JPH0375177B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) This invention relates to a dental central vacuum piping system in which stable suction is always performed.

(Prior art) In dental medical facilities, cutting dust, water, saliva, etc. are suctioned out from the oral cavity during dental treatment, or cutting dust is suctioned off during dental techniques. There is.

Conventionally, in order to carry out this suction removal, a central vacuum piping system, for example as shown in FIG. 1, has been provided. In this central vacuum piping system, a gas-liquid separator 2 and an intake blower 3 are connected to the other end of a large vacuum main pipe 1 whose one end is sealed. Further, a plurality of branch pipes 4 which are led to each examination table etc. are connected.
A solenoid valve 5 and a filter 6 are provided at the end of the branch pipe 4, and the open end of the branch pipe 4 is inserted into the patient's oral cavity to remove water, saliva, dust, etc. from the oral cavity. A suction adapter 7 that sucks air together with the air is connected via a suction hose 8. Water, saliva, dust, etc. sucked from the suction adapter 7 are transferred to the branch pipe 4.
After large foreign substances (about 1 mm or more) are removed by the filter 6 at the tip, they are conveyed to the gas-liquid separator 2 through the vacuum main pipe 1 together with air. The gas-liquid separator 2 separates these into gas components such as air and liquid components such as water and saliva containing dust and the like.
The gas component separated here is sucked and exhausted by the intake blower 3, and when a certain amount of the liquid component accumulates, it is discharged through the drain pipe 9.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) By the way, in order to completely air transport the suction material from the suction adapter 7, it is normally necessary to set the internal air velocity in the vacuum main pipe 1 to 20 m/sec or more.
The diameter of the vacuum main pipe 1 is set so that the above-mentioned wind speed can be obtained when all the branch pipes 4, that is, the suction adapters 7 are opened. Therefore, when the number of openings of the suction adapter 7 is small (the number of openings used is small), the wind speed in the vacuum main pipe 1 becomes slow, and liquids such as water, saliva, dust, and some fixed objects are separated into gas and liquid. It settles and adheres to the wall of the vacuum main pipe 1 before being transported to the vessel. Since the sludge-like residue made of water, saliva, dust, etc. adhering to the tube wall has a large friction with the tube wall, it has been difficult to remove it by suction.

Therefore, sludge-like residue remains inside the vacuum main pipe 1 for a long period of time, and if the residue is left unattended, it will gradually accumulate, reducing the effective diameter of the pipe. For this reason, the conventional central vacuum piping system has a problem in that the suction force decreases after being used for a while, making it impossible to obtain a stable suction force. In addition, these sludge-like residues naturally contain various fungi, and while remaining in the vacuum main pipe 1, they rot and produce a bad odor, which is undesirable from a hygienic standpoint. Furthermore, in the past, when such suction power was insufficient or a bad odor occurred, the inside of the vacuum main pipe 1 was cleaned, but this had the inconvenience of requiring a professional to be cleaned.

This invention was made in view of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to prevent water, saliva, dust, etc. from remaining in the vacuum main pipe 1, thereby providing stable suction and providing a hygienic dental treatment. Our objective is to provide central vacuum piping systems.

[Structure of the invention] (Means for solving the problem) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a branch pipe 4
In a dental central vacuum piping system in which a gas-liquid separator 2 and an intake blower 3 are connected to one end of a vacuum main pipe 1 connected to It is equipped with a valve.

(Function) In the above configuration, when the on-off valve is opened, a large amount of air flows into the vacuum main pipe, so that the accumulated matter in the vacuum main pipe is removed by wind pressure. Therefore, there is no accumulation of matter in the vacuum main pipe, and stable suction is achieved.

(Example) Hereinafter, this example will be described in detail using the drawings from FIG. 2 onwards.

In FIG. 2, the same parts as those in the conventional central vacuum piping system shown in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals for the sake of simplicity, and their explanation will be omitted.

What is shown in FIG. 2 is the dental central vacuum piping system of this embodiment. In this central vacuum piping system, a return pipe 10 is connected to the terminal of a vacuum main pipe 1, which has conventionally been sealed. Connected to the end of the return pipe 10 is a cleaning liquid supply tank 11 that stores a cleaning liquid for cleaning the inside of the vacuum main pipe 1 and can flow a predetermined amount into the vacuum main pipe 1 in short periods. . Furthermore, an on-off valve 12 is provided at the end of the return pipe 10 to allow a large amount of air to flow into the vacuum main pipe 1 through the return pipe 10. The above-mentioned on-off valve 12, cleaning liquid supply tank 11
The operation of the intake blower 3 can be performed centrally at one location using the operation panel 13.

