Sterilizer

• US 5,820,821 A
• Filed: 07/21/1997
• Issued: 10/13/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 03/24/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Yoshihiro Kiuchi
• Original Assignee: Minolta Corporation Limited (Konica Minolta Inc.)
• Inventors: Kiuchi, Yoshihiro, Kawagoe, Nobukazu, Oyokota, Shigeru, Takesako, Kiyoyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Thornton, Krisanne
• Assistant Examiner(s): Moazzam, Fariborz
• Application Number:
  US08/897,764
• Time in Patent Office: 449 Days
• Field of Search: 422/1, 422/3, 422/21, 422/22, 422/105, 422/107, 422/108, 422/109, 422/186, 422/292, 422/293, 422/307, 422/308, 250/455.11
• US Class Current: 422/22
• CPC Class Codes: A61L 2/08 Radiation

Abstract

A sterilizer supplies liquid over an object and then irradiates far-infrared radiation to the object. The object is fully sterilized since the supplied liquid well absorb far-infrared radiation with sterilizing effect.

Claims

1. A sterilizer for an object independent of the sterilizer itself, comprising:

a housing;

an emitter on said housing which irradiates an object to be sterilized with far-infrared radiation, said far-infrared radiation itself having sterilization capability; and

a liquid supply on said housing which supplies liquid over the object, said liquid being capable of absorbing far-infrared radiation to thereby assist the sterilization capability of the far-infrared radiation;

wherein said emitter irradiates an object with far-infrared radiation during a predetermined time period for preventing the temperature of the object from exceeding a predetermined level.

2. A sterilizer as claimed in claim 1, wherein said predetermined time period is from 3 seconds to 20 seconds.

3. A sterilizer as claimed in claim 1, wherein said liquid supply includes means for atomizing the liquid and spraying the atomized liquid onto the object.

4. A sterilizer as claimed in claim 1, wherein said liquid is a mixture of water and ethanol.

5. A method for sterilizing an object, comprising the steps of:

supplying liquid over an object to be sterilized, said liquid having a far-infrared absorbing attribute to thereby assist the sterilization capability of far-infrared radiation;

irradiation the object with far-infrared radiation after supplying the liquid, said far-infrared radiation itself having sterilization capability; and

stopping the irradiation of the object after a predetermined time period for preventing the temperature of the object from exceeding a predetermined level.

6. A method as claimed in claim 5, wherein said predetermined time period is from 3 seconds to 20 seconds.

7. A method as claimed in claim 5, wherein said supplying step includes the step of atomizing the liquid and spraying the atomized liquid onto the object.

8. A method as claimed in claim 5, wherein said liquid is a mixture of water and ethanol.