Apparatus for sterilizing objects with an aqueous hypochlorite solution
First Claim
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1. A method of sterilizing objects which comprises the steps of:
- positioning said objects within free space in an enclosure directly above a pair of electrodes;
introducing a sodium chlorite solution into said enclosure to form a solution contacting said electrodes but lying below said objects;
passing a direct current across said electrode to electrolyse said solution and form hypochlorite therein; and
continuously during the electrolysis of said solution, pumping hypochlorite-containing solution from the region of said electrodes and dispensing the pumped hypochlorite-containing solution onto exposed surfaces of said objects in said space.
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Abstract
This sterilizing apparatus comports an enclosure (1) in which two electrodes (4,5) of an electrochemical cell are supplied by a transformer-rectifier (16) for producing an aqueous NaOCl solution from a NaCl solution. During its production, the solution is distributed over the surfaces to be sterilized of the objects to be sterilized (9) by a circulation pump (7) and a distribution manifold (6) feeding canes (10) and sprinkling heads (11) by vertical distribution pipes (8).
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Citations
8 Claims
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1. A method of sterilizing objects which comprises the steps of:
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positioning said objects within free space in an enclosure directly above a pair of electrodes; introducing a sodium chlorite solution into said enclosure to form a solution contacting said electrodes but lying below said objects; passing a direct current across said electrode to electrolyse said solution and form hypochlorite therein; and continuously during the electrolysis of said solution, pumping hypochlorite-containing solution from the region of said electrodes and dispensing the pumped hypochlorite-containing solution onto exposed surfaces of said objects in said space.
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2. An apparatus for the sterilization of objects, comprising:
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an enclosure having a lower portion adapted to receive an aqueous sodium chlorite solution and an upper portion formed with free space; a pair of electrodes in said lower portion connectable to a direct current source for electrolysing said solution to form hypochlorite therein directly below said free space; means for positioning said objects in said free space directly above said electrodes and at least in part with surfaces of said objects in said free space above the solution in said bottom portion of said enclosure; and pump means connected to said bottom portion of said enclosure and provided with means for discharging hypochlorite-containing solution onto surfaces of said objects in said free space. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method of operating a sterilizer for objects of the type in which a hypochlorite-containing solution is generated from aqueous sodium chlorite by electrolysis, said method comprising the steps of:
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electrolysing said solution between a pair of horizontal electrodes and a lower portion of an enclosure provided with free space directly above the electrodes and said solution; positioning said object in said free space directly above said electrodes; and pumping said solution from the region of said electrodes into contact with surfaces of said objects exposed to the free space in said enclosure.
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Specification