Sterilization bag

Abstract

To prevent corner parts of a sterilization bag from being clogged with its contents and also prevent the corner portions from being damaged or torn.SOLUTION: A pair of bacteria-impermeable sheets 10, 20 of a sterilization bag 1 are overlapped and the peripheral parts are heat-sealed. A corner seal portion 33 is formed on a corner 1c of the sterilization bag where two heat seal portions intersect. A corner inner edge 33c facing a bag inner chamber 1a in the corner seal portion is a curved or obliquely straight portion, preferably arcuate portion. Since a longitudinal heat seal portion 31 and a transverse heat seal portion 32 are arranged away inside the outer edge of the side edge of the sterilization bag and the outer edge of the bottom edge, a lateral ear 1d, which is not heat sealed, is formed between the outer edge of the side and the longitudinal heat seal portion, and a bottom ear portion that is not heat sealed is formed between the outer edge of the bottom portion and the horizontal heat seal portion. A portion of the corner seal portion on the opposite side to the bottom portion of the transverse heat seal portion protrudes laterally to the outer edge side farther from the longitudinal heat seal portion.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a sterilization bag for containing items to be sterilized, such as medical instruments and health care products, and in particular to a sterilization bag whose peripheral edges are sealed by heat sealing. [Background technology]

[0002] In the fields of medicine and healthcare, sterilization of equipment and materials used is often required. Sterilization methods include EOG sterilization, moist heat sterilization, hydrogen peroxide sterilization, radiation sterilization, etc. For example, moist heat sterilization is a method of sterilizing an object by exposing it to high-temperature, high-pressure steam.

[0003] Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose a sterilization bag for containing an object to be sterilized during moist heat sterilization. The sterilization bag is made by overlapping a breathable and bacteria-impermeable sheet with a non-breathable and bacteria-impermeable sheet, and heat-sealing the periphery. The heat-sealed portion of the periphery includes a pair of vertical heat-sealed portions on both sides and a horizontal heat-sealed portion at the bottom. The vertical heat-sealed portion and the horizontal heat-sealed portion intersect at right angles at the corners of the bottom to form a corner seal portion. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2017-205293 A [Patent Document 2] U.S. Publication No. US2010-028575 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Looking more closely at the corners of the sterilization bag, the inner edges of the vertical and horizontal heat-sealed parts that face the bag's inner chamber extend in mutually perpendicular directions and intersect directly at a right angle at one point. This causes the corners of the inner chamber in the bag to form a right angle, and the contents may become clogged in the corners. In particular, when the contents are very small, such as the rubber caps on the tips of injection needles, they are likely to become clogged in the corners of the inner chamber and are difficult to remove. The clogged contents may also cause the corners of the sterilization bag to break.

[0006] In addition, generally, this type of sterilization bag manufacturing device is provided with a vertical seal mold for the vertical heat seal portion and a horizontal seal mold for the horizontal heat seal portion separately. These vertical and horizontal seal molds are operated at different times, so that the vertical heat seal portion and the horizontal heat seal portion are formed separately. Therefore, the corner seal portion where the vertical and horizontal heat seal portions intersect is heat-sealed twice. For this reason, the corner seal portion is subjected to a large heat load and is easily damaged. In view of the above circumstances, the present invention aims to prevent contents from becoming clogged in the inner corners of a sterilization bag, and to prevent the corners of the sterilization bag, including the corner seal parts, from being damaged or torn. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a sterilization bag comprising a pair of bacteria-impermeable sheets, the sheets being overlapped with each other and heat-sealed at their peripheries, and a bag interior space being defined between the sheets on the inner side of the peripheries, the bag comprising: The heat-sealed portions of the two intersecting edges of the peripheral portion intersect at a corner of the sterilization bag to form a corner seal portion, The corner inner edge of the corner seal portion facing the bag interior is characterized in that it is curved connecting the inner seal edges of the two heat seal portions facing the bag interior, or is straight and oblique to the inner seal edges. According to the sterilization bag, the inner corner of the bag inner chamber is defined by the curved or diagonally straight inner corner edge of the corner seal portion. Therefore, the inner corner can be made wider. This prevents the contents from getting stuck in the inner corner and allows them to be easily removed. It also prevents the corner of the sterilization bag from being torn by the stuck contents.

