Steriliser

Abstract

A sterilising, sanitising, decontamination or disinfecting apparatus (Fig.1, 1) comprising: a housing (Fig.1, 2); a carousel or drum (Fig.3, 21) in the housing 2 with at least one compartment 28; a do

Description

STERILISER The present invention relates to a steriliser, particularly though not exclusively for face masks. Sterilisers are well known for sterilising medical equipment, in particular using heat sterilisation for multi-use instruments, especially of steel. Single use utensils and gadgets, such as syringes, are often sterilised in packaging by gamma radiation. Such sterilisers are not suitable for face masks. Masks are often used once and regarded as disposable, but actually are re-useable, with a considerable saving in cost. The object of the present invention is to provide an improved steriliser According to the invention there is provided a steriliser, for a plurality of sterilisable objects, comprising: a housing, suitably having an interior, a (e.g. centrally pivoted) carousel in (the interior of) the housing, suitably with at least one object receiving compartment (e.g. around the carousel), a door suitable for insertion or location of (e.g. soiled) object(s), generally radially (of the carousel) into respective compartment(s), means for indexing or moving the carousel, suitably each time the insertion door is opened, optionally, means for heating (air in the interior of) the housing for sterilisation (of object(s) in the carousel); and suitably, a door for removal of sterilised object(s) (e.g. axially) of the carousel and / or of the carousel from the housing. For a small steriliser, the carousel may have a single object receiving compartment. For larger sterilisers there may be a plurality of compartments. The body can be of or comprise moulded plastics material, fibreboard or sheet metal. Preferably, it, or at least its interior, is insulated against heat dissipation ( e.g. during sterilisation). The carousel is preferably formed as or comprises a mesh or lattice, e.g. for heated air access, suitably to the objects to be sterilised. It can be of or comprise plastics material, conveniently 3D printed, such as for low thermal capacity or if wirework, conveniently plated, painted or powder coated. Further, the carousel can be closed at either side, e.g. with heated air access at its circumference. Again, it may be open at one side for sterilised object removal. The housing can be provided with a shaft on which the carousel is supported or rotated. The shaft can itself be supported at its distal end, e.g. by the door. Alternatively, the carousel can be provided with a bearing boss engageable in a corresponding recess in the door. In the preferred embodiment, the carousel compartment(s) are provided with gates, for radially retaining the object(s). Preferably the gates and the object insertion door are provided with complementary features for opening of a respective gate on opening of the insertion door into the respective compartment. Conveniently the gates have springs for keeping them normally closed. The insertion door can be manually openable, such as for object insertion and / or / or carousel indexing; however in the preferred embodiment, the door is motorised and the housing is provided with a switch, conveniently a presence detector, for opening the door and indexing the carousel. A carousel drive motor, engaging the carousel with a drive dog, is preferably providing in the housing. Whilst the heating means may be provided externally of the housing, in the form of a device such as an electric hair dryer, with heated air being blown through the carousel and out of the housing, in a preferred embodiment the housing is provided with an air circulation duct having a fan and a heater. Air can be drawn from the carousel at one circumferential position, heated and blown back (at another circumferential position). This has the advantage of allowing quicker and more efficient heating. The carousel can be rotated during heating. The housing may be provided with temperature sensors, e.g. for sensing when the temperature in the interior of the housing has reached a desired sterilisation temperature. Suitably the steriliser will be transportable, by a person or manually. It will not usually require a pallet or wheels to be movable. It will usually not require a trolly to be moved, and it will not require a pallett or trolley, or a general petrol generator. Suitably the or each door can be remotely operable and / or remotely opened. Thus, the insertion door can be opened and / or operable remotely. This may be by movement or a person's limb, for example an arm or a hand. Suitably the steriliser will have one or more sensors that are able to detect (movement of) a limb, such as an arm or hand, and that can trigger or cause opening of the (insertion) door. This can result in operator of the steriliser not having to touch the steriliser, or at least none of the surfaces, or indeed of the door. This can reduce contamination. Preferably the sterilizable object, which is suitably a mask, can be loaded or placed inside the steriliser, one at a time. Once all of the objects have been loaded, they can then be sterilised all in one go, and / or simultaneously. The steriliser may be portable, and may be able to be picked up and / or moved by a person, within usual health and safety weight regulations. Therefore, the maximum total weight of the steriliser is no more than 25kg, preferably no more than 20kg. Suitably the steriliser will be powered by and / or comprise a battery, or battery pack, preferably a rechargeable battery. Suitably the batter will be a lithium ion battery. The steriliser may require a high current draw to be operated, for example it may be operable