Hazardous or toxic waste destruction or containment – Containment
Patent
1995-04-28
1996-08-13
Britts, Ramon S.
Hazardous or toxic waste destruction or containment
Containment
422 28, 422294, 422302, A62D 300, A61L 218
Patent
active
055458025
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an apparatus and a process for treating medical fluid waste bags. More particularly, the invention relates to an apparatus and a process for safely emptying and disinfecting medical fluid waste containers so that the medical fluid and the used containers can be safely disposed of separately.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In hospitals, waste body fluids are drained from patients both during operations and during recovery from operations. For proper hygiene, the waste blood or body secretions are pumped into special medical fluid waste bags. Sterilization of the medical fluid waste bags before disposal has been known to be a difficult procedure.
In the art of waste disposal for waste contained in bags, it is known to provide a machine for mechanically opening and emptying bags containing a toxic product in which a conveyor automatically feeds the bags to severing means for cutting open the bags at which point the bags are automatically emptied thus separating the contents of the bag from the bag itself. Such a device is known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,289,438. In the medical field, it is known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,340,152 to provide a machine for the automatic emptying of bags containing frozen fresh blood and separating the bag from its contents. It is also known in the art from U.S. Pat. No. 4,776,488 to dispense a flowable material through a flexible wall of a bag in which a sealing ring is included in the bag by puncturing the bag using a tubular cutting member sealingly engaged to the bag and over the ring.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and a process for treating a bag containing medical fluid waste in which the bag, is safely emptied for safe disposal of its contents as liquid waste, in which the bag is properly disinfected for safe disposal or recycling of the bag.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the invention there is provided an apparatus for treating a container, such as a bag, containing a contaminated substance comprising a housing, means for holding the bag and means for severing the container to allow contents of the bag to empty, in which the apparatus is characterized in that the container is a medical fluid waste container, the housing has a sealable closure, the means for holding at least one medical fluid waste container upright in the housing, tile means for severing comprise means for puncturing an upper portion of the container to produce an upper puncture hole through which a disinfecting agent can be injected and means for cutting a lower portion of the container to produce a lower hole through which tile agent can drain. The apparatus according to the invention further comprises means for injecting the agent into the upper puncture hole, and means for spraying an interior of tile housing, and an outside of the container with the disinfecting agent to prevent contamination of tile housing interior and the outside of the container.
The process according to the invention comprises steps of holding the medical fluid waste container upright in the sealed housing, puncturing an upper portion of the container to produce an upper puncture hole through which a disinfecting agent can be injected, cutting a lower portion of the container to produce a lower hole through which the disinfecting agent can drain, injecting the disinfecting agent into the upper puncture hole and spraying an interior of the housing and an outside of the container with the disinfecting agent to prevent contamination of the housing interior and the container outside.
To improve mixing of the contaminants in the container with the disinfecting agent, the upper puncture hole can be made first following which disinfecting agent is injected into the upper puncture hole to completely fill the container before the lower hole is cut by the cutting means causing the full container to rapidly drain. By completely filling the container from the top before cutting at the bottom, cutting of the container is improved.
BRIEF D
REFERENCES:
patent: 4289438 (1981-09-01), Murer
patent: 4340152 (1982-07-01), Ekholm, Jr.
patent: 4776488 (1988-10-01), Gurzan
patent: 5178841 (1993-01-01), Vokins et al.
patent: 5382406 (1995-01-01), Kruger et al.
Britts Ramon S.
Mayo Tara L.
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