[0008] It is preferable that the inner edge of the corner is formed in an arc shape, which can reliably prevent the contents from getting stuck in the corner of the inner chamber even if they are minute in size, and also allows the contents to be removed smoothly.

[0009] The radius of curvature of the inner corner edge is preferably 3 mm to 50 mm. By making the radius of curvature 3 mm or more, clogging of the contents can be reliably prevented. By making the radius of curvature 50 mm or less, sufficient space can be secured in the bag interior. More preferably, the radius of curvature of the inner edge of the corner is about 10 mm to 15 mm.

[0010] It is preferable that the inner corner edge and the inner seal edge are smoothly connected to each other, which can reliably prevent the contents in the bag from getting caught in the inner chamber and can also prevent excessive stress from being applied to the connecting portion between the inner corner edge and the inner seal edge.

[0011] In the method for manufacturing the sterilization bag, it is preferable that the two heat sealed portions and the corner seal portion are formed simultaneously by a heat sealing means having integral sealing mold portions for the heat sealed portions of the two edges and the corner seal portion. The apparatus for producing the sterilization bag preferably includes heat sealing means integrally having seal mold portions for the heat sealing portions of the two edges and the corner seal portion. As a result, the corner seal portions of the pair of sheets are subjected to the thermal load of the heat seal only once, just like the heat seal portions of the two edges, and this makes it possible to prevent the corner seal portions from being deteriorated by excessive thermal load and ensure the strength of the corner seal portions. The present invention also provides a sterilization bag comprising a pair of bacteria-impermeable sheets, the sheets being overlapped with each other and heat-sealed at their peripheries, with an inner chamber defined between the sheets on the inner side of the peripheries, The peripheral portion but Side edges that cross each other and a bottom edge, Vertical heat seal section The lower end portion of Horizontal heat seal at bottom edge and the end part of , intersecting at a bottom corner of the sterilization bag to form a corner seal portion; The inner corner edge of the corner seal portion facing the bag inner chamber is the vertical heat seal portion. The upper portion of the lower end portion and horizontal heat seal section The central portion of the end portion The seal is formed in a curved shape connecting the inner edges of the seal facing the bag interior or in a straight shape oblique to the inner edges of the seal, The vertical heat seal portion the upper portion of Horizontal heat seal section The entire length including the end portion and the central portion are disposed inwardly and apart from the outer edges of the side edges and the outer edges of the bottom edge of the sterilization bag, so that the outer edges of the side edges and the vertical heat seal portion are The upper portion of A side ear portion that is not heat sealed is formed between the outer edge of the bottom and the lateral heat-sealed portion. The full length portion of A bottom ear portion that is not heat-sealed is formed between the vertical heat-sealed portion and the side outer edge extends linearly. The upper portion of and the side ears each extend straight along the outer edge of the side with a constant width, The corner seal portion The lower end portion of the vertical heat seal portion In the side Outer edge The edge of the side is the vertical heat seal portion The upper portion of It is characterized in that it protrudes toward the outer edge side of the lateral side. Effect of the Invention

[0012] According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent contents from becoming clogged in the inner corners of the sterilization bag, and it is also possible to prevent the corners of the sterilization bag, including the corner seal parts, from being damaged or torn. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a front view of a sterilization bag according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of an edge portion of the sterilization bag taken along line II-II in FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is an enlarged front view of the circle III in FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a front view illustrating the apparatus for manufacturing the sterilization bag. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a bottom view showing the mold surface of the seal mold of the production apparatus. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a sterilization bag 1. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the sterilization bag 1 comprises a pair of sheets 10, 20. These sheets 10, 20 are bacteria-impermeable to prevent the passage of bacteria. In addition, the first sheet 10 is non-breathable to prevent the passage of gas, and the second sheet 20 is breathable to allow the passage of gas. For example, the breathable first sheet 10 is made of a laminated film formed by laminating multiple polyolefin-based resin films. The breathable second sheet 20 is made of a porous sheet such as a high-density polyolefin nonwoven fabric. In FIG. 2, the thickness of each of the sheets 10 and 20 is exaggerated.

