JPH0350916Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed explanation of the idea]

(Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to an apparatus for heat sterilizing plastic medical waste, such as disposable syringes. (Prior art) For example, in hospitals, large amounts of plastic medical waste such as disposable syringes and IV containers are used and discarded. There is a need. One of the sterilization methods is to use chemicals, but this method has the disadvantage that it is difficult to dispose of used chemicals. To solve this problem,
It is conceivable to feed the waste onto a conveyor that passes through a tunnel furnace and continuously sterilize it at high temperatures. (Problem to be solved by the invention) According to the above-mentioned high temperature sterilizer, the stickiness of the plastic waste increases due to high temperature heating, and with the conventional steel conveyor, the plastic waste sticks to the conveyor. Therefore, a problem arises in that special stripping means are required to strip the plastic waste from the conveyor. Another problem is that when a waste input hopper is provided at the starting end of the conveyor, there is a risk that bacteria will grow within the hopper. (Purpose of the invention) In view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, the present invention makes it possible to easily peel off the waste that tends to stick to the conveyor from the conveyor without providing any special peeling means. An object of the present invention is to provide a heat sterilization device for plastic medical waste that prevents bacteria from propagating in an input hopper. (Means for Solving the Problems) In order to solve the above conventional problems, the first idea is to store plastic medical waste 18 in each bucket 13 of the endless bucket conveyor 1 rotating in one direction. This is a heat sterilization apparatus for plastic medical waste, which heat-sterilizes the plastic medical waste 18 in each bucket 13 while sequentially supplying the plastic medical waste 18 in each bucket 13 while conveying it by the bucket conveyor 1. The inner surface is coated with silicone rubber 55 having heat resistance and non-adhesive properties. The second invention is a heat sterilization apparatus for plastic medical waste, which comprises at least an endless bucket conveyor 1 and a heat sterilization section 3 provided on the way of the conveyor 1. An opening/closing lid 25 is provided on the waste input hopper 21 provided at the starting end of the opening/closing lid 25.
The sterilization light 26 that turns on when the hopper 21 is closed
This configuration adopts a configuration provided within the interior. (Embodiment) Fig. 1 shows a heat sterilizer as an embodiment of the present invention, in which an endless bucket conveyor 1
, a waste quantitative supply section 2, a heat sterilization section 3, and an air cooling section 4, which are sequentially provided in the feeding direction of the conveyor 1.
A waste crusher 5 is connected to the terminal end of the bucket conveyor 1. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the bucket conveyor 1 has a starting end drive shaft 8, a trailing end driven shaft 9, and an intermediate shaft 10, each of which is supported at a fixed interval by a pair. A sprocket wheel 11 is fitted and fixed on the outside, a pair of parallel conveyor chains 12, 12 are wound around each sprocket wheel 11, and the chain 12 is installed between the chains 12, 12. .
5. It is configured to be conveyed in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 1 via transmission sprocket wheels 16, 17 and the drive shaft 8. Further, the driven shaft 9 and the intermediate shaft 10 are located at the same height, and
The drive shaft 8 is positioned below both shafts 9 and 10, so that each bucket 13 passes through the quantitative supply section 2 diagonally upward at a predetermined inclination angle (for example, 30 degrees). It is configured to pass through the heat sterilization section 3 and the air cooling section 4 in the horizontal direction. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, each bucket bag 13 has a substantially U-shaped cross section, the front wall portion 13a thereof is inclined forward, and the upper end portion of the front wall portion 13a is bent horizontally to face the front side. It extends above the rear wall portion 13b of the bucket 13. Therefore, when each bucket 13 is directly transported, the front and rear walls 13a and 13b of adjacent buckets overlap each other, preventing the plastic medical waste 18 from falling from between the buckets 13. I am considerate. In addition, the inner surface of each bucket 13 has heat resistance that can withstand the maximum temperature (about 210°C) of the heat sterilization section 3,
It is coated with a non-adhesive silicone rubber 55 which does not stick even to the plastic waste 18 which has been heated to increase its adhesion. Therefore, when the bucket 13 is reversed at the end of the conveyor 1,
All the waste 18 in the bucket 13 naturally falls from the bucket 13. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the waste quantitative supply unit 2 includes a waste input hopper 21 disposed above the bucket conveyor 1, and a waste input hopper 21 disposed above the bucket conveyor 1.
