Ultraviolet pasteurizer

• US 6,897,460 B2
• Filed: 05/16/2001
• Issued: 05/24/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/19/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Topcon
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Topcon
• Inventors: Horiguchi, Masaru, Kobayashi, Susumu
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, John R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Fernandez, Kalimah
• Application Number:
  US10/275,402
• Publication Number:
  US 20030170152A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,469 Days
• Field of Search: 762/23, 762/24, 250/455.11, 250/504.R, 250/494.1, 250/498.1, 250/497.1, 250/496.1
• US Class Current: 250/504.00R
• CPC Class Codes: A61L 2/10 Ultraviolet radiation
• CPC Class Codes: A61L 9/20 Ultraviolet radiation

Abstract

When an ultraviolet pasteurizer is used in a room free of a person, left and right light shield doors are opened to expose ultraviolet lamps outwardly. When an operation switch on a control panel is then turned on, an operation start timer is actuated, and the ultraviolet lamps are then energized to sterilize surrounding surfaces after elapse of 5 minutes. When the ultraviolet pasteurizer is used in a room occupied by a person, the left and right light shield doors are closed to direct the ultraviolet lamps inwardly until all light shield doors are brought into a substantially triangular prism. When the operation switch on the control panel is then turned on, the ultraviolet lamps and a fan are energized to draw external air from an air inlet. The drawn air passes through an inner radiation chamber defined inwardly of the light shield doors that have been combined into the substantially triangular prism. The air is sterilized by ultraviolet radiation emitted from the ultraviolet lamps and discharged from an air outlet.

Claims

1. An ultraviolet pasteurizer comprising:

an ultraviolet lamp;

a light shield door having the ultraviolet lamp mounted thereon, said light shield door being openable and closable to block or pass ultraviolet radiation emitted from said ultraviolet lamp;

an inner radiation chamber definable inwardly of said light shield door when said light shield door is closed;

an air inlet and an air outlet providing communication between said inner radiation chamber and an external space;

a fan for introducing air from the external space via said air inlet into said inner radiation chamber, displacing the air near said ultraviolet lamp, and discharging the air from said air outlet; and

a main body, said light shield door being angularly movably supported on said main body,

the arrangement being such that when the ultraviolet radiation emitted from said ultraviolet lamp is to be radiated outwardly, said light shield door is angularly moved and held on said main body to expose said ultraviolet lamp outwardly, and

when the ultraviolet radiation emitted from said ultraviolet lamp is to be radiated into said inner radiation chamber, said light shield door is angularly moved and held on said main body to direct said ultraviolet lamp into said inner radiation chamber.

2. An ultraviolet pasteurizer according to claim 1, wherein said light shield door comprises a plurality of planar, substantially rectangular light shield doors angularly movably coupled to each other at side edges thereof, and said ultraviolet lamp comprises a plurality of ultraviolet lamps mounted on respective sides of said light shield doors, the arrangement being such that when said light shield doors are to be closed, the side edges of the light shield doors of both ends are brought into abutment against each other with the ultraviolet lamps facing inwardly, and when said light shield doors are to be opened, the side edges of the light shield doors of both ends are brought into abutment against each other with the ultraviolet lamps facing outwardly.

3. An ultraviolet pasteurizer according to claim 2, wherein said main body comprises a substantially triangular mount base disposed beneath said light shield doors, further comprising a frame of substantially inverted U shape mounted on said mount base along one side thereof and extending upwardly, said light shield doors comprising three light shield doors which include a central light shield door having opposite side edges supported on said frame and held on said main body, and left and right light shield doors angularly movably mounted on said central light shield door by said frame.

4. An ultraviolet pasteurizer according to claim 2 or 3, further comprising:

a power supply unit for supplying electric energy to said ultraviolet lamps and said fan, said power supply unit being disposed in a space surrounded by the light shield doors, the left and the right light shield doors which are movable having the side edges held in abutment against the central light shield door so that said ultraviolet lamps face outwardly.

