JPH0525620Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] a. Industrial application field The present invention relates to a high-pressure steam sterilizer for sterilizing pharmaceutical products such as ampules and tablets, research prototypes, and the like.

b. Conventional technology In general, ampoules etc., like other sterilized products,
Sterilization is performed by high-pressure steam sterilization, and a high-pressure steam sterilization device (autoclave) is usually used for sterilization. This kind of sterilizer is
One cycle of operation consists of three steps: heating, sterilization, and exhaust, and it takes a long time to complete one cycle. By the way, heating is the process until the set sterilization temperature is reached.
Since it is unrelated to the sterilization process, the shorter the temperature raising process is, the more efficient the sterilization process becomes.

c. Problems to be solved by the invention As mentioned above, sterilization using conventional high-pressure steam sterilizers always includes a temperature raising process.
In addition to the sterilization time, the time required for the sterilization treatment also included heating time and exhaust time, making it take longer than necessary. For this reason, it is difficult to carry out efficient sterilization treatment, resulting in a disadvantage that the cost of the product increases. In particular, since pharmaceuticals such as ampoules and tablets are sterilized instantaneously, it is necessary to always know the sterilization temperature and sterilization time.
However, with conventional high-pressure steam sterilizers, it is not possible to accurately determine whether sterilization was achieved purely based on the required sterilization time, or whether sterilization was also affected by the temperature rise process. It was not suitable for investigating the required sterilization temperature and required sterilization time.

The present invention was developed in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and its purpose is to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks, to enable rapid and efficient sterilization, and to provide high-pressure steam, which is effective in investigating sterilization conditions for new drugs. Our purpose is to provide sterilization equipment.

d Means for solving the problem In order to solve the problem of the above-mentioned conventional technology,
The present invention includes a can whose inside is saturated with high-pressure steam, a pipe for inlet and out of sterilized materials that is installed through the can and whose inside becomes a sterilization chamber, and a pipe that protrudes from the can to the outside. A pair of inner and outer valves are provided at both ends of the pipe, spaced apart from each other, and a space is provided between the inner and outer valves to temporarily store a sterile substance, and the inner and outer valves at one end are opened and closed. Sterilization is carried out by introducing the sterilized object into the sterilization chamber in the pipe through the space chamber on the one end side, sterilizing it with high-pressure steam in the can body, and sterilizing it by opening and closing the inner and outer valves on the other end side. The structure is such that objects can be taken out from the pipe through the space chamber on the other end side.

e. Effect: In the high-pressure steam sterilizer according to the present invention, by opening and closing the inner and outer valves at one end of the pipe for sterilized material inlet/output, which is provided through the can body, the sterilized materials are introduced into the sterilization chamber inside the pipe and the canister is removed. Since sterilization is performed using high-pressure steam inside the body, the heating process is omitted. Furthermore, in the sterilizer of the present invention, the sterilized object is removed from the pipe by opening and closing the inner and outer valves disposed at the other end of the pipe.
The exhaust stroke is also omitted.

f Examples The present invention will be described in detail below based on illustrated examples.

1 to 3 show an embodiment of the high-pressure steam sterilization apparatus according to the present invention. In the same figure, the sterilizer 1 is a can body 3 provided in a case 2.
, a capsule inlet/outlet pipe 4 which penetrates the can body 3 in a diagonal direction, and a capsule inlet/outlet pipe 4 which is arranged at both ends of the pipe 4 which protrudes from the can body 3 to the outside so as to be freely openable and closable. A pair of internal and external manual ball valves 5, 6, 7, and 8 are provided.

A heater 9 heated by a power source (not shown) and water 10 are provided at the bottom of the can body 3, and the can body 3 is configured to be saturated with high-pressure steam. In addition, an operating rod 12 for moving and operating a capsule stopper 11 provided approximately at the center is installed in the middle part of the can body 3 so as to be rotatable in the horizontal direction. A handle 13 is provided at the end of 12. The capsule stopper 11 can be moved in and out of the pipe 4 by rotating the operating rod 12 as shown in FIG. Entrance/exit 1
4 is formed. The opening 15 formed at one end of the can body 3 is opened and closed by a lid 16 rotatably attached to the case 2.

The pipe 4 located inside the can body 3 communicates with the inside of the can body 3 via a plurality of through holes 27 formed on the outer circumferential surface and an entrance/exit 14, and the inside is connected to the sterilization chamber 1.
It has become 7. On the other hand, the capsule inlet/outlet pipe 4
Vacuum chambers 1 are provided at both ends of the sterilized material by means of outer manual ball valves 5, 7 and inner manual ball valves 6, 8, respectively.
8, 19 are formed, and these vacuum chambers 18, 19 are connected to a vacuum pump 20 installed in the case 2 via coupling pipes 21, 22 and tubes 23, 24. Note that manual ball valves 25 and 26 are provided in the coupling pipes 21 and 22, respectively, so as to be openable and closable.

Next, a method of using the high pressure steam sterilizer 1 configured as described above is as follows.

