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Recirculating high velocity hot air sterilizing device

  • US 4,894,207 A
  • Filed: 02/10/1989
  • Issued: 01/16/1990
  • Est. Priority Date: 10/03/1986
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. A recirculation hot air impingement device for sterilizing medical and dental instruments or the like, comprising:

  • a housing having a sterilizing chamber therein;

    nonplanar air supply wall means, extending continuously across said sterilizing chamber and having formed therethrough a mutually spaced series of jet-forming supply openings, for utilizing pressurized air from a source thereof to create in said chamber a spaced series of impingement air jets having a predetermined velocity;

    air deflector wall means, extending across said chamber in a spaced, generally parallel, opposing relationship with said air supply wall means, for intercepting and rearwardly deflecting said impingement air jets;

    heated air recirculating means, including blower means and air heating means, for creating within said sterilizing chamber a recirculating flow of air which is heated to a predetermined sterilizing temperature and is sequentially flowed through said supply openings toward said air deflector wall means, deflected therefrom toward said air supply wall means, and then flowed again through said supply openings toward said air deflector wall means, andsupport means for supporting an object to be sterilized in a stationary position within said chamber generally centrally between and spaced apart from each of said air supply wall means and said air deflection wall means in a manner such that the stationary object is positioned to be impinged by both heated air discharged from said supply openings and heated air deflected from said air deflector wall means to thereby be continuously enveloped by a turbulent layer of heated air,said heated air recirculating means including return means for drawing air from said turbulent layer across the object in a direction generally transverse to said impingement jets, and then flowing the air outwardly from said chamber.

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