Medical sterilizer.

The invention relates to a medical sterilizer with a pressure cooker formed with pressure control valve sterilization container.

In areas with poor or no infrastructure, where and notably in electricity is not available, medical equipment and the like can be sterilized in a pressure cooker. The water and containing each to be sterilized parts pressure cooker can be heated to an existing with local heating means or gas fired stove or burner. Acquiring or pre transporting the conventional heating material is cumbersome and expensive, and produces in applying considerable heat, which additionally is unpleasant to the already generally high ambient temperature.

In the relatively hot areas of the world the force required to operate a medical sterilizer energy could with the help of a solar system, as described for example in DE OS 28 16 945 or in International Publication (PCT) WO 83/02149, are obtained. To get in such a case, an appreciable overall efficiency with the involvement of the heat exchanger between the primary circuit of the solar system and pressure cooker, should the latter be adapted to the requirements of a lossless possible heat exchange in a special way.

From the World Health Organization (WHO) binding pressure cookers have been developed and validated for sterilizing medical equipment and the like for an extensive vaccination during the hot developing countries. This pressure cookers can not readily conform to the requirements of an acceptable efficiency having heat exchange with the primary circuit of a solar system. In particular, it presents considerable difficulties and a considerable effort, so adjust the respective heating means the standardized pressure cooker since the pot has to be replaced in a simple manner at the heating.

The invention has for its object to provide a medical sterilizer, which is safe to operate with the aid of a solar system and in which the heated respectively sufficiently long and high, disconnected designed as sterilization container pressure cooker with remaining therein, sterilized medical devices and by the next pressure cooker should be replaced with further inserted therein medical equipment. The inventive solution consists in the aforementioned sterilizer with a pressure cooker formed with pressure control valve sterilization container is that the pressure cooker with an automatic closure of both pipe sections having hose couplings is turned directly into the primary steam circuit of a solar system with control of the entire system via the pressure control valve of the vapor pressure pot.

The invention is achieved in that the steam generated directly in the solar system, preferably water shall be used directly for the sterilization in a pressure cooker. Because of the direct feed of the externally- namely in the solar system - erzeutgen steam into the pressure cooker heat exchangers are not required in this solar powered and directly used for sterilizing steam cycle.

A further advantage is that the solar system no special regulation requires, because the required anyway on pressure cooker control and safety means shall be used for controlling the whole system. Since a pressure cooker generally associated control valve responsive to the pressure of the vapor contained in the pot, with the device according to the invention, the temperature is controlled not only in the pressure cooker but also in the solar system above the pressure.

Yet another advantage of the invention is that the primary steam circuit of the solar system shall be connected by hose couplings on the pressure cooker, which have an automatic closure of both pipe sections. For installation of the invention in the primary steam circuit of a solar system, a standardized pressure cooker therefore need to be equipped only with one self-locking plug-in coupling for connecting the leading back of the solar system coming steam supply condensate or steam line. It is not difficult to provide such a hose couplings to a finished, standardized pressure cooker.

After sterilization the pressure cooker can be manually disconnected from the solar-powered steam cycle and brought to the application site. It is not neces sary to open the pot and take out the sterilized goods before it is actually needed. The inventively provided hose couplings allow it to turn a freshly laden pressure cooker in the cycle, without interrupting the production of steam in the solar part. This makes it possible to optimally utilize the available solar energy for only about seven to eight hours per day.

However, in order to avoid impermissible overheating in the solar part of the plant, the steam can then, if it is not required to sterilize, are routed to an air-cooled condenser or air heat exchanger via a three-way stopcock and liquefied there. The condensate can be collected separately as distilled water or returned to the solar part. The air heat exchanger may alternatively be configured as a water heat exchanger. This improves heat dissipation and thus a higher distillation performance can be achieved and / or the heat can be beneficial, eg. As for heating of hot water used.

Another important advantage of the sterilizer according to the invention is that the device allows practically because of its simple design is no way to trigger by operator error in an accident. All heated by the vapor components can be isolated. Because of the self-closing valves in the connection or hose couplings vapor can not escape to when connecting or disconnection. If the parallel with the pressure cooker provided air cooler is switched on via a temperature-controlled three-way valve in the solar-powered steam cycle, despite the absence of a special control valve, in the solar part of the system also no overheating or a too high overpressure occur when a pressure cooker in the circuit is not turned on.

Reference to the schematic diagram of one embodiment of equipment connected to a solar system direct medical sterilizer details of the invention are explained.

In the embodiment shown in the drawing is conducted in a generated total designated 1 solar plant steam via a steam feed line 2 and a hose coupling 3 in a pressure cooker generally designated 4 and via another hose coupling 5 and a condensate or vapor discharge 6 for solar plant 1 recycled. The solar system 1 is contained in the application for the direct feeding of steam into the pressure cooker 4 as a heat transfer fluid, water, especially drinking water. For complete of drinking water in the steam circuit formed by the components 1 to 6, the solar system 1 have a water supply. 7 There are conventional solar systems with high-temperature flat plate collector in question, which can produce a steam temperature of 130 ° C and more. The systems will be designed or selected so that they are possible to operate without adjustment to the sun during most of the day with sufficient energy output.

As pressure cooker 4 a device comes with a medical device 8 receiving pot with lid 9 10 and 11 Deckelverklammerung in question. The pressure cooker 4 will also be equipped with a control and safety valve 12, which allows to control the temperature inside of the pot by the pressure. If the solar system 1 is connected via the lines 2 and 6 to the pressure cooker 4, also known in their pressure on the control valve 12 is controlled.

If it is desirable not to open the respective pressure cooker 4 after sterilization time of eg 20 minutes at 130 ° C but to bring to the site of application in the closed state, it is important that hose couplings 3 and 5 in such a way that when they close disconnection automatically. The scheduled to lines 2 and 6 couplings are to be equipped with such a self-closing valve, so the pressure in the solar system 1 does not drop during the uncoupling of a steam pressure pot 4 and / or the operator can be injured by escaping steam.

In order to avoid overheating or an excessive pressure in the solar energy system 1 when loosening the hose couplings 3 and 5, an air cooler may be turned 13 via a three-way valve 14 in parallel with the pressure cooker 4 associated portion of the solar steam circuit. The valve 14 may preferably be formed as a temperature-controlled three-way valve for alternately switching the solar-driven steam circuit from the pressure cooker 4 to the air cooler 13, such that the air cooler 13 serves as protection against overheating.

The distance of the solar-driven steam circuit to the air cooler 13 may, however, also be applied as an air heat exchanger for producing distilled water. For this purpose, can be installed 16 with outlet 17 for the distilled water into the drain line 15 of the air heater 13, a three-way cock. This auxiliary part of the plant is preferably activated when the respective operation to be completed sterilization campaign has ended and still sunshine duration is left for energy. For training of the air cooler as water / water heat exchanger results einersetis a very good heat dissipation and on the other hand the possibility of a beneficial use of waste heat for heating of other products, eg. As by hot water.

<u>LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS</u>

<ul><li>1 = solar system</li><li>2 = steam supply</li><li>3 = Hose Coupling</li><li>4 = pressure cooker</li><li>5 = Hose Coupling</li><li>6 = vapor discharge</li><li>7 = water supply</li><li>8 = Good medical</li><li>9 = pot</li><li>10 = Cover</li><li>11 = Deckelverklammerung</li><li>12 = control valve</li><li>13 = air cooler</li><li>14 = Three-way valve</li><li>15 = Derivation</li><li>16 = Three-way cock</li><li>17 = Outlet</li></ul>