WO2005089819A1 - Device and method for the elimination of pathogenic micro-organisms in order to prevent diseases and eliminate contamination caused thereby - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a device for eliminating pathogenic micro-organisms from surfaces and underlying layers which ozone can penetrate. The device can be used to sterilise objects, fluids or living organisms and can be applied to sealed chambers, rooms, enclosures, trays with two outlets, bays and crafts. The inventive device comprises an ultraviolet lamp which irradiates the object, fluid or living organism to be sterilised for a specific period of time, thereby eliminating part of the pathogenic micro-organisms or opening the carcasses in the case of spores, in order to prepare for subsequent, sequential sterilisation with ozone which, thanks to the oxidising properties thereof, eliminates any viral, bacterial, fungal or spore pathogenic micro-organism from the surface. The invention causes no harm to health when applied to living organisms, since radiation volume and time and ozone exposure are precisely controlled.

Description

 POSITIVE AND METHOD FOR ELI MY NATION OF MICROORGAN PATHOGRAPHIC ISMS TO AVOID IN FERM AGES AND ELI MI NAR THE POLLUTION CAUSED BY THEMSELVES.

The present invention generally refers to a device or module that through the combination of two techniques, consisting of the transformation of pure oxygen or oxygen into atmospheric air into ozone (transformation of 02 into O3), by means of of a discharge of high voltage electric current, in combination with broad-spectrum radiation λ> 3000, adapting it to various situations and / or circumstances serves to eliminate pathogenic microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi and spores, thereby they prevent diseases transmitted by those, as well as to eliminate the contamination caused by said pathogenic microorganisms in food, objects, instruments, water and air, and so on. Particularly applied to distribution bands, access gates to rooms or warehouses, chambers, containers and enclosed enclosures, it allows that through a control of the concentration and exposure time to broad-spectrum radiation and the Ozone, it can be applied d directly on living beings, without affecting their health, obtaining a power of absorption and / or penetration and oxidation, eliminating all types of pathogenic microorganisms, avoiding contagion of diseases, without detriment to the quality in taste, smell, and color of the elements to which it is applied, as well as avoiding by said exposure and photo reaction, damage to the health of the users. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is commonly known that many forms of infectious diseases are transmitted through improper use of known means to prevent disinfection or the limitations inherent in such means, such as iodine, chlorine, fluorine, detergents or chemical disinfectants applied to the skin or instrument or object to disinfect. It is also known that many pathogenic microorganisms are found in the air that we breathe or that can be carried back and forth by the wind. Known infection prevention methods can be highly ineffective when they are not used routinely and methodically. Unfortunately, the use of chemical agents can cause allergic reactions in people, contaminate food, alter the taste, smell and color of the elements to which it is applied, among other undesirable factors. There have been a number of attempts to integrate germicidal elements consisting of ultraviolet rays, hydrogen peroxide and ozone whose effects are well known. The prior art indicates in US patents 4,289, 728 and 4,366, 1 25 that the combination of hydrogen peroxide and ozone for sterilization effects that require high temperatures for the elimination of more resistant pathogenic organisms, which It makes them ineffective and expensive. We also have that most of the granted patents establish the creation of ozone from ultraviolet radiation, as in US U. S.6, 254, 625 (Roshental Cenayda et Al) and U. S.5, 536, 400 (Jeffrey L. Schultz), European Patent ES 2, 150 490 T (Vortex Corp), with wavelengths of less than 200nm. Unfortunately, this way of generating ozone is limited because at wavelengths between 200nm and 300nm the ozone will decompose, turning it back into molecular oxygen. Being that in many cases acting only ultraviolet rays at wavelengths of less than 200nm are not sufficient to eliminate all pathogenic microorganisms, which in many cases imposes a contradiction, because if you have to raise the wavelength, It decomposes the ozone, therefore there cannot be a 1,00% effective combination from the creation of ozone from ultraviolet rays. Likewise, the previous two, patent 5,614, 151 (Th urston C. Le Vay et al) and European patent application EP 0 341 069 A2 (Elopak Systems AG) contemplate the use of ultraviolet rays and the presence of ozone in sterilization . The invention described here offers the advantage of using ultraviolet and ozone rays but in a sequential manner, in such a way that they interact by eliminating the first in a wavelength range of 2537 angstroms certain pathogenic microorganisms and eradicating the spores, in its case, for its opening, while the second one eliminates the microorganisms that could have resisted the action of the ultraviolet rays and with its oxidizing action eliminates the spore already opened by that erythematous medium, as long as the wave of ultraviolet rays in this invention at 2537 angstroms, it could decompose the ozone by converting it into oxygen and removing its oxidizing qualities. Likewise, the need for injecting oxygen through ventilators or various methods for its transformation into ozone is imposed in the relative prior art, while in the invention described below, atmospheric pressure is used to bring air into the air. device where the oxygen contained in it will be converted into ozone by virtue of the application of electric current that creates an electrostatic field, which does not occur together with ultraviolet rays, which by virtue of its Wavelength could eventually break down the ozone thus created. In the case of the application WO 93/06871 (J. Mortensen & Co. Ltd) we find the inverse effect and that it is from injecting ozone into a fluid, subjecting it to ultraviolet rays, in order to decompose the ozone and that the Oxygen remains in the sterilized fluid, in a completely contrary to that claimed in the present invention. Also claiming that the opposite would take a very long time. Situation that does not occur in the invention that is claimed, since it is due to the time of exposure to radiation and the time of exposure to the oxidizing effect of ozone created from an electrostatic field, and therefore in a Volume greater than possibly created from ultraviolet rays, has a relatively short exposure time, which is generally 6 seconds for sterilization of an object in the sterilization chamber. The present invention contemplated in this novel device and method for eliminating pathogenic microorganisms to avoid diseases and eliminate the contamination caused by them, provides a safe, cheap and effective way of disinfection through the use of ultraviolet energy in conjunction with ozone produced from the oxygen in the air, without the need of injection or supply of air to the ozone generation chamber. Ultraviolet energy is a radiation with a wavelength less than the radiation of visible light. The region for the production of rays or ultraviolet (UV) energy can be divided into four overlapping bands, also the so-called "Black Light" radiation that goes from the limits of visible light within the spectrum down to 3300 angles where It is effective by activating fluorescent and phosphorescent substances, many of which are initiated by 3650 angstroms. The wavelengths between approximately 2800 and 3200 angstroms is the band of erythema, causing sunburn. Tanning and other biological effects is an important effect of the exposure of human skin to UV rays and provides us with a practical means of assessing the exposures and intensities of UV-producing sources, when human beings are involved. The most recent determinations for the wavelengths corresponding to the erythematous spectral line are 2950 angstroms and greater being practically equal to the spectral power of the UV energy in the skin pigmentation (White), having developed a systematic nomenclature for this region , the unit of erythematous power being Viton-E per cm2 which is equivalent to 10 of radiant energy per cm2 in the wavelength of 2967 Angstroms, for which the erythematous power is maximum, so that the relative value of the erythematous power for this wavelength 2967 is taken equal to unity. The establishment in the bactericidal band from 3000 angstroms to 1850 angstroms is lethal to microorganisms. The establishment in the shortwave deodorization band of the order of 2000 angstroms generates ozone which has deodorizing, bactericidal, fungicidal, virucidal and sporicidal properties. The lethal power of UV energy for this type of microorganisms is determined by the wavelength of the radiation, the density of the incident radiant flux on the micro-organism (watts per unit area) and the exposure time, and the Wavelength for the destruction of microorganisms with greater resistance is more effective in the 2537 angstroms. 1 VITON x CM2 = UW / cm2 RADIATED WATTS IN THE SPECTRAL REGION OF 2537 ANGSTOMS.

