Electron Beam Irradiation Device Uniform Sterilization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electron beam irradiation devices for sterilizing medical instrument packages face challenges in achieving uniform sterilization with small-sized low-energy electron accelerators, leading to inconsistent sterilization levels and high maintenance costs due to the need for stronger irradiation and larger irradiation windows, which shortens the device's usage life and increases costs.
Innovation Solution
The device employs a combination of small-sized low-energy electron accelerators with narrow irradiation windows and a chuck-slide mechanism that grips and rotates the package to pass through a U-shaped electron beam irradiation zone, ensuring uniform irradiation from multiple angles, allowing for lower acceleration voltage operation and extended device life.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If three low-energy electron accelerators are arranged at 120 degrees to irradiate the whole surface of the package, then the sterilization coverage is improved, but the distance from the irradiation window becomes large requiring stronger irradiation intensity which shortens device life and increases maintenance cost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a rotating mechanism that dynamically changes the orientation of the package during irradiation. Instead of fixing three accelerators at 120 degrees, the package rotates to present different surfaces sequentially to a single irradiation window, maintaining consistently short distances throughout the irradiation process and eliminating the need for stronger irradiation intensity.
2Reliability
If electron beam irradiation intensity is increased to sterilize the longitudinal direction of the package, then the sterilization effectiveness is improved, but the maintenance cost increases and device life shortens
Solution Approach 1:
The rotating mechanism enables the package to be irradiated from multiple angles without increasing the irradiation intensity. By dynamically reorienting the package during the irradiation process, the system achieves comprehensive sterilization coverage while maintaining moderate irradiation levels that preserve accelerator life and reduce maintenance costs.
3Ease of manufacture
If small-sized low-energy electron accelerators with narrow irradiation windows are used, then the initial cost and device size are reduced, but the sterilization uniformity becomes inconsistent
Solution Approach 1:
The rotating mechanism compensates for the narrow irradiation window of small-sized accelerators by continuously changing the package orientation. This dynamic approach ensures that all surfaces receive adequate irradiation over time, achieving uniform sterilization coverage despite the limited instantaneous irradiation width of compact accelerators.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds the temporal dimension of rotation to the spatial irradiation process. Instead of attempting to cover the entire package surface simultaneously with a wide irradiation window, the system uses sequential irradiation through rotation, transforming a two-dimensional coverage problem into a time-dependent process that achieves uniform sterilization with compact accelerators.
4Reliability
If the irradiation window width is increased to cover the whole package surface, then the sterilization coverage is improved, but the accelerator size and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The rotating mechanism allows a single, relatively small irradiation window to effectively cover the entire package surface over time. By dynamically reorienting the package during irradiation, the system achieves comprehensive surface coverage without requiring a large stationary irradiation window, thus maintaining compact accelerator size and reducing costs.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration ensures equal sterilization levels across the package surface, maintains reliability and safety, and reduces initial and maintenance costs by using compact, low-cost electron accelerators with extended usage life, while preventing X-ray leakage and ozone intrusion.
Implementation Method 1
electron beam irradiation device which sterilizes an outer packaged surface of a package accommodating a sterilized article with electron beam irradiation
Data Source
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AI summary
An electron beam irradiation device which can irradiate an electron beam uniformly to an entire outer surface of an object of irradiation by using a small-sized low-energy electron accelerator with a narrow irradiation window, maintain reliability and safety of a sterilization effect high by making a sterilization level of each portion substantially equal, keep the initial cost and the maintenance cost of the device low, and by extending the cost and a usage limit (life) of the electron accelerator is provided. The device has electron beam irradiation means forming an electron beam irradiation zone and gripping/moving means gripping a part of an object of irradiation and causing the object of irradiation to pass through the electron beam irradiation zone, and the whole surface of the object of irradiation can uniformly pass through the electron beam irradiation zone by combining re-gripping of the object of irradiation by two gripping mechanisms provided on the gripping/moving means, rotation of the object of irradiation by two rotation mechanisms, and movement of the object of irradiation by two moving mechanisms.