First, water 10 is poured into the can body 3, the opening 15 is closed with the lid 16, and all the manual ball valves 5, 6, 7, 8, 25, and 26 are closed. (See Figure 2). Then, the heater 9 is turned on and heated to bring the inside of the can body 3 into a state where necessary high-pressure steam sterilization is possible using saturated steam. (Refer to Utility Application No. 47-109368 and Utility Model Application No. 62-169886 for the method of making saturated steam.) Next, an ampoule or the like for sterilization is introduced from the entrance X formed at the upper end of the pipe 4, and the outside When the manual ball valve 5 is opened, the ampoule agent slides into the vacuum chamber 18. Then, the outer manual ball valve 5 is closed again, the vacuum pump 20 is started, and the manual ball valves 25 and 26 of the coupling pipes 21 and 22 are opened, respectively, so that the vacuum chamber 1
8 and 19 are evacuated, and then the manual ball valves 25 and 26 are closed to stop the vacuum pump 20. In this state, when the inner manual ball valve 6 is opened, the ampoule is released into the sterilization chamber 17.
The capsule slides down and stops when it hits the capsule stopper 11. After putting the ampoule into the sterilization chamber 17, the inner manual ball valve 6 is closed again, and the ampoule is sterilized by high-pressure steam for a predetermined period of time.

After sterilization, the operating rod 12 is rotated to move the capsule stopper 11 to the outside of the pipe 4 to communicate with the passage within the pipe 4, and at the same time open the manual ball valve 8 inside. Then, the capsule will slide into the vacuum chamber 19,
Close the inner manual ball valve 8 again. Finally, the outer manual ball valve 7 is opened and the sterilized ampoule is taken out from the outlet Y of the pipe 4. After this, the manual ball valve 7 is closed again.

Note that the high-pressure steam sterilizer 1 can continuously sterilize a large number of capsules and the like by repeating the above-described operating procedure from the beginning.

Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, and various modifications and changes can be made based on the technical idea of the present invention.

For example, in the embodiments described above, the capsule stopper 11 was provided almost at the center of the pipe 4, but depending on the type of sterilized object or the inclination angle of the pipe 4, the capsule stopper 11 may not be provided and the sterilized object may be sterilized. may simply be slid down the pipe 4 and passed through the sterilization chamber 17. This simplifies the structure of the high-pressure steam sterilizer 1. Furthermore, it is of course possible to use automatic ball valves or other valves in place of the manual ball valves 5, 6, 7, 8, 25, 26. In the case of an automatic ball valve, the ampoule is automatically transferred from the inlet X of the pipe 4 through the automatic ball valve and the vacuum chamber 18 to the sterilization chamber 17.
After being sterilized, it passes through an automatic ball valve and a vacuum chamber before exiting from the outlet Y of the pipe 4. Furthermore, a manual ball valve can be provided at the location where the tubes 23 and 24 diverge, thereby eliminating the need to provide manual ball valves 25 and 26 for each tube 23 and 24, respectively. In addition, it is not limited to high pressure steam sterilizers,
It is also possible to use both an EOG sterilizer or a steam sterilizer and an EOG sterilizer. And also the vacuum chamber 18,
Reference numeral 19 may be a space chamber for temporarily storing sterilized materials such as ampoules. However, in the case of a vacuum chamber, when a large number of sterilized items are to be taken out and put in, the vacuum chamber 18
Further, it becomes possible to vent air from the vacuum chamber 18 or 19 using the vacuum pump 20 while the sterilized material is stored in the vacuum chamber 19.

g. Effect of the invention As mentioned above, the high-pressure steam sterilizer according to the present invention has a pipe for inlet/output of sterilized materials penetrating the can body, and sterilization is performed after the inside of the can body reaches a state where high-pressure steam sterilization is possible. Since the object is sterilized by placing it in the pipe, the temperature raising process required in conventional sterilizers can be omitted. In addition, after the sterilization process is completed, the sterilized items are removed from the pipe without performing an exhaust process.
The exhaust stroke can also be omitted. Therefore, according to the high-pressure steam sterilizer of the present invention, the time required to sterilize the sterilized object is almost pure sterilization time, so the sterilization time can be significantly shortened and sterilization can be carried out efficiently. , product costs can be reduced.
Moreover, unlike conventional sterilizers, the temperature raising process does not affect sterilization, so sterilization conditions for new drugs can be accurately investigated, and the device is highly versatile.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figures 1 to 3 show an embodiment of the present invention, in which Figure 1 is a conceptual perspective view of a high-pressure steam sterilizer, Figure 2 is a conceptual sectional view of the sterilizer, and Figure 3 is a conceptual perspective view of the sterilizer. The figure is an enlarged perspective view illustrating the operation of the capsule stopper by the operating rod. 1... High pressure steam sterilizer, 3... Can body, 4...
Capsule inlet/outlet pipe, 5, 6, 7, 8...Manual ball valve, 9...Heater, 10...Water, 17
...Sterilization room, X...Entrance, Y...Exit.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A can body whose interior is saturated with high-pressure steam, a pipe for inlet and output of sterilized materials that is disposed through the can body and whose interior becomes a sterilization chamber, and both ends of the pipe that protrude from the can body to the outside. A space chamber is provided between the inner and outer valves for temporarily storing the sterilized material, and the sterilized material is removed by opening and closing the inner and outer valves at one end. The sterilized material is put into the sterilization chamber in the pipe through the space chamber on the one end side, sterilized with high pressure steam in the can body, and sterilized by opening and closing the inner and outer valves on the other end side. A high-pressure steam sterilizer characterized in that the high-pressure steam sterilizer is configured to be taken out from the pipe through a side space chamber.