Autoclave with drying function

Abstract

To provide an autoclave with a drying function, capable of accelerating drying of a sterilization object after sterilization, and improving conventional problems.SOLUTION: An autoclave 1 includes in a sealable housing 4, a sterilization treatment part 2 having a space 21 in which a sterilization object X is arranged, and sterilizing the sterilization object X by supplying high-temperature fluid containing moisture to the space 21, and a dehumidification part 3 disposed facing the sterilization treatment part 2. The dehumidification part 3 includes: an air current generation part 31 for forming a circulation air current F which takes in gas existing in the sterilization treatment part 2, guides to the dehumidification part 3 followed by passing, and returns to the sterilization treatment part 2; a cooling part 33 for cooling gas taken in from the sterilization treatment part 2 so as to separate moisture contained in gas; and a heating part 34 continuing to the cooling part 33 at a downstream side of the circulation air current and heating gas guided from the cooling part 33.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an autoclave with a drying function that sterilizes an object to be sterilized placed in an enclosed space by using a high-temperature fluid. [Background technology]

[0002] Autoclaves are heat sterilization devices that sterilize objects placed in a sealed space using a high-temperature fluid (steam, air, water, etc.) and are known in the art. Some autoclaves are equipped with a mechanism for drying the objects after sterilization, as described in Patent Document 1, for example.

[0003] The device described in Patent Document 1 has a sterilization tank in which the objects to be sterilized are placed, and a circulation pipe formed outside the sterilization tank. The circulation pipe is provided with a heat exchanger as a condenser and a gas-liquid separator. The gas in the sterilization tank is led to the circulation pipe, and is cooled by the heat exchanger, causing the moisture contained in the gas to condense and become liquefied. The liquefied moisture is separated from the gas components by the gas-liquid separator and discharged outside the circulation pipe. As a result, gas with reduced humidity is returned to the sterilization tank, which promotes drying of the objects to be sterilized after sterilization. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 60-45354 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In such a conventional configuration, it was necessary to lay piping outside the sterilization tank and to install a heat exchanger and a gas-liquid separator, which made the overall system configuration including the autoclave complicated and required large-scale installation work, and also resulted in a problem of the overall system requiring a large installation space.

[0006] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an autoclave with a drying function that can promote drying of objects to be sterilized after sterilization and solves the above-mentioned problems. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present invention is an autoclave with a drying function comprising: a sterilization treatment section having a space for placing objects to be sterilized and supplying a high-temperature fluid containing moisture into the space to sterilize the objects to be sterilized; and a dehumidification section provided facing the sterilization treatment section, all contained in a sealable housing, the dehumidification section comprising an airflow generating section that forms a circulating airflow that takes in gas present in the sterilization treatment section, guides it through the dehumidification section, and then returns it to the sterilization treatment section; a cooling section that cools the gas taken in from the sterilization treatment section to separate moisture contained in the gas; and a heating section that is continuous with the cooling section downstream of the circulating airflow and heats the gas guided from the cooling section.

[0008] According to this configuration, the dehumidifying section is provided inside the housing, making it possible to make the entire device compact. In addition, the heating section is provided, so the drying speed can be increased by applying heated gas to the objects to be sterilized.

[0009] The dehumidifying section may form an inner wall of the housing, and may be stacked such that the cooling section is disposed on the outside and the heating section is disposed on the inside of the dehumidifying section.

[0010] With this configuration, the drying function can be achieved at the wall portion of the heat sterilizer, and the dehumidifying section does not get in the way when objects to be sterilized are put in and taken out.

[0011] Further inside the heating section, an airflow discharge section facing the sterilization treatment section is provided, and the airflow discharge section has a number of through holes on the surface facing the sterilization treatment section, and discharges gas guided from the heating section from each of the through holes.

[0012] According to this configuration, air with reduced humidity can be discharged from the multiple through-holes into the sterilization treatment section, enabling efficient drying.

[0013] The sterilization processing section may further include a gas introduction section that introduces gas from outside the housing, and gas may also be introduced by the gas introduction section when the dehumidification section is operated.

[0014] According to this configuration, drying by introducing outside air can also be used, allowing for even more efficient drying. Effect of the Invention