POWER SOURCE WATTS VITON-E RADIATED WATTS SUPPLIED G8TS 8 1.5 84,000

G15T8 15 2.9 160,000

G30T8 30 7.3 400,000 AH-6 1000 21.0 3'500,000

The time necessary for the minimum noticeable erythema on a normal white skin. Source Power Watts Time in minutes G8TS 8 5.0 G15T8 15 2.7 G30T8 30 0.7 AH-6 1000 0.05 Germicidal power The germicidal power of radiant energy is maximum in the region of 2537 angstroms and decreases rapidly with increasing wavelength to 2538. The relative germicidal power determined with the Baclllus Coli for energies of different wavelengths is as follows: λ = 2537 100% λ = 2700 87% λ = 2800 60% λ = 2900 30% λ = 3000 6% λ = 3100 1.3% λ = 4000 0.01% Varying between one thousandth and one ten thousandth of the power of radiant energy at λ = 2537, the resistance of micro-organisms to germicidal energy varies with the resistance to Bacillus Coli. Exposure is the product of intensity over time, so for each microorganism it will require a specific UV exposure. Ozone Ozone is an allotopic variety of oxygen, its triatomic molecule O3 is generated by the activation of the diatomic oxygen molecule O2. This activation can be caused by the action of an electric shock (rays) or the energy radiated from ultraviolet rays. Ozone (03) is a natural component of atmospheric clean and dry air, such as oxygen, nitrogen, argon, etc. In a proportion of 0.000002% By volume existing in the atmosphere 190 X 106 TM Molecular weight 48 Condensation temperature -112 ° C Melting temperature -192 ° C Critical temperature -12.1 ° C Critical pressure 54 Atmospheres. Density (Liquid at 182 ° C) 1,572 Gr / cm3 Weight of the liter of gas at 0 ° C and 1 Atm. 2,144 gr. 1.3 times heavier than air.