using / or through a vehicle such as a car cigarette lighter. The steriliser may have a battery, or it may be run off a battery. The steriliser may thus be of sufficiently small volume to be heated relatively easily. If there are only single objects to be sterilised, then the steriliser may be of maximum 2kg in total weight, perhaps no more than 1kg. It may be primarily made of plastic materials. Suitably there will be a sensor(s) above or in proximity to the door. They may provide directional detection, for example they may detect a person’s hand or arm (movement). Suitably the steriliser will have means to monitor and or test humidity. This may be able to detect the amount of water in the object, for example how dry a mask is. Suitably a person using the steriliser will be able to move or wave their hand near or over a sensor, causing a door to open. The object, such as a mask, then can be placed or located inside the steriliser. The door can then be closed in a similar manner in the way it is opened, and then the sterilisation process can begin. The carousel is preferably designed so that the objects to be sterilised do not touch each other, and this can assist to reduce cross contamination. Suitably the opening of the insertion door is linked to indexing of the carousel, namely that the door opening causes rotation of the carousel so that the new object can be loaded into a new space in the carousel. The steriliser will not normally contain food, nor is it designed to sterilise food. Food means any edible food stuff. Thus the steriliser is meant to sterilise inanimate objects which are non-edible or inedible, for example PPE (items of personal protective equipment) for example masks. The steriliser will generally not be adapted for military use. It is not therefore intended for decontamination of chemical and / or biological weapons or firearms. To help understanding of the invention, a specific embodiment thereof will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a steriliser in accordance with the invention, with a carousel removal door open; Figure 2 is a corresponding side view; Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 1 with the carousel removed; Figure 4 is a perspective view of the steriliser of Figure 1 with the carousel removal door closed and a mask insertion door open; Figure 5 is a plan view corresponding to Figure 4; Figure 6 is an expanded view corresponding to the circle VI in Figure 5; Figures 7 to 23 are further views of the steriliser of the invention. Referring to the drawings, the steriliser 1 there shown has an MDF housing 2, with a door 3 covering the full extent of one side of the housing. Inside the door, an inner wall 4 with a sheet steel lined chamber 5 is arranged. Within the inner wall is a sheet steel duct 6 from suction perforations 7 in the chamber to inlet perforations 8 set appreciably around the circumference of the chamber. The duct has a filter 9, a desiccant 10 and a combined fan and heater 11. The arrangement facilitates heating of the contents of the chamber. Normally in the chamber is carousel 21 of wirework, having a cylindrical core 22 drivingly engageable with a dog drive (not shown) arranged in an outer wall 24 of the housing remote from the door 3. The door has a spigot (not shown) for bearingly engaging in its end of the core when the door is closed. The wirework of the carousel provides two sides 26, 27 between which are arranged ten generally radial compartments 28. These are sized to receive face masks of which one M only is shown, being inserted. The outer ends of the compartments are provided with wirework gates 29, hinged to the carousel and provided with springs (not shown) for normally closing them. The distal ends of the gates all have lateral spigots 31. A mask insertion door 32 is provided tangentially to the carousel at one cut-off corner 33 of the housing. The door is pivoted to one end 34 of the housing and is provided with a lip 35 to one side under which the spigots of the door pass as the carousel is rotated. The arrangement is such that when a gate’s hinged end 36 is at the insertion door’s pivoted end 37, opening of the door opens gate inside it, revealing the compartment 28 extending in from the aperture 38 opened by the door and the gate. A mask can then be inserted. The steriliser has a control circuit, which will not be described in detail as being within the capabilities of the skill reader to program in accordance with this specification. It has its own power supply in the form of batteries with a compartment 39. Normally these will be chargeable. Starting with the carousel empty, the user places a hand near sensors 40 on the top of the unit. This causes the carousel to be indexed once by the drive 23 ensuring engagement of the spigot 31 of the gate of the compartment at the insertion door to be engaged with the door. The door 32 is powered open by a non-shown actuator. A mask is inserted and door is closed again. This process can be continued until all the compartments are filled. The control circuit counts the insertions and after ten activates a sterilisation cycle. The heater and fan are powered and the carousel rotated. The masks are heated to sterilisation temperature whereupon the heater is switched off but the fan and carousel drive continue to be driven for a period to ensure uniform temperature of the masks. Their temperature is measured by a plurality of temperature sensors 41. In some of the figures, there are two lines shown around the door, ush as a side access door. This may be sealed, and thus may assist to enclose the vessel. The motor for rotating the carousel may be located towards to bottom of the steriliser. This makes it neater and keeps out of the way of the rotating carousel.