[0015] According to the present invention, the overall configuration of the system including the heat sterilizer can be prevented from becoming complicated, the installation work can be simplified compared to the conventional art, and the installation space for the entire system can be prevented from becoming large. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram of a vertical cross-sectional view of the front side showing the configuration of an autoclave with a drying function according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a vertical cross-sectional view of the side surface of the autoclave with a drying function. [Diagram 3] 4 is a schematic diagram showing a vertical cross-sectional view of a cooling section of the dehumidification section of the autoclave with drying function. FIG. [Figure 4] 3 is a schematic diagram showing a vertical cross-sectional view of a heating section of the dehumidification section of the autoclave with drying function. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0017] The present invention will be described with reference to one embodiment and the drawings. The sterilization process performed before drying in this embodiment is the same as that in the past. For this reason, only the outline is described. Also, while FIG. 1 shows the outline of an autoclave with drying function (hereinafter, referred to as "autoclave") 1, the piping and openings connecting the inside and outside of the housing 4 are omitted.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 1, the autoclave 1 of this embodiment includes a sterilization processing section 2 and a dehumidification section 3 in a sealable housing 4. The housing 4 of this embodiment has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. However, this is not limited to this, and it can also be substantially cylindrical, particularly when the inside is under high pressure. Although not shown in detail, an openable and closable hatch is provided at one end (the left end shown in FIG. 2) of the housing 4. This hatch can be opened to carry in and out the object X to be sterilized, and by closing the hatch, the inside of the housing 4 can be sealed to prevent leakage of high-temperature fluid. This sealing can also be achieved by pressurizing the sterilization processing section 2 to perform sterilization.

[0019] The sterilization treatment section 2 is also called a "sterilization chamber" and, as in the past, has a space 21 in which the object to be sterilized X is placed, and is a section in which a high-temperature fluid containing moisture is supplied to the space 21 to sterilize the object to be sterilized X. The high-temperature fluid is, for example, high-temperature steam or hot water. For this reason, the sterilization treatment section 2 is provided with a nozzle or the like capable of spraying the high-temperature fluid into the space 21, and the high-temperature fluid generated outside the housing 4 is introduced into the space 21. In the sterilization process, the object to be sterilized X is heated and sterilized by the high-temperature fluid hitting the object to be sterilized X in the sterilization treatment section 2. Examples of the object to be sterilized X include, but are not limited to, medical and food products.

[0020] As shown in Figure 2, for example, a dolly (not shown) can be parked alongside autoclave 1 with the hatch open, and objects to be sterilized X can be moved in and out by moving them in the depth direction. Loading / unloading rails R are provided on the inner surface of the lower part of the sterilization processing unit 2, and a support table Y carrying objects to be sterilized X can be moved in and out of the sterilization processing unit 2 along the loading / unloading rails R. Note that what is shown is a form in which frames containing multiple objects to be sterilized X are stacked in the vertical direction, but the arrangement of objects to be sterilized X in the sterilization processing unit 2 is not particularly limited.

[0021] The dehumidifying section 3 is a section provided facing the sterilization processing section 2. In this embodiment, the dehumidifying sections 3 are provided symmetrically on both sides of the sterilization processing section 2 in the horizontal direction (on the left and right sides in FIG. 1). The dehumidifying process by the dehumidifying section 3 operates after the sterilization process is completed (it can also be overlapped with the final stage of the sterilization process). It is preferable to perform the dehumidifying process continuously (without a gap) after the sterilization process is completed. This is because the sterilization object X is in a heated state during the sterilization process, and the sterilization object X is expected to dry due to its own heat.

[0022] The dehumidifying section 3 includes an airflow generating section 31, an airflow guiding section 32, a cooling section 33, a heating section 34, and an airflow discharging section 35. The cooling section 33, the heating section 34, and the airflow discharging section 35 each have a space therein, are large in the vertical and depth directions, and are layered in the inside-outside direction of the housing 4, and are configured by stacking three layers adjacent to each other from the outside to the inside (sterilization processing section 2 side). The layers of the cooling section 33, the heating section 34, and the airflow discharging section 35 have almost the same thickness (however, this is not limited, and the thickness dimension can be changed for each layer). The airflow generating section 31, the cooling section 33, the heating section 34, and the airflow discharging section 35 are partitioned by a side partition wall 36 except for the part through which the airflow passes. The dehumidifying section 3 of this embodiment forms the inner wall of the housing 4.

[0023] Airflow generating section 31 is provided to generate an airflow inside dehumidification section 3. In this embodiment, a centrifugal fan is used in which the central axis of rotation is provided along the vertical direction and the airflow is generated in the horizontal direction. As airflow generating section 31, various means other than a centrifugal fan can be used. The airflow generated by airflow generating section 31 flows to the outside of housing 4 through airflow guiding section 32 provided above sterilization processing section 2 so as to spread on both the left and right sides of airflow generating section 31 in FIG. 1. For this reason, airflow generating section 31 takes in gas present in sterilization processing section 2, guides it to dehumidification section 3, and then forms a circulating airflow F (shown by an arrow in FIG. 1, etc.) that returns to sterilization processing section 2. A horizontal partition wall 37 separates sterilization processing section 2 and airflow guiding section 32 from the sterilization processing section 2 except for the portion through which the airflow from sterilization processing section 2 to airflow generating section 31 passes.

