Chemical apparatus and process disinfecting – deodorizing – preser – Physical type apparatus – Apparatus for treating solid article or material with fluid...
Reexamination Certificate
1999-03-25
2001-04-17
Jones, Deborah (Department: 1775)
Chemical apparatus and process disinfecting, deodorizing, preser
Physical type apparatus
Apparatus for treating solid article or material with fluid...
C422S299000, C422S300000, C206S807000, C206S370000, C206S001500, C220S265000, C220S324000, C220S835000, C292S063000, C292S071000, C292S113000, C292S162000, C292S169000, C292S30700B
Reexamination Certificate
active
06217835
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a sterilization container. It relates more particularly to a container for medical instruments and other articles which are to be sterilized by exposure to steam.
Prior to their use, medical and surgical instruments have to be sterilized. This is often done by placing the instruments in a container and inserting the container into an autoclave where the container and its contents are subjected to high temperature steam under pressure. The container is designed to allow steam to enter the container during the sterilization process so that the steam contacts the instruments therein. In some cases, the container is equipped with a valve which opens under the pressure of the steam in the autoclave and which closes following the sterilization process so that the container remains sealed until it is time to use the instruments. Other sterilization containers have permanent vent openings which are covered by a microbial filter. The filter allows steam to enter the container during the sterilization process but has a sufficiently fine structure to prevent the entry of microbes and other contaminants during and after sterilization. The present container is of the latter type.
2. Prior Art
Conventional sterilization containers which incorporate a microbial filter have several disadvantages. Some do not provide enough open space within the container to allow steam to penetrate, and circulate within, the container. Therefore, the sterilization cycle for such containers is relatively long, particularly if the sterilizer or autoclave does not include a vacuum cycle wherein air is drawn from the container prior to the injection of steam into the container. This problem can be alleviated to some extent by including vent openings in more than one wall of the container. However, this solution requires the placement in the container of a corresponding number of filter sheets which increases cost and the time it takes to assemble the container. Other sterilization containers are made of metal and therefore conduct heat efficiently. However, they are heavy and expensive and the heat-sterilized container cannot be handled until after it is cooled off which effectively increases the length of the sterilization cycle.
There do exist sterilization containers made of plastic material. However, those containers are not entirely satisfactory because it has been found that moisture accumulates within the container which moisture tends to wet the filter sheet thereby degrading its effectiveness as a microbial filter. In other such containers, the filter sheet is not sufficiently protected from medical instruments and other components within the container with the result that the sheet is penetrated, again destroying its effectiveness as a filter.
Still further, some prior containers of this general type are not designed to facilitate loading the container with medical instruments in a given order before sterilization so that those instruments will remain in the same position during sterilization and subsequent handling so that when it is time to use the instruments, they can be presented to a surgeon in a desired order for a particular procedure.
Finally, with prior sterilization containers of this general type, one cannot be assured that a sterilized container has remained unopened such that the instruments in the container are still in a sterile condition when it is time to use the instruments.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved sterilization container.
Another object of the invention is to provide a container of this type which enhances the sterilization process so that sterilization can be carried out in a minimum amount of time.
A further object of the invention is to provide a sterilization container which prevents the accumulation of moisture within the container.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a sterilization container which maintains instruments placed in the container at set positions within the container.
A further object of the invention is to provide a container of this type which promotes the circulation of steam within the container during the sterilization process.
Another object of the invention is to provide such a container whose microbial filter is protected against penetration by instruments and other objects within the container.
An additional object is to provide a sterilization container with an improved latching mechanism.
A further object of the invention is to provide a security lock for a container of this type which signals when the container has been unlatched improperly.
Other objects will, in part, be obvious and will, in part, appear hereinafter. The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the following detailed description, and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.
Briefly, our container includes an open top box-like receptacle having a bottom wall formed with an array of vent openings. A filter sheet is positioned in the receptacle so as to overly the bottom wall and the vent openings therein. Also positioned in the receptacle above the filter sheet is a highly thermally conductive plate having a multiplicity of holes therein which are smaller than the vent openings such that the plate permits the passage of steam into the receptacle space above the plate but prevents objects in the receptacle from contacting the fiber sheet.
The container also includes one or more instrument-supporting trays positioned in the receptacle above the plate. The trays are formed as grids with relatively large through-holes or openings. Those trays are stacked in the receptacle so that their openings are in register whereby a relatively large amount of open space remains in the receptacle, In addition, the container includes a cover which may be closed over the open top of the receptacle to provide a seal between the two, with portions of the trays contacting the underside of the cover so that when the cover is closed, there can be no appreciable vertical movements of the filter, plate and tray(s) within the container.
Preferably, the container is provided with at least one latch which can latch the cover in its closed position and a safety lock releasably attached to the receptacle and cover for preventing each latch from being unlatched without providing a visual indication that such unlatching has occurred. Thus, medical personnel can take an already sterilized container off the shelf and, by observing the safety lock, determine that the container has been opened after sterilization such that the contents of the container are no longer in a sterile condition.
Further as will be described, the interior components of the container are designed to promote efficient and thorough circulation of steam within the container during sterilization and to facilitate proper presentation of instruments that were sterilized in the container when it is time to use those instruments. Specifically, during sterilization, the thermally conductive plate functions as a heat source which re-vaporizes condensate dropping into the plate from the trays and instruments thereon thereby enhancing the sterilization process and preventing the condensate from wetting the filter sheet.
REFERENCES:
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patent: 53286
Brossard Ansgar
Riley Edward D.
Cesari and McKenna
Jones Deborah
McNeil Jennifer
Riley Medical Inc.
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