The hopper 2 has a waste supply rotor 22 disposed between the discharge port of the hopper 2 and the bucket conveyor 1.
1 has an arcuate rotor cover part 21a extending along the rotor 22 to the lower end of the rotor, and the rear wall part has a flexible plate made of a rubber plate or the like whose tip approaches the rotor 22. A scraper 23 is fixed. An opening/closing lid 25 is provided at the input port of the hopper 21, and an opening/closing lid 25 is provided on the inner surface of the opening/closing lid 25.
A sterilization lamp 26, such as an ultraviolet light emitting lamp, is provided, which is turned on by a switch (not shown) that is turned on when the lamp 5 is closed. Therefore, when the waste 18 is put into the hopper 21 and the opening/closing lid 25 is closed, the sterilization lamp 26 is turned on, and the proliferation of bacteria in the hopper 21 is prevented. Note that 2 in Figure 3
Reference numeral 4 denotes a hopper support frame that extends horizontally from both side walls of the hopper 21, is bent downward, and is fixed to the machine frame 6. The rotor 22 is externally fitted and fixed to a rotating shaft 30 that is pivotally supported by the hopper 21, and has a plurality of pockets 32 defined in the circumferential direction on its outer peripheral surface. Therefore, when the bucket conveyor 1 is operated and the rotors 22 are synchronously rotated in the direction of the arrow in FIG.
The waste 18 is discharged into the pocket 32, and then the scraper 23 scrapes off the waste 18 protruding from each pocket 32, and the waste 18 is placed in a fixed amount in each pocket 32. waste material 18 in each pocket 32 thereof.
falls due to the rotation of the rotor 22 and is supplied into the bucket 13 directly below. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the heat sterilization section 3 has a heat insulating tunnel 34 fixed to the machine frame 6, and a heater 35 such as a sheathed heater is arranged on the ceiling and side surfaces of the tunnel 34. In addition, multiple stirring fans are installed on the ceiling. Therefore, the inside of the tunnel 34 is heated by the heater 35, and the air inside the tunnel 34 is stirred by the stirring fan 36, so that the entire inside of the tunnel 34 is made into a substantially uniform high temperature atmosphere (140 to 210°C). , the tunnel 3
The waste 18 in each bucket 13 passing through the bucket 13 for a predetermined period of time (for example, 8 minutes and 30 seconds) is uniformly heated and sterilized at high temperature. A temperature sensor is installed on the inner surface of the tunnel, and a power switch and a power switch are installed on the machine frame 6.
A power distribution control box (not shown) containing a power distribution board, a control device, etc. is provided. Furthermore, an upper limit temperature setting (e.g. 200°C) and a lower limit setting temperature (e.g. 180°C) are preset.
When the temperature detected by the temperature sensor matches the upper limit temperature setting, the power supply to the heater 35 is stopped and the waste 1 is removed.
8 is prevented from being dissolved, and when the detected temperature matches the lower limit set temperature, the power to the motor 14 is cut off, the drive of the bucket conveyor 1 is stopped, and the incompletely sterilized waste 18 is removed. It is prevented from passing through the tunnel 34. Then, when the detected temperature returns to within the upper and lower set temperature ranges, the heater 35 or the motor 14 is energized again and operation is restarted.
Note that 39 in FIG. 1 indicates both side walls 21 of the hopper 21.
A guardrail for protecting the heater installed close to the bucket 13 between a and 21b, which prevents the waste 18 protruding from the bucket 13 from moving forward.
This prevents the heater 35 from being damaged by the protruding waste 18. The air cooling unit 4 has an air cooling device 42 with a built-in fan 41 disposed across the bucket conveyor 1 as shown in FIG. The material is sprayed and cooled to harden the waste material 18 to the extent that it can be crushed by the crusher 5. Note that the air cooling device 42 may be abolished, the cooling section 4 may be made longer, and natural air cooling may be performed. As shown in FIG. 1, the crusher 5 includes a cylindrical part 46 having a waste inlet 44 at the upper part and a crushed material outlet 45 at the lower part, and the cylindrical part 46.
a pair of fixed blades 47, 47 whose cutting edges protrude into the cylindrical portion 46 through the cylindrical portion 4;
The rotary blades 50 are respectively fixed to the tips of a plurality of rotary blades 49 extending radially from a drive shaft 48 disposed concentrically within the rotary blade 6 . Therefore, the bucket 13 is in a horizontal state at the end of the bucket conveyor 1.