[0015] The two sheets 10, 20 are overlapped with each other and the periphery is heat-sealed to seal. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, heat-sealed sections 30 (shaded sections in FIG. 1) are formed on three edges of the sterilization bag 1. The heat-sealed sections 30 include vertical heat-sealed sections 31 on both sides and a horizontal heat-sealed section 32 at the bottom. An opening 1e is formed between the upper edges of the sheets 10, 20. A bag inner chamber 1a is formed between the sheets 10, 20 on the inside of the heat-sealed section 30. The seal inner edge 31a of the vertical heat-sealed section 31 and the seal inner edge 32a of the horizontal heat-sealed section 32 face the bag inner chamber 1a. The seal inner edges 31a, 32a extend linearly in directions perpendicular to each other.

[0016] Each heat-sealed portion 31, 32 is positioned slightly inside the outer edge of the sterilization bag 1. An ear portion 1d is formed on the outer edge side of the heat-sealed portions 31, 32 of the sterilization bag 1. The sheets 10, 20 at the ear portion 1d are not joined to each other. The width of each of the heat-sealed portions 31, 32 is, for example, about 5 mm to 10 mm, and preferably about 7 mm. The lower end of the vertical heat-sealed portion 31 is located at a position where it joins with the horizontal heat-sealed portion 32, and does not reach the lower edge of the sterilization bag 1. On the other hand, both ends 32e of the horizontal heat-sealed portion 32 extend beyond the vertical heat-sealed portion 31 and reach the left and right edges of the sterilization bag 1b.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 3, the sterilization bag 1 is provided with a bottom corner 1c, which is formed by dividing the sterilization bag 1 into two parts. The heat-sealed portions 31, 32 (the edges of the bag) intersect with each other to form a corner seal portion 33. The corner seal portion 33 has an inner corner edge 33c that faces the bag inner chamber 1a. The inner corner edge 33c defines an inner chamber corner portion 1ac of the bag inner chamber 1a.

[0018] The corner inner edge 33c is curved to connect the seal inner edges 31a, 32a of the vertical and horizontal heat seal portions 31, 32. More specifically, the corner inner edge 33c is arc-shaped (R-shaped). The radius of curvature R of the corner inner edge 33c is33c is preferably R 33c = 3mm to 50mm, and more preferably R 33c = about 10 mm to 15 mm. The central angle of the corner inner edge 33c is about 90°. The upper end of the corner inner edge 33c smoothly continues to the seal inner edge 31a of the vertical heat-sealed portion 31 which faces the bag inner chamber 1a. The lower end of the corner inner edge 33c facing the side smoothly continues with the seal inner edge 32a of the horizontal heat-sealed portion 32 that faces the bag inner chamber 1a. The edges of the corner seal portions 33 on the left and right ear portions 1d sides protrude outward beyond the vertical heat seal portions 31 on the left and right sides.

[0019] FIG. 4 shows an apparatus 40 for producing the sterilization bag 1 . The manufacturing apparatus 40 includes a first sheet roll 41, a second sheet roll 42, and a heat sealing means 45. The heat sealing means 45 has a sealing mold 50. As shown in Fig. 5, the sealing mold 50 is formed in a roughly U-shape and integrally includes a sealing mold portion 51 for a pair of vertical heat sealed portions 31, a sealing mold portion 52 for a horizontal heat sealed portion 32, and a sealing mold portion 53 for a corner sealed portion 33. The corner sealed portion sealing mold portion 53 has an arc edge portion 53c formed therein that corresponds to the corner inner edge 33c.

[0020] The sterilization bag 1 is manufactured as follows. A continuous body of the first sheet 10 is unwound from the first sheet roll 41 . A continuous body of the second sheet 20 is unwound from the second sheet roll 42 . The continuous sheet 10, 20 is cut to fit the dimensions of the sterilization bag 1, and the heat-sealed portion 30 is formed by heat-sealing means 45. Cutting may be performed after heat sealing, or heat sealing may be performed after cutting. In the heat sealing means 45, the vertical and horizontal heat sealed portions 31, 32 and the corner sealed portion 33 are simultaneously formed by the sealing die 50. Therefore, the portions of the sheets 10, 20 that will become the corner sealed portions 33 are subjected to the thermal load of the heat seal only once, like the portions that will become the vertical and horizontal heat sealed portions 31, 32. This makes it possible to prevent the corner sealed portion 33 from being deteriorated by excessive thermal load, and ensures the strength of the corner sealed portion 33.