It is desirable that the return pipe 10 has a relatively large diameter so that a large amount of air can flow into the vacuum main pipe 1 without resistance. In addition, the return pipe 10
In order to prevent the residue of the vacuum main pipe 1 from flowing in, the return pipe 10 is preferably located at a higher position than the position where the vacuum main pipe 1 is installed. In this embodiment, the return pipe 10 is once raised, further bent, and guided toward the end of the vacuum main pipe 1 to which the gas-liquid separator 2 is connected. Here, the return pipe 10 is guided to the installation location of the gas-liquid separator 2 by the on-off valve 12, the cleaning liquid supply tank 11, the gas-liquid separator 12, and the intake blower 3.
This is because it is convenient to maintain these devices if they are installed in the same location.

The on-off valve 12 must be able to flow a large amount of air into the vacuum main pipe 1 when opened and closed, and must be able to be sealed to keep the inside of the pipe airtight when closed.

The reason why the on-off valve 12 and the return pipe 10 must be able to pass a large amount of air is as follows. If the air flow inside the vacuum main pipe 1 is a turbulent flow that is complex and irregular both in time and space, the air flow speed will increase even at a position close to the pipe wall, so the air flow in the vacuum main pipe 1 will be Residues, especially water, are removed efficiently.
This is because in order to make the flow inside the pipe turbulent, it is necessary to flow the air at high speed, and for this purpose, a large amount of air must be supplied to the vacuum main pipe 1.

FIG. 3 shows an example of an on-off valve 12 suitable for use in this central vacuum piping system 1. This on-off valve 12 has a diaphragm 1
A valve body 15 provided integrally with the return pipe 1
A valve seat pipe 16 that is connected to 0 and also serves as a valve seat.
It opens and closes with respect to the valve seat portion 17 of the valve. The operation of this valve body 15 is performed by a solenoid valve 18. This electrode valve 18 includes a diaphragm chamber 19 provided on the back side of the diaphragm 14 and a valve seat pipe 1.
It is provided in the middle of a suction pipe 21 that connects an opening hole 20 made on the side surface of the holder 6. This on-off valve 1
The second operation is performed as follows. First, in order to open the on-off valve 12, the solenoid valve 18 is opened. When the solenoid valve 18 is opened, the air in the diaphragm chamber 19 is transferred to the intake blower 3 connected to the vacuum main pipe 1.
, and the pressure becomes lower than atmospheric pressure. On the other hand, since atmospheric pressure is applied to the surface of the diaphragm 14 opposite to the diaphragm chamber 19 as shown by the arrow in FIG. 3, the diaphragm 14 is pushed in the direction of the arrow and the valve body 15 and the valve seat portion 17, air flows into the vacuum main pipe 1 via the return pipe 10. Next, if the electromagnetic valve 18 is closed and the connection between the diaphragm chamber 19 and the opening hole 20 of the valve seat pipe 16 is interrupted, air will flow into the diaphragm 19 through the small hole 22 made in the upper part of this chamber 19. The pressure inside the diaphragm chamber 19 eventually becomes atmospheric pressure, and the diaphragm 14 is drawn toward the valve seat pipe 16 by the suction force of the intake blower 3, and the valve body 1
5 and the valve seat portion 17 are in close contact with each other, and the on-off valve 12 is in a closed state in which air does not flow therethrough.