5. The ultraviolet pasteurizer according to claim 1, further comprising a door closing detecting switch and a door opening detecting switch for detecting the position of the at least one movable light shield door, wherein the ultraviolet lamps are energized only when the at least one movable light shield door is either fully closed or fully opened.

6. The ultraviolet pasteurizer according to claim 1, further comprising a control panel on a upper surface of the pasteurizer for setting operating conditions of the pasteurizer.

7. The ultraviolet pasteurizer according to claim 3, further comprising a wheel attached to the mount base for making the pasteurizer movable.

12. An ultraviolet pasteurizer according to claim 1, wherein three light shield doors are provided that are openable and closable to block or pass ultraviolet radiation emitted from the ultraviolet lamps.

13. An ultraviolet pasteurizer according to claim 1, wherein a triangular-shaped inner radiation chamber is definable inwardly of the light shield door when the light shield door is closed.

8. An ultraviolet pasteurizer comprising:

an ultraviolet lamp;

a light shield door openable and closable to block or pass ultraviolet radiation emitted from said ultraviolet lamp;

a tubular-shaped inner radiation chamber definable inwardly of said light shield door when said light shield door is closed;

an air inlet and an air outlet providing communication between said inner radiation chamber and an external space;

a fan for introducing air from the external space via said air inlet into said inner radiation chamber, displacing the air near said ultraviolet lamp, and discharging the air from said air outlet, the light shield door being slidable in a circumferential direction along an opening in the tubular-shaped radiation chamber to open and close the opening; and

a plurality of tubular-shaped inner radiation chambers, the plurality of tubular radiation chambers each being mounted on a common base.

9. The ultraviolet pasteurizer according to claim 8, further comprising a wheel attached to the common base for making the pasteurizer movable.

10. An ultraviolet pasteurizer comprising:

an ultraviolet lamp;

a light shield door openable and closable to block or pass ultraviolet radiation emitted from said ultraviolet lamp;

an inner radiation chamber definable inwardly of said light shield door when said light shield door is closed;

an air inlet and an air outlet providing communication between said inner radiation chamber and an external space;

a fan for introducing air from the external space via said air inlet into said inner radiation chamber, displacing the air near said ultraviolet lamp, and discharging the air from said air outlet, the light shield door,

the light shield door being rotatable by 180°

about an axis extending vertically through a central portion of the light shield door; and

a main body, said light shield door being rotabably movably supported on said main body, said ultraviolet lamp being mounted on said light shield door,

the arrangement being such that when the ultraviolet radiation emitted from said ultraviolet lamp is to be radiated outwardly, said light shield door is rotatably moved and held on said main body to expose said ultraviolet lamp outwardly, and

when the ultraviolet radiation emitted from said ultraviolet lamp is to be radiated into said inner radiation chamber, said light shield door is rotatably moved and held on said main body to direct said ultraviolet lamp into said inner radiation chamber.

11. An ultraviolet pasteurizer comprising:

an ultraviolet lamp;

a light shield door openable and closable to block or pass ultraviolet radiation emitted from said ultraviolet lamp;

an inner radiation chamber definable inwardly of said light shield door when said light shield door is closed;

an air inlet and an air outlet providing communication between said inner radiation chamber and an external space; and

a fan for introducing air from the external space via said air inlet into said inner radiation chamber, displacing the air near said ultraviolet lamp, and discharging the air from said air outlet, the light shield door,

the light shield door being rotatable by 180°

about an axis extending vertically through a central portion of the light shield door,

wherein said light shield door comprises a plurality of planar, substantially rectangular light shield doors angularly movably coupled to each other at side edges thereof, and said ultraviolet lamp comprises a plurality of ultraviolet lamps mounted on respective sides of said light shield doors, the arrangement being such that when said light shield doors are to be closed, the side edges of the light shield doors are brought into abutment against each other with the ultraviolet lamps facing inwardly, and when said light shield doors are to be opened, the side edges of the light shield doors are brought into abutment against each other with the ultraviolet lamps facing outwardly.