[0021] The sterilization object is placed in the sterilization bag 1 thus produced, and a sterilization process such as moist heat sterilization is performed on the sterilization object. There are no particular limitations on the sterilization object as long as it can be contained in the sterilization bag, and examples of the sterilization object include rubber caps for the tips of injection needles and various other medical equipment and health care products. High-temperature, high-pressure steam is introduced into the bag inner chamber 1a through the breathable second sheet 20, and the sterilization object is sterilized by being exposed to the high-temperature, high-pressure steam. After processing, the item to be sterilized is removed from the sterilization bag 1.

[0022] According to the sterilization bag 1, the corner inner edge 33c of the corner seal portion 33 is not a right angle but an arc (curved), so that the inner chamber corner portion 1ac of the bag inner chamber 1a can be made wider. This makes it possible to prevent the contents, such as the sterilization object, from clogging the inner chamber corner portion 1ac. Even if the contents are minute in size, such as the rubber cap at the tip of a syringe needle, they can be prevented from clogging the inner chamber corner portion 1ac. Furthermore, the contents can be easily removed. Also, it is possible to prevent the bottom corner 1c of the sterilization bag 1 from being torn by the clogged contents. Furthermore, since the corner inner edge 33a and the seal inner edges 31a and 32a are smoothly connected, it is possible to reliably prevent the contents from getting caught. Also, it is possible to prevent excessive stress from being applied to the connecting portion between the corner inner edge 33a and the seal inner edges 31a and 32a.

[0023] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the corner inner edge 33c may be a straight line that is oblique to the seal inner edges 31a, 32a of the heat-sealed portions 31, 32. The corner inner edge 33c and the seal inner edges 31a, 32a may intersect at an obtuse angle. [Industrial Applicability]

[0024] The present invention can be applied to sterilization bags for housing, for example, medical equipment, healthcare products, etc. during moist heat sterilization. [Explanation of symbols]

[0025] 1 sterile bag 1a Bag interior 1ac Inner corner section 1c Bottom corner (corner of sterilization bag) 1d ear 1e aperture 10 First Sheet 20 Second Sheet 30 Heat seal section 31 Vertical heat seal section 31a Seal inner edge 32 Horizontal heat seal part 32a Seal inner edge 32e end 33 Corner seal part 33c Corner Inner Edge 40 Sterile bag manufacturing equipment 41 No. 1 sheet roll 42 No. 2 sheet roll 45 Heat sealing means 50 Seal type 51 Sealing mold for vertical heat seal section 52 Sealing die for horizontal heat seal section 53 Corner seal part seal mold part 53c Circular edge 53c

Claims

[Claim 1] A sterilization bag comprising a pair of bacteria-impermeable sheets, the sheets being overlapped with each other and heat-sealed at their peripheries, and a bag interior space being defined between the sheets on the inner side of the peripheries, the peripheral edge has side edges and bottom edges that intersect with each other, and a lower end portion of a vertical heat seal portion of the side edges intersects with an end portion of a horizontal heat seal portion of the bottom edge at a bottom corner of the sterilization bag to form a corner seal portion; The corner inner edge of the corner seal portion facing the bag inner chamber is curved to connect the seal inner edges of the vertical heat seal portion above the lower end portion and the horizontal heat seal portion toward the center from the end portion, or is linearly oblique to the seal inner edges, the upper portion of the vertical heat-sealed portion and the entire length including the end portions and the central portion of the horizontal heat-sealed portion are positioned further inward than the outer edges of the side edges and the outer edges of the bottom edge of the sterilization bag, so that a side ear that is not heat-sealed is formed between the outer edge of the side and the upper portion of the vertical heat-sealed portion, and a bottom ear that is not heat-sealed is formed between the outer edge of the bottom and the entire length of the horizontal heat-sealed portion, the outer edges of the sides extend in a straight line, and the upper portion and the side ears of the vertical heat-sealed portion each extend straight and of a constant width along the outer edges of the sides, A sterilization bag characterized in that the edge portion on the outer lateral edge side of the lower end portion of the vertical heat seal portion that constitutes the corner seal portion protrudes toward the outer lateral edge side further than the upper portion of the vertical heat seal portion.

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