Next, a cleaning liquid supply tank 11 provided near the on-off valve 12 supplies a predetermined amount of cleaning liquid to the vacuum main pipe 1 via the return pipe 10 at a predetermined time. It is desirable to supply the cleaning liquid as frequently as possible, but it is inconvenient to fill the tank frequently for this purpose, so the system should be able to store a large amount of cleaning liquid and supply it to the vacuum main pipe 1 in predetermined amounts. is desirable. FIG. 4 shows a suitable example of this cleaning liquid supply tank 11, inside which is a storage tank 2 for storing cleaning liquid.
It is said to be 3. This storage tank 23 is divided into upper and lower parts by a partition 24, with the upper part serving as a main storage tank 25 for storing cleaning liquid for multiple times, and the lower part serving as a temporary storage tank 26 for storing cleaning liquid for one use. A communication hole 27 is opened in the partition 24, thereby connecting the main storage tank 25 and the temporary storage tank 26. The temporary storage tank 26 and the return pipe 10 are
They are communicated by an outflow pipe 28. In addition, a ventilation pipe 29 is connected to the main storage tank 25 in this temporary storage tank 26.
The temporary storage tank 26 is provided so as to be open at the upper surface, so that the cleaning liquid can easily flow into and out of the temporary storage tank 26. The center of the opening surface 30 of the outflow pipe 28 on the temporary storage tank 26 side is vertically below the center of the communication hole 27 formed in the partition 24. A plug 31 is arranged between the communication hole 27 and the opening surface of the outflow pipe 28. This stopper 31 has a barrel shape whose upper and lower ends are reduced in diameter so as to fit into the opening surface 30 of the flow hole 27 and the outflow pipe 28, respectively, and its height is equal to the height of the temporary storage tank 26. It is slightly lower than that. This plug 31 is fixedly connected to a rod 32 with its central axis aligned. This rod 3
2, whose central axis is connected to the flow hole 27 and the outflow pipe 2
It is provided so as to overlap the line connecting the centers of the opening surfaces 30 of 8, and penetrates through the upper main storage tank 25,
It is connected to a solenoid 34 installed on the upper surface of the upper plate 33 of the main storage tank 25 . The upper part of the rod 32 is housed in an airtight chamber 35. This airtight room 35
A ring 36 is fitted and fixed to the upper part of the rod 32, and a spring 37 is inserted between the ring 36 and the upper surface of the airtight chamber 35. The spring 37 and the solenoid 34 move the plug 31 up and down. The state shown in FIG. 4 shows the state in which the stopper 31 is located at the bottom, and at this time, the flow hole 27 is open and the opening surface 3 of the outflow pipe 28 is
0 is closed. Therefore, the cleaning liquid in the main storage tank 25 flows into the temporary storage tank 26 through the communication hole 27, but the cleaning liquid in the temporary storage part 26 does not flow out into the return pipe 10 because the opening 30 is closed.
When supplying the cleaning liquid to the vacuum main pipe 1 through the return pipe 10, the solenoid 34 pulls up the stopper 31, closes the flow hole 27, and opens the opening surface 30 of the outflow pipe 28. In this state, the cleaning liquid in the temporary storage tank 26 flows out to the return pipe 10 through the outflow pipe 28, but the cleaning liquid in the main storage tank 25 cannot flow out into the temporary storage tank 24.
In this manner, the cleaning liquid supply tank 11 is capable of supplying the cleaning liquid corresponding to the volume of the temporary storage tank 26 to the return pipe 10 multiple times.

Next, the operation of the dental central vacuum piping system configured as described above will be explained.

In this dental central vacuum piping system, when the solenoid valves 5 of one or more branch pipes 4 are open and in use, the on-off valve 12 of the return pipe 10 is closed, and the intake blower 3 is closed. During operation, the inside of the pipe is brought into an intake state. When all the solenoid valves 5 of the branch pipes 4 are closed, the on-off valve 1
2 is opened for a predetermined time (by a timer). This operation is performed in response to electrical signals sent from each electromagnetic valve 5 to the operation panel. During this time, the intake blower 3 is kept in operation. Water, saliva, dust, etc. sucked from the suction adapter 7 by the air sucked from the on-off valve 12 continue to be transported toward the gas-liquid separator 2 even after the solenoid valve 5 of the branch pipe 4 is closed. It will be done. Also, this air removes the moisture inside the vacuum main pipe 1, so the inside of the main pipe 1 is always in a dry state.

At the end of the examination time, a predetermined amount of cleaning liquid is supplied from the cleaning liquid supply tank 11 to the vacuum main pipe 1 via the return pipe 10. This cleaning liquid is for peeling off or dissolving the residue remaining in the vacuum main pipe 1 from the pipe wall, and the residue dispersed in the cleaning liquid is conveyed to the gas-liquid separator 2 together with the cleaning liquid and removed.