Under normal temperatures, ozone is in a gaseous state, in an unstable solution in the air or in oxygen, decomposing relatively quickly, becoming oxygen again (02); in water it also has great solubility. Ozone (O3) Nascent oxygen or active oxygen with a great oxidizing power (the major after fluoride) yields one of its three atoms rapidly and transforming itself back into ordinary diatopic oxygen (02); It is worldwide recognized that suitable applications of ozone have a bactericidal, viricidal, fungicidal, sporicidal and deodorant power, destroying streptococci, staphylococcus, colibacils, etc. very quickly. As well as the most energetic toxins and tetanus d. It occurs naturally in the high layers of the atmosphere through the action of ultraviolet rays on atmospheric oxygen and with the electrical discharges of storms, forming the so-called ozone atmosphere or ozone layer, whose mission is precisely to filter, absorb and reflect ultraviolet radiation from the sun. Microbicide Power It is perhaps the most important property of ozone and for which more applications are attributed. Pathogens can be located on all types of surfaces, in fluids, floating in the air, etc. , being quite frequent, as indicated previously that through them all types of contagious diseases are transmitted, especially in closed places where there is a large concentration of people with little air renewal and absence of sunlight. Ozone is considered, due to its highly oxidizing properties, one of the fastest and most effective microbicidal agents known, being one of its

- Main advantages, with respect to other bactericides, that this effect is manifested at low concentrations (0.01 PPM) and during very short periods of exposure. The technological innovation presented here for the extermination of pathogenic micro-organisms consists in the use of the two germicidal techniques sequentially in a device that regulates the sequence and exposure times of each germicide, in a highly effective and effective way. cheap, taking advantage of the erythematous power of ultraviolet energy, causing, even in the extreme case of spores, Erythemas capable of causing the opening of the spore through which the ozone will subsequently penetrate, which with its oxidizing quality, will do the same inside, thus eliminating the spore. This technological innovation allows us, through a device, to subject any object and / or fluid, including living beings, to the germicidal power on the side of the ultraviolet rays and immediately and sequentially to the germicidal power of the ozone created from an electric current and not from ultraviolet rays, which not only penetrates the surface, but can reach more remote places, allowing the invention to have application for sterilization of virtually any object where it can be introduced ozone Practical applications can range from the sterilization of specific products, such as a cell phone, a mail piece or a radiolocalizer introduced to an operating room, such as access to an enclosure (airports, stadiums) or a room (rooms of operation, bedrooms, offices, kitchens, bathrooms) or ship (airplane, ship, cars, buses), product packaging, food or not, air conditioning, fluids (water), farms of beings live in controlled (closed) environments, food preparation, etc. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The details of the invention are described below with reference to the illustrations, which help to understand the novel aspects thereof. Figure 1 shows a diagram of a device concentrated in an adaptable module 17 contained within a metal housing or cover 1, generally made of stainless steel or other material resistant to the emission of UV and ozone, within which a lamp is mounted ultraviolet (UV) 2, which has an ignition system 7, controlled by the module controller (PLC, Time relay) 6, once the main switch 12 is activated. This ultraviolet lamp in turn has a aluminum deflector or reflector 4 to avoid damage to the eyesight or unnecessary exposure of the users of the module (not shown), which can be located on the lamp 2 or below it, depending on the location of the module or device 17 and the order to be pursued with its use. At the side of the ultraviolet ray lamp 2 in parallel are four or more vacuum valves 3, which from an electric current they create an electrostatic field that results in a greater volume of ozone depending on the needs of the volume of transformation from 02 to 03, depending on the object or objects to which it is directed and the pathogenic elements to be eliminated. These vacuum valves 3 are secured to the shell or metal cover through specific supports

