directions in a horizontal plane at the destination to spray the chemical solution. The sterilization method according to claim 1 or 2 . a chemical liquid tank for storing the chemical liquid;
a compressor for compressing gas;
a two-fluid nozzle that supplies the chemical solution and the gas and sprays the chemical solution from a spray port;
a vertically stretchable support that holds the two-fluid nozzle;
a rotation mechanism that rotates the two-fluid nozzle about a vertical axis;
a control unit that controls the rotating mechanism unit such that the spray ports are sequentially directed in a plurality of spray directions in a horizontal plane to spray the chemical liquid ,
When spraying sequentially in a plurality of spray directions in a horizontal plane, the control unit directs the spray port in the spray direction and sprays the chemical solution for a predetermined spray time, and then sprays in the next spray direction. Repeatedly directing the spray port to
The sterilization device , wherein the spraying time is a time at which the relative humidity becomes equal to or higher than a target humidity when the chemical solution is sprayed in the planned spraying area in the space .

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