In this way, the central vacuum piping system of this embodiment can supply cleaning liquid from the cleaning liquid supply tank 11 and air from the on-off valve 12 to the vacuum main pipe 1. Therefore, since the residue is transported by the air supplied from the on-off valve 12, the interior of the vacuum main pipe 1 can be kept in a dry state, and the amount of residue in the main pipe 1 is reduced. Also,
Since the cleaning liquid is supplied from the cleaning liquid supply tank 11,
Residues attached to the walls of the main pipe 1 that are difficult to be transported by air are peeled off by the cleaning liquid and transported to the gas-liquid separator 2 together with the cleaning liquid. Therefore,
Since the inside of the vacuum main pipe 1 is always kept clean, the dental central vacuum piping system of this embodiment can always obtain a stable suction power, and does not generate any bad odor, making it sanitary. .

In this embodiment, in a dental clinic equipped with the conventional central vacuum piping system shown in FIG. 1, a return pipe 10, an on-off valve 12, a cleaning supply tank 11 are added to the conventional system,
The central vacuum piping system shown in Figure 2 was adopted. There were four suction man-hours at the terminal, the diameter of the vacuum main pipe 1 was 40 mm, the diameter of the return pipe 10 was 25 mm, the length was 10 m, and the interval between the main vacuum pipe 1 and the return pipe 10 was 25 cm. . A diaphragm valve shown in FIG. 3 was used as the on-off valve 12, and a diaphragm valve shown in FIG. 4 was used as the cleaning liquid supply tank 11. The on-off valve 12 was opened for 60 seconds when the solenoid valves 5 of all the branch pipes 4 were closed during medical treatment hours, and the ventilation rate at that time was 1500/min. In addition, in the cleaning liquid supply tank 11, the capacity of the temporary storage tank 26 is set to 1, and water is used as the cleaning liquid.
was fed into the vacuum main 1 at a rate of 1/min. The cleaning liquid was supplied after the examination in the evening, and after the cleaning liquid had passed, the on-off valve 12 was opened for 2 minutes to allow air to flow.

A comparison was made using the central vacuum piping system set up as described above in the same manner as before.

With the conventional vacuum piping system, after three months of use, the suction power decreased significantly and a bad odor was generated, so a contractor was asked to clean the vacuum main pipe 1, but the vacuum piping system of this example Even after using it for half a year, the suction power did not decrease and there was no bad odor.

In the above embodiment, the on-off valve 12 and the cleaning liquid supply tank 11 were provided in the vacuum main pipe 1 via the return gap 10, but these may be provided directly at the end of the vacuum main pipe 1. Further, the on-off valve 12 and the cleaning liquid supply tank 11 are not limited to those shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, but other systems may be used as long as they have similar effects. Alternatively, a large solenoid valve may be used directly. Further, the cleaning liquid supply tank 11 may have a structure in which the flow hole 27 and the outflow pipe 28 shown in FIG. There is a flush valve that opens and closes the valve using water pressure, and a valve that opens the valve using a kettle. When the water in the tank has finished flowing out, the valve closes, tap water comes out, and the water returns to the tank until it reaches a certain level. A tank-type cleaning liquid supply tank 11 called a low tank or a high tank, which stores water in water, may also be used. Furthermore, it is desirable to set the timing of opening the on-off valve 12 to supply air, the timing of supplying the cleaning liquid from the cleaning liquid supply tank 11, the amount, time, etc. of these, according to the system usage situation of each medical facility. .

[Effects of the Invention] As can be understood from the above description of the embodiments, the present invention provides a gas-liquid separator 2 and an intake blower 3 at one end of the vacuum main pipe 1 to which the branch pipe 4 is connected. In a dental central vacuum piping system in which vacuum main 1
It is equipped with an on-off valve 12 that allows a large amount of air to flow through.

According to the invention, therefore, the vacuum main 1
Since a large amount of air is allowed to flow into the interior of the vacuum pipe 1 to discharge and remove the accumulated matter in the vacuum pipe 1, the vacuum pipe 1 can be maintained in a non-clogged state and stable suction can be maintained at all times. It is something that can be done.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a conventional dental central vacuum piping system, and Fig. 2 shows an embodiment of the dental central vacuum piping system of the present invention. 3 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of an on-off valve suitable for use in the piping system of the present invention,
FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing one embodiment of the cleaning liquid supply tank. 1... Vacuum main pipe, 2... Gas-liquid separator, 3
...Intake blower, 4... Branch pipe, 11... Cleaning liquid supply tank, 12... Open/close valve.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a dental central vacuum piping system in which a gas-liquid separator 2 and an intake blower 3 are connected to one end of a vacuum main pipe 1 to which a branch pipe 4 is connected, a large amount of A dental central vacuum piping system characterized by being provided with an on-off valve 12 that allows air to flow.