9, and are coated with stainless steel mesh

10, so that from the induction of air or atmospheric gas by the grid located in the upper part 1 1, as a result of the atmospheric pressure itself, they transform oxygen (O2) into ozone (03) for the sterilizing action. Said module receives the energy required to operate the ultraviolet lamp 2 and the vacuum valves 3, of a voltage transformer 1 1 5 / high voltage 5, located in the upper part of the ultraviolet lamp 2 to the right of the induction grid 1 1 and next to the module 6 controller. The operation of the device is regulated by a module 6 controller, which is programmed to limit the ignition time of the ultraviolet 2 lamp and derivative ozone emission from the conversion of 02 to 03 by the drain valves 3, and thus avoid possible damage (erythema) to the skin of the users (not shown) or to the object or objects (not shown) that are required to be sterilized and that could be seen affected by the emission of ultraviolet rays. To avoid power surges, the system is protected by a fuse that is located inside a glass fuse holder 13, just at the back of the main switch 12. This module 17 also has indicator lights 14, of the operation that it is done and that allow the user or operator (not shown) to determine the exposure time to both ultraviolet and ozone rays. Finally, said module or device 17, in the front part of the device 17 on the left side with ozone, ultraviolet and proximity sensors 15, for the user's knowledge (not shown) avoiding or preventing an overexposure to these elements . Finally, Figure I establishes the existence of a sterilizing chamber 16 where it or the objects to be sterilized (not shown) can be introduced, said chamber being able to vary in size and proportion depending on the sterilizing purposes sought, the device being able to mount 17 envelope in a distribution band (not shown) or on a two-way tray (not shown) or on a portal (not shown). All this device 17 operated by a main switch 12, located on the front of the same, on the right, can vary its location even by controlling remote (not shown) depending on the objects to be sterilized (not shown) and location of the device 17 for this reason. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION According to a first aspect of the invention, referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the device 1 7 is characterized in that it comprises a mechanism which, when the main switch 12 is turned on and contacted or locating an object or fluid in the part called the sterilization chamber 16, a light bulb or UV lamp 2 is activated for a certain period of time reaching λ = 2537 angstroms, which in each case will depend on the pathogenic element to be destroyed. During this period, the first of the three indicator lights 14 will come on. At this stage, for example, the radiation is sufficient to "open" the shell of a spore. Subsequently and almost instantaneously at the end of the radiation with ultraviolet light, the vacuum valves 3 create an electrostatic field that converts the oxygen (02) into the air into ozone (O3), activating the following light Indicator 14. Highlighting that this oxygen (02) is incorporated into the machine by virtue of atmospheric pressure, through the grid designed for this purpose 1 1, so the volume of ozone to be generated will depend on the atmospheres aq The device and the magnitude of the relative electrostatic field are operating. Every time he Ozone interaction time will vary with the needs of the object or fluid to be sterilized, this exposure time will be previously programmed through the corresponding module 6 controller. In this case and continuing with the previous example, the oxidizing effect of ozone will oxidize the inside of the spore by eliminating it. Once the minimum ozone exposure time is over, the third indicator light 14 will give the corresponding signal, which establishes that the process can be restarted again, after which there is a elimination of pathogenic elements of up to 99.9%. Once the process or reprocessing is finished, when there is no more ozone generation, the residual, due to its unstable nature, is quickly converted into oxygen (02) by virtue of the action of sunlight or the light in the room where the machine is operated. However, this module and the sterilization method have application in different branches of the industry, of which we will provide some examples, on realized laboratory tests. In principle, the device can be implanted on a distribution band, and through relative programming in terms of exposure times to germicidal elements, sterilize a product before packing, such as food. In another slope, it can be implanted on a double output tray, so that the The object is inserted into the machine on one side and removed on the other after the process is finished, such as a cell phone or radiolocalizer that is placed in an operating room, the residual humidity is so low that in most of the cases does not affect the electronic components of these devices. It can also be implemented in a portal so that anyone who goes through it, stops and is briefly exposed to ultraviolet radiation before erythema and then to ozone in a given period, after which pathogenic organisms that are on the surface or layers as far as ozone can reach, they will be eliminated, up to 99.9% according to laboratory measurements. Likewise, this mechanism can be installed in the main air conditioning socket and, following the method illustrated, sterilize the air that reaches a room. Another aspect would be to mount the apparatus on a closed container, to which the objects to be sterilized are introduced, such as open correspondence pieces, packages, soda cans or food, etc. In more dramatic cases you can mount an extended version or several modules such as the one described here to disinfect entire farms (in enclosed areas) or places where there is a high concentration of people (discos, airplanes, buses, etc.) The uses of the mechanism here described and of the sterilization method They are practically infinite.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. An apparatus for eliminating pathogenic microorganisms characterized in that it comprises: an element with a switch that activates an ultraviolet lamp for a programmed period of time, after which an ozone generator is activated by creating an electrostatic field from the air that enters by virtue of atmospheric pressure, to eliminate pathogenic microorganisms from an object contained in a sterilization chamber. 2. A device according to claim 1, further characterized in that it can be adapted to different mechanisms, such as distribution band, double output tray, pipe, ships, boats, buildings, enclosures and containers in general. 3. A device according to claims 1 to 2, characterized in that the generation of ultraviolet rays is programmed in terms of duration to avoid damage to living beings or objects to be sterilized. 4. A device according to claims 1 to 2, characterized in that it generates ozone from an electrostatic field, preventing the decomposition of ozone by interaction of ultraviolet rays. 5. A method to sterilize objects, fluids, living beings, enclosures, ships or boats, which includes the steps of: placing a device that comprises an ultraviolet light generating lamp for a certain time, to give rise to an exposure to ozone for a certain time for the imination of pathogenic microorganisms; 6. A method as claimed in claim 5, further characterized in that the device can be used in various environments, enclosures, containers, buildings, ships and vessels.