Claims

1. A steriliser, suitable for sterilisable face masks, the steriliser comprising:• a housing having an interior,• a centrally pivoted carousel with a drive dog (in the interior of the housing) with at least one face mask receiving compartment (in or around the carousel),• a door for insertion of soiled face mask(s), radially into the carousel, into respective compartment(s), so that the face masks do not touch each other,• a non-contact sensor to detect hand gesture directional movement, which when activated rotates the carousel to the next available receiving compartment and opens an external and carousel door via engagement between a lip and a spigot to allow opening of said internal carousel sprung loaded door, allowing loading and unloading without touching the machine,• sterilising means, for sterilisation of the face mask(s) by heating air in the interior of the housing, (located) in the carousel; and• a door for removal of the carousel from the housing and for access to internal parts.

2. A steriliser according to claim 1, wherein the carousel has a single face mask receiving compartment.

3. A steriliser according to claim 1, wherein the carousel has a plurality of face mask receiving compartments.

4. A steriliser according to any previous claim wherein its interior is insulated (against heat dissipation during sterilisation).

5. A steriliser according to any previous claim, wherein the carousel is formed as a mesh and / or lattice to receive a face mask, suitably for heated air access to the objects to be sterilised.

6. A steriliser according to any previous claim, wherein the housing is provided with a shaft with a drive dog on which the carousel is supported or rotated.

7. A steriliser according to any previous claim, wherein the carousel compartment(s) is or are provided with spring operated internal gates, suitably for radially retaining the face masks, during rotation of the carousel and during transportation of the steriliser.

8. A steriliser according to claim 7, wherein the carousel gate(s) and / or the face mask insertion door are provided with complementary features for opening of a respective gate on opening of the spring loaded insertion door into the respective compartment.

9. A steriliser according to claim 8, wherein the carousel gates have springs for keeping them normally closed.

10. A steriliser according to any previous claim, wherein the insertion door is motorised and / or the housing is provided with a switch, conveniently a noncontact presence detector, for opening the door and / or indexing the carousel.

11. A steriliser according to any previous claim, wherein the housing is provided with an air circulation duct, suitably having a fan and a heater.

12. A steriliser according to any previous claim, wherein the housing is provided with temperature sensor(s), suitably for sensing when the temperature in the interior of the housing has reached a desired (sterilisation) temperature.

13. A steriliser according to any proceeding claim wherein the insertion door is opened remotely via a non-contact sensor, without the steriliser needing to be touched, and / or the steriliser comprises one or more sensors to detect a human limb or part thereof, or movement thereof, thus causing opening of theCM 1— CM14. A steriliser according to any proceeding claim which can be transported manually by a person, for example it can be carried by hand, and has a maximum weight of 25kg.5 15. A steriliser according to any proceeding claim, wherein the steriliser hasan internal battery and charging system to reduce peak current draw on a low voltage external charging power source.

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