[0024] Airflow generating section 31 is also used to stir the high-temperature fluid in the sterilization process. That is, it is also used to stir the high-temperature fluid in space 21 when the high-temperature fluid is introduced into sterilization processing section 2 to perform sterilization in the sterilization process. At this time, the heating operation of cooling section 33 and the heating operation of heating section 34 are not performed, and cooling section 33, heating section 34 and airflow discharge section 35 simply function as a passage for passing circulating airflow F. However, it is also possible to perform the heating operation of heating section 34 in order to assist in heating of sterilization processing section 2 in the sterilization process and to reduce the amount of pure steam used when introducing pure steam into space 21.

[0025] The cooling section 33 has an upper end connected to the left and right ends of the airflow guide section 32 in FIG. 1, and is a section that separates moisture contained in the gas by condensing and liquefying it by cooling the gas taken in from the sterilization processing section 2. As shown in FIG. 3, a heat exchange pipe 331 through which a cooling fluid (cooling water, refrigerant, etc.) supplied from the outside of the housing 4 passes is arranged in the space of the cooling section 33, and the airflow passing through the cooling section 33 can be cooled by contacting the heat exchange pipe 331. The heat exchange pipe 331 shown in FIG. 3 is folded back to increase the efficiency of heat exchange with the airflow passing through the cooling section 33. Note that the shape shown in FIG. 3 is merely an example, and the heat exchange pipe 331 in the cooling section 33 may have various shapes. For example, the heat exchange pipe 331 may be provided with fins protruding in the radial direction, or may have a different folded shape. Since the moisture separated by the cooling section 33 is in a liquid state, it falls below the cooling section 33 and is discharged to the outside of the housing 4. In cooling section 33, the moisture contained in circulating airflow F returned to sterilization processing section 2 can be reduced and dehumidified.

[0026] Heating section 34 is connected to cooling section 33 on the downstream side of circulating airflow F, and heats the gas led from cooling section 33. Heating section 34 in this embodiment communicates with cooling section 33 at the lower end, and airflow passes through this communication section. By heating the gas in this manner, the amount of saturated water vapor per unit volume of the gas increases, and the humidity of the gas can be reduced. Heating section 34 can supply high-temperature gas with reduced humidity to sterilization processing section 2, so that sterilization target X placed in sterilization processing section 2 can be effectively dried. As shown in FIG. 4, heat exchange piping 341, which passes a heating fluid (steam, heat medium, etc.) supplied from outside housing 4, is arranged in the space of heating section 34, and the airflow passing through heating section 34 can be heated by contacting heat exchange piping 341. As with cooling section 33, heat exchange piping 341 shown in FIG. 4 is folded back to increase the efficiency of heat exchange with the airflow passing through heating section 34. 4 is merely an example, and the heat exchange pipe 341 in the heating unit 34 may have various shapes. For example, the heat exchange pipe 341 may be provided with fins protruding in the radial direction, or may have another folded shape.

[0027] Air flow discharge section 35 is continuous with heating section 34 on the downstream side of circulating air flow F, is located facing the side of sterilization processing section 2, and is a section that discharges the gas led from heating section 34 into sterilization processing section 2. Air flow discharge section 35 in this embodiment communicates with heating section 34 at its upper end, and the air flow passes through this communicated section. Air flow discharge section 35 has a number of through holes 351 on the surface facing sterilization processing section 2, and disperses and discharges the gas led from heating section 34 from each of through holes 351.

[0028] Air flow discharge section 35 configured in this manner can discharge an air flow of high temperature, low humidity gas from multiple through-holes 351 into sterilization processing section 2, so that the air flow can be directed evenly onto sterilization targets X placed in sterilization processing section 2. This allows for efficient drying.

[0029] In this embodiment, the airflow is made to pass through through-hole 351 penetrating the plate-like side partition 36 belonging to airflow discharge section 35, but a nozzle may be provided in airflow discharge section 35 so that the airflow can be discharged in the form of a jet, for example. In this way, the airflow can reach the object X to be sterilized that is located away from the dehumidification section 3.

[0030] The dehumidification section 3 has a three-layer structure of a cooling section 33, a heating section 34, and an airflow discharge section 35. The circulating airflow F in the dehumidification process flows from top to bottom in the cooling section 33 as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3, flows from bottom to top in the heating section 34 as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 4, and flows from top to bottom in the airflow discharge section 35 as shown in FIG. 1, and flows from a large number of through holes 351 to the sterilization treatment section 2. Thus, in the dehumidification section 3 of this embodiment, the circulating airflow F flows while meandering in the vertical direction. Here, in the cooling section 33, the density of the gas increases as it is cooled, so that the flow of the circulating airflow F from top to bottom is promoted. Similarly, in the heating section 34, the density of the gas decreases as it is heated, so that the flow of the circulating airflow F from bottom to top is promoted. In addition, the airflow discharge section 35 does not have heat exchange piping like the cooling section 33 and the heating section 34, so that the ventilation resistance is small. Therefore, the circulating airflow F can be smoothly guided from the heating section 34 to the airflow discharge section 35.