By being judged, the bucket 13
When the waste 18 inside is discharged, the discharged waste 18 is guided to the input chute 51 and input into the cylindrical part 46 from the waste input port 44, and the rotary blade is rotated in the direction of the arrow by the drive motor 53. 50
and the fixed blade 47. The pulverized waste 18 passes through the filter 52 of the pulverized material discharge port 45 and is discharged into the dust collection box 54. Furthermore, sterilization lamps 56 are disposed below and on both sides of the pulverized material discharge port 45 of the pulverizer 5 to prevent bacteria from propagating within the dust collection box 54 and to further enhance the sterilization effect. Here, the results of a heat sterilization test using the heat sterilizer according to the present invention conducted at the Central Clinical Laboratory Department of Hyogo Medical College Hospital are shown in the following table.

【table】

[Table] As a result of the experiment, the following judgments were made. That is, S.
aureus, E. coli, and P. aeruginosa are vegetative bacteria, so the sterilization temperature is 145°C to 155°C and the sterilization time is 8 minutes.
Completely sterilized in 30 seconds. In contrast, B. subtillis, which has spores, was incompletely sterilized due to its strong heat resistance;
Under the 30-second condition, the syringe was completely sterilized, and some incomplete sterilization was observed only in relatively large-capacity blood collection tubes. However, among the pathogenic bacteria detected in humans, there are few infectious diseases caused by spore-bearing bacteria, and it is especially rare to detect them in the blood, and in the blood they are usually vegetative. , even if the sterilization effect of this type of spore-forming bacteria is relatively poor, it is not considered to be much of a problem. In addition, although experiments regarding hepatitis viruses and other viruses have not been conducted at this stage, many of them are susceptible to heat, similar to the trophozoites of bacteria, and the sterilization effect is limited because the trophozoites are completely sterilized. It seems that there is. (Effects of the invention) According to the first invention, the inner surface of each bucket of the bucket conveyor is coated with silicone rubber, and since the silicone rubber has non-adhesive properties, sterilization can be carried out inside each bucket. Therefore, even plastic medical waste that has been heated to a high temperature to increase its stickiness does not stick to the inner surface of each bucket, and the plastic medical waste can be easily peeled off from each bucket. There is no need to provide a means for Moreover, since the silicone rubber mentioned above also has heat resistance,
Even when heated at high temperatures, its characteristic non-stick property hardly decreases, and plastic medical waste can be continuously heated and sterilized over a long period of time. According to the second invention, since a sterilization lamp is provided in the waste input hopper, there is no risk of bacteria propagating in the hopper. Furthermore, the sterilization lamp is turned on only when the lid of the hopper is closed, so it is economical and does not have any adverse effects on the human body.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a heat sterilization device for plastic medical waste, which is an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a view taken from - arrow in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a - arrow view in Fig. 1.
4 is a view taken along the - arrow in FIG. 1, and FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the bucket bag. 1...Bucket conveyor, 2...Waste quantitative supply section, 3...Heating sterilization section, 4...Air cooling section, 5...
Waste crusher, 13...Bucket, 18...Plastic medical waste, 21...Hopper, 25
...Opening/closing lid, 26...Sterilizing lamp, 55...Silicone rubber.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claim for Utility Model Registration] 1. Plastic medical waste is sequentially supplied into each bucket of an endless bucket conveyor that rotates in one direction, and the plastic medical waste in each bucket is transported by the bucket conveyor. A device for heat sterilizing medical waste made of plastic for heat sterilizing objects, characterized in that the inner surface of each bucket is coated with heat-resistant and non-adhesive silicone rubber. Heat sterilization equipment for medical waste. 2. In a heat sterilization device for plastic medical waste, which comprises at least an endless bucket conveyor and a heat sterilization section provided on the way of the conveyor, a waste input hopper provided at the starting end of the bucket conveyor. A heat sterilizer for medical waste made of plastic, which is provided with an opening/closing lid in the hopper and a sterilization lamp that is turned on when the opening/closing lid is closed.