Electric heating – Heating devices – With heater-unit housing – casing – or support means
Patent
1991-02-22
1992-08-18
Walberg, Teresa J.
Electric heating
Heating devices
With heater-unit housing, casing, or support means
219386, H05B 334
Patent
active
051401363
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
DESCRIPTION
1. Technical Field
The invention relates to a method and device for the disinfection or sterilisation of articles by heat.
Many different articles which may become biologically contaminated require disinfection or sterilisation so that they are decontaminated and rendered safe for their intended purpose. Often this disinfection or sterilisation is accomplished by various chemical means, but it is generally recognised that where possible the efficient application of heat is the most appropriate means of achieving the desired end of sterilisation or disinfection.
2. Background Art
Relatively elevated temperatures are required to achieve adequate disinfection and even higher temperatures are required for sterilisation. A major problem is ensuring the requisite temperature is attained throughout the heating device and its load. Various pieces of equipment have been used to achieve this end, notably hot-air ovens, autoclaves, steamers, pressure cookers etc. Other forms of radiation have also been utilised for disinfection and sterilisation, for instance gamma rays or ultra violet rays. To be effective such devices are expensive and complicated.
DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION
According to the invention there is provided a heat treatment disinfecting or sterilising device characterised by comprising a container defining a void for receiving an article to be disinfected or sterilised, an electrical resistance heating element arranged in the void, the heating element being flexibly deformable and being adapted for close contact with the article to be disinfected or sterilised and comprising a textile fabric containing electrical resistance members in the form of wires connected in parallel by means of conductors in both selvedges, the wires being woven into the fabric, tensioning means for stretching or maintaining the heating element in a dimensionally stable initial condition, and a resiliently deformable pad in the void by which the article to be disinfected or sterilised and the heating element are pressed into contact.
Preferably the wires are spirally wound on cores of fibres constituting the textile fabric. The fabric may be composed of glass fibres or of fibres of an aramid.
The heating element may be arranged along at least one side of the void, and a movable member may provide access to the void. Preferably the heating element covers substantially the whole of the said one side of the void. The container may be arranged to be portable and may be formed with hinged lid for providing access to the void. Preferably the container is lined with a thermally insulating material. Preferably the resiliently deformable pad is compressible. The resiliently deformable pad may be filled with a thermally insulating material. The heating element may be adapted to envelop the article to be heat treated, e.g. the element may be foldable about the article. If desired, the heating element may be provided with a thin electrically insulating outer layer of a heat resisting material. The tensioning means may be such that the heating element is held in a substantially flat initial condition.
Preferably, the heating element is resiliently as well as flexibly deformable; preferably the resiliently deformable pad substantially fills the void.
From another aspect the invention is a method of heat treating an article comprising bringing the article into close contact with a heating element of a heat treatment device as described above, and passing an electrical current through the heating element for a given length of time, and wherein the article and the heating element are pressed into contact to deform resiliently the heating element into close contact with the article and are held in close contact during the heat treatment.
The article and the heating element may be held in contact for a time sufficient to achieve sterilisation of the article. The article may be heated to a temperature in the range 160.degree. to 250.degree. C.
In this invention the conductive wires are connected in parallel as this permits instruments
REFERENCES:
patent: 2485140 (1949-10-01), Cordero
patent: 2581212 (1952-01-01), Spooner
patent: 3648019 (1972-03-01), Brewitz
patent: 4163896 (1979-08-01), McAvinn
patent: 4533821 (1985-08-01), Sato
Fellows Adrian N.
Mountain Godfrey P.
Fibre Treatment (Holdings) Limited
Walberg Teresa J.
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