[0031] The autoclave 1 of this embodiment is configured as described above. According to the autoclave 1 of this embodiment, the dehumidification unit 3 is provided inside the housing 4, so that the entire system can be made compact. Therefore, unlike the conventional configuration, it is not necessary to perform piping work for the dehumidification configuration outside the sterilization tank and to place a heat exchanger and a gas-liquid separator, so that the configuration of the entire system including the autoclave can be simplified and the installation work can be prevented from becoming large-scale. In addition, the installation space of the entire system can be made smaller than in the past. And, since the heating unit 34 is provided, the drying speed can be increased by applying the heated gas to the object X to be sterilized.

[0032] Such an arrangement is particularly useful when sterilization must be carried out under pressure and vacuum drying is not possible.

[0033] Furthermore, since the dehumidifier 3 in this embodiment forms the inner wall of the housing 4, the drying function can be achieved at the wall portion of the autoclave 1 and there is no need to form a portion protruding into the space 21 of the sterilization processing unit 2, so that the dehumidifier 3 does not get in the way when the object to be sterilized X is put in and taken out.

[0034] According to the present embodiment, the overall configuration of the system including the autoclave 1 can be prevented from becoming complicated, and the installation work can be simplified compared to the conventional art. In addition, the installation space for the entire system can be prevented from becoming large.

[0035] Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0036] For example, although not shown, the sterilization processing unit 2 may be provided with a gas introduction section for introducing gas from outside the housing 4, and the gas may also be introduced by the gas introduction section when the dehumidification unit 3 is operated. By providing a gas introduction section in this manner, in addition to drying using the dehumidification unit 3 of the above embodiment, drying by introducing outside air can also be performed, resulting in even more efficient drying. However, when introducing outside air, the degree of dryness is affected by the humidity of the outside air, so the amount of outside air introduced must be set taking this into consideration.

[0037] Also, in the above embodiment, airflow generation section 31 and airflow guide section 32 are arranged above the sterilization processing section 2, and cooling section 33, heating section 34 and airflow discharge section 35 are arranged on both the left and right sides of the sterilization processing section 2. However, for example, airflow generation section 31 may be arranged on the side of the sterilization processing section 2, or cooling section 33, heating section 34 and airflow discharge section 35 may be arranged only on either the left or right side of the sterilization processing section 2, and the positional relationship of dehumidification section 3 to the sterilization processing section 2 can be freely set.

[0038] Furthermore, by varying the blade angle of the fan that constitutes airflow generating unit 31, the direction of the airflow generated by airflow generating unit 31 during the sterilization process can be set toward the sterilization processing unit 2 (downward in this embodiment), and the airflow can be caused to flow directly into the sterilization processing unit 2. This allows efficient agitation of the high-temperature fluid during the sterilization process. [Explanation of symbols]

[0039] 1 Autoclave (with drying function) 2 Sterilization Processing Section 21 Sterilization processing area space 3 Dehumidification section 31 Air flow generating section 32 Air flow guidance section 33 Cooling section 331 Heat exchange piping (cooling section) 34 Heating section 341 Heat exchange piping (heating section) 35 Air flow discharge part 351 Through hole 36 Side bulkhead 37 Horizontal bulkhead 4. Chassis X Sterilization items Y support stand F Circulating airflow R Loading / unloading rail

Claims

1. a sterilization processing unit having a space in which objects to be sterilized are placed and supplying a high-temperature fluid containing moisture to the space to sterilize the objects to be sterilized; a dehumidifying unit provided facing the sterilization processing unit, The dehumidification unit includes an airflow generating unit that takes in gas present in the sterilization treatment unit, guides the gas through the dehumidification unit, and then returns the gas to the sterilization treatment unit; and A cooling unit that separates moisture contained in the gas by cooling the gas taken in from the sterilization processing unit; a heating section that is continuous with the cooling section on the downstream side of the circulating air flow and heats the gas guided from the cooling section, The dehumidifying unit constitutes an inner wall of the housing, An autoclave with a drying function, wherein the dehumidifying section is stacked so that the cooling section is disposed on the outside and the heating section is disposed on the inside.

2. An airflow discharge section facing the sterilization treatment section is provided further inward of the heating section, 2. The autoclave with drying function according to claim 1, wherein the air flow discharge section has a number of through holes on a surface facing the sterilization treatment section, and discharges the gas guided from the heating section from each of the through holes.

3. a gas introduction unit that introduces a gas from outside the housing into the sterilization processing unit, 3. The autoclave with drying function according to claim 1, wherein the gas introduction section also introduces gas when the dehumidification section is operated.

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